By Mike Bodeen · 25 April 2017
I never gave it even one thought that my son Jonathan would follow me into the real estate business. Furthermore, truth be told, I never encouraged him to do so either. He slipped through the back door about 8 years ago, just as I did 41 years ago. Both of us are reaping the benefits of that today. Both of us have a unique entry into this industry. Both of us love what we do – a lot!
For me, I was a Police Science major in Northern California, about ready to attend Sacramento State majoring in sociology/criminology. My father-in-law, Dan, at the time had a small real estate office in the Truckee-Donner Lake area, near Lake Tahoe, California. Dan and his wife went on an extended vacation to Europe leaving his daughter (my wife) in charge of opening the mail and paying the bills in their absence.
Not long after they left for their vacation, one of the pieces of mail we opened was from Dan’s sole salesperson, Edvi. In the letter, Edvi gave Dan his notice that he was retiring from real estate. This meant that when Dan got back from Europe he would be without a salesperson.
As I was sitting in Dan’s office gazing intently at one of the most captivatingly beautiful alpine lakes in existence, the thought came to me. Maybe I can take Edvi’s place? Surely Dan couldn’t turn down his 22 year old son-in-law’s request for a job. But it would take time to get a real estate degree, right? The entrance exams would be brutal seeing as you would be handling most people’s biggest asset. It must be as tough as sitting for the CPA exam which my wife had to do at that time as well. Right? Plus, Dan would need someone right away. Gosh and then we would need to move to one of the most pristine and beautiful areas of the country. How do you say “no brainer?”
Long story short, in less than a month, I was a newly licensed Realtor in California. None of my fears or concerns were accurate. Dan did hire me and yes, I went to a real estate school, but ONLY for the purpose of being able to learn how to pass the state exam. Another description of real estate school was mostly memorization of trivial drivel. The real education would come later, at all my clients expense.
And I realized why professions are called “practices.” We all get our real education by practicing on you all.
Next week, we’ll get you Jon’s story. Talk about “a long and winding road” his story is amazing.
– Mike