Selling on Amazon is a lucrative field. The tech behemoth has so many ways to create an Amazon store and generate sales.

We talked to leading pet supplies seller Casey Walters, who started ShedDefender to protect his friends' couches from pet messes. From there, he appeared on Shark Tank and is currently making $1.5 million in yearly revenue.

He makes two-thirds of his revenue from selling on Amazon, which gives you a good idea of how important Amazon is when you sell online.

We’ll share tips about creating an Amazon store, the importance of using Fulfillment by Amazon (also known as Amazon FBA), and how to encourage reviews without violating the Amazon Seller agreement.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] Click on any of the links below to jump ahead.

• How much money do you need to start selling on Amazon?
• Is it good to sell on Amazon with FBA?
• How to sell on Amazon
  
• Ready to start selling on Amazon?[/su_note]

Get ready to sell on Amazon!

How much money do you need to start selling on Amazon?

Jungle Scout, a leader in Amazon analytics, did research that found most new sellers start selling on Amazon with less than $5K. This covers their product costs, Amazon fees, and other required costs.

That’s consistent with how Casey Walters started selling ShedDefender on Amazon FBA:

[su_quote]My mom sewed the first product. We kinda went viral overnight. I had a seamstress making five per month. Then, I had to borrow $30K from my parents to create 2,000 of them in the first two months. Then $140K over the first year.[/su_quote]

Hear more in our exclusive interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTiks_VFTMo

Is it good to sell on Amazon with FBA?

Selling on Amazon is highly beneficial to new businesses. Some of the benefits of becoming an Amazon seller include the ability to:

• Increase sales
• Spend less
• Simplify operations
• Grow your business

Want to know how?

Increase sales

Casey used Fulfilment by Amazon to deliver orders with the speed and reliability of Amazon Prime. Customers love the speed of delivery, which will help you increase sales and encourage repeat purchases.

In fact, Casey sells twice as many products on Amazon as he does on his own website, and it means he’s earning an extra $100K per month!

Spend less

When you sell on Amazon, you can have Amazon manage your shipping. Amazon gets huge discounts because of its purchasing power and delivery network. That’s why FBA saves 30% off standard shipping and up to 70% on premium shipping options.

Simplify operations

Selling on Amazon FBA means Amazon handles payment and order processing, customer inquiries, returns, and review software. Free up your time to focus on product development, marketing, and delighting customers.

Grow your business

Selling on Amazon gives you access to a global network with hundreds of fulfillment centers to sell products globally without figuring out the logistics.

How to sell on Amazon

Starting an Amazon business has never been easier. There are so many ways Amazon sellers can sell on Amazon. You’ll want to follow this easy 15-step process to selling on Amazon:

1. Start with market research
2. Find your niche
3. Create a business plan
4. Identify product suppliers
5. Place orders
6. Set up seller account
    a. Configure your account
    b. Enroll your brand
7. List products
    a. Take good photos
    b. Be descriptive
8. Research the right selling price
9. Package items with care
10. Select a fulfillment method
    a. Amazon FBA
    b. Self Fulfillment
    c. Dropshipping
    d. Amazon Print-on-Demand
11. Manage your inventory
12. Promote products
13. Get product reviews
14. Optimize listings
15. Grow with tools

Get ready to learn how to sell on Amazon.

Start with market research

You'll want to decide what to sell online. The best way to do that is to establish what kind of eCommerce store you want to be. A good Amazon store will offer something people will pay for, and you won’t mind spending your time becoming an expert on the subject.

Once you have an online business idea, you’ll want to establish its potential to grow into a profitable business. That requires market research.

Find your niche

The key to selling on Amazon is finding product categories to buy products at a competitive price, markup, and generate sales. Check out our blog about the best products to sell on Amazon. We discuss considerations about product categories including:

• Games and Toys
• Health & Household
• Beauty Products & Personal Care
• Grocery & Gourmet Food
• Clothing, Shoes, and Jewelry
• Baby Products
• Home & Kitchen
• Kitchen & Dining
• Tools & Home Improvement
• Pet Supplies
• Sports & Outdoors
• Patio, Lawn, and Garden

Next, you’ll want to write a business plan that outlines your approach to selling on Amazon.

Create a business plan

Your business plan can be as straightforward or as complicated as you want to make it. The more detailed the business plan you write, the more accessible selling products will be. Those with a plan have a 19% higher success rate.

That doesn’t mean you have to be confident you’ll achieve success from Day 1. As Casey told us,

[su_quote]This all started ’cause my friends didn’t like my dog shedding all over their house.[/su_quote]

At this point, you have a successful sales performance target, so it’s time to start finding the products to sell in your eCommerce store.

Identify product suppliers

Next, you’ll want to find manufacturers that can create the products you need and ship products to you. You’ll want to look for quality manufacturers that won’t ship counterfeit products.

You might need to find a manufacturer—or check out Amazon Merch to see if they carry the products you want to sell.

Place orders

Once you have found a manufacturer or wholesaler for your products, you must place an order and get the products shipped to you. Before you order, ensure the products aren’t on the restricted product list.

Alternatively, you may be able to have them shipped to an Amazon warehouse, though you’ll probably want to check your own products to ensure they meet quality control standards before shipping them to the Amazon warehouse (especially if you’re just getting started).

Next, it’s time to start your Amazon Seller Account.

Create an Amazon Seller Account

All Amazon sellers will need an Amazon Seller Account before they can open their Amazon store and create product listings.

You’ll need to choose a selling plan. There are two options: Individual and Professional. The individual selling plan is free to start and $0.99 per item sold.

Meanwhile, the Professional selling plan is $39.99 and offers lots of tools to boost sales and manage items in bulk.

Configure your account

To become an Amazon seller, you’ll need to configure your account following the steps below:

1. Gather your personal and business information (including bank account routing number and credit card that allows international charges).
2. Choose to apply for either an Individual or Professional seller account.
3. Enter your email address and password.
4. Add your business location and type.
5. Enter your personal and business details.
6. Enter your payment method.
7. Hover over the gear icon.
8. Click “User Permissions”.
9. Enter contact information for new account users.
10. Optionally: Manage settings for existing users.

You can create your account using the email address associated with your Amazon customer account or opt to set it up using a separate business email address.

Note that receiving approval to open an Amazon Seller Account can take a few days to a few months.

Enroll in the Amazon Brand Registry

You’ll want to enroll in brand protection through the Amazon Brand Registry. When you have a trademarked brand image, you can sign up, and Amazon will help protect your brand's intellectual property and provide tools for a more creative brand experience.

Create a product detail page

You can create a product detail page once your Amazon account is set up. You’ll need a product detail page for each product you offer, but product pages allow for variations (different color and size combinations) on a single page.

Two of the most critical features of a product detail page include the photos and the text, which we’ll discuss to help you create a beautiful Amazon store.

Take good photos

Many sellers emphasize the importance of beautiful pictures to help sell their products on Amazon and other eCommerce stores.

Amazon sellers should follow Amazon photo requirements precisely for the most success. Some types of products have additional requirements, but the main requirements are:

• Use a pure white background (255,255,255 is the color code if you do your own editing).
• Show the whole product.
• Fill 85% of the picture.
• Name the image the same as the Product Identifier for books and some other products.
• The long side should be between 1,000 and 10,000 pixels.
• Files should be JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg), TIFF (.tif), PNG(.png), or GIF (.gif) file formats.

Any other photos should follow the exact technical requirements, but you are not required to use a white background or the product identifier as the title. You can include videos, infographics, and models, except for babies.

