What A Successful Real Estate Business Looks Like (An Agent Grad School Student’s Decade In Review)

Welcome to this episode of Confessions of a Top Producing Real Estate Agent I’m your host, Jennifer Myers. Listen in, as I share exactly what I did to go from not being able to sell a house for years to becoming one of the top 1% of agents in the US to even opening my own brokerage full of agents taught me to serve all the clients that were coming my way. I taught those agents to the same strategies I use in date two became the top producing agents now through this podcast, and Agent Grad School dot com. I’m sharing those same modern marketing and business strategies with you. Most of which I learned from looking outside the real estate industry, no fluff, no theory, no outdated sales techniques or paying for leads, just the exact steps to get you the real estate business you’ve always wanted. And the life outside your business, you’ve always wanted to let’s make it happen and dive into today’s episode. So you know how Instagram and Facebook and all the social medias, you’re seeing this decade in the views. I thought a lot, Be fun to check in with the very first student of Agent Grad school and see what her decade in review looks like. So today I’m interviewing Amy weith. Hi, Amy. Hey, so she and I met in 2011 and although at the time it wasn’t called Agent grad school. She was actually the very first person to ask me to teach her what I was doing in my own real estate business, which inspired Agent Grad School so thank you, Amy, for inspiring this, if you have never asked me to teach you, I would never have ended up teaching it and turning it into what’s now Agent Grad School so thank you so much for being here. And it’s been a pleasure to know you all of these years, and I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s kind of crazy. In some ways it feels like it’s been a long time and so much has changed for both of us since then. But in other ways, I feel like when I thought about it, I was like, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. It feels like I can still remember that day when you and I came together and I can still remember those first few months and what those were like, I’m sure. Yeah. What do they say? The days are long, but the, what does it, the day, the days are long, but the years are short. Something like that. That’s what it feels like. So, okay. Let’s go back. Let’s remember that a decade ago was 2010 and we were in the midst of one of the worst real estate crashes in history. And it was almost a, like a great depression. And so real estate was not doing well, but you had been doing well before that, right? So let’s go back to kind of how long you’ve been in real estate and what your business was like before we get to that 10 year Mark, you know, Gotten my license, my in 2007 and then by yeah, 2000, you know, when I had done pretty well, I was selling a lot of new construction condos. The market was pretty good. I kind of got plunged in like everybody else. I took some classes, learned how to write some contracts, learned how to create like a list, you know, basically just harass everybody, you know, and give them your card and hope you get some Business. But I had done okay, doing those things and you know, then I stopped doing it. Okay. And in a pretty Swift manner. So take us back to that. I mean, cause you were flying high, I think the year before we met, you sold $35 million, A $5 million condos and a new condo construction. Yeah. It was a big year. I got a big award. There was a big event at the Ritz Carlson and we dressed it up and we toast it to ourselves and all of these wonderful things. And I felt really good about myself. I mean, in my family was proud of me too. I got a plaque to get all kinds of awesome things. I got money too, which helps a bought a condo, you know, all of these things. But as time went on, I didn’t have much of a Business plan and no real plan for the future because in my mind it was going to continue to, I was going to continue to do as well as I was doing, but that was not the case. And so that might happen. I mean, yeah. So kind of came to this realization that it wasn’t working or it wasn’t going around. Yeah. Things were not, you know, in the larger economy, things were not looking great. You know, the clients that I did have were in pretty precarious positions themselves, you know, they had gotten some financing that wasn’t great and all of this kind of things they need to sell quickly. So in my business just literally cut into a third or a quarter of what it was. So I was struggling financially. I didn’t know which way to turn. I didn’t have any business plan or resources or anything like that. And I was struggling to figure out what I was going to do. And was it going to stay in this business? Was I gonna go back to the PR which I have done in my twenties, what was it going to do? And I wanted to stay, but I also wanted to eat and pay my mortgage. So, you know, So that was 2010 and I think you and I met in 2011 because I was actually hiring like a buyer’s agent or an agent to help me with showing like a showing assistant. Correct. And so in 2011 kind of walk us through how you made the decision to turn things