How Leadership Can Grow Your Career 
 With Mike Artelli, 


Mike Artelli directly addresses camera:

When you’re first getting started in real estate, the last thing you think you have time for is volunteer leadership. I’m Mike Artelli, a Realtor-associate with RE/MAX Solutions in Melbourne and 2018 president of the Spacecoast Association of Realtors. I’m also 35 years old, have three very busy children.  

Let’s take five minutes to talk about how you can make time to get involved in leadership and community activities that will set you up for future success both professionally and monetarily.

We all know that real estate can be hectic. If you let yourself, you’ll get sucked into a constant loop of answering emails and phone calls. Do that, and your day will fly by without anything productive actually happening. So, the best advice I can give you is to time-block your day, giving priority to the activities that earn you the most bang for your buck. If I didn’t have a schedule, I would never see my family or keep my business going.

I have to prospect every day. My business can’t die, so every morning, no matter where I am, I make prospecting calls. It’s easy to push off work to the next week when you’re traveling, but you can’t. You have to be disciplined. Also, make sure you include family time in this schedule. Getting involved in leadership and community activities doesn’t mean giving up your family.

Next, start small. One of the first things I did was help out with an Association-sponsored golf tournament that benefited the Special Olympics. I committed to that event, met people and built relationships.

You have to find something you’re passionate about. Look through the Association’s committees and sit in on a meeting with a group that interests you. Are you a numbers person? Consider budget and finance. Like charity work? There’s a committee for that too. When you’re working with like-minded people doing something that interests you, you tend to  stick with it. Plus, you can start by attending the meetings before you officially join. Seek out opportunities at the Florida Realtors® convention. Sit in the back of committee meetings and listen. Introduce yourself to some of the members when the committee meeting is over. Attend your local Association’s RPAC auction or other community service events. Attending some of the smaller functions allows you to meet other leaders and hone in on where you want to get involved.

When I do see young leaders getting involved, many times, they go all in and burn out quickly. You have a business, you may have a family, so be sure you don’t expand your leadership roles until you are ready. You don’t have to be involved at a high level to make a difference. 

Volunteering is time well spent. Many real estate professionals think of it as non-paying hours. What they don’t realize is that once you get involved, your business grows tenfold because of the connections you make. Busy breeds busy. My business has been positively impacted by the relationships I’ve built. So, if you want to stay in this profession and take your business to the next level, get involved on the local, state and national level. Start small and the connections you make will be worth the time invested.