How to Real Estate Today
Raw, unfiltered real estate conversations about how to win in real estate today. We're here for real estate agents, investors, flippers, buyers and sellers.
How to Real Estate Today
3: Finding the Right Brokerage
In this episode, Rebecca Green and Kim Borcharding discuss the different types of real estate brokerages and the pros and cons of each. They cover national brands, local boutique brokerages, virtual brokerages, and low-cost options. They emphasize the importance of considering individual needs and goals when choosing a brokerage. They also share their personal experiences with different brokerages and offer advice for agents looking to make a switch. The key takeaways include the importance of community, the need for ongoing learning and innovation, and the value of aligning with a brokerage that supports your specific needs and goals.
Takeaways
- Consider your individual needs and goals when choosing a brokerage
- Different brokerages offer different levels of support, training, and community
- Virtual brokerages can provide innovative technology and flexibility
- National brands offer name recognition and global reach
- Local boutique brokerages can provide a tight-knit community and specialized knowledge
- Low-cost options may be suitable for agents with few transactions or specific circumstances
- Continuously evaluate your brokerage choice as your needs and goals evolve
Rebecca Green (00:00.142)
Hey there, I'm Rebecca Green. Welcome to our latest episode of How to Real Estate Today. I'm here with my friend Kim Borcharding and we're going to be talking about finding the right brokerage. So I think something really important to start with is to talk about the different kinds of real estate brokerages a real estate agent might have to consider. Right. So let's first we have the big national brands. So that like traditional kind of brick and mortar. So that would be like a Remax, Century 21. Sotheby's, International Realty, yeah. Coldwell Banker. Okay. That is like your first category of real estate brokerage. Next, you would have something like a local boutique, brick and mortar brokerage. So different markets have these smaller brokerages. So like in Portland, I'm thinking of what used to be like a Hasson or a Dwell or Think real estate or Living Room. Yeah. And I think those exist in any market where you've got, you know, someone with longevity. They have a great, you know, great brick and mortar business in key locations in town. They've been pillars within the community for a lot of years. Is that fair to say? Yeah. Okay. And then the next bucket would be a virtual brokerage. So that's kind of a new, that's a disruptor that's kind of come to the market in the last few years. And that is Cloud -based, so no brick and mortar. I mean, some agents might have offices, but it's kind of a cloud -based brokerage. And that would be like an EXP or REAL. Side is I think another one as well. You know, those newer models, I think, offer brokers an opportunity to start their own business, but yet have the back -end support and the marketing support of a tech company. Totally. Because really, at the end of the day, I think REAL, EXP and Side are really tech based. Yep. Absolutely. Okay. And then probably have a fourth bucket. I just call it like a cheap place to hang your license. You know, that just feels like they don't offer very much. You don't know, but tthere are some agents who maybe do just a couple of transactions ,or for whatever reason ,it makes sense. And that's kind of a no name, hang your license somewhere type of option. Right. Yeah. Okay. Let's talk about first pros and cons in your opinion. I'd love to know
Rebecca Green (02:18.158)
Pros and cons you think save for a big national firm. What do you think about that? Yeah, and you know, I think it ties into where you are in your business, right? The pros and cons will be different based on where you are. But then ,from a general perspective, I think being with a large brand can offer great tools. It is definite name recognition because those brands are well known.
You know, everywhere. It can, they do promote that it, you know, can help you gain listings or bring in more leads. Also community. Some brokers really need and thrive on that local community. And then with the larger brands, not only do they have local community, but they do have reach in other parts of the country or in the world. Some of them are global brands. You know, I think that's definitely a positive to choosing that type of a brokerage.
I'm going to add one more piece to this because this came up recently in conversation with an agent. So if you have a big, you know, like a Keller Williams, you know, they have conferences and that is important to people. So you have regional or national conferences that some people really like to go to and for learning. And then also I think a positive is like a training. Yeah. Like really these brokerages are they have great training in person training. And so like I've often told like newer agents who have no experience, know nothing like Keller Williams is a great place for training and they have that down really well. Agreed. Agreed. And longevity of the business. Those brands have been in the business for a lot of years and with that longevity comes things like your training program and good marketing and platforms for tools for agents to use, things like that. So, you know, I think that can be a positive for a certain type of broker. Okay. In your opinion, somebody was just doing pros. I don't know. How about like a smaller boutique brokerage? Tell me what you think about that.
