Scaling in real estate? The hire you make first—PA/admin or associate—can make or break your next jump in GCI and work-life balance.

General rule: Admin before sales

• A great PA/admin frees you up for listing, prospecting, and growth work. It’s often the first hire for solo agents hitting $200–$400k GCI. Delegation is step one, before multiplying volume via an associate.
• Once you’re consistently prospecting, listing, and lead gen is outpacing your personal bandwidth, then add a sales associate to handle additional buyer work, prospecting calls, or open family trees up for more volume.

Collings platform: Gives workflow, recruiting, and performance structure for both roles (plus media/marketing delivered) so you can scale right, not just get busier.

See real-world hiring and workflow case studies at Collings.