Most of us got into real estate and running our own businesses because we craved freedom and autonomy. The problem is that freedom can be the very thing that leads to us losing our businesses. 

In order to have both the freedom and the sustained great results, we need to build constraints around ourselves. If we don’t, at any given moment, our businesses are under the threat of four killers. 

No matter how long you’ve been in the game, you can still fall prey to these problems and find yourself going backwards or completely derailed. Our businesses aren’t just in danger when the market is hard, they are in fact most prone when everything is going well and you get complacent. 

Today, we’re going to discuss the 4 business killers, how they manifest and how to prevent and address them. 

Quotes 

When things are good, it’s easier to spend money, to say yes and to not hold standards.  We lose discipline in the things that got us to where we were. -Kevin Kauffman 

A lack of discipline shows up in not us not repeating the same activity day in and day out. -Fred Weaver 

People are assigning hope to an external activity to fuel their business. You can’t do that for that many quarters in a row without finding yourself out of this business. -Fred Weaver 

Key Points  

The danger of inconsistent discipline 

In this industry, it’s really easy to be disciplined when you desperately need the next deal, but what happens when things start going well? We take our foot off the gas. We’re disciplined enough to go out and hustle for the next deal, but not in the long run. Many of us are undisciplined - a good month is based on deals happening and having money in the bank. We have peaks and valleys in our income because it’s a direct reflection of the inconsistency in our activity. When things are good, it’s easier to spend money, to say yes and to not hold standards. It’s really easy to lose discipline in the things that got us to where we were.

Being overly optimistic 

We have to accept that fact when the market’s good, our results are going to outpace our effort. Some of our great outcomes are just pure luck - we were at the right place at the right time. The problem is: if we believe that things will stay good, that easy deals will keep flowing in and that rates will stay low, we’ll miss market changes that are obvious. Assigning hope to an external activity to fuel your business isn’t sustainable. 

This is a boredom management business 

The truth about this business is boredom will creep in the longer you’re in it. If you’re not bored, you haven’t been in business long enough and/or you’re not consistent enough with your activities. The problem is boredom can sabotage our business because we fall into the trap of trying new things, creating chaos and taking our eye off the ball. This  ultimately crumbles results in our core business. 

How to combat impatience 

Impatience is lethal in business because there might be a bigger gap between our effort and results than we expect. So many business owners sabotage themselves because they start thinking whatever they are doing isn’t working. Successful people have mastered the art of outlasting the impatient people. 

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The secret to growing a real estate team can be summed up in 4 words: people move the money. If you’re a team leader or broker owner looking to add more transactions to your bottom line, you can’t avoid adding to your agent count. 

You could pour more into the agents you do have and try to squeeze more production out of them, but if you’re relying on that for growth, you’re going to be disappointed. Of course, it’s critical to keep developing our people, but there’s only so much more we can get out of them. Even if we give them everything, people will inevitably hit a ceiling, so we have to get more people in if we want to increase our results.

You may get out of production to grow your team, but that doesn’t mean you stop lead generating. Now your lead gen efforts need to be put toward building your agent pipeline, having recruiting conversations and treating agents like your new listings. 

A business vs. a job 

There are two types of people in real estate: agents who love selling houses and agents who want to build businesses. The ones who want to build businesses grow by bringing more agents on, instead of trying to increase their transactions. The reality is: we could go out tomorrow and start making listings and we’d probably make more money, but we don’t want a business that relies on our effort to grow. We want leverage through people.  

Agents are your new listings 

Team leaders or broker owners who want to grow their agent count may step out of selling homes, but they still have to lead generate. You have to channel the energy you put into real estate into recruiting people to your team. The activities are the same: you have to get on the phone, set appointments and convert those appointments into closings AKA an agent joining your team. 

The good news about the proposed NAR settlement 

If you’re a team leader looking to grow your agent count, this NAR settlement presents a huge opportunity. A lot of people aren’t prepared for the changes in the industry and their businesses are suffering. This is a perfect opportunity to step in, have an honest conversation and provide much-needed guidance by offering to bring them on your team. 

