I wish I had become educated in the area of land acquisition and new construction FROM DAY 1.... I was totally intimidated by both....once I educated myself, I was unstoppable with finding land and builders to buy it....

How tough it was going to be to find business.

How inhumane clients are. You really have to toughen up quickly.

I would have gotten a coach right out of the gate.

How very ugly some of the agents get.

Hi Ken - Who to actually isten to.

Proper, Productive Boundaries

When you are at work, work! When you are at play, play hard!

                                           Never the twain shall meet!

That's some deals are meant to die.

I should have started investing earlier, and did more deals.

You may work in a company, but you are in business for yourself. What you do is a business, so make sure you treat it like one. You are the CEO, treasurer, marketing department, etc. Do what has worked well for the most other licensees who have been in the business in your area.

I went into this business with my eyes wide open.  I knew the pitfalls and I knew the positives.  What I didn't know was that I needed to find my niche sooner.

Everyone lies!

Much like Surpico, not that they lie they just don't know how to tell the truth.

Let me use AR as an example.
Folks offer responses to 'What's best for me to do?" without asking a single question. How can you possibly give a correct answer without asking a question? So the often repeated 'Open Houses are not worthwhile' is a lie married to a truth. That is the secret sauce behind why lies live so long, the truth becomes the host of the parasite.

The tens of thousands of dollars I would still have had I understood that a community bound by a code of ethics is not different from others.

Number one thing? VERIFY.

That is why I wrote the book. So newbies would know how to verify while all those smiley faces are trying to persuade.

Creating a database day one to market

How challenging it can be to find and keep business, and the amount of moeny needed to survive and pay bills before those commission checks start pouring in

I wish I had found my niche from day one instead of waiting a few years to discover it!

How difficult other agents can be.

I wish I'd known to promote myself without making it about me.  Every bit of marketing should focus on the target audience.

More about loan products, pre-qualifying, etc. Knowledge is power, which lead my to get my MLO License in addition to my real estate license. It's important to be able to educate our buyers, especially in a 1st time buyer market. 

Buyers (and sellers) are big liars.

You cannot purchase business by buying leads.

Ask for the referral.

I wish I had known just how competitive and difficult this business can be.

I wish I knew how often people try to waste your time or pick your brain, etc.

To work people & areas consistently right where you are & they will come

I echo what Lyn Sims said  ... minus the coach ... certainly not any real estate coaches. 

Once younstart making a profit, buy a rental home every year rather than focusing solely on real estate volume.

How to really run a business by referral in a proactive, not passive way. But that was way before the days of computers and CRM's.

How to better identify the downturns and prepare for them. They will continue to happen.

How important I think I should to prospect

To learn early on that I do not need every shiny new thing that comes on the market!  

I wish I knew how important consistency is when marketing.

The pick six numbers

Can't answer since it wouldn't be nice for my first broker!

I would have started preparing for retirement much earlier.

Get a coach right away!

Some great answers provided here but the one provided by Dick Greenberg particularly resonates with me.  

Ken's Home Team LLC. | 360.609.0226 | Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA Real Estate Team I wish I would have had a mentor when I first got into the business.

I would have concentrated on new construction and learned about land acquisiton and entitlements!

To get a union job with pension and i would be retired now 

Olga Simoncelli nailed this one!

Experience.

How to find new clients.

Work your SOI, expand your network every week no matter how busy you are and keep in personal contact with your contacts.

Ken's Home Team LLC. | 360.609.0226 | Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA Real Estate Team - how to work by referrals!

That the client is not always telling the truth

I wish I'd known Brian Buffini.  But my real estate license is almost as old as he is!  

That I really could make the amount of money I was told was impossible.

Keep up with everyone you meet through a CRM and learn to stay in touch. Back when I started there were no software programs so many people got lost in the cracks. This is very costly.

I wish I had gotten active on AR sooner. 

     To ask my Broker for a higher split, a nicer desk, and peak hours for floor time.

Ken's Home Team LLC. | 360.609.0226 | Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA Real Estate Team How much time do you have?