In this episode we introduce ourselves and give a little background on why we see a need in the real estate industry for a podcast of encouragement. We both share a love of mentoring agents and wanted the ability to reach a larger audience. Alissa was going on dozens of coffee dates a year to give advice to new and struggling agents and this episode dives into what was talked about in those coffee dates. We also talk about how we met on one of these very dates and the reasons Katy reached out to Alissa. Join us as we toast our mentors and pull back the curtain on the “secret” to success!

The following is a rough transcript provided by Otter.ai.

0:05
Hi, y’all, welcome to hustle fumbly.

0:06
It’s Alyssa and Katie and we are two top producing realtors in the Baton Rouge market working for two different companies where we should be competitors. But we have chosen community over competition. The goal of our podcast is to show you how soul can be healthy when you have the humility to do it your way. So stop comparing yourself and start embracing your strengths.

0:30
Hey, everyone, welcome. It’s episode one. Today, we’re gonna cover why we’re doing the podcast and introduce ourselves and hopefully give you guys a glimpse of what’s going to come in the podcast as we go forward. Yeah, okay.

0:44
Why don’t you introduce yourself? Alright, so

0:46
I’m Katie Caldwell, I have been selling real estate for 14 years. Wow. And I was in retail management before that. And I learned that I did not want to do that for my whole life. And so I got my real estate license. That was 2005. And here I am

1:01
today. Very cool. So I’m Alyssa Jenkins, and I got licensed in 2012. And before that, I was in college and grad school. So I graduated and became a realtor. Okay,

1:16
what did you graduate in?

1:17
I got my master’s in business administration. And I thought because I had my MBA that I could, like, have this dream job and make all the money. And then I was interviewing and there was, that was just not true. So you’re gonna make all the money with your me? No, I, well, you know, millennials, some of them just want the money so fast. But I just didn’t like any of the options that I had. And I had kind of started real estate, which we’ll touch on, you know, at a later episode, but I decided, You know what, I’m just gonna pursue real estate, like every year got better. And I liked being able to control my income,

1:55
yo, yes. That’s how I got into it. I didn’t want to get stuck at my salaried position where I felt like I was working very hard, sometimes harder than the people around me, but making the same amount of money, right. And so I decided that I would go into real estate where the amount of work I put in could actually be reflected in the amount of money I made. Yeah. Which was nice. And it’s true. Okay, so that’s who we are. Yeah.

2:18
Now, why are we doing this podcast? Well, I noticed that there was a need in our marketplace, for a space where people can just openly and honestly talk about this. And I’ve realized that need because I was constantly being asked to go to coffee. So my first year of real estate, I sold 12 houses, and it was a $4.4 million valuation volume wise. And that was good for a first year. And so people just started reaching out being like, Hey, what are you doing? Can we go get coffee? I was like, Yes, this is great. I would love to help people. So I got a little out of hand. And seven years later, the coffee’s have grown.

3:04
How many? Tell us how many. So I got to where I was doing like three a week. I mean, I think that’s crazy, high number for someone who’s also doing such a crazy high volume, you have a lot of work commitments.

3:16
And it really wasn’t that bad until I had my daughter. Okay, and then work I met time became even more important. And I couldn’t just spend all this free time on coffee dates, because daycare ended at a certain time. And so then I was trying to combine people. Yeah, I was like, Hey, why don’t you come to lunch with while I’m meeting this person, and I’ll knock out like two or three at one meeting, right? I was just trying to combine. And then that still got out of hand. And I thought, what better way to do this than a podcast. So we’re trying to get out the message to as many people as possible that maybe would be afraid to to reach out and ask for a coffee. Yeah. And now you know, when people and I’m still happy to like talk with people and things, but being able to say, hey, I have a podcast, go listen to it, I think you would get a lot of your questions answered. And if you need anything, you know, just let me know. Okay, I like

