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You’re done. No more. You’ve tried the 9-to-5 grind and have discovered that it isn’t for you. You just can’t take having to go through another day of your time being owned by your boss. It’s time to branch out and start doing what you’ve always wanted to do: start a business.
But the question remains, how do you start a business? Many people already know that a real estate business is often the best way to get one’s feet wet, but few know how to start a real estate business.
In this article, we’ll answer that question for you by getting together a simple guide on how to start a real estate business.
Why is Real Estate a Good Business to Start?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of starting a real estate business, let’s first establish and prove that a real estate business is good to start. The answer to this question is actually heavily dependent on your location. You want your first business to be one where you can easily get customers, that is in high demand, and that does not take a lot of legal complications that have to be navigated through.
As an inexperienced business owner, you don’t have the knowledge or skill set to deal with all of the problems caused by other industries. Instead, real estate can help you hit the ground running in as soon as a couple of weeks.
Become a Real Estate Agent
Naturally, the first step in starting a real estate business is becoming a real estate agent. One has to take classes to achieve certifications and a real estate license to open a business.
Don’t worry—these classes aren’t hard like your college classes were. However, they can be time-consuming, particularly if you want to do an accelerated real estate pre-license class to get your license sooner. Most classes range up to 60 hours at the minimum to get your license.
Become a Realtor
A realtor and a real estate agent are not the same thing, though not everyone knows this. A realtor has taken the extra step to achieve the trademarked realtor certification — not all real estate agents are realtors and the ones who have more credibility than those who do not.
In addition, realtors can have special access to the realtor website to post their listings. This will get more eyeballs on the listings you post when you sell homes, and could even maybe get you your first customer! The fees of joining the Realtor association are most definitely worth it when one considers the return you will make on the investment in the certification.
Start with Referrals
The best way to get your first customer is through a referral. Once you’ve done the legal stuff, you’re ready to ask family and friends if they know anyone either selling their home or trying to buy another home.
Then, get in touch with those people to ask if your real estate business can represent them in this process. Not only will customers sourced through referrals be more likely to be satisfied with your service, but the personal connection of a mutual friend or family member will help them stay cordial and be good customers to you through the whole process.
Get Online
In 2020, the world is extremely technology-focused. Any business that isn’t already online is definitely missing out. It’s crucial that you get your business online as soon as possible. Develop a website, or get one developed for you.
Market Your Business
You could have the greatest real estate service in the world. But if no one knows about it, then what’s the use? Too often, real estate agents and other businesses alike forget that the key to success in the modern world isn’t just having a good product. Instead, you also need an excellent marketing strategy to ensure that the world gets to hear about the quality of the product or service that you sell.
Marketing a real estate business isn’t easy, but it also isn’t complicated. The key is to be where your prospective clients are. Do the customers in your industry frequent certain blogs or publications? Either write articles for those publications with a byline that redirects to your website or start advertising in those publications.
Do the customers in your location frequently Google real estate agents? Then you need to employ local SEO to rank in the search engine results pages. Either that or use pay per click advertising in the Google search results (careful, though—this can get expensive!).
Another unique marketing idea that is gaining traction in the real estate industry is the use of real estate video brochures. By having video brochures, you can introduce your target market to the company that you are and the listings you have available.
In today’s modern, digital-focused world, anything that’s media is sure to garner more attention than simple print.
Execute
The last step is to execute. You ensure that you deliver a very high level of service to your customers. One thing is becoming abundantly clear in this age: customers value an excellent customer experience.
By focusing on providing an unparalleled quality of customer service, you can ensure that you develop a reputation in your industry for excellent service. The more you do to bolster that reputation, the more that your current customers will refer their friends to your business, and the more customers you will get.
How to Start a Real Estate Business, Made Simple
Although starting a real estate business can be daunting, we hope that you now have at least a fundamental understanding of how to start a real estate business. The keys are excellent marketing and providing an excellent level of service. The rest of it comes with time and industry knowledge.
For more entrepreneurship advice, be sure to check out the rest of the articles on our website!