A Message to the Youth in Real Estate

A Message to the Youth in Real Estate

By Matseleng Mogodi

This article was originally published by Real Estate Investor Magazine.

Yes, you are not the first, when I was young my parents and other adults said weird things, I thought they were old and not too clever, but I obliged. As the youth of today, you are faced with many exciting possibilities, but may also be faced with huge challenges. One of these is the fact that you have your own desires, your own personal incremental improvements that you want for your life. But what happens when you do or don't get that? Do you not think it could help to think ahead of this desire? Is being a business person your thing?

We have to deal with this beast, there's a high unemployment rate in South Africa today, the youth being the most impacted. The chance of this problem being resolved anytime soon is highly unlikely, and this requires everyone to recognize the future dire consequences of this situation. What could be the first step to help the unemployed youth? I can almost certainly say it's not giving jobs, but allowing the youth to see their worth and providing a safe environment for them to open up and thrive. There's no way the unemployed youth was meant to just beg for handouts, or be troublesome at their homes, or take drugs, there's more in there, and continuing to ignore this may have a catastrophic result in the very near future.

I have met multitudes of young people who have joined real estate as a career. But a lot didn't realize this was an opportunity to create the world they wanted. They were driven by imitation, which took most of their valuable time, and they ended up being compulsive because they threw themselves into an industry which they perceived was just easy, without thinking of the journey and the commitment required.

It's imperative to recognize that we cannot blame the youth because they've been thrust into a world of dependency, which continues to be perpetuated by communities and government. Most have grown in an environment where adults have been stripped off of their dignity and productivity, and anyone that seems to have 'more' gets blamed for not sharing, or gets idolized for having more. Young people who adopt the blame game may find being in business very difficult, especially in property, where one can easily blame someone else for things not going right, wrong, you are responsible, the fact that a young person can see that things are tough means they have the intelligence and wisdom to do something different about it.

Some parents have unfortunately robbed their children of learning responsibility in the name of love. Young people with no responsibilities at home, never get to learn responsibility in a safe environment, and they may be thrust into this at a workplace where there's no time or space to make serious mistakes. The young youth must be allowed space to manage something at home, and make something work, and get that sense of achievement and growth. However, parents themselves were the youth of yesterday, and may have carried some of the past life traumas from older generations, without even knowing it.

Consequently, as an adult, I may carry my own inadequacies, and if you don't have clarity as a young person about what you want for yourself, you may continue to collect all the inadequacies and thus bringing a halt to your life. If I guide you, I might confuse you, but if I provide a safe working environment, I might enhance your life. Therefore know what is important for you, for your life.

Being in an industry like real estate, may cause young people to have fears, based on what they've seen in the past, or from too much imagination about what might happen in the future. What can help here is to have a clear vision of where one wants to go, rather than create a definition of who you should be, as this might box you and reduce possibilities for the future. Commitment and resilience are important factors.

Being in property requires an entrepreneurial attitude, you have to remember that you're a spiritual being, and regularly being in touch with your inner self may help you access more possibilities in how you do business and how you deal with people and families.

The impact of fears is encompassed in the youth model below:

Y - Yearning for knowledge, as a young person, you already know deep down that you know a lot, but you may have a fear that you don't know what others know. It is important to realize that information is not knowledge, and that you have your own genius waiting for you to tap into. The world is getting digital in every way, make sure whatever you do, you do not miss that train.

O- Ownership through taking responsibility. You may have already been robbed of so much and may have a fear to challenge those that are in authority because you assume they are more powerful. Remember that nothing is as powerful as a bright young life, don't allow history to dim your light, listen to our stories, but trust your intuition more.

U - Understanding business and the world of work. The fear may come from a lack of clarity and not linking what you want with what is in front of you. If you don't know what you want, the question of creating it is non-existent, because there's no clarity. Look at what dominates your life, there's never a right or wrong when it comes from you, it is your truth. Combine this with serving others, and when you love what you do, you can have a successful business.

T- Taking charge of your finances. Most humans have a fear of not having money to sustain themselves. Surely one of the ways is looking after the little you have, by spreading it across all of your needs. One guru once said you will have a fear of not having money if you continue 'to have more month at the end of your money rather than have more money at the end of the month', therefore look after it and spend it wisely, and it will grow for you. This requires thorough planning on a daily basis to ensure you do activities that contribute towards your financial wellbeing. Your time is worth lots of money.

H - Heir of nothing in your young life. You were born complete, but you may have a fear that something or someone else must be there to complete you and give you something. What is important to know is that you were born with everything you need for this life, people and situations will come to support you, but it's imperative that you hold the key to your own blissfulness and success. Treat everything on the outside of you as an accessory to enhance the unimportant features of your life. You have the capacity to build a business that can support many families, don't wait for others to do it for you.

Further commentary from Snooks Estates agents on what it means to be in real estate

"Working in real estate at a young age can be a very challenging and exciting career especially when you first get started because most of your peers are either focused on studies or prefer the luxury of a salary. The job is not for the faint-hearted as without the comfort of having a basic salary your income is purely based on commission which means what you put in is what you get out. Honestly speaking the best way that I can describe being a real estate agent is being an entrepreneur in your own business as you need to be efficient at the time and financial management, networking, strategic thinking and remain resilient, to say the least.

I was fortunate enough to join Snooks Estates as the company offers great support staff, systems, and training for young agents such as myself which helps with managing the 'Business' and ensuring that I operate at a profit. The best advice that I can give youth is to control the influences around you, practice positive self-talk, emphasize self-care and develop multiple streams of income." Thapelo Madileng, real estate practitioner, Snooks Estates.

I have an accounting and taxation professional background. I was fortunate enough to grow myself into the real estate sector, when I started, I was fortunate enough to have been paired with experienced people in the industry. It was a matter of knowledge exchange and teamwork. My focus was on the residential property until I found my passion in commercial and industrial property.
The journey into real estate has taught me a lot, to mention but a few qualities of an open-minded person, discipline, commitment and entrepreneurial.

My journey in the real estate sector has been nothing short of unearthing and enlightening opportunities, specifically when one looks at the opportunities available to our youth within the sector. My exposure within the real estate business has shown me that the sector is so broad and offers various opportunities to venture into, and even become your own boss.

I would personally encourage our youth, both employed and unemployed, to consider venturing into real estate. It has an unrestrictive model that allows you to work anywhere and be in control of your time. I was able to juggle it with my studies and studies and even had the chance of furthering my studies. I must say that it did require a lot of discipline. My personal goals and ethical attributes have been my main drive towards real estate - Boitumelo Letlhaku, real estate practitioner, Snooks Estates.