Believe It. Own it. Do It.: Your Real Estate Career Unlocked

By Jeffrey Alan Smith

With "Believe It. Own It. Do It." Jeffrey Alan Smith is sharing his journey of business success in the real estate industry so that new and interested real estate agents and professionals can learn valuable lessons and insider tips to enable them to reach their own personal best.

In this book, readers who are seeking a career as real estate agents will learn practical and actionable ways to hit the ground running. From learning inventive marketing techniques, to strategies for closing a sale, to overcoming obstacles, this book is a must read for anyone hoping to be successful as a real estate agent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781737855316

Book preview

Introduction

I’ve wanted to write this book for a very long time. I wouldn’t say it’s been on my bucket list, because as a rule I don’t really subscribe to the bucket list ideology. I don’t think in terms of things I want to check off before my ticket comes due. Instead, I think in terms of things I want to accomplish during my lifetime. And I recognize that many of those things are to be savored and enjoyed; not to be done as quickly as possible so I can move on to the next item. This book is one of them.

Some of my goals have already been accomplished; many are yet to be realized. But I know that I’ve already achieved more than most agents and brokers twice my age. At just 23, I was one of the youngest owner/brokers in the entire nation. I built my company literally from the ground up, maxing out my credit cards and using a modest family loan to do so.

With a lot of hard work and perseverance, my efforts paid off, with the help of my wonderful team. I not only succeeded in building my JASCO Realtors® brokerage business; I also founded a suite of companies under my JASCO Solutions, LLC brand that includes a property management company, a portfolio of single-family/ multi-family & commercial properties, a title company, restaurant, home services/repair company, car wash, a furniture company and an animal sanctuary.

At the time of this writing, my JASCO companies are valued at over 20 million dollars. Just three years after opening, JASCO Realtors® completed a company merger with Keller Williams - Memphis, a local KW franchise, at their behest. Keller Williams is the world’s largest brokerage franchise. As one of the majority owners with Keller Williams - Memphis I oversee, along with a great team, 350+ agents and employees in multiple market centers located throughout the entire Memphis and North Mississippi territories. In 2014, I qualified and was honored with entry into the Multi-Million Dollar Club of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors®. I am now recognized as a Life Member, which requires five consecutive years of accomplishing the MAAR MMDC requirements. I also attained Leadership status in 2018, as one of the youngest to do so in Memphis at the time. I did all this in the span of just seven years, from the time I first got my real estate license at age 19.

Along the way, I learned a great deal about the business of real estate, about people in general and about myself. I consider myself a born teacher, and I’ve always strived to share what I learn with others so they, too, can reach their potential, whatever that may be. That’s why writing this book has become so important to me and why I hope it delivers on all my promises to you.

Like many of you, I’ve faced a number of challenges on this incredible journey. One of them is happening right now; the world is currently facing the biggest challenge of our generation, the Coronavirus.

Even as I write these words, I am sequestered alone in a rental unit in Mexico, far away from my home and family in Memphis. I had come down to Mexico to look at some property to possibly buy in my favorite part of Mexico, Yucatan. But by the time I was ready to return, the borders had closed, and it became impossible to take a flight back home. Like many other American travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic, I became trapped abroad.

Don’t get me wrong. Being trapped in Yucatan isn’t pure misery. In fact, this area has always been one of my favorites. I’ve traveled to this particular spot on many previous occasions. I’m in a little town called Merida, which is at the northeast tip of Yucatan. I’m less than 25 miles south of the Gulf of Mexico, the weather is spectacular, the people are warm and friendly and the rental unit where I’m staying is very comfortable.

Yet, I am cut off from all of my loved ones—including my beloved dogs—except for the times when I can video conference. I’m completely alone and I’m finding it to be a very personally challenging time. I own multiple businesses in addition to my real estate company, and that in itself is a challenging proposition; to make sure that my business world doesn’t collapse in my absence. I have very talented and dedicated managers in place whom I trust, but still, it’s disconcerting to have little to no control from such a long way away. I’m sure that many of you reading this will be in similar circumstances; separated from your work or from your loved ones. I’m not saying all this to elicit sympathy, but to set the stage for the writing of this book.

Ironically, the imposed isolation has presented an ideal situation to complete one of my life’s goals, writing this book. I’m not sure I would have had the time to write this if I hadn’t been quarantined away from my world in Memphis. I have more time on my hands now than I’ve had in a long time. And in a weird way I’m grateful to have the time and the solitude so I can write this book in a thoughtful and methodical way, without distractions.

I can’t wait to return home to my family and my dogs, but in the meantime, I’m trying to do my best for myself and for my future readers. No one knows what the world will be like after COVID-19. History has shown us that life finds a way. But no matter what the future holds for any of us, I know that we will always be required to do our best no matter what we’re doing. That’s what this book is intended to help with. Yes, the book is about the real estate industry, because that’s the business I’m in. But the principles in this book can be applied to any industry. I hope that you get something valuable out of reading it that you can use to improve your business and your life in the future. There is a future, and you have a role to play in it.

~ Jeffrey Alan Smith

Chapter 1

Success is About the Hunt:

Getting Started and Dispelling Myths

If you’re just getting started in real estate, there are several things that you really should know ahead of time instead of later in the game. The first thing you need to be aware of is not to waste any time getting started. The sooner you start learning everything you can about the real estate industry, the sooner you can start earning money. If you wait until you’re fully licensed, you’ve already lost valuable time.