around. Yeah. So I got a call that a woman in Washington DC was looking for an assistant slash showing assistant, but it wasn’t told who it was and that she was highly successful in looking for in the system. And I said, okay, that sounds like a good idea. You know, I’m open to that because, you know, I don’t know why I like, particularly, I didn’t know who you were. She didn’t tell me. She just said, you know, send me your resume. And then we met and I was so impressed. I was like, this girl is like, has Al has a plan. It has a system had never met an Agent who had like a system and a plan. And I was like, wow. And you know, and that’s when I knew, like I could learn something here and I want to learn from her. I mean, you know, you were successful. And I knew that I was, you know, I knew that I was smart enough and I was willing to work hard enough. And I don’t mean smart in an arrogant way, but like that I w that I, that I was a good worker and a hard worker. And then I loved real estate and I wanted to be successful. I didn’t know how to get there. And you also needed someone that you could train and take a load off of what you were doing. And so it was kind of a good match, I think, for us in particular and, you know, I wanted to learn and, and I was open. And I think when you, when I think back to that time, I think about how 2010, 2011, those were years that my Business like doubled, even though so many agents were coming or going out of the business because they couldn’t sell a house. So they didn’t have a plan because for so long kind of like how it is today for, so like, you know, it was easy to get clients and it was easy to sell houses. And then all of a sudden, the bottom fell out and people had to get another job to do. My business was, was booming at the time. And I didn’t realize that at the time, I didn’t realize we didn’t realize, I don’t think, I didn’t realize at the time what a financial crisis and real estate crisis, it was until hindsight. And I was like, Whoa, that was a scarier than I thought in that moment. Right. You didn’t know what was going on. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, you know, I mean, you knew what was going on, but yeah, that was, that was another thing when I met with you, I was like, what is this person doing? ’cause the rest of us are really struggling out here, you know? And like you were succeeding in a time when a lot of people were really getting out of the business, you know, and struggling. And so that was even more like, wow, if she’s doing really well now, what is she going to do? You know, when the market is a little better and what can I learn from her? And, you know, for me, I was lucky. I was very open and, you know, and I wanted, I wanted to learn what you were doing. It’s funny because at the time, you know, I did have a plan, but I had never had to teach it to somebody else. I was just kind of doing it and putting it in place. And so you asking for help really made me look at it and say, okay, what is the structure here? How do I explain it to other people? And how do I do it in a way that is going to be easy for you to implement and get results quickly because you were in a bad place. And I was like, I got to help this girl now. Right. But at the same time I had to look and be like, okay, where do I start? What’s the first thing that she should do. What’s the second thing she should do. And so I just really appreciate you for even coming in, asking the question. So often, you know, we don’t know just by you, first of all, believing in yourself enough and believing in what you were doing enough, to be able to ask the question, turn both of our lives around, not, you know, and so thank you. You never know by you saying I’m capable or I want to do this, or how do I make this happen? You just never know what can like lead from that. And here we are sitting 10 years later and you’re now a top and we’ll get, we’ll get to the house. That’s what’s coming next. But just to give people a glimpse of where you are now, I mean, give us a little bit of where you are now, and then we’ll talk about how you got there. Yeah. The way so 2019 ended with almost 25 million in sales by yourself. I, myself, I don’t work with a team. I don’t have an assistant. It’s just a me, I don’t want to say just me, but just me. Yeah. It kind of is just me. Yeah. It, it literally, yeah. So $25 million, you know, I was thinking about when I met you. And I think that first year that I implemented all of the, the, Agent what we call now. Agent, Grad School things, but we didn’t call it. Then I think my first year I got like 2.5 million at night. I was thrilled. I was thrilled. Cause I had, I just was so happy with it and my clients were happy and I made enough money that it was, you know, I was learning and growing, you know? And I think now like 25 million, it just throws out of, you know, it comes out of my mouth and I’m like, but at one point it was three and you were thrilled to, you know, and to someone in some ways, time is good because I can look back and be like, it’s great that I was happy through every part of the process. Right. And then I remember we went to five, I went to five and then it got to seven. And then I’m like, Oh, if I can get to 