Just curious to hear everyone's stories as to how they survived their first 1-2 years in brokerage, specifically when it comes to lack/inconsistency of income.
Also, did you end up staying in brokerage or transition into another role after the 1-2 year mark?
Thanks!
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Are you talking about leasing? Like living off the draw? Or IS and handling hours/learning curve?
Edited for clarity.
I'm referring to leasing or investment sales. More so just want to hear people's stories about how they dealt with the lack of income while getting started.
I wrote clickbait nonsense for various websites at $25-$50 a pop and had a small stipend (I'm not even going to call it a salary) that held me over. It sucked though - I didn't survive, but the money wasn't the main reason.
Thanks for the response!
I'm coming up on my 1 year in brokerage and not sure if I want to stick with it or try to transition out. I'm on a solid team, but pipeline activity is somewhat dry right now, savings are diminishing, and I don't want to get pigeonholed into brokerage.
Is the compensation that bad in brokerage? I looked at the comp database and it doesn't seem that bad, i'm interning at C&W brokerage (office space) in Europe and what they're paying me as an intern is pretty fair. Is the compensation low because you usually get paid by the bonus but as an analyst you almost have 0 bonus?
A lot of times the junior brokers just live off their savings or get a draw (basically borrowing money at 0% interest that is repaid through commissions) until they start closing deals. This can be very tough coming out of school. You likely have minimal connections and need to ramp up quickly.
Also, nice username. I am assuming it's from The Big Short?
Yeah I love that quote! I'm basically ignorant on how the industry works, is an analyst/associate different from a broker in a brokerage firm? Because the only hierarchy that I know is the CW office where i'm going to intern and they don't have "brokers" as a title, they are all analysts, associates, VP etc but they still pitch investments to buy side folks like a broker so I thought they were one. I know that analysts get paid kinda the same way as financial analysts in IB (not the numbers but comp structure) so I guess it's two different roles.
Are you talking about being an actual broker sourcing deals? Or an analyst on one of those teams?
I would recommend trying to get placed on a solid landlord rep team. You will generally avoid the "dial for dollars" environment of tenant rep, and can justify the repayment of your draw by helping the team execute on their existing and future pipeline of listings. If you are good, the team will naturally pull you off the draw and cut you in on splits on the landlord deals, which you can renegotiate every couple of years. I started out on a no-repayment draw (basically a salary) of $50K my first year. Second year started getting cut in on splits and was clearing $100K year 2.
Basic advice: live with roommates or at home, and resist the temptation to blow a big piece of your commission checks on a celebration. It's cool to get a $25,000 check in one day, but you don't know when the next one is coming.
Its sales. Closing deals is fairly simple and straightforward and something that you can learn.
Key is getting pipeline in. Whether thats hammering the phones 100000 times a day or your firm giving you opps, thats where it really matters. If you can source the deals everything else is relatively easy.
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Bro super easy just have rich parents and family friends who are developers/PE professionals and let them feed you deals while all your living expenses are moved through your trust fund. Whats the issue here?
This is honestly the most true advice here...
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