March is Marketing and Branding Month here at Inman. As we enter spring selling season, let’s explore which tried-and-true tactics and cutting-edge innovations are getting deals done in today’s market. We’ll also recognize the industry’s marketing and branding leaders with Inman’s Marketing All-Star Awards.
Pulse is a recurring column where we ask for readers’ takes on varying topics in a weekly survey and report back with our findings.
Many of the most inspiring stories in real estate are tales of bootstrapping. Industry heavyweights, such as Jordan Cohen, Quintavius Burdette and Barbara Corcoran, all have backstories that involve getting out and door knocking, cold calling, hand-shaking and building big businesses from the ground up.
Now, we’re seeing the forces of industry compression through mergers and acquisitions shrinking the industry as a whole and, simultaneously, making it harder for independent figures and companies to break through. Rocket’s acquisition of Redfin, Keller Williams’ investment infusion from Stone Point Capital, small brokerage consolidation and M&A, the growth of the teamerage model — it’s tough out there for a solo entrepreneur to create leverage.
Tell us what you’re seeing now: Is it still possible to bootstrap a real estate business in today’s environment? With so few agents doing deals these days, can a solo agent still start with nothing and create an empire? Does it depend on the market? The niche? Let us know below:
We’ll compile a list of the top responses and post them on Inman next Tuesday.