Yeah, I've been in the real estate business for 30-plus years and stalk real estate in every town that we vacation in, regardless of where we are in the world. I've always said there is "the real estate" agent in every town or the real estate company in every town. And often they are those small boutique local companies where it's a very tight knit group of brokers.
Rebecca Green (04:37.134)
Sometimes they specialize in very specific neighborhoods or price points. You know, I think for somebody who is deeply rooted in a community, those smaller boutique brokerages make sense, right? Less people. Some of them have great offerings from a tool standpoint. Some of them don't have any, and those brokers aren't really seeking that out, right? So I think the positives in that environment is really the small tight -knit community.
That's what I would say. What would you say? Same. Yeah, just I think, you know, hot. Also, I think for me, in my opinion, like it's kind of brand recognition in the neighborhood and that, like, for example, yeah, that is important. And potentially for me, I always look at the caliber of agents in the company and that's how I've selected brokerages. Tell me, in your opinion, strength of like a cloud -based brokerage. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, today and today's market, we talk about, you know, how to real estate today.
Tech is just so, so important. And what I'm seeing in the cloud -based brokerage world is because they don't have the overhead of brick and mortar, because they don't have the overhead of all these different layers of staff, their tech offerings and maybe their executive level positions are held by phenomenal people. And the tech is really innovative.
And I think it's really hard no matter what size brokerage you are, I think it's really hard to compete with that. Maybe number of agents to number of agents. It's really hard to compete with that because so much of your income has to go to operating expenses and the cloud -based brokerage doesn't have that. Definitely not for everybody, but I think that's probably one of the biggest. The other thing I would say is community. Sometimes people think cloud -based brokerages, you lack community. I actually think the community of a cloud -based brokerage is fantastic because it's a great opportunity and a very nimble way to connect with people all across the country.
Rebecca Green (06:48.781)
Doing high levels of business or of a similar mindset that you have because you've gone to this, you know, kind of different brokerage model. Yeah, you've sought it out. So other kind of like -minded people might end up there as well. So tell me, so what is your history? I mean, it's funny, when you talk to agents who've been in the market for a while, typically they've worked at a few different brokerages. What is your brokerage history? Yeah, kind of crazy actually. So I started with a local boutique firm, Doris Killian, Tambay Realty in Tampa, Florida. She was such an iconic broker. She ran an unbelievable business. She really had a stronghold in a lot of the real estate there. She was such an interesting lady. I learned so much from her. So I started there. I left there, crazy enough, 30 years ago. I left there and went to Coldwell Banker because I was seeking more tools.
So when I say that, I think that's crazy because people are still doing the same thing today. They're like leaving one place to go to another seeking more tools. And here I did it 30 years ago. And then I can't even imagine a tool you were looking for. I know. They had a computer. No, don't. Literally. That's totally the case. Totally the case. They had the printer. Print materials. Like, I know. What was I looking for? Tools. I mean, I guess a better, faster pager system. I don't even know.
Yeah, so that is funny. Boy, that definitely aged me. Ouch. So from there, I also worked for, I ran the marketing and business development for a Sotheby's franchise. Amazing organization. Talk about like high performing brokers, great conferences, great educational opportunities. I loved that. And that was, I had access to really high quality marketing material that was phenomenal. I bet that was such a good experience for you to level up being in that world. Yeah and seeing the expectations of brokers and what was required and now that's clearly I know because I've seen your marketing material. Yeah. The expectations.
Rebecca Green (09:05.133)
Great way. I think every place and every situation you find yourself in should be used as an educational component, right? We should be learning at every stage. So I did learn a lot there and then, you know, went to a local boutique firm in the Portland area, Hasson. Again, amazing leader. You know, Mike Hasson was unbelievable as a leader, as a person. His business was not marketing centric. It was really about the people.
