I just tried googling this, and didn’t find a thing that was relevant.
My Pastor and mentor, Philip, suggested this to me a few weeks ago as a possibility when we begin to move forward with our dream of planting a church in Alberta. He was suggesting that going bivocational would allow us to be more financially secure as we set down roots in the new community.
It certainly fits with my skill set – I am currently in a sales position for a company that makes real estate software for agents. From the first week on the job, I was convinced that it would be easy to make money in real estate if a person simply used the tools we sell – that’s probably why I sell it well – I actually believe in the product. But it had me thinking for a few years now that I could do well in that industry. In addition, I already have some training in geography and mapping in Alberta, when I was in Forestry. So I get that lingo.
The job has it downsides. It is an on-call, 24/7 type job which can get very hectic if you get a lot of business. But it is scalable and ultimately you set your own hours.
A couple other downsides are it would cost me money to get my license, and starting up as a realtor in a town you haven’t lived in it would seem to me to be a little tricky – local knowledge is an advantage in that job.
The upside is the chance to be out in the community all the time, getting to know the neighbourhoods, the issues, the things that make the community tick every single day, and earn money while I am at it.
It seems like such a good idea, I am wondering why nobody ever thought of it before. But, it does pose more questions. When is the right time to start chasing that license? Would it be smart to get into real estate right now, or soon, and give myself a couple of years to learn the trade? Or would it be better to plan to get the license just before or after the move? Where am I going to come up with the money for the training? Where am I going to find the time?
Tags: bivocational planting, church planting, Philip Bryant, real estate
Sounds like a great idea.
I guess the issue that would cause the mst difficulty here in Australia is that most real estate selling happens on weekends here. Most agents open homes for inspections on Sundays which would make it a very busy day when you’re juggling home sales and church needs on the one day.
[...] we need to do and one of them was the question of employment. I have talked on here before about tentmaking in real estate, but I hadn’t taken any steps towards it. I decided to make a list of brokers and make some [...]