{"id":112,"date":"2014-10-24T15:53:14","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T22:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/?p=112"},"modified":"2014-10-24T15:53:14","modified_gmt":"2014-10-24T22:53:14","slug":"the-costs-of-being-a-realtor-startup-costs-west-vancouver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/the-costs-of-being-a-realtor-startup-costs-west-vancouver\/","title":{"rendered":"The Costs of Being a Realtor: Startup Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Costs of Being a Realtor: Startup Costs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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My last blog post revolved around the monthly costs to be expected by a Rookie Realtor. I received such good feedback and very good criticism at the same time.\u00a0 Based on the feedback, I will focus my future posts based on my own experience working and living in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, let\u2019s get started. My intention is not to sway anyone from starting a career in real estate. If you love it, jump on in. I want to share my knowledge of how I experience real estate on many levels.\u00a0 In this post, I will share a range of startup costs that are to be expected.<\/p>\n

I have broken down the startup costs by line item and by budget and category, respectfully.\u00a0 Depending on the market you are entering, there will be different barriers of entry with associated costs. The more \u201cluxurious\u201d the real estate, you will face more brand competition with deeper pockets. You must strategically invest in your business. This whole business is based on self-promotion and value-adding proposals.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s start with my spreadsheet below. The expenses are broken down to basic, moderate, and high.\u00a0 I personally started out with the moderate to high budget during my first year and I know how much websites, branding, print materials etc. cost. To date, I have now spent well over double of what I have listed in the \u201chigh\u201d category.<\/p>\n

\"Real<\/a><\/p>\n

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First, the real estate course and subsequent fees are self-explanatory. Go to http:\/\/www.rebgv.org\/costs-and-fees<\/a> for more information on these line items.<\/p>\n

Moving on, let\u2019s talk about websites.\u00a0 Your online presents is key and you will need a reciprocity enabled website for your business. Sorry, a DIY website on WordPress will not cut it and would be a huge mistake. Brixwork is definitely my favorite web development company and they offer some fantastic templates for a reasonable cost.\u00a0 They are also local and will work with you to take your vision and transfer it to a brand and website.\u00a0 Plus, their backend is the best in the business and so easy to use. Check them out at www.Brixwork.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also check out other sites such as Ubertor (www.unbertor.com<\/a>) or MyRealPage (www.myrealpage.com<\/a>) for options and pricing.\u00a0 Expect to spend a minimum of $300 on a basic template but you may be able to find a cheaper option. That said, your website is your online business card so why would you want to cheap out? I would recommend budgeting a minimum $1000 if you can on your website design and creating something with a little more pop. The top tier custom websites can run you north of $10,000 so prepare for that upgrade in year 3 or year 4 if your goal is to be in the luxury market.<\/p>\n

Branding is an important part of your business.\u00a0 Figuring out your niche and differentiator will help define your message and your value-adding proposition. Why should people use you over another agent? You should always be able to answer that question.\u00a0 Take your perception of a weakness and turn it into strength.\u00a0 For example, if you are new and have a lot of time, spin that message so that your message conveys that you don\u2019t have assistants and your clients will only speak with you \u2013 that personal 1 on 1 methodology.<\/p>\n

Spend the money to develop your brand, logo, colours, fonts, message, services, niche, etc. Depending on your budget, your branding company can create the basics such as the above or you could spend more money on designing custom brochures, custom folders, other marketing collateral, social media pages, and more. In the attached budget, branding simply reflects the time spent on design and does not include the cost of printing. You will be paying a professional branding company $80\/hour so spend your money wisely yet effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.\u201d \u2015 George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones<\/p>\n

Business attire is very important.\u00a0 As a man, I will focus on the male aspect of business attire because, admittedly, I have never shopped for women\u2019s clothes! I say dress how you want to present your message and brand.\u00a0 I mean you want to be a professional, correct? Own it!Your clothes are part of your brand. I suit up almost everyday.\"suits\"<\/p>\n

If you are budget sensitive, look for Groupons for custom suits. Youcan pickup a custom suit sometimes for about $350.\u00a0 It may not be the best quality suit but at least it will fit. If you already have a suit, go and get it tailored.\u00a0 A sloppy suit is just a no-no. Accompanied by a few good dress shirts, ties, belts, pocket squares, stylish socks, and a nice looking watch, you can pull off a decent look. You can pickup some great deals on shirts and accessories at Winners as well. Find the brands that fit you well and stick with them until you are ready to upgrade.<\/p>\n

After I graduated from business school, one of my professors told me that my first investment that I should make is a quality and nice fitting suit.\u00a0 If you can afford it, buy 3 suits. It\u2019s amazing how many combinations you can pull off with all the accessories.\u00a0 I invested in 3 custom tailored suits, a couple Eton shirts, two nice pair of shoes, a couple belts, and a whole lot of ties and pocket squares when I first started off. My business attire bill is now well over $7,000 a year but it\u2019s well worth it as it is part of my brand and message.<\/p>\n

Lastly, buy yourself some good technology.\u00a0 I am a huge Apple fan but I am a bit of a techy – that\u2019s just me. A smartphone is a key component to running your business.\u00a0 Make sure you have Drop Box or Google Drive installed and run all your business files through these platforms. I can\u2019t tell you the countless amounts of times where I had to pull up a file on my smartphone through Google Drive. Also, if you can\u2019t afford a nice laptop you can still find a decent laptop for around $500.<\/p>\n

I am sure I missed some costs but that should give you a general idea of what to expect.\u00a0 So prepare to save up some starting capital before entering the Real Estate game.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or you can e-mail me directly at nick@nickneacsu.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Costs of Being a Realtor: Startup Costs   My last blog post revolved around the monthly costs to be expected by a Rookie Realtor. I received such good feedback … [read more<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,3,13,28],"tags":[22,15,18,20,16,6,10,27,58,14,11,21,17,59,5],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions\/119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickneacsu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}