You Can’t Catch a Fish with Your Bare Hands

Education – A Sacred Activity

The ancient Chinese philosopher Kwan-Tzu coined a proverb still in wide use today, “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for life.”

This infamous proverb epitomizes the passion behind the Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation and demonstrates the powerful potential impact of education – a sacred activity where one person transfers important knowledge and vital information to another.  You could call it mentorship, apprenticeship, teaching, even coaching, but the heart of the matter is learning – not for its own sake, but learning for the purpose of provision and the prevention of failure.

The Livelihood of Millions of Agents

Big deal, you say?  How many other thousands of non-profit corporations have been founded by well-intentioned men and women with a philanthropic passion to give, teach, or help?  That may be true, but before we dispense with the concept of a foundation sincerely devoted helping the rookie agent achieve long-term success in the real estate industry, consider just a few recent statistics:

·         The total number of licensed real estate agents has surged by more than 50% over the past five years, from 1.5 million licensees in 2000 to over 2.25 million licensees in 2005.

·         85% of new agents entering the real estate industry have no sales background, and the other 15% have limited sales experience and minimal real estate experience.

·         Approximately 50% of all new licensees leave the industry before their first year in the business, and as high as 75% of agents never reach their second.

·         Most brokerages offer an average of 11 paltry hours of training for rookies, and only six hours for their more experienced counterparts.

At stake is the very livelihood of almost 2,500,000 real estate entrepreneurs, yet these statistics ring with the clarion call of failure; a forlorn attempt on the part of industry educators to properly prepare new agents to conduct their business with professional expertise, authoritative counsel, and superior customer service, let alone providing them with the tools and confidence to turn a profit!  Less than one day of training per year is not only laughable, but wholly inadequate to empower and effectively educate an agent to participate in, let alone manage, one of the most complicated sales processes in the country.

Something Must Be Done

According to Stefan Swanepoel, the Foundation’s founder and chairman, “Several years ago we sat down and asked ourselves the biting question: ‘What are we doing to improve this situation and resolve this problem?  The answer was The Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation’s Grant Program.  Our primary goal is to raise the standard of professionalism among new agents by awarding quality real estate education, products and services to deserving rookies.”

The recent rise in home values and subsequent rush toward record-breaking new licensees has inadvertently created a counterproductive paradigm where the value of education has fallen by the wayside.  It’s painfully obvious that the need to sufficiently equip and prepare rookie agents to achieve substantive, consistent, meaningful success has never been greater than it is today. 

The Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation’s Grant Program was founded to reverse this unfortunate trend.  Formed in 2004, it is a unique, nationwide public benefits corporation designed to introduce the apprenticeship concept and best practice strategies to new and inexperienced rookie real estate agents, at no cost.  Through its growing grant program, the foundation has helped hundreds of deserving agents with a variety of tools and services, not to mention crowning three Grand Prize Winners to date – awarding $70,000 in educational, real estate-oriented products and services to three admirable applicants during its first three seasons.

According to Swanepoel, “It’s time for the real estate industry to step up to the plate and go to bat for rookie agents.  We have the ability to change lives, and so we must lay a solid foundation for future.  The vitality of the industry hangs in the balance.” Rookie agents Kendra Shearer, Katie Wyatt, and Anita Lam are representative of that future.  As winners of the foundation’s highest honors, they offer a unique perspective on the mindset of the 21^st century rookie agent, and how The Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation gave them the confidence and ability to succeed in real estate.

Season I Winner Kendra Shearer: 46 Operations and $70,000 Later

As a mother of three children, Kendra Shearer demonstrated her winning attitude in the way she handled the disability of one of her own daughters.  Kendra’s daughter, Shannon, was born with Spina Bifida, is confined to a wheelchair, and has endured 46 operations while under Kendra’s care. Although Kendra doesn’t like to characterize Shannon’s disability as an adversity, she admits that it was a constant challenge not to sink into despair, anger, and bitterness.

Kendra became a registered nurse, and after steadily working her way up through the ranks of the nursing profession, she eventually became Vice President of Nursing at the hospital of her employment.  After accomplishing that achievement, Kendra decided to make a leap of faith and begin a career in real estate.  She applied to Apprentice Foundation’s Grant Program, and several months later won the foundation’s grand prize.

