How to Become a Real Estate Agent: Glara's Path to Top 1%
A Career Playbook Case Study
The Role
Glara Lee is the founder of Leelu Vu Real Estate Group, a top 1% real estate team nationally, facilitating multi-million dollar deals in Southern California.
What does a real estate agent actually do? In Glara's words: "To be a real estate agent is actually to be a real estate advisor. Most of what I'm doing is advisement for my clients—whether it's on long-term or short-term real estate goals."
Day-to-day looks like constant communication: "Talking to somebody every single moment through the flow of a transaction, whether that's through call, text, or email, as well as connecting with other agents to help my clients attain what they're looking for."
The fun stuff you see on shows like Selling Sunset—going out to look at homes, open houses, writing offers—that's part of it. But the real work is everything around it: helping clients save money, get qualified with lenders, figure out where to put their money, and navigate negotiations.
The Path
Education: USC, Business Management with a Real Estate Law minor
Career progression:
- College: Interned at Disney and hotel groups (hospitality management)
- Age 18: Got real estate license while still in school
- Post-graduation: Joined mom's real estate practice
- 5 years in: Started Leelu Vu Real Estate Group with mom as business partner
- Today: Top 1% team nationally with 4 agents
Glara didn't have a clear path: "I was actually super confused when I was in college about where I wanted to end up. I interned with Disney and other large hotel groups and found out the day-to-day of being a cog in a chain just was not a good fit for me."
Her mom had been doing real estate for over 30 years and suggested she try it. "I decided to do it for one year and ended up surpassing all the goals that I had for myself. 10 years later, we're still here."
Compensation
Real estate agents are independent contractors, not salaried employees. You work under a brokerage (Compass, Coldwell Banker, etc.) but pay them fees in exchange for branding, marketing materials, and tools like CRM and MLS access.
| Experience | Typical Annual Income |
|---|---|
| First 1-2 years | $0-$50K (highly variable) |
| Established (3-5 years) | $75K-$150K |
| Top performers | $200K-$500K+ |
| Top 1% teams | $500K-$1M+ |
Key factors that influence income:
- Number of transactions
- Average price point of homes
- Commission splits with brokerage
- Market conditions
- Referral network
The first few years are the hardest—you're building your network and reputation with little guaranteed income.
What Makes Someone Good at This
1. Strong listening and advisory skills "A really good real estate agent is someone that can listen to their clients' needs and wants and tailor specific solutions for their problems or the goals they want to achieve."
2. Flexibility within structure "You have to be able to be flexible but within the boundaries and confines of the contract. You do have to have some level of understanding of the contractual portions."
3. Creative problem solving "Come up with creative problem solving to target my clients' specific needs."
How to Start Today
Here's the unique thing about real estate: You can get your license at 18.
"You can start taking the courses before you turn 18. I started those courses while I was in high school. If you are reading those books and going through those classes and having a level of interest in what is being taught to you, I would highly recommend getting your license as soon as possible. It's something you can just hold on to while you pursue college or finish other avenues of education."
If you go through the licensing courses and find it boring or confusing? "Probably not the career to pursue." But if you're interested? Get licensed early.
The Most Rewarding Part
"The moments that make me the most excited about my job is when I get to help friends or people that I've known in my life prior to this career. Real estate is something that touches everyone—whether it's renting, buying, investing. Being a part of that process and helping someone achieve their real estate goals, especially someone that you've been a part of their life in different ways, is probably the most rewarding part."
Building a Team
Glara's team includes four agents with different language capabilities (Korean, English, Mandarin, Vietnamese) to serve their diverse Southern California market. As the principal agent with the most transactions, she provides advisement to the team while working to maintain consistent service quality.
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