Pro Tip: Review specific product category requirements before adding pictures to your product detail page.

Be descriptive

An Amazon store with compelling titles and descriptions on the product detail page will have more product visibility. Both the title and the description should have relevant keywords to highlight the particular product features that Amazon shoppers are searching for.

Amazon allows up to 200 characters in the product title, so you might use them to target as many search results as possible. Shed Defender, for example, uses the following title:

Shed Defender Original Dog Onesie – Seen On Shark Tank, Contains Shedding of Dog Hair for Home, Car, Travel, Anxiety Calming Shirt, Surgery Recovery Body Jumpsuit, E Collar Alternative

Generally speaking, this is borderline keyword-stuffing (adding many keywords for SEO purposes), and some search engines penalize pages in search results when you stuff too many keywords in a small space. It seems to work alright for the Shed Defender Amazon Store, though.

I’d be interested to see what happens with search results if they cut the title to:

Shed Defender Original Dog Onesie – Seen On Shark Tank

Once you come up with a great product title, you’ll want to include the following information in your product descriptions:

• Sizes offered
• Colors offered
• Product category-specific information requested by Amazon.
• Bullet point list of the essential features.
• Sizing guide to help people choose the right size for garments.
• Answers to frequently asked questions.

Pro Tip: Look at top-performing product pages in your product category to understand what they do. Then, use Jungle Scout to research the keywords people are using to search for products in your category. You can also check search engine optimization tools like Semrush, SurferSEO, or Google Trends.

Research the right selling price

Amazon shoppers are going to compare prices and deals online. You should, too. A dynamic pricing tool is a cost-effective way to provide competitive prices. Amazon includes a built-in option with a Professional selling plan, but you might want external dynamic pricing software that you can use on your own website, too.

These tools make it so that third-party sellers can match or beat the best pricing online, but you need to include minimum pricing so that you don’t drop below the costs of replacing the product, Amazon shipping costs, and additional selling fees.

Package items with care

Whether you are shipping items directly to customers or to Amazon fulfillment centers, you’ll want to have the products in packaging that protects them from the damage that occurs during shipping.

Check out the Amazon Seller Guide sections below to learn more about how Amazon expects you to ship products that participate in Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

• Sending and Replenishing Inventory: Provides information on how to pack
• Shipping and Routing: Summarizes packing expectations and expands on shipping requirements

Select a fulfillment method

You’ll need to select a method of fulfillment for each product. The primary options include:

• Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)
• Self Fulfillment
• Dropshipping
• Amazon Merch

Next, let's look at these approaches to selling on Amazon.

Amazon FBA

When you start selling on Amazon with Amazon FBA, you must ship your products to an Amazon fulfillment center. We’ll discuss why you might want to use Amazon FBA and its associated costs.

Why choose Amazon FBA

When you use Amazon FBA, you benefit from Amazon Prime shipping, which means Amazon provides customer service and handles customer returns to Prime members.

According to Statista, 71% of Amazon customers are Prime members, which means you gain access to the customer service standards their customer base expects. You are more likely to get positive reviews if you meet their expectations when you sell on Amazon.

Fulfillment costs

The sales costs on Amazon start at $2.45 per item and increase based on the product type, weight, dimensions, and time of year. You will pay 1.5% to 8% more for holiday packing and shipping.

Costs of storage space

You’ll also pay for storing the products, which is substantially more during the holidays than the rest of the year.

Month	Standard	Oversized
January to September	$0.87 per cubic foot	$0.56 per cubic foot
October to December	$2.40 per cubic foot	$1.40 per cubic foot

Self Fulfillment

Some sellers prefer to handle fulfillment, especially if they profit from their own website or run multiple product shipping businesses.

Pro Tip: I strongly recommend seeking out the input of a shipping and fulfillment specialist before you try to sell this way. The decisions you make when you are managing fulfillment can make or break the company.

It impacts both pricing and customer service, which can cause you to lose money when you sell. (It’s happened to me on a couple of products I tried selling before I created and started implementing various helpful calculators for selling on platforms.)

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is similar to Amazon FBA, but a third-party fulfillment center or distributor will ship the product after you sell it on Amazon. You may have shipping delays when you sell using this method if there is a lag between when the customer pays and when the dropshipper gets paid.

The main benefit of this strategy is you don’t need as much inventory to sell on Amazon.

Amazon Merch

Amazon Merch is a print-on-demand offering that allows you to sell on Amazon by submitting your designs for products. Every time you sell an item, Amazon prints the product, ships it, and gives you a royalty.

Manage your inventory

You’ll need to keep your inventory available when you sell on Amazon. This might mean ordering in bulk and having shipments sent to the nearest Amazon fulfillment center or staying updated on unavailable products through your dropshipper.

Pro Tip: You might need to invest in more sophisticated inventory management tools to update your channels’ inventory when you start selling on multiple sales channels.

Promote products

There are numerous ways to promote your products both on and off Amazon. You can use strategies like:

• Sponsored brand campaigns: Invest in cost-per-click (CPC) ads featuring your logo, headline, and multiple products. These ads appear at the top, bottom, and inside of mobile and desktop shopping searches.
• Stores: You can customize your Amazon store to highlight your brand, emphasize product listings or categories, and generate sales.
• Sponsored display ads: Amazon has a huge network of affiliate websites that earn a commission for advertising projects. Show ads on and off Amazon with display ads.
• Posts: Create content to help people understand your product listing more. Then highlight it on your Amazon shop.
• Sponsored products: Show a specific product detail page when an Amazon customer searches for relevant keywords. These work similar to brand ads.
• Amazon Live: Create a video to highlight products and sell on Amazon.

Selling on Amazon has evolved to allow you to do most aspects of social media marketing and content marketing directly on Amazon.

Get product reviews

Selling on Amazon requires positive reviews. The more positive online reviews you have, the better. Amazon allows you to automate review requests, but be careful not to break their rules. If you need to solicit reviews for a new product, try Amazon Vine.

Optimize product listings

We’ve already talked about Amazon SEO some, but I cannot emphasize this enough. Consumer behaviors shift, and you have to adjust to them. Use the Amazon Seller app to track your sales and adjust product SEO when you see a drop in sales.

Grow with tools

Selling on Amazon comes with numerous benefits. Because it is the largest eCommerce platform on the planet, they have many Amazon seller tools, plus thousands of approved service providers and apps to choose from.

Ready to start selling on Amazon?

Now, you understand the key strategies to start selling on Amazon. It’s up to you to find the products you are most comfortable selling.

Have you created an Amazon Store before? What parts of selling on Amazon did you find most challenging? Let us know in the comments.

Want to be your own boss and quit your day job?

We’ve got you covered with our guide to connect entrepreneurs with their goals. We’ll show you how to become an entrepreneur with advice from five business owners who have turned their ideas into multi-million dollar businesses and opened up even more opportunities.

How to become an entrepreneur

Becoming an entrepreneur requires wearing many hats. You’ll have all kinds of responsibilities, including marketing, human relations, inventory, legal compliance, and more. You’ll want to follow these steps to join the ranks of successful entrepreneurs:

1. Identify your passion and expertise.
2. Generate and validate business ideas.
3. Create a business plan.
4. Develop necessary skills.
5. Network with successful entrepreneurs.
6. Consider the legal structure.
7. Secure funding.
8. Create a minimum viable product (MVP).
9. Build a brand and online presence.
10. Market your business.
11. Provide exceptional customer service.
12. Manage finances and operations.
13. Scale your business.

