2004 Rookie Diary
3 New Sales Associates Learn the Business
Meet the three new rookies we will follow over the next 7 months, as they try to find success in the real estate industry.
COMPILED BY ROBERT SHAROFF
Ada Acevedo, 27
Baird & Warner
Chicago
ada.acevedo@bairdwarner.com
February 2004
My last two jobs were with Andersen Consulting and WorldCom, companies that have been in the news a lot in recent years and have since merged or undergone a corporate makeover.
I worked in the financial departments of both companies and left before their problems started. But I still feel like I got out in the nick of time.
For a lot of reasons, the corporate world never really suited me. For one thing, it’s still a man’s world where women have a tough time rising above a certain level.
I’ve also always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I’m an outgoing person who prefers working with people rather than being behind a desk from 9 to 5.
When you combine all that with the fact that I’ve always loved looking at houses and interiors, real estate started to seem like a more exciting career.
Two years ago this month, I started a real estate licensing course. A month later, I left WorldCom. But I still wasn’t quite sure where I was going to work.
I know it sounds a little melodramatic, but the thing that finally pushed me to leave the corporate world was Sept. 11, 2001. I went to New York in the summer of 2002 and went down to see the World Trade Center site.
It was a very powerful moment for me. I just stood there, reflecting on my life and realizing how valuable time is and how important it is to find some happiness and meaning while we’re here.
I found Baird & Warner by posting my resume online at Monster.com, a job site. One of the brokers there called me and I started that fall in one of the company’s suburban offices. It was intimidating, to say the least. For one thing, even though I knew the job was commission-based, it didn’t really dawn on me until the first week that I wasn’t going to get a paycheck until I sold a house.
That realization was a real wake-up call to get moving. But it still took awhile. I didn’t have a sale for six months. Then, my college roommate, who lives in Chicago, called and asked me to help her find a house to buy.
We looked for a few months and she finally settled on a condominium in Albany Park, a North Side neighborhood. It was perfect—a two-bedroom unit in a nice older building. She also wanted something close to the Kennedy Expressway, which she takes everyday to her job in the suburbs. She took one look and whispered, “I love it.” The price was $171,000.
Shortly after that, I transferred to one of Baird’s downtown offices. I live downtown, and it just seemed to make sense to live and work in roughly the same area. Right now, I don’t feel like I have a set territory. I take whatever business comes my way and if it means driving a few extra miles, I don’t care. But in the future, I would like to concentrate on a few neighborhoods.
The rest of the year went pretty well. My goal was seven transactions and $2 million in volume and I slightly exceeded it. My goal for this year is $3 million.
One thing I’m aware of is that I need to get better at prospecting. So far, all my clients have been either friends or family members.
Obviously, that can’t go on forever. I’ve got to find some new ways of expanding my sphere and obtaining business.
Overall, though, I’m happy. I love the flexibility of working in real estate and the opportunities it provides to meet and work with people on a one-on-one level. I think I’m at my best in those situations.
