junekelly

I wonder what most people would do in my situation?
I have the chance to start my own business and the qualifications to do it. What is my business you ask?. Selling Real Estate. In Australia most people work under a license and are Real Estate Representatives the one holding the license is called the Agent. A real estate office cannot operate without an agent.

This is my dilema,

I may have the opportunity to become manager or the Real Estate Agent for the office that I work in now. This would entail a payment of $35,000 pa for managing and I would still sell what I sell now. So effectively for a little extra management I pick up an extra $35,000.

The other way is to start my own business. Ok so it might cost me around $80,000, but I get half of what all my employees earn, minus the operating costs. When I rental role is built up its worth money to resell and I build an asset plus a business that produces an income.

Which one would you choose?

ABCDiamond

Do you have what it takes to be a Business Owner ?
eg: "the buck stops with you"
There are both advantages and disadvantages to being the one right at the top.
Are you aware of ALL the potential headaches ?

If it was me, it's an easy choice, but then i've done it it before.

If you want an "easyish" life, go with the extra money and little responsibility.

If you are up for a challange, prepared to work 24hours a day, even dream about the job, have your first thoughts on waking up being about the job, then .. why not, it adds real interest to life , and "can" even be financially rewarding, although it isn't guaranteed !

podgypossum

Just out of interest... how come it costs $80,000 to set up the business?

junekelly

I'm looking at registration fees, fitting out a shop. reiwa registration for reps, computers , insurance , wages for the first 6 months and cost of rental, desks, light fittings ,tiling , fax , photocopiers, workers comp etc

junekelly

I know what your saying. The thing that I like ABCDiamond , is that the buck does stop with me. When your working in Real Estate you think about it 24/7 anyhow. If I got to keep the profit that I made , I would be able to pay for the business instead of paying half my income to the company I work for and if there is a conjunction I lose even more of the money that I could otherwise be making.

Advertising.signs etc is something that comes out of the Reps profit anyway and technically we are classed as self employed , so what is the risk?. Doing accounts every week and making sure that targets are met.

I think I just answered my own question

Regards
June

ABCDiamond

In the Real Estate game you just need to ensure that you get enough property sales, even when a slump occurs, to cover the rent etc.
I read recently that quite a few RE agents would be closing down, over here on the East Coast, due to the drop in sales turnover. It was only to be expected though, following the massive number of new agencies that had previously opened to cater for the massive numbers of properties being sold. No doubt it will drop back to "about" the same number as there were before.

Good luck with whichever way you eventually go.

Jacko1

Running your own business is very hard and demanding, (I have strted up and run two) especially in a foreign land with no contacts and support.

I would be (and will be) inclined to work for someone else to establish a network etc and find out how it all works for a couple of years before jumping in on your own

PJ

junekelly

Jacko1,

I thing that its really important to have contacts in whatever business your in. I guess I'm either an optomist or a fool , because I believe in taking calculated chance in life. Those that don't take a chance will never get any further than where they are now. So against the odds , I'm going to take a chance...Probably after I've had a holiday first . Sounds to me like a holiday will be a hard thing to get later .

Take care , have fun and make every day count

junekelly

ABCDiamond , you still haven't told me what it is you do?. Seems like you have good ideas on most things. I would love to know what you do work wise

Waiting in anticipation
June

Jacko1

Great attitude you will do well.

I was'nt trying to poor cold water on your fire, by the way.

Good Luck

Paul J

PS we will be looking for somewhere to buy in a few months, could be your first customer!!

walaj

One good way to really assess yourself and the opportunity you see is to draw up a detailed business plan (especially useful if you need to raise finance to set up & run the business).
Include a cash flow, remembering you are now with a business that is established whereas if you go alone you are starting from scratch (unless you have commercial clients - I would assume private house sellers/buyers are not regular customers). Do you have the funds not only to set up, but to finance the working capital especially with initially low sales.
What can you offer to give yourself a competitive advantage? What are your medium/long term plans - 1 agency or a several outlets? You say you like organising holidays - what about holiday rentals? etc...... ie the plan will ensure you ask all sorts of questions of what direction you want or could take a business in and how you are going to acheive this.

A lot of these questions you can only answer yourself as you know yourself, your financial position and the market. - all the best for whichever route you decide is most suitable for you

Jacko1

Sound advice, always do a business plan and factor everything in also cash flow projections should be realistic use worst case scenario and you will then know how long you will last on your setup capital (I know its pessimistic, but at least then you know when to pull the plug)

PJ

ABCDiamond

Hi June
I have done many things. But my life has included starting a number of businesses, and selling them successfully after a few years

Currently i'm semi-retired, but looking for the next opportunity, which had better hurry up and appear, as I'm beginning to get bored.

JAJ

Are you an Australian citizen or permanent resident (or NZ citizen)? If not, there may be visa issues to consider.

Tax is another issue to look at.

Jeremy