Real Estate As A Career Or As A Business?

Real Estate as a Career or a Business?

The above conundrum has made gotten me pondering the differences between the two approaches as a Real Estate Sales person.  Are there differences between approaching the industry with the 2 different mind-sets?  

Of late, I have begun to see patterns in the associates who approach the business from both perspectives.

Coming from my personal background as a Coach, some of the work that I have been involved in is in managing the mental paradigms of the client such that we achieve states of high performance.  In this conversation, let us define “states of high performance” as the necessary state of achieving results that are above the ordinary.

Note that in an performance coaching assignment, less than 10% of time and energy is invested in motivation, inspiration, and other forms of “RARA”.  The art of performance coaching work always lies in clarity of purpose, and in this conversation on Real Estate as a Career or Business, it simply means, being clear on the implications on approaching the industry with either of the mind-sets, and understanding its impact on the RES’s chances of success.

I started this conversation with a question, “What is a career, and what is a business?”

The replies I gathered in essences landed into the following:

“In a Career, you are an Employee”, and “In a Business, you are a Business Owner”

What do the above mean?  

Clearly, all along there have been RES coming into the industry with either of the above mind-sets(Why? Because I have personally interviewed them so I can tell).  At this stage in the team’s development, it has become alarming clear that there has been a very distinct development/progression path taken by associates that fall into either of the 2 mind-sets.  Of course there are those that have a hybrid perspective of the industry, and these rightly so are the “caught-on-the-fence” types.

In sharing my observations between the employee mind-set and the business owner mind-set, let me establish a simple perimeter from which to carry on the conversation and derive my observations, in that, 

“Employees enjoy limited reward, and limited liability”, “Business owners enjoy FULL reward, and FULL liability”.  

Hence, in this equation, it is the degree of reward and responsibility borne by either mind-set.

From a leader-mentor perspective, my observations both from business owners and from the corporate world between the employees and the business owners are:

Employees:

A)     Requires a very structured environment which has clearly defined timings and activities

B)     Discipline and productivity needs to be closely supervised

C)     Requires constant guidance, supervision

D)     Does not appreciate the value of “own time”

E)   Are inherently “Takers”, constantly looking for better pastures with the key intention for self-advancement over self-achievement.

F)      Short Sighted, Lack Direction

G)     Risk Adverse

Business Owners:

A)     Requires a structured blue print, sometimes going through the system once, thereafter they reinvent it on their own

B)     Self-driven and constantly seeking to evolve themselves

C)     Requires consultation on a “as-needed” basis

D)     Understands that time is their most valuable asset

E)     Are inherently “Builders”.  These sink their roots deep, and build their branches up to till they reach the sky.  These place self-achievement at a premium, to have something that they have built for themselves.

F)      Has Vision, Creates Direction for themselves and for others to follow

G)     Understands that risk is necessary

On a liner spectrum, it would look like this:

Employee ---–- Employee/Business Owner Hybrid -–--- Business Owner

For individuals stepping into the world of the Real Estate Sales person, the unfortunate reality of it is that the odds of success very much favor those closest to the Business Owner end of the spectrum.  This I have seen from personal experience bringing through associates from their terms as newbies, to veterans in the industry. 

It is an unavoidable truth!!

People will be entering the industry at different points of the continuum, the key to success then lies in two aspects:

1.      Discovering where they are at currently on the spectrum and accepting the implications on their odds of success should they remain where they are at, and

2.      Given that the “Business Owner” and the “Employee” are now clearly defined, this also provides a tangible goal to work towards, hence the second element would be in aspiring and growing to evolve towards the business owner side of the spectrum.

Previously the terms “Career in Real Estate”, and “Real Estate is a Business Owner” have been used interchangeable, with the assumption that they are “the same”.  With the above realization, the two clearly are now polar opposites of the two.  Hence, the language must be clearly used to bring clarity to the distinction.

As a coach, I read patterns with people beyond what is verbally communicated.  Hence armed with the clarity on the distinctions on the above, I would be better equipped to read into where the aspiring RES stands on the scale between “Employee”, and “Business Owner”.

As for the team, this break-through better allows for team associates to clearly define for themselves on a scale of 1-10, where they stand on the spectrum.  In understanding this, it then gives them the choice on which direction their next steps should take them.

The choice then becomes clear,

“To grow?  Or not to grow…?”

Best Regards,

 

Mervin Tang

Group Director

Division Lead Trainer, Project Sales

CEA Reg No. : R030951Z
Huttons Asia Pte Ltd
Mobile: (65) 9184 0208 
Website: http://www.SGrealestate.sg
Sales Enquiry: mervintang@SGrealestate.sg

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