Business Freedom Podcast - Powered By Real Estate B-school

There’s a lot more to success than money, fame, accolades and a ton of production. In a world that places prestige and ego above family, health, and fulfilment, it’s really easy to model the wrong people.  We can respect the types of success other people have, but we don’t necessarily have to emulate them, especially when that success comes at a steep price.  What are the dangers of basing our admiration of people on business success? How do we determine the version of success we actually want to replicate?  In this episode, I’m joined by my producer, Matt Johnson. We discuss the importance of applying a lot of thought to who we place on our pedestals.  You’ll also learn about;  The collateral damage of replicating the wrong of kinds of success  How to achieve success without burning out and ruining everything else we value in our lives Why we need to fight the urge to grow our businesses as fast as possible If you want to continue the conversation, here's what you can do

The only way to scale a business is by treating it like one. If your goal is growth, you have to shift out of the mindset of an agent and start thinking and behaving like a business owner.  That being said, no one said this process was easy. You’re bound to be faced with agents who aren’t entirely on board with change, and there’s a chance you’ll struggle with the changes, yourself.  So, how can we push through those growing pains and help our businesses mature?  In this episode, I’m joined by my producer, Matt Johnson, to discuss scaling all the way to sustainability, while retaining as much of our team as possible.  You’ll learn about;  1 thing to remember about staying in production as a team owner  The key to building a more sustainable team How to set the vision for the future of your team (WITHOUT risking agents bailing in the face of change) Why we need to have realistic expectations for our teams’ growth If you want to continue the conversation, here's what you ca

Marginally profitable, all-consuming, and unsustainable real estate businesses operate this way because their owners are doing too much technical work, instead of managerial and entrepreneurial work.  In my conversation with Stacie Peterson, she stressed the massive impact of letting her business growth rely on systems, instead of her own technical skills. A sustainable, profitable and fulfilling business is simply a system of systems. In order to build and run those systems, we have to stop working in the business.  In my own journey, what are the key systems that gave me more freedom at every step of growth? In today’s episode, I revisit my conversation with Stacie Peterson and share the path to a business worth owning.  You’ll also learn; How to harness your inner manager How to systematize accountability so you can step out of production and into management  Why we need to spend time in the entrepreneurial role to cast the right vision for the company The Passion vs. Pay time study

My guest, Stacie Peterson went from solo agent, all the way to exiting production and ultimately selling her business for a 7-figure sum, all thanks to implementing the right systems in her team. However, by no means was that an overnight transition. Prior to setting up those systems, Stacie found herself stuck on the hamster wheel, never able to completely step away from work - even on vacation.  What were the systems that allowed her to not only break away from the grind, but sell her team for an amount unheard of in this industry? In this episode, Stacie (who, in addition to being the CEO of Real Estate B-School, also happens to have been the school’s first ever student) shares how she developed an insanely successful system-based business.  You’ll learn about;  The lightbulb moment when Stacie realized her non-system based business was unsustainable  How to stay focused when building a system Why so many team leaders get accountability all wrong The key to taking tasks off our plat

My recent guest, John Mikesh stressed that accountability is an act of love, and I couldn’t agree more. Accountability isn’t something we do to our teams, but something we do for them. The problem is, many leaders still feel uncomfortable holding their agents to their goals because it feels like we’re micromanaging them. How can we make the necessary mindset shift from seeing accountability as a ‘bad’ thing, and start seeing it as the most important GIFT we’ll ever give our teams? In this episode, I’m reiterating the importance of answerability and sharing the steps you can take to create a culture of accountability in your business.  You’ll learn about;  Why accountability begins with us leading by example How to instill a culture of accountability before we’ve even made our first hire The #1 way to prevent our agents from failing in real estate  The type of people we need to surround ourselves with in our businesses Important conversations we need to have with recruits in the hiring process

Can you imagine working a maximum of 90 minutes on your business each week, 1300 miles away from your team? Thanks to the culture of accountability in his organization, my guest, John Mikesh does just that, and so can you! While most team leaders avoid holding their agents accountable because they associate it with harshness, John discovered that the only way to build a true business is by being willing to have the tough conversations, and it's paid off. In this episode, John shares how he's built accountability into the very foundation of his team. You’ll learn about;  The 7 metrics John tracks in his business  How to create a culture where accountability feels mutual, rather than a top-down criticism How to set expectations of accountability in the recruitment stage Why leaders need to focus on refining their systems instead of trying new things Guest Bio -  John Mikesh is the Broker/Owner of ROOST Real Estate and the CEO of Prospector Coaching. An industry veteran of more than a decade,

My recent guest, Chris Craddock, stressed the importance of a successful morning routine, and I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I can’t think of a single successful person who doesn’t have at least 2-3 hours of personal development time scheduled before they go into their business everyday.  Without a solid, time-blocked morning regimen, we’ll never be able to generate enough energy to bring the best versions of ourselves to everything we do, let alone be a source of energy to our teams. So, what does a successful morning routine look like? Which habits are most likely to help us succeed in every area of our lives? In this episode, I’m sharing my own personal morning routine in the hopes that it will inspire others to get more intentional about how they start each day.  You’ll learn about;  How to nourish our bodies as soon as we wake up What to cut out if we want to stay present throughout the day, every day The 1 downside of a focused morning routine Why we need to be realistic about how we’r

