You’ve probably noticed how I keep referring to your real estate career as a “business.” As a real estate agent, the IRS and your state will almost certainly treat you as a business owner for tax purposes. Unfortunately, one real estate industry expert estimates that more than 80 percent of real estate agents have no financial plan. The slow months are the perfect time to review your finances and create a plan. Here are some questions you should ask yourself: • How much did I spend last year? • What did I spend my money on? • Did I take advantage of every available tax write-off for my business? • Did I waste money on tools that I did not use or that were unproductive? • What should next year’s annual budget be? • Should I incorporate my business and pay myself a salary? • Do I need to be paying quarterly taxes? • How can I save more? • Could my business invest to make more money? Spend some time doing the necessary research and consulting experts to make sure you answer each of these important questions. Work a second job if necessary to cover the bills and routine expenses while you’re building your real estate business. You might want to share your real estate ambitions with your coworkers at the second job. Each of those coworkers is a potential customer or referral for the future. If you impress them with your hard work, knowledge, and trustworthiness, perhaps
77
Powered by FlippingBook