Real Estate Entrepreneurship CUGS puts students ahead with industry skills and an entrepreneurial mindset
Entrepreneurship is weaved into almost every part of the real estate industry. Whether it’s selling houses as a real estate agent or renovating and “flipping” houses, it takes business skills and an entrepreneurial mindset to be successful.
Rowan students have a unique opportunity through the Real Estate Entrepreneurship Certificate of Undergraduate Study (CUGS) program to gain real world skills and knowledge that they can apply to either a real estate career or their future plans in buying or selling a home.
One of the fundamental courses of the program is the Real Estate Entrepreneurship course, taught by Brain Eachus, broker at Young Realty. Eachus has been in the business for over a decade and his real estate agency owns multiple properties in the Glassboro area.
This CUGS can be integrated easily into any Rowan University degree program, and even though it’s possible for anyone to get a real estate license, the CUGS presents undergraduate students with the unique opportunity to learn the real estate business early, while practicing entrepreneurship simultaneously.
“It’s important to learn now because it’s a lifelong skill,” said Eachus.
The class isn’t necessarily focused on entering the business of sales. Eachus also focuses on teaching his students how to find opportunities to invest in property and earn passive income. Since owning a home is a long-term goal for so many people, he emphasizes that the skills students learn in the class aren’t exclusive to people who want to pursue a career as an agent or a broker.
Eachus focuses on instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in his students because most real estate agents are independent contractors. They handle their own marketing, finances, and business by themselves.
“When you’re an independent contractor, you need to have an entrepreneurial mindset because no one really has to help you — so you have to figure it out yourself,” said Eachus.
Colleen Simpson, a senior marketing major, is currently enrolled in the real estate entrepreneurship class. While she has an interest in real estate, what she finds most rewarding about the class is the practical, real-life skills it offers, which she believes will be beneficial regardless of the career path she chooses after graduation.
Some of these skills include investing, renovating, and negotiating deals. Even if students aren’t personally in the market to purchase a house, they can still learn how to invest in properties and generate income through renting or renovating and reselling homes. “When I started with the course…I knew just kind of the basics of real estate stuff, but I didn’t really know about this specific area,” said Simpson. These entrepreneurial skills extend beyond real estate, providing versatile avenues for financial growth and success.
The program is open to all majors and advisors are actively enrolling students. For more information, check out https://ent.rowan.edu/academics/undergrad/cugs.html or email entdegrees@rowan.edu.
Visit ent.rowan.edu to learn more about Entrepreneurship at Rowan.
Story by: Madison Miller