8 million opportunities

So many people in real estate believe there’s no opportunity in this market, but the numbers don’t lie. In 2023, 4 million homes sold, and that means there were 8 million opportunities. There’s still plenty of transactions to be had for the agents doing the right things. 

Guest Info

With a North Carolina Broker's License acquired in 2005, Noah embarked on a remarkable journey in real estate. Selling over 1400 properties and personally listing more than 100 homes in a single year, Noah's expertise became evident early on. Beginning his career with Keller Williams Realty in 2005, Noah took the bold step of founding George Real Estate Group in 2019, an independent brokerage serving Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. Notably, Noah transitioned away from active sales, redirecting his focus towards building the business through training, mentoring, coaching, and recruiting. Starting with 12 agents in early 2023, the brokerage has flourished, growing to 25 agents by the onset of 2024. This expansion has notably propelled productivity even during a challenging real estate environment, boasting a 100% increase in production during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, directly attributed to the emphasis on team development. To date, Noah's career at KW and the collective efforts of George Real Estate Group have facilitated over $346 million in real estate transactions. Connect with Noah on LinkedIn.

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When we look at someone making and posting great content, we tend to overlook one thing. They all had that first crappy post or clumsy video. It doesn’t become polished overnight - it goes through a ton of iterations until it looks amazing. You don’t see the 100 steps the content creator had to go through - the period of being bad at it first, figuring it out, learning new things and applying them. 

Most people will never get to great because they aren’t willing to go through this part of the process. They are afraid of looking silly and afraid of the discomfort of looking like they don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t want to screw up in order to do it better next time. 

The journey of getting better as a business owner, and a person for that matter, involves a lot of humbling moments, learning curves, curiosity and a ton of improvements. As soon as we become okay with that, we unlock our next level of growth. We’re ultimately in the self-improvement business disguised as a real estate business. How do we commit to constant growth and improvement? Today, fellow Phoenix agent, Angela Gordon talks about how she’s growing her business by improving herself. 

Key Points  

Give fear a seat at the table, not a vote

One of the things that holds us back from taking action is the fear of not getting results or looking silly. Fear is a natural response to trying something new. We can still have the thoughts, but we don’t have to give them power by not taking action. Give fear and doubt a seat at the table, but you don’t have to give them a vote. 

How to handle the results lag of real estate

As agents whose business results often lag behind the action we take, we don’t have the benefit of instant gratification. If we let our emotions control the day-to-day of our business and what we do, we can easily get off track. We have to believe that as long as we’re doing the right things, business will be okay, even if we don’t see the results right away. 

You’re not in the business of selling houses

If you’re a business owner, you’re really in the self-development business especially if you’re working with the public and dealing with customers/clients. Working on yourself is your number 1 job because if you don’t overcome your BS, you’ll never get to where you want to go. 

How to tap into your creativity 

One of the most powerful things we can do is be more creative. It benefits us in so many aspects of our business. But how do we lean into creativity and get ourselves into a creative space? By getting out of our usual routines, taking a break from work and getting out of our element. Whatever our hamster wheel is, we have to step off it to get those creative juices flowing. 

The power of curiosity 

Curiosity and the ability to be uncomfortable are some of the most powerful qualities a person can possess. Most people aren’t willing to try something different, but even if you discover that the new hobby wasn’t for you, you still get to learn something about yourself, and that’s great if you want to keep growing. 

Guest Info

Angela is an investor and top 4% real estate agent in Arizona who focuses on the east valley cities. With an emphasis on cultivating community, connecting people and supporting local businesses. Angela is also committed to personal development, constant improvement and building a life on being your authentic self. Follow @angelagordon_ on Instagram. 

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Real estate may have had its stormy period, but things are really close to being good again. Knowing all this, why are both real estate and mortgage bleeding over 40% of agents and loan officers? 