4:12
that. So that’s kind of how we met to Yes, that is how we met. I took a CRS webinar. And Alyssa was the speaker and she was covering, I think it was organization. Yeah. And it’s keeping in touch with your sphere. It was very interesting. And I knew that she was obviously a high volume producer in our market. So she was in my market. And that made me even more, I guess, intrigued to take the class. So I got the webinar. And in the webinar, you talked about the coffee dates, you said I yeah, I’m happy to go, you know, talk on the phone, go to the coffee, you know, give people advice or answer questions or kind of give some insight and I thought I want to go to the coffee date. And so I reached out and we went on a lunch. Yep. And and here we are today, and I am so lucky that it just we clicked we did click and so we’ve gotten to continue that and see each other They’re, you know, once a month or so. And I even got to be combined on a coffee date at some point. So that was pretty good. It was set. Oh, hey, I know we have lunch tomorrow, but I need to bring this new agent, she had a coffee date, y’all. So she had to like, mix us together, it was really quite funny. So I actually had got a little insider seat to that and saw how we have a coffee date goes down, which was kind of interesting for me to see it from that side. So that’s, that’s how we met. Tell me who else though was calling.

5:29
So the most people that call our newer agents, you know, they have been told so many things, there’s so much noise out there. And to be honest, the majority of the people that call me are new agents on teams, okay? I’m not saying teams are a bad thing. I’m just saying, if you don’t know who you are as a person, and you don’t know who you are in your business, maybe joining a team or someone else is telling you what to do and how to run your business isn’t going to work for you. Because that’s not your way, right? It’s hard to find yourself, it’s hard to find yourself in the beginning. And that goes for real estate that goes for any business owner entrepreneur out there. There’s so much advice and classes and noise out there. And we wanted this podcast to be a place where you could take a break from all of that noise. And you could just come be like, who am I? Let’s talk this out. Let’s have honest conversations about our struggles and our business or Sure. And so, um, it was mostly new agents. Now, you were not a new agent. No, you’re actually a Producing Realtor that does well, and just wanted to better yourself. Yeah, I thought that was really cool. Which is why I think we became friends, for sure. I

6:38
wanted to pull the curtain back on how someone else who was doing well was doing it. And maybe I’m always looking for a tip to make it easier. Yeah. Is there something I can do to make this whole process simpler to maybe take less time to be more efficient, and that way, you can maybe make more money because you’re able to be more efficient with what you’re already doing? Right? So that was kind of fun for me. Now, why were these people calling you? So

7:03
they were calling me because they were confused about life about if they even wanted to be in real estate anymore. They didn’t know who they were what they were doing wrong. They wanted to know if I had a secret. What was my secret? How was I doing so well, so quickly in my early years and growing every year and maintaining it and having a family and sleeping? Right? So it’s like, whether you sleep? Yeah, I love sleep. I require a lot of sleep. I require a lot of sleep too good. So they were wanting some coaching. They were wanting advice. They were wanting second opinions on personality tests diagnosis. I know, right? That’s pretty silly. It is silly. But you know, there’s, there’s people out there telling these new agents to take personality tests and being like, oh, based on these results, you’re red. And so you shouldn’t be doing this. And they’re like, but I don’t like doing that. But they feel like that’s what they’re supposed to do. And it just leads to more confusion. Right. Right. So so they reached out really just wanting a neutral third party. Okay. Another thing that’s kind of funny is, I would say at least one in three asks that our meeting remain anonymous. Oh, this is a good detail. Yes. They did not want it to get back to their team, member, Team Leader, or broker, like maybe their solo agent. And they were not with the same brokerage? Yes. And they didn’t, they felt embarrassed. And I’m like, No, you should not feel embarrassed to reach out and ask for advice on this. Do you think part of

8:38
that is that we do not look at this, this industry as community over competition, that’s 100% what it’s gotta be. That’s 100%. Why?

8:48
And that it’s just a culture thing. Yeah. Which we’re going to touch on more. And then we’re actually going

8:53
to do culture and episode two. So that’ll be fun to kind of dive deeper into what what happens when you get into real estate in an art industry than what what’s gonna go on there. Yeah,

9:04
their feelings are coming from somewhere. Yeah. So, you

9:07
know, very good. Okay. So when you go on the coffee, tell me how it starts.

9:11
I always like to start by asking them what they’re doing now. They’re, they’re there to hear me talk. But I’m like, no, no, I want to hear well, right. You talk and it’s so funny. Because after like the sixth one, I was just like, Wow, all these people kind of say the same thing. Interesting. And they always show up, like kind of dressed up. Oh, fancy. And I’m like, I think it’s so sweet. You know, it’s so cute. They they’re nervous.

