Why some people DON'T encourage you to sell Real Estate

What's up you guys? It's Graham here. I'm trying this completely new cool camera setup; it's involving my iPhone 7 and this really cool light right behind it. So, I really hope this turns out. I'm making this video completely spur of the moment because I've been noticing recurring comments on my channel. There goes something along the lines of this: "Hey Graham, I really wanted to get into real estate, but so many people are telling me I shouldn't do it. What should I do?"

I also get a very similar comment like, "Hey Graham, I really want to get into real estate, but my parents are discouraging me, and everyone's telling me not to do it. What should I do?" I'm getting so many comments like this on YouTube or on Snapchat that I feel like it's actually worth making a video and addressing it because of how common it is.

Actually, come to think about it, I had the same comments when I was starting in real estate. I had so many people discouraging me, telling me that it wasn't a good market, that I was too young, that I didn't have the experience, that I should go to college instead, that I should pursue something else. Whatever the reason is, I've heard it, and I'm so glad I didn't listen to any one of those people. I'm also very lucky that I had a few people that were really encouraging to me, that were really supportive, and if it weren't for those people, I'm not sure I'd be here today.

So, if I could be that voice of encouragement, it would make me so happy to be able to give back to someone what I received when I was younger. That's it! I'm going to shed some light on why I think people say these things, and I'm going to start with the most logical reasons first and work my way in.

The first logical reason is that the income is extremely inconsistent. Still to this day for me, I'm about 9 years into this industry, and it's still extremely inconsistent. I have some months where I make $50,000 to $80,000 in a month, and I have other months I earn absolutely nothing; sometimes it's way more than a month that I won't earn a penny. Now, imagine how frustrating this is. I will be working 6 days a week, 8 to 12 hours per day for 2 to 3 months, not earning one penny. I am grinding it out, doing everything I can, and I'm not earning anything. It's just the business; there's nothing you can do about it. It's just the nature of the business.

I also have other months where I can earn $50,000 a month for a few months in a row, and that's [ __ ] crazy! Those months make up for all the other months that you don't earn anything. It's extremely inconsistent over the long haul. It all averages out, but you really have to make sure throughout your entire career you budget appropriately for those months that you don't earn anything—that you're spending money without receiving anything in return. You really have to watch out for that; otherwise, it's very easy to go broke. That's the first logical reason why I think people are discouraging in real estate; it's just because of how inconsistent the income is.

The next logical reason is that it's not a steady paycheck, and that ties into the first reason. I think people are very uncomfortable working for something that's not guaranteed. I think people naturally want to play it safe and want to stay within their comfort zone, knowing that if they work a day, if they work 8 hours, that they get paid for 8 hours. Real estate doesn't work like that, and I think that scares a lot of people who like knowing when they're going to get paid, how much they're going to get paid, and how often they're going to get paid.

In real estate, you have no idea how much you're going to get paid and when you're going to get paid. It could be a lot; it could be a little. It could be next week; it could be next year. You have no idea, and for people to see other people going outside of their own comfort zone, I think they're naturally going to be discouraging of that because it's not something that they would personally do or not something that they personally see eye to eye with.

Another reason that I've personally seen is that there's a very high failure rate in real estate, and I found this true to myself. I've seen so many people get into real estate with these images of selling these multi-million dollar homes and being super successful, becoming rich in a year. From what I've seen, 80% of those people never close a deal, and they quit within about 4 to 6 months. I see people going in so strong into real estate, and they just get burnt out super quickly.

They maybe underestimated the amount of work it takes to close a deal, or thought they would do something really quickly, or they just needed money faster than they can get it. There's a myriad of reasons why people quit real estate. Part of the reason in my opinion is that these people weren't in it for the right reasons. I think a lot of those people were in it maybe just for the paycheck or they thought it was going to be an easy career or they thought it was something they could do part-time and didn't really take it seriously.

Those are the people that I see fail. I rarely see someone fail that came in with a realistic expectation of how much they're going to make, that budgeted properly, that really took the steps to learn the business inside and out, and that really just enjoyed it. Those people don't have a problem. The problem is with the people that go in thinking they're going to sell a million dollars their first month and they don't do it. They get upset, they get discouraged, and they quit. Those are the people that I'm seeing that don't do well in real estate.

A fourth somewhat logical reason that I think a lot of people are against real estate is that sometimes it has a stigma of being very salesy; that a real estate agent is someone to try to manipulate you or persuade you into doing something that you wouldn't normally do. Yes, it's true for some people in the industry—some people are truly shady, they're very sharky, sneaky—but most of the people in the real estate industry are so nice; they're so welcoming, they're so helpful. They really want to make a difference.

So, I do feel like there is somewhat of a salesy reputation to real estate agents that some people just don't vibe with, just because it's misunderstood or they have a misconception about what the industry is actually like. So with that said, I'm going to go into some of the deeper reasons why people may discourage you from going into real estate.

The first one is this: they’re afraid themselves that you're going to do something that they couldn't do. Let's face it: most people couldn't do real estate. They couldn't deal with the stress of not knowing when they're going to get paid. They can't deal with the inconsistency; they can't deal with the people. They just can't do real estate. So, I think it's natural that they're going to want to discourage someone who's doing something that they couldn't do.

