3 “Must-Haves” to Create a Successful Real Estate Business
dotloop
September 13, 2017 | comments
Whether you’re building a real estate brokerage or a tech company, the entrepreneur’s road is often bumpy and full of unforeseen twists and turns. During a recent fireside chat about entrepreneurship at Startup Tea Talk in San Francisco, Austin Allison, Founder and General Manager of dotloop, shared a few pieces of advice that are relevant no matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey.
1. Build something you believe in
“The work is 24/7. If you love it and you’re pursuing something you believe in, what could be torture is actually an adrenaline rush.”
Regardless of the industry, long and late working hours are commonplace when you’re building a business from the ground up. And while there are a number of reasons you might be pursuing an entrepreneurial dream, passion is vital to withstanding the taxing workload.
For Austin, dotloop was the solution to years of slogging through the extremely dated real estate process. The fact that agents had to frantically haul paperwork all over the city seemed ludicrous in the digital age, and the additional stress that clients faced as they struggled to coordinate with real estate agents — while juggling insurance, loans, inspections, and appraisals — added unnecessary friction to the home-buying and selling processes. Launching dotloop meant making life easier for millions of people within the real estate ecosystem, a goal that ultimately made the late nights and hours of work worth it for him.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask smart people for help
“Most successful people enjoy giving advice.”
Starting a business means becoming a leader. However, this doesn’t mean you’re required to have all the answers. As Austin was building dotloop, he ran into all sorts of roadblocks and difficult questions along the way. In order learn and grow as a business leader, he sought advice from various successful entrepreneurs he crossed paths with.
During one particularly memorable conversation early in his career, Austin remembers asking why this busy entrepreneur had chosen to take the time to speak with him. The entrepreneur’s response was surprisingly simple: he enjoyed passing his institutional knowledge on to others, and he liked to see them advance and succeed.
Today, Austin still has multiple advisors and several coaches he leans on for career and entrepreneurial advice.
3. Hire great people
“When you have the right people, they figure stuff out.”
People are the key to a company or product’s success, whether in real estate or any other industry. Especially given the long hours and energy needed to build a company, the people you hire should be ones you’re happy to spend early mornings and late nights with. Talent and drive cannot be stressed enough – these hires will be the ones molding your ideas into reality.
Investing in good people is just that: an investment. Good people may command higher salaries, and you will need to fight to get and keep them on your team since other businesses will constantly attempt to woo away top talent. However, it’s worth the investment. Talented team members could be your future co-founders, venture capitalists, and board members.
Want more? Check out other posts for entreprenuers and business leaders:
• How To Foster Team Growth by Delivering Feedback Effectively
• To Start a Movement, Startups Need More Than Just Technology
• Three Ways To Build A Better Culture By Putting People First
• How Innovative Companies Empower Their Remote Workers