There’s a very high turnover rate in real estate. A large number of new real estate agents quit during their first year. That’s a higher percentage than people who quit during their first year of trying to make it as an actor! This doesn’t have to be you. Reading this book can help you to avoid becoming part of the statistic. There’s real money to be made in real estate and the sky truly is the limit. But there’s no time to waste. You need to hit the ground running.

I wish I could say that’s what I did when I first started out, but no. I was one of those who assumed that I couldn’t start being a real estate agent until I got my license. I mean, I wasted a lot of time and spent my savings to live on when I could have been adding value to myself. I spent two years basically doing nothing when I could have been educating myself and making money. I have only myself to blame. Instead of thinking for myself, I listened to outdated myths about working in real estate. I don’t want you to fall for the same myths. They’re easily avoided and if you don’t pay attention to them, you’ll be a lot better off and probably be a lot more successful.

Harmful Myths About Working in Real Estate

1. The first harmful myth about working in real estate is that you need to have at least six months of living expenses in the bank before you do anything else. This is just ridiculous on so many levels. Not many people can save up that much money. It’s hard enough to come up with a down payment on a house, let alone save up six months of living expenses. If you put your goal of becoming a real estate agent on hold while you try to save up, you might never ever get there. Also, I bet it would be very hard to find many agents who actually did that before they became an agent. They either had the money already, or they had a spouse at home who was bringing home the bacon.

I’m sure that the reason this myth is so pervasive is because real estate is a commission-only job. You don’t make a salary or an hourly wage working as a real estate agent. So obviously, you need money to live on until you get your first commission check. Also, it will be awhile before you get commission checks rolling in on a regular basis. But there are so many ways to get around it that it doesn’t make sense to throw this blanket belief over everyone who wants to become a real estate agent.

First of all, what happens if you can’t make money in six months? You’ve may have exhausted all your savings and have nothing to show for it. Does that mean you go back to working a regular job? This harmful myth implies that it only takes six months to make enough money in real estate to live on. It also implies that if you can’t make it in six months, there’s something really wrong. In reality, it may take fewer than six months or longer than six months. There are no guarantees when it comes to being a real estate agent.

Second of all, you can be just a part-time agent in the beginning. More specifically, you can spend 75% of your workday being an agent and 25% of your time doing a side gig or a part-time job. If you’re hungry and you’re willing to put the hours in, it’s possible to support yourself until you gain momentum and start making money in real estate. Another idea is to get a part-time job working as a receptionist at a real estate agency. That way, you’d be around other agents and you’d get to know the day to day business while you’re still green. You’d also be starting to build your network. One thing is for sure. You won’t get any closer to your goal of being a successful real estate agent by staying at your current job and trying to sock away six months’ worth of savings.

Another reason that this myth is harmful is that you might have had a real chance at being a successful real estate agent. If you let a lack of savings stop you from going for it, you might never find out what you’re capable of! Finally, the real estate industry is full of ups and downs. There might be times when you have money pouring in and long periods of time when you can’t see a commission check on the horizon. You’ll eventually need to learn how to even out your cash flow and manage your budget responsibly in any financial situation. You might as well start learning that now.

2. The second harmful myth that gets around is that you start being a real estate agent on the day you get licensed. Legally, you can’t be involved in deals without a license, but there is a ton of busy work that you can get into, way before you ever get your license. This is the myth I fell for. I waited until I got my license to really focus on learning the business. In other words, I waited until I was living on borrowed time to get busy. If I had realized all the things I could have been doing to prepare for this new career, I would have gotten busy much earlier. I mean, hindsight is 20/20, but given my history of being prepared for everything else, I’m sure I would have tucked my head and started becoming an agent instead of watching the calendar waiting for my licensing test date.

If you’re reading this and can’t think of what you could possibly be doing ahead of time, consider this little list:

•Setting up your home office

•Looking into business phone and internet plans for your home

•Studying area real estate statistics

•Working up a new business wardrobe

•Creating a database of contacts and possible clients

•Studying area real estate companies to see which broker you’d like to work for

•Getting your vehicle in top shape for driving clients around

•Making notes about various neighborhoods in your area

•Getting yourself in peak physical condition so you look professional

There are about a hundred more things you could be doing while you’re waiting to be licensed. The more you get into it, the more you’ll be able to come up with. Later on in this chapter I’ll get into some work you can do even before you sit for your license exam.

3. Another really harmful myth about becoming a real estate agent is that it’s an easy way to get rich. It’s definitely one way to get rich, but nothing about it is easy. If anyone tells you it is, they aren’t being completely truthful. The average earnings of a new real estate agent are only about $25,000, depending on what state you’re working in, how many hours you put in, etc.. There are kids graduating from college who make more than that in their first job. It’s very, very possible to become wealthy being a real estate agent. As I said earlier, the sky really is the limit. The only thing between you and wealth is how hard you’re willing to work for it. Now, working hard doesn’t always mean what you think. Working smart is part of it. But you must work hard to learn how to work smart. If you’re just looking for a way to make easy money, then real estate might not be the best choice for you. If you’re seeking for a way to get rich, but you’re willing to work for it, then being a real estate agent can definitely get you there. Just know that it takes time to build up to it. You need a lot of qualities to be a successful real estate agent; persistence is one of the most important.

How to Prepare Before You Get Your License

Your mindset should always be, How can I add value for my clients? How can I educate myself to increase the worth and skills I bring to my clients? Personally, I consider myself to be a lifelong learner. I’m always interested in experiences, situations and people where I have an opportunity to learn something new. Be it new information about