Read from start to finish to learn all about becoming an entrepreneur, from identifying a good business idea to building a brand. Or click on any of the links above to jump straight to the section you need to learn more about right now.

Identify your passion and expertise

To become an entrepreneur, you need to find the intersection of what you’re good at, what makes money, and what people will pay you to do. Start by writing down your hobbies, skills, and experiences. Here’s an example of what mine look like:

Hobbies	Skills	Work Experiences
Learning	Math	Restaurants
Helping Others	Writing	Construction
Traveling	Problem Solving	Retail
Concerts	Researching	Delivery Services
New Experiences	Customer Service	Photography Business
	Storytelling	Surveying Customers

As you can see, my combination of skills, hobbies, and work experience hints that I need to be doing something that uses lots of skills and covers a variety of industries. Writing for UpFlip fits that bill.

Also write down things you don’t want to do or would find inconvenient. For instance, if you’re not a morning person, you might not want to start a construction company.

Try writing yours down and see if you learn something about yourself. You can also take an interest and aptitude test to find businesses you might do extraordinarily well in.

Next, you’ll want to find a business idea to pursue.

Generate and validate business ideas

Next, you’ll want to come up with a business idea that fits well with your life.

We have a vast selection of ideas for you to consider when you decide to start a business. We’ve got you covered for a side business, companies that generate passive income, or a business idea that requires eCommerce.

Check out some ideas from Paul Akers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdxKZWfD4fA

After you’ve listed businesses you are interested in starting, it’s time to conduct market research to determine whether there's a demand for your product or service. You’ll want to research information like:

• How much does the industry make?
• What is the growth forecast?
• What are the emerging trends?
• Who are the market players?
• How much does the average business make?
• How many employees does the average business need?

Check out our blog about market research to learn more.

You’ll want to save your answers, and where you got them, because you’ll need them for the next step.

Create a business plan

A well-structured business plan helps you clarify your goals and strategies. Outline your business concept, target market, competition, marketing strategy, and financial projections.

Small business owners have different ways of writing a business plan. Some just write a one-page business plan to keep themselves on track, while others write a 100-page plan and pursue venture capital money or loans.

It’s important to note that the majority of successful entrepreneurs have a business plan. You should also be flexible, as 93% of Harvard graduates who chose to become an entrepreneur pivoted from their original strategy to increase success.

Check out our interview with Mike Andes to learn how he writes a business plan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Seac5PbUZXk

Develop necessary skills

Entrepreneurs need skills like:

• Creativity
• Leadership
• Communication
• Marketing
• Finance
• Problem-solving
• Adaptation
• Persistence
• Resilience

Consider taking courses, reading books, or attending workshops to develop these skills.

Creativity

Making something out of nothing requires creativity. Just like an artist with a blank canvas, a successful entrepreneur will take an idea and paint a picture with their business plan.

Leadership

Successful businesses are teams, and the business owner is the coach. In today’s world, the old model where you could abuse your employees and they’d stay doesn’t work.

A successful entrepreneur looks to find people with aligned interests and empower them to achieve their goals while helping the company achieve its goals.

SessionLab has a great blog on exercises aspiring entrepreneurs can do to improve their leadership skills.

Communication

Successful entrepreneurs know how to communicate. You’ll have to talk to customers, investors, and employees. Everyone has different ways of communicating, and with all the lines of communication available, learning how to communicate with each stakeholder can be a challenge.

Email, video conferencing, in-person, and other methods are consistently used, and each of them has its own challenges. Try some of these exercises to build communication skills.

Marketing

Many entrepreneurs struggle with this element of starting a business. You can always outsource, but it helps to have a solid understanding of marketing, and particularly digital marketing.

There are tons of free certifications you can take to learn about marketing. Some of my favorites are:

1. HubSpot Digital Marketing Certification: This covers SEO, website speed, social media, email marketing, and paid ads. Take it through HubSpot Academy.
2. Google Certifications: You can get certified on Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads through Skillshop.

While you don’t have to have these certifications, successful entrepreneurs need to understand the “language” of the people they supervise.

Finance

The point of a business is to make money. It will be hard to be a successful entrepreneur without a basic understanding of accounting.

Consider taking a course or two so you can better discuss your financial strategies with a certified public accountant.

Problem-solving

Successful entrepreneurs are good at solving problems. Some ways to improve your problem-solving skills include:

• Practicing puzzles and brain teasers regularly
• Engaging in critical thinking activities and games
• Reading business books

Adaptation

One of my favorite quotes is from John Maxwell: “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”

You’ll deal with constant change on your path to become an entrepreneur. Employees will come and go, and market trends will evolve, but will you?

If you aren’t adaptable, you’ll probably find running your own business tedious. Many entrepreneurs spend most of their days jumping from one task to another and need to know how to shift gears.

The best way to learn adaptability is to go through trials and tribulations. When something challenges you, take a minute, center yourself, and ask why it evokes a response. Once you understand the emotional response, tackle the problem.

Persistence

A new business venture rarely becomes immediately successful. It can take years for entrepreneurs to find the right combination of product, pricing, and marketing strategies to get the market interested in what it creates.

The best you can do is learn from your mistakes and keep moving forward.

For inspiration, read about Thomas Edison’s persistence when creating the lightbulb.

Resilience

Murphy’s Law states that what can go wrong will go wrong.

A successful entrepreneur needs to be prepared for things to go wrong when they own a business. How quickly they gain composure and find a way to fix it will dramatically impact their success.

Network with successful entrepreneurs

Connect with other entrepreneurs, join business associations, and attend networking events. A support network can provide valuable advice, mentorship, and potential partnerships.

We’re creating a mentorship program that will help you network with other successful entrepreneurs. Sign up for our newsletter to be one of the first to join.

Consider the legal structure

You’ll need to choose a legal structure for your business. It’s best to consult with a lawyer or legal advisor to understand the implications of the different business structures, but the most common business structures are:

• Sole proprietorships
• Limited liability companies
• Corporations

Sole proprietorship

The business owner and the business are the same entity, which means if someone sues your business, they could take your personal assets.

Limited liability company (LLC)

An LLC makes your business a separate entity and provides liability protection—as long as you have a separate bank account, do not personally cause an incident, and do not sign away the protection (beware: lenders try to get you to).

LLCs require less paperwork and compliance work than a corporation, too.

Corporation

A corporation also offers liability protection and also the issuance of shares, but there are numerous compliance issues that may occur.

Learn more in our blog about business structures.

Secure funding

You’ll need money to become a successful entrepreneur. That doesn’t mean it has to be your money, but it’s easier to build a successful business if it is your money.

To fund a business you’ll need to:

1. Create a five-year budget.
2. Establish how much money you need to follow the budget.
3. Decide how to fund the business.

Create a five-year budget

A key step to becoming an entrepreneur is calculating how much money you’ll need to make before your business becomes profitable.

Early-stage companies can become successful within a few months, depending on the business model, but Tesla took 17 years to have a profitable year.

Your financial projections should be made with the following figures in mind:

1. How much you need to maintain your lifestyle
2. Your current startup funds
3. The reasonably expected revenue
4. Expenses associated with the small business

We’ve created a startup cost estimator to help you establish how much you’ll need to make to break even.

Establish how much money you need to follow the budget

Once you have a budget, you need to establish whether you have the money or need to find funding. The funding you’ll need for the small business needs to be high enough to cover you through the time when the business model is not making an operating profit.

You may also want to add wiggle room because many businesses fail when they run out of money. Assuming an additional 20% should cover unexpected expenses.

