Five years ago, Dawn Morgan was hustling in commercial building as a general contractor. When COVID struck, she took the time to slow down and add another license to her belt — this time, in real estate! Now an agent, Dawn reflects on the ways that her contractor license helped boost her career. But, she shares, those skills are not the only ones that can make a great agent...
Q: Hey Dawn, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. Tell me about yourself! How long have you been in real estate, and how did you get you started? A: My name is Dawn Morgan. I’m a licensed realtor in Georgia and South Carolina. I've been licensed for going on five years. I think I've always wanted to be a real estate agent; it has always fascinated me. I love looking at people's houses, seeing how they decorate. I've always watched the market, just never knew how to break into it. And during COVID, when things slowed down, I had the opportunity to start taking classes and decided this could be a different career path for me!
Q: What did you do for work before you became an agent, and what made you decide to try real estate? A: So, in my previous and kind of still my current life, I’m a licensed general contractor in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina. So, I’m a commercial builder. During COVID, again, when everything slowed down and we weren't having to do the meetings and the marketing, I had this opportunity to start investigating real estate, and realized just what a fulfilling career it is! Construction can be — and often is — very, very stressful and very, very high risk. Real estate can be stressful as well, but not the level of risk that there is in construction. Everything the world is facing with supply chain shortages and labor shortages and so on. But as a real estate agent, I work for myself. I don't have employees. I can set my schedule and, again, it's direct contact with me being able to service my clients and not needing to depend on subcontractors or other people to service my clients. Q: I can imagine that working directly with your clients is a refreshing change from contracting work. After five years as an agent, what is your favorite part of the job?
A: I enjoy doing real estate because I love meeting the people. This is the biggest purchase they'll make in their lifetime, and they're excited, they're nervous, and they're scared, and I know I can help make the process easier for them. Q: On the flip side, what do you feel has been the most difficult aspect of being a real estate agent? A: Recently, the most difficult aspect of being a real estate agent was navigating the NAR settlement and communicating the misinformation and educating the clients and everybody as to what happened, why it happened, and that nothing has really changed. Q: Do you feel that being a general contractor set you up for success as a real estate agent? Or did you have to learn a whole new set of skills to become successful in real estate? A: Being a general contractor first absolutely set me up to be a successful real estate agent, especially because now I'm well versed in contracts. I know what contracts look like. I know what to look for. I know how to craft the verbiage. I know how to negotiate. Still, I think people can absolutely be successful without having the background that I have in general contracting. To be a successful real estate agent, you have to have an open personality. You have to be adaptable to people that you meet, and adapt your personality to their needs. You have to have attention to detail, and you have to be organized. If you have all of that, you can be a successful real estate agent. It doesn't matter what your background is. Q: Coming from a background in general contracting, how did you find The CE Shop? A: I got introduced to The CE Shop through a friend, who’s also an agent. I asked where she goes to keep up with continuing education, and she sent me a link. She said The CE Shop will take care of everything you need. And they absolutely have. They make it so easy for all of my classes, signing up, keeping track of certifications, like my own personal assistant! Q: And what has your experience with The CE Shop been like? A: What I like most about The CE Shop is the ease of use, the ease of navigation that you can keep up with what you've done, the wide offering of classes. They just make it super easy to keep up with my continuing education. When I got my license, I didn’t know about The CE Shop. I probably would have preferred to take my licensing and testing requirements through them rather than where I did, because The CE Shop has been much better organized, and much better to navigate than the path that I went down. I took several classes that I didn't actually even need on my licensing journey.
So, I would recommend The CE Shop to other agents because it is easy to navigate, easy to use, and cost-effective. They make the whole process very easy for you! Q: It’s been awesome talking to you today, Dawn! Thanks for sharing your story with us. Is there anything else you’d like to add? A: I will say this, my local MLS offers free continuing education classes, and I still have not taken them up on that because I'm so loyal to The CE Shop. You all make it so easy! I know how it's going to be. I know where to find everything. I'm just, you know, as easy as you make it, I'll keep doing it!
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