Career update and looking for additional help getting my CRE career off the ground.
I had posted about six months ago looking for advice on what direction to take my career as I was planning for an upcoming transition.  I got my RE license in NC with intent on going the CRE route but after putting a lot of time into researching the start up process I had to face the fact that my first year I may not make a dime and I just wasn't in a financial position to be able to do that.  I opted to get started in the industry on the residential side to get my feet wet with a faster start up.  Fast forward, I quickly made a name for myself in the luxury new home community market and after only six months was asked to exclusively represent a large luxury mountain development.  I have been in this position for the last two years now and have done really well.  In a market where the average successful full time agent only does probably $3-5 mil in volume, me and my business partner did over $15mil last year and are set to do about $12mil this year.

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This development is wrapping up over the next year so I am faced with "whats next?"  My previous post I had asked for advice on whether to partner up with my wife in general brokerage and bring my experience to grow a business together, switch to commercial and take an opportunity in a large city I had with CBRE, or stay put in my smaller city that I love and join our NAI group here that has offered me a position when I am ready.  A lot of people on here encouraged me to stay residential being that I had developed such a name for myself, bird in hand approach.  After putting a lot of thought into it I cannot deny that my interest has always been to get into the commercial side, even with the challenges of entering into a CRE career I just feel the fact that my interest continues to be in that direction so I will be more likely to be successful long term at something I am motivated to have success in than going the route of residential purely because it is easier and I already have that experience and reputation to quickly make a buck.

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After much thought I have chosen to leave residential, stay put in my city rather than going to the big CBRE office, and join my NAI group which is already associated with my residential firm.  After making this decision the next be question has been timing, when do I make this transition?  My development has a good two years left of sales but after the next year deals will most likely become few and far between as our inventory dies down, this next year will definitely be slower than the last two as well.  The BIC at my NAI office has been saving me a desk for some time, he just had a talk with me and wants me to leave the development at the first of the year and join the NAI group full time.  His thought is even though I will be leaving money on the table at the development, I will have some construction money coming in for the first 6 months of the year.  His thought is that outweighs any money I leave behind as at least I will have some income for those first six months while I am learning the business and trying to get something moving.  Its a tough decision but I think I am going to go for it.  I feel like going all in like that will give me a much faster start up than if I waited a year and then tried to talk the developers into letting me dabble in CRE part time while still working on the development.

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**TO THE POINT....**  I would greatly appreciate some input and tips on getting started in this business.  I am taking the CCIM foundation course right now and plan on doing the 101 course shortly after to help give me some base knowledge.  I plan on starting by building a personal property database of the market to analyze costs and start learning my local market before hitting any prospecting hard.  I believe in being able to provide value when I prospect and I have to face the fact that I just do not know the commercial market in detail yet.  Furthermore I live in a city of roughly 85,000 people so its not big enough to be focused, to make a decent living I will have to work in all areas of CRE most likely.  