Decide how to fund the business

You can get business funds from numerous sources, including:

• Personal savings
• Potential business partners
• Venture capitalists
• Angel investors
• Loans
• Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) financing
• Investors
• Crowdfunding

Let’s discuss how to become an entrepreneur using each of these funding sources.

Personal savings

Many entrepreneurs start by self funding. This is the most common way to start a small business. You might use your own money from working, savings accounts, or rollover business start-ups (ROBS).

A ROBS allows a business owner to own company shares with their retirement account. The small business then has funds and doesn’t pay a penalty for early withdrawals.

Potential business partners

When you become an entrepreneur, it may be beneficial to have a partner.

Business leaders will often want additional sources of revenue and agree to be a business partner and mentor to other people. Whether the partner is a silent partner or active in the business model can be negotiated.

Venture capitalists

Venture capital firms look for startup entrepreneurs who have ideas that could make them millions or billions of dollars.

The firms help promising business models get the funds they need to make it through the startup grind, and they effectively manage these businesses until the company qualifies to go public. The venture capitalists gain massive wealth in the process.

Learn how Keith McCall raised millions of dollars for Pollen Systems through venture capital firms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-0qmNTaU90

Angel investors

Angel investors are similar to venture capitalists, but there are some major differences:

• Angel investors do not manage others’ funds, while venture capital companies do.
• Venture capitalists tend to invest in more established companies than angel investors.
• An angel investor tends to invest less than a venture capital firm.
• Venture capital tends to be less hands on than angel investors.

Loans

You can take out personal loans or small business loans to become an entrepreneur, but unless the company is an online business with a business model that is likely to scale, you may find it difficult to get funding until after you don’t really need it.

You can learn more about small business loans on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) website.

Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) financing

The SBA also licenses SBICs. They’re a cross between venture capitalists and banks, where they offer both debt and equity options. For every dollar the SBIC provides you, the Small Business Administration provides two.

Learn more about SBICs here.

Crowdfunding

Another way to start an entrepreneurial career is crowdfunding, which is when new entrepreneurs list offerings to potential investors on a website in exchange for debt, equity, rewards, or donations.

Check out our interview with Jason Hernandez. He started Pooch Selfie by fundraising on Kickstarter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7UzP5dVOqA

Create a minimum viable product (MVP)

An MVP is a basic version of your product or service that allows you to test the market and gather feedback. This might be a prototype of a physical product that people test before mass production, or it might be a less sophisticated version of the intended software.

You’ll want to follow these steps to create an MVP:

• Define your idea and objectives: Clearly articulate your product idea and identify the core problem it solves or value it provides users.
• Identify key features: Determine the features that are essential to addressing the core problem or delivering the primary value proposition. Avoid adding unnecessary features at this stage.
• Prioritize features: Rank the identified features based on their importance. Focus on the must-have features that are critical for the MVP's functionality.
• Design user interface (UI) and user experience (UX): Create a basic design for the user interface. It should be intuitive and user-friendly. You can use wireframes or mockups to visualize the layout.
• Select the technology stack: Choose the appropriate technology and tools for development. Consider factors like programming language, frameworks, and databases.
• Build the MVP: Develop the basic version of your product with the selected features. Keep the development process lean and focused on the core functionality.
• Test and assure quality: Thoroughly test the MVP to identify and fix any bugs or issues. Ensure that the product functions reliably.
• Launch the MVP: Make the MVP accessible to a small group of early users. This could be through a closed beta test or a limited release to a select audience.
• Gather user feedback: Encourage users to provide feedback on their experience with the MVP. This feedback is invaluable for refining and improving the product.
• Analyze metrics and user behavior: Use analytics tools to track user interactions, engagement, and other relevant metrics. This data will help you understand how users are using the MVP.
• Iterate and refine: Based on the feedback and data gathered, make necessary improvements and iterate on the MVP. Focus on enhancing existing features and possibly adding new ones.
• Continue testing and iterating: Keep testing and iterating based on user feedback and data. Continue to refine the product to meet user needs and expectations.
• Scale and expand: Once you have a solid foundation and a validated product, you can start thinking about scaling and adding more features to meet broader market demands.

Remember, the key to a successful MVP is to keep it simple, focused, and aligned with solving a specific problem or delivering a clear value proposition. It's about learning from real user interactions and using that knowledge to guide the development of your product.

Learn more in our blog on product development.

Build a brand and online presence

After you spend money creating your product, it’s time to build your brand. You’ll need to complete the following tasks to build a winning brand:

1. Design a logo.
2. Create a website.
3. Create social media accounts.
4. Get packaging for any physical products.
5. Design uniforms, building, and vehicle signs (if applicable).
6. Write your brand guidelines.

Design a logo

Your logo can be basic or elaborate. Most companies try to keep at or below three colors and want the logo to help explain what they do.

MaidThis is an online business that focuses on booking Airbnb and home cleaning jobs. Hear how Neel made the logo and has turned the remote cleaning business into a $2M per year company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVyLriqFVdc

Create a website

Entrepreneurial success normally relies on digital marketing, and the center of any digital marketing strategy should be your website. It’s where new customers find you after typing something relevant into a search engine.

Learn more in our blog on website creation.

Create social media accounts

You’ll probably want to at least have a small presence on every popular social media platform. Make sure your business’s profile fits its company culture.

You’ll want to research best practices for each one and start building a following. We’ll talk about that more in the marketing section.

As you gain traction on several platforms, you can focus on the ones that help you get more satisfied customers.

Get packaging for any physical products

Companies selling physical products need to have packaging that matches the brand image they want to portray.

Check out Packlane’s blog about custom packaging to get your creative juices flowing.

Design uniforms, building, and vehicle signs (if applicable)

Many local businesses find success, and part of what plays into that success is how they use their vehicles, buildings, and uniforms to convey a brand message.

Mike Andes started a lawn care business that is one of Entrepreneur’s top 500 franchises. He discusses elements of branding in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8MyjkibCxk

Write your brand guidelines

Your brand guidelines will provide information to employees and marketers about how to use your brand assets. Check out the brand guideline example below.

Market your business

Develop a marketing strategy to promote your business. You should include:

• Content marketing
• Social media marketing
• Search engine optimization
• Email marketing
• Advertising

Content marketing

A profitable business focuses on finding ways to bring people to its website. Content marketing focuses on creating content that people will remember and find useful—and hopefully develop a positive relationship with your brand in turn.

Social media marketing

You’ll want to share all the content you create on social media platforms. You want to use that content to encourage actions, including:

• Following your page
• Going to your website
• Providing an email or phone number
• Downloading a useful product
• Buying a product
• Leaving a review
• Referring friends

Notice that each of these steps is building a closer relationship with your audience and will help you get closer to your goal of becoming a profitable business.

Not all entrepreneurs have the patience to go through this process on their own. You may find it easier to hire a marketing team with experience in your product category if you are hoping to be an overnight success.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO works amazingly alongside content marketing and social media marketing.

The goal with SEO is to identify the intent and questions that search engine users have, then provide them the information they want to know. When you successfully help answer questions better than other websites, you may rank higher in the search results.

You can use software like Semrush and SurferSEO to identify the best strategy for answering searchers’ questions and ranking highly in search engine results.

Email marketing

After you have collected a person’s email, you can use email marketing tools like MailChimp to separate people into email lists and automate when you send them emails.

This helps you keep your customers and followers informed about new developments in the company and can increase their lifetime value.

Advertising

Paid advertising still has a place in marketing, but it is extremely costly if you don’t narrow your target market.

