I'm BACK! and CAPPED!
Howdy! It's been so long since I've been on BP I don't even recognize the format! That being said, it's time for a success story!
As you may have read in my bio & other posts, I got my RE "start" right here on BP back in 2012 when @Jerry Puckett and @John Chapman gave me a shot managing the database on their mail campaign. That went well, and in 2014 @Jon Klaus offered me a full time gig, assisting his group with direct mail campaigns in Austin. For the first time in my adult life, I had a salaried income, I was able to work from home, spend time with my family, buy my first home, and set my own schedule. It went very well, and they bought several properties over 9 months. However the development cycle in Austin is SO SLOOWWWWW, so properties weren't being turned as quickly as hoped.
At that time it was recommended to me to go get Licensed, since I had a knack for direct mail management & working with sellers. So I did...
I got my license in September of 2015. Went to work at a small brokerage in Weatherford where I live, couple blocks from the house. Learned lots about our county, networked with lots of great Realtors in our area, and learned how to "sell real estate". Made a little money, but still had to work my "old job" in Audio Visual for 50-75% of my income that first year. In February of 2017, I moved over to my local Keller Williams office, and the transition was AMAZING! Their training is incredible. The lead generation and followup techniques are great for any business person, not just real estate. The best part is all the mindset coaching they do. I really bought into the whole be, then do, to have culture of KW and started seeing the difference in my closings.
For those of you who don't know, KW works on a commission split with a royalty cap and a commission cap. Our total number is $21,000 for the year paid into the company, then we get to keep all of our commissions until our anniversary date resets.
I didn't expect to cap my first year, considering how little I sold in 2016. I'm proud to say, after moving over to KW in February, I capped in September! It only took me 7 months to cap. And this year, my income will be about 75% RE, 25% AV, which is a blessing. We were able to do more things as a family than we ever have, and my mortgage & household bills are all paid up through the 1st of the year. Next year I've set my goal at $5M closed volume, which is a little over double what I did this year between both brokerages.
I can't say enough about this BP community, and the people's willingness to help each other. I'd still be breaking my back, working 50-60 hrs/wk for the AV companies if not for a few great people here.
Real Estate is simple, and not easy.