Chris Craddock is a multi-millionaire many times over, the owner of 10 companies, and this year, his real estate team’s on- and off-market properties will do 600 sides. However, this wasn’t always the case, and just 7 years ago he wasn’t even a retail agent.  How did a youth pastor manage to go from ministry to blazing a trail in our industry? Turns out, leveraging his zones of genius was the key to unfathomable success.  When we spend most of our time doing the things we’re good at, we tap into our superpowers. Best of all, everything else can be outsourced to the people who do have a passion for those activities.  In this episode, Chris and I discuss how he’s defined his zones of genius, and how he puts them into action, every single day.  You’ll learn about;  How to create energy, not only for ourselves, but for our teams What Chris’s morning routine for a successful day looks like The key to helping our teams find VISION How to breach the 25 deal mark and move on to next-lev

Imagine going on vacation and returning to commission checks and appointments set. Our recent guest, Kodi Riddle achieved just that, and then some. In 5 years, she has scaled to a $2.3 million high performing real estate organization, complete with a 50% profit margin and 7-figure take home.  The leap began in Kodi’s mind. She had to push through a ton of internal stuff to get there - mindset, comparison, ego, and so many of the emotional stumbling blocks that plague hard-charging salespeople.  In this episode, I’m going to reflect on my conversation with Kodi, and hone in on her journey into true ownership, and overcoming the mental and emotional stumbling blocks on this journey.  3 Things We Learned From This Episode Why successful leaders begin with a clear sense of where they are going  How to build your business on the right mountain The dangers of playing the comparison game, and how to separate what the world expects from what you actually want. If you want to continue th

Real estate agents can only keep their heads down and focus on selling a lot of homes for so long. To experience economic stability and get off the hamster wheel of personal production, we have to shift to running an actual business, but why are so many agents so resistant to this? Is it fear, ego or a bit of both?  When you have tons of pride in being a Realtor, letting go of ego, control in certain areas and the internal belief that you can do things better than others is a huge challenge.  My guest today, Kodi Riddle can attest to this.  We’re going to dig into a business that has truly come a long way, from 41 transactions to over 130 with a 50% profit margin, and talk about the difficult, but necessary mental shift that allowed her to step into growth.  We’re going to talk about; The alarming question that humbled Kodi & forced her to start thinking like a business owner.  Why letting go of buyers was Kodi’s way of honoring the people on her team.  How to escape th

Reflecting back on my conversation with $225 million team leader Leigh Marcus in the last episode, I wanted to revisit and go deeper on the things that really struck me and stuck with me.   In his journey to running a fully leveraged real estate team, the one thing that stands out is Leigh’s high level of personal leadership, which we can sum up with one question for anyone who wants to rise to the summit of this profession - do you want it bad enough?  From his morning routine to constantly refining his sales skills, Leigh is deeply committed to doing whatever it takes to meet what the industry demands of its leaders.  In this episode, I’m going to share key insights from my conversation with Leigh Marcus. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode The power of your morning routine and how Leigh sets himself up to compete at a high level before 6:45am every single day.   How to build everything in your real estate business around your highest dollar productive activity.  L

Many team leaders think they're doing the job of a real estate agent, but they are actually glorified errand-runners. When you’re aren’t ruthlessly focused on the most-dollar productive activity in the business, it’s easy NOT to delegate and get everything else off your plate.  How do you raise your prospecting discipline, make decisions, build your business and daily schedule around it?  Today, we’re joined by Chicago team leader, Leigh Marcus. He shares how he built a $225 million volume business, the mindset shifts that were critical to his elevation, and how he became a prospecting beast. We also discussed;  Why owning your day is the key to having success in multiple areas of your life.   How to endure the pain of honing your prospecting skills and what it takes to become a lethal salesperson.  Why ego limits your ability to delegate and elevate out of the day-to-day grind.  The one thing that suffers when we’re hesitant to delegate and why we can’t afford to neglect

Dave Friedman revealed how he went from 65 transactions working 80 hour-weeks, to over 300 transactions completely elevated out of the day-to-day, and the critical piece of this journey - systems.  But what do you do if you’re not a systems person?  How do you shift your mindset, slow down, document protocols, and patiently teach your hires so you can fully step out of an activity?  Whether you’re running an emerging or established team, not building systems creates too much chaos for you to make more money in less time with less stress. In this episode, you’ll learn what it takes to become a system-builder so you can elevate and become the entrepreneur in your business.  You’ll learn about;  Short-term trade-off vs. longer-term ease: Why we have to sacrifice time and effort now to achieve the systems that will last forever.  How to identify the system that needs your attention NOW based on the biggest pain in your business. The raw and honest question every team leader nee

