Kim Daugherty, McKinney REALTOR, TX Broker

Note: This 7 part blog series is directed towards all those stay-at-home moms out there who always thought a career in real estate would have to wait until the kids were grown, and to the women Realtors out there struggling with finding the balance between their "ideal of success" versus what truly makes you happy. It's not a business model for everyone, but is something that has been on my heart to share for some time now. Take from it what you will, and know that everyone's journey in life and in real estate isn't and shouldn't be the same for it to be a SUCCESS...

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Part 4: Choosing Your Brokerage - All about Commission Splits, Training & Corporate Culture

By now you've read about why it's never too early to begin a career in real estate, how to partner with another mom to make a "dream team" and finally HOW to make it all legal and become licensed (at least for the state of Texas - check with your state's real estate board)!

Now that you've got that fancy schmancy license, you need to decide WHERE TO HANG IT!!

As I think about describing the process of choosing your new brokerage, a good analogy is shopping for a loan. Why? Well, since we're in the real estate industry, I thought it would be a good analogy. But seriously, it's like you always hear - you've got to "compare apples to apples".

You can't go out and interview 3 lenders and just take the one with the lowest interest rate that was given on your good faith estimate, right? There are so many more other factors to consider: fees, buy-down points, customer service of the lender, good looks (just kidding - making sure you are reading), reliability on actually getting your loan closed, etc. It's like that for brokerages too.

So let's look at the factors to consider when shopping for your new brokerage. When going on your interviews make a list and number it 1 - 6 and make notes about all of the following:

1. COMMISSION SPLITS.

Let's just get this one out of the way, because I know you are all were going to skip around my post to find it and read first anyway, so I'll just cut to the chase and discuss it first. Many of you may be thinking that this is the most important piece of the puzzle. It IS an important one, but by itself is not the most important.

There are several schools of thought on commission splits & income. The most commonly seen are: Percentage Splits (50/50, 70/30 etc) where your split increases as your production increases, Flat Percentage Splits (the same split regardless of production), 100% Commissions or even Salary.

• Tip: Ask if there are different splits for teams. This can save you & your partner money!

The split is important, but unless you combine this number with the other expenses involved, you aren't getting a true picture.

You also MUST factor in fees for the following...

2. LEADS.

• How are these distributed?
  
• Do they cost money or are they free?
  
• What are the quality of these leads?
  

Tip: Some large franchises offer all their agents free leads through their local or national websites. Go out to lunch with some of their agents and talk to them about quality of leads and what percentage of their business they get from these leads. Ask very candid questions and make notes!

3. MONTHLY OFFICE BILLS - Exactly what fees will show up on your monthly office bill? Things like:

• copies
• Realtor.com upgrade subscriptions
• showing service fees
• E & O insurance (are these monthly or per transaction?)
• local Chamber membership dues
  
• office newspaper ad fees
• monthly franchise fees
• desk fees
• phone/fax fees
• office website fees and the list can go on....

Tip: Ask to see if the office manager or broker can draw up an example of what your first month's office bill would look like. Find out what is mandatory and what is optional.

Tip: If a large portion of your office bill is devoted to advertising, find out how much of the business that agents are bringing in is associated with these fees. It doesn't make sense to pay for old-school or ineffective marketing if it doesn't bring in results.

4. TRAINING -

• Beyond the state required continuing education that everyone needs, what kind of training is offered to the agents? You will find that there are offices who place a large emphasis on training, and those that don't.
  
• Is this training MANDATORY or OPTIONAL?
• Is there a FEE for this training?
  
• Ask to see a calendar of training courses they offer.
• Ask WHO does the training - agents, the broker, office manager, in-house trainer or industry experts?

5. OFFICE POLICIES & PROCEDURES -

• By this I mean find out about things like Floor Time - a designated time where agents have to man the phone or front door. Are you REQUIRED to do this, and if so how frequently?
  
• Find out about the office support staff - do you have a receptionist, office manager or transaction coordinator?
• Is there a sales production requirement? Do you have to maintain a certain sales volume in order to keep your license active at that office?
  
• Does this office prefer that agents work out of the office or do they embrace having the agents work out of their home?

The traditional "bricks & mortar" stores/offices have a tendency to prefer that agents rent space, thus taking some of the financial burden off of the business owner. Virtual offices or a mix of the two are becoming popular, as these don't bring along with it the high overhead cost of conducting business that is passed on to the agents.

