Lesson 1: Patience
I can not believe I am sitting here today writing a blog 5 YEARS IN to selling real estate. It feels like I have been in this business forever but also feels like just yesterday I was just sweating profusely while taking my real estate final exam. Spoiler Alert: I passed ;)
In honor of 5 years selling real estate, I want to share 5 important lessons I have learned each year about this business, myself, and life in general. I hope by sharing these lessons I will be able to connect with some and perhaps inspire others who are still on the fence about chasing after their dreams.
Lesson Number 1: Patience
The millennial in me kinda sorta HATES that word. But boy oh boy has this business, and particularly my first year in it, taught me a lot about it.
Let me set the stage a bit for those who don’t know my story. When I first started in this business, I was just 20 years old. I was going to school full-time, and seriously just trying to afford to keep gas in my car and pay for a Red Bull at the Student Union. When I got my license, I was working with an investor who flipped homes and was thrown into the business pretty quickly. I went from 0 to 100 real quick if you know what I mean. Transitioning into selling real estate while trying to juggle all the things proved to be very challenging.
Side Note: Looking back on that time now I can’t help but laugh. I was the poster child of “fake it till you make it”. I.e. I thought wearing heels every day was required and decorated my cube like my college dorm (pictured here). LOL.
Now back to the Patience lesson— I didn’t really realize until I was in real estate how much of a “long game” this business is. The long hours, the taking phone calls while on vacation, the amount of paperwork…. oh the paperwork just about killed me! All with no guarantees of a paycheck at the end of the day. In my life up until this point, I would go to work, and then get paid. Go to work, then get paid. There was a rhythm to this thing. But real estate is more like this— go to work, go to work, write the offer, negotiate the repairs, loan falls through, back to the drawing board, go to work, go to work, get beat out in a multiple offer situation, go to work…… you see where I’m going with this. The “getting paid” part wasn’t a guarantee like I was used to. This business is not linear and that was hard for me to get a real grasp on my first year in the business. Feast or famine… shoutout to my fellow entrepreneurs who know the struggle all too well!
But the great thing about what one might call inconsistency is that it truly develops your character. Among the sleepless nights and the “do I have enough to pay rent” moments, a deep abiding need to trust God was built in me. God taught me time and time again that HE was my provider. That I need not trust in riches, but in HIM who richly provides. Though there are ups and downs in this business (and life!), God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I needed the pressure of this tough business to refine me to not lean on my own understanding and rely on my own works, but in all ways to trust Him fully, because my Jehovah Jireh is faithful to provide. It was frustrating some days when deals fell through or when I lost a client after working with them for months, but I would not trade any of it for the character that was developed in me. What an amazing lesson to learn as a young entrepreneur just starting out.
So heres me, sitting at my desk 5 years after I jumped in head first to chasing my dream, telling you to not give up. Be patient. Fall in love with the process. It’s worth the long nights, early morning, and excessive amount of caffeine. Your dreams are worth the fight, and so are you.
Until next time,
XO MACK