10, you know, and then I got to 10, I think wasn’t your goal? That’s last year 20. Yes. Like almost at 20. And I was like, you’re going to get, And above that, I’m not worried as I was like October. And I was like, you’re going to waste their that. Yeah. But okay. Let’s be worried about it. Yeah. I was worried. I wouldn’t get to 20. I really was like 20 was my goal. If I got to 20, I’d be happy. And I got to 25, like a few dollars short, but right around there, you know? And so every step of the way I do believe in myself, but I still set like manageable goals. I don’t want to set goals that are so out of my reach because I, you know, because I believe in like what I’m doing and it takes time and it’s to build. And I know that if I just focus on, like, I’ve got to do 50 million or something that it’s, it’s not attainable, that this is a process, you know? And I can be, you know, if I have been short of a 20, I would of probably been a little unhappy, you know? So I set obtainable goals. I wasn’t worried. Yeah. You weren’t, you weren’t worried. I know. I was like, okay. But tell us about the process along the way and being happy and how It’s really two questions. Number one, tell us about the process along the way, because I think so often, and I did this to you when I was first starting out our first and learning a new tactic. I mean, cause I’m constantly learning and every time I learn something new, it’s like, you’re in that beginner’s place again. And you fail and like, ha so, so first of all, tell us about the process. Maybe those first let’s take the first five years and kinda what that looks like. And then we’ll take the second five years, but let’s take the first five years. Tell us what that look like and how you remained happy during it. Because I think when we’re building something and we’re, and we’re, you know, w w what’s the saying, it takes more fuel to get the jet off the ground or something like that. Like, it takes more effort in the beginning. And before you answer this question, I have another question, which is, did you feel like it was harder or easier to do or the same selling 2.5 back then in 25 million this year? Like, just from watching you, it seems like you almost making the 25 million look easy. Yes. 10.5 was harder to five was harder. Seven was harder, 25. That’s what I mean. I say it, it rolls off the tongue pretty easily, like, Oh, twenty-five million, because it is a little bit easier because I’ve done all the other things in before that. Right. All of the steps along the way. And I don’t want to imply at all that, like I never complained or I was like, Oh, I’m so happy that I lost a client. I mean, I did, I lost clients. I failed, I beat myself up when I thought, when I did poorly or a client didn’t choose me or, you know, all of those things, but I kept moving forward. You know? So let’s talk about those first, maybe that first year, because I have so many students now who will take, you know, your most successful year of marketing, you, and they think like in eight weeks, their whole business is going to change effortlessly almost. You know, like if they put in the hard work, it’s just going to almost like transform it. So tell us about what that first year looked like, like right. When you first started learning the tactics and you first started applying them, like, what did it feel like? What did it look like? You know, it was so interesting to me. I, you know, I, I was so open and I really respected and admired the work that you had done. And I was like, I’m going to see if I can, you know, replicate this. And I, you know, I knew you could do it. I had seen the results. I didn’t know if I could do it. Right. And so my personality was like, I was intrigued. Like, let’s see if this really works. You know, I stayed really open, you know, and I, and I think that was a part of it. You know, let’s see if I do this email, this one tactic, let’s see if I, you know, send this, you know, nice to meet you. No doubt. If that will make the D let’s do these things that she’s asked me to do and see what will happen. You know, I had, my ideas were all over the place before. And so I was really willing to like, follow your lead and your guidance and see what would happen and, you know, and, and yeah, go ahead First year. I mean, I have Magine coz what I want people to get that first year sucks As you’re learning New and nothing’s really coming together. Yeah. Like I would, I would go and talk to clients and I, you know, I I’d be literally scared to death. What am I going to say? Like, well, what if I want to know, even though I knew what I was supposed to say, and I had the tools in front of me and I was prepared, we had practice, you had the script, like all of that. And that I would inevitably like, not get a client or a client would ask me a question and I didn’t know the answer to, and that was a big thing. If I didn’t know the answer to something, you know, which I felt like I’d have to know the answers to everything I would be like, well, I failed, you know, and that’s not the, the truth, you know, but that’s how it fell every single time. Like, well, you know, Jennifer would know the answer are a better Agent we know the answer or, you know, I’m a terrible Agent, you