Real estate brokering isn't exactly what you'd call a homerun business--except if your name is Stephen Shapiro.

He's the guy nabbing the commission on the forthcoming sale of the Hearst Mansion in Beverly Hills. Asking price: $165 million. Slice off 3%, the traditional broker's cut, and you're looking at a $5 million payday.

Most brokers make a more modest living and are happy to post pretax margins in excess of 5%. Still, what with the conflation of cheap money, a resilient economy and greater access to home financing thanks to the growth in mortgage-backed securities (and perhaps overly cavalier lending practices), more entrepreneurs are taking their cut of the housing boom. In 1980, there were only five real estate brokerage firms in the U.S. that did more than 5,000 transactions a year. Now there are 130.

But before you plant your first yard sign, you'll need to know the fundamentals. What permits do you need? How much will you shell out in start-up and ongoing expenses? And what piece of technology can you not live without?

Forbes.com breaks down the building blocks of the brokerage business and other industries by answering eight core questions about them. Taken together, the information will give budding entrepreneurs a head start on clocking those first juicy commissions.