Seeking Honest Feedback: Transitioning from Real Estate to a New Business

[business224]

Hello everyone,

I'm reaching out for some honest feedback and advice regarding a significant career transition I'm considering. For the past 9 years, I've poured my heart and soul into building a successful real estate team. While it's brought some financial success, it's also been rife with stress and headaches. Frankly, I feel like I've invested all this time into building a hot dog stand – not exactly scalable or sellable, and definitely not providing the freedom and flexibility I desire.

I'm now at a crossroads and committed to shifting into a new business venture that aligns with what I truly value: location independence, scalability, recurring income, and the ability to eventually sell for a multiple once it's successful.

In the past few years, I've dabbled in affiliate marketing and YouTube, which have scaled to a modest income of $2,000-$2,500 per month. However, my attempts to launch digital info products from this traffic have been unsuccessful. Now, I'm torn between two paths: doubling down on online business and scaling up to a substantial income through products, or transitioning into building an insurance agency, leveraging the skills I've honed in building my real estate team.

At 31, I feel the weight of time pressing on me. I can't afford to climb the wrong mountain again.

I'd deeply appreciate any honest feedback, insights, or advice from those who've navigated similar career transitions or have expertise in these fields. What path do you think would be most promising for someone in my position?

Thank you in advance for your wisdom and guidance.

 

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[REV5028]

I can relate. I spent 8 years pursuing a Master's and Doctorate for something that I really really don't want to do anymore. At 32, I'm also feeling a sense of urgency and fear of wasting time. For me personally, it took several months to switch from panicked thoughts of money chasing to what I can do to actually provide value, especially doing something I really enjoy and care about. I'm still struggling with slowing down and being happy in the moment, but I keep reminding myself that chances are good that I'll live to see 64 - a whole current lifetime ahead of where I am now. And this time I don't have to spend time learning how to literally walk and talk, and I won't be spending my time and money going through 13 years of college because I liked it just enough and didn't know what else I'd do. I've also been realizing that not all of that time was wasted. I'm finding I have more transferable skills than I realized. It sounds like you have a great foundational skillset already for whatever you choose to pursue next. I can't (and won't) tell you what you should choose. For me, I find that I am much more motivated, think much more creatively, and am much less likely to listen to naysayers, and I feel I'll get further faster doing something that I really really care about.

 

[Jobless]

Compare both options using the CENTS framework.

Compare the business models, margins, overhead, competition, reliance on employees, % of revenue that is recurring etc.

Arrange a lunch or meeting with someone 10-20 years older than you, in both industries. Do you admire what they have accomplished or not?

Can you combine insurance and real estate in some way?

Is there a way to pivot not just yourself, but also your team and digital assets towards insurance?