9:40
Well, because I guess maybe that’s part of to why we go along. Right? We should have our jeans Yeah, we’re very down to earth. We’re not exactly in the high heels all the time now in the pencil skirt and yeah, fancy,

9:52
you know, suits or whatever, which is fine. There’s a time and place for everything. But if you’re just meeting me for coffee, you don’t have to dress up. No, but they’re all always, you know, just just like it’s a job interview. They’re nervous. I’m like, Hey, we’re just gonna talk, you know, you wanted to meet and I have no expectation, right? Neither should you. So I asked them, What are they doing now? And then it’s just like, word vomit. They’re just like, oh, well, I’m calling all these phone numbers and leads, and I’m doing these open houses. And I’m doing these internet leads, and I’m doing door knocking and I call it the phonebook. And I’m handwriting 500 letters a week, and I’m just saying, some of them. I it’s just, I’m just sitting there in shock going 10. I would be burnout after my first month.

10:45
Also, do you think they are somewhat burnout? And that’s part of the read. Yeah,

10:49
I think they’re like, Wow, I have not been in real estate that long. And I already want to quit. Yeah, well, wait.

10:56
Statistic have to go back and get this. It’s a statistic, but it’s like 85% of realtors. New agents quit in the first

11:04
year. Yes, that first year is not for the faint of heart. No, if you get through it, you’re lucky. Yeah. And I think that’s why they’re confidentially crying for help.

11:15
They were like, well, how

11:16
do I survive? How am I going to do this for the next 30? years? Yes.

11:20
Okay. So tell me some of the questions that they’re asking you.

11:25
They’re asking me all kinds of questions. What is my everyday look like? How much do I spend on marketing? Should I be on a team? Should I be so low? Should I start a team? Just just so many, so many things? Right. Okay.

11:44
And do you want to dive into any of those for the people who were feeling like they’re on the coffee today?

11:49
I think that through our episodes, we will at some point touch on all of these cups. All right, what about how you got started? Do

11:56
you feel some similarities in how they’re feeling when they get with you?

12:00
Yes. So I think that’s why I have such a heart for the coffee date. Yeah. When I was new, I sort of did the same thing. I just picked people that were better than me. And I wanted to talk to them. Not necessarily over coffee. Sometimes it was just like, a pop in writing five minutes, you know. But at the end of my first year, I didn’t even know that I was really doing well. Okay, I was busy. I was I was I started real estate my last year of grad school. Okay, so you’re still in, I was still in school, when I got my real estate license. And so I wasn’t really keeping track of my business. Okay. But I was vocal about it. Right? And was like, if I had a presentation in grad school, I just made the topic real estate related. Oh, genius. It was so great. So by the end of it, people just kind of knew me as real estate. Then we were graduating and getting jobs. The other people right now we’re not me, not nearly a job now. And they wanted to buy houses. And that’s kind of how I got started. Okay, like friends, you know. And at the end of my first year, while I was job interviewing, because I had just graduated, someone from my company marketing department called me and asked if they could interview me to do a, a piece for new agents to inspire them. And I was like, Sure. Why is this when you realize, yeah, this is when I realized I’m kind of good at this, right? This might be my thing. And she was like, Well, you know, you just had a really great first year, it’s about three times more than our rookies in the past. So we just thought you would be and I was like, wow. So I had no clue. I had no clue. You just hit the ground running. And just, I was too busy to stop and care. Yeah, you know, and then, you know, the real estate industry is all it’s very vain. So, so screw your company, companies post your success everywhere. You get awards, it goes in the newspaper, it goes on the internet. So if you’re successful in real estate, like, it’s out there, right? It’s no secret. It’s not a secret. And, um, when that happened, I started getting all these calls from that’s when the coffee dates kind of started origination, but that’s also when I started hearing the noise. Oh, okay. Talk about that. So it’s like, I wasn’t nobody, there wasn’t, nobody wanted to have coffee with me. Nobody wanted to meet. Nobody wanted to be my preferred lender.

