When I attended REBarCamp in 2012 I’d had my sales registration for a whole 6 months and was just starting to get my first listings.
Having moved into real estate from my own training and management consultancy, I was familiar with the REBarCamp format (a participant determined agenda, different conversation topics to pick and choose from and an emphasis on active participation and sharing of knowledge) but, if I’m honest, I was a little bit skeptical about how it would work in a real estate environment (I assumed that people would be too protective of their knowledge and/or grand stand about how good they were). I was also a bit worried about not having anything to contribute to the day (not having 30 years experience in the industry…).
It didn’t take long for my assumptions to be proved wrong on both counts.
Not only did I learn a heap of things on a whole variety of topics from the incredibly talented, passionate and generous people who participated (Facebook, Twitter, Auctions and VPA were the conversations I joined), I also found (once I got over my initial hesitations and opened my mouth!) that people were happy to respond to my questions and respectful of my input even though I was new and only had a few runs on board (I’ve got 20 years of professional experience to offer, just not in real estate!).
I left the day with many new friends and a much larger network, great advice and learnings and a strong sense of optimism about our industry and respect for the people within it.
I said to a friend afterwards that I hadn’t expected to find the same kind of network and generosity that I had in consulting in real estate – but I did, and have.
If this is the kind of experience and network you’re looking for – then REBarCamp is where its at.