Anyone you see leaving the industry right now has learned a brutal lesson - your results can only outpace your effort for so long. If you get used to cashing easy checks, in an easy market without the effort, you’ll feel invincible, until you get a rude awakening. If you don’t pick up the effort to deserve your results, you won’t have them anymore. 

There's a better approach…

Anyone who has stayed in the industry, and is set to grow when things get good again understands the power of frontloading the work. They would rather work at 80 to 100% capacity in less time instead of working at 30% capacity for 20 years. The more you front-load the work and effort, the longer it has to cook and the more you get out of it. 

The result: an impact and return on investment that compounds exponentially. Most people would call it a sacrifice, but Colby Steel sees it as something different - an investment in future flexibility and ultimately, freedom. Today, he shares how he made the switch from real estate to mortgage, how he was able to ramp up fast, and the reason so many are leaving the industry right now.

Quotes 

The more you front-load the work the longer it has to cook. -Kevin Kauffman 

There’s an opportunity to serve more people by expanding your arsenal. -Colby Steel

If you do all the things you need to be doing, and you’re a person of integrity, you earn the benefit of the doubt. -Colby Steel 

I’ve actually done the math on what actually moves the needle and I don't feel bad about the things that don’t. -Kevin Kauffman 

The best way to learn is by doing more of the thing. -Colby Steel 

An inflated market will cover up inadequacies in your business. -Colby Steel 

If your results start to outpace your effort, that can only last for so long. -Kevin Kauffman 

Guest Info

Colby Steel is a Loan Strategist who has lived in Mohave County for most of his life. Since joining the world of finance with Chase Bank and JP Morgan Securities, he allowed his passion for customer service to shine through and began building his clientele.  In 2016 he opted to switch over the mortgage industry and hasn't looked back since.  His forward progression in home lending is a direct reflection of that focus. Colby has helped 100’s to reach their dream of homeownership by being a trusted local resource and always putting his clients first. Follow @steelcolby on Instagram. 

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As agents, building a database and adding value to our sphere has been drilled into us. We took that same mindset and strategy, and applied it to our peers and agent relationships. Just like we’re told to host events and send gifts to our top clients, we do the same for the agent community. 

We can attribute getting into this business and succeeding in it to the different agents and entrepreneurs who advised us. Now we get to give back to the same community and show people that there are many different ways to succeed in this business. 

We also have to attribute our real estate business and successful partnership to dumb luck and many things that just fell into place and put us in the way of luck. Today, I sat down with our good friend, mortgage industry leader, business coach, and VP/Branch Manager of Nova Home Loans, Greg Gale. We talk about our business journey and all the things we’ve managed to build. 

Quotes 

We’ve never once fought over a dollar. We disagree, we have different opinions but we never fight over it. What’s more important is where we’re going and our end goal. -Kevin Kauffman  

The word mastermind has been bastardized by our industry. What many call masterminds are actually classes. -Kevin Kauffman  

If you do your business towards what you’re built for, it’s going to be way better. -Greg Gale

Guest Info

Greg Gale is a mortgage industry leader, business coach, and VP/Branch Manager of Nova Home Loans. Greg joined the mortgage industry in 2005. Prior to that, he was a personal trainer and martial arts instructor for 17 years. Greg notes that 20 years of martial arts, where persistence, honor, and integrity are the heart of daily practice, was a perfect lead into his role as financial advisor in the mortgage industry. The Gale Team at NOVA Home Loans is a full-service loan origination service, committed to providing innovative mortgage solutions and real estate strategies. In his role as team leader, Greg stresses the importance of integrity, a positive attitude, patience, creativity, and respect for all things. 

This team defines communication as one of the single most important elements in a successful loan transaction. They are committed to returning calls promptly, providing regular status updates, and being available as needed throughout the process. Greg and his team really listen to clients’ needs and then seek the best possible solutions, more often than not exceeding their client’s expectations. The team’s priority is to provide exceptional and memorable service. On a personal note, Greg is absolutely passionate about helping other people and is a regular contributor to the American Heart Association and Susan G. Komen Foundation. Greg is also a member of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and the Arizona Association of Mortgage Brokers. 

