Many real estate agents who have been in the business for a few years, want to take their business to the next level and are unsure of how to do it.

Many think well, I will just get more leads and hire some buyer agents and become a team. In theory that seems like a winning plan, however it is not. Creating a Team is "easy" but not effective strategy at all for many reasons.

1. How are you going to find your "team members"? Are they going to be agents the same as you, in the business for a few years and wanting to grow. Will they be the Rookie agent? Will the be very experienced and looking to slow down? Or will they be the part-time agent?
2. How many agents will you hire? 1 or a few? Do you have enough work for the new team members?
3. Depending on what type of experience you are looking for from your team member, you will be put in the position of becoming the team's trainer and mentor. Do you feel adept enough to take on the mentor role? Are you experienced enough in all aspects of real estate and marketing? You need to figure this out before you take this step, if you are ready for this responsibility.
4. Accountability is a huge part of the Team Leader's role. Are you ready to hold others accountable to the teams goals? Are you comfortable with being the "bad guy" at times? Are you ready to put your foot door, or are you more likely to be the "nice guy"? Honestly, before holding others accountable, you need to figure out are you accountable to your goals and your business plan? If you don't have any goal or a plan, then you certainly should not create a team.
5. Are you ready to take a step back, be more of a leader manager, than doing the normal day to day activities? Many team leaders either micro manage or don't manage at all. Will you be able to find the happy medium for your team?
6. How will you deal with team members leaving? Many Team Leaders love being a mentor and helping someone else flourish in the business. That is very admirable. How will you deal with a team member who has grown and no longer feels they need to be part of a team? It's a double-edge sword, because you either show them enough to make the team grow, thus teaching them how to make it in the business on their own. Or you teach them very little and the team fails. There are many real estate agents out their who will thrive in a team environment and will stay on a team for their entire career. Those real estate agents exist, but may be hard to find.

If you've thought the whole process through and you still think creating a team is a great idea for you, I urge you to speak to your manager so they can help guide you along the way. I do also "heavily" recommend getting an assistant before creating a team. The assistant can get your business organized for you, which will make the transition of adding in new members more seamless.