All Forum Posts by: Solomon Ganz

@Adam M. 15 years in advertising and most recently making low six figures.  I can live (at least) a year off of savings.  I can do more but I don't want to blow it all, obviously.  Keep in mind, it took me 10 years or so to get to those low six figures.  I started at 30k, promoted to 40k, 50k, 70k, and so on and so on, over the years.  So yes, not easy to save a lot that way.

@Eric Burch YES!

@Joseph M. true, I have thought about opening my own advertising company in order to avoid a caped salary.  But as a marketing agency, you can't do it on your own.  You need to find an Art Director, a Copywriter, and a Strategist who ALL happen to be at the same place in life willing to take huge risks.  They also have to be amazing (which I haven't come across many in my 15 years).  And only then can you begin to try and find clients.  Clients that come and go very quickly as advertising is a very "subjective" field.  At least in RE, I figure it is JUST ME.  I invest in myself and hit the road.  

@Chris Armstrong EXACTLY.  Most people who are being negative here do not understand what it feels like to be CAPPED OFF salary, knowing you have the ability to produce more.  Good luck!

@Jay Hinrichs thanks for your lengthy and thoughtful and encouraging response.  When you said, now for the good part, I did not see any bad part!  :)   

@Minna Reid love this!!  Yes, I take in the info all have to say but I choose what I actually let penetrate.  If someone makes a good point, I investigate it.  But most of the negative comments that I'm seeing are just from people who have limiting beliefs.  The very thing that attracts me to this biz IS that much of it is mindset.  If you have the right focus, work ethic, mental and emotional strength, you can make a million dollars a year!  I know others may laugh at that sentence, but I also know you believe that.  :)

@Nick Rutkowski that is encouraging to hear.  I'd love to speak to this person!!  Do you think you can help make an intro?  She would get my situation and can give clarity.  THANK YOU

@Amit Kal your math doesn't quite work out.  With my latest salary, after taxes, I am only left with around 80k to live on.  So there is absolutely no way I could invest 50k or certainly 80k in RE.  But even if I could invest 20k or so, the point I made was there is ZERO time to get educated, research let alone actually invest in RE "on the side."  My job required me working 12 hour days of 200% focus and energy and dedication managing 30 -- 50 people daily.  Barely time to go to the restroom.  You get home and are physically and emotionally DONE.  Your plan may work in your industry, but certainly not mine.

@Daniel Klein thanks for your reply!  Interesting stats.  To me, if 97% are making less than 30k a year -- that means they are not full time or not focused on their success in RE.  As you can't live on less than 30k a year.  So, that means that the other 3% are my competition.  5,000 people are a LOT of people making more than 500k a year!  In advertising, by contrast, out of a corporation that I worked at with say 20,000 employees, only a handful make more than 500k.  And you'd need to work 20 years to get to that level.  And when you do, you can be fired at any given moment and down to nothing.  At least in RE you can diversify and work on many clients at once.  And focus on investing on the side as well (which having a job leaves you no time to take a day off here or there to invest).  Congrats on making it to top 50!  Not sure what you mean by being a Principal an selling complex ideas?  What do you do exactly?

@Llewelyn A. thank you for your thoughtful reply!  Your thoughts on marketing are my thoughts exactly!