• While adjusting to life without a boss or time sheets can be trying, there are ways to make the transition easier.

How do you view your career in real estate? The answer to that question could determine your success in the industry.

By discussing a client who left his steady job to invest in real estate full time, Chris Haddon and Jason Balin explore the differences between treating real estate like a job versus treating it like a business.

If you’re a W2 employee who’s ready to dive into the volatile, exciting and profitable world of real estate investing, remember to leave all previous notions of work at the door, because you’re in for a whirlwind of change.

Some former employees have trouble adjusting to life without a boss, directions or orders; newfound freedom can be hard to navigate, and it’s sometimes difficult to stop measuring your work in hours, but life as an entrepreneur requires a completely different approach.

Haddon and Balin recommend taking a personality test to determine your strengths. Other tips include having someone on your team that will help keep you accountable and never ignoring phone calls from potential sellers calling in response to your direct mail campaigns.

Set goals and stick to them. Stop embracing that eight-to-five mindset, and get used to the idea that you no longer have a job — you have a business.

Chris Haddon is an entrepreneur based in Washington, D.C., a partner at Hard Money Bankers and a co-founder of REI360.net.

Email Chris Haddon.

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