One of the most prevailing questions I get from people who are just starting out in real estate is, “Should I go part-time or full-time?” I get it. Jumping into a commission-only profession is scary for most folks. Questions start filling your mind like, “How do I feed my family?”, “What happens if I fail?” They usually come way before the, “What have I got to lose?” question. Mostly because your mind is really good at filling in that answer!
If at all possible, my choice for you would be to go full-time. Why? Because full-time agents succeed at real estate much more quickly than part-time agents do. The quick answer to that is because they are able to put in the time! However, some people may not be in the financial position to jump in without the safety net of other income. They have to start part-time because they need to have another job to help them survive financially while they get their real estate careers up and running. Depending on what that other job is, there are inherent challenges with that arrangement. If you are working Monday through Friday, nine to five, how much time can you put into part-time real estate? The weekends? The evenings? If you’re married, have children or both, that’s no easy road.
It’s not impossible, just tough. But if you use smart time management skills and tools, and have some flexibility with your “real job,” you can make it work. If that is the road you choose to take though, my advice is to just focus on listings.
Frankly, I believe all agents should focus on listings almost exclusively. Full-time agents have the luxury of time to be able to break up their drive for listing inventory by working (or as I like to call it, playing) with buyers. Part-time agents don’t have this luxury. In fact, they shouldn’t be working with buyers at all. Why? Because with buyers, you physically need to be with them in the car and showing properties. But if you were working with sellers who had committed to you and hired you to market their house, you could do a lot of marketing at night. Also, while you were working your nine-to-five job Monday through Friday, other agents in the MLS could be showing your property. So, you could be earning money in your real estate job while doing your other job! How’s that for awesome?
If you’re ready to push all your chips to the center of the table and make your mark as a real estate professional sooner and have the financial resources to do that, then jump in. Go full-time. Find a brokerage with the right training, tools, mentorship program and support to help you shorten the learning curve and expedite your first payday. Connect with an agent who can help show you the ropes as you get started, then stay focused on building your listing inventory first.
You’ve got this. I’m here to help, with a passionate community of Power Agents® that can be there for you as well. Learn more at www.ThePowerProgram.com/NewAgentSuccess.
Darryl Davis, bestselling author of “How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate” and owner of Darryl Davis Seminars, has trained and coached over 100,000 real estate professionals around the globe for more than 27 years. He is the founder of the Next Level® real estate training system, The Power Program®, which has helped agents double their production over their previous year. For more information, and the new agent tools that can help take you to your Next Level®, please contact darryl@darrylspeaks.com or visit www.ThePowerProgram.com/NewAgentSuccess.