Follow @greg_gale_ on Instagram.  

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Human beings are an aspiration and progress-based species, and money is the currency of this game. We’re always going to chase growth and success, and that comes with a lot of social debt and expectations, but if we’re not careful, that will get us in big trouble. We might find ourselves making decisions based on what impresses others, not what makes our lives better, and that’s the wrong way to go about things. 

Many people would rather buy an entry level BMW, for the bragging rights, not the driving experience. The better decision is to aim for the high-end Toyota - it’s not too expensive or flashy, but it’s filled with things that actually enhance your life. 

We can apply this mindset to homes, careers, and vacations. If we learn not to play the expectations game, we can be happier and we can also have a better relationship with money. 

Today, we’re joined by the bestselling author of The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever, Morgan Housel. He shares money mindsets that get us in trouble and how to shift away from them. 

Books Mentioned 

No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II

​​April 1865: The Month That Saved America Book by Jay Winik

1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History by Jay Winik

Guest Info

Morgan Housel is a partner at The Collaborative Fund. He's the New York Times Bestselling author of The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever. His books have sold over five million copies and have been translated into more than 50 languages. He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and winner of the New York Times Sidney Award. In 2022, MarketWatch named him one of the 50 most influential people in markets. He serves on the board of directors at Markel. 

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When you look at high performers, it’s hard to tell exactly what they do differently, but what’s clear is that their results aren’t the same as ours. Many people try to mimic them on the surface - eat what they eat, read the books they read, go where they go, but it doesn’t work. 

You know what you’re supposed to do, you’ve got the tactics, the information and you spend thousands on coaching and masterminds, but you’re still not doing it. What holds us back, and how can we adapt the mindset of high performers to get what we want? 

What separates us from the high performers aren’t big leaps, it’s actually 2mm shifts that make all the difference. What creates growth, success and results are small, tiny tweaks to what everyone does, not the huge changes we assume lead to success. 

If we’re looking to level up, implementing these 2mm changes can lead us to everything we want in business and life. Today, peak performance coach Kamille Rose Taylor shares the small shifts that can change everything. 

Quotes 

Turbulence hits most when you’re pushing for growth. -Kamille Rose Taylor  

Understand that you can’t be fearful and grateful at the exact same time. The brain does not have capacity for it. -Kamille Rose Taylor

If you suck at something, that means you’re willing to grow. You’re trying. -Kamille Rose Taylor

Guest Info

Kamille Rose Taylor is the #1 Peak Performance Mindset Coach to Entrepreneurs and Leaders and Member of the Forbes Coaches Council. She is an entrepreneur, transformational speaker, and Peak Performance Coach to entrepreneurs, leaders, and executives. After completing two years of premed study at UC Berkeley, Kamille hit a critical turn around moment when she realized that she was not destined to be a doctor but rather to help people in a totally different way. Kamille knew she wanted to support leaders in reaching their ultimate potential in life by removing the psychological patterns that blocked them from doing so. So she completed a double bachelors in Psychology and Mass Communications.

Today, she is the CEO and Founder of The Ultimate LYFE, a leadership mindset training company that helps entrepreneurs and leaders achieve ultimate success in their personal and professional life. She is also a keynote speaker for Fortune 500 companies, national conferences, and continues to expand her research on human peak performance as a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, The World Class Speakers Alliance, and travels around the world speaking to diverse communities and companies on how to master their mindset. 

Follow @imkamillerose on Instagram and text NEXT LEVEL to (818) 583-7068. 

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The NAR buyer’s agent litigation has been a huge topic and concern for agents across the country for months. Now that the lawsuit has been settled, there’s a lot of panic, knee-jerk reactions, assumptions and worries about what it means. 

Are we in trouble? Should we be worried about our future? No. 

It’s just too soon to make a final conclusion on the matter. Everyone’s thinking that this is bad news, but it’s just too early to believe that. Nothing is final, and there are definitely more questions than answers at the moment. 

