Finding your calling

[thedayisbrave]

I'm in my early-mid twenties, and struggilng with my career choices.  Earlier this year, I made the decision to move to a new city and pursue a job opportunity there.  Now, I can be impetuous and strong willed - and this was a case where I decided it was something I wanted and just went for it, without thinking whether it was something I truly wanted or if I was chasing a dream (in this case being with the ex).  So, I recognize now I did not think it through.  I bought a house and am committed to a job.  A great job, really, that many in my generation would kill to have.

But here's the dilemma.  I am an entrepreneur at heart.  I want to build something for myself.  My career coach told me that's what he saw in me but I wanted so badly to be in the new city that I brushed him off.  Now, I am starting to realize that he was soooo right.  I have my real estate license and am thinking this is what I want to try. 

Many don't understand my conundrum.  I think I made a mistake.  I feel like I need to give this job a chance... which I will do.  I won't know until I try, after all.  But if after 6 months, I realize I am right... that I truly do not belong in the corporate environment... I will walk away.  I will obviously line up something (with a real estate brokerage), most likely back in my home town (where my network is, as well as friends/family).  Which means I will have to sell the house I just bought (or rent it out, but not as much desire to do that because it's not an investment property).  The money I lose on transaction costs is not an issue.  I have enough that I can survive while building my business. 

I know part of this is probably cold feet.  Society/people see "going back home" as the safe option, but this honestly wouldn't be.  I've traveled extensively and have spent extended time away from home, so that's not really at play here, I don't think.  In fact, it's part of the reason why working on my own schedule is so appealing.  Also, while a corporate job means stability, being locked into a salary rate also means I will probably never be able to "afford" things I want to do.  Such as having a horse again.  But if I work hard - and I am no stranger to hard work, in fact I thrive in it - then I have a chance to build a life that I want, that I won't *NEED* to escape from through FIRE.

Anyway, I'm just using this as a sounding board.  I welcome your comments and thoughts, and will try to take them to heart, entrepreneurs and corporate workers alike.

[Future Lazy]

Hmm.

Can you ask your employer to lower your salary in exchange for working less hours? That is to say, if you have some savings built up that you can use to invest in yourself/pay yourself for your own time, you could ask to work less hours at the day job in exchange for having the spare time to begin building an RE business.

Just a thought.

[thedayisbrave]

Hi Kayla, thanks for your reply.  I read through your blog - awesome job so far :)

I start the job next week.  I don't know if working less would be feasible, at least for my first few months.  I could try to build my RE business in my downtime before the full transition, but given that I want to do real estate back in my hometown that might be tougher.  But I could at least be networking etc. in the mean time. 

The brokerage I'd want to join would be hiring again sometime next year, according to a friend I know who works there (who could also put in a good word).  So as of right now the plan is to see how this job goes and re-evaluate when that time gets closer. 

[Future Lazy]

Thanks! I'm having fun writing it, and even though I thought I would be struggling to keep up, I'm not having a hard time finding things to write about at all. It helps that I have friends my own age who are all... "How do you set up an autopayment? What's a credit score?" Ugh.


While having your license is good, having your license for a year without using might not look great to a prospective employer. Are you willing to take on a new FT Salaried position and also commit 15-20 hours a week toward building a personal business? Working two jobs is hard, no matter who you are, and being your own boss means you can't let yourself off the hook because a day at the office wasn't particularly easy. At the same time, I'm a firm believer that if you fully commit 20-40 hours a week to doing something, you will get somewhere with it.

So, then, if you're able, try to network and do some of the RE work on the side, without interfering with your performance at your new job. Then, upon applying to the brokerage, you can show some experience or references.

Have you checked out Bigger Pockets? Since you've moved to a new area, that might be a good way to network with local  RE investors to get work in that field, and likewise skim their forums and podcasts for stories about working in RE from a distance.

[thedayisbrave]

That's a really great point.  I'm definitely willing to do that.  We follow the exact same blogs - so yes, I've heard of BP - have even attended BP local meet ups in the new city already.  I will have to get in touch with some people I met there and see if I can start picking their brains and/or help them out in exchange for mentorship and experience. 

Thank you!!

[Future Lazy]

No problem! Glad I can be encouraging! :)

[clarkfan1979]

I really like the idea of building your business before making the transition. I would recommend doing at least 6 months of 10-20 hours a week. My sister is a real estate agent and I am basing that off of what she tells me.

[mozar]

What's the real estate market like in your home town? Are houses selling fast/slow? What is the long term outlook for your town? Is the government planning new investments that will cause the houses to become more desirable once completed? I don't think going home is giving up, because family is important, but you need to look at the facts as well.

So your career coach said he saw that you are an entrepreneur at heart...people will tell you all kinds of things, but they may not be in your best interests. People have given me all sorts of crazy advice. My mom told me I should join the military (I'm a bleeding heart liberal), my music mentor told me I have what it takes to make it as a singer (I hate touring), a roommate once told me that I should really consider playing the trambone (what?). I would rather make a lot of money in my so-called boring career, then do what I please.

