1 year update from P/T to F/T agent.

Roughly 12 months ago I took the leap and finally quit my W2 job to focus solely on being a Realtor and investing. While I was spending 40 hrs a week at my day job it started to hinder my ability to be a successful agent. I never went into detail that I still had a day job while with clients but some would ask questions and I am not one to lie. I know I missed out on a couple of big listings from one builder because he wanted a full-time agent. I was considered a full-time agent by the volume I was doing but he wanted someone that was available all day- every day. I understood his concerns and did what I could until the day came where I could focus all my time on being an agent.

Now that I have been full time for just over a year I wanted to share some of my ups and downs. Overall the choice was difficult as the safety net of a salaried job is hard to give up once your life style is accustomed to it. Medical benefits were another big concern but for 16 months I am still able to be on my past job’s COBRA plan and later this year I will jump on to my Fiancés plan. Insurance on the open market is very expensive and is based solely off of your income. So if you are doing well in your real estate career and want to use the open market for medical insurance, prepare to pay very high deductibles and premiums. I also had to understand that time is money and I reached a point where I was losing money overall because I was spending too much time at my day job for a set paycheck. Now I can make my own future and determine my own income based on how hard I work. Some months in the last 12 were slower than others. I remember January of this year was the slowest I have ever been. I didn’t show or list one single property. A whole month with no leads. It wasn’t for lack of trying just seasonality. You must be prepared for long spans with no pay if you commit to this full-time. Luckily, I have a few investment properties that keep me afloat during the slow times. It was scary to go that long with nothing. I started to regret my decision some days but I stuck with it and kept making calls and eventually once winter started to end business started to pick back up. Once business picked back up I was out listings houses and staying busy. I have moved my focus to listing houses and working with investors. I have the occasional buying client but in the current market I am showing 20-25 houses before we ever get one under contract so I saw the opportunity to become a listing agent. You trade time for money and to maximize my income I learned that listing houses and working with cash buyers on investments was where my time was best spent in the current market. Now this could change if we go through a recession in the future but that is the nature of this business. A good agent must change or be left in the dust with the majority. I plan on being a Realtor for a long-time and will stay on top of the market as long as I can.

Overall I am glad I made the decision I did 12 months ago. While I was working my corporate job and doing Real Estate on the side I was selling around 3 million in real estate now that I have completed my first full year of only doing real estate I have sold roughly 8 million. It was a huge risk but all of the most important decisions you make in life are risks and those are the ones that come with great reward. My Fiancé always asks me if I regret leaving my corporate job and I keep telling her “when are you leaving yours to come help me full-time?” It was the best decision I have ever made in my career and would do it over again and again if given the choice. I surpassed last year’s income by June and forecasting to nearly double it. The 40 hours a week I have gained to work on my business has been invaluable. I am excited for what the future holds and plan to continue to grow each and every year.