I come from a very humble family background and have worked in many jobs such as a waiter, karaoke jockey and even cashier. My life changed for good when I was working as a supervisor in a boutique for my previous job. One day, a regular customer asked me how long I had been working in the boutique and what salary I was drawing. I told her my basic salary was $1750, averaging $3000 a month with overtime pay. But the downside was I had no day-offs.

It turned out that she was a real estate agent looking to recruit candidates. She told me she was earning more then $10,000 a month. That was in 1999. She also told me that I could achieve that and more if I worked hard. I couldn’t believe it as I only had Secondary Two qualifications, but I decided to give it a try nevertheless. At the back of my mind, I was fascinated with the idea of Real Estate and meeting people from all walks of life.

I tried juggling both jobs but it was tough, and I didn’t make any money in my first month as a part-time real estate agent as I had no time to serve my clients properly. Therefore I decided to quit my boutique job and dedicate my time fully to being a real estate agent.

By the second month, I made $20,000. In 2000, my first year as a property agent, I made $50,000. As a newcomer to the industry, I was happy with the results. What I made was one and a half times the salary of my previous job.

This spurred me on to set higher goals for me to achieve, and I aspired to become a Top 150 producer in PropNex. By 2002, I exceeded my target and was nominated as one of the Top 50 producers.

Now, my focus is on recruiting new agents. In just two years of doing active recruiting at PropNex, I have been promoted to group director. This was a good turning point in my life.

Sometimes, it makes me wonder if people question why a guy like me, with very little educational qualifications, was able to recruit so many agents or perform well in real estate. To me, it only proves that in this industry, diligence outweighs educational merit.

The world is full of negativity, such as news on disasters, thefts, murders, etc. Don’t be burdened by people attracted to negative vibes. Mix with people who think positive.

The real estate industry has no fixed working hours, and every day, you have to conduct viewings in the hot sun or ferry clients from place to place. If you don’t love what you are doing, you will feel sick of your job soon.

Think of unconventional places and ways to prospect for clients, such as giving out name cards in community-based associations or to parents in schools.

Cut the bridges linking you to your past. To succeed in real estate, stop considering going back to your previous job or looking for new careers. Take the full plunge and don’t look back.

Give yourself a short to long-term target that you want to achieve. Having a goal in sight will motivate you and lead you to your goal faster.

Be prepared in the industry for the long haul as there are no short cuts. Hang in there and don’t give up simply because a few months’ work hasn’t given you results.

Spend time with other agents and share with them ideas on sales strategies and problems encountered. By sharing, you will learn from the experiences of others and receive feedback, enabling you to reflect on what you did right or wrong and seek self-improvement.