Real Estate Agents - Anyone have this career?

I've lived in Hawaii a little over a year now, and I haven't seemed to find my niche. I've made friends with plenty of people out here, but haven't gotten my footing as far as a career goes. Ultimately, it lies on the fact that I don't want to go through school all over again (even though I stopped after graduating high school). I've been employed for 2 decades now, and I'm just looking for something that pays well very quickly. I know, it's a shitty way to look at the world, but at least I've understood that about myself. That said, since moving here, I've taken a few "middle tier" jobs. Neither of which require education. The first of which was a retail sales job for toilets/bathroom fixtures. In my "past life", I always did company sales. But I really excel at retail sales because I can connect with people. They want more than just the lowest price and that's it. You want something you "feel good" about, and I can provide that.

When I lost that job for being unavailable every moment when the positions schedule changed, I looked for anything else. I'm currently doing construction. The pay is there, but it's back breaking. I'm filthy every day and I sweat my ass off from the moment I leave the house until when I return home again. This is a great temporary position, but I'm looking for something more. And I think I've found it in the form of real estate.

Hawaii is an interesting market. Sure, the median single family house sells for $795k, but that isn't the only reason. Because this is such a tourist location, there's an enormous market in property management. People own property out here for the sole purpose of renting it to others. And the state doesn't allow off-island rentals without someone on the island managing the property. So there is a sure thing in this market. You just need to be willing to do the work and make the connections that could carry you to greatness. Something where you are your own boss. You aren't begging for handouts in the form of raises from another person. It's entirely based on your own ability.

With all that in mind, I just began taking real estate school. To become a licensed real estate agent out here, you need to take a 60 hour course from an accredited school. Pass their final. Then finally pass the state issued real estate test. It's not a very large financial investment, which is why there are so many real estate agents out there. Probably $1200 after all is said and done. And the state of Hawaii has around 30,000 licensed agents. A little more info is that last year, roughly 5,000 agents (the active ones... Many people have a license that sits virtually dormant because they're doing it as a side job) handled approximately $2.4 billion in property sales. Granted, an agent only receives 3% of this at the most. Usually it's in the 1.5% range. But the property sales don't take rental prices into consideration. Unfortunately, I don't have any figures on rental numbers.

But yeah. I think this is a career that I would like to jump into. I'm a people person that can talk with anyone. I'm professional. I have my lazy side, but I think (or at least hope) that working for myself will steer me past that to the bigger picture.

Are any of the members of this board real estate agents? Or possibly brokers (broker is an agent that doesn't have to work under the guidance of someone else, but they need 3 years experience to become that and a little more schooling)? I'd love to start a conversation about what has worked for you in the past and what has failed. Kind of a learning opportunity. I'm in the process of listening to a few audio books by Gary Keller about real estate. I hope this is a good start.

I was balding. Well, I still would be if I grew my hair back. But as it stands, I've shaved my head for the last 6 years.

The opinions of most of you are "If you're new, just give up." Everyone in real estate that is experienced HAD TO START SOMEWHERE. They weren't born with a real estate license and 30-60 friends that buy and sell houses on the regular. I fully realize that this is a job that will take a lot of work, but it isn't one that follows the typical 9-5 schedule. In some situations it may, but you typically work nights while trying to be a buying agent. At least if you're trying to be a buying/selling agent. There's also the opportunity of property management, which also requires dedication and time commitment, but this type of job isn't an independent contractor type. You receive a base salary as well as commissions on properties (you will manage) that you bring to the firm.

Nothing in life is easy. But you shouldn't give up just because other people have done it longer and have an advantage.

I've been listening to a few audio books, and they're fascinating. I know this career is 100% about marketing, even if you're in the industry forever. You're reaching out to x many people who have never heard of you, just to give them a name to think about if something ever happens.

Branding is a strange thing. Shoes, Beer, Soda, Cigarettes... The typical person can think of 7 brands. That's it, even if you know more, you can really only think of 7. With realtors, you can MAYBE think of 2. So you need to invest a fair amount of money into marketing for the sole purpose of making your name one of the top two people think of. A good idea is to offer small gifts ($25 gift cards) for ANY referral you receive. If it turns out to be a sale or not, always give a gift. Truthfully, a real estate agent isn't legally allowed to give referral commissions to anyone that doesn't already have a license. So you can bypass this by giving them to everyone for anything. But the cap is set at $25. And it can't be cash, just a gift card. Or movie tickets. Shit like that.

So your job as a realtor is to put your name in the head of others that don't know you.
Once you build up a base of people that you know (phone or in person), they go into a different category. A different style of marketing. It's strange, but it's true. This business is entirely about doing cold calls and being able to take rejection.