1 00:00:00,780 --> 00:00:03,780 Seven figure success starts when you start thinking like a CEO. 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:06,750 Welcome to the John Kitchens Coach podcast experience. 3 00:00:06,810 --> 00:00:08,280 As your host, John Kitchens. 4 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,250 Get ready to think bigger and transform your business into 5 00:00:11,250 --> 00:00:12,930 a path to lasting freedom. 6 00:00:17,610 --> 00:00:21,090 So for us, it was three things, and then I wanna kind of, kind of jam through 7 00:00:21,090 --> 00:00:24,325 some brainstorming ideas of, of why. 8 00:00:25,650 --> 00:00:30,150 They don't believe that that that's ever gonna be, you know, they can't achieve it. 9 00:00:30,599 --> 00:00:32,940 So for us, number one was, was strategy. 10 00:00:33,150 --> 00:00:38,280 Once we really truly understood strategy and we, we followed mastering the 11 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,440 Rockefeller habits right into scaling up. 12 00:00:41,010 --> 00:00:45,090 Um, and then, then for there, we stepped over into, um. 13 00:00:46,170 --> 00:00:50,610 V-T-O-E-O-S with Gino stuff, just because it's easier. 14 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,110 I mean, honestly, that's, that's the only reason because scaling up was too complex. 15 00:00:55,350 --> 00:00:57,600 Joel has a great, great take on it, right? 16 00:00:57,690 --> 00:00:59,010 Uh, the EOS is perfect. 17 00:00:59,010 --> 00:00:59,640 Up to 10 million. 18 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,790 Above 10 million in, in revenue, you probably need to get 19 00:01:02,790 --> 00:01:04,410 back into, into scaling up. 20 00:01:05,010 --> 00:01:10,740 And, and so, um, for us it was that, it was, it was following the master 21 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:12,180 master of the Rockefeller Habits. 22 00:01:12,585 --> 00:01:17,024 Really, truly for the first time having a strategic plan instead of 23 00:01:17,324 --> 00:01:20,384 just setting goals and then what are you gotta do to accomplish your goals? 24 00:01:21,074 --> 00:01:25,155 And when we got strategic, it, it, it really started to unlock a, a lot of 25 00:01:25,155 --> 00:01:27,585 things for us and the way we started thinking about things, the things that 26 00:01:27,585 --> 00:01:31,005 we, you know, how we were tackling projects, how we were communicating, 27 00:01:31,035 --> 00:01:34,304 how we were talking about vision, how we were really dialing in culture. 28 00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:36,490 So that was really important. 29 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:37,240 That was the first thing. 30 00:01:37,270 --> 00:01:41,050 The second thing was having a proven repeatable process to, to articulate 31 00:01:41,050 --> 00:01:46,540 your value, and that's where CHSA and CHBA came in, having CHSA certified 32 00:01:46,540 --> 00:01:50,590 home selling advisor and CHBA certified home buying advisor were the two. 33 00:01:51,540 --> 00:01:56,490 Keys to give to the team so that they can create consistency in what we're saying 34 00:01:56,490 --> 00:02:02,280 and doing to articulate and provide value to buyers and sellers in our market. 35 00:02:02,850 --> 00:02:07,560 Um, obviously started with CHSA 'cause we were listing first listing focused. 36 00:02:07,590 --> 00:02:08,070 That was it. 37 00:02:08,070 --> 00:02:09,600 Everything was listing, listing, listing. 38 00:02:09,660 --> 00:02:12,360 And then after we nailed the listing side, then we said, okay, we gotta 39 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:13,410 do something for the buy side. 40 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,090 That's the only reason CHBA. 41 00:02:15,450 --> 00:02:20,040 Um, even, even got built is because we needed to compliment CHSA and 42 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,560 honestly we needed to compliment it because they started selling it. 43 00:02:22,620 --> 00:02:23,970 That's, that's, that's the truth. 44 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:24,930 That's why we created it. 45 00:02:25,290 --> 00:02:29,280 But we had that and, and what it allowed is. 46 00:02:30,390 --> 00:02:33,000 Anybody that could go out and have the presentation could go 47 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:34,200 out and articulate the value. 