...lower start-up costs and the shuttering of older firms have made conditions ripe for new businesses, especially now that the market has started to bounce back, according to Greg Young, the former director of sales at Citi Habitats, who launched the Manhattan-based real estate training and consulting company Broker Heaven in June.

"The down market brought on some serious shakedowns in Manhattan," Young said. "It's a time of opportunity."

...more entrepreneurs are entering the real estate education space.

Until recently, many agents received little formal coaching beyond the 75 hours of training required to get their licenses. But in today's difficult market, new businesses are looking to capitalize on brokers' desire to stay ahead of the curve.

That's what Young set out to do with Broker Heaven.

"I help agents make money -- that's what I do," Young said. Six of the city's real estate firms -- A.C. Lawrence, CitySites New York, Mark David, Caliber Associates, Spire Group and Miron Properties -- have now hired Broker Heaven to do the bulk of their training, he said.

Individual agents can also hire Young and attend the classes he offers. A sales training program for rental agents, for example, costs $500 per agent for two eight-hour classes, plus access to Broker Heaven's online seminars. Young, who has an office and event space at 333 Park Avenue South, said around 100 individual agents have hired him thus far, in addition to the work he does for firms.

Broker Heaven's Greg Young is taking his new company to a national audience.

Young launched the real estate training and consulting company Broker Heaven NY in July, shortly after leaving his longtime post as director of sales at the brokerage Citi Habitats. Broker Heaven, which aims to help real estate agents maximize their earning potential, offers seminars and group training sessions for agents at its headquarters at Park Avenue in Manhattan.

But now, real estate agents don't have to be in New York City to be coached by Young, or "G$" as he was nicknamed at Citi Habitats. This fall, Broker Heaven started offering live feeds of its seminars so agents can view them online.

The move is part of a national push for Broker Heaven: Young said he has hired marketers to promote the company in "every state of the nation," visiting local real estate offices and distributing complimentary DVDs of Broker Heaven seminars. The company will also be marketed nationally via social media, Young said.

Right now, agents must tune in to watch Broker Heaven seminars in real time, but Young said as of Dec. 1, recordings will be available for agents to peruse at their leisure.

All of this begs the question of what non-New York agents can learn from Young, who has spent his career in Manhattan. But Young said that nearly all of what he teaches -- negotiating skills, for example -- "can pertain to any agent in the country."

"The fundamentals about what you do to build a real estate business are virtually the same anywhere," he said.

As director of sales at Citi Habitats, Greg Young received a nickname from the rookie agents he trained: "GMoney," or "G$" for short.

"I help people and companies make money," said Young, who joined the real estate brokerage in 2000. "That's why they call me G$."

Now, he's taking the nickname -- and his coaching skills -- to a broader audience. In March, Young left Citi Habitats to form his own venture: a real estate training and consulting company, Broker Heaven NY.

Housed in a 3,200-square-foot loft at 333 Park Avenue South, the business officially launches July 5, but Young has already started giving complimentary seminars to local real estate professionals to spread the word about the new company.

Young's plan is to conduct seminars for agents several afternoons a week, with titles like "Confident Selling Skills" and "Everything is a Negotiation." Brokers can buy tickets to seminars for $95. He will also host group training sessions, or "coaching clinics," which he describes as a sort of "gym membership for real estate agents" hoping to sharpen their skills.

The clinic will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. For a monthly fee of $145, agents can stop by any time they like during those hours to receive coaching from Young and get tips from fellow attendees.