And that really resonated with me at the time. And then from there, they merged with Sotheby's, which is an interesting thing that happens with smaller companies. And, you know, I was just kind of in a place where I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my real estate career and went to another firm, Windermere local firm, but they have offices in many parts of the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii and you know, different areas, again, a fabulously run company, right? You know, there was a lot to be said about the people, right? The people locally, high-quality agents, high-performing agents. I have an immense respect for a lot of the brokers there. And then, just recently, seeing as we're talking about brokerages, and this might sound like I've moved around a lot, but I've been doing this for 32 years in multiple states and multiple countries. So it's not like I'm a broker hopper or a brokerage hopper because that's problematic. I just recently moved my license to REAL as of yesterday, actually so this is great timing and it was it was really because of where I am in my career right now. I was seeking out true innovation and great tech and boy do they have it? You know, they really have it. And I love the opportunity to really run my own business, but also have that support. It's a really nice hybrid model, in my opinion. So a lot of people have not heard of Real. Yeah. Particularly here in our market. Can you share anything about Real? I mean...
Rebecca Green (11:15.021)
Yeah. Okay, great. I hope not a lot of REAL people are watching this because I'm just got here yesterday. So there's that. There's a lot of agents that I've had, I've been watching, right? You know, are doing phenomenal marketing and running great businesses in different parts of the country. I've just been watching it for a bit. And that resonates with me. But more so than that, it is innovation. And, you know, the CEO, Sharran, is so inspirational and also so business savvy.
Because ultimately, in my opinion, the way real estate has been done for all of these years and the function of big brokerages, you know, where agents are paying money in, but agents aren't being rewarded, other than changing commission split, you know, there's not really a retirement plan. There isn't really, in most situations, an opportunity for an agent to shift out of selling unless you go into management, which is a whole different podcast. The way REAL has been structured is to allow agents to bring in income in different ways, more passive ways. They have an amazing education platform. And I just kind of like the idea of learning from people in other markets rather than at an office meeting in a local you know, just learning from people in my location. And you and I have shared that whole mindset of collaboration over competition. I don't really care what brokerage you're at. It's really like what you know and what you're doing that, you know, is innovative and creative and providing exceptional service. So yeah, sorry, REAL folks. I might have missed a few things. I'm really happy to be here though. And I'm looking forward to you all reaching out and educating me a little bit more. But that's been my take so far.
Rebecca Green (13:24.943)
For 24 hours. Yeah. So I'll turn it over to you. What was your experience? What's your experience? Okay, so this is my 13th year in real estate. So my first two years I worked, I call, I mean I joke, I say this very loving, a no name real estate brokerage that nobody's ever really heard of. I mean, barely a website. Bluebird real estate. Yeah. But I worked at Bluebird because my mentor owned it. It was a small brokerage. It's her own. She's worked at a lot of different companies.
And she wanted to do her own thing. She's kind of an independent, you know, woman and want to run a business own way. And she, my mentor, Tony Michael, forever indebted to her and grateful like you to your mentor. I always sing the praise of Tony Michael. She's a great agent. But I was interviewing different agents when I was considering switching careers from software sales to real estate, you know, maybe met with six different agents, all kind of successful and had a great connection with her. She was smart, she was interesting, she spoke about the business differently than every other agent I met with. And I walked away from our conversation just inspired and encouraged. I was like, yes, I definitely want to go into real estate. And then I reached out to her. I said, would you mentor me? And she said, well, I said I would never mentor anyone else again because it's a lot of work. But she's like, I think you'll be great. So yes. So I went to work at Bluebird because Tony was there. And it's funny because I actually joined a Buffini coaching group right away, and I was in group coaching, and I remember being at one of my first group meetings, and one of the agents who was at Remax just told me that it was the first discussion about whether you'd be successful or not and how much the brand matters to you. And I was like, okay, now I'm here like new, probably two weeks on the job working at a company that nobody's ever heard of. And feeling a little, you know, did I make the right choice?
