You must truly like people. Residential real estate is a people-oriented profession. If you draw your energy from working and helping others, you'll probably enjoy this vocation.

You must have empathy. Moving is a multi-faceted endeavor that creates physical and emotional challenges. You need to understand your customers' needs and desires without becoming overly involved with their personal problems.

You must have a healthy ego. Self-confidence and pride will help you succeed in this field. You must be able to take rejection and keep going to stay with this business.

You must be a self-starter. Working hard and doing the right things can yield tremendous financial rewards. There is no compensation for just "showing up" everyday. You must be able to establish your own goals, organize your priorities, and stay focused.

You must have patience. Real estate has a lot of "hurry up and wait" aspects. This is a people business, and you will occasionally be required to deal with people who try your patience. You will have to keep your composure in spite of what others around you are doing. You must have a thirst for knowledge. Our business is constantly changing, and you will need to learn and grow continuously in order to provide the best possible service.