[waltworks]

You're freaking out about a job you haven't even started, and you're in your 20's?

Get a grip, see how it goes, and if you hate it, do something else. Pretty easy. It's much easier to be an entrepreneur when you have some $ saved to back you up, too.

Facepunch: you bought a house on a whim, without even seeing if you liked the location/job? Impulse control.

-W

[zinethstache]

Heya, I am an avid horse person. So much so that my desire to have a horse the way I wanted to have one drove me to my current career path. At 22 and newly married, we decided to each have a hobby of our own. I had sold my horse when I was 18 and knew I wanted them in my life, in a larger way, not just going to ride here and there. So I answered a Little Nickel ad to work for free at a Stable that trained and showed reining horses. Not long after I bought a registered Quarter Horse. To support the horse I took on a side gig that paid all of the board. The horse was 2, I trained it myself, got some cheap rides to a few shows and did so well I got "addicted" to competing.

Over the years from that time on, my education and career choices were all about being able to afford to have well bred, well trained young horses I can compete with and make them into nice older horses for beginners (in other words sell them for lots of $$$).

I don't feel the entrepreneurial path is a great one for horse ownership. It takes a 6 figure income to make it work if you don't want to be horse poor, but then you need the free time to actually train and show it (if that is your goal) I managed to work my corporate job, have lots of vacation days that I dedicated to my horse show schedule. I always worked side jobs, ending up making horse theme products that I sold at the shows (it was a win-win). I made alot of money on horses and the products I sold.

Now 25 years later I am out of horses for health reasons, not sure if I will ever get back to owning a horse, I have easy access to ride really nice horses because of my connections to the local trainers and friends so we will see where things end up.

Horses are such a money pit that it is a challenge to think MMM lifestyle and have horses unless you have property and like to trail ride. I sold my last show horse the year before ER became my focus. I think of how much more stache I would have if I had not had horses, but then I would definitely not have the very nice career and my established side gigs would not exist either.

I even trained and gave lessons back then, but the life of a trainer, or horse professional is physically demanding and I married a non horse person. I would have been a great trainer and now that I might not ever ride again, I could still give lessons. I no longer care to keep my "amateur" or "non pro" status and I have a TON of knowledge to pass along to other riders, So we will see.

Currently I am working through my health issues that yes were likely caused by the chosen event I competed in, along with my bad genetics. Years of riding young horses took its toll:) So, its a good thing I did NOT try to train professionally!

So, I know I hooked onto a totally non mustachian topic, you can take it or leave it, but I hope it will give you some food for thought as you work your way through your twenties! Those were certainly fun times for me:)

[thedayisbrave]

Facepunches TOTALLY deserved.  Believe me, I've punched myself to a pulp over this already.  The new location is only 3 hours away so it's not terribly far.  I don't blame anything or anyone but myself but it was a first love type situation & I thought if I moved with him, we  would have a chance of being together... Crazy, I know. 

What's the real estate market like in your home town? Are houses selling fast/slow? What is the long term outlook for your town? Is the government planning new investments that will cause the houses to become more desirable once completed? I don't think going home is giving up, because family is important, but you need to look at the facts as well.

The real estate market is pretty hot here.  I do my own real estate investing and I tried looking at a house that was on the market for a day or two and there were already multiple offers.  There is a lot of building/developing going on downtown as well as in the smaller suburbs.  There really is tremendous growth with a lot of room for more.  A couple I know put their home on the market in one of the nearby suburbs and it was under contract in 12 hours.

Yes, I acknowledge I may be freaking out prematurely.  This isn't my first ever job (worked at a restaurant for 8 years), but my first stint in the "corporate" world.  I know I'm not locked in and am actively networking with people not just in real estate (in both markets) but also other related fields (finance, insurance, etc.) Never know where your next lead will come from.     

I don't feel the entrepreneurial path is a great one for horse ownership. It takes a 6 figure income to make it work if you don't want to be horse poor, but then you need the free time to actually train and show it.

Thanks for your response :) I don't know that I would show competitively.  Honestly I would just love a horse to putz around on, my dream would be to find an older Quarter Horse gelding to take on low-key rides a few times a week to just get away.  But even still, the monthly costs of horse ownership are high... so I've considered leasing as well, which might be a good fit.  There are ways I could cut costs, such as letting the horse be used as a lesson horse, working around the farm for reduced board, etc.  I've thought about "flipping horses" i.e. taking a green bean and work with them, put some miles on them and sell them.. but it still takes a lot of capital upfront to keep them boarded (and I'm not close to having my own horse property).

Do you mind me asking what you do? I know if I stay at the job where I am now, I will NEVER make six-figures... not even the CEO of the company makes that (they are committed to low costs, which means salaries are typically on the lower end of the spectrum).  Which is another reason why real estate is intriguing to me... I might make less than my current salary the first few years BUT I have the potential to make a lot more once I get my biz going.  So it's a bit more of a wild card, but still offers the flexible lifestyle I want...