14:29
And then of anyone knocking on your door,

14:31
I didn’t have anybody knocking on my door, and then you have a good year and you get like the Rising Star Award and the Rookie of the Year Award, and all of a sudden, every lender in town is like, Do you have a lender? I want to be your lender. Right? And every, you know, it’s just every title company and everything. And that was, you know, at that point, I already had my certain groups established. I wasn’t looking for that. I didn’t need to add 15 people, right, but I found it funny. Like nobody did this when I was average, right? and it kind of wasn’t, you know, it made me appreciate it was off putting, and it made me appreciate the people that were there for me when I was a nobody. And that’s why when people would call me for coffee dates, I just had this heart for them. And I was like, yeah, come on, let’s go. Let’s do this.

15:15
Did you have a mentor when you were starting?

15:18
Not right at first, okay. They sort of developed. So and it’s funny because I haven’t, there was a man in our marketplace, who is not with my company, who asked me to go to coffee. And it was during the time that I was being heavily recruited by all companies, okay. And I said, I’m not I just, I’ve always liked you, you know, but I just, I can’t go to coffee with you, because I’m not in a place where I’m looking to leave my company. And I’m not coming. And he said, Well, this isn’t for recruiting. And I was like, that’s interesting. Do you promise I don’t believe you. This is a trick. It’s a trick. And so I went for coffee. And he, he just spoke life like he, he has been in this business for so long. And he just thanked me for because I had met with some agents in his company had reported back. Oh, he was thanking me for doing that thanking me he wanted, he wanted me to serve at our local board, okay, and to just become a leader in the industry, okay. Is that how you got into that? I got into leadership, because someone took the time to invite me to coffee, not to ask for anything, right. But just to say, hey, thank you, you’re doing a great job. And I think you could do great things.

16:38
So do you feel like these little pieces of validation as he went through the early part of your career helped you kind of guide you, and that really facilitated you giving that back? 100%? Yeah.

16:50
And at the same time, there was somebody that was heavily recruiting me, that was taking a total opposite method. Okay, let’s hear about it. They were wanting to put me down to inspire me to do better, which is not how to motivate me. Oh, that may work for some people. I don’t know who that works for. That’s horrible. I know. And so after my second year, I had done 6.7 million. And I was just over the moon. I was like, this is happening. My choice. I felt validated, right, you know, like I am, where I’m supposed to be. And I got this package in the mail at my office from the person who had been recruiting me. And it had a letter in it that said, You’re a $10 million agent stuck in the mindset of a $6 million agent.

17:44
And what year was this? Your second, second year, second year?

17:47
And it just made me go? Listen here, buddy. Like, I’m celebrating, right? I don’t need like, Can I have a moment to celebrate? Right? Why is it always like, and this is another culture thing we’ll touch on next episode. But how come like the moment you reach a goal? It’s like, you can do better, right? You can do bigger. And a perfect example of that is I just had a record month this year. It’s been my best month. It was great. Yes, I was celebrating. All right, thank you. And I was getting all these comments on social media about it. And then someone commented, something along the lines of WoW, Alyssa, you better get an assistant before you burn out. And then you can do even more. Oh, and I was like, Why are you always on this more? More? And it’s like, can I just celebrate that I just did something great, right? But also people want to say she must she must not have work life balance. She must not sleep, she must be burnt out like they want to discount to discount the success of other people. Right. And it just, it’s just how the culture is right now.

19:05
I think that that also plays into the coffee date, in that they’re trying to figure out if there’s a secret, yes, like, what are you doing that’s making you successful where they couldn’t be successful? Or maybe they want to be successful and don’t know which way to take that? Right. So by the end

19:19
of them telling me what they’ve been doing. My next question almost always is, when’s the last time that you had lunch or coffee with someone you new with a human that you like, that you liked, and just wanted to talk to you just wanted to talk to them not about real estate, not about work? When is the last time that you had a meaningful encounter with a human being? And they look at me like, What are you talking about? Why would I do that? Why would I do that?

19:49
If they just bought a house? They don’t need me, right? And it’s

19:52
because they’re so starving for business. Mm hmm. That they can’t even make a real authentic connection with anybody. Right? I mean, this is a skill that you develop over time. Yes, yes. And so it just takes time to get comfortable. And I mean, I can remember in that first year, like when you need money real bad and a sale falls through Oh, yeah. And you’re just so just, it’s people can read that energy. Yes. And they ration desperately. They know, they’re, I’m here because she needs something. Yeah. But when people know that you’re here, because you care about them. And you value their friendship. Whenever they have a need or hear of someone that has a need, they just naturally think of you.