6. CORPORATE CULTURE -

• What I mean by this, is when you look at the mix of agents in the office, do you get a sense that there is teamwork?
• A family environment? Or do you feel like a minnow thrown in with some big sharks?
  
• Is there a good mix of veterans and rookies, or are they all narrow-minded old-schooled agents that frown upon a new agent as "competition"?
  
• Ask how long agents in your office have been there. If there is rapid turnover, find out WHY!
• Is technology embraced?
• Heck - just look to the company mission statement. Does it strike a chord with you?
  
• What about things outside of business - like a social calendar? I'm not saying each company needs to have a mixer schedule like back in sorority/fraternity days, but is there a lot of "all work and no play"? Or vice versa? FIND OUT!
  

Tip: Sometimes these things aren't evident right up front. It can take some time to get a feel for this and where you might need to get creative. Ask to attend an office meeting or social event in order to talk to more of the agents. If a broker is proud of the environment that the office has, then they should embrace having you ask!

7. NATIONAL FRANCHISE VS INDEPENDENT BROKERAGE -

Ahh, the age old question. Big name national brokerage vs. local independent. Here's my schpeal...

I've been on both sides for this great debate, so I can speak with some experience on the topic. I've been with 3 national brokerages, ultimately leading to the opening of my own independent office. I've also been on the other end of a transaction opposite agents of all kinds of brokerages. From this experience, here is what I've learned:

• BOTH options have good agents AND bad agents...great agents AND horrible agents.
  
• BOTH options provide training for their agents, however I've learned that no matter how great the training is that is offered, it's always up to the agent to take advantage of what is offered. Great training does not a great brokerage make...
• ..Nor does national advertising, an expensive website, big office or little office, lists of million dollar luxury listings or $100,000 starter homes...

The success of an agent has to do with the AGENT - either they have the drive or they don't. Don't make the mistake of seeking out a brokerage to MAKE you successful. Look for one that can support you, guide you and encourage you to the top. Don't rely on someone else doing that FOR you. It won't happen. Find a place that can support you financially, professionally and personally.

Do this one step right, and your real estate career (and your happiness) is beginning MILES ahead of your competition!

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In this Series I’ll cover:

• Introduction - Why you should begin a career in real estate before the age of 50. Why you should BREAK the stereotype!
  

• Forming your Dream Team – Partnering with another like-minded Mom creates the BASIS of this Business model

• The Basics – How to Become a Licensed Texas Realtor. What fees are involved.

• Choosing Your Brokerage – Training, Commission Splits & Corporate Culture

• Breaking Down the Workload – Time Blocking! This is how you get the part of "eating your cake too".

• Free and Inexpensive ways of Marketing Your Business – with an emphasis on Blogging & Social Networking

• Setting Yourself Up for Success in the Future – When the kids are older, and when your friends just start to think about a career in real estate...you're already on your way!

Part 3: How to Become a Texas Realtor, and How Much it Will Cost

Note: This 7 part blog series is directed towards all those stay-at-home moms out there who always thought a career in real estate would have to wait until the kids were grown, and to the women Realtors out there struggling with finding the balance between their "ideal of success" versus what truly makes you happy. It's not a business model for everyone, but is something that has been on my heart to share for some time now. Take from it what you will, and know that everyone's journey in life and in real estate isn't and shouldn't be the same for it to be a SUCCESS...

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Part 3: How to Become a Texas Realtor, and How Much Will it Cost Me?

Before making the plunge into real estate, it's important to know exactly what kind of eduction and training you need, and HOW MUCH IT WILL COST YOU! Just like beginning ANY business, you need to know the fees involved. I'll break it down to the basics for the State of Texas requirements.

****It's important to reference the Texas Real Estate Commission website as rules can change.

1. You must be 18, a citizen of the US (or lawfully admitted alien) and a LEGAL RESIDENT OF TEXAS. If one of those statements does NOT apply to you, do not pass GO and do not collect $200.

2. Get Educated!

There are NUMEROUS places to recieve your real estate education. It's important to find one with a good reputation, a high percentage of applicants passing the state exam on the first try and one that offers class times that work with your schedule. Still don't know where to start? Call up a local brokerage and ask what schools they recommend.

My Choice for the DFW Area (and NO, I am not a paid spokesperson to write this) is Champions School of Real Estate. They have a great reputation and offer all sorts of options to fit into your schedule: web classes, correspondance classes, classroom settings, nights, weekends, fast tracks, you name it!