know, and I I’d sit in that for a little while. And then the next day would come around and, you know, a client that I did meet might say, Hey, I’m looking forward to moving forward. You know? So I, I latched on to all the positive stuff and really just try to, you know, train my mind, which was very difficult to be like, it’s a process you’re going to, you’re going to be learning. You’re not going to get it perfectly every time. I’d still complain to my mom and my family and friends like, Oh, I lost some terrible and awful. And they would right-size me and say, it’s not true, you know? And, and so it toughens you up, you know, ’cause, and it’s, you know, as is a outgoing, as I am, I’m still, it’s still tough to meet people in person first time and feel confident, especially when you’re learning a new way to do, and you’re learning and you ha you haven’t sold $25 million. So you’ve sold a million dollars and you’re not familiar with that neighborhood, or you’re not familiar with the things they’re asking you, or you’re just uncomfortable. Right. So Tell us how you kept going for that year and how you didn’t just be like, ah, this isn’t going to work. Or, you know, how did you keep going and how did you know what to get better at or what to concentrate on during that evolution? So what I’m trying to say is like, okay, what is your two, three, four look like? And then we’ll kind of talk about, okay, you’re halfway through your decade. And what does that look like? And then obviously what today, you know, it’s a new set of problems that you’re solving. Right? Sure. I think it’s the, you know, very much the old fashion, you know, when you remember when you’re S you’re learning math, right. And, and first you learn, you know, addition and subtraction, and you add multiplication, like all of these things. Right. But you can’t go to the next thing until you’ve mastered, learn algebra without. Right. Right. And like, Ew. So its kind of the same thing. So during those, when I get to call the growth years, you know, the growing, the growing pains, like literally growing pains, you know, you know, I, I instinctively knew that what, that, that it was working and it was working, I was getting results and I had never gotten results before. I mean, that was just a fact and that was data that could be proven. And so how could I deny fat like proof that it was working. So that gave me the energy to go to the next level. But I think again, you have to, you know, I would encourage agents who are frustrated are like, why am I doing this to remember like not to focus on the one thing they’re doing that day. But to remember it’s a larger picture and that there is, and to give yourself the time, you know, if you have to like, you know, sell some things on Poshmark to get through or like do what you need to do, you know, you know, do it. If you’re dedicated to doing this and you want to be a successful agent, cause it’s not going to happen overnight and it’s going to be tough. And there are going to be times you’re going to come home and like cry. Cause you think you’re like the worst at your job. And, but there is going to be successes too. And there’s going to be those days when you go to settlement and you you’re just like so happy because your clients are happy. You’ve made money, you’ve done the system it’s worked and then it keeps working. And I think the big thing for me remember is when I started getting a lot of referral business and then, then I was like, Whoa, this is really working. You know? Cause then my happy clients were like, Hey, I S I introduced you to such and such. And then I would get another client. So it was, I can see the momentum building. And that is what carried me through. Had it not worked that way. I’m at some point I would’ve left and quit and tried a different way. Yeah. But it’s almost like a snowball, like when I watched your career and I watch are like work together. I think about like that first year or that moment when you’re like, I want to learn. Right. That was like the first tiny like snowball. Right. And then when you actually started learning it, that’s like a bigger snowball. And then when you started applying it and seeing like where you were doing well and where you needed to do some work on things, right. That created a bigger snowball. And it was like suddenly right. You were getting better. And so, and then you started getting referrals. So then that snowball became bigger and it started to roll downhill by itself, you know? And now you have this like avalanche kind of, Yeah. I have a nice started like way it starts. It started very small, you know, it was a little snowball truly, you know, but it’s a little snowball that I took care of and you know, and there is a sense that, yeah, I believed in my, I believe in myself and I believe in, in, in you and I believed in this program and had I not, you know, you, I don’t know that you can be Successful and not believe in what you’re doing. Maybe you can, maybe you can fake it. But I just don’t. I just don’t know that that’s possible. At least not for me. I agree. I think I see so many students, they don’t go all the way. Right. You know, and I keep saying like, you don’t believe it’s going to work. Right. You’re putting