Fork in the road. Thinking about switching to commercial real estate from residential. Any advice?
I have been in residential real estate for about 2 years now. I live in Florida and the market has been picking up rapidly. While I have done pretty well with residential, I find it to be somewhat unfulfilling. I studied economics and enjoyed closing my first land purchase for a local developer. That land was zoned residential but I think I got my first taste of what it feels like to do business with "business people". I had to learn everything about that land and reach out to many developers in order to get it closed. Not to put down residential but it seems too "dog and pony show" and there is little to no business skills needed.

Here are my choices:

I can stay in residential, in which I have my own office and already have a few people working under me. Even though it's not my cup of tea, the strong market and growing office might be financially beneficial. My broker allowed me to open my own office and get a small percentage from the transactions that are done through it.

I can join a local commercial broker that I have researched. Here is what I know about the broker. Worked in a large brokerage for years and 3 years ago created his own company with a partner/family member. This would be a ground floor opportunity since they have not hired other brokers yet. Currently landlord reps one of the most recognizable buildings in my city (as well as a few others), owns his own building, has numerous listings for sale,  very plugged into the city due to family member being a politician, professional and reputable, can offer me a small draw, will allow me to close residential transactions in order to stay afloat while I learn, will allow me to work with him and his partner on some of their deals so I can learn and earn in the process.

What else should I be considering? I am leaning heavily to switching over to commercial. Any thoughts, ideas or recommendations?

Thank you
[{"id": "cdnly5c", "text": "It's a difficult transition from what I understand.  I've never worked in residential, but know a few brokers who started there.  There isn't much crossover between the two.  However, if you're willing to make little to no money for the first few years then it's  worth the risk for the long term.", "replies": [{"id": "cdnm9kj", "text": "From all the research I have done and hearing commercial broker's talk, I understand that there is a learning curve and a period where you make very little money. On the positive side, I will still be able to do residential transactions if I am in need of quicker income. So I guess that should help me in the beginning. In the long term, I believe commercial is my best option.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cdo1rdc", "text": "What is your networking/contact sphere like on the commercial side?", "replies": [{"id": "cdo8m83", "text": "My contact sphere for commercial is not very large but I do have a few people I know that are business owners and may eventually need more space or relocation. My one good contact has a few million dollars in commercial land that he needs to sell. I did a great job in selling his residential land and is waiting on me to confirm whether or not I joined this commercial team. So I hope that helps me in the beginning, even though it can take more than a year to sell that land.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cdo6tci", "text": "I do CRE in Florida right now. The most important considerations when switching into the field are that you have a very experienced senior broker to show you the ropes and that you have product/clients to work with right off the bat. You do not want to work on any residential deals once you start with commercial, in fact every waking hour should be spent prospecting, making new contacts, and finding your own business. The draw can be tough to get off of and deals take 6 to 8 months to get paid on, and that's once you actually know what you're doing; without deal to work on immediately out of the gate/or a salary it can be hard to set a pipeline up to be successful. I also had a degree in economics and started doing market research/GIS mapping for a few years for a major brokerage firm while learning the ropes and doing a few deals on the side (with my license). What i'm getting at is if you can get paid to do work in the industry while learning from a broker it will make the probability of your transition much more successful.", "replies": [{"id": "cdo8y0x", "text": "Thank you for the insight, it's great to hear it from a commercial agent that is in Florida. This commercial broker I may potentially work for has reached the point where is has a lot of product. I think by product, you were referring to buildings he reps? I'm new to the lingo of CRE. Anyhow, he did mention to me that I could participate on some of the new transactions he has taken on. The commission on those deals would be smaller of course, but would allow me to learn the ropes.\n\nAs for residential, I would not want to make any real effort to spend time on it. In case of emergency, I can do a few rentals a month with very little effort, thanks to the rental boom we are having in South Florida. My goal is to get away from residential and fully transition to commercial. If you happen to be in Palm Beach county, send me a message and we can get together to talk more about CRE.\n\nThanks again", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cdo8zd6", "text": "I do CRE development. One of the broker's I deal with just closed a deal for a corporate headquarters and retired early on his $8M commission. I would never want to be a broker I don't think but if I had to I would go with commercial. Numbers can get so big so fast. A lot of brokers also negotiate a commission on renewals. That one deal could pay you multiple times over several decades. ", "replies": [{"id": "cdo98vs", "text": "That broker hit the jackpot of CRE, great to hear. I know that there are different areas to specialize in CRE, so how does one learn about CRE development? And I'm guessing that it's probably easier to start with landlord/tenant repping for a new agent. Do you agree?", "replies": [{"id": "cdokcdn", "text": "Not sure what you're asking. I got into development almost on accident. Met a guy through another guy. He runs a sort of family office in development. I was the 3rd person hired and now we have 15. I love it, wouldn't want to do anything else.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cduwb8d", "text": "I am essentially in the same boat as you.\n\nI have family who has successfully practiced 15+ years of Residential RE which encouraged me to obtain my license last year.  I've worked almost every side of Residential RE, buying, selling, leasing, investing.  Most of my transactions were generated from my own networking/marketing. I've got a support system that wants to help launch/solidify my career.  All I have to do is \"stick with it\".  But quite honestly, a lot of time spent with small money and the emotional attachments of business decisions is not my cup of tea. Open houses, farming leads, marketing my face, showings...no thanks.\n\nI recently interviewed with a highly respected firm in my city and they are offering an internship position that is paid, albeit close to minimum wage for x amount of weeks, then a few months of directly shadowing and training and identifying my product type forte with senior mentors before I go into brokerage for myself.\n\nWhat should I do? Should I take the leap into the unknown of CRE? Or Should I hang tough in the somewhat more familiar yet undesired state of Residential RE?\n\nAlso, any thoughts on pursuing my CCIM designation?\n\n", "replies": [{"id": "cdyq77r", "text": "do it.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]