Brand New to CRE Industry and Considering Brokerage
Hi all! I am currently in sales in an entirely different industry, but am considering making the switch to a CRE brokerage position and am hoping for some advice. I live in Texas and have an offer from a regional retail brokerage firm that only operates in the state.

1.) I would be starting in the industry later than many people posting in this sub - I just turned 30. I make a healthy salary in the sales position I am in now and am mainly worried about how long it will take to be in a comfortable position as a broker. They are offering me a small salary to start. Generally, how long does it to make $150K+ (given that you are willing to put in the work, etc.)?

2.) What are the pros/cons of retail brokerage vs. other avenues? In my current sales role, I focus specifically on retail accounts, so I am familiar with the retail industry in general.

3.) I am very aware that brokerage is a grind for the first 3-5 years, but once you have built your client base, is there a better work/life balance? 

Thanks in advance for your help!
[{"id": "hoz1mk1", "text": "Retail leasing or nnn sales? If it is nnn sales, it is a numbers business. You make 200 calls, maybe 10 meetings, maybe one listing that closes in 6 weeks. \n\nRetail leasing? Run.", "replies": [{"id": "hoz3909", "text": "Retail leasing. Haha. Why do you say run?", "replies": [{"id": "hoz3n0s", "text": "Only property managers work harder for less money. Do literally anything else in commercial real estate is my suggestion. Retail leasing is having 100 listings, and dealing with 100 sign calls a day telling people who have no business experience that they cannot put a hookah lounge or a water store in your center.", "replies": [{"id": "hoz6vyo", "text": "Got it. That\u2019s good insight. Thanks!", "replies": [], "depth": 4}, {"id": "hoz78r4", "text": "No hookah lounge, lmfao", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hoz2muf", "text": "I suppose it depends on your market, but retail has been hit particularly hard by COVID and the retail leasing market has reflected that in major CBDs. Definitely seeing signs of recovery, but might be hard to hit the ground running.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hozsibi", "text": "Don\u2019t look at it as starting late, a lot of the young guys in their 20s have a harder time starting up simply from a lack of life and business experience.  I\u2019m in my thirties and still feel like I am half the median age of most brokers. Concerning income my experience was year one you just can\u2019t expect anything. Have some money put back so you are not under pressure while you are figuring things out and trying to scrounge up deals. Year two will still be tough but you should actually start closing some stuff.  Year three is when it exploded for me and I was $150k+. I\u2019m wrapping up year four now and it will be my best year, but I am far from work life balance.  This year I easily averaged 65+ hours a week. It\u2019s rough but fortunately almost non of that was prospecting it was all just working deals.  This was the first year too that I probably turned down or referred 20-25 new clients due to my workload and being able to be more selective over who\u2019s worth my time. \n\nOne thing all day is even though my life is still work at the moment and it\u2019s a tough start up, I\u2019m still loving what do.  I\u2019m making good money, working exciting projects, and am excited to see what the future holds.", "replies": [{"id": "hp3a969", "text": "This is really great advice! It\u2019s good to hear that during year 3, things start to click. Do you foresee a time in the future where you aren\u2019t working 10-12 hour days? What type of brokerage is your focus?", "replies": [{"id": "hp4vi31", "text": "I hope so!  My goal for the next two years is start to get myself to schedule non work time in my calendar and try to have light weeks when able. One thing I have been implementing more is trying to cut leasing clients out of my business. The reality is they take up just as much time but the payoff is so much smaller typically. I\u2019ve been passing 75% of leases off to a new guy in the  office. I\u2019ve learned that even though it\u2019s tough to turn down a pay check, those small clients are taking time away from the service I provide my large clients and my availability to find more large clients. \n\nI do a bit of everything but my areas of focus have been Multufamily, industrial, and development across the board so a lot of land deals.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hp082c0", "text": "Feel free to DM me. I started my career on the brokerage side - specially institutional retail sales. Happy to discuss all your questions.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hpcx7kw", "text": "There are a lot more cons than pros in retail leasing in today\u2019s market. As for work life balance, I know several brokers in my office who put less than 30 hours a week in and make 500k a year. I also know guys at other shops who work 60 hours to make what you would be at a salaried job. It all really just depends", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hpfjmy4", "text": "Retail brokerage will expose you to anyone and everyone. From guys that want to put illegal gambling machines in your suite, to wealthy tenants who call you and say, \"I want to lease your space for 5 years at full asking, can we get it done lets get it done by Friday?\". Rewarding but exhausting at first. Until you learn who to pursue and who to not pay attention to. Way more people to call, and less money on the end of the phone. But to me it seems less people are specializing in retail and going multifamily or industrial, so there may be an opportunity? Depends on your goals. What do you think you will like, money aside? \n\nThe grind is there, but it also depends on who you sign up with. Never try to be the Commercial guy at the Residential brokerage. You will have no training, mentorship, and without that, you'll quit. Find the top 2 or 3 Commercial brokerages in your city and talk with them. You need someone to put you on life support with some deals initially, while you call and develop your own relationships. This will take 1-2 years, and you'll start to get your own listings. Once you have some good relationships, you'll be working harder/longer, but this type of work is more fun because you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is nothing like the feeling of closing a tough deal and getting that commission, I don't care how small it is.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]