Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?
- You’ve hit a ceiling. You can’t possibly sell any more homes alone.
- You want a life. You’re tired of working 24/7.
- You want to raise the service level to your clients. When you’re this busy, you can’t possibly respond as quickly as they’d like.
- Your broker is on your case about getting your paperwork turned in, but that’s the last thing you have time for.
If so, that means you’re probably ready for an assistant. With today’s unemployment rates at historic lows (and even lower locally than they are nationally), where in the world will you find one?
Last month’s post talked about HOW to go about hiring a great assistant. (Or as we like to call it, an Ops Boss™). This month, we’ll give you some ideas about where to find that golden unicorn.
Most likely, the person you’re looking for is not looking for a job. They’re already working, and have hit some sort of ceiling. (The ceiling might be an income ceiling. It also could be a need for flexible hours or shorter commute; or they’re bored and have no room for growth.) Or they are not currently in the work force. So you’ll need to be resourceful.
Here are a few places to mine for gold:
Sphere of Influence & Past Clients
This is the #1 source for top teams and agents around the country. What better place to find your Ops Boss™ than with people who know you, know your values, and know your business. These are the people most likely to direct you to a good match. They might even be a good match themselves.
Stay-At-Home Parents
There are MANY stay-at-home parents in our area who have incredibly talented backgrounds in business and all sorts of fields that translate well to real estate. At some point in time, often when kids hit high school, they come back into the work force. This can be a rich source of talent. (Yes I said stay at home “parents” (not “moms”) because my own husband was a stay-at-home Dad by choice for 10 years.)
Mortgage, Title & Bank Employees
My own background includes 10 years in the mortgage business. I was burnt out and looking for a “regular” job. You might be surprised to think of real estate with “regular hours”. But for an assistant, it can be. There are TONS of people in these industries that are ready for a change. Keep your eyes peeled for people who are looking for the opportunity to create a life. Help them do that, and they will be loyal forever.
As your business grows, and you need a Director of Operations or even a COO, you’ll want to widen the net you’re casting.
There was a recent poll done in our BE A BOSS Facebook Group (which is overflowing with talented Ops Bosses™). The question was what people did BEFORE they took their operations job in real estate. Their answers might give you some hints as to where to look:
I’ll give you mine first:
Regional Ops Manager for a national mortgage co. Led 7 offices in 3 states. (Moved to that after doing all roles in the mortgage biz: loan officer, closer, processor, underwriter.) Before that was a teller for State Dept Federal Credit Union. Before that I was an intern for 2 California Congressmen on Capitol Hill (before Monica Lewinsky messed that up). Before that I worked at a library!
Here’s a peek at some of the others:
- Stay at home mom for 14 yrs, before that a chemist
- Stay at home mom for 3 years, before that a 3rd grade teacher for 9 years
- College professor (business and communication) for 12 years. Executive coach and trainer for 6 years. Operations in various industries for the past 12 years
- Movie theatre management for 8 years
- Senior account manager and before that project manager for a market research company that worked with Fortune 100 clients
- Office manager for a restoration/new residential construction company, before that I stayed home with my kids for 8 years, before that HR Assistant at a large manufacturer of construction equipment
- Receivables Portfolio Manager for tech company
- Advertising-marketing-events
- Worked in the pharmaceutical world for 5 years
- Stay at home mom for 11 years before that I worked HR, was an admin for a foreign education center, and worked in a contract and finance office
- Director in Child Protective Services
- Hotel management
- Ops director for a law firm
- Food industry – bartending, shot girl, cocktail waitress
- Apartment management
- Real estate paralegal for 8 years
- Elementary school teacher for 15 years
- I had literally zero professional experience. I was a full time nanny for my 1st rainmaker before he brought me in to the RE world
- Director of Ops for a YMCA Swim Team, before that stay at home mom, and before that, electrical engineer for GM
Bottom Line: There’s incredible talent all around you. Your future Ops Boss™ is out there. Just open your eyes WIDE so you don’t miss them!
(As originally published in DC Metro Real Producers Magazine by Christy Belt Grossman)
PS – If you need to make a hire FASTER than you can do on your own, and you want to learn a GREAT process for doing so – reach out to Ciprani Consulting. They are the #1 recruiter nationwide for the Ops Boss™ role and we highly recommend them. Tell them we sent you!