48 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,250 It just wasn't the me monster presentation of, of the early days. 49 00:02:38,310 --> 00:02:38,640 Right. 50 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:41,100 Look at my accolades, look at my awards, look at, look at 51 00:02:41,100 --> 00:02:42,209 all of the things I've done. 52 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,510 It's, it's really the true consultative approach of. 53 00:02:45,870 --> 00:02:46,560 Dude, what's the goal? 54 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:47,550 What are you guys trying to do? 55 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,490 Hey, let me, let me articulate our system and our process. 56 00:02:50,490 --> 00:02:53,970 Do you believe this is the best system to help you guys accomplish X, Y, and Z? 57 00:02:53,970 --> 00:02:54,420 Great. 58 00:02:54,450 --> 00:02:56,340 If we can agree upon price, we're ready to move forward. 59 00:02:56,370 --> 00:02:56,670 Awesome. 60 00:02:57,150 --> 00:02:58,860 Just being able to, to go that path. 61 00:02:59,250 --> 00:03:05,280 And then the third thing, and this was the magic, was um, thank goodness 62 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:10,530 we were students of Vern Harnish and we consumed everything he sent out. 63 00:03:10,770 --> 00:03:15,480 Um, and there was a day in 2010 that he sent out, um. 64 00:03:16,019 --> 00:03:19,230 Of his weekly newsletters that had a book in there called Simple Numbers, straight 65 00:03:19,230 --> 00:03:20,880 Talk, big Profits by Greg Crabtree. 66 00:03:21,630 --> 00:03:26,310 That changed everything for us because if it wasn't for that book, 67 00:03:26,790 --> 00:03:29,459 I don't know if we would've ever nailed the financial component. 68 00:03:30,329 --> 00:03:34,530 We would've never understood top line cost of sales, gross profit. 69 00:03:35,415 --> 00:03:37,995 Salary cap profitability, right? 70 00:03:37,995 --> 00:03:39,645 There's mackowitz profit first. 71 00:03:39,645 --> 00:03:44,415 I think we're somewhere kind of in a, in a, um, a modified profit first Greg 72 00:03:44,415 --> 00:03:46,545 Crabtree kind of structure early on. 73 00:03:47,295 --> 00:03:49,755 And those were the three components. 74 00:03:49,935 --> 00:03:51,704 Um, strategy. 75 00:03:52,650 --> 00:03:57,900 Consistent repeatable value proposition and the financial model. 76 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,040 And we were at a negative 3% net profit before taxes. 77 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:07,140 And then once we read Greg Crabtree's book, understand the salary cap within 78 00:04:07,140 --> 00:04:11,430 a quarter, because we, we were in the NAAA Mastermind days at this point. 79 00:04:12,255 --> 00:04:20,175 We got hooked on him, uh, in, in 2010, and then we made the changes 80 00:04:20,175 --> 00:04:21,855 and we had to go over a quarter. 81 00:04:21,855 --> 00:04:22,005 Yeah. 82 00:04:22,005 --> 00:04:22,485 Simple numbers. 83 00:04:22,485 --> 00:04:22,695 Yeah. 84 00:04:22,875 --> 00:04:24,645 Gary, it's a, um, what is it? 85 00:04:24,645 --> 00:04:26,355 Orange Book Joel, I think is what it is. 86 00:04:26,475 --> 00:04:26,595 Yeah. 87 00:04:27,225 --> 00:04:31,605 And within, within a quarter that we were there, we showed our numbers. 88 00:04:32,355 --> 00:04:35,265 When we made the adjustments and we went back, we, we went from a 89 00:04:35,265 --> 00:04:37,035 negative three to a positive 14. 90 00:04:37,035 --> 00:04:40,575 So we had a 17% turnaround without me or Jay in production. 91 00:04:41,235 --> 00:04:45,015 And so that, that was the missing p piece for us. 92 00:04:45,165 --> 00:04:49,185 And once we had that, then, then it, then it really unlocked and we knew 93 00:04:49,185 --> 00:04:52,815 that we could keep, um, we could keep Jay outta production because one of 94 00:04:52,815 --> 00:04:56,175 the biggest things that we learned in there was, uh, market based wage. 95 00:04:56,745 --> 00:04:56,865 Mm-hmm. 96 00:04:57,105 --> 00:04:58,725 The reason that. 97 00:04:59,790 --> 00:05:03,210 We got sucked back in is because we were paying ourselves as if we 98 00:05:03,210 --> 00:05:05,280 were still selling 60 houses a year. 99 00:05:07,380 --> 00:05:09,510 And when you ain't selling 60 houses a year and you're still 100 00:05:09,510 --> 00:05:12,810 paying yourself as if you were, that's why the cash disappears. 