More than ever before, many motivated Americans are looking to become their own employers. They want to set their own hours and control their workflow. If you are among them, real estate may be an excellent career path to take. You’ll say goodbye to monotony, because every day in real estate will present you with new opportunities—and new challenges.

Before you decide, you should know that the NAR reports 1.56 million active members, and the US is home to another 500k active real estate agents. With only five to six million homes sold annually, this field is clearly competitive and shall remain so. If you are searching for a job with less work and fewer responsibilities, real estate is not for you.

What follows are things to know about starting a career in real estate in Middle Tennessee. Like any other high-reward jobs, there are pros and cons. However, with the right attitude, the right mentor, and a realistic understanding of what to expect, you do have the potential to go far.

Begin With a Clear Business Plan

Right now, you don’t know everything about real estate. Still, it is essential that you create a realistic business plan that details how you will succeed as a real estate agent in Middle Tennessee. While your plan may require adjustments throughout the first five years, you will be able to use it as a metric against which you can measure your progress as well as a roadmap you can reference when the going gets tough. 

Describe your target demographic, list your advertising strategies, and outline the best in-person outreach opportunities in each community that fits your planned niche.

Decide what your goals (both professionally and fiscally) are, write your mission statement, formulate a list of viable strategies, and create concrete milestones and targets.

You should know how much income you will need to get by, but you should also include how much you’ll need to bring in to achieve your dream lifestyle. Each target is useful and motivational in its own way!

You Will Be Your Own Boss

This can be a serious culture shock for newcomers who have only worked in traditionally structured offices before. Many people say they would love to be their own boss, but they may be unaware of the skills needed to succeed in the endeavor.

As the sole proprietor of your own business (and the lone employee for the first year or two), you will be responsible for every aspect of running it. Interacting with clients, finding properties to sell and properties for sale, and completing extensive paperwork are the obvious tasks, but they are merely the tip of the iceberg.

Completing your quarterly taxes, managing your business account and associated credit card, scheduling both your in-office hours and your hours in the field, fitting in your continuing education, and learning multiple new software platforms are several more. Your days will never settle into a routine, so it’s up to you to remain both flexible and steadfast in your role.

Transform Your Contacts into Your Database

At every stage of your real estate career, your sphere of influence is going to be the beating heart of your business. Relationships, acquaintances, and mere connections are all potential people whom you can serve in your professional capacity.

It’s no secret that the larger your database, the greater your odds of knocking it out of the park as an agent. Comb through your phone contacts, social media pages, and email inbox. Remember your child’s soccer coach? Your nail tech? Your personal trainer from your gym? These are all contacts you should enter into your real estate database, aka client relationship management system, or CRM.

These people will receive your marketing campaigns, but it is equally important that you reach out to them individually on a rotating basis to say hello, ask how they are doing, and inquire about their real estate needs.

Texts are just as valid as phone calls, especially if your contact’s birthdate makes them Millennial or Gen Z. If you are from a preceding generation, you may not know that this large slice of the population views unscheduled phone calls as intrusive, alarming, and even rude.

If you want to speak to them on the phone, it’s best to text first to describe your purpose for reaching out and asking when they would be able to take a follow-up phone call.

You Will Only Earn When You Close Deals

At other jobs, you logged 40 hours and were paid accordingly. In real estate, as in all purely commission-based careers, you can only earn income by successfully facilitating the sale or purchase of a home. The hours you work or the innovative ideas you implement can only be rewarded at that time.

You will earn 2% - 3% of the final sale price of a property. Analyze the markets in our area, including property value, number of homes sold annually, and median length of time owners hold onto their homes. Once compiled, the resulting data will guide you in choosing a market niche that has room for another agent and will meet your financial needs.

Finally: Prepare Financially

Never leave your steady job to jump right into real estate without first paying off your consumer debt and saving a significant nest egg to bridge the gap between your needs and income in the first year or two. If your current job doesn’t pay enough to help you achieve this goal, you may need to take on a second job until you are prepared.

The worst way to launch your new career is to bring along sheer desperation and looming financial ruin. Your clients will detect your desperation, and they will find it uncomfortable and off-putting, even if it only feels like high-pressure sales tactics from their perspective.

Start with a secure financial position, though, and your confidence and clear focus on your clients as individuals will put them at ease and inspire them to trust you.