01/18/2026
Here is the honest and straightforward truth about my first year in business as a CRE broker....
I failed to reach my goal
Let me explain
I quit my construction job almost 1 year ago to the date
When I set out, I wrote down a goal to earn roughly 4x what I was earning in my salary in commissions for the year
For the record, I definitely wasn't breaking the bank at my job, but I wasn't starving either
So, that figure was relatively high
However, certainly NOT impossible with the right plan and consistency
Here's the thing though.....
I didn't even come close to hitting that figure
Where I went wrong was I miscalculated the true amount of time and energy that goes into a goal like that
And more importantly, the true amount of time and energy needed to be devoted to very specific tasks
There were days where instead of making 100 cold calls, I made 45 and said 'that's good enough'
Instead of waking up at 5am to get in earlier, I rolled over, hit the snooze button til 6:30, and said 'well, that's still early.'
However, like most things, it all compounded eventually
The few missed cold calls here or the hour there stacked up into days, then weeks, then likely months
Months of missed productivity
And the bill came due
And guess who paid it?
Plus the tax + tip
Make no mistake, I busted my you-know-what for a solid year and I'll put my name on that
But the hard truth is, it doesn't mean much
Because this business doesn't necessarily compute to the amount of hours spent on something
I don't get paid by the hour anymore
I get paid when the paper moves from one side of the table to the other with fresh signatures on it
And that could take 2 weeks
That could also take 3 years
Now, to be very clear
This isn't a gripe fest
It's a wake up call
And the year still had many victories
I still earned more than I was making in my previous job
I still planted seeds that I know will eventually grow and compound in years time
And, importantly, I had fun doing it and am so glad I jumped into this business
The moral of this long Linkedin post though is that if you want extraordinary results, you have to be prepared to do the extraordinary actions
Over and over again even when you're tired and bored
2026 is already shaping up with some good momentum, closed deals, and other mobile home parks in the hopper looking for a new owner
As always, you know where to find me for any and all things commercial real estate & mobile home parks
Chris Duffy