I think it's completely natural; I wouldn't blame anybody for it. But I think it's important to know where some people come from, and it's just due to an insecurity deep down that they couldn't do that and that they're worried that you're going to be successful in an area that they just couldn't do. I think that brings out a lot of fears for people, a lot of insecurities for people, and a lot of jealousy for people. And that does some stupid [ __ ] with what they say.

They could also be threatened by you. They could be afraid that you're going to be more successful than them, and you're going to make them look bad in comparison. Again, I think it's a completely natural thing to want to compare yourself with other people. I mean, [ __ ] I do it all the time! But that isn't necessarily the best mindset to come from. I think it's natural to have those thoughts, but at the same time, just be cognizant of when you're having those thoughts, because honestly, those thoughts are unhealthy, and you should really try to abolish this from your mindset.

But at the same time, jealousy is a real thing, and if people are afraid that you're going to be more successful than them and that they're going to look worse in comparison, of course, they may feel threatened by it. That happens, but just be aware that maybe this is the mentality that they're coming from, and maybe it's best to acknowledge that it's normal to have those feelings but just to ignore it.

One of the other feelings I have is that maybe people are misinformed and that they're telling you these things based on misinformation that they have about the real estate industry. Maybe they have a totally different perception of what it's like to sell real estate than you do, and again, that's completely okay. They're justified to have whatever feelings or thoughts or opinions that they have. They're completely justified to think whatever the [ __ ] they like, but at the same time, it may not be coming from a really well-educated place of that market or of that industry.

They could be completely misinformed about what it's really like to sell real estate, and again, it's totally fair that they have these thoughts, but at the same time, you just really want to recognize when that may be happening so you can just ignore it. One of the last things I feel is this: especially if it's coming from a parent or someone that really cares about you, those are the people that really want the best for you.

They don't want to see you fail, and in an industry like real estate, a lot of people fail; a lot of people lose a lot of money. Especially for the people that really care about you, they want to just see the best for you. They don't want to see you fail; they don't want to see you hurt or stressed or whatever. They want to see you happy, content, and safe. If it's a parent or if it's someone really close to you who you know really cares about you, who really has your best interest at heart, if they're discouraging you, really find out the reason why.

Are they concerned that you're not going to do well? Are they concerned that you're not going to be able to make enough money to support yourself? Are they concerned that you might not be able to put food on the table or that you may go 6 months without earning a dollar or that you might fall on financial hardship? Because that [ __ ] does happen. I'm not going to lie; that happens to a lot of people. None of us are exempt from that. It happens.

But I'd really find out, especially if it's someone that you know really cares for you and really has your best interest at heart. Find out where these thoughts are coming from and why they're being discouraging. I think it's super important to find out which mindset they're coming from. Is it coming from an unhealthy mindset of jealousy or insecurity, or is it coming from a mindset of, "I really don't want to see my son or daughter not doing well. I really want to make sure that they can support themselves and put a roof over their head and feed themselves every day. I'm just really concerned, and I would feel a lot better for myself sleeping at night knowing that they have a steady paycheck coming in every day, so I don't have to worry"?

Find out which mindset it's coming from. If it's coming from the latter, by all means, address it, and make sure you get your parents or whoever it may be on board with supporting you, because that's super important to have those people in your life that really support you. If it's coming from a mindset of insecurity and jealousy, just acknowledge that. Realize that's where it's coming from and then tune it out. Do your best not to bring it up, not to cause arguments from it. Just understand this is where this person is; it's who they are.

I will do my best to block it out so I don't think about it and so it doesn't impact me negatively. That, in my opinion, is one of your best options to do. Again, I was told all of these things when I started real estate. I was told that I was too young, that I had to go to college first, that I didn't have enough experience. All of that, by the way, is [ __ ]. As long as you're over 18, you're good to sell real estate. You don't need a college degree to sell real estate. If you don't have experience, I promise you're going to have a hell of a lot of experience after 6 months of doing this day-to-day.

If someone's being discouraging about you doing this, find out which mindset it's coming from: if it's coming from a healthy concerned mindset or if it's coming from a mindset of insecurity and jealousy. Once you acknowledge that, you're going to be able to better understand the other person's perspective and then go on from there.

As always, you guys, thank you so much for watching my videos. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me that I see people commenting, that I see people are really enjoying this, that I get thank yous either in the comments or on Snapchat, that I've really been able to help people with this. That gets me so pumped up! I think the other day too, I had like five subscribers in a day, and that made my day. I kid you not, I was so pumped up that day that I was like, "[ __ ] yeah! Let me make some more videos," because this is the coolest [ __ ] ever.

I really get such a rush knowing that I'm helping other people and that people are really enjoying this. Like, it's the best feeling in the world! Like I said, I'm not trying to sell you [ __ ]. I'm not trying to pitch you any program or anything like that. I just really enjoy this whole process—making videos, seeing people enjoy it. Like, that to me is the best feeling ever.

So, if you haven't already, subscribe, like these videos if you enjoy it, comment down below with absolutely anything, add me on Snapchat, because throughout the day I'm posting a lot of real estate videos in our office. By the way, we got this little cute puppy that's in a Pikachu costume. Like, how could you not want to see that? So, add me on Snapchat; you can see the little puppy in a Pikachu costume. Until next time!