Thinking small in starting a real estate agent career is all about recognizing that you’re an independent contractor, and nobody will care as much about your business as you will – EVER. While you will start out licensed under someone as your broker, you may not stay that way. Or, if you do, you may change brokers. The critical thing to remember is that you must always have total control of your business marketing so that you can take it with you.
So, if you like the space on the broker’s website that they’re providing for your bio and marketing, then use it. But, it is crucial that you develop your own web presence from the very beginning. The use of a WordPress self-hosted blog and your broker’s print media that’s provided for you to market yourself and your listings, as it’s paid for out of your split will benefit you greatly.
What you can’t do is to rely on your brokerage to provide all of your marketing, particularly your Web presence. You may think that you will never change brokers, but you don’t control that, and it could be forced on you. Thinking small means always thinking like it’s just YOU in your business. Market for YOU, plan for your own success apart from the benefits provided by your broker.
Develop a business plan that is based on just YOU, so that “thinking small” means thinking smart and always being in control of your marketing so that it’s able to move and grow with you. All of the content you create for a local real estate website should belong to you and easily moved when you move. Running a newspaper ad is only of value while it’s in recent print, while a Web article or blog post can still be generating leads years into the future.
I can’t stress enough that you must balance the services provided by a brokerage with your desire to grow your business. The more you can do for yourself, the better. Sure, it’s nice to have the brokerage running ads for you and let them do that. But, always be looking at how you can grow your own brand and marketing. It is especially true with the Internet. Get your own website up and running. If you get space on the broker’s site, that’s great. If gives you time to build your own site out properly.
Think big about your future success in real estate by thinking small in how you start out and set up for growth. You may want your own brokerage someday.
source: thebalancesmb