As the foundation’s very first Grand Prize Winner, Kendra recalls the moment she first heard the news, “It was a life-changing moment for me and my family.  I knew immediately that I had been given something very unique and special, and that it was now up to me to be a good steward of these valuable resources.”

Fast forward 18 months, and Kendra is now the President of The Shearer Group, Inc. – a real estate firm specializing in the senior market, with a strong brand image and personal marketing plan.  With unbound enthusiasm, she exclaims, “This grant has given me realistic guidelines for business start-up, and has opened up a vision of mega-agent operations. Mediocrity is simply not our goal.  Perhaps the greatest gift of all has been the exposure to a nearly endless array of possibilities.  It is so important for a new agent to have hope and support.”

Season II Winner Katie Wyatt’s Success with iSucceed

As the winner of the Real Estate Apprentice’s Season II Grand Prize, Katie Wyatt can barely contain her enthusiasm and gratitude for the doors that have opened all around her.  She exclaims, “Winning this grant has impacted my life in more ways than I could possibly have imagined. Being a Realtor® suddenly meant more than just a part-time gig and some pocket change.  By accepting the grants gifts I was challenged to uncover a hidden destiny and face fears that I didn’t even know existed within me.  This grant has broadened my awareness of my own skills and abilities, and pushed me towards growth in my personal and professional life.”

Katie, who is now a full time agent with Keller Williams in Wichita Kansas, passed her real estate exam in February 2005, and at that time had already racked up a phenomenal 11 listings and 11 sales while working for her former brokerage New Homes Marketing – not only in new homes, but 50% of her transactions included existing homes.  Among all the services Katie received as a grant winner, iSucceed’s online real estate mentoring has proven to be her most valuable asset.  She explains, “Their vast online library provides mentoring secrets for people like me with unusual schedules.  There have been times when I was seeking information at 3am in the morning, and iSucceed was right there.  I used their agent toolkit to print up marketing flyers for my very first FSBO presentation, and I got the listing!”

Season III Winner Anita Lam: A True Underdog Prevails

Formally a Hong Kong shop girl who worked three jobs just to make ends meet, Anita Lam longed for the chance to leave her homeland and journey to the U.S. That journey culminated when she became the third semi-annual winner of the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation Grant Program.

One of America’s greatest opportunities is the cultural and political freedom to follow one’s own dreams and shape one’s own destiny.  Uninhibited by the poverty and restrictions of her native country, Anita Lam is a tried and true “rags to riches” tale.  Arriving with nothing but a small knapsack and undefeatable hope, Anita Lam began her adventure.  Upon arriving in the States, she was no different than any other foreign-born traveler.  She knew no one, and had no material wealth whatsoever.

Hidden in her heart, however, were not only her focused dreams, but the tenacious determination required to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve those high hopes.  Anita understood that her odds for success were wholly dependent upon her own initiative and ambition, and she also realized that her competition in rising to the top would indeed be formidable.

As the foundation’s third Grand Prize Winner, Anita is still reeling from the aftershocks of such fantastic news.  She admits, “Although I was only crowned very recently, I expect that the creation of my website and branded marketing materials from Hobbs/Herder will give me a huge advantage early in my career.  One of my weak spots is marketing, so I realize that a powerful, comprehensive personal identity and marketing package will greatly enhance my ability to attract and retain clients.”

Our Philanthropic Partners

Over 50 sponsors have partnered with the foundation to help the Grant Program assemble almost every kind of tools imaginable – from hooks, to tackle, bait and poles, even boats – so to speak.  Transaction management software form First American Residential Group, free mentoring from iSucceed, a complete brand identity build from Hobbs/Herder, consultative coaching from Mclean International, a comprehensive suite of personalized marketing tools form eNeighborhoods, free printing services from the online digital mail house Express Copy, and the list goes on and on.

Grant awards are sponsored by dozens of leading companies serving the real estate industry who realize the value of investing in the top agents of the future.  Companies interested in helping make the industry stronger and in getting their products and services into the hands of rookie agents as a Real Estate Apprentice® sponsor should email Dr. Martin Oliver at Dr.Oliver@RealEstateApprentice.com or call 949-600-7188.

Dr. Martin Oliver is the Deputy Executive Director of The Real Estate Apprentice^® Foundation, a non-profit venture designed to facilitate the rise of newly-licensed agents to successful profitability by offering 5,000 semi-annual grants totaling $1 million.