Episode 54: The Working REALTOR®: Embracing Mentorship in Real Estate

There are countless ways to succeed in real estate and no two individuals take the exact same route—so, how then does a real estate professional confidently make their next move? There’s so much to learn from other REALTORS® and those who have been in the industry for a long period of time, or have taken a unique path to success.

Mentorship doesn’t just benefit the mentees—mentors also have a lot to gain—like leadership skills, a helping create a more vibrant industry, improved communication skills, insight from different perspectives, a broader network, and boosted confidence. For mentees, the guidance and knowledge transfer is invaluable, networking opportunities can help grow your business, and learning the ins and outs of the industry from someone who’s been through it already can help boost your confidence, too.

Nicole Christy, CEO at the Ottawa Real Estate Board, and Rachel Gagnon, REALTOR® and Top 35 Under 35 with Royal Lepage, join the latest episode of the REAL TIME podcast to talk about their experience with mentorship and how it’s helped their careers.

Transcript

Erin Davis: What did you do the last time you were stuck overthinking a decision you had to make at work or were uncertain what your next move should be in a sticky situation? Who do you trust to help with those tough calls? Real estate mentorship can be a mutually beneficial experience for both the mentor and the mentee and it's something that REALTORS® and real estate professionals alike can explore throughout their entire career, not just in the beginning. Learning never stops. No matter your age, your career or your journey, there's always something to be learned and someone to learn from.

Hi, I'm Erin Davis, and welcome to REAL TIME, the podcast for REALTORS® brought to you by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Erin: To get a better understanding of what exactly real estate mentorship entails and how to go about creating a successful mentor-mentee relationship, we have two incredible real estate professionals with us who are well-versed in this environment. Joining us today are Nicole Christy, CEO of Ottawa Real Estate Board, and Rachel Gagnon, a top 35 under 35 REALTOR® with Royal LePage. Hello to you both and thank you so much for joining us today to talk about mentorship within the REALTOR® association community.

Now just before we dive in, let's start by having you introduce yourselves, give us a bit of background on who you are and how real estate mentorship has been a part of your career and we're going to start with you, Nicole.

Nicole Christy: Perfect. Thank you, Erin. Yes, I have been in the real estate industry for almost 15 years. I got my start at the Canadian Real Estate Association. It was a co-op position coming out of the University of Ottawa and I've taken the experience, I've learned there, and I've worked for some of the top tier advocacy associations here in Ottawa. Returned to the real estate community back in 2021 when I joined with the London St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® to begin work at the local level. Now I'm here in Ottawa as the CEO of the Ottawa Real Estate Board.

Erin: You, Rachel, what's your story?

Rachel: Yes, so I actually started in the real estate industry in 2015. I was licensed in 2015 as a 19-year-old and I'm a real estate broker here in Ottawa with Royal LePage Performance Realty. I got my start in the industry with a very small brokerage on a very small team, and then a few years later, I transitioned to becoming a solo agent in a large brokerage, and now I'm just in the process of building my own small team.

Erin: Wow, okay. Let's get right to it. What exactly, to you, is mentorship within the real estate industry, and have your experiences followed a set pattern or structure or do you feel l