What isn’t a question is what we have to do (and what we’ve always had to do) - provide value. As long as we’re leading with value and being consultants who are in for our clients, no ruling will change anything. In many ways, this settlement is actually good news because it forces us to raise our standards as an industry. 

Today, we’re joined by eXp’s Chief Growth Officer, Michael Valdes to discuss what this settlement means and why the sky isn’t falling, like many people think it is. 

Guest Info

Michael Valdes is the Chief Growth Officer of eXp Global. He is currently one of the very few Latino C-suite executives of a publicly traded real estate company in the country (Nasdaq: EXPI). He has led a team which has opened 23 countries in 22 months without ever getting on a plane which is a feat that has never been done in the industry. This model has successfully touched the lives of thousands of people across the globe and given them an opportunity to change their lives.

Michael was the former Senior Vice President of Global Servicing for Realogy Corporation. In that role he oversaw the international servicing platform for all Realogy brands including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, Better Homes & Garden, Corcoran, Climb and Sotheby’s International Realty in 113 countries. He had been with Realogy in a variety of roles for 15 years. Prior to that, Mr. Valdes was Director of Private Banking at Deutsche Bank for a decade where he oversaw a book of business of just under $1 billion. He has the distinction of being the first Director in the United States of Latino descent. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and 

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In today’s market, most of us are coming up against the same problem - belligerent sellers who think their home is worth more than everyone’s saying it is. Under normal circumstances, that means no deal, but there’s strategy for these kinds of leads, creative finance. 

Creative finance is an incredibly simple strategy that many in real estate treat as illegal or wrong. The truth is, the people who do creative finance, make the water muddy so you think it’s deep, it’s actually something a lot of us can easily do. 

We have thousands of creative finance deals sitting in our database, and there’s an easy way to go after them. Pace Morby has built a portfolio of 2132 doors, worth $450 million without using his own money or borrowing a single cent. Today he shares why every agent should be using this strategy and how it works. 

Change your identity 

Pace worked as a contractor for many years, and one day a real estate investor he was working with said, “you’re not in real estate, you’re a slave to my business - you’re a simple Google search away from being replaced.” As agents, we are service providers to the people who own the real estate. Just because you helped someone else facilitate a sale in real estate, doesn’t mean you’re an investor. 

Investing and Taxes 

The IRS wants people to solve affordable housing for the country, and they’ll incentivize investors to create more housing and offset their income so they don’t have to pay taxes. If you make millions of dollars in cash flow, why wouldn’t you want to use your own money? If someone can lend me their own money at 10%, it’s a lot better. 

A Huge Opportunity 

50% of investments bought in 2022 were back on the market in 2023, because people think owning real estate is easy and when they discover that it’s not, they want to get rid of the home. 

How to explain seller financing to a seller  

Most sellers think their home is worth more than everyone is telling them. When you use creative financing, you actually want the sellers who want too much money because you can offer them payments. Let’s say you’re trying to sell a car for $10k, and you don’t get any bites until you offer payments. 

There’s More to Real Estate Than Listings

Real estate agents are only focused on the listing, that’s like playing 18 holes of golf with a putter. You should have more than one golf club.  Low inventory isn’t the problem, low affordability is, and creative financing is how you solve it. In this scenario, everyone wins - buyer, seller, agent and investor. Where can you find creative finance deals - through expireds. You can approach them and say, “I know buyers who are open to paying the price if you give them terms.”

Go to Propstream and filter for homes purchased between 2019 and 2022, VA or FHA loans, homes bought with almost no money down, sellers with low equity and homes on the market for over 100 days. 

Guest Info

Pace Morby is the host of A&E’s most popular TV show ‘Triple Digit Flip’ and one of the most creative real estate investors on the planet. Using dozens of non-traditional strategies called Creative Finance, Pace has acquired 1,000’s of doors nationwide and built a portfolio totaling over $450 million in assets. Each week, Pace teaches tens of thousands of students in his online communities which is becoming the #1 source for anyone looking to get started in real estate utilizing Subject To, Seller Finance and the Gator Method!