Well, heck yeah I did because I sold 11 houses my first year, which was successful. I mean, everyone told me plan on like four or five and no one cared. No one cared that I worked at this brokerage. So what did the Remax guy say in that group call? It was a in person, no, it was just a discussion, round table discussion and it was about how important it is to work at a brokerage that has name recognition. And then they're like quietly like not saying anything, so I'm just like, no.
Rebecca Green (15:43.085)
And I still remember saying, I'm not gonna say who it was, but anyway, but it was for sure the right decision for me, because I had an incredible mentor who poured into me and taught me this business the right way. And now I've gone on to mentor many agents, and I've taught them the business the right way from procedures and contract and negotiations and client care and like, always like my.
Tony's golden rule was always use what's best for the client. Every time a situation, I'm like, what's best for the client? That is my filter and my decision-making. So yeah, I mean, I learned a lot, and I'm, and again, she taught me this job. So I worked at Bluebird and it was great. Then, after two years, my second year, I think I sold about 17 houses. So I was like, OK, this isn't working. Yeah, I really just needed a bigger fishbowl. Like I love Tony, learned a ton from her. But essentially, you know, I saw how she ran a business and there were a few other kind of agents, but none doing the business that Tony was. So I just needed to see other people and how they were running their business. Also, Tony worked a lot. And so I was like, okay, I don't want to work as much as Tony. So what else can I do? So I really then evaluated every option in at least the Portland market, almost went to Keller. There's a lot about KW I liked. And then ultimately chose Hasson because of Mike Hasson. So I'm a big believer in the leader of the company and the group. So because of Mike Hasson, I went to Hasson and had a great run there. Man, I mean, I tell people if you just threw a dart and ended up with a Hasson agent, pretty good chance they're a great agent. Mike brought on the very specific quality of agents, which was tremendous. And I learned a ton, and I leveled up, and I loved my time at Hasson. And that was really great. And I was there maybe nine years. And then I in 2021....
So actually 2021, I hit burnout, took a sabbatical, came back, was like how I was running my business was just not sustainable anymore. My family needs were changing. A lot was changing. And I just was like, I need to do business differently, but I don't know how. And I'm not seeing anyone at Hasson doing it differently in a way that I could potentially model. And so I decided to make a switch and went to EXP Realty without knowing a ton about it either.
Rebecca Green (18:00.237)
I mean, joke, if you would ask me the first week at EXP, like, I don't know. I don't know. But I, and actually I thought EXP sounded interesting. Actually, funny enough, I talked to somebody at EXP three years earlier and I was like, no way cloud -based brokerage over my dead body. Like I am such a community person that having an office and being together but you know what? But let me tell you, you know, pandemic hit, no one's in the office. Like it changed my mindset.
So that ties into, I might've already said at different times in our career, we seek out different things or at least we should be seeking out different things if our needs change. And so that's what you're talking about. Your needs shifted, the whole world shifted really. And so what did you find with community? Cause I know community is really important to you. Yeah. So that was a non -negotiable. And I remember I called every agent I knew who went to EXP. And one of those was my friend Anne, who had been at Hasson, now had been at EXP for six months. And she said, Kim, you're never going to believe this, but I swear I have more community here than I ever had at Hasson. And I agree we have good community at Hasson. Yeah. And man, was she right. And this is what I say. And people don't understand this because I don't know if it's like this at REAL, but at EXP, you have different like lineages. Yeah. And who, what lineage you join or who you sponsor like matters so much. So I'm in this group called Powerhouse. Yeah and it's led by Amy Gregory and it's mostly female solo agents from around the country. And it's a lot of moms, a lot of moms, a lot of women who are juggling business and families. And so it is like my people who are in the same stage of life. So for us and right now there's about 300, it's mostly female that we have a couple of guys, but yeah.
And so it's like people who are speaking my language. And then again, the collaboration. That's what I said too. Community doesn't have to be like in a physical location just because you're both at the same brokerage and same office. You found this great community outside of just the local market. And it's what I love because I think it's more realistic to find that connection, right? Yeah. Because you're all there for similar reasons, right?
