I dunno about kickstarting - RE and I have taken turns kicking each others' asses!  3:)

Hmmmm ... my "kickstart" was my senior year in high school.  I know .. hard to believe.  But I was "recruited" at that point by a local Savings and Loan President.  He was looking for a jock with some brains.  The coaches at my high school recommended me.  I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to major in at the Univ. of Illinois where I had been accepted for the following Fall, so decided to take the opportunity offered to me for a job ... training ... and schooling too.  Found a career and my wife at that Savings and Loan.

40+ years later, I don't think my decision turned out too bad.  Still have the career I enjoy .. and the wife too ...

Gene

It helps to have a full rolodex and a stack of my own properties to list.

I opened my first office and failure was not an option.

Graduated from business school at the ripe old age of 23. I got a job at E.I duPont in Wilmington, Deleware as a low-level supervisor in the chemicals division overseeing the inner workings and maintenance of warehouses, distribution centers, some office buildings, storage yards of chemical plants and private railroad tracks... and the disposition and sale of same, then part of a more senior team to buy same. All big business stuff. Pretty cool for a 23+ year old. And I even got to fly the corporate jet with the senior execs to travel to the different sites.

5 years later, migrated to Eastman Kodak for same, but more office space & buildings, and then in Rochester NY as the lead buyer of residential real estate for temporary housing of employees and executives for the Kodak School of Business. I didn't even have a real estate license. Learned the old-fashioned way on the 'corporate fly' as we say.

Barbara,

Ron was first out of the chute.  I was continuing with our counseling and management consulting biz working with physicians whose practice is based on being referred by other doctors as well as attorneys/  This knowledge was a substantial asset.  In commercial, you walk the streets meeting owners, prospective tenants, you are farming...A

Got licensed at 18 to assist the folks.  Cold calling and door knocking weren't my thing, computers were, so didn't do real estate and went to school for computer science.  Worked in the corporate world and got my Masters.  Did well for myself.  Retired in my 30s and came back to a different kind of real estate, working mainly the investor flips.

Looking back I feel I spent way too much time in training before I truly got into action.  I really wanted to know what I was doing ... not to just be doing it because someone said ... go do this (old call, door knock, call everyone you know and beg -- err ask for business and referrals) ... I learned that it is all about connecting with people ... that started with doing open houses. Today, I do not do open houses unless my client wants it.  In the end, it all adds up and brings me to where I am today. 

I left Corporate America in 2004 and never looked back.

I tried a bit of everything in the beginning - cold calling, door-knocking, open houses, floor time, direct mail...

Some of those activities I didn't like(actually hated cold calling) and others became a better fit over time.   20+ years ago when I started, I actually found some "luck" on the floor but really liked the connection of open house events. 

I wonder if AR and other online forums were around if I would have explored them as well -- likely so.   Ahh, something more to ponder....

I lived a life of quiet desperation and did open houses three days a week for two years.

We learned how to network and it has made all the difference in the world!

A janitor at work talked me into getting a license. Mr Sears, was a second shift office sweeper. He told me what he could do during the day.  I took the test next month w/o studying and got the license. I was the only Asian realtor in Louisville, KY then. I sold two listings before moving to CA.  Years later with a mba from the top US business school I took the CA test and flunked it.  I studied inside my car under a shade to keep me from falling asleep. In Ky, the broker who spoke a thick mid-west accent called me Colonel Doctor Sam. Here in CA I am just one of the 100,000 too many agents. I cracked jokes to make people comfortable. The real serious ones with no sense of humor think otherwise.  Wheeling and dealing can be  stressful and a sense of humor does not hurt.

Barbara Todaro I guess I got started in this business through the school of hard knocks. I did have a good broker and my Wife was in the business.

I took out a weekly add in our local publication. I had a special deal - quarter page - my design and 1/2 page monthly - color. Every where I went they knew they had seen me and I got my first luxury listing from all my ads! I changed the ad every week. SOLD! 

I feel like I do it daily and weekly. Win, dance and repeat (or wash, rinse and repeat) and adjust on the fly as needed. I dont let myself get into a Lull but look for a balance of taking care of today's sales, closing yesterdays sales and looking for tomorrows listings and sales

Told it before but the short answer is: I answered a floor call from a developer. That day I went into the condo development business and completed sell out on 38 projects. This happened after about 8 months as a newbbie trying to figure out what I had given up my "day job" for.

I called everyone I knew and called again and again

I kick-started nothing... it was slow and steady until I built up a clientele and could depend on a certain level of repeat and referral business.

I jumped right in by closing the business I owned and starting my real estate career full time with no safety net Barbara Todaro .  I took on as much desk duty as I could get and hosted as many open houses as other agents would allow me to host for them.

We were always passionate about Real Estate, but never thought about selling it. Then one day we bought a home and realized we knew more about the busness then the obnoxious listing agent. We thought if he could do this, why can't we...And here we are today!

Just being available took mine to new heights

You actually prompted me to share my story, Barbara...and I did in this post:

You Suck as a Salesman - Agent Advice!

I lead with the right foot, then kick!

Rentals opened the door. These tenants then often became Buyers. These Buyers became Sellers and investors. The cycle repeats. I'm a firm believer in Customers for Life!

Moved to a new area, and used the internet to start me up - still working 13 years later!

Mine started with a whimper.

I got my license with the intent of becoming a property manager. Two months later I was on our weekly tour of new listings and rode with a few of the more experienced agents. One of them asked why I got into real estate so I explained my interest in Property Management. She said, "You can buy my company!" and then broke out in laughter.

I wondered if she was seriously consdering selling so I called and asked her outright. She was! We talked quite a bit for a couple weeks, came to an agreement and I bought her company four months after I was licensed.

I'll give the rest of the details in a blog. Thanks for the idea!

Wet behind the ears - attended Mike Ferry Superstar retreat in Palm Desert - signed up for 1 on 1 coaching - prospected FSBOs - took three for three listings the first weekend - never looked back - until the crash of course - then shifted into Short Sales...

Activerain helped me get back into focus and on a new direction of SEO targeting. 

I actually readjusting almost everything: new CRM, new website, new b.cards, new farming, etc. for the rest of the year. 

Floor time worked for me in our RE/MAX Office in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge MA!

I can write a blog post about it, Barbara Todaro.... 

I worked for Safeway when I got into real estate, so had many that gave me a chance right from the start.

Learn about leases in the restuarant business and knew how to write a triple net lease.  After leaving the food business figure real estate would be easy   hahaha was I fool.