Another key piece to Andy's story is being financially smart. Even as a top producing agent, Andy and his wife don't drive fancy cars or have a massive house. Their main goal was to be able to stay at home with their kids.
Andy built a business that served him. He didn't want to be reduced to chasing transactions. His mindset about building a business prevented it from becoming just a job.
What are some of the reasons we fail in Real Estate?
The answer to this question might seem complicated, but most of the time it can be attributed to something simple - your mindset. If you don't have the business you want (meaning the time and money freedom), is it possible that you don't actually own a business - you just own the place you go to work?
One of the reasons we fail is that we make a fatal assumption. The fatal assumption is this: "If I understand the technical work of a business, I can understand a business that does the technical work."
This is all about the shift in your mind from successful real estate agent to business owner. Much of the time, we think the first step to becoming a successful real estate business owner is first becoming a top producer, or getting really good at real estate.
An entrepreneur is the person who turns the most trivial condition into an exceptional opportunity. They're the visionary, the dreamer, the energy behind activity. We all show up like this in our business at times.
A manager is the implementer of the vision. They're pragmatic - and without them, there would be no planning, order, or predictability.
Lastly, there's a technician. They get the work done in order to manifest the vision. "If you want it done right, you do it yourself."
An entrepreneur changes the business, the manager runs the business, and the technician masters the craft. Some of us feel like we are all 3 - and that can be damaging.
Our businesses tend to have 3 stages to them - and everyone will fall at some point on this scale in their journey with real estate. It's important to note that these stages have nothing to do with GCI or team members - you could be doing 5 million of GCI and still be in a beginning phase.
Your business is in its infancy when you are the business. Everything that's done goes through you - and you're inherently at the center. Most of us find ourselves stuck here. You're a top agent or a single agent, you're working all the time. Weekends, nights, you're even doing work you don't know how to do because you're the one who needs to get it done.
When you enter adolescence is when you've decided to get some help. Maybe that means a couple extra agents, or an admin. You realize that you can't do it all yourself, or you're just so buried that you really just need an extra pair of hands to make sure everything can be done at all. You're buried.
Lastly, you have maturity - that's where technician is past your comfort zone. At this stage, you have 3 options - you could get rid of everyone and go back to being in infancy, you can continue to grow until you self-destruct, or you can adopt the entrepreneurial perspective.
All of us are at a certain point in our journey that has landed us here. The good news is, no matter where you are in your business growth journey, there are programs at Real Estate B-School for you. Just jump over to our Programs page to see what matches you the most, or simply fill out an application to talk with one of our coaches today for free and see what would suit you best.