This is important for you moms, because we all know that attending a class 5 days a week from 8 to 5 can be down right impossible without paying a babysitter, or really taxing your new business partner!!

Education Requirements:

Before you go sending off a real estate license application, you must FIRST send evidence that you took the following classes:

• Principles of Real Estate core courses (60 hrs), Law of Agency (30 hrs), Law of Contracts (30 hrs), Additional real estate Core course (30 hours) and another 4 semester hours (60 classroom hrs) in core or related courses. This last tidbit includes college courses - see the website for a list of acceptable ones.

$$$$ Education Costs will vary depending on your provider. Estimate between $500-$1000 for all training, depending on how many courses you need (based on if you already have college credit to apply).

3. Send in the PROOF! Mail copies of certificates or transcripts of the above to TREC. When they give you the green light to move ahead, you'll recieve a letter will be sent to you letting you know you can now apply for a license. No letter, do not move forward

$$$$ Send in $30.00 with your transcripts.

4. Apply! Go online (to greatly speed up the application process) to apply and pay for the Inactive Salesperson License.

$$$$Pay $97.00 Original App Fee + $10.00 Recovery Trust Account fund (only pay once in app process)

5. Study and Pass the Test! Once you've been given a 2nd green light from TREC, saying they've recieved your application, you can then obtain a copy of the Candidate Information Brochure (CIB) which has the details of when and how and where to take your state exam. PSI is the company that administers this test and they have several locations where you can go and take the test.

Note: I would recommend taking the Exam Prep courses offered through the different real estate schools. It greatly increases your chances of passing the exam on your first go-round!

$$$$ PSI Exam Fee $61.00

6. You May Get Investigated - by filing a real estate application, you give authorization to be investigated by the commission. This may not happen until AFTER you've already passed the test, so if you've got a shady past it may come back to haunt you...

7....Including Checking Your Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Repayment History! Don't stop paying your student loans if you want to continue a career in real estate is the bottom line here.

8. Find a "Home" for your License! You cannot practice real estate without having a BROKER sponsor you - or "hold your license". You should interview several brokerages that you are considering working for. They are all DIFFERENT, so do your homework!! When you have decided upon your new brokerage, you can include a Salesperson Sponsorship Form with your application.

***ONCE A BROKER HOLDING AN ACTIVE LICENSE HAS MAILED A REQUEST TO TREC TO ACT AS YOUR SPONSOR, YOU MAY BEGIN TO ACT FOR THE BROKER AS AN AGENT! BUT NOT UNTIL THIS HAS BEEN DONE!! DON'T PRACTICE PRIOR TO LICENSURE!!

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How Much Does All of this Cost?

I've already included a few fees in the above section that pertain to just ACQUIRING your license. They are noted with a "$$$$".

Education Fees: varies, between $500-$1,000

Application Fees: $198

So before you even hold a license, you have spent between $700-$1200.00.

• ?? What if I don't have that much money? One idea is to throw a garage sale and use the proceeds towards your education. Have an expensive handbag that you don't use all that often? Hock it on Craigslist! After all, your goal is to make money in this career and you'll be buying a newer bag later on! The point is, if you want to do this you need to commit to finding the money to do so. Real estate has one of the lowest start up costs when looking at all the businesses you can get into.
  

YOU'RE LICENSED:

Once licensed, you will have the following quarterly and annual fees. There are also a number of other fees that will vary greatly from broker to broker. Finally, there are examples of common expenses that most agents use.

NAR, TAR & CCAR(local board) Annual Dues $406.00

MLS Quarterly Dues $106.75 per quarter

Annual Supra Key $168.00

Errors & Ommissions (E&O) Insurance - varies by broker. Some are annual fees, others are per transaction or monthly fees.

Brokerage Annual Fee - varies by broker. Some large franchises have an annual fee assessed to agents.

Brokerage Monthly Office Bill - varies greatly by broker - can include or not include charges for copies, chamber of commerce membership, office advertising/websites, showing service subscription fees, Realtor.com upgrade fees, voicemail services, desk fees, fax fees etc....

Continuing Education - varies by provider, but approx. $150 - $200

License Renewal Fee - $51.00

Common marketing expenses: business cards, signs ($50-$100 each), lockboxes ($25 for Combination boxes up to $100 for electronic boxes), website, or anything that you can dream up!

