One of Michael Opyd’s primary missions is to help REALTORS® succeed and thrive, especially newer ones. To that end, he has gathered his knowledge and years of experience as a top-producing REALTOR® and former brokerage owner, plus two decades of personal growth and development into his latest book, The Education of a Real Estate Agent (released March 2025), to provide mentorship and vital help to agents who are either in their first years or just entering the industry. 

“If there’s one thing that I am most passionate about, it’s helping newer agents,” says Michael. “It frustrates me that so many go without the information they need to succeed because, as REALTORS®, we are responsible for helping consumers with one of the biggest decisions of their lives, and newer agents are not equipped with the proper knowledge to do that properly.” 

To emphasize this point, he quotes, “Eighty-seven percent of REALTORS® fail within their first five years in the industry!”1 

Michael’s new book, The Education of a Real Estate Agent, and the interactive workbook that goes with it, is his answer to that staggering statistic. “I wanted to provide newer REALTORS® with everything they need to understand about their job, so they can avoid failing in an industry that’s designed for failure,” he says. 

Knowing full well that a book alone would not be enough, Michael created a workbook to truly teach and show agents, in an interactive way, how to build out their business in the order it needs to be built in. 

“When I was building my business, I had no idea what order I needed to do things in, and that caused me a ton of frustration,” he shares. “The interactive workbook is designed to alleviate these frustrations.”

He adds, “I worked incredibly hard to make sure that I explained everything in an easy-to-follow format, and I specifically designed the book to make all the information memorable—so agents won't just read the information, they’ll be able to remember and apply it immediately.”

    His book is broken down into three parts: Start, Build, and Grow. Part 1, Start, helps REALTORS® understand everything they need to start their business, beginning with explaining the steps necessary to become a successful REALTOR®. It focuses on the items new REALTORS® are rarely taught or only end up figuring out after it’s too late—when their business can’t be saved.

 “We discuss cultivating a strong mind to handle the extreme highs and lows that can happen in a day and a career; how to set goals properly to achieve what they want in business and life; how to set their days up for massive success by creating routines that keep them focused on their ultimate goals; how to run a real estate business with little money; how to find the team or brokerage that will help them grow and develop, and more,” says Michael.

Part 2, Build, covers the topics that help an agent build on that established foundation. It begins with the most important aspect of an agent’s business: their database. Michael teaches agents how to build a database from scratch and how to market to it so they become the first agent people think of when they hear “real estate;” how to work with buyers and sellers to set themselves apart from other agents in their market; how to prospect for leads anywhere and put a plan in place to convert those leads; how to build a memorable brand from scratch; and how to use social media like their favorite influencers do. 

Part 3, Grow, builds on all that came before and is dedicated to helping agents grow their business. It explains what they need to understand when building a team, as well as some of the best tools they can use in their business right now to organize it and help it run efficiently. It also lists the best resources and materials to read to ensure they stay informed, up-to-date, and set up for future success. 

In The Education of a Real Estate Agent, Michael provides newer REALTORS® with the understanding and tools they need to build a successful real estate business. 

“My goal is to transform the real estate industry by providing agents with the knowledge they need at the beginning of their career to both help their clients properly and build a successful business,” says Michael. “When I became a REALTOR® 2009, I realized it was the exact career I’d been looking for. This industry has allowed me to build a life I could only dream of back then. My books and content are my way of giving back to an industry that means so much to me, and I believe that any agent who picks them up will be able to create a beautiful life, too. As Bob Dylan sang, ‘Life isn't about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself.’”

To learn more about Michael and glean more of his knowledge, follow him on social media, @michaelopyd; or check out his website, www.michaelopyd.com, for free, downloadable resources for agents. 

1 Tom Ferry, “What Percent of Real Estate Agents Fail? The How and Why,” Tom Ferry (blog), Nov 15, 2021, https://blog.tomferry.com/87-of-all-agents-fail-in-real-estate.