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Pumping Up Your
Real Estate Career
If you're a real estate agent, you are
well aware of the downsides that people outside the field know
little or nothing about. Before you could begin working for
a broker, you had to acquire a thorough knowledge of real estate
law, terminology and math. Regardless of which state you live
in, you had to pass a test for your license, and pay a hefty
fee for the privilege of holding it.
While you
may not have had much trouble finding an office to work through,
you might not have expected to have to pay for advertisements
for your listings and possibly for desk space at the agency.
Health insurance? Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll have the opportunity
to pay the full premium for a group policy. Of course, you've
got to sell some stuff before you can afford to do that. You
have to get lots of listings. You have to close sales and set
aside an emergency fund for the tough months when few or no
sales come your way. Otherwise, you won't be able to pay your
own bills, much less the ones the broker keeps reminding you
of.
Talk about
an independent contractor! Not only that. You sometimes get
the feeling you're surrounded by vultures. Maybe not in your
own office-but in the ones down the street and around the block
and everywhere else in town.
Yes, you're
well aware that you're in a heavy-competition business. You've
got someone really interested in a $450,000 home you showed
them last week. They're practically ready to put the money down
today-only when you check to make sure it's still on the market,
you find out it sold yesterday. The disappointed couple doesn't
want to see anything else, they say, edging their way to the
door. You just know someone else showed them their second-choice,
and they're on their way to that other office now.
 Of
course, you're here to serve the client. That's what it's all
about. That's why you work weekends and evenings, when it's
convenient for them to see the properties. That's why you give
every potential buyer your home phone and cell phone. Better
that they call you at the most inconvenient time than take a
chance on someone else closing the sale. Sometimes it seems
as if you've got no time to yourself.
Added to
that is something that even people outside the industry know:
the real estate market swings with the economy. Everyone knows
about buyer's markets and seller's markets. When the fed inches
the interest rate up yet again, you know that will affect sales.
There are fast-inflating bubbles and bursting bubbles. And of
course that means that your income is dependent on the same
economy that drives the real estate market.
As hectic
as the real estate business is, there is some rather excruciating
down time. Like the Sunday afternoon you spend hosting an Open
House that only a few vaguely-interested people drift through,
probably to get decorating ideas or just to "see what it's
like inside." Or "phone duty" at the office,
which amounts to little more than being an unpaid receptionist.
If only
there was a way to make some money during that down time-something
you could do no matter where you were or what time of day or
night it was.
 Guess
what-there is, and it's called a home-based business. It's like
having a safety net to catch you during the months when the
commission checks are small or nonexistent. The hours you work
at a home-based business are completely flexible, so if Mrs.
McGinty calls to look at a listing, you can drop everything
to take care of your potential buyer, and get back to your second-income
business later on. There is no time-clock to punch, no boss
to answer to except yourself. You're in complete control of
this business. After all, it's your own!
While called
home-based, you can be taking care of business no matter where
you are. All you need is a computer and a phone. Well, you've
always got those with you anyway, right? Instead of wasting
an afternoon at an Open House, you can use the time to generate
income. Phone duty at the office? You can get out your laptop
and make the time pay you, even if your broker won't.
Home-based
businesses are exploding as a way to supplement the incomes
of people who work on commission. Knowing you have a second
source of income without the hassles of a boss, commuting, and
rigid scheduling is giving commissioned workers the sense of
security that no other second job can.
Interested? Just fill in the web
form below, and you'll receive free information.
Sue DeBrule
1-800-606-0613
Email
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