Careers Business Ownership New Real Estate Agent Business Plan Activities Print Business Ownership Industries Real Estate Retail Small Business Restauranting Nonprofit Organizations Landlords Import/Export Business Freelancing & Consulting Franchises Food & Beverage Event Planning eBay E-commerce Construction Operations & Success Becoming an Owner By James Kimmons James Kimmons Jim Kimmons is a real estate broker and author of multiple books on the topic. He has written hundreds of articles about how real estate works and how to use it as an investment and small business. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 11/20/19 Beginning a new career as a real estate agent is exciting and you'll want to hit the ground running. Your long-term success depends on many things, but a good beginning real estate business plan is one of the most important steps you can take. Don't let your excitement and enthusiasm to get with a client right away keep you from the all-important business planning and budgeting tasks. Using tools and instructions will help you to focus on important business practices and get a fast start on building your prospect base without spending a lot of money. Many Try and Many Fail A huge number of new agents fail in their first two years. Their average commission income can't support full-time activity. Some are part-time realtors. These part-timers make even less money because it's very difficult to schedule customer contact and help when you have another job. New entrants into real estate practice must understand that they are independent contractors. You are and own your business. Just because the law says or you choose to hang your license with a broker, you do not want to become only a piece of that broker's business and marketing. Sure, you want to take advantage of the services and marketing offered by your broker. But, you should immediately begin to market yourself and your business separate from your broker. This means having a website and blog of your own. 01 of 06 Meet Your Peers and Ask the Right Questions Cavan Images / Iconica / Getty Images When you haven't done it before, some of the data items you need in order to budget and plan your marketing activities are quite difficult to come by. Get to know the other agents in your office, listen and ask questions. Take everything with a critical eye. Don't just believe it's right because a veteran tells you so. Sometimes marginal marketing stuff only works because the agent is already established and popular. Analyze what you hear with a question as to how it would work for a newbie. 02 of 06 Jumpstart Your Prospect List Just about any successful agent will tell you that the sphere of influence contact list you build is your most important asset. Find out how to get it off the ground fast. It's not just about how many people are in your contact list that may do a real estate transaction. It's also about how many people they know and if they could become a source of referral business in the future. 03 of 06 Get Your Costs Nailed Down Knowing what you need to realize in commission revenues in order to pay your business and personal obligations is quite important. Use this spreadsheet approach for a fast detailed expense analysis. 04 of 06 Make a Marketing Plan and Budget What are you going to do to generate business? How much will it cost and will it be effective? Find out how to construct your marketing plan and budget. 05 of 06 Filling Your Sales Funnel for Commission Results Use this spreadsheet plan to analyze the expected commission returns from your marketing and prospect types. Use it to adjust your plan for the best results. Learn what you need to do daily to make it happen. 06 of 06 Read "Up and Running in 30 Days" This great book provides you with new real estate agent startup information, tips, practices and more.