Over the years, I’ve been asked how I got started in real estate and what I’ve learned along the way. This is the beginning of that story — and the first of many lessons I plan to share here.
“Would you list my duplex?”
I can still hear it.
At the time, I had a real estate license, a pager clipped to my belt, a briefcase I thought made me look professional, and a sport coat that helped me blend in. On the outside, I looked like a Realtor.
On the inside, I had no idea what I was doing.
I wasn’t chasing wealth. I wasn’t trying to build a team. I wasn’t thinking about investment portfolios, leadership, or influence. I just wanted to earn a living and pay my bills.
Before real estate, I worked in my family’s appliance business. From my teenage years into my mid-twenties, I repaired washers and dryers and sold parts to customers who depended on us. My dad had built that business from a garage into something that supported our family. He taught me that your name mattered. He taught me that customer service wasn’t optional. He taught me that for every ten satisfied customers you might earn one more — but for every ten dissatisfied, you could lose twenty.
What he didn’t teach me was how to sell real estate.
When I got licensed, my broker pointed to a desk and said, “There’s your phone. There’s the phonebook.”
That was the training.
So I called people.
I worked full-time at the appliance store during the day and went to the real estate office at night. I stayed late. I asked questions. I watched the agents who were successful and tried to do what they did. I was green — but I was hungry.
Then one evening, on one of those calls, a man named Steve paused and said, “Would you want to list my duplex?”
Everything got quiet.
I remember thinking, I hope he doesn’t realize I’m still figuring this out.
He could have chosen someone with more experience. Someone with more knowledge. Someone who had done this dozens of times before.
But he chose me.
That was the moment my real estate career truly began.
Not when I passed the exam.
Not when I got my license.
When someone trusted me.
That duplex brought responsibility. And responsibility has a way of accelerating growth.
I didn’t know enough. I knew that immediately. So I started learning — fast.
There were no podcasts. No social media tutorials. No AI to ask questions at midnight. If you wanted to learn, you read books. You signed up for more classes. You asked better agents questions. You made mistakes — and tried not to make the same one twice.
Every time something new came up, I dove in. I figured it out. I stayed late. I studied contracts. I asked for advice. And whatever I learned for one client, I carried into the next.
The more I showed up, the more opportunity showed up.
The more effort I put in, the more trust I earned.
And slowly, effort turned into competence.
Competence turned into confidence.
I was afraid of failing. That’s the truth.
But that fear didn’t stop me — it pushed me.
Looking back now, I understand something I didn’t understand then:
Fear of failure doesn’t disappear. It just changes shape.
Early on, you’re afraid of looking inexperienced.
Later, you’re afraid of making the wrong decision.
Eventually, you’re afraid of not becoming what you’re capable of.
The difference isn’t whether fear exists.
The difference is whether you move anyway.
That duplex didn’t launch a career because I was ready.
It launched because I was willing.
And willingness, repeated over time, compounds.
If you’re thinking about starting something — a career, an investment, a move, a new chapter — don’t wait until you feel fully prepared.
Show up.
Commit.
Learn aggressively.
Do the work in front of you.
You may not see what’s possible yet.
Neither did I.
3 decades later I am running a top producing real estate. We closed 112 transactions last year with over $40,000,000 in sales volume in a single year. I also helped agents through classes and mentoring. Our buyers, sellers, investors, and builders all received our high level experience while helping them through their real estate needs. We added another investment to our portfolio and opened a new real estate office in Kennewick.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face… You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
This post is originally published by Ken on his Substack profile. Subscribe to his blog for more tips, strategies, and lessons from 30+ years in real estate.