your toe in. You’re not jumping in the deep end. Right. But you, for some reason, like what was it that made you, like, what can you tell another? Agent about like, just take the leap, like jump in with two feet. Otherwise it’s not going to work. Like I could always tell the agents we’re going to succeed or not because they’ll like put one foot in and one foot out. Right, right. Right. And the ones that put both feet in, they see the results, it’s only then are you going to see the results, but how do you get somebody who’s scared to jump off the high dive but get in. Right, right, right, right. Yeah. That’s a tough question. I mean, you know, I was scared. I just did it anyway. You know, I mean, I was scared all the time for a long time, for many years, you know? I mean, there are times I’m still nervous and scared doing things that I’ve done before, you know, you know, I was scared, but I still like, you know, dove off the, the, the, the, the, the board or whatever. I, you know, I think you have to like, you know, just work through the fear if you want this. I mean, I think that’s a whole other discussion, you know, like if you really want it, it’s going to take a different level than probably any other type of job. I mean, I think, you know, real estate is, is, is unique in that way. You know, you’ve got to be fearless. I don’t think it’s fearless, Fearful and take action anyway, because so often we say fearless and it, it, to me, it, for a long time, I thought that meant, like, I can only take action when I don’t have fear, but it’s now like, have fear, but keep moving. Right. Right. That’s true. Yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s having the fear, but like, there’s, there’s like you have 50% fear, but then there’s that 51%. That’s like going to override it and say, I’m going to do it anyway. Yeah. You know, and I also keep going back to, I had seen results with your work in what you had done. And so, you know, and I have been looking for someone to mentor me in a way that wasn’t, you know, self-serving to just them. And that is a lot of what you see in us industry. It’s like, do you want to come work for me for free and learn this? But you know, I’m not going to like really teach you all my secrets. I’m going to keep them to myself. So you don’t steal them. And I’m like, be grateful that you can do my open house and that’s all I’m going to teach you. So, and that doesn’t really help, help, you know? So, so this was a different, a different relationship and in a different experience. And that I knew to have to produce results because it was different than what I had been offered before or found or sought out before. So explain what the middle, Well, the road looks like, you know, you know, we have a sense of what the beginning of the, I mean, it’s like a failure, but a tiny pieces of success. I’m Super scared getting on the diving board. Yeah. Like I’m on a climbing up the ladder too, the high that stepping out. And you’re like, I’m looking back at you. And you’re like, Oh. And I’m like, okay, I’m going to go to a second. Hold on. If that’s the older note, and then you’re like, praying you don’t die. And you’re like, yeah. I mean, that’s the first, you know, the very beginning is just getting on the board, literally getting on the board. And that translates into like, you know, starting the process, literally, you know, just like, you know, not sitting in my house, like I’m going to figure it out or I’m going to do what other people are doing. Or I’m like, you know, you know, getting on the board in the middle of a process, as you know, you know, using this analogy take any further, you know, is, is I’ve, I’ve dove off a few times. Right. And I’ve survived, I’m alive, you know? So I’m going to get back on that ladder again. And then this time, maybe it’s gonna be like, I’m going to jump faster and I’m going to like, do some like fun stuff, like a split. Yeah. Or whatever they, what do they call it? The reverse dive where like, I’m going to do some like cool things, because now like I’ve built up some confidence, you know, I’ve had some success, it’s worked, you know, I’ve climbed the ladder and it’s helped me. Right. And we’re talking year five, right? Like we’re not talking here. Oh, no, no, no, no. And I hope that anybody who’s listening to this podcast will understand this is not a, a, a quick and dirty, like how to, you know, real estate, how to be a realistic realtor and be like, make a million dollars of the first year. Like, you know, like that’s just not what this is about. This was about like a whole, How to sustain a career in a business, which any business and any expert and any true professional, doesn’t go from one year of training to two perfect on every front. And now it takes constant even to this day. I’m you and I both are still iterating, making things better, a hundred percent now, like working on ourselves. Oh, that could have been better. This could have been better and not in a negative way. It’s like a, That felt weird. I don’t want it to feel weird next time when the next client. Right. You know? Yeah. So the middle is really where, you know, its kind of, that’s an interesting place to be. I mean, I was like kind of reaping the benefits of, of, you