I was at a reflection point in my career after having sold my interest in a successful quick-service restaurant I co-founded and had gone back to work as a commercial real estate broker. Working primarily as an independent contractor since the beginning of my career, I had started to ask the questions: “Is this it? Is the rest of my life real estate transactions? I still like real estate but what else can I do?”
As a real estate counselor, I enjoyed helping guide people through the world of commercial real estate sales and leasing. Finding a new office, restaurant, retail site, investment property, or industrial building for your business is quite different from buying and selling homes. There is a fine balance between having a plan, persistence, and a bit of luck that often creates opportunities in a sector that is frustrating, cut-throat, and highly rewarding.
But, I was looking for a change and to switch things up in my world! I put together some ideas that I was curious about and that I also enjoyed:
technology
real estate
the future (what industries will be good to be in),
my natural abilities and skills I have acquired
finding new ideas and ways of doing things then sharing them with others,
relationship building and storytelling, and
sales
So, I prepared my resume, updated my LinkedIn profile and started looking for new opportunities.
I was applying to primarily real estate related positions without much luck. But, I had a few interviews with tech-related companies in the real estate industry which I found compelling. I noticed many of the tech companies had scaled up in just a few years. So I started digging into the technology sector a bit more and found many companies with various types of sales needs and positions. One of those companies happened to be Flockjay.
I ended up reviewing the Flockjay website and their tech-sales-specific training struck home for me. I was at a juncture where I knew I liked tech companies, my background was relationship building, the tech future is bright, and I needed some type of “edge” to get my foot in the door. I cannot quite remember if I chatted with Quenton or if there was an email exchange (probably both) but I ended up submitting a few videos and completing an online questionnaire thinking that the training just might help me turn the corner.
I am happy that I committed to the Flockjay class. The training they have created for the Flock is specific to the technology sales cycle. Many of the industry guests we have had in class during our Monday “fireside chats” have mentioned how a program like Flockjay’s would have helped speed up their own careers and would have allowed them to avoid some time consuming and costly on the job learning experiences.
This was also my first online “live” video class with multiple students interacting with one another using various online platforms which I have learned to enjoy and embrace. In one of the group sessions, there was a person in each region of the United States (Texas, L.A., Minnesota, New York).
In summary, I have been happy with my decision to commit to the Flock and their training. The experience has been great and I am looking forward to the future!
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Josh Floring is a Flockjay Tech Fellow in the November 2019 to January 2020 Program. He invites you to reach out to him, follow him, and discuss. Send him a note.
