Episode 49: The Working REALTOR®: Lessons Learned in Real Estate

Everyone’s been put to the test in their career. On this episode of REAL TIME, we invite two members of the REALTOR® community, Anu Joshi-Mehendale and Dusko Sremac, to reflect on their top lessons learned in real estate as they approach a decade of experience in their respective practices.

Get advice to help you minimize mistakes, set yourself up for success, and stay motivated in your own practice – new or established.

Transcript

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Erin Davis: Question: What do you wish someone would have told you when you were starting out your career? Would you have done anything differently based on their advice? I'm Erin Davis and welcome to REAL TIME, the podcast for REALTORS®, brought to you by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Our guests today are Anu Joshi-Mehendale and Dusko Sremac, two very different REALTORS® from two very different backgrounds. What do they have in common? Like any entrepreneur, they've both experienced their share of trials and victories building a business in real estate. Are you ready for some lessons learned? Let's dive in.

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Erin: First off, thanks to you both for joining REAL TIME. Let's do a quick round of introductions. Who are you, where you're from, and how you got your start in real estate?

Anu Joshi-Mehendale: Thank you, Erin. My name is Anu Joshi-Mehendale and I'm a real estate broker based out of Caledon, Ontario. Just finished 10 years in the industry, so very happy to be here. Got started out fairly early. I actually interned at a property management company the year after high school, and I was going to be starting university. It was a suggestion from a parent to go ahead and get my real estate license. Here we are 10 years later.

Erin: Okay. In this case, father knows best. It was your dad, right? He's the one who suggested it?

Anu: Yes, it was. That's right.

Erin: Okay. I'd love to get into a little later on why he suggested this for you, but we're going to meet our next guest now. Dusko, go ahead.

Dusko Sremac: Hey, my name is Dusko Sremac with the Real Estate Partners at Real Broker here in Calgary. I have been licensed for almost seven years. The way that I got into real estate was we started investing into real estate about eight to nine years ago. By trade, I'm a journeyman electrician. I was always around real estate and fell in love, and then I ended up quitting my job and going full-time into real estate.

Erin: Okay. Nice to meet you both. I love that you're both at just about the decade mark or thereabouts. We're going to explore not only how you got here, but where you're going. I'm really excited about this conversation today. Caledon, Calgary, it's fantastic. It's just very organic today. Let's dive into it. Anu, as you mentioned, it was your dad who suggested to you that you get into this. Why? Why did he suggest it for you? Was it something in the family or what led you there?

Anu: Yes. My dad actually got his real estate license several years ago, and that's still on his docket for an eventual retirement career. Now I'm happy to bring him into my team. He's actually working with me now. I don't think we saw all of that when he first suggested that I get my real estate license. I think there's a lot of things in the real estate industry that are attractive to a lot of people. Obviously, the promise of flexible schedules and the ability to earn, great potential for earning amongst many other things. I think there was a lot of things that led him to invite me to get my license and it's been a really, really steep learning curve since then for sure.

Erin: Dusko, you didn't come to real estate just like it was in the family, like Anu. As a matter of fact, I love the story