What does a systems-focused real estate business look like, and how do you dedicate your time to building those systems so they can produce results?  Dave Friedman deconstructs his journey from having no documented processes to set up the systems that drive the entire business. To produce consistent results, the behaviors and activities behind them need to be modeled.  Because systems aren’t the most exciting part of the business, most Realtors aren’t great at implementing them. How do you slow down long enough to give systems the focus and attention they deserve?  In this episode, Dave discusses the process of building a model-focused business, and how to make sure the backstage of the team functions as well as the front stage.  3 Things We Learned From This Episode Why you can’t produce predictable results without documenting what’s working. What holds team leaders back from being the true entrepreneurs in their business.  The only time it’s okay to fully hand off a task or a sy

How do you break out of the unrewarding grind of real estate and elevate to a profitable systems-driven business that gives you a life of meaning, impact, and satisfaction? As a team leader, you’re either the technician, manager, or entrepreneur in your business. To elevate, you have to step away from working in the business and build a system of systems like Misty Soldwisch did.  In the book, The E Myth Revisited business owners are challenged to reimagine what’s possible in their businesses so they can make it manageable, predictable, and rewarding.  In today’s episode, we’re going to explore what this looks like in real estate and how to achieve it.  You’re going to learn;  How to realize the vision of growing your business, cutting your hours in half, and multiplying your income.  The critical question every business owner needs to ask themselves to create freedom. Why team leaders need to stop trying to do everything and start focusing on the few key things that matter.

How does Misty Soldwisch run her $3M, 400-transaction real estate team using Trello as the hub of the business, and everything they do?   This is what I wanted to find out from The Queen of Trello herself. With one tool, Misty’s team stays on top of EVERYTHING in the business from operations to accountability, using the free version. The platform also creates a sense of accomplishment and cooperation from working in a shared, visual space.  Many team leaders are so focused on sales that they miss out on systems that will make the business more efficient and enjoyable to run. Misty shares why focusing on Trello was such a game-changer.  In today’s episode, we geek out on all things Trello and discuss how to implement it in your real estate business, step by step.  You’ll also learn;  How to leverage Trello’s features to make the abstract details more fun and visual.  Why team leaders have to think beyond the next deal and carve out time to develop the operational architecture

How do you go from disconnected from your team to dialed in enough to develop people, help them achieve their dreams, and create leaders?  The people we hire have a direct impact on our ability to achieve true ownership and have the freedom to work less in our business. Dave Hooke went from working 80 to 90 a week to selling 90 homes to working 90 minutes a week in the business selling 325, and a profit margin of 34%. Identifying talent, engaging with his team, and creating space for them to grow and achieve their dreams was a critical ingredient to this growth.  In this episode, I share some of the mistakes team leaders make in this process, how to course-correct and bring real value to our people.  3 Things We Learned From This Episode The truth about your first hires and the inevitable challenges you’ll face when you haven’t led, managed, or developed talent before.  How to create a world big enough for people on your team to achieve their vision and elevate themselves. How to become

How do you go from working 70 hours a week being the center of everything in the business, to 34% profit working only 2 hours a week?  This is what my latest guest, Dave Hooke shared with me in today's episode. In this conversation, we go deep into the critical ingredient of reaching ownership status - leadership development.  Dave was able to slow down and enjoy his life outside of real estate more because he surrounded himself with quality talent, and invested in helping them become leaders in their own right.  Today, Dave will take you through his journey, how he has been able to take his team along on his leadership journey, and how to safely offload tasks in our business without causing more harm.   Dave gives incredible insights on;  How to correctly diagnose the issues in your business  How David recruited someone straight out of high school and trained them up to run half of the business.  The power of empathy, compassion, and making generous assumptions when we

How does a guy go from being an Inside Sales Agent to selling over 300 homes a year running a profitable team, working only a few days a week? My most recent guest, Dan Jones dissected his journey and shared what it took for him to go from working like 10 men to teaching 10 men to work.  Not everyone can go from being a player in their business to being the coach and the leader. To make that progression, tracking, accountability, and culture are KEY. You’ll learn about;  How to become the CFO of your business and squeeze more juice out of your lead sources Why we need to get comfortable with failing and learning as leaders and team owners  Why hiring on patterns is smarter than hiring on potential

How do you go from an individual agent selling 65 units a year, to leading a team that does 300 units a year, with a 10x ROI in paid internet leads? This is what I wanted to find out from my guest, Dan Jones, founder, and broker of Carolina Real Estate Experts.  I’ve had the pleasure of consulting in Dan’s business, and what he has accomplished is nothing short of extraordinary. We’re going to dig into his journey and uncover what he believes were the most critical pieces to scaling his business.  In this episode, you’re in for a special treat as Dan and I go deep on the tactics behind the growth of his team.  Dan will reveal the things that team leaders need to focus on including;   How to drive 10X ROI in a competitive PPC environment by zeroing in on a lead source squeezing all the juice from it.  The 3 metrics that matter in a successful real estate team, and how to make them evident in your culture.  What a good agent one-on-one looks like and how to create a cadence of