20:46
Right? So this is the best method and the most comfortable method. And but I think I understand where these new agents are, this is a long term method,

20:56
right? Not fast. You don’t just have great friendships and then kill it. You’re, you know, immediately No, it takes and that’s usually why the coffee dates end with a little bit of disappointment is that they don’t want to necessarily take the long slow real relationship development route. Right? They wish that my secret was okay. I have this website, right with the secret leads the Honey Hole, Melanie hole, and they’re all there. And you can’t tell anybody but I’m gonna tell you right, then they are in a coffee. That’s why they’re there for coffee. Right? But there is none of that. There’s no secret. There’s no secret. And sometimes that discourages people. And sometimes it makes people feel relieved, right? Like, thank God, like, I can just go love my people. Yes. And I’m not saying My way is the only way No, but it’s working for you. That’s the way that’s working for me. Hello, friends. Hi, y’all. Our template course has launched a shout out there. And we have been getting some really positive feedback.

22:02
Yes, I have some great feedback I wanted to share with you guys. We had one purchaser say thank you for these templates. As a new agent, I feel it would have taken me years to create these on my own. That’s awesome. I know. It’s so great. And then I have these are so incredibly helpful. What a great investment. Thank you for your time and efforts putting these together. I think that you guys, this is the answer to saving yourself time. It helps you

22:25
put systems in place. It keeps you professional, it keeps you consistent. It just makes everything run so much smoother, much

22:32
smoother. You’re never going to forget to tell somebody something? No, because it’s always there. It’s all there. And you’re going to edit it to make it sound like your voice if you’d like and it’s going to be perfect for your business.

22:41
Yeah, so go check out our template course. Yes. At

22:45
a steal humbly. podcast.com. Perfect. Enjoy.

22:54
I have another friend in the industry, who is actually really good at cold calling. Yeah. Not me. He’s good at cold calling for sale by owners. I don’t know many people that are actually good at that except him one, but he just has a way of like getting people comfortable on the phone, right? Maybe that’s your way. But the people that are coming to coffee with me, they want to know my way. And that’s kind of what this first episode is about is we want to give you an inside view of what goes on at these coffee dates that I’ve been so often well, and

23:26
that your way is only good for you. Yeah, and everyone’s going to have a way maybe you aren’t going to be good at Cohen for sale by owners. I’m not right. Maybe you like to call strangers over the people that you know in your sphere, right. But typically, it’s a little bit easier to talk to people that already know you and

23:43
like you. And I think that that’s what the important thing is, is we’re not here for this podcast to be another source of noise telling you what to do. No, not at all, we are here to encourage you to have the confidence to humble yourself to put in the work to try all the things yes. And to try them with good effort. Right and good attitude, good attitude. Because if your attitude is bad, nothing’s gonna work, even the things you’re good at, it’s not going to work. And to hopefully you will develop into your own hybrid of a realtor s or entrepreneur that succeeds in their area the most, for sure. So taking everything taking all the the problem is people are taking all the noise and trying to to implement it all. You can’t do it all you can’t do it all you can maybe do a couple of things at a time and then reassess. And there are things you will notice as you try that feed you or don’t. And things that deplete your energy and things that give you energy.

24:51
I have a question. Yeah. Did you find that going on the coffee dates gave you energy like yeah, it does, right? It really does. So I feel like I kind of that’s part of what resonates with me in the podcast is that I was in the, I was feeling like I wanted to mentor someone. Yeah. And I had had an assistant who became an agent, and acted as my buyer’s agent for a while. Shout out Rebecca. And it was fun mentoring. And I’ve always liked to talk to new agents. I just didn’t do it on your scale by any means. But it’s it’s nice to take what you’ve learned, and help people feel more relaxed and calm. And understand that it’s not going to happen right away. But if they keep at it and keep working, that it will, it will happen eventually.

25:37
And it’s funny because sometimes if I had like a slow week, and I was kind of in like a slump, I would ask someone to go to coffee, he would take someone Yeah, I would like grab a new agent in the office because it was labeling you all Oh, yes. Like by the when I leave that coffee date, I’m pumped up again, like you can hear from the beginning of this episode to now we’re like yelling because we’re just yeah, we get really passionate about this. And it’s it just keeps me motivated. It brings me back to the basics, right? And makes me want to hustle like I did in my first year. It keeps me humble. Yeah. And it just keeps me grounded. Right. So it’s definitely a source of refueling for me.

