Rodney,
Gosh... I have to be honest, starting with no money saved and no time to work the business Monday - Friday is Double Trouble.

Real estate is a demanding business for full-timers.  You're going to have expenses to maintain your license and pay professional dues etc whether you sell anything or not.  Meet with a local designated broker and discuss your situation and see what they can recommend. 

Good luck.

One of my brokers started his real estate career as a full time cop.  He did real estate and his other job full-time and eventually quit policiing.  Best advice I have is to use your weekends to prospect.  Door knock, cold call and get out and talk to people.  Partner with a full-time agent that can work your leads with you while you are working.  Reality is that our clients have to be our priority.  In your case, they can't be, so having another agent to help their needs is going to be key.  

You don't want to quit your job without 6-12 months reserves saved up.

So, find a team or agent seeking a buyers agent and work for them in the beginning. You need to be able to work evenings and weekends so you'll need help anyhow. You could be an asset to a team if they knew they could count on you Mon-Fri for set hours weekly.

It'll teach you the business and help you build a savings. Good luck!

You have received lots of great advice above.  For me, I work mostly within my sphere.  I let them all know what I do regularly and I try to find things that I enjoy where I can continually increase the size of my sphere.  It is time consuming, but as your sphere learns how you operate, they become your advocates.

Rodney, great question. I would say ask your broker what title company they prefer. Contact that title company and ask for a farm of 1,000 homes surrounding where you live where they have phone numbers. Then ask your broker for help with a suggestion as to what to say to these folks as you contact them looking for business.  Also ask for what to say when contacting your sphere of influence.  Then, when you can, contact your sphere of influence and your farm and look for business. In 98% of the US right now it only takes 1 to 2 transactions to give you the money you need to get started. Oh, and by all means, hold yourself accountable. This is a professional business so treat it like one. Show up a couple minutes early, not 5 minutes late. If you say you are going to do something, then don't stop until you do. That alone will set you apart from 95% of the agents out there. And know that here on Active Rain there areexperienced agents that "pay it forward" and are willing to guide you. Good luck my friend!

Rodney,

Given your situation, I would advise you to save your money, until you can quit your job.  You could apprentice on the weekend with someone who would be willing to be your mentor, and be their gopher so to speak.  

I do not know your area well enough to suggest what kind of companies could use your services.  I wish you all the very best!

If you do not have the money necessary to jump in, don't Rodney. You can become an assistant first, getting some on-hands experience while you save up or you might find yourself chasing the money. And that is usually ends in disaster!

You should contact a team leader that might need buyer help on the weekends and potentially some virtual assistance with leads in the evenings.

I didn't have two nickles to rub together and was a mid 20s divorced mom with little help from dad.  I just jumped in the deep end and 29 years later I've been a successful broker/owner for 26 of them.  Well it won't be 26  years until Tuesday, but it's really close.

Being a licensed assistant may be a great way for you to get started - if you can find someone needing a brand new agent to help. Real estate is a referral business and your friends and family are your best source of leads as you get started.  Reach out to them regularly via email, phone calls, electronic newsletters, etc as a reminder that you are an active agent.

In this situation, it may (operative word is "may") make sense to find a producing agent to work with. I am not suggesting a top dog or hot dog agent, just someone who has been in the business long enough to know what they are doing and can handle more business.  Work out an arrangement with that agent, in WRITING, as to the roles and responsibilities, clearing outlining your time limitations, and availability, how you will be paid, etc. ENSURE that your leads and clients are yours ... not theirs. You will likely pay a higher premium for this but it will be well worth it. 

The agent must be one with a good, if not excellent reputation in the industry. Get training and mentoring until you build enough to quit your job. 

I wish you all the best!

No capital may be the best clue to choose another strategy.  Good luck.  Think about your options.  