know, being more successful, financially, feeling more confident in myself, creating what I felt was an actual business. I wasn’t just selling real estate or meeting people and sure I’ll help you buy a house. But I was actually had a structure. I had a business that I was creating for myself. So that felt good. You know, How did you not get complacent when you got to that? Like 10 to $12 million Mark, I’m Like, how did you decide I’m going to make this even Better? You know, I guess I still knew I had a lot, a lot of ways. I had a lot of things I wanted to accomplish at a ways to go, you know, it, you know, I was like, I wish I could have been like 10 million done. You know, that’s a good enough. And like I’m happy enough. And you know, and for some, you know, for me that goal, wasn’t a knot that wasn’t enough for me. I’m and I, and I wasn’t complacent cause I, like I said, I was always like tweaking and refining and, and making things better and learning and growing. And as my business was getting bigger, I had to acquire new sets of skills. So I couldn’t get complacent because new, you know, I don’t know what to call it. Problems, opportunities were coming to me. And so I had to keep learning. I have to keep growing, you know, the things that were difficult and the first year were not difficult and the fifth year, but the fifth year had other new things that were difficult. And so I had to wrap my head around those things. So I had some success and you know, I got to let myself enjoy some of that success, but it didn’t get complacent because I knew from my past experience where I had been complacent and thought that, you know, I was great and wonderful and getting my awards and what had happened that I didn’t want to ever go back to that again, you know, I didn’t want to have, so I was determined this time that I was going to do it differently. And by do it differently, mean, you know, take it seriously, be a professional, like, you know, not just ride high on my successes and not have a plan. And that’s kinda what I did that first time. And so what is, As we kind of conclude on what last year look like and what does the future look like? I mean, how do you know where you’re headed next and how do you, if you want to talk, we talked a little bit about kind of where you are currently in the success. Maybe you can talk a little bit of a more what’s happening now, but then also how do you have a vision for what’s next? Yeah. Well, I mean, I think you have the V you know, the vision is, you know, looking at what I’ve built so far, right? It’s like, and then the, what’s the next building block of what I’ve already built. You know, I’ve created a really strong foundation and I’ve created, you know, the snow, the snowball, it’s maybe not quite an avalanche, right? So now I have to manage this no ball and the avalanche, you know, different set of, of skills that I have to learn because there is one of me and there is a lot more clients now in the past, there was a lot less clients in a lot more me, but that was good. Cause I needed that time. I needed that to be able to hone those skills, to be able to the things I need to do to be successful. And that took years and years and years and years of doing those things over and over and over and over. So that now that’s not the challenge. The challenge now is managing, you know, what I’ve built, you know, like in some ways I was telling someone, I don’t know if this is good or bad, like I’m a victim of my own success. Right. I think that happens a lot with real estate agents. And so I think the challenge right is when you’re a successful is how do you be successful and enjoy it? Correct. Like how do you free up your time and how do you set boundaries with clients and how do you do all these things were like, yeah, now you’re not worried about your next client. You’re worried about you’re protecting your energy and protecting your time and, and doing as much as you can, but not wearing yourself out. And so it’s a whole new set of skills that we’re going to continue to work on together as we go that it’s like, you’re constantly trying to balance the Seesaw. Right. And there’ll be a point where you’re going to become like perfectly balanced and then that’s the fun part because then you can up level at a balanced level. And that’s where I think at least where I see you headed is, you know, enjoying it more, giving yourself more time off and keeping the Business. Yeah. You know? Yeah, definitely not. There I’m in the, I’m still in the, like a boundary is a boundary setting and managing all of that stuff. I mean, those kind of like, and because I had those different problems, opportunities in the past, you know, I know that these challenges I can, I can take on too. And it also shows me that it’s growth and I’m, I am growing. It’s hard to see sometimes on your outward outside of yourself. Other people see it, but it’s harder to see it in yourself. But yeah, that’s where the future’s headed more, better, exciting how to manage all of that and how to make sure I’m doing it in a way that yeah. Protects my energy, protects my health, protects. My clients protects my business, that I can grow and be happy with my business. Not where, you know, I know a lot of agents get worn out or cranky sometimes because they’re worn out or yeah. Things that, you know, it is truly true. You know, success comes, you know, comes at a price so to speak, but, but it’s manageable. I mean, I’ve seen, you know, I’m not there’s a long way to go to 25 is great. 