The first time I wrote a purchase agreement on a large parcel of land, I had to excuse myself from the appointment, go down the street to the gas station, throw up in the restroom, and come back to finish writing the offer.
Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck. I had been fully prepped by my broker, but because I had both sides and was dealing with something I had never dealt with before, I was scared out of my mind. Fortunately, all parties involved understood, were patient, and helped me through the process. And ever since, I’ve been completely comfortable selling vacant land.
We all have these “firsts”. The first time we wrote a residential offer, a lakefront offer, listed a multi-unit, the list goes on and on. And normally, after that first time, we feel more comfortable with the process and are able to do it again.
But the question is, do you want to?
#GroworDie is a hashtag we use quite a bit in our company. Essentially it is a reminder that we need to keep pushing the boundaries of our comfort zone. The more new situations we put ourselves into, the more we will learn, the more we will know, and therefore the more we will grow.
But just because you expand your comfort zone, it doesn’t mean you are comfortable. My mentor brought me into commercial real estate. He needed me for online marketing and computer work. His role was networking, understanding the numbers, and coming up with creative financing ideas. We were a partnership split evenly down the middle, so when he died suddenly, I was left trying to figure out his side of things. And although I have done that, I’ve come to the realization that I just don’t enjoy it as much as other areas of real estate.
Can I do it? Yes. Am I still doing it? Yes. Do I want to do it? Not really. So I recently teamed up with a new agent who has a background as a financial analyst, has networking skills, and the time to devote to getting these properties sold. Sharing my listings means I’m sharing my commission check, but it’s worth it. You don’t realize how much being uncomfortable affects you until you finally find ways to ease the discomfort.
Here’s the thing: It’s okay that we don’t want to do it all, even if we can. It’s okay to admit to ourselves that we don’t like something even if we know how to do it. If you pushed your boundaries, gained the knowledge, and decided it’s not for you, then that’s okay. It’s okay to admit that just because your knowledge allows you to “do it all”, your passion doesn’t apply to all.
Think about your own business. Are there areas you aren’t especially fond of that would benefit from teaming up, or completely referring out? Are there specific tasks in your job that you simply don’t like to do that could be done by somebody else? It’s not admitting that you can’t do something, it just means you want to free up your time so you can focus more on where your passion lies. Think about the things that make you uncomfortable, and decide how to eliminate that discomfort within your comfort zone. Because, really, it’s okay.
Amy Gilpin, Realtor, Associate Broker, Manager, ABR.
Fourteen years of helping clients. Six years of helping agents. All for this crazy thing we call real estate.
Production Realty 517-879-4141 Jackson, MI Amy@ProductionRealty.com
