Why We Do It
Today, May 7, is my 40th wedding anniversary. Milestones often inspire me to ruminate, and this evening, after a lovely dinner, I am ruminating about my real estate career which has sustained, frustrated, inspired, and fulfilled me for 37 of those years. I know that real estate brokerage consistently ranks near the top of job satisfaction surveys, in spite of its uncertain income and deal-related stressors. So here are my thoughts about some reasons why most people love this job:
- Our time is our own. This means that we set our own hours, not that we work fewer of them. When I first got my license I was still in graduate school and I figured that brokerage was something I could do on the side to make some money while finishing up my degree. Within two years, I had dropped out of my Ph.D program, having learned the hard way that real estate is NOT part time work. Good real estate agents are among the hardest working people I know, and e-mail has only exacerbated that. We work 7 days a week, often from first thing in the morning until late into the evening. Still, it is liberating not to have a boss looking over your shoulder or checking your time card, and I think all agents enjoy that.
- Brokerage is not a desk job. This may be the best thing about being an agent. While more often than not you HAVE a desk, you only succeed if you are not sitting at it most of the time. The work requires that you be out and about, making social contacts, upgrading acquaintances into clients, visiting properties to deepen your knowledge base, and, of course, showing.
- Every day is different. During a single week, agents are moving through dramatically different and often beautiful architectural spaces, dealing with diverse personalities, providing ad hoc couples counseling, negotiating often complex and multi-layered transactions, assessing and often reorganizing reference letters and financial statements, and cultivating relationships wherever they go.
- Innovation is rewarded. In many professional cultures, the best thing to do is keep your head down and accept the status quo. That doesn’t work in the brokerage business, which truly rewards differentiation. Because the field is so crowded, and because many clients need educating as to why one agent isn’t just like another, agents need to cultivate a distinctive professional persona which demonstrates to prospects why they are a better choice as a representative. This involves depth of knowledge, a compelling personal presentation style, and a clear understanding of the particular and unique added value being brought to the table. Without these, no agent can build a long term career.
- You’re never too old. Many of New York’s great agents have worked deep into their 70s and even 80s. As long as they are still mobile, older agents’ depth of knowledge of the marketplace and its history continue to make them outstanding advisors and advocates for the clients they serve. There’s no being retired or forced into “of counsel” status
When I first entered the business in 1980, almost everyone in it had a previous career. That’s different now. Part of it is certainly the money, which can be much bigger today than 30 years ago. But I think there is more to it; young men and women straight out of college and graduate school feel drawn to real estate in a way they didn’t in the past. I think the independence, mobility, and diversity of experience draw Millennials and Gen Xers, even if many of them end up surprised (as I was) by how hard it is to succeed. But in the end, we have fun. What’s more important than that?