What to do before becoming licensed

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Alex,No prep work needed my friend! Just jump in with both feet! You can do it!! If you can get into a pre-licensing education program where you can do nights and weekends to burn through the 4 courses the better(try and get a course in before years end if you can). No need to wait-Seriously! Get in the game!If you have test anxiety, take a lot of practice exams when you've completed all your course work. And pound the vocabulary into your head. You'll be fine. Go to your local library and utilize their website to access this resource(otherwise you'll pay): www.learningexpresshub.comOnce on the site, look up real estate exams and find the RE test for your state MN. They'll be practice tests for you to take for free as many times as you want(memorize these Q & As). It will come in very handy.Good luck! Ty

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Congratulations on your decision! I'd like to share my approach to obtaining my license with you. After deciding that real estate was something I truly wanted to pursue, I scheduled appointments with the top four real estate companies in my area. I got to learn about what makes each company different, the level of investment I'd be dedicating, and what the day-to-day of the most successful agents looks like. It was a huge eye-opener for me and largely contributed to my decision to not only continue my endeavor but to know which broker would support my goals and help lead me to success. I read What Every Body Is Saying by Joe Navarro and The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Dave Jenks, Gary W. Keller, and Jay Papasan. The first book helped me understand how to connect and communicate effectively with everyone I come into contact with. The second book I purchased in March and by September had read it three times through and through. I recently started reading The ONE Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan. All three books are gold! If there is anything I can do to help you pursue and achieve your goals in this new endeavor, please feel free to reach out to me. Again, congratulations!

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For teams, ask for performance numbers and then ask for the other members of the team, then reach out to them. Don't let them give give you a name or 2, get the whole list.

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For choosing a broker, it really depends on what your goals are. Brokerages like Keller Williams and exit realty are great if you want educational programs to go with them for free. What I would suggest if you are trying to use your realtor license as a career, is to latch onto a successful team leader at a brokerage. If you latch on to the team leader at a brokerage, whether that brokerage is big or small you will have someone that can show you how to properly market and build a team as well as get leads daily.

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Live vs Online. Personal preference! I like live class because that give you an opportunity to network/Interact with instructors and meet people/classmates that you may work with in the field. Depending on where you take your classes live, they may have a meet the broker meeting day. There you can talk with potential sponsoring brokers that you could consider working with. If you take classes online, you more than likely won't experience these interactions. But again, this is my take on Live vs Online. Its all personal preference. Good Luck!! Dive In! Stop Waiting!!

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Hi Alex,Congratulations on your new career path!I am both a licensed real estate agent and investor - new to both. My only suggestion is that while you are getting your education to obtain your license, you also educate yourself via books, podcasts, Youtube, etc. on real estate investing. A real estate salesperson is taught definitions and law, etc. but not how to invest or how to make lots more money (ethically, of course) while working with investors, investing yourself or understanding that world.This may go without saying since you are already a member of BiggerPockets, but just in case.Good luck!

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@Alex Rojesky & @Jacob Hilden I agree with the other commenters that you don't need any pre-education because it literally will slow you down. You could read Gary Keller's book "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" but do it while you're taking the classes, you don't need to read it before you start. In fact, it will not help you in your RE classes or test at all.The biggest single thing you can do to jump-start your career if find a high producing Real Estate team to work with so you can get some transactional experience. To put it in perspective the average solo Realtor in MN does less than 6 transactions a year. A great first year for a solo agent is about 8 transactions, but if you're on a team you could be involved (learning) but not always getting paid. This experience will be invaluable and would take you years to get on your own. It can jumpstart your career tremendously. Please PM me if you want to meet for coffee and talk shop.

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Happy to hear that you are excited to start a career as a real estate agent @Alex Rojesky! I can only share with you my personal experience and I really enjoyed going through ProSchools. There are some grammar/spelling errors but it is significantly cheaper than in person and I enjoyed being able to go at my own pace and finish the course within a month or so. I am not sure if it is the same in Minnesota but some brokerages like Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, and Century 21 were able to give me a lot of information as well as discounts on the online programs. I tell everyone that it is very important to interview with a few different brokerages prior to committing to one. Let me know if I can be of any help or if you have any other questions.

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@Todd Dexheimer Also Todd, loved your episode on no and vsm looking forward to you dropping more content on pillars of wealth!

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MN Realty School is great in person I have heard but if you do the online course do not go through them they use a different provider which is not the best. Kaplan is pretty great too.