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On a personal note: Lastly, since we just covered expenses, I'd like to make an important note to those of you wanting to begin a career in real estate. This series is geared towards stay-at-home moms, but I'm sure many of you reading can apply the information to your own situation. Understand This: Real Estate is a COMMISSION ONLY profession. That means, you can spend all of this money and not make one penny. Seriously. Think about it.

If you are not in a situation where your household depends on your income, then you have an advantage. A rather large one I would add. But if you are a single parent and you are getting into real estate, OR if your family REQUIRES you to regularly bring home X dollars of income, then I would recommend doing 2 things FIRST:

1. Pay off ALL debt. Don't know how? Easy: Go to Dave Ramsey's book My Total Money Makeover. Follow it and enjoy financial peace.
2. Save up for 6 months of living expenses. It may be that long or longer (especially given your local real estate climate) before you earn an income.

In the next post in the series, I'll cover how to choose a brokerage - about commission splits, training programs and corporate culture! Stay tuned!

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In this Series I’ll cover:

• Introduction - Why you should begin a career in real estate before the age of 50. Why you should BREAK the stereotype!
  

• Forming your Dream Team – Partnering with another like-minded Mom creates the BASIS of this Business model

• The Basics – How to Become a Licensed Texas Realtor. What fees are involved.

• Choosing Your Brokerage – Training, Commission Splits & Corporate Culture, oh MY!
  

• Breaking Down the Workload – Time Blocking! This is how you get the part of "eating your cake too".

• Free and Inexpensive ways of Marketing Your Business – with an emphasis on Blogging & Social Networking

• Setting Yourself Up for Success in the Future – When the kids are older, and when your friends just start to think about a career in real estate...you're already on your way!

Note: This 7 part blog series is directed towards all those stay-at-home moms out there who always thought a career in real estate would have to wait until the kids were grown, and to the women Realtors out there struggling with finding the balance between their "ideal of success" versus what truly makes you happy. It's not a business model for everyone, but is something that has been on my heart to share for some time now. Take from it what you will, and know that everyone's journey in life and in real estate isn't and shouldn't be the same for it to be a SUCCESS...

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There's power in numbers. Two heads are better than one. Two for the price of one!

There's no "I" in team. TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More.

Choose any cliche and you can apply that philosophy of teams directly to real estate.

In Part 2 of my Series on "Breaking the Stereotype", I'll lay out the basis for this particular business model in real estate. It's also the most important:

Partnering with another like-minded mom to create your "Dream Team".

If you read my introduction post to this series, you'll remember that 58% of Realtors are women, and that the average age is 52. I examined reasons as to WHY I thought this was, and it came down to your idea of a "successful" real estate career.

I'll explain: If a mom were to choose the ideology that success only came when you were earning 6 figures by working 90+ hours per week, then this series is NOT for you. I am speaking to the women who believe that success equals bringing home a good income by choosing to take on fewer clients now, by partnering with another mom, allowing you to spend more time at home with the family. Clients get a less-stressed out agent. Kids and Husband get a happier, more balanced mom that spends time at home with more cash to contribute to the family! Win-win, right?

But how can you work real estate, even if you did choose to take on fewer clients, AND juggle your kids at home?

PARTNER UP!

There are several advantages to teaming up with another mom, and it makes total sense in real estate:

• Combining Skill Sets - not everyone has the same strengths and weaknesses. Find someone that balances out your skills, and you've created a synergistic team!

• Shared Expenses - Signs, lockboxes, websites, marketing and advertising all add up! Sharing these expenses with someone else makes sense and can help ease the burden of all the start up costs involved in real estate.

• Child Care - you've got a client that HAS to look at homes on Monday? No problem - one agent does the showings and the other stays home with the kiddos! I'll go more into this in post #5 on the topic, but partnering up with another mom means you don't have to scramble to find a babysitter and PAY for one! To me, this is probably the #1 reason most moms don't start their career until later in life. Have you even looked into the cost of childcare?? The idea of paying upwards of $600 per month for childcare in a commission only job is INSANE.
  

• Freedom to Vacation! Going it alone in real estate can sometimes mean being "on call" 24/7. Knowing that your partner is going to hold down the fort while you're away is priceless!

