Hello everyone! My name is Kimberley, and I am DemGen’s Expert of the Month for May.
With this being my final blog of the month, I wanted to circle back to my Real Estate expertise, my personal background, and explain how I am collaborating with DemGen to bring my industry experience into a format partnered with their qualified Virtual Assistant’s, which offers RE Administrative services to the entire Real Estate industry. (Agents, Brokers, and Brokerages).
First, my specific Real Estate background:
1) I am a licensed (and part-time practicing) Broker in Real Estate in Simcoe County;
2) I have been a member of both the Barrie Real Estate Board, as well as the Toronto Real Estate Board (aka TREB);
3) I work as an independent contractor for DemGen, as the Project Manager for DemGen’s newest niche-market “Real Estate Administration”.
4) I am currently working on completing my PREA Certification (Professional Real Estate Assistant Training & Certification). I am 75% completed, and I’m happy to say am working towards graduating with a 100% average. I will be using this certification to further educate our Real Estate Virtual Assistants on the nuances of our special industry, and as it pertains to supporting RE Salespeople.
The world of Real Estate is essentially, in my opinion, an entrepreneurial world, the very same as DemGen (our company) is, as well as the independent contractor “experts” we have on board with us. My career with DemGen is a perfect blend of my more recent experience in Real Estate, and my extensive past background in Corporate Executive Assistance. (Before moving into Real Estate, I held top-level Executive Assistant positions for 12+ years.
The one thing that I have witnessed in my years in Real Estate is that it is uniquely a trade where one must wear many, many, many, many, many hats. And the reality being, not many of us (if any of us), can boast that we are excellent at every single aspect it takes to run a successful business. I have learned that is nothing to be ashamed of, and in fact, recognizing it early is a very critical step in beginning to lay your foundation of business success.
I think many of my fellow Real Estate colleagues could truthfully say that when they look at the people who are most successful in their areas…. they will find there is a very similar common-denominator. And that is, quite simply, that they are no longer operating as a one-man, or one-woman show. Typically, those most successful are the ones who learned that building a team of people around you, each one having their own great talent, is the best formula. And that alone frees everyone up to focus on their one true genius ability. People report they are happiest when pursuing their true passion, no matter what that might be.
Letting go of the reins / control is probably the biggest challenge I would say I’ve witnessed entrepreneurs have had to face. Many times the reasoning for not doing it is simply budget-based…. and let’s face it, it is hard to start up a business and think about sharing the fledgling revenues with anyone else until you are fully established. And that thinking is certainly not incorrect, in fact, in the very beginning it is probably very smart. But, there is that moment…. that “light-bulb” thing …. where some people can stand back and truly see that they are actually now getting in their own way. They are, in fact, the bottle-neck in their own business. No doubt it is a scary realization, but recognizing it and acknowledging it paves the way to removing that bottle-neck quickly and striving for the next plateau.
No one of us can be good at everything, and/or be everything to everybody. That is why I believe the winning formula is to assemble a team around you for support, allowing you to focus on the areas that you do need to, and allowing everyone to do what they do best. As the owner, or leader of your company, you should be concentrating on growth. Working on your business, and not in your business in the road you need to be on. (To steal a few well-known cliches).
In Real Estate, a huge component of it is administration and record-keeping. And truly, a BORN sales person is highly unlikely to also be gifted at day-to-day organization, and/or creating administrative systems. It’s certainly not impossible, but I’d say it is very unlikely. The mind-set, personalities and methods of operation for those two groups/personality types are infinitely different. Both very important, but both are very different.
Certainly due to the complexity of the industry, regulations, the required finite understanding of the laws & ethics – a very special need develops when deciding who to add to your team. And waiting for the perfect team member to come along just never seems to happen, especially while you are tied up juggling all of those balls yourself – on a daily basis.
That is exactly where DemGen comes in. We know what can, and can’t be done within the industry. We understand the regulations very well, even when you might not. And the most beautiful part, we offer Virtual Support packages that are tailored to meet every type of Real Estate practitioner. One-person operations, larger teams, and even fully-operating, multi-member brokerages.
Real Estate is unique in that it’s very progressive, and eternally changing with daily new technology – yet, some very old-fashioned aspects and habits still remain. And that could probably be said for a few other industries still working within that old model.
Virtual Administration makes sense, it’s efficient, and it’s extremely cost-effective. And is, in my opinion, the absolute key to breaking out of the self-induced bottle-neck and going for the next evolution of your business’ growth.
So, I say “go for it” and take that next step, now!
Which is, get OUT of your OWN way.
Kimberley
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