All things in abundance
Lifestyle Blog
Real Estate - Why did I decide to pursue it?
Recap of Industry Experience
Many moons ago, 2001 to be exact, I took my first "adult" job at a Real Estate agency doing Transaction Management.
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I was 21 and so excited to be making what I called "actual money" at the time. A personal friend of mine who I used to babysit her kids told me I would be great at this job and I should come work for her. So I did...
Well, long story short it was not a good decision. I saw the worst side of this woman and the Real Estate business. The company began a side Transaction Management business in which they lied to so many outside realtors getting them to sign up for Transaction Management bundles. They told these realtors that they had teams of people working for them and they didn't have to worry about anything. Well those "teams of people" were me and one other girl working sometimes 20 hours a day.
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I was 21 and scared to loose the job security I had just been given. So I put up with it and went along with the lie.
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As time went on, I wondered if I could ever be an agent. I spoke with my boss who told me I wasn't pretty enough or smart enough to be an agent. I spoke with other agents that told me I didn't have what it takes. I spoke to the owner of the company who said that I just need to stay in my lane.
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After suffering much more verbal abuse and horrendous hours I decided to quit on the spot. I have NEVER done anything like this before and it took all of me to make this decision. I knew in my spirit I was doing the right thing. So with only 2 weeks of pay saved up I wrote the company an email and Fed-Ex'd them my keys. Shortly after they were caught in their lie and the company folded.
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​20 years later I can now look back and be so proud and thankful that I stood up for myself.
What made me decide to try it now?
"Don't tell a woman she can't do something."
Author Unknown
In my intro I mentioned about not being able to bring thoughts and dreams together. This is one of them!
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I have wrestled with wondering if I was good enough, smart enough, and pretty enough all my life. Believe me, this isn't the first forum in which a boss told me any of those things. I have heard that most of my career. Yet, I always have been good enough, for sure smart enough, and I am beautiful! So what is stopping me??
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After the Real Estate company, for about 13 years I worked for a private school as an Administrative Assistant and Head of Admissions. I spent 13 years selling a $20,000 a year private school and doing very very well at it.
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So why couldn't I be successful at Real Estate?
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I talked with a few friends in the Industry and watched a lot of YouTube videos and settled on Allied Real Estate School Online.
That gave me the availability to do this on my own time, thank goodness.
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I signed up in April of 2021. Through many ups and downs due to other things taking my time away I am about to finish my first course.
These are the take aways I have so far as I document this journey:
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I honestly used to think that Real Estate agents were people that didn't want to work for someone else and have an easy job...was I ever wrong!
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Studying for your license can sometimes feel like you are learning to read a new language. Stick with it! If you have to have a dictionary next to you looking up all of the words, do it!
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Just because you know someone who had the time to read, study, and finish before you and they made it look so easy... well, believe it will be for you also.
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Keep trying and trying again. If you have to take a chapter test over, do it!
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Read whenever you can find time. Even if you can only get 2 or 3 pages read. You will thank yourself in the long run.
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Not too many people are documenting the whole journey on YouTube. I am currently working on that. Even if it's just a short Vlog of thoughts.
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I don't want to be the person that just shows you that I was successful in a year and you can do it too! NO! I want to be the person that you shows you it is okay to have the moments that it doesn't seem possible but you will be successful if you have drive and stick with it.
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Most of all I wanted to show myself that I can do it. I wanted to show myself that after 20 years of Administrative Assistant work that I can be more than that! I am worth more than that! I owe it to myself!