Considering a Side Hustle as a Real Estate Agent in Canada

[Tony P.]

Hi everyone,

I'm a business owner based in Canada and I'm exploring the idea of becoming a real estate agent as a side hustle, with the potential to go full time if it’s a good fit. My ultimate goal is to build a portfolio of rental properties.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and advice on a few areas:

1. Income Potential – What should I realistically expect as a part-time agent starting out?
2. Time Commitment – How much time do you expect it to take to build a client base, and on average, how much time does a deal take from start to finish?
3. Key Challenges and Considerations – What are some common challenges or things to keep in mind when starting in real estate as a side business?

Any insights from your experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Tony P.]

Quote from @Abel Curiel:

Hello @Tony P.

There is a ton of potential in this business. I started as a part-time agent about 7 years ago. It took me around 15-18 months until I went full-time.

1. The answer will depend on many factors since it is a commission-based business. To name a few factors: your time commitment, ability to focus on marketing & sales, your network...

As a current business owner, you may already have a pretty good starting point.

Most agents close 1-2 deals their first year (if any)... If the nat'l home average is roughly $400K and agents make 3-4% per side, you're looking at $12-16K year 1. 

Again, this comes down to the factors mentioned above. You could make $0 or $100K in your first full year. I've seen agents make more and I've seen a lot more make nothing. 

2. How big of a client base are we talking? 

If you're looking to add 100 potential clients to your database, chances are you already have this many (or way more) in your phone contacts, email contacts, and social media friends/followers.

If your conversion rate as a new agent is .5%, you'll need 200 leads in order to close 1 deal.

You should spend at least 30 mins a day as a P-T agent to generate leads. If you can do 2+ hours/day, you will quickly begin building momentum. Do this for 1 year and you will make way more than most new agents.

Once you go F-T, 2 hours/day for lead gen/marketing/follow-up should be your norm or minimum.

3. One of my main challenges early on was learning to have no expectations and learning to help set and manage expectations with clients. This comes with time and experience but a book that helped me tremendously (not really a sales book, though) was "Boundaries" by Henry Cloud.

The most common challenges for RE Agents early relate to generating leads and focusing on income producing activity.

I would consider spending 50-75% of your side-hustle time on income generating activities. Mainly, prospecting - aka speaking with potential buyers and sellers.

I would also recommend calling everyone you know (Neighbors, family, friends, co-workers, etc.) to let them know you're in RE... don't say its a side-hustle... don't say you're 'trying it out'... don't say its only a P-T thing... People won't take it seriously.

Don't just call them once... make it a point to remain in regular contact with them (at least 1x per month) via phone, face to face, email, text, social media, mail, etc.

At the same time, make it a point to add X number of NEW contacts to your database each day or week. Make this your measurable goal that you track with your daily activity each day .. aka Key Performance indicators or KPIs. Many new agents aim to add 10-20 new contacts to their database each week. You can begin with FSBO leads, expired, your personal circle, and 1 form of paid ads.. this is how I began.

Hope this helps, All the best!

Abel

 Hi Abel thank you for taking the time to post this I appreciate it 

It gives me a lot of great information 

I own a restaurant in a tight knit community so I think I have a good starting point for potential clients 

I have around 5 hours a day to work on the side hustle 

I will add that book to my list are there any other books you recommend for getting into real estate? 

Do you mind if I ask what your income was when you decided to go full time into real estate? 

Is there anything else you think I should know before getting into real estate as a side hustle?