Go to https://pacemorby.com/ for more information and follow @pacemorby on Instagram. 

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In a good market, the gap between great agents and average agents is virtually non-existent - it’s anyone’s game. When the market turns, the gap between the good and the great becomes so wide, it’s the difference between earning money and leaving the business entirely. Doubling your business in a down market is possible, but it’s not by chance. 

You and your team have to be so different that sellers believe you’re the only way they can get top dollar for their home. 

That comes down to marketing - the best marketers won’t just outlast the market, they’ll win outright. The market assumes your ability based on your visibility - so we have to win the conversation before we even get into the room with the seller. 

The wealthy are paid for their expertise, the lowest paid are compensated for their time. How do we position ourselves as experts? How do we use marketing to craft the unique home selling offer that makes domination automatic? 

Curtis Johnson shares the key strategy to winning in this market. 

Guest Info

Curtis runs a highly successful real estate team at The Curtis Johnson Team Powered By eXp Realty having sold nearly 5,000 residential homes in Arizona and a BILLION Dollars in Volume. The Wall Street Journal ranked his Team as one of the Top 50 out of 1.2 million REALTORS in America.

He is one of the most connected and sought after real estate minds in the business. He and his team were singled out as a finalist in Inman's Most Innovative Real Estate Teams in 2018.

His extensive knowledge of the real estate market makes him an in demand speaker and real estate expert. He constantly analyzes current market conditions and trends to stay one step ahead of others in the field. Curtis holds several advanced professional designations including GRI, ABR and CRS.

Curtis has been featured nationally on the cover of REALTOR Magazine, prominently in CNN Money Magazine as well as interviewed locally on virtually every TV station and newspaper. Curtis and his selling system have been featured on the 60 Minutes equivalent in several countries internationally. 

Follow @curtisjohnsonrealestate on Instagram. 

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Adults don’t need to be instructed, they simply need to be reminded.  

Pain will always be the leader in the lessons of our lives. If you chase the pain, you learn the lessons quicker. Chase the pain of growth, the pain of the next level. The things you have avoided will always show up on your doorstep like a bill collector. 

The better you get in your life, the better your business gets. How can an organization provide everything people need to succeed and they still fail? One person can take a strategy 100 miles and another can take the same strategy and only push it for 2 feet. That’s because the majority of success is based on our psychology. 

There’s only going to be 2 agents in the marketplace this year - the drama agent and the growing agent. 

Signs of a drama agent; 

1. They are the victim 
2. They need a perpetrator (the market, NAR or another agent - something to be after them. They need something external to justify why we’re not doing the things internally) 
3. They’re not looking for help they are looking for a hero 

These are the symptoms of someone who will fail. 

Signs of a growing agent; 

1. Someone that takes personal responsibility and owns it all 
2. They ask for help 
3. They contribute 

A lot of leaders make shit happen, get comfortable and then expect everyone around them to make shit happen. 

What do you want, specifically?

The reason the brain likes to make it vague, foggy is so it doesn’t set up conditions for failure. When you get specific on what you want, now you know if you’re failing or succeeding. 

Success can be a really terrible teacher. It can teach you that you don’t need to keep going. You may not need more money but your spirit needs more growth. 

Guest Bio 

Dustin Runyon is a real estate team leader, speaker, coach and connection specialist. He is a stimulant for change, helping thousands find their truth and their path in order to create a life they can truly be proud of. Helping guide companies and individuals break into their power! 

Dustin believes we need the truth in order to move forward and that your truth lies inside of you waiting to be faced, waiting to be confronted with arms of openness and readiness.

Runyon dreams of a world where we are filled with joy, fulfillment and a deep need to give and serve those around us. A world where we are excited about who we are and are moving towards becoming more of who we were destined to become. A place where we help instead of hurt, give instead of take and love instead of hate. His mission is to create just that. He hopes that you decide to take part.

Head to https://www.dustinrunyon.com/ for more information. To sign up for Fired Up Fridays visit https://firedupfridays.com/. 

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