For instance, just by narrowing their ads to people who live in New York City, local businesses can get nearly 40 times better results than if they allow the ads to be shown nationally, and almost 1,000 times better results than if they showed globally.

	Local (NYC)	National	Global
Number of People	8.6M	340.4M	8.1B
Percent of Global Population	.11%	4.2%	100%
Savings	99.89%	95.8%	0%
Cost to Show Whole Area One Ad on Google	$26,832	$1,062,048 (39.6x Local)	$25,272,000 (941.9x Local)
Cost to Show Whole Area One Ad on Facebook	$73,960	$2,927,440	$69,660,000

Given New York City has over eight times the population of most U.S. cities, that means you can market to almost any city for less than $4,000.

Reduce your target market even further, and you can start making it so locals think about your company when they need the service you offer.

Provide exceptional customer service

Providing exceptional customer service is crucial for building customer loyalty and a positive reputation for your business. Here are some steps you can take to deliver outstanding customer service:

• Understand your customers’ needs: Take the time to truly understand what your customers are looking for. Listen actively to their concerns, questions, and feedback.
• Be responsive: Respond to customer inquiries, messages, and feedback promptly. This shows that you value their time and are committed to assisting them.
• Practice active listening: Pay close attention to what your customers are saying. This helps you address their specific needs and concerns more effectively.
• Empathize and show understanding: Put yourself in the customer's shoes and understand their perspective. Acknowledge their feelings, frustrations, or excitement.
• Maintain a positive attitude: Stay positive, even when dealing with challenging or difficult situations. A positive attitude can help diffuse tension and create a more pleasant interaction.
• Personalize interactions: Use the customer's name, refer to previous interactions, and tailor your responses to their specific situation. This shows that you value them as an individual.
• Provide clear and accurate information: Ensure the information you provide is accurate and easy to understand. Avoid jargon that the customer may not be familiar with.
• Go the extra mile: Take initiative to exceed customer expectations. This could be by offering additional assistance, providing special discounts, or offering solutions beyond what was initially requested.
• Admit mistakes and take responsibility: If your business makes a mistake, acknowledge it, apologize, and take steps to rectify the situation. Customers appreciate honesty and transparency.
• Follow up and follow through: After providing assistance, follow up with the customer to ensure that their issue was resolved to their satisfaction. This demonstrates your commitment to their well-being.
• Provide multi-channel support: Offer various communication channels, such as phone, email, chat, and social media. This allows customers to reach out in the way that is most convenient for them.
• Solicit feedback: Ask customers for feedback about their experience. Use this information to identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments.
• Train your customer service team: If you have a team, ensure they are well-trained in customer service skills and have a thorough understanding of your products or services.
• Monitor and measure customer service performance: Use metrics and customer satisfaction surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of your customer service efforts, and make improvements as needed.
• Foster a customer-centric culture: Ensure that everyone in your organization understands the importance of exceptional customer service and is committed to delivering it consistently.

Remember, exceptional customer service is an ongoing effort that requires dedication and a customer-centric mindset. By prioritizing your customers' needs and consistently delivering high-quality service, you can build strong, lasting relationships with your customer base.

Manage finances and operations

Keep track of your finances, manage cash flow, and ensure you have efficient operational processes in place. Most companies use QuickBooks to manage their finances.

Scale your business

Once you've established a solid foundation, consider ways to grow and expand. This could involve hiring more employees, entering new markets, or offering additional products or services. Check out our blog about how to grow a business.

Remember, becoming an entrepreneur is a journey that requires continuous learning and adaptability. Stay open to new ideas, seek feedback, and never stop refining your business.

Become a successful entrepreneur: Start your own business

Now you know how to become an entrepreneur. We’ve discussed everything from choosing an idea to finding funding and building your brand.

Want instant access to business models that work? Skip the formal education and join our global community of young entrepreneurs by taking one of our online courses. Learn more here.

What kinds of businesses do you want to start?

Many people ask UpFlip how to become a real estate agent, so we’ve answered your question. In fact, there were more than 49,000 new real estate agents in 2021, but not all of them made it. If you want a real estate career, you need to follow some industry best practices.  We talked to Santino Filipelli, who started Modern Realty in 2017. Today, he has a team of real estate agents working at his brokerage, and his top performer earned more than $1 million dollars. Santino told us: [su_quote]I got into the real estate business kinda on accident. I intentionally got my real estate license while I was in college to become a firefighter, but decided to stay and quit school.[/su_quote] He laid out a five-step process to becoming a real estate agent.

1. Enroll in Real Estate School, take your credit hours, and take a test.
2. Get your real estate license.
3. Find a broker.
4. Secure clients.
5. Close deals.

We’ll look at each of the steps, but first, let's take a look at the real estate industry so you can develop your knowledge about it.

Real Estate Industry Crash Course

Real estate is an excellent career choice, but it can have high fluctuations due to economic conditions. For example, nearly 1 million real estate agents left the National Association of Realtors (NAR) between 2007 and 2012. Since 2012, 500,000 new Realtors have joined the NAR, nearly ⅓ of those joining in 2021. So many people enter the industry that it is one of the ten most commonly started businesses according to the Economic Innovation Group. Statistics come from IBIS World unless otherwise cited.

Financials

Real estate agents and brokers are classified under the North American Industry Classification System code 53121. Nearly 1 million businesses split nearly $200 billion in revenue and have around a 21% profit margin. That means nearly $200,000 revenue and $42,000 profit per business. Let’s look at the revenue and expenses of real estate businesses.

Revenue for Real Estate Agents

Revenue is primarily driven by commissions on the sale of property. The average commission is around 2%, which means for $200K in revenue, a real estate agent needs to sell approximately $10 million worth of homes or businesses. That converts to approximately 10 to 40 homes in most places. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that brokers make approximately $62K per year, while sales agents average around $48K. Let’s look at the expenses for a real estate agent.

Real Estate Agent Expenses

A real estate agent will typically experience the following expenses:

• Wages: 16-22% which includes a 5-6% commission to cover brokerage administrative expenses.
• Office Supplies: 3-15%, with industry average of 3.6%.
• Marketing: Typically under 2%. This seems like an opportunity for the real estate agent who learns marketing and expands it to the typical 8% of other industries.
• Rent + Utilities: 5-6% of revenue.
• Depreciation: Normally 1.5%-16%. Business owners will normally claim depreciation of vehicles, buildings, and equipment. This is an on-paper cost.
• Other: These include all the miscellaneous expenses like taxes, software, gas, and payments to subcontractors like photographers. Here’s the breakdown of other expenses.

How to Become a Successful Real Estate Agent

Santino discussed the keys to success in real estate. He told us: [su_quote]Take the DISC test. People with high D and high I scores tend to do well, but you can’t be overbearing. You can still do well without it, but those personalities tend to do best.[/su_quote]

Check out our interview with him below:

We asked Santino how average and top performing agents perform. He told us: [su_quote]The top agent came on early and spent 3 to 4 hours being mentored. He made close to $1 million last year on:

• 84 transactions

• $580K average home

• 2% average commission

He still blocks out his time and spends lots of time on lead generation.[/su_quote] It might help to write a business plan. Try out our BP template. He went on to tell us: [su_quote]The average has been in the $55 to $60 thousand, but before this hot streak it was more like $40K for the average real estate agent.[/su_quote] If you already have a source of wealth to drive your revenue, Santino also mentioned that you can almost buy your way to success as a sales agent or listing broker.  He also suggested getting involved in professional groups to help with networking and improving your knowledge base. We’ll discuss some of the groups that can help you become a better real estate agent.

