Breaking into commercial brokerage or development in Los Angeles from a very unusual background
Hi!
I am a really big fan of some of the stuff on this forum, particularly the Unsexy Businesses thread and any posts by Heister.
Let me preface this by saying I am not trolling although my story is unorthodox.
About two years ago I was in a back office finance job at a small buy side firm in the Midwest that I utterly hated. The pay was terrible, the hours were long, the culture was the worst experience I have ever had. I had a friend who had successfully started a large affiliate marketing CPA network and decided to try my hand at entrepreneurship. I didn't sleep for several months while I learned how to make a website, how to drive paid traffic, write sales copy, and about a thousand other things. I made close to a million dollars before burning out (this industry is an incredibly fickle beast...most of you will not understand but it is indeed possible to make this kind of money quickly and then never make another penny). I rolled all my money into rental residential real estate despite not having any experience in that realm, with the help of biggerpockets.
With the sustainable passive income this generated I quit the job and did some traveling. I got bored and decided to try my hand in the oil boom. I made a lot of money doing that for about four months before prices tanked and I was laid off. I will not be going back even if it rebounds because that lifestyle sucked horribly, probably worse than investment banking. DEFINITELY worse actually.
I used the money from this to start a dropshipping business on Amazon which is doing well. And did some more traveling.
By traveling I realized middle america is all the same and it is really uninteresting, so I packed up and moved to Los Angeles. You are going to think I'm insane but I sold all my possessions and moved into a small RV to both be mobile and avoid the high rent costs. I love it and would not go back to an apartment.
I am currently training seriously to compete in Brazilian jiu Jitsu because all the best trainers are here. I am also doing some work as an extra on TV shows for petty cash and fun.
In about six months I am probably going to get the itch to make more money, if I know myself.
I feel very passionate about commercial real estate and would like to get Into brokerage or development. Buying all those residential units made me realize I love the biz.
What are the best steps to take to ensure that at the end of six months I am in the best position possible to get an entry level position in the industry in LA? I am signing up for the 3 classes to get my CA real estate agent license tomorrow. I assume I do NOT need to take all 8 classes to get the BROKER license? As I will be working under someone else's name and not opening my own firm. I am going to start pestering brokers and developers on linkedin and in their offices. I have an undergrad in Econ from a non target but very well regarded top 20 school, and a MSF from another non target but also top 20 school. Is there anything else I should do? Any good books to read to prepare?
My income comes in lumps. One month I could make 2k, the next i could make 20k. My personal overhead is so insanely low that I could afford to work indefinitely before closing a deal or getting paid. So I have no problem with 100% commish or working for free as a trial period.
I have been advised by a buddy who is a VP at CBRE not to go near Marcus and millichap, but they were a firm that showed great interest in me in the past. It seemed very easy to get hired and even easier to make money if you weren't a lazy entitled POS. I have read a couple posts on here stating they may not have the "prestige" but it is possible to do really well there and they are legit. I just want to make sure it's an OK place to work, because I am not going to work for some scummy Edward Jones / Ameriprise equivalent garbage.
I have been told to target CBRE, JLL, CW, TC. The thing I am scared of with the larger more corporate brokerage houses is the job dominating my life. I have no problem working twelve plus hours a day but it must be somewhat flexible. For instance,
I could come in as early as say five AM. I could leave as late as say 8 PM. However, I must take off during the middle of the day for 2 hours at LEAST 3x a week for pro BJJ classes. I don't know what the culture is like regarding this stuff in CRE, but from what I have seen so far in finance, it's a giant pissing match and the guy who takes his full lunch hour is ostracized while the guy who eats some unhealthy meal at his desk and sleeps in the office is a hero. I like money but I don't need it at the cost of my well being. Is it possible to work like this at the big boys? If not, is it possible to work like this at the smaller boutique firms in the LA area?
What about development? Any difference in the hours/flexibility there?
It's kind of annoying because it seems any decent job anymore requires you to sacrifice literally everything or you can't have it. But I would like to have a good job and generate some cash using my time instead of my capital, until I am financially at a comfortable point.
Thanks for reading my weird post and any advice as far as preparation and what I should be targeting for my lifestyle would be extremely helpful.
While it's obvious you have the tools to be successful (if your story is true) someone hiring you might be a little wary with the length of time you stay in things before you get over them. No one wants to hire a short term worker because no one wants someone to come have access to their client database and then leave. As far as the work schedule I think that would be tough and really depend where you work. If you work for M&M chances are you can be working for yourself and would be able to leave. If you're at a larger shop chances are you're on a team and the older guys all paid their dues so showing face time will help a lot. Since you're moving cities working for a team would probably make a smoother transition. Also for the hours you can't really call people that early or that late, and you can send all those emails from home any ways. I can't speak for the developers though. I'm also just one opinion, there are guys on here that obviously have more experience and I would take their opinion more heavily than mine.
Thank you
Wow. Tagging while I process all of this.
