David Bailey, Author at Baird & Warner Lincoln Park

November 24, 2020November 24, 2020

What Goes Into a Day in the Life of a Chicago Real Estate Broker?

One of the best things about a career in real estate is that no two days are exactly alike. With that being said, the most successful real estate brokers have a very intentional approach to each and every day — and put a structure in place that allows them to make the most of each day, while still allowing for flexibility.

A “Typical” Day In Chicago Real Estate

An active real estate broker is a true entrepreneur — which means wearing many different hats. On any given day, brokers at Baird & Warner – Lincoln Park might spend time on any number of activities. Generally, the most important pieces of a broker’s day center around two core areas:

Generating and facilitating new relationships
Servicing existing business opportunities

October 30, 2020May 6, 2021

Lincoln Park Agent Spotlight: John Lyons

John Lyons is known as one of Chicago’s most trusted real estate agents. As a broker, he is passionate about always continuing to learn and find new ways to improve his business and provide a better experience for his clients. And for John, the support he gets from Baird & Warner Lincoln Park helps him to do all that and more.

John got started in real estate after losing a corporate sales job, which forced him to think differently about his career options.

“That failure made me realize what I didn’t like, and pushed me towards entrepreneurship,” John says. “I was just burnt out and tired, and I realized I didn’t want to work for anybody anymore, particularly a middle manager.”

October 15, 2020October 15, 2020

How New Agents Can Become True Market Experts

How to Learn More About the Market as a New Real Estate Agent

As a real estate broker, one of the core parts of your day-to-day responsibilities is helping buyers and sellers navigate the real estate market. In a city like Chicago, that can be more easily said than done.

As a city, Chicago is dynamic and ever-changing. No matter how much time you’ve spent here, there’s always something more to see and learn. As the writer Dominic Pacyga once put it: “there seems to be a different Chicago around every street corner, behind every bar, and within every apartment, two-flat, cottage, or bungalow.”

So, as a new-to-the-business broker, how can you learn more about all of the wonderful aspects that make our area unique — and develop the skills and understanding you need to provide a top-tier experience to your clients?

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020

How Office-Level Support Can Take Your Real Estate Business to the Next Level

Office-Level Support Staff and Management

Here at Baird & Warner – Lincoln Park, our brokers are some of the most productive in the city — and we know how important a strong support team is for keeping the flow of business moving.

Consistently praised by our brokers as some of the best in the business, our office-level support staff includes multiple full-time administrators who are available to assist with listing management, marketing production, closing logistics, and much more. And with a full-time management staff of three, brokers in the Lincoln Park office have unrivaled support, guidance, coaching and mentorship at every stage of their careers.

Let’s take a deeper look at how our office-level support helps our agents to make the most of new opportunities, focus on their business strategies, and gain a competitive edge in the market:

Operational Support: Freeing You Up to Focus On What Matters Most

Attentive, driven, and professional, our operational support staff provides our agents with the specialized support they need to run a full-time business. Having a dedicated support staff in our office frees up time for our brokers to focus on the lead-generating activities that are central to growing their businesses. Depending on your business plan and strategy, this might include cultivating leads online or in-person; preparing market research and putting it into practice; negotiating deals; attending listing and buyer presentations; learning and growing in ongoing training sessions or classes; or taking part in local networking events to grow your sphere.

September 9, 2020September 9, 2020

The Benefits and Opportunities of a Chicago Real Estate Career

Reasons to Start Your Chicago Real Estate Career

Considering launching a new career in real estate? Whether you’re starting with real estate as a first career or transitioning from another field, you should know that you’re entering an industry that is fast-paced and ever-evolving.

Real estate is a field that can empower you to build up your community, and make a real difference in the lives of countless people. It can be rewarding, exciting, and dynamic — while offering high-earning potential and lots of opportunities to continue learning and growing.

Debating whether or not to pursue a career in Chicago real estate? On the fence about exploring this field, or getting started with pre-licensing training? One great place to start finding answers may be to think about your why. Why commit to this career — and why now?

July 30, 2020

Real Estate Training for New Agents: Three Tiers to Success

Looking for training and coaching opportunities as you launch your Chicago real estate career to new heights? At Baird & Warner Lincoln Park, we have a training program and office culture that is designed to help boost your confidence and productivity from day one.

Whether coming to us with experience or brand new to the business, every new broker who joins our office is offered access to three important levels of training, including:

Corporate training
Office-level training, and
Individual coaching and mentorship

These three distinct training opportunities work together to provide you with all the tools necessary for success, empower you to feel confident venturing into your new career, and help accelerate your success curve with a business plan tailored to your specific goals.