Join and Get Involved in Professional Groups

Becoming a real estate agent requires building a personal and professional network. Some of the best ways to build your network and expand your knowledge include:

• Young Professionals Network (YPN): Helps real estate agents learn skills and best practices that help them be more successful. 
• National Association of Realtors (NAR): This organization provides a variety of certifications, ethic training, resources, meetings, and joining is the only way to become a REALTOR®.
• Chamber of Commerce: Join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and participate in your local chapter.
• Federal Reserve: Keep up to date on economic and interest rate changes.
• Volunteering: Santino suggests getting out and helping your community. Organizations like Habitat for Humanity are great for meeting construction professionals that can be useful connections.
• National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB): This organization focuses on helping improve minority professionals’ results and community homeownership rates.
• Federal Housing Finance Agency: Stay updated on laws impacting real estate.

Make sure to join the National Association of Realtors, and National Association of Real Estate Brokers because they provide resources and high quality backlinks that will help you throughout your career. 

Industry Trends

Three industry trends currently impact real estate: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

1. High home prices tend to lower demand for housing
2. Rising interest rates tend to lower demand for housing
3. Tightening credit tends to make it harder to buy a home

[/su_note] “These will lead to a reduction of real estate agents.” Santino also discussed the impact of technology innovation in the market.

Real Estate Crypto & Blockchain 

Santino told us he expects crypto to start making a bigger play in real estate, but warned: [su_quote]Lots of companies have tried to disrupt the real estate industry, but none have successfully changed it.[/su_quote] Before I continue, I should probably warn you that crypto is currently under-regulated in the U.S. Evaluate the risks carefully. There are a few ways that real estate and blockchain interact: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• NFT Titles
• Selling metaverse real estate

[/su_note] Let’s look at each.

NFT Titles

Nonfungible Tokens (NFTs) have entered the real estate market and are being used as a way to sell homes. While most companies have not gone to this approach, I would expect many to in the future because:

1. NFTs allow the creator to receive a recurring commission. If you are the first real estate agent to sell a house, you get a commission every time it passes hands. Sweet!
2. It reduces the time to close a sale.

The leader in the market is Propy which offers a monthly subscription for offer management, NFT title creation (currently approximately $200), and blockchain real estate agent certifications.

How to Become a Real Estate Agent in the Metaverse

The metaverse is a virtual world. It’s basically the world people unplug from in the movie the Matrix. Like the real world, it allows transactions including real estate transactions.  Sandbox is one of the most popular metaverses where users can buy and sell land, but there are more coming out every day. I’m personally investing in Stageverse at the moment. Good news! You don’t need to have a real estate license to buy and sell metaverse lands. If you want to learn more about how to become a metaverse real estate agent, check out this Academicful blog. Let’s look at the first step of becoming a real estate agent. 

Step 1. Enroll in Real Estate School

Every state is different, but there are some common requirements to start a real estate career. The first requirement is normally getting the proper education to take the real estate license exam. In some states, you can skip the entire pre-licensing course load if you are a licensed attorney, are moving from a state that has license reciprocity, or you have an apprenticeship with a broker. It should be noted that if you are planning on going into property management, many states have a separate licensing requirement for this. Check your state’s Real Estate Commission before booking the courses. You can find information on the real estate schools, course requirements, and licensing in the table below. If you have a criminal background, make sure to review the requirements really well because most states have background check and/or fingerprinting requirements. [su_table responsive="yes" fixed="yes"]