Rodney, congrats to getting closer to your goals. I don't know how much you know about real estate but if you can spend some time learning, I would suggest you go to Youtube to learn. My second advise is to get a CRM system, realtyjuggler.com is really great and they many videos that come with the system and is only $99 per year. You can try it out for free for the first 90 days. After you have picked your broker, build a Facebook business page which is free. Then contact your title rep and ask for a farm area. They will give you your farm (name, address but no email or phone) and it does not cost anything. Try googling "How to farm with Facebook" or something similar to learn how to farm with FB. Good luck!

You're starting in a hole.  No money, and no time to work.  While we agents do often work well past 6pm, it's unlikely that a newbie would be able to develop a business working strictly after sundown.

You might be able to associate yourself with an agent with an existing business, and they could feed you some after hours business (ie: paperwork, showings, shuttling things back and forth, opening/closing properties)... but you ain't gonna get rich that way, and you're going to burn out both ends of your already frayed candle.

I've built a nice diversified residual income (finance/insurance and a tiny income stream from streaming entertainment subscriptions). This allows me great flexibility as I persue other niches that I really enjoy. I enjoyed real estate as an agent for the most part, but loving the groove I'm currently in, MUCH better life/work situation. This could be done part time in the evenings and on the weekends.

(For the record I'm not signing anyone up for a business opportunity -This is just part of my experience)

I started out highly focused on helping clients with a certain policy, and per roughly 62 individual policies, I receive a roughly $1,000/month durable continuous residual commission. This is what I started with and no longer sell this type of policy (healthcare policy), but the commissions continue.

Not easy, but duable with the right skills.

Congratulations on completing your training, Rodney! If I were you, I would find myself a mentor and work weekends/evenings with him/her. You will want to have at least 6 months of income, preferrably 12 months, before leaving your full time job. 

Working weekends and evenings with a mentor will get you solid footing in the business so that when you've saved up, there won't be that lull (no paycheck) that most of us get when we first start!

Best of luck to you!

Your dilemma is that you need to be capitalized. So start saving money. Learn about real estate without practicing right now. I totally disagree with those who say quit your day job and go 100% all in because in a year you'll be all out. You need multiple income streams throughout your real estate career. You're unemployed in between commission checks. When you've got six months worth of expenses, then begin. Hopefully with a lot more education under your belt.

When you decided to start your real estate company, Rodny Downs Realtor, Parttime Real EState Company, who did you envision your customer to be?
Is your intent to help folks buy and sell single family homes on weekends?
Will you be responding to inquiries after 6 PM when you have returned home from your real job?
I am not sure that is what service looks like in a service industry.
Now there are MANY ways to make money in real estate that does not require the level of attention that occupant buyers and sellers require.
You have options and without more information, I would simply be giving the advise of amatures rather than a diagnois of a professional.
This is why all potential business owners should have a business plan. Without one you end up with a license and ask "Now what?"

The business plan will play a very important role in the broker you will be required to choose
More information needed.
At this point what is needed is an inventory of the skills, education and experience you have.
Then we need to know what hortzontal and vertical opportuniites exist in your world of contacts.
Followed by the resources you currrently in your possession.
Such analysis will allow the development of the best no cost/low cost ways to begin in real estate that may or may not require a real estate sales license.

Join a team as a buyer's assistant that allows you to work real estate on the weekends. Absorb information like a sponge. Save the commissions earned until you feel comfortable making the break!

Keep your day job, real estate can be flexible.

Make your phone calls after 6pm, set your appointments for over the weekend.

concentrate on listings, they take less time than buyers.

You can also start out as a referral agent, line up the clients and feed them to other agents for a referral fee.

Give me a call if you get stuck, I would be happy to help.

Join a Team !!!!!!!!!!!!

Many agents have begun their careers by working part time. 

Build your network and actively use your evenings and weekends to develop your business.

That does sound challenging, and maybe changing jobs with a bit of freedom would be better, or your new career will have a hard time getting off the ground.

Experience, learning curves plus trial and error take time and they produce results when and if they do differently for people at different times. What we need and overlook is: answers that are not written down but learned in time