2022 isn't our first year of having a BNP intern.

We've had several others over the past several years.

At the time we brought those wonderful young people into the office for a temporary foray into the world of real estate, I had, it would be revealed, idealistic expectations for what they might get out of it.

I incorrectly thought that just by being in and around BNP on a semi-regular basis, they would absorb ALLLLLL the key proficiencies, policies, procedures, and proper mindset required to not only understand "real estate" as a career but to absolutely ROCK at it.

I mean, each of us ARE the average of the 5 people we spend the most time around, right?

And the people at BNP are AWESOME, soooo.....

That "Immersion" model works in some contexts, but it didn't work with our previous interns.

I think most of them ended their internship feeling justifiably "let down".

And that was my fault.I didn't have an outline, or a formal orientation, or a program, process, procedure, or policy for those temporary team members.We had them stuff and stamp envelopes, write website content, and that was about it.

My bad.

If any of you previous interns (or your parents) are reading this, you have my apologies.

But that was then.

To our new, incoming, 2022 intern, whose name is Rose...YOU ARE IN FOR ONE WILD, EDUCATIONAL, ACTION-PACKED SUMMER MY FRIEND!!!

What is the NEW BNP INTERN approach?

The new approach is to follow a written outline to teach two sets of skills and knowledge that I suspect would be most valuable to a young person who is:

A) Entering the working world.

And...B) Interested in real estate as a career.

Part 1

The first set of skills is shockingly simple, and it is my belief that any person, in any field, at any age, can set themselves up for long-term success if they adopt and adhere to these rules.

No matter what your job is or what industry you work in, strive to always follow these principles:

Rule #1) On-time is late. Always show up 5 minutes early in a fully prepared state.

And if, on the odd occasion, you're about to show up on time......

reach out to the person you're meeting with to apologize, tell them that you're running late, and that you'll merely be on time.

Rule #2) If I give you a potato, I want French fries back. Don't give me a potato back.

This means understanding that your "job" isn't just about ticking boxes and saying, "I did what you said."

Every job has an end-goal, a desired outcome, and you should ask enough questions to get clear on that before tackling it.

Then, deliver that fully-realized outcome without handing the job back unfinished, causing the need to hire someone else, or worst of all, leaving it for the boss or customer to finish.

Rule #3) Finally, always over-deliver.I

magine that at the end of every day, every transaction, or every task, you gave your boss or the customer a single-question survey.

The only question on the survey is, "Did I exceed your expectations?"

Work as if getting a "Yes" every day is as important as oxygen.

If you're hired to write 5 blog posts, write 7, and throw in a list of 5 extra sure-thing headlines for next time.

If you're hired to mow a lawn and rake leaves, finish that first but then straighten the lawn furniture, sweep the sidewalks, and pull a few weeds while you're at it.

If you adopt and master these daily rules of work and you find you are not making more and more money, getting more and more opportunities and responsibility, and moving closer and closer to your dreams......you may be working with the wrong manager, or at the wrong employer, or in the wrong field altogether.

Part 2

The second part of the BNP internship program is to actually expose the intern -- in-person, real-time -- to AS MANY as possible of the daily, weekly, and monthly elements, meetings, relationships, tasks, responsibilities, and goals of a BNP Realtor and the BNP firm in general.

At the end of the summer, Rose the intern should be able to pass a written test and confidently say, "I've seen that, done that, and get that," to the following:

• What does a Realtor actually do in their profession?

• What makes a Realtor good at their job?

• What does a real estate FIRM actually do?

• What is "the market"?

• What does "fiduciary" mean?

• Where does the "product" come from?

• Where do buyers for the product come from?

• What are the other, non-Realtor roles at BNP?

• What are the different hats a Realtor might wear on any given day?

• What about Brandon's different hats as owner-operator of the firm?

• What do the Realtors' licensed assistants do on a day-to-day basis?

• What does Grace do on a day-to-day basis?

• Who are the other 12+ professionals that might be involved in a real estate transaction?

• What does a lender do?

• What does an appraiser do?

• What does an escrow officer do?

• What does a title officer do?

• What role does an insurance broker play in a real estate transaction?

• What about an attorney?

• What does a transaction coordinator do?

• What does a home inspector do?

• What might a specialty contractor do following an inspection, and what are some examples of those trades?

• Who makes up the team we usually bring in to optimize and beautify a property before photographs?

• What does a stager do?

• How does a real estate photographer approach their work compared to a portrait, wedding, sports, or landscape photographer?

• What else beyond a camera does a photographer bring to a home?

• What does the team at BNP do when the photographer sends us the photos?

• What are the various types of marketing in the real estate industry?

• What is prospecting?

• What is a sales cycle?

• How is a Purchase & Sale Agreement constructed, presented, countered, accepted, and processed?

• To whom is a fully executed Agreement sent?

• What addenda to an Agreement might be introduced mid-transaction?

• What is a transaction calendar and how is one created?

• To whom is the calendar sent?

• What is a "title report" and how is it analyzed?

• How and when do Realtors get paid?

• How does the firm make money?

• What are the firm's various operating expenses?

• What are the firm's fixed costs versus variable costs?

• How are those tracked?

• What tasks does a bookkeeper do for the firm?

• What's the difference between an employee and an independent contractor?

• What are the biggest challenges that a Realtor might face?

• What are a successful Realtor's daily habits and routines?

• What is required to legally / formally become a Realtor?

• What are the Dept. of Licensing requirement for becoming a Realtor?

• What are the continuing education requirements for Realtors?

• Why do 90% of Realtors leave the business in the first five years?

• How is the real estate industry changing?

• What are we doing with our new building to optimize it for how BNP operates now, versus when we started in 2015?

• Who is on the remodeling team at the new building?

• How do we manage that project while also managing the firm?

• Why does BNP sponsor events and give to charities?

• How is the BNP moving truck scheduled and managed?

• Why does BNP own inflatable race course buoys for paddling, swimming, and sailing events (of all things)?

• What else does BNP sponsor or support?

• In general, how is BNP different from other firms?

And finally, I would sincerely hope that by September 1st, Rose the intern can answer this question:

• Is becoming a Realtor or in some capacity working in the real estate industry something I might want to pursue?

Let's get updates from Rose, shall we?

In another blog post, I'll introduce you to Rose.

As the summer plays out, I'll do several Q&A interviews with her and we can share her experience.

We'll use the questions above as an outline, and -- assuming I don't scare her off -- let her report in her own words what she's learning and how it's going.

If you have any thoughts, input, criticisms or words of wisdom related to internships, our bullet-pointed list, or the three simple work rules, share them with me by all means.

To Rose and your parents: WE GOT THIS!