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I **GREATLY** appreciate anyone who can provide some tips or ideas on how to get my business off the ground and moving beyond what I have stated.  The commercial group is pretty small and close so I plan on soaking up everything I can from the others, almost all of these guys are 60+ year old CRE veterans with a lot of experience.  I will be the youngest guy ever brought on at 33 and the only one with no CRE experience.  I am also trying to think of ways on standing out and using my skill sets as there are very few CRE Brokers in my market under 50 years of age.  I have a background in marketing and developed my entire residential business almost exclusively by creative and well done social media marketing.  These are elements I already know I want to focus on that will give me an edge that others are not utilizing while I just can't compete on the experience end.  Beyond this I guess I feel like a bit of a lost puppy when it comes to organizing a plan to prospect and actually get some deals rolling that first 6-12 months.  **Any ideas, insight, wisdom, or motivation I would appreciate.  Thank you all!  This is an exciting transition approaching.**
[{"id": "e8x1rhs", "text": "honestly i didn't read your whole post but my advice is this,  go work for one of the top commercial brokerage firms in your city or bust...if you try hard enough you'll get your chance...i started knowing zero, but seven years later i love what i do and am making money...everyone is different but every day of work for me is different and i have about 40 properties i'm trying to sell and several buyers/tenants in repping...good luck!", "replies": [{"id": "e8x3uxa", "text": "I will be working with our local NAI group which is the only national affiliated company in my city, the rest are all local firms.  We have some powerful local firms as well but I wanted the NAI association for the networking.  My mentor getting started in the business is also the BIC and as I said has been very loyal to me and has been saving me a desk for the last 6 months while I figured out the transition.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e8xcod3", "text": "I started my commercial brokerage career in Charlotte in 2006.  It is a very competitive market where lazy brokers will be quickly disposed of...but the sheer amount of opportunity in that city is astounding.  To a lesser extent, Raleigh/Durham is humming along as well and either would be a great place to go.  This is some straight talk, and it's just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt...but you really should not join NAI and do work in a city that small.  I've dealt with NAI guys before and when the had a client looking in Charlotte, they were completely out of their element and I thought their lack of specific market knowledge was a disservice to their clients.  You should find a company with a large property management portfolio (over a million square feet) and spend 6 months learning about how the buildings operate (shadow maintenance engineers and managers)...this will give you a great base of knowledge that will allow you to add value for your clients when helping them negotiate a lease.  \n\nMake sure you read all of the monthly financial reports for all of the properties that the company manages...ask questions to the owners or asset managers to learn why they made certain decisions.  Learn about commercial mortgages and underwriting the value of a property.  Walk-through tenant improvement construction estimates with contractors so that you understand the costs that a landlord will face when a tenant asks for a certain type of build-out.  The worst thing you can do is over promise to a tenant client what a landlord might pay for, only to be shot down because you didn't understand the practical implications of your improvement request.  \n\nFinally...read leases and get a good understanding as to why they are so long and complicated.  Tenants can balk at a 30 page lease document, but it is your job to help them understand why that language is there and what each section means...most of them are very helpful to a tenant because they define specific responsibilities.  But the main reason I think you should have taken the CBRE job is because they are a huge company that has a steady stream of corporate relationships that filter down to local brokers  throughout the year.  Now, your fees will suck and will be cut up and shared with people you've never met and didn't do anything on the deal except to have been a part of the original corporate relationship...but what it will do is give you a shit-load of experience in a short amount of time.  It will be a lot of work, but you will learn...then when you're ready, you can move to a smaller (less corporate) shop with better splits and start working on your own.  There is a really great private company called Trinity Partners that has offices all over the Carolinas and I have heard nothing but great things from everyone who has worked there.  They're privately owned, based in Charlotte, and if I recall, have a huge management portfolio.", "replies": [{"id": "e8xnqia", "text": "I appreciate your input.  I agree with your time invested into learning the market and business.  I already have basically told myself those first 6 months are going to be nothing but learning everything I possibly can more so than hunting business.  \n\nAs for the career path, the main reason I chose against the CBRE opportunity was lifestyle.  This would have required me to move to a new city that neither me or my wife were wanting, and I spoke to a few of the brokers and they noted the first two years they really want you to be tied to your desk for 10 hours a day which gets pretty depressing when you have a 1-2 hour commute with traffic to and from.  Even if the income potential is huge I just don't feel I am up for that lifestyle, or lack there of should I say.  Don't get me wrong, I am expecting to put in 10 hours most days getting into this business, however not associated with the lifestyle of a big city and the problems that come with it.  \n\nAs for NAI I guess I am surprised to hear your comment as my understanding is one of the complaints from local guys is that they can't work in other markets because they have to refer it to the local expert.  I have had guys complain that they had portfolio purchases that had to be split up because NAI did not want them working outside of their market that they were associated with so they would have to refer the other portions.  \n\nI am still open to a potential move to a larger market in the future but at this stage from the research I have done the only NC market that seems like it would justify picking up and moving to would be Charlotte.  There just isn't a lot of drive for either me or my wife to go to Charlotte though beyond career.  My wife is a residential broker as well which I have to factor in as well as the residential market where we live is on fire.  The wife would only leave the mountains for the Beach and there's not really any commercial markets on the coast that I have found that again would justify the move.  I think staying put is the happy medium for the time being at least.  I wish we had a few more national firms in town to compare but if I am going to be associated with a big name this will be my only option.  ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "i34pjxi", "text": "Great advice! Thank you!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e8xy9uj", "text": "i'm familiar with NAI, as we have one where i live too...sounds like a good place to start, hustle, cold call, make a lot of mistakes, and always be moving aka doing something productive...don't hide behind email and get on the phone...and network with other agents your age", "replies": [{"id": "e8y5jcv", "text": "Thanks!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e9axz2i", "text": "If you are getting into commercial real estate make sure you have some money set aside. While it can be lucrative it does take some time to get ramped up and start making money.  For example with residential homes the deal cycle might be 30-45 days from beginning to close. In commercial real estate depending on the deal scope..........could take 30-60 days up to 6-18 months.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nStart with one niche and become an expert at that before expanding. I've seen too many agents that are a jack of all trades. I've specialized in commercial leasing for the last 13 years. and do commercial sales when it makes business sense for my clients.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nBe prepared to generate your own leads no matter if you join a big firm or work for yourself. If you join a big brokerage firm they might give you a few leads however at the end of the day it's up to you.  Get on the internet. I generate a lot of leads from LinkedIn and from people who search for space (office, retail, warehouse) online. \n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\n[How to become a commercial real estate agent](https://www.austintenantadvisors.com/blog/how-to-become-a-licensed-commercial-real-estate-agent/)", "replies": [{"id": "e9b74lm", "text": "Thank you for the valuable response.  I am going into expecting to most likely not get a pay check the first 12 months.  I have a little money set aside as well as a wife to help out with general bills if it gets tight.  Also a big reason for my timing in starting Jan 1st is in the coming 12 months I should have roughly $30k coming in from previous construction contracts in residential.  I figured this will help reduce some of that stress the first year getting started up as I will at least have some money coming in to help out.  Either way its going to be tight and a challenge without a doubt.\n\nAs for specializing our market just isn't big enough to specialize in so I will need to do a bit of everything, however I plan on starting with a focus on one thing at a time so it becomes a bit more manageable to learn the market in each of those specifics.  Do you think that's a good plan?\n\nI have a background in marketing so I plan on hitting the social media marketing hard as well as good ol hand shaking and cold calling.  I am already designing a website so I have detailed info on myself and a landing page to drive traffic to me specifically, a blog, partnering with my wife on a monthly youtube real estate market update for our area, etc.  Curious how you utilize LinkedIn?  As for company leads I do get 6 hours of front desk and phone time every week to gain leads as well as NAI referrals but I am not counting on anything from these and they want you to put some time into the market before you get either of these opportunities.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "i34on9t", "text": "&gt;people who search for space (office, retail, warehouse) online.\n\nAre you doing this with Google AdWords? Any tips on adwords or targets you've found to be most effective? What % of my marketing budget should I throw at this specific channel initially when first starting out in CRE? Thank you!\n\nHannah", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]