Zeller - Your first year in real estate : making the transition from total novice to successful professional

Introduction

T he real estate field is one of the most exciting career choices you can consider. Millions of people have considered entering the real estate field, comparing themselves and their abilities to real estate agents they know. Family members and friends tell them, You should sell real estate! They often view what Realtors do as easy money. You may be thinking the same thing most people do about Realtors. My first response to those thoughts is that what you perceive from the outside looking in may not be the whole truth about the profession. What many people deem to be easy can often be truly difficult when viewed up close.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median income for all Realtors is $43,500. The median income for brokers or broker associates is $63,100. This clearly shows that the more educated you are in real estate skills and techniques, the more income that you make. Your goal should be to educate yourself regularly so you can increase your income. The National Association of Realtors is the largest professional association, representing nearly 730,000 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry. They are regularly evaluating the profile of their members in demographic, economic, and professional characteristics. As a new agent, you must be prepared to work hard and diligently to achieve success.

My desire is not to paint a bleak picture, just an accurate one. The truth is that with the right steps, desire, and determination, you can earn two, three, or even four times the median income in your first year. I have one absolute belief. That belief is, If I can do it, so can you. My journey into real estate started in the summer of 1990 when I had just moved back to Portland, Oregon. I had closed my event promotion business in Denver and was searching for my next career.

I was truly at a crossroads in my professional life. I was 28 years old and had little to show for the six years I had worked after college. The selection of my career was of paramount importance this time.

My desire for a career that enabled me to control the income, the time invested and, ultimately, the outcome was enormous. I truly wanted the fruits of my labors to be immense. I wanted the reward for my hard work to come to me, not someone else. Maybe you are feeling that way right now.

I was frustrated and discouraged that my last six years of work had not produced more wealth. This was not how I had imagined myself at 28 years old. People often enter real estate sales from similar circumstances. They try many other job options and careers and finally find their way into real estate sales. They blossom in the flexibility of hours. They embrace the opportunity to earn any amount of money they desire. They want to build a business that allows them to continually increase their income by 20 percent, 30 percent, or even 50 percent annually. Those were all the things I wanted as well.

There is nothing more exciting than starting a new venture. The new venture of real estate sales unfolded in December of 1990. I recall that I struggled starting out as most agents do. You, like me, will have that lost feeling many times early in your career, the Why am I doing this? Is it really worth it? feeling. Those feelings can be compounded when the income doesn't come as fast as the bills and when there is a lot of month at the end of the money.

One of the challenges in real estate is learning to budget your money. Especially early in one's career there can be a long span of time between commission checks. You have to avoid the temptation to spend it all. To hold some of the money back in savings is a skill that needs to be learned.

For many people it will also be the first time they are responsible for their own taxes. For years we work as an employee and now we are entering the independent contractor world in real estate. We must learn to save a portion of each commission check to pay the taxes on the earnings. I, like most agents, learned that lesson the hard way. My first year in the business I didn't save the money for my taxes. When tax time came around I needed to sell a few houses just to pay the tax bill. Fortunately I had to be taught that lesson only once. There are many agents who replay that song year after year after year.