For Brokers / Owners I know that the idea of changing your path is a difficult decision.Is it the right decision?What if I am wrong?What will other people think?I have to admit that I let my ego effect my decision in the beginning.I did not want anyone to think that I couldn’t make it on my own.I wasn’t sure if Exit Realty was really a team environment.I soon discovered it really is.
Here is the good part…you can join an existing office or open your own.I don’t sell franchises so I will leave that to an expert, Craig Witt (One of the owners of Exit Michigan).As for my decision I can tell you it was the best career decision I have ever made and I’ll tell you why.
MY CHOICES
As the broker of a real estate brokerage I had all the typical responsibilities:Paying rent, phones, advertising, accounting, supervising agents and of course the liability.In my early years I operated as a one man show so none of those things really concerned me.
As I gained more experience I realized that I needed to grow the business so I hired agents and as is typical, they came and went.I soon discovered the cycle of the general real estate business. I was not impressed.
When I thought about EXIT, I considered what would happen if I simply closed my existing office and sponsored agents rather than hiring them myself. I concluded the following: 1. I would continue to earn income from their efforts 2. I could continue to work with agents I liked and respected 3. I would give up the liability 4. Even though I made a little less money in the begining, I would give up the expenses associated with having sub contractors 5. In the end…I could concentrate on what I do best…selling real estate
The more I thought about it, the better this all sounded.After all the only real benefit of owning a brokerage is the residual income generated from sub contractors and the value of the business when you decide to sell it. At least with Exit I can sponsor agents anywhere in North America. What is a real estate brokerage really worth?I thought about that and soon realized that the value of the office is solely dependent on the agents that work there. If I sold my office and all of the agents left, what do I really have to sell? I can sell a name, a brand, some equipment and good will. Unfortunately that really isn’t worth too much. Another down side of selling the business is that once I spend what little money I made from the sale of that office, I had no future income.Even if I created a mega office, my income stream would be cut off.This was not sounds so good anymore.I had to find a better way of doing business.
THE EXIT ADVANTAGE Let’s say I didn’t want to give up my company and I wanted to stay in business, what were my options? The only option that made any sense was converting to EXIT. By simple becoming an EXIT franchise I could sponsor my existing agent and benefit from the EXIT formula of recruiting and agent retention. Now let’s fast forward 10 years.I now want to sell that very same office. What is it worth?For arguments sake, let’s assume for a minute that it is worth no more than it was 10 years.I sell the office and bank my money.I’m no better off or am I? Don’t forget that not only did I get the very same sale price, I recruited (or sponsored say 20 agents) over the years. I now stand to potentially earn $200,000 per year by simply working for another EXIT franchise or the very one I just sold.
Over the next 10 years that could add up to $2 million dollars. This bears repeating…you sell your business and still earn income from the very same agents you just sold. It may be less income than owing the business but there is no liability and no downside.
Let's say in that very same scenario you choose to retire completely.Great…you still can earn up to $140,000 per year or $1.4 million over the next 10 years. What other business model can compete with this even outside the real estate industry?That alone convinced me.
Search Property for sale in Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau & Antrim Counties. Find Lakefront property on Long Lake, Green Lake, Silver Lake, Bass Lake, Boardman Lake, Dyer Lake, Lake Doubonnet, Duck Lake, Rennie Lake, Spider Lake, Indian Lake, Cedar Hedge Lake, Ellis Lake, Fish Lake, Brown Lake, Sand Lake, Muncie Lake, Arbutus Lake, Fife Lake, Little Traverse Lake, Lime Lake, Lake Leelanau, Cedar Lake, South Bar Lake, Davis Lake, Elk Lake, Lake Skegemog, Clam Lake, Lake Bellaire, Hanley Lake, Ben-way Lake, Torch Lake. Jules B. Yates (webmaster) - Associate Broker, Exit Realty Paramount, Traverse City, MI 49684 - 231-218-5199. Real Estate for sale in Northern Michigan.
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