• Offering "Two Agents for the Price of One". This ties in with #4. You get to offer your clients TWICE the availability. This is great for buyers who need to look at homes days/nights/weekends/holidays AND great for sellers - you can tell them that if someone calls and wants to see their home right away, you've got 2 agents and good chances that ONE of them will be available to help that interested buyer on the spot!

I am absolutely 100% blessed to be able to work with my sister, Laura (that's us in the photo having fun at our grand opening in March). Working with family is not for everyone, but for us it couldn't be better. We are a yin and yang situation - we balance each other out almost perfectly.

Choosing someone to go into business with is perhaps the most important decision you will make in this business model. Pick the wrong person, and your ship sinks too. Pick the right person and the sky is the limit!

Here are a few things to keep in mind and ask yourself when deciding who to partner up with:

1. Does this person have a similar work ethic?
2. Are this person's goals in line with my own?
   
3. Are they financially responsible?
4. Would I want to have this person represent ME in a real estate transaction?
5. What skills does this person bring to the table?
6. Do I get along well with this person socially?
7. Can I see myself taking turns watching this person's children?

Oh, there's a million other questions, but you get my drift...

As women we all have pretty good intuition. You know who you could and couldn't do business with. When you find the right partner, it just feels right! Of course, the best advice I could give is to pray about it, make a list of your pro's and cons, and get a business agreement IN WRITING!

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In this Series I’ll cover:

• Introduction - Why you should begin a career in real estate before the age of 50. Why you should BREAK the stereotype!
  

• Forming your Dream Team – Partnering with another like-minded Mom creates the BASIS of this Business mode.

• The Basics – How to Become a Licensed Texas Realtor. What fees are involved.

• Choosing Your Brokerage – Training, Commission Splits & Corporate Culture, oh MY!
  

• Breaking Down the Workload – Time Blocking! This is how you get the part of "eating your cake too".

• Free and Inexpensive ways of Marketing Your Business – with an emphasis on Blogging & Social Networking

• Setting Yourself Up for Success in the Future – When the kids are older, and when your friends just start to think about a career in real estate...you're already on your way!

Note: This 7 part blog series is directed towards all those stay-at-home moms out there who always thought a career in real estate would have to wait until the kids were grown, and to the women Realtors out there struggling with finding the balance between their "ideal of success" versus what truly makes you happy. It's not a business model for everyone, but is something that has been on my heart to share for some time now. Take from it what you will, and know that everyone's journey in life and in real estate isn't and shouldn't be the same for it to be a SUCCESS...

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According to statistics from the National Association of Realtors:

59% of Realtors are Female.

The median age of all Realtors: 52.

Stereotype =

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I am one of the luckiest women in the world. I get to stay at home with my 2 boys (7 and 1). My husband has a job with benefits and is in a field that is somewhat protected from layoffs (he’s a firefighter/paramedic). But I am also a working professional. I have the best job in the world. I’m a Realtor! I’m a Broker and owner of my own real estate company.

I am NOT 52.

I am 32.

Do I feel successful? Yes! But what is my definition of "successful"? Each person has their own definition.

On Success

For some Realtors, their picture of success is to be the #1 listing agent for their office, closing over 150 transactions per year, with a collection of awards and accolades hung on their office wall. They make 6 figures. Work 90 hours per week. But they are happy, and this is their definition of success.

Real estate can suck you in, causing you to adopt the same type of definition of success if you are not careful. If you are a competitive person (and many agents are), you might see the "successful" #1 agent in the office and want to top that person. You then follow their path...but that's NOT the piece that answers this puzzle.

However, for me and my family (and perhaps yours), THIS type of success does not bring happiness.

What is MY definition of success?

Success for ME is being able to close 1-3 transactions per month. It means that I get to volunteer at my son’s school. I get to attend his swim meets. I can sleep in from time to time, and go on a vacation with my family. I’m home for most dinners…and I even cook some of them!

...By doing so, I’m able to give my clients the BEST use of my time. My KIDS and HUSBAND also get the best use of my time.They also get the very best ME.

I didn’t always understand that this could be done though…

After having my first child, I knew I was doing the right thing by staying at home and raising him. I couldn’t fathom leaving him with someone else for 8-9 hours per day while THEY got to experience his firsts before I did.

However, I also felt that after all of the focus on him, I was left feeling a little depleted emotionally. You see, I am the kind of mom who NEEDS a creative, “professional” outlet in which to expend and direct some of my energy. I felt guilty about this at first, since I knew so many moms out there that JUST wanted to be stay at home moms. I was envious of them, but also guilty that I didn’t feel the same way. But I soon realized as more of friends began having babies that I was not alone.