26:19
Because the further you get away from the beginning, the the less of it, you remember. So you’re seven years deep. I’m 14. You’ve sold more houses than me. But I mean, we both are constantly working. And you get far from that beginning and you forget. I mean, I remember the tears.

26:34
Yeah. And we had tears. Yeah, I mean, my first couple years, I would say the first three years of any, any self employed type position is going to be tough. It’s very tough, because you could lay in bed all day, and no one. No one would call you and be like, Hey, why aren’t you at the office? No, you it’s up to you, right? And things happen. People disappoint you, family members don’t use you because they think you’re too new, or they just don’t want to work with family, things that you really counted on don’t happen, right? Rejection in the first couple years. It it just happens the most during that time. And it’s things that you counted on so hard, like, it just hurts all that much more. When it doesn’t happen, right? I can remember like year three, I was telling my husband about something that went really bad like this deal that fell through that wasn’t, it couldn’t be saved. And it was a big one. And he goes, Wow, I go what he goes, You’re not crying? Oh, and I go wait. I’m growing, but like everybody wants to fast forward to that moment.

27:54
It takes a long time thing. So like cry if a deal when you’re not doing a big volume. Now you luckily were high in volume early on. But even even in the beginning, when your volume is low, and you lose one deal. It feels so hard. And I think that always resonates with me and commercial Realtors I couldn’t do it because their deals are so huge. Yeah. And they have less of them a year. So if one falls through it really is devastating. And it’s hard to get through that or over that hump and back on the upswing and feel like you’re not down in the valley. But the longer you do this, and the more transactions you have you learn to deal with that rejection. Yeah. And it’s just a part of it. It is for sure a part of it. You cannot stop it. It’s hard early on. I wish everyone could get to your three. Yeah, if everyone got to your three, they would be like, Okay, I think I’ve got some of this figured out.

28:48
But I have to tell you, I think that years one through three are my favorite. And let me tell you why. I know. I think that it’s because real estate is not for everyone, right? Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. Nope. There are people that quit real estate after a coffee date with me. There are people that decided not to get into real estate because of a coffee date. That’s happened

29:16
to me I do more coffee dates on the incoming realtor than the already in real Yeah. So they just want to know, I’ve had a lot of clients turn into realtors and I’ve had some people in my life that you know, ask the questions about real estate and I tell the truth and they’re like, well, that’s not for me.

29:32
So like when they’re wanting to get into real estate, what and they’re not licensed or anything yet and they want to meet with you. What kind of questions do they want to know that let you know? This isn’t going to work right? Probably Well,

29:46
you know, to me, it’s about the reason behind why you want to do it that is help so i The number probably the number one reason I got into real estate was that I wanted my I hard work to equal higher pay. So the more I worked, the more I would be financially compensated. Sure. And I think some people get into real estate for a flexible schedule. Yeah. Which is tough because it is a full time job. If you want to make the money, right, just want some money on the side, then I guess you can work side hustle hours. But if you want an actual regular paycheck with some consistency, you’re going to have to work it as a full time job. So I would ask me, and most people didn’t understand the cost associated with holding your license and joining the board and paying for the MLS. And there are a lot of these things that new agents, I mean, it’s not covered in real estate school. So I think talking to people before they got into it, as long as you have some amount of, you know, your expenses saved up and you have, you know, the ability to pay for all of these fees. There have been agents I’ve met with who got their real estate license, went to go put their, you know, license at a broker and realize there were all these fees associated, and it never even started. Oh my gosh, you just just okay, well, that’s not going to work. And I

31:09
think we have HGTV to think for that. Oh, yeah, I think that the realtor brand has become very glorified. And glamour, right? Oh, it’s not glamorous, and they don’t talk about the rejection. They don’t talk about those first three to five years. They don’t talk about the dues and fees associated with it. They don’t talk about the fact that you have to make it happen for yourself, right. And so people that are new in the business, see, the way to go is to figure it out before you get into it well, right.

31:43
But how do we maybe this maybe this will help people? Well, people were joking about it.

