Considering adding "Become a RE agent" to my 4-yr plan

[Nicole Heasley Beitenman]

I started investing in 2015 when I purchased my first primary residence in Cleveland and started renting out my spare bedrooms. I LOVE being a landlord and hope to someday become a full-time landlord through single and multi-family homes.

I started saving up in January for a down payment on my next property. My goal is $15-20k in savings and I currently have about $7,500, so I estimate I'm roughly 6 months away from being able to afford another property. The plan is to use any profit to fund the down payment of a 3rd property, and so on and so forth.

I just turned 26 in June, and when I turn 30, I'd like to move back to Youngstown, start a family, and be self-employed. I would love to have enough properties under my belt to live off of in 4 years, but it occurred to me that if I don't, I could get my license and become a RE agent as another means of making money and further ingraining myself in the field of RE. My question is this: What can I do now to start preparing for a career change? Obviously, I plan to begin networking so I can talk to agents about their experiences and find mentors. I can also do my research here on BP and elsewhere on the internet. I can learn more about the exam and licensing in my state (Ohio). But are there other things I could be doing now to make the transition smoother?

TIA!

[Nicole Heasley Beitenman]

@Jennifer Beadles I'd love to work with investors. I hear most agents quit within the first year because of the effort it takes to build a client base. Hopefully that number of 2 million is skewed! 

I have a friend who is a new agent in Youngstown, and he's killing it. He's working his hump off, but it's paying off. Like me, he is VERY social, which is probably his biggest asset. 

@Ryan Evans That's awesome. I think I see it as you do--a way to open doors for my own investing purposes while simultaneously gaining access to some helpful tools and making a few bucks along the way. Here's to hoping it pays off for both of us!