Career advice: Going all in Commercial real estate sales vs keeping part time job w/ great benefits while I build my business. Any tips to adjust to commission only life welcomed as well
Context: I’m 24 years old, I’ve been working in commercial real estate sales for a well known brokerage for about one year now right out of college and at the same time I’ve been working with a major airline part time about 20 to 25 hours a week (5PM-10PM - 5 days a week). Commercial real estate investment sales focusing on multi family, so of course we are commission only. The part time job keeps my income consistent. I managed to pick up 3 to 4 listings in my first year that are still for sale, and ended up closing one of the deals on a buy side transaction. Also got screwed on a huge deal my first year, but learned a lot in the process. Slowly but surely I am starting to be productive and gain traction.

I have about $20,000 saved up at this point in time and I would like to leave my part-time job and completely focus on commercial real estate, leaving the PT job would help me get in a lot more prospecting time during the week, at minimum 20-25 hours a week extra to work on building my brokerage business. I don’t hate my part time job and actually feel it’s a great job with great benefits (so hard to give up free flights) + helps me with consistent income so I don’t really have to worry about finances, but at the same time I feel that my part-time job causes a lot of stress with time and keeps me half focused on my true goal. The reason that I am now contemplating a change is because I feel that I have missed out on opportunities and collaborations within our office. Since I am not there full-time in office, a lot of the senior brokers see other agents in the office at all times vs me in there half the time. So they obviously choose to work with them and bring them in on deals rather than me.

I would just want to be sure that I’m making a smart decision here and not jumping ship early because I’ve learned the brokerage business can be brutal at times. I live at home and don’t really have many major expenses on my hand + no debt and own a car cash (2007 impala that needs to be replaced soon), so I believe that 20,000 is enough to live until my next deals close (3-6 months or longer) and I can build up from there. 

What would you do in my situation? Am I jumping ship to early or am I correct in my contemplation of change. There’s not a lot of people in my sphere that understand my dilemma. 

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.
[{"id": "i0840ko", "text": "Looks like you\u2019ve gotten a good distance in so far, so well done\n\nBut yes, I think you\u2019re on the right track here by considering quitting the airline job. \u201cYou can\u2019t serve two masters\u201d and all that. What you\u2019re missing out on (maybe not as much when the pandemic was more severe) is the ability to network in local business events or afternoon coffees/drinks with key referral sources, as well as the ability to just work later if needed. You might say \u201coh what does that matter\u2026.\u201d It matters. \n\nIf you\u2019re asking \u201cwhat would I do?\u201d I\u2019ll just tell you what I did. From day one in the industry I\u2019ve been all in. It\u2019s been 3.5yrs for me and I\u2019m happy to say I\u2019ve built up some serious traction with major projects funding on the regular. But I always knew what my singular focus was. If I needed to work late, I worked late. If I needed to work weekends, I worked weekends. I could do so because I had only one profession and could balance the demands and time pressures across the week in a way that allowed me to maintain balance, generally. \n\nWhat you are gaining by having the consistent income, is offset by the opportunity cost of the time you could have spent building your sales pipeline. What I tell all new originators is (and is similar for you in MF sales): new leads are the lifeblood of your pipeline. Everything you do should be focused on acquiring more leads. Once you have them, presumably your team at your brokerage can help you convert them. But if your mind is focused on \u201cI have to leave by 4pm to get to the next job\u201d I guarantee you\u2019re leaving selling opportunities on the table\n\nSo, if you think you have enough saved up for another six months of expenses, then go all in. See what your potential truly is. \n\nAsk yourself this: how many transactions do you need to complete in a year to cover the PT income? Then go out and find that many more deals. \n\nBest of luck!", "replies": [{"id": "i0j13w1", "text": "Thanks man. Going to decide soon, getting pushback from my parents and trying to respectfully play my cards right since I\u2019m living under their roof still. My parents mean well and just don\u2019t wanna see me struggle, but me as a businessman knows that it\u2019ll help me grow.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i0zd3sv", "text": "I\u2019m 16 months in and weeks away from a good size closing. I think you only make it in this business by being all-in and that helps build momentum over time to keep growing your pipeline. I work most nights (although I try to take most of the weekend off) if you have to, tell the airline 7-10p. Wean off it and quit ahead of your next closings.", "replies": [{"id": "ijcuqnt", "text": "hey, I just started CRE this past week and was wondering if you could share any tips or prospecting tips that you did when you first started to make yourself successful", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]