Several times a week, an agent or friend tells me how they’d love to have a job like mine.

In their minds, I receive the benefit of the fun of real estate sales without having to get into the nitty gritty part of showing or listing homes. I get to sit at my desk all day and check contracts, talk and laugh with the agents and walk through beautiful properties whenever I want. All for a salary!!! Heck, why not?

Ha!

I love my job. I love what I do for my people. I love the good and the bad days. It’s perfect for me. That being said, it isn’t perfect for everyone. Not only has the industry evolved, management has been forced to evolve as well. If you’re going to lead a real estate office you’re going to need a wide range of skills in order to compete in the marketplace. (And we’re all competing. We’re competing to be the best office, to be the top selling office, some want to be the largest office, the most fun office, the most skilled office, etc)

It’s definitely not what it used to be…and that’s a good thing.

Essentially the job is the same, but there is so much more to it now. For example, in the past, it didn’t matter if the managing broker of the office could cook. Well, these days, with social media, everyone is sharing how their broker made them the ‘best breakfast’ for sales meeting. They’ve upped the ante and you either become that great or you overcompensate with something else. When was the last time an employee at a 9-5 job walked into their manager’s office and asked them how to fix their cell phone? It’s happening every single day in the real estate world. How about the conversations about the best ways to advertise a new listing on Facebook? Is your broker comfortable with digital signatures, digital contracts and all sorts of digital communication? Well, today, they have to be. How much time do most people spend researching new apps geared towards their profession? Most brokers I know spend an incredible amount of time on research.

When you place all of that on top of an already intense career, you’ll find what a tremendous amount of passion one needs in order to WANT to stay in a position like this. Yes, it’s 24/7 (almost, I utilize the Do Not Disturb on my phone). It doesn’t have to be 24/7, but you are responsible for the actions of your agents. When they have a question, I fully intend to answer it quickly in order to stay out of trouble.

Yes, it can be stressful. A home is usually the largest purchase most people make in their lives, so transactions can get tense quickly. Plus, managers are dealing with independent contractors, not employees. So there’s suggestions and best practices, but no orders to be followed.

Yes, it’s really fun. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t laugh hysterically at something. Plus, the diversity of getting to do something different every single day is fabulous.

Overall, it’s consistently intense and busy. I find I enjoy the challenges and the way the days seem to really fly by. I have a passion for it, though, do you?

Are you ready to lead?

Does the grass look a little less green to you now because these things seem over the top or outside of your job description? It’s a lot to think about. I’m always happy to discuss this type of career with anyone that’s interested. Please don’t hesitate to ask.