	Approved Schools	Take Exam	Apply for License	Age Requirement	High School Required?	Criminal Record	Past Rejections, Revocation Limitation	Number of Pre license hours	Types of Licenses	Continuing Education Requirements	State Abbreviation
How to get a real estate license in Alabama	Go for ones with high success rates	Exam Centers $73 exam fee	Instructions for applying for license	19+	Required	No Felonies	None in Last 2 Years	60	Temporary License and Permanent Salesperson's License	30 hours in first year, 15 hours every 2 years after getting permanent salesperson	AL
How to get a real estate license in Alaska	List of schools	Exams are on specific days $100 fee in major cities	Find forms for RE Salesperson and Broker	19	Not Specified	Eligible 7 years after completion of sentence	Not Specified	40	Salesperson, broker, and broker associate options	30 first year, 20 every 2 years	AK
How to get a real estate license in Arizona	Find Licensed RE Schools	Pearson VUE $75 fee	License $60	18	Not Specified	Disclose all, no felonies allowed, fingerprinting	Not denied in 1 year or revoked within 2 years	90+6 hours contract writing	Not Specified	24 hours every 2 years	AZ
How to get a real estate license in Arkansas	AR Licensed RE schools	Pearson Vue $75 fee	License $86.25 residents, $161.25 non-residents	18	Not Specified	Background check, decided on case-by-case basis	Not Specified	60	Not Specified	18 in first 6 months, 7 per year	AR
How to get a real estate license in California	CA Approved RE Courses	Apply for Exam or Exam/License	Apply for Exam or Exam/License	18	Not Specified	fingerprint+background check, any crime can disqualify you	Not Specified	135 hours (3 courses at college or RE school	Not Specified	45 hours every 4 years	CA
How to get a real estate license in Colorado	Colorado Broker Education	PSI Exams	Apply for License	18	Not Specified	background and fingerprinting	Not Specified	168 hours	Broker License Only	24 hours every 3 years	CO
How to get a real estate license in Connecticut	CT approved Pre-licensing education	CT PSI Exams	CT Licensing	18	Not Specified	Not Specified	Not Specified	60 hours, 120 and 2 years experience to become broker	salesperson, broker	12 hours per year before May 31st	CT
How to get a real estate license in Delaware	Email DE DPR	DE Pearson VUE Exam	Apply for License	18	Not Specified	Allowed after conviction is waived, which takes 5 years	Not Specified	99 hours	Not Specified	Before April 30th of even number years, you need 21 CE hours, first batch is prorated.	DE
How to get a real estate license in Florida	FL Licensed Schools Search	FL Pearson VUE Page	Get your FL Real Estate License	18	Yes or GED	Background check and disclose convictions	Not Specified	63 hours	Not Specified	45 first 2 years, and 14 every 2 years after	FL
How to get a real estate license in Georgia	GA License Real Estate Schools	Administered by AMP $121 Fee	Apply for GA License	18	Yes or GED	Pass Background check	Not Specified	75 hours at RE school, 10 quarter hours, or 6 semester hours at an accredited college	Not Specified	25 hours first year 36 hours every 4 years	GA
How to get a real estate license in Hawaii	Go To Course Search and Download the providers	HI PSI Exams	Forms to Apply	18	Yes or GED		Not Specified	60 hours	Not Specified	20 hours every 2 years	HI
How to get a real estate license in Idaho	ID Real Estate Courses	ID Pearson VUE Exams	Follow this checklist then apply	18	Yes or GED	background and fingerprinting	Not Specified	90 hours	Not Specified	19 hours every 2 years	ID
How to get a real estate license in Illinois	IL Approved Courses	PSI Exams	Illinois Dept. of Financial & Professional Regulation Online Portal	18	Yes or GED	background check	Not Specified	75 hours	broker	45 hours after passing test and 24 hours every 2 years	IL
How to get a real estate license in Indiana	PA Approved Providers	Indiana PSI EXAM site	IN License Application	18	Yes or GED	background check	Not Specified	90 hours	Not Specified	30 in first 2 years, 36 every three years after	IN
How to get a real estate license in Iowa	Iowa information on RE Licensing			18	Yes or GED	background check	Not Specified	60 hours+36 in class hours	Not Specified	36 hours every 3 years	IA
How to get a real estate license in Kansas	KS Requirements for RE Licensing			18	Yes or GED	background check	Not Specified	60 hours	Not Specified	12 hours every 2 years	KS
How to get a real estate license in Kentucky	KY Real Estate Commission			18	Yes or GED	background check	Not Specified	96 hours or 6 credit hours from a college	Not Specified	48 hours in first 2 years, then 6 hours every 2 years afterwards	KY
How to get a real estate license in Louisiana	LA Real Estate Commision			18	Yes or GED	background check	Not Specified	90 hours	Not Specified	45 hours in the first 180 days + 4 years by Dec 31, then 12 hours each year by Dec 31	LA
How to get a real estate license in Maine	Maine Real Estate Commission			18	Yes or GED	3 notarized letters of recommendation	Not Specified	55 hours	Non-renewable entry level sales agent, associate broker, broker	Have to complete the pre-license associate broker and complete another exam before license expires. The associate broker will require 21 hours every 2 years	ME
How to get a real estate license in Maryland	MD Real Estate Commision			18	Not Specified	Good character	Not Specified	60 hours	Not Specified		MD
How to get a real estate license in Massachusetts	MA Real Estate Licensing Page			18	Not Specified	Not Specified	Not Specified	40 hours	Not Specified	12 credits every 2 years	MA
How to get a real estate license in Michigan	MI Real Estate Licensing			18	Not Specified	Not Specified	Not Specified	40 hours	Not Specified	18 every 3 years	MI
How to get a real estate license in Minnesota	MN Real Estate Licensing			18	Yes or GED	Not Specified	Not Specified	90 hours or 3 classes, you can take the test after first and complete others in first year	Need sponsor from brokerage	15 hours per year	MN
How to get a real estate license in Mississippi	Warning MS RE Commission has a page from 1998			18	Not Specified	Not Specified	Not Specified	60 hours	Need sponsor from brokerage	30 hours in first year, 16 every 2 years	MS
How to get a real estate license in Missouri	MO Real Estate			18	Yes or GED	Background check (after passing test)	Not Specified	48 hours, be a licensed attorney, or be granted a one-time sitting.	Not Specified	24 hour Missouri Real Estate Practice Course (MREP) after passing test, then 12 hours every 2 years	MO
How to get a real estate license in Montana	ME Real Estate Licensing			18	10th grade or higher		Not Specified	70 hours	need sponsor	12 CE hours per year	MT
How to get a real estate license in Nebraska	NE Real Estate Commision			19	Yes or GED	Background check	Not Specified	3 courses/66 hours	Not Specified	18 hours every 2 years	NE
How to get a real estate license in Nevada	NV Real Estate Commision			18	Not Specified	Background check	Not Specified	120 hours	Not Specified	24 hours every 2 years	NV
How to get a real estate license in New Hampshire	NH Real Estate Licensing			18	Yes or GED	Background check	Not Specified	40 hours	Not Specified	15 hours every 2 years	NH
How to get a real estate license in New Jersey	NJ RE Licensing Info			18	Yes or GED	Background check	Not Specified	75 hours	need sponsor	12 hours every 2 years	NJ
How to get a real estate license in New Mexico	NM Regulation and Licensing Department			18	Not Specified	Background check and fingerprints	Not Specified	90 hours	Associate broker	36 hours every 3 years	NM
How to get a real estate license in New York	NY Real Estate Agent Page			18	Not Specified	No Felonies	Not Specified	75 hours	Not Specified	22.5 hours every to years	NY
How to get a real estate license in North Carolina	NC Real Estate Commission			18	Not Specified	background check	Not Specified	75 hours	provisional license, full license	90 additional hours for full license	NC
How to get a real estate license in North Dakota	ND Real Estate Commission			18	Not Specified	fingerprints, background check, and credit check with fee	Not Specified	90 hours	Not Specified	9 per year	ND
How to get a real estate license in Ohio	OH Real Estate & Professional Licensing			18	Yes or GED	Felonies may prohibit licensing	Not Specified	120 hours	Not Specified	30 hours every 3 years	OH
How to get a real estate license in Oklahoma	OK Real Estate Commission			18	Not Specified	good moral character	Not Specified	90 hours	Not Specified	45 in first year the 21 ever 3 years	OK
How to get a real estate license in Oregon	OR RE Broker Licensing			18	Yes or GED	fingerprints and background check	Not Specified	150 hours	Not Specified	30 before first renewal and then 30 every 2 years	OR
How to get a real estate license in Pennsylvania	PA Real Estate Commission			18	Not Specified	pass background check	Not Specified	75 credits or major in real estate from 4 year college	Not Specified	14 hours by May 31 of next year, then 14 every 2 years	PA
How to get a real estate license in Rhode Island	RI Real Estate Agent Guide			18	Not Specified	pass background check	Not Specified	45 hours plus a 3 hour certificate for lead poisoning mitigation	Not Specified	24 hours every 2 years	RI
How to get a real estate license in South Carolina	SC Real Estate Agent Info			18	Yes or GED	Not Specified	Not Specified	60 hours, test, then 30 more hours before applying for license	Not Specified	10 CE hours every 2 years by June 30th	SC
How to get a real estate license in South Dakota	SD Real Estate Commission			18	Not Specified	Not Specified	Not Specified	116 hours	Not Specified	30 hours for each of the first 2 renewal periods, then 24 hours every 2 years	SD
How to get a real estate license in Tennessee	TN Affiliate Broker (RE Agent)			18	Not Specified	Not Specified	Not Specified	90 hours	Not Specified	16 hours every 2 years	TN
How to get a real estate license in Texas	TX Real Estate Commission			18	Not Specified	fingerprints and background check	Not Specified	180 hours	Not Specified	90 hours post license and 2 four-hour legal update courses in first 2 years and 18 hours every 2 years after.,	TX
How to get a real estate license in Utah	UT Div. of Real Estate			18	Yes or GED	fingerprints and background check	Not Specified	120 hours	Not Specified	18 hours including 12 hour new agent course, 18 hours every 2 years after	UT
How to get a real estate license in Vermont	VT Real Estate Agent Requirements			18	Not Specified		Not Specified	40 hours	Not Specified	16 hours every 2 years	VT
How to get a real estate license in Virginia	VA RE Commission			18	Yes or GED	fingerprints and background check	Not Specified	60 hours	Not Specified	30 in first two years, 16 hour every 2 years after	VA
How to get a real estate license in Washington	WA Real Estate Brokers license			18	Yes or GED	fingerprints and background check	Not Specified	90 hours	Broker license	90CE hours in first 2 years, then 30 hours every 2 years	WA
How to get a real estate license in West Virginia	WV RE Comm			18	Yes or GED	fingerprints and background check	Not Specified	90 hours	Not Specified	7 hours each year	WV
How to get a real estate license in Wisconsin	WI RE Comm			18	Not Specified	Not Specified	Not Specified	72 hours or apply for an RE apprentice by working with broker for 20 hours a week	Not Specified	18 hours every 2 years	WI
How to get a real estate license in Wyoming	WY Real Estate License			18	Not Specified	fingerprints and background check	Not Specified	54 hours	Not Specified	45 hours every 3 years	WY
How to get a real estate license in Washington D.C.	DC Salesperson guide			Not Specified	Yes or GED	Not Specified	Not Specified	60 hours	Salesperson	15 every 2 years	DC

[/su_table]

How Long Does Real Estate School Take?