Rebecca Green (20:12.079)
Then to walk into an office and the person sitting in the office next to you, you happen to like.... Absolutely. So literally I've met so many great friends. Now we actually travel to conferences together. We do our own retreats. So we travel more because again, to a lot of us is important. So and it's really fun. But again, I mean, again, different seasons. But for this season right now is perfect. And I love it and also innovative and they have things like that. But I say for me, the community is tremendous.
Isn't that funny? The community at a virtual brokerage has been great. In my coaching business, I talk a lot to agents that come to me for mentoring about choosing the right brokerage. And even locally, I've met with brokers and pushed them or pointed them, rather, is a better way of putting it towards brokerages that I felt would be a good fit for them based on their needs. Right. So I definitely don't believe one shoe fits all.
I don't believe any one brokerage is the right fit for all agents. So let's talk about some of the maybe downsides or negatives to all of the different models because there's there's pluses and minuses in everything. Sure. You know, so curious as to some of the things that you would you would think that might not be a positive for somebody. Yeah, I'll tell you. I mean, first of all, just getting where I'm like, you know, at a virtual brokerage, like first out, in my opinion, then like, and it depends how you learn. Yeah. Like if you're a brand new agent and you don't have a mentor in your local market and you are now learning the job of a real estate agent without anybody there in person to maybe sit with you and teach you the business, that might be really hard. Again, for some people may not, they go online because virtual brokerages have online courses and they can learn that way and that's fine. For me, I don't learn like that. I learn by being in person and seeing and touching and feeling it. I want to shadow you on your first couple home tours, I want to go on your listing appointment, I want to see how you do it so I can learn that way. So I think, yeah, and so that's the downside. I think for new agents who don't really know anything about the job or where to start, I think a virtual brokerage might be challenging. Though again, I know people don't. Yeah, no, I hear you. I agree with you. I agree. And then what about maybe a larger...a larger brand.
Rebecca Green (22:27.213)
A larger brand. I mean, I'd say from a cost perspective, I mean, a lot of brokerages who have brick and mortar offices, have, you know, staff and that all cost money. And if you're going into this business, you know, tacking on a big desk fee is a lot of pressure. Again, I can debate pros and cons, but I think fees is probably a big thing, working at Big Brokerage, the virtual, and that's something not why I chose EXP, but the fees are way less than they were at my other company.
Yeah, and I think fees are an interesting topic of conversation always for real estate agents. I would say I'm just like you were mentioning, you didn't go there because of the fee structure. I'm definitely not a fee-driven agent and there are some agents that are super fee driven. I would definitely say I'm value-driven more so than fee-driven, which is I think what you were tapping into You know fees do come into play, and also it's like what are you getting for the fees and depending upon the phase of your business or your strengths, you know, those big brokerage fees may not make sense, right? They may not make sense. You know, this is maybe an unpopular opinion, but we like unpopular. I just think that there's a dinosaur element a little bit to the brokerage model.
And, you know, that has been the evolution for me over the last year. And what I mean by that is you have these big companies and or even the smaller firms, you've got these firms that effectively the money that agents are paying, right, into this firm is helping to elevate the firm on a whole, right? So you're paying fees, and you're covering expenses in lots of situations.
Rebecca Green (24:30.957)
The brokers have zero say in staff that's hired or tools that are offered, right? They're paying the money in repeatedly year in and year out. A lot of these brokerages continue to grow and grow and sell. Management and or ownership makes the money off of the sale. The agents who actually built the business, right? It's such an interesting thing. The agents that actually built the business don't benefit at all in that situation. It's like a profit sharing. It's like there's no profit sharing, right? There's no, you know, I don't know. I think it's archaic. I don't know how else to say it. I think it's a bit of a dinosaur. And also, my experience thus far with larger brokerages is that they call things innovative, and they're just not. They're not innovative at all in any way. And while I don't know everything, of course, I wish I did, but I don't. And I hope my husband's not watching this because I tell him all the time that I know everything. So there's that. I'm sure that's great for you, Mike. It's perfect. It works great. It works great. We've been together for 30 years. It works great. So, you know, I don't know everything, but man, I want to be in rooms where people know so much more than me. I want to be in rooms where whoever is delivering the message is really innovative and tech savvy and like... And smarter than you. Smarter than me, without a doubt. And so I think when we're forced, not forced, when we make the choice to be in a local group, it's almost like choosing a lunch table in high school. And I'm not trying to throw shade because that works for a lot of people, right, based on where they are.