31:49
Yeah. If you’re thinking about getting into real estate, listen to this episode, and maybe the next one, yes, and the next one after that. And if you are in your first three years, this would be a great place to start. Um, but the reason getting back to why I think the first three years are kind of beautiful, is that it’s like, you know, the charcoal becoming diamond. Like, it’s like the purification, all of that you have to go through all that or you’re never going to be at your three, you

32:18
you’ve got to go through the rejection and develop the thick skin because you’re going to have to move past it if you’re ever gonna get Yes, anywhere.

32:25
And what if real estate isn’t for you? And what is for you is so much better, so much better. Oh, that’s true. Like, you should not feel like a failure that real estate wasn’t for you? No, because then you went on to do the next thing. And now you’re awesome at that.

32:42
It’s not a fit for everyone. Yeah, I am always thrown off by that because I feel lucky that I fell into it. Do you want to hear how I fell into Yeah, okay. So when I was a retail manager at the Old Navy, I mean, it was decent pay. It was fine. I had gone to school for English, no desire to be a teacher. So I just fell into that, you know, we’ll just work in retail until I figure something out. Well, the other one of the other managers got her real estate license. And she was selling real estate on the side as a side hustle. And I’m like, Oh, this is interesting. I can go to real estate school and get my real estate license. But I am an all in kind of girl. So after I got my I went to night school for seven weeks, three days a week, the real estate. I mean, they do it all online. But I went in person that was 2005. I you could do some of it online. But I went in person. It was a seven week night class. I just scheduled my work hours around it. And then once I got my license, I was like, Okay, peace. Like I had five weeks of pay saved up that was

33:40
uh, oh my god, you like had to make it work.

33:43
I had to make it work. And, and,

33:46
and honestly, in my coffee dates, they the people that I am meeting with want to make it work, but they do not have to write. And I mean that by saying they haven’t quit their other job, it’s their security blanket. And long as they have it. They have no reason to truly hustle and put in the work. Yes, they have parents helping them. We love our parents. But, you know, you’ve sort of have to jump you sort of have to jump off and just make it work. I told one, one agent I met with I said, you need to shock the hell out of your parents. And you need to go to them say mom and dad. I think it was in August. Starting January one. You are not allowed to pay my rent. Wow. You are not allowed. I have to give you your credit card back.

34:41
Did they do it?

34:42
I don’t know. Oh, I

34:43
would love to know we have to follow up on that one. Um,

34:46
I don’t think so. It’s tough. I think that she actually got out

34:50
really quick. I think well, it’s not again,

34:54
you you need something that’s making you what why, you know, they always talk about the big why i Why are you doing this? And if you don’t have if you don’t need to, why would you go through the rejection? It is hard. It’s not super fun

35:09
in the beginning. No. And that’s the problem. I wish someone would tell you that it’s hard, but it’s worth it. Yeah, this is the other part of that. I had no clue. I mean, really, I got into real estate, I wanted to work hard, make money that I felt like was appropriate for the amount of work I did. Sure. But it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I had really no clue that I would meet so many wonderful people that I would feel like such an important part of their life that, you know, the that what I was doing just wasn’t a job and making money that it really was helping people. And so it really played into who I am. But I didn’t know that was going to happen. Yeah, so it was just sort of a fortunate accident. But I think anything you’re really good at. That’s how it starts. I can remember

35:51
like after my first closing, I was like, oh, that’s how it works. I did it. Yep. You know, and it was just so wonderful. And then that client invited me to her housewarming party, and three of her friends. Were like, Oh, I love it. If she can buy a house. Can I buy a house? Yeah, you know, she was a single mom, my first client ever was a single theory. And it got people thinking, wow, she’s not a renter anymore, if she can do it, and that it was just a snowball effect after that. And I was working from a place of gratitude. Yes. And it was just it just became the most fulfilling job. And I just loved it. Yes. But so many people can’t get there. Either because of mindset issues, attitude issues, noise issues, trying to people please everybody else, right, doing what everybody else says to do joining a team too early, starting a team too early, being so low and starting at the wrong company, not getting proper training, wanting to rush into money without education, like your first year of real estate. And I tell this them in my meetings, your first year real estate should be dedicated to education. Yes, the board that you’re a part of offers free classes, you will actually you pay for them and your dues, you might as well go to the class, go to the classes, there’s just so many things, you should be going on coffee dates with people above you, inside of your company outside of your company, you shouldn’t even be trying to sell a house because you know what’s going to happen. When your confidence builds and you’re hanging around people with the right mindset, the right attitude, you’re taking classes on the purchase agreement and the listing agreement. And then all of a sudden, one day someone goes you’re a realtor, I want to sell my house. You’re not going you’re gonna. Yeah, you’re like, oh my gosh, I know how to do this.

