Why Toronto’s highest producing real estate agents succeed can be summed up in one word: entrepreneurship.
Years ago, I tried my hand at being a real estate agent, thinking that it would be easy work and even easier money. I couldn’t have been more wrong!
Entering the market, despite my gross misconceptions, I was able to sell a few properties to family and friends. I quickly understood, however, that I needed to start marketing myself to generate some fresh leads. I was able to leverage a few techniques that worked well. For example, I was able to get referrals from another realtor and, in exchange, I handled his open houses.
But the reality was that showing dozens of homes while pregnant and fielding offers at midnight, all the while having a preschooler at home, made me reconsider my chase for easy money. After a few short years, I had a better understanding and a deep appreciation for realtors and what they have to do every single day in order to earn a steady income.
The general public doesn’t think very highly of realtors. The misconceptions that surround the profession often occur because getting licensed is very easy, and it doesn’t require a college or university degree. Almost everyone and their uncle has their real estate license but very few actually remain in the industry and this is not an accident or coincidence.
Why Realtors Set the Entrepreneurial Example
No one can fully appreciate the hustle and the ingenuity that it takes to be an agent unless they’ve done the work themselves. Not only are they operating their own business, but they’re also taking on a greater-than-normal financial risk in order to do so. Between office space, staffing requirements, advertising and continuing education, real estate agents invest a lot of time and money in their businesses.
Here are my top five reasons as to why I believe that realtors set an entrepreneurial example worth following, in descending order:
Number Five: Realtors are self-motivated. While they may get some general guidance and direction from their clients, the reality is that it’s completely up to any agent to do the work. This self-motivation comes from deep within and cannot be taught. It is truly an essential skill for any realtor.
Number Four: Realtors are responsible for themselves. They are responsible for their own successes, their failures, and how they generate leads.
Number Three: They work when others are not. Realtors don’t work 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. They work late into the evening, writing up offers, and even later, closing deals. Being a real estate agent is very demanding on personal and family time, which requires a level of dedication to the task that not everyone has.
Number Two: Realtors become experienced managers without even trying. To be successful, they will need an innate ability to manage themselves, as well as others. Under their control is, among other things, the management of client expectations, their marketing endeavours, the building of their brand, and of their time.
And the Number One Reason why realtors set the bar high as entrepreneurs: Realtors run on passion. They are very giving and patient—often to outside causes and community needs—and they don’t get paid immediately, which is further demonstration that they rely on passion rather than money as their motivator.
There are a lot of realtors in the industry—currently over 45,000 just in the GTA. The ones that build their niche and their brand are successful, professional, business-minded, and driven. They are extremely hardworking and know how to set client expectations and manage their clients. They are truly the unsung heros—as well as excellent examples—of what it means to be an entrepreneur.
