A Month of Growth, Lessons, and New Beginnings
This past month marked the start of my journey toward becoming a real estate agent, and what an incredible start it’s been. As part of my co-op placement with Ottawa Home Group, I’ve had the opportunity to dive headfirst into the real estate world, learning from industry professionals, attending live events, meeting clients, and even helping run open houses.
Every week has been filled with new experiences, challenges, and lessons that have strengthened my confidence and confirmed that this is the career path for me.
Week 1: Stepping Into the Real World:
On my first day of co-op I had a meeting with Dunia Coulombe for my first ever B2B (Business To Business) meeting, we met at Dao’s coffee shop on merivale road. Dunia introduced us to the brand she was representing, Norwex. Norwex is a company that's mission is to reduce the use of harmful chemicals in daily cleaning by offering high-quality microfiber and sustainable cleaning products. Sorin and I got to know her and her products. Later in the day after the meeting Sorin and I went to the monthly OREIO (Ottawa Real Estate Investors Organization) event at the Hellenic Event Centre, Dunia was there as well, and through real estate is actually how Dunia and Sorin met. That day at the OREIO event after the presentations were done Sorin told me to go network and get 10 business cards, while doing that i met Luc Boiron and i found out that he was the #1 wholesaler for real estate in all of Canada. After this first day is when i realized that it is gonna be A lot of hard work, making time for work and working on my time management, that i will have to have the most discipline, work ethic, and charisma, because i would have to build my brand from the ground up, but i also realized that i was sure that real estate was for me, and as the weeks come and go that feeling has only gotten stronger the more work i do, things i learn, practice i get, the more i see it paying off, the more people i meet, the more comfortable i become with my new routine, ETC. All of these things make me positive i picked the right path for my future.
The second day of coop with sorin we had a team social media meeting, it was my first time meeting the rest of the team like Pegah, and Luis. During the meeting we went through some ideas for; new social media posting schedule, the best times to post on each social media according to the algorithm, different post ideas and more. I got to give my input on some ideas and it was great meeting the team for the first time.
On my third day of coop with sorin we had an inspection on a house in Orleans, the home was sold conditionally which means that the buyer and seller came to an agreement on the sale of the home, the home inspection was a part of the conditions for the sale. I got there before Sorin and went out to introduce myself to the buyers, and the inspector. Sorin got to the home after and we walked through the home with the buyers while the inspector was inspecting the outside of the home, after that the buyers, Sorin, and i went outside to walk around the home with the inspector and talk to him about how it was going, i was taking notes on the things he was saying and it was very interesting.
Week 2: Learning Through Action:
My first day of my second week I had my first open house. We met at the house 15 minutes before the start time of the open house and Sorin taught me that we have to turn on all the lights and open all the doors inside. That day we had 5 groups come to the open house and they were all very nice. As well, the owner of blue stone movers named Wilson came to the open house and showed initiative by meeting Sorin and me at the open house even after Sorin accidentally forgot to call him back, he brought sorin a book and talked to us about his business, then he set up a meeting to talk about how he could partner up with Ottawa Home Group and be the moving company for the team. After that we went through the home with all of them and for most of them they didn't seem extremely interested . What I noticed is that when the first group came in I was very nervous and anxious, but by the time it was the last group of the day, I was more confident, talkative, and informed on the home. From that I understood how the more and more open houses and people I talked to, the more confident I would be when talking to them.
On the second day of my second week I went to the office and my task was to go over the inspection report from the inspection of the home in Orleans the previous week and make my own report of all the listed problems and the price it would cost to fix each of them. My second task of the week was to make a list of all of the home building companies in Ottawa along with their website, email, phone number, office address, and the company’s owner. This is what I worked on for the majority of this week.
On day 3, 4, and 5 of my second week i was in office completing all the tasks given to me, as well as finishing the book public speaking for success, after each day in the office, i went to different neighborhoods where our team had sold a home and me and another member of our team Pegah went around these neighbourhoods to hang door hangers that talked about the home that was sold in the area.