Curious about what our corporate, office-level, and one-on-one training can do for your real estate career? Let’s explore each of these three levels of training in a bit more depth:

July 15, 2020July 15, 2020

How Our Support and Training Help Our Experienced Brokers Thrive In Any Market

Baird & Warner Lincoln Park Offers Support and Training Help Our Experienced Brokers Thrive In Any Market

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching effects on our Chicago community, and the economic impact may continue to be felt for months, if not years to come. This is an unusual and unpredictable time, to say the least — including in the world of real estate.

We’ve faced some significant challenges in the last 10 years from a real estate perspective, whether it was the financial crisis back in 2009 or the pandemic that we are facing right now.

In these challenging moments, it’s important to take stock, and think about where you are, and where you’d like to go.

Do you have the tools and resources you need to rise to this moment?

Are you getting the support and training it takes to thrive in any market?

Recently, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with experienced brokers from across Chicago. Market-wide, companies are pulling back on the support and resources that they are offering to the brokers and their offices. This means delegating more to the brokers, while limiting the staff at the office level.

In moments like this, I believe that support that we offer on the office-level is an important resource to help brokers stay ahead of the curve, pivot quickly to new challenges, and offer a better experience for their clients.

June 22, 2020June 22, 2020

Is a Chicago Real Estate Career Right For You?

Is a Career In Real Estate Going to be the Right Fit for You?

“Is a career in real estate going to be the right fit for me?”

As the Designated Managing Broker for Baird & Warner – Lincoln Park, I get this question a lot — both from people who are considering real estate as their first career, and people who are looking to transition from another field.

Residential real estate is a career that exemplifies the old adage, “you get from it what you put into it.” There is no one right way to be a successful real estate broker, and all kinds of people will be able to achieve incredible things in this field. It doesn’t matter whether you’re introverted or outgoing, or whether or not you already have a large professional sphere in place. Whatever point you’re starting from, there are opportunities for you to learn and grow, as long as you commit to training and developing a plan that will allow you to work toward your goals.

I believe in an individualized approach that encourages every broker to maximize his or her own natural style, strengths, and opportunities with my support and the support of our office as a whole. It is important that we formulate a custom business plan for each broker, and provide support that is ongoing and constantly evolving as the broker’s career path and goals change.

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020

Finding the Right Fit: What Questions Should You Ask the Recruiting or Managing Broker?

As you move forward in your career in real estate, finding the right office will be one of the most important factors in determining your future success. Because no two real estate offices are the same, it’s extremely important that you do your homework on the front end to find the environment that will be a great fit.

One of the biggest steps in choosing the right office to launch your Chicago real estate career is to sit down for an interview with the office’s Recruiting or Managing Broker. This interview can be an opportunity to learn more about the things that matter most to you — including office culture and values, training and coaching opportunities, management and support structure, technology, and more.

In my view, these discussions should be far more collaborative than most traditional job interviews. As a Designated Managing Broker who regularly speaks with potential new real estate brokers, I do want to make sure that you’ll be a good fit in the office. But just as importantly, this interview is about making sure this setting will be a good fit for you.

It is extremely important to find the right environment that will help drive your success for years to come. I know this is a big decision. That’s why, at Baird & Warner Lincoln Park, we encourage you to be as systematic and thorough as possible when looking for the right office.

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020

How to Grow Your New Chicago Real Estate Business

Growing a New Chicago Real Estate Business

You’re ready to commit to a career in residential real estate and jump in with both feet. Now comes the important question: How are you going to grow your business?

There are as many ways to build a real estate business as there are brokers, and it’s important to spend some time thinking of a strategy that will be right for you. As you get started, consider what type of business model you would like to create, how you can emphasize your unique expertise and talents, and who you can turn to when you have questions or want to talk about your progress toward your goals. As with most facets of real estate, there is not necessarily a right or wrong way. It’s about finding the way that works for you as an individual, and sticking with it consistently over time.

In my perspective, the path to growing your new Chicago real estate business comes down to three main parts:

Identify who you are, and what you like to do.
Work with your managing broker and team to develop a detailed business plan that includes specific tactics — including some that appeal to you, and some that you expect to find more challenging.
Execute your plan and monitor your results.

Oftentimes, people starting their career spend all of their time learning, and not enough time doing. Real estate is a profession that rewards action versus inaction — so while it’s important to have a strategy and a plan in place, keep in mind that there are a lot of different ways to be successful. The brokers who get the most out of these early days are going to be the ones who fully execute on a plan.

Curious about how you can define and execute your own path to success? Let’s break down each of those steps in a bit more depth: