Is a Career Change in Your Future?

Written by Kathy Schmidt, Broker/Owner of Schmidt Realty Group Inc.

There are a lot of reasons you might be considering a career shift.

• Perhaps you’ve been “downsized” in a restructuring at your company.
• Perhaps your personal life has changed and you need more flexibility in your schedule than your current job can offer.
• Perhaps your current job doesn’t pay the bills.
• Perhaps you’d like more independence and the ability to chart your own course.
• Perhaps you’re simply ready for a new beginning or a fresh challenge
• Perhaps you’re even feeling burnt out or unappreciated, and have valuable skills and experience you want to put to good use

There are literally hundreds of reasons why you might find yourself considering making a big shift, and they’re all valid. What matters is that you’re at a crossroads and you’re ready to consider a different future.

Few real estate agents begin their working life in real estate. Almost all REALTORS® come from another industry.  That work/life experience is invaluable as they move into real estate. Problem solving, communication, strategic thinking… these are all transferable skills.  And if you’ve been in a service oriented profession such as education or health care, your skills in helping students and patients navigate personal challenges fit hand-in-glove with guiding a buyer or seller safely through their transaction.

If real estate is one of the options you’re evaluating, here are a few helpful things to ask yourself:

• Do you really need a change, or do you just need a break?
  If you truly love what you do, is there a way you can take a break and recapture your mojo? Don’t be too quick to throw in the towel if you really feel you’ve already found your calling.
• Are you interested in starting a business or do you really want a new job?
  A career in real estate means you are self-employed. The freedom that comes with that can be awesome, but there’s no guarantee of regular paydays. If you absolutely must have a regular pay cheque, then real estate might not be for you right now.
• Do you prefer a steady routine or lots of variety?
  There’s no right or wrong here. While every profession has a degree of variety in it, real estate has much more than most. You may start out your day planning to be in your office working on a market analysis and some marketing, and within the first hour find out that you’ve got 2 clients who need to see houses and you’ve got multiple offers coming in on a listing. If you get a rush out of a bit of unpredictability and a lot of diversity in your day, then you might love real estate! If not, you might wish you’d chosen a more 9-5 position with more predictable demands.  Another way to ask this one is… Are you easily bored? If the answer is yes, then real estate might be a fantastic fit!
• Do you enjoy collaborating with people or are you more of a lone wolf?
  Everyone says that real estate is a people business, and it’s true. But the people aren’t only buyers and sellers. You’ll spend your days talking with other REALTORS®, property inspectors, lenders, lawyers and more. Real estate is a communication business. If you love connecting with people and helping everyone in the transaction feel supported and well -informed, then real estate might be a natural fit!
• Are you a curious person?
  The best REALTORS® are skilled strategic listeners, thinkers and problem solvers. There’s rarely only one solution to a problem, and not every solution will be your client’s preference. Staying in curiosity and asking questions helps great agents generate multiple options for the problem at hand, allowing their client to then choose the best solution for their particular situation. Curiosity is invaluable when it comes to being a great REALTOR®!
• Do you love to learn?
  The real estate industry is constantly changing. Legislation regarding financing, provincial regulations regarding client representation, and constant technology updates keep REALTORS® on their toes. If you enjoy being in growth mode, then real estate could be a great fit! There’s so much to learn in the licensing program about the technical and legal aspects of working in real estate. Adding to that, at Schmidt we launch our new agents with our intensive in-person hands-on Mastery Program. This is where you’ll learn how to help your clients safely and effectively navigate the hundreds of steps involved in making a move. It’s the practical training every agent needs to work safely and successfully!
• Are you service oriented?

This is valuable in any profession, of course, but in real estate it’s non-negotiable. If you’re already someone that your friends and family go to when they need some advice, direction, or information, that’s a good indicator that you might have what it takes to provide real value to buyers and sellers on their real estate journey.

If you’re still reading, then presumably you answered YES to a lot of the questions above. The next questions to ask will help you figure out HOW you might enjoy working as a REALTOR®… because there’s not just one way!

• You could be a solo agent within a brokerage
  Most REALTORS® work as solo agents within a brokerage, managing their client work on their own or perhaps as their business grows, hiring an assistant.
• You could join a team within a brokerage
  Some agents like to work as part of a team within a brokerage. Typically there’s a team leader who is a successful busy REALTOR® who provides some business leads to agents and a sense of community. The trick here is that the agent’s own identity can get lost in a team environment if the “lead” agent is dominant, and there’s often little or no opportunity to personalize the way you run your business.
• You could be part of a Teamerage
  This is a blend of the best of both above options. Schmidt Realty Group operates with this model. In fact, we coined the term “teamerage”! As we define it, a teamerage is a brokerage where everyone at the brokerage is part of one large real estate team. However… there is not one “lead” agent. Each agent runs their own business independently, while enjoying shared marketing services, staff support, and an extensive mentoring and education system. Agents at Schmidt don’t need an assistant as the bulk of the work an assistant would do is handled by our awesome admin team, plus we have a licensed REALTOR® whose full-time job it is to pick up, drop off, and handle the hundreds of things that need handling for every transaction, so our agents don’t have to.  Learn more here!

As you can probably tell, we’re rather fond of the teamerage model, and that’s because we see how it gives our clients (ie our REALTORS®) the support they need at every stage of their business. Whether it’s a new agent needing hands-on support with their first transactions, or a seasoned agent in the weeds with a tricky negotiation, our agents are never in it alone. At the same time, they enjoy a lot of autonomy to do business their way. And best of all, our Coverage System allows our agents to take all the time off they want, while never losing any business.

If you’re still reading, maybe we should have a coffee. Starting any business is a scary venture, but if after reading this you think real estate might be for you, I can guarantee you’ll have a lot more confidence and a lot more fun at Schmidt than going it alone.