101 00:05:13,290 --> 00:05:14,850 So we made those adjustments. 102 00:05:14,850 --> 00:05:17,100 We stopped paying Jay 'cause he wasn't doing anything. 103 00:05:17,970 --> 00:05:21,360 He got his percentage of profit, but he didn't get a paycheck because he 104 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:22,440 didn't do anything in the business. 105 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,650 And once we understood that, that component and we were able to make 106 00:05:25,650 --> 00:05:30,150 that happen, um, to where the coaching organization could finally pay him. 107 00:05:30,815 --> 00:05:32,825 He didn't have to rob from the brokerage. 108 00:05:33,215 --> 00:05:37,655 Then we were able to maintain, and, and so that's just like one of the biggest gifts. 109 00:05:37,655 --> 00:05:40,594 There's so many little nuggets in that book, and I, I love it because 110 00:05:40,594 --> 00:05:43,835 he wrote it for small business entrepreneurs and you know, Greg's 111 00:05:43,835 --> 00:05:46,414 a former IRS auditor, so he knew. 112 00:05:46,475 --> 00:05:47,105 The traps. 113 00:05:47,105 --> 00:05:48,215 He knew what to stay away from. 114 00:05:48,215 --> 00:05:51,185 He knew what to do, and he was just fantastic to work with him and 115 00:05:51,185 --> 00:05:52,625 his team for, for so many years. 116 00:05:52,625 --> 00:05:57,635 He spoke, what, two or three times at EGS in Mastermind for us, or some great old 117 00:05:57,635 --> 00:05:59,615 content of him kind of breaking it down. 118 00:05:59,615 --> 00:06:03,395 But those, those were the three, three big components, um, that. 119 00:06:03,850 --> 00:06:04,510 We've seen. 120 00:06:04,510 --> 00:06:08,380 And if, if we could nail those, then we knew we could, you know, 121 00:06:08,380 --> 00:06:09,610 can get you outta production. 122 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:13,570 I think the other big component is that you had one clear value 123 00:06:13,570 --> 00:06:14,740 proposition to the market. 124 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:17,950 That was the other thing, Joel, on the marketing side of things. 125 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,340 And so for us it was your home sold in, you know, 59 days 126 00:06:21,340 --> 00:06:22,540 guaranteed, or we'll buy it. 127 00:06:22,540 --> 00:06:23,860 And we stuck with that and we ran it. 128 00:06:23,860 --> 00:06:24,370 And we ran it. 129 00:06:24,370 --> 00:06:24,970 We ran it. 130 00:06:25,570 --> 00:06:26,140 Um. 131 00:06:26,534 --> 00:06:29,385 You see it with the Mark Spains, you see it with the Jeff Cooks, 132 00:06:29,385 --> 00:06:30,645 you see it with the Blake Sloans. 133 00:06:30,645 --> 00:06:35,534 You see it, you know, across as the one consistent message to the market 134 00:06:35,565 --> 00:06:37,784 that you, you build everything around. 135 00:06:38,625 --> 00:06:40,484 Um, that, that was the big component for us, 136 00:06:41,479 --> 00:06:46,724 that, that a couple of those things fit perfectly in, um, in, in one of 137 00:06:46,724 --> 00:06:50,085 my big pieces about it, which is it's. 138 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:52,620 To some degree, it's math, right? 139 00:06:52,620 --> 00:06:55,080 We're we gotta, we gotta do the math on what it looks 140 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:56,310 like to get outta production. 141 00:06:56,580 --> 00:07:00,330 The, the problem is a lot of, a lot of team leaders can't do the 142 00:07:00,330 --> 00:07:02,010 math effectively for two reasons. 143 00:07:02,010 --> 00:07:05,250 One is they don't really know their own numbers, and then two, they can't make 144 00:07:05,250 --> 00:07:09,630 good assumptions in order to forecast because they don't have consistency. 145 00:07:09,900 --> 00:07:13,650 So what, what you're talking about with, um, with the designations with 146 00:07:13,650 --> 00:07:16,470 C-H-S-A-C-H-B is now we have consistency. 