Is it a hobby or a business?

Here's a question I've been thinking about...

Ask any of my brokerage agents and they will tell you one of my favorite things to challenge them with is the phrase “Do you have a hobby or a business?” It is a legit question and, to be honest, it is my belief that most REALTORS have a hobby but call it a business. It is also fair that we were never taught to run a business; we were taught ad nauseam that an acre is 43,560 square feet. Important to know, for sure, but not really helpful in running a successful real estate business.

If you have a hobby, you dabble in it. You enjoy it, you putz around with it, but it isn't what you wake up thinking about—how to make it better, how to grow it into something life-changing. IMHO, for 90% of real estate agents, this is what their career looks like. The other 10% have the discipline to take what they love and figure out how to make it successfully thrive. Nobody can give you the desire. But once you have the desire, discipline can absolutely be built. I go to bed at night and plan my next day out before going to sleep. I then wake up and execute it. Do I always enjoy it? 100% NO. But I do it. I believe the discipline comes from the knowledge that people rely on me to do it. My clients, who are paying me tens of thousands of dollars, want to know I am working to sell their home. My husband is relying on me to bring home the bacon so we can have a nice life. My self-worth is relying on it to prove that I am making something of myself and not just a sack of bones trying to get from birth to death. I believe discipline is the driver of accountability, and the fruits of it fuel the joys of life.

But what is discipline? Systems and processes properly executed. Setting your intentions for a project, blueprinting the map of how you intend for it to start, execute and finish. Once completed, evaluate the result, tweak what is needed and then rinse and repeat. Is it sexy? Nope. But there is a peace of mind knowing that if you got hit by a bus tomorrow, somebody could pick up where you left off and complete the tasks you had in motion with minimal disruption. Ask yourself honestly: could your business fit that model? If not, you are knitting potholders as your hobby. They are cute AF, but you, my friend, do not have a professional business.

What is a professional? It is my belief that it is “you will know when you see it, but you know when it is not!” We all know that agent who has snappy marketing but is a hot mess when it comes to writing a contract, negotiating a BINSR or paying their IRS bill. We have also all had that agent we work with where, start to finish, the transaction was fun, concise, on time and drama-free. It could be that the agent just has the most amazing client ever, or it could be that he or she has systems and processes properly executed in place to keep the file moving forward—and can anticipate issues and catch and kill them before anybody knows. THAT is professional.

Building a business takes time.

It takes money.

It takes skill.

Some of those skills are learned.

Some are earned.

Having a system like a CRM that you use helps with that. Create a blueprint of how your marketing will play out over the course of a year in advance. Write down, in detail, what a PERFECT file is for you and then set a standard to ALWAYS follow that pattern. Set goals for the next year, three years, 10 years and 20 years, and then map out what it will take to get to each of these goals. You can do it. It isn't rocket science; it takes discipline.

So the answer to the question I have been thinking about…how would YOU answer this question?

Nicholas Yale

Designated Broker/Owner | Brokers Hub Realty