Have you ever reached a plateau in your real estate business (or life for that matter)?
There’s a time in life where you have to get real honest about what you want the second half of your life to look like. And then you have to make a choice to either stay on your current path because it’s safe and familiar (even though you know it’s not what you really want) or set out on a new path that’s scarier or at least unknown because it’s a better fit for your soul and your goals.
So that’s what I did. I decided to start my own brokerage on the premise that our business should provide the life we dreamed of. A business that fits who we are rather than asks us to be something we’re not. A business that respects and encourages each agents’ strengths rather than squeezing them into a one-size-fits-all answer.
As I started on this new and refreshing path, I began to define How I wanted this to be different than the status quo.
9 themes showed up, or what I now consider the guiding “pillars” of my brokerage.
Starting with Why, I wanted to be clear about why I was doing this. That sounds obvious but if you’ve been in business for any length of time you know that in the urgency of the trenches you can forget why you’re doing something. Plus, I think as you get older, the Why becomes more important and you’re less concerned with fitting in.
When I thought of Why I wanted to start my own brokerage and why the right agents would join me, it came down to Fun, Family and Freedom. Too many brokerages lose sight of fun, family and freedom in the pursuit of growth at all costs. I wanted to come to work in an environment where fun, family and freedom was ingrained as values of all those who came to work here. And those 3 values became the pillars of Why I started my new brokerage.
To add focus to our values, I needed some guiding ways that we would engage in business. What would I focus on in this business that simplified my path and the path of those who worked with me?
There is a lot of training in our industry and everyone has an opinion about how we should run our business. But through the years of production I’ve found 3 things that have made the most difference for me: Mindset, Systems and Leverage. As I set out on this new path these were the areas I would go to work on and invest in to create space for Fun, Family and Freedom.
Finally, I wanted guiding principles for How I ran my business. Overwhelm comes easy when you’re a productive agent. There are a lot of moving parts and how we manage those moving parts directly impacts the enjoyment we experience from our business.
Three themes emerged in How I would grow my business and brokerage. The first How that showed up for me was Relationships. In this digital age, a lot of agents are trying to figure out how to use technology to grow their business. And while technology is a great tool, it’s not replacement for relationships. I wanted to create a brokerage that valued relationships.
Second, I was overwhelmed by how complicated things can get. So, I found myself craving simplicity. You can build a business in a complicated way with lots of moving parts or in a simple way that’s easy to manage. I had done the complicated way for too long and so I built this brokerage with the idea that Simplicity gets me to Fun, Family and Freedom smoother than complexity.
Third, I knew that in order for growth to be sustainable, I needed a culture of consistency. We all know we need to be more consistent, but life often gets in the way. With Simplicity in place, Consistency becomes a lot easier. These three pillars outlined How I wanted to our agents to grow their business. And it clarified How I would provide that for agents who came to work here.
Change can be scary and it’s certainly not without risk. But there comes a time in your life when you no longer fit in with the masses and you want something specific for your business and life. You want a certain culture that aligns with your values and provides the kind of environment that supports your goals in life.
This transition has filled me with hope and vision for the life I’ve been working towards. I can see clearer and I feel freer than I’ve felt in a long time.
Here’s to fun, family and freedom,
Michelle Guidry
* If you’re looking for a brokerage environment that’s a better fit for you and the life you’ve been working towards, let’s talk. You can schedule a confidential consultation on my calendar here.