Alright, so your resume includes:
Your hobbies are:
Wow. You're a pretty wild (and wildly successful) dude, to be honest. That said, you sound absolutely nothing like a commercial real estate broker and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more like a developer. The developers I've met are all crazy entrepreneurial and well...crazy...and you sound like both. (Not an insult)
Maybe I'm generalizing here and not "getting you," but I can't imagine you working for someone, let alone someone in a stiff corporate environment. When I was a CRE broker, I wore a suit and tie every day and was yelled at for both being in the office too much and not being in the office enough (your guess is as good as mine) by some middle aged toolbag who thought he was far more important in the market than he really was. You have money, from the sound of it. You've developed or at least flipped houses. Have you ever considered flat out being a developer?
I know two people in real estate who you remind me of and both are small-time developers with rapidly growing businesses. One has flowing blonde hair, has windsurfed with Richard Branson after meeting him while deep sea scuba diving, and is a bit of a hipster. He moved into a poor area in my city along with other hipsters and predicted that it would be the next boom neighborhood so he started building. He was 100% right and now it's the "cool" neighborhood in the city. The other person did the whole "successful at 5 different jobs for 3 years at a time" thing like you and took a shot at an alternative development using actual shipping crates as both apartments and storefronts. Of course millenials want to live in shipping crates - it's weird, why wouldn't they? He's doing quite well for himself.
Obviously there are impediments such as knowledge base and financing, but you sound like a smart enough guy to work around them and figure it out.
Wow thanks for the kind words man, I am flattered. I think you have a very good idea of my personality type as well so I am putting a lot of weight on your opinion about development instead of brokerage.
Lol at crazy and living in a van down by the river. Both are accurate. Except the nice thing about LA is parking it on the street at night is explicitly legal.
I could definitely work for someone though. I have no problem busting my ass for someone more experienced in exchange for all that valuable knowledge. I DO have a problem busting my ass for some middle manager who knows nothing and just tries to justify his existence by bitching about random things, like the guy in your story.
I don't have as much money as you might think though. While I am technically a millionaire, I am super illiquid and all my financing options for pulling equity out of my existing properties are extremely unattractive. It's also my "Fortress of solitude" and I don't want to ratchet up the leverage til I go boom. So I don't think doing development for myself, especially in a new and unfamiliar city, is going to work.
The good news is, now that I have a clearer picture that I should head for development thanks to you, do you think it would be possible to seek a job at a development firm?
Where do people generally start, what is compensation based on, and what qualifications are needed? I am willing to work for free for a couple months so they can feel me out. This is assuming it's a small firm that can do that...I've never heard of the big corporate ones doing that.
Do you by chance know of the big movers and shakers in this space in the LA area? A quick google death yielded a bazillion results. Which is nice.
After a few years of doing this and making my boss beaucoup bucks, with the skills I've learned I bet I could venture out on my own.
It really sounds like a great idea.
Thanks
Agreed, not the ideal background for brokerage but much more suited for development and IMO that is a good thing. You have to deal with a ton of BS in brokerage that you wouldn't have to otherwise if you're doing your own thing. Concentrate on your current investments, figure a way to raise more capital if needed and continue to purchase your own assets. If you get enough properties or a property that is worthwhile and time consuming then your efforts will be better used for that. If you're looking for broker expertise for a certain investment then see if you can partner up with one on a transaction, you'd be getting both the brokers market expertise and some additional capital/leverage for future projects.
Google death = google search, t9 is morbid today
Your first resource for developers in the LA area should be your friend at CBRE (depending what he does, he may be useful or not).
Ask him who could use a smart hustler with no directly relevant skills, but a lot of ambition, and desire to work and learn. Then ask who he knows that is established enough to be credible, but small enough to want a guy they can pay little up front. That's probably your guy. A lot of people should fit that description in LA.
This. Do this.
Sounds great! That is definitely doable. Do I need to bother to get my license for this? I may do it anyway just to get a better picture of things out west.
But don't get a license to get a better picture of things.
Totam est necessitatibus qui et eveniet. Magnam aut vel vero magni et magnam sed quo. Voluptates hic molestias ipsum. Nihil quos adipisci nulla vitae culpa reiciendis natus. Non dolores numquam est molestiae.
Eaque iure quos ut quia perspiciatis. Sint delectus et non voluptatem non autem velit qui. Consequatur cumque ut odio ipsa magni autem. Explicabo et ut quaerat recusandae suscipit et molestias.
Doloribus nihil tenetur voluptas delectus at et omnis tenetur. Sed vero eius corrupti nostrum quas qui. Rem cupiditate quasi cumque qui. Tempore quia distinctio nesciunt ut dolore iure laudantium ipsum.
Omnis est et occaecati voluptatem similique odio officiis voluptas. Odio consequatur quis quisquam perferendis consectetur recusandae. Vel itaque similique unde est reprehenderit sed. Nam error autem architecto sed.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...