There is a sect of moms out there, not often talked about, who want their cake, and want to eat it too. I wanted and needed this kind of balance. It was out of this desire that I began my search for the “perfect” job. Did one exist?

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The Beginning...

So it was in my days as a stay at home mom/Army wife when I came across an ad for a Century 21 Career Night in Alexandria, VA.

Real Estate? The wheels immediately began turning…

-Unlimited income potential

-Ability to create my own schedule

-Can work from HOME office

So my husband and I attended, and I knew this was it. We signed up for real estate school, got our licenses and that was my intro to real estate.

Fast forward 7 years...

...and I’ve observed a couple of things. The majority of Realtors ARE women. Most of them ARE over 50. Every single one of them got started in real estate late in life. Why?I think it has something to do with your idea of success.

I needed to figure out a way to work real estate on a “full time” basis, while at the same time being at home with my family. I didn’t want to work 90+ hours per week. I didn’t need to make 5 closings every month to survive. We could make it on my husband’s salary alone, but any income I brought in enabled us to pay off our debt. It would allow us to save. And in this economy, I KNOW there are families out there like ours. As job security becomes more and more unstable, we all need to save. We all need to become DEBT FREE.

I'm getting to my point...

So why do I believe in encouraging more young women to begin their career in real estate?

1. Buyers want an agent they can RELATE to...not another grandparent. Someone who knows exactly what they are going through at their stage in life.

2. Parents make GREAT Realtors. Jason Crouch wrote a spot-on article on the subject. READ IT!

3. MOMS are even better. We KNOW exactly how a family runs – what floorplans will work for a family and what wont, what’s going on in the schools, where the nearest grocery store is that carries gluten-free products and who has the best Karate program in town. We have kids ourselves. Moms are nurturing by nature.

4. Gen X & Gen Y WANT an agent in touch with today’s technology – texting, email, twitter updates, Facebook profiles.

5. By focusing on starting out our real estate careers with a different picture of success in mind (less transactions but more quality time at home with family), we can over time develop our clientele, educate ourselves in the profession (there’s a LOT to know) and prepare a road map to success for when we can handle MORE transactions when there’s less family at home.

I know the above reasons 1-4 to be true for a fact. About a year ago, before opening my own brokerage, I was approached by another big-name brokerage about joining their new office. This particular brokerage receives a LARGE amount of relocation business, but their clients (buyers) hadn’t been satisfied with the Realtors that were available to work with them. Why? In the words of the recruiting agent, “they were all much older than these younger relocation buyers”. The buyers were desperate for someone LIKE THEM – going through the same life stages – purchasing their first home, experiencing the birth of their first child, the “terrible 2’s” and all the fun that follows.

[Disclaimer: Hold on...I know what some of you are thinking. Does this mean that I think older agents are obsolete? HECK NO!! All I’m saying is that the average age of agents is 52, and there is a large percentage (niche) of buyers out there desiring a younger agent to represent them...and this is to whom my post is directed.]

**What I'm saying is that I believe that you don’t have to wait until your kids are all grown up in order to have a successful career in real estate.

When done the RIGHT way, you can have your cake and eat it too!

By realigning your idea of real estate “success”, by defining your professional and financial goals, you CAN have a successful real estate career and enjoy the benefits of staying at home with your kids.

How?

Without further ado, I present a different business model, a “How To” guide for women with young families who want to begin a career in real estate NOW – who want their cake, and want to eat it too. We’re busting the myth that being in real estate is only achievable once the “kids are older” and you are too… You can make your dreams come true now, while doing something for your family and yourself.

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In this Series I’ll cover:

• Forming your Dream Team – Partnering with another like-minded Mom creates the BASIS of this Business mode.

• The Basics – How to Become a Licensed Texas Realtor. What fees are involved.

• Choosing Your Brokerage – Training, Commission Splits & Corporate Culture oh MY!
  

• Breaking Down the Workload – Time Blocking! This is how you get the part of "eating your cake too".

• Free and Inexpensive ways of Marketing Your Business – with an emphasis on Blogging & Social Networking

• Setting Yourself Up for Success in the Future – When the kids are older, and when your friends just start to think about a career in real estate...you're already on your way!