Too Good for Up Time?

In my pre-Realtor life, I looked upon the real estate industry with disdain.

Those people have no soul, no pride! Ugh, I would never waste two perfectly good weekend hours parked in an empty house like a bottom-feeder waiting for a tasty buyer to swim by. Or worse, fritter away an entire morning or afternoon as a volunteer secretary (aka Up Time, Floor Time, 'Opportunity' Time...). Where is their dignity? And really, how hard can this job be? The bar for entry is not exactly high. Someone as educated, brilliant, and worldly as myself could surely be running circles around the masses without much effort.

One day during that time I was chatting with my friend Lori, a very successful businesswoman and a pretty terrific person. She's also one of the classiest people I know. Which is weird, because she's also a Realtor.

She's so good, she makes real estate look good.

At that point in my life I was growing dissatisfied with my career and looking to do something new. Lori suggested real estate. I spit out my coffee.

You must be joking--those people eat their young! ...Well, except of course you. ...Hmm. Perhaps it is worth exploring another perspective...If I could do business the way Lori does, maybe I would consider it.

Fast forward through a few weeks of intense coursework and no-joke studying, and there I am, newly licensed, stepping through the door of Lori's office.

I found out very quickly that real estate doesn't much care how many degrees you have, or if you're pretty, or can speak French. That's all well and good, but real estate is more interested in what time you get out of bed, how fast you respond to email, how thick your skin is, how many phone calls you can make, and what makes you give up (or keep going).

I learned that doing well means going outside my comfort zone. If I want business I have to go find it; and when I look everywhere, including floor time, open houses, on the phone, etc....I eventually find it. Some people think it's just dumb luck when that 'random' new client 'just shows up'; but I go back to the old saw: The harder I work, the luckier I get.

I'm not gonna lie, I still get antsy at a quiet open house. But I always bring along a stack of thank you notes, my laptop, and the latest issue of Realtor Magazine so that my time is never wasted. And I wasn't entirely wrong about the soulless bottom-feeders; they're out there. But they're everywhere; every industry has their own version.

The biggest lesson I've learned is that a successful career in real estate demands the highest level of character in the form of focus, courage, faith, integrity, perseverance, commitment, and sacrifice. The best people in this business are people I really like to be around. They are smart, ambitious, and yes, very classy.