50 would be better. Yeah. So let’s turn your story and your evolution into something tangible for agents listening. So there might be agents listening that are in that beginning, there might be agents listening who aren’t even agents yet and are thinking like, can I do this? Should I do this? Should I quit my job? And then agents everywhere in between. So I don’t know if you want to give like one piece of advice for each kind of stage of the process that an agent who’s listening might be in, or kind of overall things for any of those agents to think about, but how can we, how can we give agents listening some takeaway, or you could say what you would have said to your self and those moments along the way where you almost gave up or something, or, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think I believe in yourself and that seems kind of cliche, but I think it’s really important. You know, even when it’s tough, even you’re afraid, you have to believe that what you have is a value to someone and, and you have to just trust the process. And even if you fail, you have to keep doing the process. Don’t give up. That’s the big thing. I think people myself, I’ve done it to you give up like, well, they didn’t like me, so I’m not, I’m going to be a failure. Like, just because one client doesn’t like you or doesn’t pick you, or maybe you did say something silly, or maybe you did do something. This is a, this is a long, this is the long game process, right? And you’ve got to focus on the wins and not the, not the proceed fails. The fails are where you learn the wins are easy. Right. You know, you get people to the settlement table and they’re happy and you’re happy the failures or the difficult learning, you know, I, there’s a quote, right? That you learn more from your failures and your successes, you know, in success is fleeting though. It’s easy. It’s quick, it’s fast. You get your money. You’re done. But the failure is where the real work is. That’s where the real change happens. Right. Because if you never fail, like, you know, you, you know, you, that’s where you learn, that’s where you grow and you remember next time I’m going to do it a little differently. And also I think like, so if you, you know, if you want a steady paycheck and a nine to five job, this is not a real, a real estate is not the job for you. But if you want something that you can challenge yourself, you can be scared. You can, you can be courageous to, and you’re self motivated and you’re open. You know, you can, you can do this, but that’s not for everybody. And I think that a lot of we’ve talked about this before the industry I think is not as transparent as it needs to be about what it really takes Just to be successful until now. And so now, yeah. Open the curtain wizard of Oz curtain Present. And I, you know, that would be my thing is, is, is know thyself to, you know, know what you’re willing to sacrifice in your personal life and professional life in what you’re not, because this is a tough business. You can, you know, but you were in charge and you can make it less tough over time, but you’ve got to stick in there and you’ve got to like, believe in yourself if you want to do it. And if you don’t want to do it, you know, you know, people always say, I also am not a big believer in like that part-time realtor. I don’t believe in that. I think it’s very difficult to be truly successful. Not saying people shouldn’t do it. I just, for me, I think you can’t be, you can’t be half in this isn’t. I mean, this is a profession and I like anything, doctor, a lawyer. They’re not, there’s not a part-time doctors. You know, I think, you know, In the industry to make that money and to be that level of expert and to be that level of profession a a hundred percent, it’s not a part-time endeavor. It’s like an 80 hour a week job. And still, you know, we’re not for a long you. Yeah. You know, that’s, that’s the goal, right. Is as you have to make some sacrifices and if, you know, working that much is not a sacrifice that you can do or want, then it’s, you know, Think twice. Yeah. Think twice. So I think that’s great advice for any Agent out there, whether they are a student or not. But for those students who may be just enrolled in an Agent grad school course, what advice would you give them in particular to make sure that they’re successful, Do everything and do all of the pieces of the pie. Do all of the pieces of the Agent Grad School do everything that’s asked of you that way at the end of it, give yourself a year, two years. If you can, you should give yourself more, but at least a year to, to, and if you’re honestly not seeing results, what after doing every single thing, then, you know the question, whether this is the industry for you, a question that you know, but, but you have to do everything. There’s no skipping, you know, it’s like showing up for practice, you know, with sports, you’ve got to do the pushups, you’ve got to do the running. You