Not all dreams are possible. I realized this in 9th grade when trying out for the high school basketball team. Though I was a dominating presence in the post in elementary and middle school as a 6 ft center, as I turned up for tryouts in high school and went up against guys who were 6'6 and 6'7, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to overcome my physical limitations pretty quickly.
I see young entrepreneurs often who are hell bent on chasing their "dream". While this is a warm and fuzzy idea, the truth is that not everyone is meant to make their living in the field they are most passionate in. You can be a real estate developer AND a triathlete. Just because you love competing in triathlons doesn't mean you have to start a new triathlon in your city.
I struggled with this idea for years as I was in real estate sales, a field I wasn't super interested in. I loved the houses, I loved finding the deals, but I hated talking to picky clients about how the walls were a shade too dark, how the location was 3 minutes too far from the interstate, etc. I always felt as if I was trying to get my clients to see the bigger picture which I became good at, but was a constant battle that took a whole lot of time and energy.
I thought that maybe real estate wasn't right for me and in the process of 5 years launched a few different business ideas, only one e-commerce store was a success. What I realized however was that I disliked the monotony of the e-commerce business I ran just as much as I disliked the customer service in the real estate industry.
I doubled down and went back into real estate, determined to make money in a different manner. I wanted an income that didn't require my nights and weekends spent looking at homes with picky buyers. I found my niche finally in 2015 and launched a property valuation business that I've now expanded into 5 states and 2 more coming by years end. I managed to create an income that was not reliant on my physical presence and now enables me to travel and work from anywhere with WiFi.
My point is that it is great to have dreams and it is essential to have a career that creates enough money to live. These things need not be connected, but they can be if you are creative and uncompromising in your principals. I decided that whatever niche I got into it had to be one that allowed me to work remotely and because of this I structured my business in a way that could be easily expanded and replicated. If I would have sacrificed and took on some of the work myself to increase profits, this model would have ultimately not been so easily replicated.
I see young entrepreneurs often who are hell bent on chasing their "dream". While this is a warm and fuzzy idea, the truth is that not everyone is meant to make their living in the field they are most passionate in. You can be a real estate developer AND a triathlete. Just because you love competing in triathlons doesn't mean you have to start a new triathlon in your city.
I struggled with this idea for years as I was in real estate sales, a field I wasn't super interested in. I loved the houses, I loved finding the deals, but I hated talking to picky clients about how the walls were a shade too dark, how the location was 3 minutes too far from the interstate, etc. I always felt as if I was trying to get my clients to see the bigger picture which I became good at, but was a constant battle that took a whole lot of time and energy.
I thought that maybe real estate wasn't right for me and in the process of 5 years launched a few different business ideas, only one e-commerce store was a success. What I realized however was that I disliked the monotony of the e-commerce business I ran just as much as I disliked the customer service in the real estate industry.
I doubled down and went back into real estate, determined to make money in a different manner. I wanted an income that didn't require my nights and weekends spent looking at homes with picky buyers. I found my niche finally in 2015 and launched a property valuation business that I've now expanded into 5 states and 2 more coming by years end. I managed to create an income that was not reliant on my physical presence and now enables me to travel and work from anywhere with WiFi.
My point is that it is great to have dreams and it is essential to have a career that creates enough money to live. These things need not be connected, but they can be if you are creative and uncompromising in your principals. I decided that whatever niche I got into it had to be one that allowed me to work remotely and because of this I structured my business in a way that could be easily expanded and replicated. If I would have sacrificed and took on some of the work myself to increase profits, this model would have ultimately not been so easily replicated.
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