Rebecca Green (26:11.277)
I just think it's an old way of doing business and more so than any other time in my career. Even going back to the listings in a book and what tools was I seeking out? I was seeking out a better pager system. I'm not even sure. Even going back to all of the changes that happened from that time to today, I actually believe that the real estate market is shifting faster right now than I've ever seen it shift. And we have things like AI, you know, coming out, and I don't know, I know a lot of brokerages, and I know a lot of the people who are running departments at those brokerages, man, AI is like, I don't even know. I don't know. I don't know that they're ever gonna understand it or think about it. So being in spaces where people are talking about it, and that's where the money is being spent. And like, you know, the virtual component of brokerages allows, I think for better purchases up top, right? Better, not purchases, but better hires at the top level, right? Because they're not the layers of fat. There's just so many layers in every brokerage I've ever worked with. And I struggle with that because it's just so inefficient. So that's my spiel. I think traditional brokers are dinosaurs. Sorry, unpopular as it may be, and I'm not sure I even know as much as I should about the new company that I went to, but again, I'm happy to be there. That's right,t you know what, I know it's hard, like let's be honest, it is hard to move real estate firms. It's a pain in the butt. It's a pain in the butt. I've done it twice in a year. I mean it's the last thing you want to do. I mean I kind of fell like it's kind of a part -time job for a while. I mean, from a learning the new system....
But you have to be in alignment with wherever you are. Totally. But also from that comes so much growth. And every time I have moved, I have grown so much. And that's so fun. I mean, the easy thing to do is stay comfortable where you're at. But the real growth happens when you put yourself out there, I'm a big believer in leadership. We talked about that. And then getting in the room with different people because you learn so much from learning from different people.
Rebecca Green (28:21.901)
That lesson has been really strong for me in my real estate career. So if a broker came to you and said, what's your advice for picking a brokerage? I know you talked about being new and going into a virtual situation could be super tricky. I totally agree with that. What advice would you give to an agent looking for a new brokerage? First, I'm going to ask lots of questions. I'm going to say...
Okay, what's important to you? How much do you know? Like what does success look like to you? Because to be honest, for some agents, if they sell two houses the first year, that is success for them, you know? Not for other agents. So I think mostly understanding what's important to them, how they define success. And then again, I think a big thing is can you learn virtually or not? I mean, that's my biggest thing. Like yes or no?
Like for me, I know that would have been a no. I just don't have the attention span to kind of stay connected if I had to learn the business. So and if there are some people who are great at that and they're accustomed to learning online or this and that then that would be my first, and then I would tell them to talk with have lots of conversations. I actually also help point agents to different brokers which is I'm a big believer in finding alignment with the right brokerage again for the season you're in. And if you're brand new, like go talk with, I'll give them a handful of names, go meet with them all, see who's a fit for you. See what level of support they offer you. In my opinion, if you're a new agent, I think having a high level of support is really important. So some companies do have a new agent program, and then you're also in a peer group with other new agents, which I think is nice as well. Again, other ones have really strong training. So I think it depends. And then from a location perspective, you know,
Where what's convenient to you? I mean, I will say I really liked an office but I was like I'm never going to drive 35 minutes off the highway....does that make sense to me. So when you were looking at brokerages there was one that you really resonated with. You loved the leadership but the location didn't location. I was like I'm not going to go to the office. So I think depending on what makes sense what's realistic.
Rebecca Green (30:39.661)
My advice is to talk to a lot of different people and see who you connect with before making a decision. And really take your time. Do not, like, when you get a new license, I don't, like, you're gonna get cold calls and people are gonna be hounding you. And you might quickly just join, sign up for whatever brokerage. But I think a lot of mistakes can be made by just choosing too quickly. I'm kind of like dating. I mean, guys, you're gonna get married to the first guy you marry. Maybe, maybe.