Week 3: Knowledge, Networking, and Confidence:
On the first day of my third week me and Sorin went to the office conference room to watch a webinar about Zero Cost Lead Generation. This webinar taught me more than I thought I could learn in 1 hour, I thought that it was really amazing. It helped me understand things about how getting leads, and referrals work. Sorin had to step out of the room for a call for a while and when he was back the webinar was over, I shared my notes with him and we talked about the webinar until we had our meeting with Wilson the owner of Blue Stone Movers. We talked about his company, his story, specifics about his company, and how we could move forward with helping each other's companies out. After our meeting I went back to working on all the tasks I had to do.
On day two and three i spent the days working making all new social media accounts and making scripts for some posts, after I completed all of my posts i continued working my list of all home building companies in Ottawa and their information, as well as finishing reading the book public speaking for success
On day four I went to a hands-on tour of a 12 unit net zero building on baseline, learning about infill development, project managers, project numbers, challenges, and strategies directly from experts. After the walk through of the building in progress, Sorin and I went to a walk through of a property to get a better idea of renovations the owners had done inside to transform the property into a legal rooming house with 10 bedrooms. The walk through helped us better see some of the key selling points of the property that we could use to better market the listing.
On day five and six I spent the days in office working more on all my social media, and finishing the book Public Speaking For Success to prepare for the presentation I had to do on it
On the seventh day I went into the office and presented my speech about the book Public Speaking For Success for our team. It was supposed to be a 5 minute presentation but it was 8 minutes in reality, i had never had to public speak like that before and even though it was in front of the team and their was only 4 of us including me in the room i was very nervous, i had memorized my presentation for 3 long days, i was talking outloud to myself and i was sure that i would have a great presentation. Even the hour leading up to my presentation we had a young woman come in and talk to us about her company she made in hopes for an investment. After our meeting I thought I was ready to present, but the second I started talking it was like I forgot everything I had memorized, I was frozen. Eventually I was sort of going but it was nothing like how I thought it was going to go. But in the end it was practice for the future and it helped me learn in real time that things won't always go as you want them to or even how you think they will.
My fourth and final week of my first month of coop:
My first day of my fourth week I was in office completing another task I was given that was finding all beneficial programs for first time home buyers and immigrants to Canada. Later in the day I had my second open house at the same property as my first open house, this time I was more confident, well spoken, convincing, helpful, and so much more. Just 2 weeks is all it took for me to become more confident when talking to the groups that came in. Luis, a member of our team and I did great in my opinion, especially because I think the fact that I am a co-op student made for easy conversation with any group. That day at the second open house is when i realized that i could see my progress happening in real time, and it gave me more confidence and hope in my future career as a real estate agent, and glad that I started young and with someone as helpful as Sorin and everyone who has helped me on my start to my journey in real estate.
The second day of my fourth week I started reading a new book called Real Estate By The Numbers. After that we had a showing at two homes, it was a cool experience because I got to see how all the different parties think and give my input on some different ideas about each property. The final thing I did that day was start the task of creating my top 50 sphere. The top 50 sphere is a list of the top 50 people in your life along with their name, email, and phone number. Once a month you reach out to all of them and create a script to in short ask them for referrals. If they do refer you they stay on the list, if not they get taken off the list, and eventually you will have a new list with 50 new people that have all given you referrals.
The rest of my fourth week was spent reading my new book Real Estate By The Numbers to prepare for my second presentation on a book, and getting me ready for my second month in coop!
Conclusion
In conclusion of my first month in real estate as a coop student, the 5 most important lessons that I learned are;
The Top 5 Lessons From My First Month
Always Be On Time – Punctuality earns respect and shows professionalism.
Practice Makes Progress – Every conversation, showing, and event makes me better.
Network Everywhere – You never know where your next opportunity will come from.
Be Genuine – People can tell when you’re sincere and truly interested in them.
Set Goals and Chase Them Relentlessly – Growth only happens when you have something to aim for.
Final Thoughts
My first month in co-op has been a whirlwind of learning, networking, and personal growth. From open houses to webinars, from nervous introductions to confident presentations, every moment has pushed me closer to becoming the real estate professional I aspire to be.
I’m grateful to Sorin and the Ottawa Home Group team for their guidance, trust, and support. Month one was just the beginning — and I’m excited to see what month two will bring!
