I have been a real estate broker for over 40 years and during that time have owned a number of my own brokerages but now work under a franchised broker. What I discovered is that owning your own real estate office is a 24/7 job for very little money and extremel high liability. The average profit margin of a brokerage in America is currently 2.5% while the average jewelry store, for example, makes 42–47%. Also, any time one of your agents gets sued… you get sued.

I make way more money selling real estate and letting my broker handle the “back end” (contract review, transaction coordination, errors & omissions insurance, etc.). I was also able to take 4–5 cruises a year (before COVID-19) which I could never do when I owned my own company.

I originally upgraded my license from an agent to a broker because I wanted more knowledge and credibility. Unfortunately, the broker’s examination is just a test of memory and I learned much more about real estate on the job. In addition, the public has no idea of the differences between an agent and a broker so it gave me no added credibility.

While I have never regretted spending the time and money on getting my broker’s license because it has given me more flexibility in my career but it certainly didn’t add to my credibility or income in the way I had expected.