know how people are like, Oh, I don’t want to do the running part of it. I just wanted to play the game. I don’t want to go to practice. Okay. Right. And you’d have to go, you’d have to do all of the practice. You have to do the cardio. You have to do the weights. You’d have to do like, Oh, you have to listen too. You know, it’s a, it’s a holistic approach, but you have to do everything. And at the end of the day, and that’s kind of, when I thought to myself, I’m going to do everything she asks me to do and everything. I mean, even the silliest things, I’m going to do everything that’s asked to me. And if I, this does not work for me, then I know I’ve tried it all. And I’ve done it a day of my very best, you know? But it’s so easy to skip the small things. You know, it’s so easy to just like, you know, and so even when you’re doing things and you’re like, this seems stupid. Just do it anyway. Even if it’s a bit harder, It’s a really hard market. Why I’m doing it, or I don’t get how it all fits together. That’s where I see a lot of students quit. They do half of it, but not the other half. Right. They’ll do one piece of it, but not, you know, they’ll, they’ll have a, a freebie, they’ll have a reason for somebody to give them their email address, but they won’t keep in touch Corena stuff like that. And then it’s like, well, it’s not going to work. Like, I mean, that’s what I do, both What to do at all. And that’s what I mean, you have to be, you have to be comfortable wearing a lot of different hats. Right? You have to be a database. It’s like, you’ve got to manage your database. You know, you’ve got to be able to write content or, you know, by content, I guess if you want it, you’ve got to be able to talk to people in a way that they can relate to when you’re with clients, you’ve got to wear a lot of different hats and you’ve got to be uncomfortable wearing those. There’s a lot of those hats. I don’t like, I don’t want to do it, but if I want to be successful, I’m going to, I’m going to do it. And I’m going to try it and surprising. I will say that the first students who are listening, I bet you’re doing a lot better than you think you’re doing. Yeah, that’s true. You know, I think that, I think that people are probably doing a little, A lot better than they think they’re doing. And so I’d say ease up on yourself a little bit. As far as if you walk away from an initial consultant are in a consultation or you wrote, you know, a newsletter and it went out and you’re like, ed and I misspelled this, or I don’t think that looks great. You know, it’s okay. You know, this is a long-term game. So don’t focus on those missteps along the way. Just make changes, but keep going. Yeah. Keep doing, yeah. Keep doing it. So if you’re interested in what Amy’s talking about, kind of what it all is, I have a free download, a PDF called the only business plan you’ll ever need, which essentially outlines what we teach at Agent Grad school and kind of the structure of a real estate business and what classes focus on which aspect of the business. So if you’re interested in that, go to the website and click on this episode and download a PDF. So you can see and just start thinking about what does this look like? What does this plan? Amy keeps talking about, what are the steps? You can see what it looks like in its 30,000 foot view, right? It’s not detailed, but it shows you what it looks like that structure, right? Yeah. I mean, and that’s part of that. Just like even looking at the ladder, just looking at the first step in that PDF. So, Amy, I just wanted to say again, thank you for inspiring Agent Grad School if you had never asked me to show you, this would never have happened. We never, would’ve been here at 10 years later. So I really want to say thank you. But also I want to commend you. I always tell you this, but like you did this and you are the one who kept showing up who kept failing, who kept trying again and kept getting better and continues to get better. And it’s so fun to watch. And I can just see, like, you’re not even getting like, you’re, you’re, you’re happy with where you are, but you’re like going to keep going in a way that like, I can’t wait. So you get there. I can see it for you. in another 10 years in a review. So I just wanted to say thank you and commend you because you did the hard work to get yourself here. So thank you for being here and being part of it and letting me be a part of it this last decade. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Remember change happens when you take action. So apply what you learned today to your own real estate business. If this episode has helped you subscribe, leave a review and share it with all your real estate agent friends, and as always, if you want even more great resources to create the real estate business you’ve always wanted and have the life you want outside your business to head over to Agent Grad School dot com and sign up for the free weekly trainings, you’ll get free classes, discounts, and other goodies that only go out to real estate agents on that email list. See you next week. Right here on Confessions of a Top Producing Real Estate Agent The Agent Grad School Podcast. View show notes and listen to audio recording here.