Did you start the new year with a promise to look at your career path as a real estate agent? Have you considered opening your own business?
The hardest element to decision making is making the decision; that’s why so many people put it off. If you’re considering becoming a real estate business owner and want to take charge of your future, stop procrastinating! Once you’ve made the decision, that’s the hardest bit done. I really mean it, because once the decision is made, you just need to work out how to move forward and there’s plenty of help and options out there.
Making a decision is actually the first reward: you’ll notice that you feel lighter and less stressed. The indecision is over. You’ve challenged yourself and won. The reward is now being set firmly on the path to self-satisfaction, fulfilment and to having control of your future.
Positive decision-making in your career path leads to the ability to achieve the long-term goals of financial prosperity, health and happiness. It’s also been known for many years that having and meeting short-term goals actually has positive psychological effects that improve your performance and learning capacity. More recently, it’s also been demonstrated that successfully achieving short-term goals leads to more positive thinking and more likelihood of success in achieving those long-term goals.
I’m a great believer in taking small steps, achieving small victories along the way, and as a result of that strengthening your confidence. If we repeat those small successes then the larger successes will certainly follow. Likewise, the more you extend yourself, the more rewards will come your way. In life I have noticed that wherever you apply your focus and energy, that is where the results show up, whether that’s your new business, your health, your relationships or whatever. Therefore you have the opportunity for great rewards, based on a great effort, and one will equal the other. Here are some other rewards you can expect:
Your own boss reward
How good do you think it might be not to have to answer to anyone else? Well, it’s even better than you think. There’s nobody to tell you what to do.
Freedom reward
Imagine never having to ask if you can take time out for something. You can decide if, where and when you work, every day of your life. You may need to put in longer hours initially to get the business going, but it will be a labour of love and not as a slave to the boss and his wealth creation plan. At the end of the day, you’re making the decisions and that’s the great bit.
Financial reward
This will be dependent on quite a few factors. Reducing it to basics, the reward is the profit. The profit is the revenue minus any expenses. So, maximising income is the first thing, as without income there is nothing to work with. Then keeping business operating costs to a minimum is an absolute key to profit.
Choices reward
I believe one of the most wonderful enhancements to anyone’s life is to have choice. Creating choice is an incredible achievement, and to escalate yourself into a position of having choice is indeed a profound thing. The only way to change your life for the better is to commit to making some new choices. Sometimes we have to shake things up a little to move forward. It can seem safer to stick to what you know, but will that safe area provide you with the real rewards you’d like?
Self-satisfaction reward
This is a difficult one to quantify, but nonetheless one of the most rewarding. The skills that you will develop by learning and growing in your own business will be with you for the rest of your life. And, no matter what happens, these skills can and will be able to applied to any other business or situation you find yourself in.
Real estate status reward
Not that we need to do things for status, but being a business owner is definitely an elevation in status within our industry. People will view you differently and possibly have a higher regard and respect for you. Some people will prefer to list with the business owner, as they have the boss of the company looking after them and accordingly feel more ‘special’. I hear repeatedly from the agents I’ve helped set up in business that vendors prefer to do business directly with the principal. I believe you will find it easier to list property, as you have the power to do the deal right there and then at the listing presentation if you choose, without the need to refer to the boss.
Happiness reward
Operating a successful business will result in you feeling a happiness you possibly have not felt before, but you won’t get to know that feeling without making that decision and taking that first step.
Entrepreneurship plays a more significant role in a person’s happiness as running your own business gives you more control over how you manage your time. The media often portrays business owners as stressed-out workaholics with no work-life balance, but I find the reality is quite different. Business owners tend to experience better work-life balance and have far more job satisfaction. When you are in control of your life then you’re likely to be more enthusiastic about your long-term goals, because you can steer your ship in the right direction for you. You’re at the helm of your own life.
It’s a great feeling to be in charge of your future, for yourself and for your family, and if you are a competent agent and you approach business ownership both sensibly and logically, then there is absolutely no reason you that you can’t be a great success. Thousands of agents do it, so why not you?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Davies
Paul is the founder and CEO of One Agency.
He offers real estate professionals an opportunity to reap the financial rewards of going it alone, with the security (and clout) of an established brand.
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