But maybe you should date a little bit just to make sure that's the one. So how about you? What advice would you do? That's all totally, I could hear myself saying so much of that. I think, you know, the agents that come that.
I interact with typically not new agents. It's more so agents who have been in the business for a while and trying to figure out how to get to the next level with their business or how to grow their business. Some big brokerages, some brokerages in general, for example, have terrible team structures. They don't really support growing a team. I also think that's a little bit of an archaic mindset in this industry, in this world in general. I mean, everything is so fast paced and we can't all be good at everything. I've been a huge proponent of team building. So I think, you know, if you're trying to grow your business, looking for ways that your brokerage can support you in growing your team, believe it or not, that's not always the case. That's not always a thing. So that's something that's really important. You know, I think another thing, where are you in your own systems, right? Are you reliant on company systems or do you have your own?
And you know, I'm super operational and super system-centric, but you know, I don't think any agent should be tied to an email address that belongs to the brokerage. Don't do that. If you learn anything from this podcast episode, never use the company's email address, even though you think you might never leave. Yeah. Yeah.
Rebecca Green (32:43.277)
Don't do that. Because if you do. That's a disaster. Totally. So from day one, have your own email. Always. Always take your own email. So like, where are you in your system setup, right? You know, if everything is tied to the brokerage, you, that's a whole different job to actually extract that information and get your own system set up. So that's a conversation I have with agents. You know, making sure you're structured to be able to be with a brokerage that maybe doesn't have as many, much staff or whatnot, right? That would be one thing. Some people really need and thrive on or desire the community of going into an office and being there and, you know, the energy that they gain from other agents. At a different time in my career, I really loved that, and it was important to me. At this stage, it's not as important to me. So that's a question I ask agents who are maybe thinking about making a move. You know, is that something you have to have? Because maybe then a virtual brokerage is not the answer for you, Although there's alternative ways to seek out and to have a community. And then the other thing I would say is, you know, from a, I'm getting older, right? So I'm thinking about retirement.
I mean, we're all getting older, but I'm older than you. So retirement, what does that look like? And have you planned for it? Selling houses until I'm 80. I'm not going to be that broker. I'm not doing that. And so for me, this evolution that I've had this year about what I want to do as I finish my career in real estate, I know I want to continue to recruit. I want to bring on like -minded people. I want to work with like -minded people. I want to continue coaching and mentoring and maybe not doing as much of the one -on -one showings with buyers, things like that. I really want to build a team. What I love so much about the virtual brokerage, what I love so much about REAL is I can bring people on, they're very supportive of a team. I can bring people into my own team, but I can also just bring people into my downline.
Rebecca Green (34:41.327)
So I'm still supporting those people but not so connected at the team level and I really like that. So that was important for me, right? You know, that might not be relevant to other agents, but the retirement component, what does retirement look like? Is there a passive income opportunity? My coaching business was frowned upon at another brokerage that I was with. They just didn't want to know anything about it and immediately said, well, we can't have you coaching the competition.
It was so close-minded. yeah. It was really close-minded. And at that stage, I wasn't ready to officially launch it. But it was in the back of my mind the whole time. It was such a close-minded outlook, in my opinion. Sure. So I think for me in closing, I would say one shoe doesn't fit all. Like you said, ask lots of questions. Talk to people that, you know to see if you're in alignment. But, you know, it boils down to your own clarity because I think a lot of agents seek out another brokerage without having their own clarity, and it never works out because the grass is not greener on the other side. Yeah and I think that just like getting clear on the season of the business and what's important to you. Yeah. So good. Good. Well I hope I'm not moving brokerages anytime ever again because I did it twice in one year. Maybe. You never know. You know what? Just I always say open mind open heart. I know. You know. And we'll leave it with that. Open mind open heart. Thanks so much for joining us on How to Real Estate Today. We'll see you next time.