ONE LESSON

A few years into owning my brokerage, I was having a conversation with an agent who had recently joined. He was talking to me about his business and the challenges he was facing. He told me how he was struggling to get new clients and his business was not where he wanted it to be. As we spoke about what he was doing to market himself, I noticed how nice his watch was. As a huge fan of watches, I wanted to know what brand it was. After a minute or so, I saw the word Rolex at the top of the face under the familiar crown logo. Once my agent stopped speaking, I asked him about the watch, to which he happily told me he paid $10,000 for it. Dumbfounded, I suggested he sell the watch and use the money to help him create more business. He laughed at my suggestion and today still owns the watch, plus a business that has not reached its full potential.

LESSON LEARNED: Every dollar you spend outside your business is one less dollar you can spend on it.

Having owned a brokerage for almost a decade that was designed to help new agents, I saw firsthand how agents spend their money. Plus, when I started, I only had $2,000 to my name, so I was forced to make every dollar count since I didn’t have any to waste. I kept this same frugal mindset throughout my career, and it helped me make sure I didn’t spend unwisely. When you are just starting and don’t have any income yet, your focus should be on how you can make the most of the money you have. Before you spend a dime on anything, ask yourself if spending the money will get you closer or farther from your goal. If it’s farther, take it out of your cart. Once you have extra income, then buy it. It will be good motivation to keep you going!