I know this blog starts out with the word “how” but that’s
not the most important question if you are asking me how to get started in real
estate. For me it all started with “why.”
First, by way of explanation, I am a woman in my early
thirties. I took the traditional career path afforded someone with a 4.0 GPA, a
2350 SAT score, and parents with money. I attended Brown University and did
well. I wanted to work in hospital administration, so I felt lucky when a
prominent hospital in New York offered me a good starting position. My goal was
to work for a few years and then return to Brown for my Executive Master of
Healthcare Leadership. It all seemed like a good plan.
The first thing I noticed about my new work environment was
how structured everything was. Not structured in a good way though, structured
by politics, and the struggle for power and position. I didn’t like what this
environment did to the people around me. Those at my level seemed to be in fear
most of the time. The women supervisors and executives seemed cold, aloof, and
driven. The men were . . . well men.
Why real estate?
Long story short, I made serious inquiries to my former
Brown classmates to see if it was just me. They assured me their corporate
environments were similar. Now what? Work in this prison until I retire? I was
too smart for that. I wanted to walk into HR at work and alert them that they
had hired a bunch of psychos to run their hospital but I thought it through and
decided to leave when I found something better.
I wanted a career that I structured, that tied my pay to my
success, and didn’t want Ursula the sea witch breathing down my neck. That’s
why I signed up for a Brooklyn real estate school. After my research, I could
see how real estate was my thing and I wanted to be in the Brooklyn real estate industry. I felt free for the first time since ninth
grade when I began living for grades and titles. I could see that real estate
could be a challenge, fun, and profitable—and I could be in charge.
How real estate school liberated me
At this point I knew what I wanted and I knew why I wanted
it. The next question was how to proceed, how to start.
When I talk to people today, I tell them if they don’t know
why, they will never find a good what. The how is all about using your head.
Even though I had my fill of school, a Brooklyn real estate school was
obviously the first place to find out how.
I wasn’t disappointed.