If you’re wondering how long a real estate course is, it can be from three credit hours per college course to 168 hours for the pre-licensing course. Luckily, there’s 168 hours in a week, so you can get real estate courses done in a month no matter what state you're in.  Most allow online courses. Iowa definitely requires in-person real estate courses for a portion of their real estate pre-licensing courses, but others might have other flexibilities. Make sure to check your state’s full requirements in the table above.

Step 2. How to Get a Real Estate License

Getting a new real estate license has other basic requirements including:

• A high school diploma or GED
• Pass the real estate exam
• Submit fingerprints
• Pass background checks
• Find a broker sponsor if required
• Get errors & omissions insurance if required (Our preferred insurance provider is Simply Business.)
• Turn in the application and pay the fee
• Take continuing education classes

Most states have a real estate commission that specifies the licensing exam requirements, background checks, license reciprocity, and additional education requirements. In Georgia, you would just search “Georgia Real Estate Commission” to find the governing agency. It works with every state. That’s how I compiled the list of links for you. Each state has differences in how they handle the application process of a new real estate agent. The information about most of these requirements is in the table above, but the real estate exam warrants more discussion.

Real Estate Exam

After you complete your real estate school, you’ll need to take a proctored real estate licensing exam. The states use one of three providers for the real estate exam: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Pearson Vue
• PSI
• AMP

[/su_note] Most states use a two-part licensing exam that costs under $100 and allows two to three hours. You can have a break between the two parts, but you have to pass both to become a real estate professional. The sections include:

1. National portion: Licensing exam focused on the general business tools and knowledge you will need for a successful career in any state. You’ll need to understand terms like sales agents, listing brokers, asking price, sales price, and other real estate terms that are consistent in any state.
2. State exam: Licensing exam focused on professional regulation in your specific state. These are critical to understand before sales agents perform their first transaction for clients.

How Long Does It Take To Get a Real Estate License?

Becoming a real estate agent will normally take three to six months from the time you complete the real estate pre-licensing course until the time you are able to work as a sales agent in a real estate brokerage. Next, you’ll need to find brokers to learn from so you can feel confident as you start interacting with potential buyers, sellers, and get your first real estate transaction under your belt.

Step 3. Find a Broker

Sanitno explained to us that finding brokers that develop their people is one of the most critical factors impacting the success of a new career. He also gave us some input on what to look for when considering brokers. He told us: [su_quote]You get what you pay for. Higher costs tend to equal better support. If you develop a good skill set, find a broker with lots of support and learn from them. Find one that will help with leads and ask how they teach their team.[/su_quote] Some of the questions you should ask brokers include:

• Caps: What is the maximum I have to pay each year to a broker?
• Splits: What percentage of each paycheck goes to the cap?
• Additional Fees: Are there any fees that I need to know?
• Growth: What opportunities are there to grow beyond just selling real estate?
• Training: How do you help new agents adjust to all your systems?
• Earnings: What are the highest and median pay of agents under you?

He also told us that you should consider a boutique brokerage firm because they are more likely to help support new agents after they receive a passing grade and meet all the license requirements. [su_quote]Don’t just search for the biggest names. Look for the ones that will build you.[/su_quote]

Find a mentor

Looking for a mentor can be highly beneficial to new agents. Santino told us: [su_quote]Look for a mentor. The pay won’t be great. It takes at least a year or two.[/su_quote] He suggested researching the brokerages in your area that seem to have a good brand. Working for a more experienced agent will help you learn how to become a millionaire real estate agent.

Step 4. Secure Clients

Finding clients can be hard until you develop a reputation for yourself. Santino suggests working with a team but warned us to be cautious: [su_quote]Join a team. Be wary though. If they don’t give you credit for the sales, it won’t build your resume.[/su_quote] He also explained that a large portion of securing clients is getting your name out there as a successful real estate agent on Google and seeing where they are listed. Then make sure you are on all those platforms, too. The screenshot below shows all of Santino Filipelli’s web presence.

Step 5. Close Deals

Once you’ve found clients, you want to focus on helping them buy or sell a house. That means you’ll need to do things like:

• Show homes
• Submit and review offers
• Help clients secure financing
• Communicate with escrow and inspectors
• Close on the property

As you develop experience, you’ll want to improve your effectiveness with managing clients. Let’s look at how to do that.

Systemize the Real Estate Business

Santino told us every agent should consider adding the following people or systems to their business to let them focus on serving the customers more: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

1. Setup a CRM
2. Get a virtual or real assistant
3. Hire a transaction coordinator
4. Hire people for outbound calls

[/su_note] He said: [su_quote]Followup Boss is one of the best CRMs out there.[/su_quote] He also mentioned Dotloop  and SkySlope. He also mentioned that if you can be the buyer’s and seller’s agent on a transaction, it makes more money, but warned: [su_quote](In) some states, dual representation is illegal.[/su_quote] At this point we’re going to answer some frequently asked questions.

How to Become a Real Estate Agent with No Experience

You don’t need experience to become a real estate agent. You just need to go through the real estate licensing process. That means:

1. Take the required pre-license courses.
2. Pass the real estate exam.
3. Pass a background check.
4. Get your Errors and Omissions insurance.
5. Get your license.

How to Become a Luxury Real Estate Agent

Luxury real estate agents follow the same process as any other agent, but are focused on providing services to high net worth individuals. That means you’ll need to carry yourself more professionally, have a nicer car, speak with proper grammar, and network at higher end locations than other agents.

How to Become a Commercial Real Estate Agent

Becoming a commercial real estate agent follows the same process as other real estate agents. You’ll want to focus your continuing education on commercial real estate and try to get on with some of the commercial real estate companies like CBRE and Colliers.

How to Become a Millionaire Real Estate Agent

Becoming a millionaire real estate agent just requires selling lots of houses. Realistically, to make $1 million from commissions, you would need approximately $50 million in sales. To make $1 million after expenses and taxes, you need to sell approximately $109 million in sales. If you are investing profits to earn higher returns, you can reduce these numbers dramatically.

How to Become a Real Estate Agent Part Time

You can become a part-time real estate agent by taking the necessary classes and the state licensing exam, then get your license. Most real estate agents are their own boss, so you control the hours. It might be harder to find a broker and make a profit if you only work part time, though.

How to Become a Real Estate Agent without a Degree

Real Estate agents don’t have to go to four year colleges in most states. Most only have to take a few courses to get started. People who get majors or master’s degrees in real estate tend to have better connections and make more money, though.

How to Become a Real Estate Broker

Becoming a broker requires more education and experience than a real estate agent. They also have to take a different exam. The primary difference between a broker and salesperson or agent is that the broker can: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Offer price opinions
• Supervise agents
• Perform all roles an agent can
• Manage property assets

[/su_note]

Santino’s Favorite Books

At UpFlip, we believe that reading is an important part of your growth so we ask each business owner what their favorite books are and share them with you. Santino suggested the following books. If you haven’t picked these up, grab them today: Check out the interview we've done with Santino's on our YouTube channel: [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhvLB-MtVnY"]

Are you ready to start your real estate career?

Real estate can be a highly rewarding field because you get to help people become homeowners. It can also be stressful because you work weird hours and buying a home is one of the biggest decisions most people make. As long as you’re willing to put in the work, are fairly pleasant, and responsible you can make a decent living as a real estate agent. Where are you thinking about getting into real estate? If you’re already in the industry what tips do you have for new agents?