37:49
Yes. You know what I did? That was the same. I took every class the board offered. I didn’t even care what it was about measuring house buying. I’ll do that again. Every single class, but I shadowed my broker my second broker because the first one didn’t work out and we’ll get to that later. But I went everywhere she went, I wasn’t making a dime. I got in her car. I went to her closings. I went to her listing appointments, I went to her showings I went everywhere she went, it’s the best education you can get. Yeah, there are a million realtors that will let you get in their car and go everywhere they go. Just

38:22
a fun fact. Let me here the National Association of realtor actually has over a million realtors. It’s so that was not an exaggeration or a statement. Yes.

38:31
We will help each. I think if you reach out directly to someone, they’re going to be helpful. Yeah, feels overall like the industry is closed off. But I think when you go one on one and say, Hey, Suze, you know you’re doing a great job, can I get in your car? And she’s gonna say yes, great. I’d love to have someone to talk to you while I’m out on the road. Like it’s gonna be okay. And I think that a lot of new agents are afraid. And I bet it’s hard for them to reach out even for that. Well,

38:57
I think too. One thing that there was a time where I got a little burnt out on the coffee date. So let me tell you why real quick. I would spend all this time and energy mentoring, coaching, mentoring coaching, and then they would just leave and change nothing, right. And I just felt like it was such a waste of my time. Like I wasn’t I was more emotionally invested in them than they were right. And then they just leave they leave motivated and ready for change. But then they go back to their toxic mindset or bad attitude or wrong workplaces. And they just change nothing. Right. And then two years later, they want to have coffee again. Oh, and I go off repeat coffees and I have had to say listen, until you implement the first coffee right you

39:44
can I help you. Do you ever go to coffee too?

39:48
It’s very rare. Yeah, because there’s just no need for it. Do you get

39:53
some success stories that come back and say I use what you said changed everything.

39:59
And those are my favorite People Yeah, because I’m like y’all make it worth it. Y’all make me so proud, right?

40:03
Yes, like a proud mom. Yeah, I love it. All right. That’s pretty much all we got on the coffee dates. Yeah. Okay, so next episodes are going to be the current culture of real estate industry. And my favorite, the mindset meltdown. Yes. So those are going to be fun. We’re going to just cover a little bit of what we started today and dive much deeper into it. And as the podcast continues, we’re going to interview we’re not just going to talk to each other even right, that is fun. Yeah, we’re going to interview people in our industry, maybe outside of the industry who have different experiences and different work setups, so that we don’t just talk about what we know we have some people sharing what they know. And their experiences.

40:47
Yes, it’s going to be awesome. So at the end of every episode, we are going to toast to you. Yes. And today, we would like to toast to

40:58
our mentor mentors. Yes, because mentors are so important.

41:01
So I didn’t mention his name earlier when we were talking about him. But Geoffrey Welsh is the realtor who reached out to me when I was new, invited me to coffee, not to recruit me was true to his word. Love it. We have been friends for eight years now. Yeah. And he has never recruited me and all he wants to do is encouraged me and speak life to me. Yes. So cheers to Jeffrey. Cheers to his success, and cheers to him helping me be where I am today.

41:32
I love it. We’re also going to toast to my mentor, Martha Chauvin. Martha was the broker at a very small office that took me in and let me ride in her car everywhere she went. She explained to me every detail of every document, she threw me some good leads, and she helped me build my confidence and that’s why I was able to figure out this crazy business.

41:57
That’s awesome. Okay, so let’s toast toast to Jeffrey and Martha and Martha cheers. Cheers to them. And we want to talk to you in our following episodes, so please send us your success. Thank you so much for tuning in to the hustle humbly podcast Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at hustle humbly podcast. If you have an

42:18
episode topic or question please email us at hustling humbly podcast@gmail.com Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Don’t forget to send in your wins See you next week. This is the this is the lie