COLD HARD TRUTHS OF BEING A REALTOR 😬🥲

People like to share the glory of becoming a real estate agent. But I prefer sharing the cold hard truths - because it’s important for newcomers to be prepared of the challenges that they may face. 😣

Some background story - I was doing corporate job for 5 years before jumping into self employed lifestyle. I was having a stable income, stable CPF contribution every month. But I know that if I were to step into real estate business, everything would change.

NO STABLE INCOME 💰

NO CPF CONTRIBUTION FROM COMPANY 💰

But I told myself if I never try I would never know. So I gave myself two years time to experience and see how far I could go.

So for those who are thinking of becoming a real estate agent or even self employed like having your own business, here are some cold hard truths that I would like to say (my own experience and opinions 😬)

1️⃣ No Fixed Income 💰

I didn’t have any income coming in anymore once I become self employed. I had to eat my own savings to sustain my business for a period of time. I remember that I had to eat my savings for almost 3-6 months before a proper commission came in from my real estate business.

Hence having some savings set aside is important because there may be months you don’t have income or business closure 🥲 Hence it’s like your business, you need to continue hustle work hard every month to ensure the business continues to strive 💪🏻

2️⃣ Marketing Expenses 💵

Being a real estate agent, there are many expenses that we need to factor in.

▪️PropertyGuru account which costs thousands every year, and that doesn’t factor in any add on credits purchase if our credits finish up.

▪️Video shoot - sometimes if you want to help your clients to market the unit better, you can add on video tour shoot to showcase their unit. This is something I usually will add on depends on the owner and the unit. This will cause another few hundred

▪️Prospecting - there are many ways to do prospecting and get leads. Some have warm leads coming in from social circle, referral or even social media. While others who want to hustle and reach out to more people, they will either do

➡️ Free Marketing - Door knocking, cold calling

➡️ Paid Marketing - Flyers printing and distributing, Facebook ads, Google Ads and more.

Paid marketing tends to cost more ranging from few hundred to few thousand or even 5 digits per month

3️⃣ Work Life Schedule 🕰️

Being a realtor means you get to be a bit more flexible where you don’t really work 9-6 or 8-5 everyday. However, our weekends or weekdays nights are usually burnt. This is because clients usually are available during these timings to do viewing. Hence your weekends usually are being sacrificed for work.

One thing I like is - I can go overseas or holiday anytime I want 😂 don’t need to apply leave etc. however sometimes, I have to even work while I’m on a trip (maybe negotiating a deal, receiving enquires and settling it)

Now, I’m in my third year of real estate business - I’m glad that I persevere and now, my career is stable and I really enjoy what I’m doing. Meeting clients, understanding their purpose of getting a home, helping them through their home hunting journey and seeing them moving in to their dream home - everything is very fulfilling.

If you’re thinking of becoming a real estate agent, feel free to comment below or dm me to ask any questions 🩵

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