147 00:07:17,100 --> 00:07:20,310 Across what the team is doing so we can have consistency across 148 00:07:20,310 --> 00:07:23,550 their results, which means we can make a better assumption when we 149 00:07:23,550 --> 00:07:26,430 start to forecast what it's gonna look like to get out of production. 150 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,750 Um, I did a real short training on this for the agent to CEO mastermind members 151 00:07:30,750 --> 00:07:34,530 last year, um, and I just want to give this example of how drastic it can be. 152 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,170 Um, so these are just, I just made up these numbers. 153 00:07:37,170 --> 00:07:38,520 Don't get stuck on these percentages. 154 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:39,570 It's just to illustrate. 155 00:07:39,660 --> 00:07:42,720 So let's say as a team leader, you went on a hundred listing appointments last year. 156 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:45,750 Let's say that you took 80% of those listings. 157 00:07:46,290 --> 00:07:49,350 And then you closed 90% of the listings you took. 158 00:07:49,650 --> 00:07:51,510 So that would give you 72 closings. 159 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,350 If you're in my market with a $425,000 average sale price, 160 00:07:55,350 --> 00:07:57,180 that's little over $12,000. 161 00:07:57,180 --> 00:08:03,840 Average commission, 72 closings, $900,000 in GCI is what you did in this, 162 00:08:03,900 --> 00:08:05,310 you know, made up little model here. 163 00:08:05,670 --> 00:08:08,250 Now, let's say you're stepping out of production and you're gonna hand 164 00:08:08,250 --> 00:08:13,230 all a hundred listing appointments off to, um, your top guy or to, 165 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:14,670 you know, a bunch of your people. 166 00:08:15,594 --> 00:08:18,895 Now, let's say, uh, uh, again, we're talking about forecasting here. 167 00:08:19,044 --> 00:08:22,135 Um, they're, maybe they're not gonna close quite as many. 168 00:08:22,135 --> 00:08:26,455 They're gonna close 70% of those appointments into listings instead of 80%. 169 00:08:27,115 --> 00:08:30,235 And then let's say they're only gonna get 80% of those deals across the table 170 00:08:30,235 --> 00:08:33,625 instead of 90%, because they're not gonna be as effective on the listing 171 00:08:33,625 --> 00:08:37,794 presentation as you, they're not gonna be as effective negotiating, troubleshooting, 172 00:08:37,794 --> 00:08:39,235 you know, getting the deals across. 173 00:08:39,655 --> 00:08:43,674 So just by saying, Hey, they're, they're 10% less, um, in conversion, 174 00:08:43,674 --> 00:08:44,755 in both of those metrics. 175 00:08:45,375 --> 00:08:46,964 And then now we have to pay 'em a split. 176 00:08:47,055 --> 00:08:49,089 Let's say we're only paying out 25%. 177 00:08:49,845 --> 00:08:55,845 Just in that equation, it takes us from 900,000 in GCI to 530 in GCI. 178 00:08:56,205 --> 00:09:00,885 So that's a, it's a 40% loss just because the split we're playing, we're 179 00:09:00,885 --> 00:09:05,355 paying out plus a little bit, you know, worse performance than you're 180 00:09:05,355 --> 00:09:06,915 gonna have on a listing appointment. 181 00:09:07,215 --> 00:09:11,175 And so again, we, we can account for all this stuff, but we have to forecast it. 182 00:09:11,325 --> 00:09:15,405 And when people don't have the consistency across the team, then 183 00:09:15,405 --> 00:09:17,085 you can't make the right assumptions. 184 00:09:17,430 --> 00:09:21,720 In your forecast, and then now the two by four is coming because you thought 185 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:26,730 you were gonna make, you know, 700,000 GCI, but you actually made five 50 186 00:09:26,850 --> 00:09:30,600 instead of your forecast, and now where, where's that money coming from? 187 00:09:30,630 --> 00:09:32,640 Well, it means you're back in production. 188 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:37,110 So again, that's just, those are, those are made up numbers, but in most teams, 189 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,560 the, in the beginning, when you hand off your deals to people, they're not 190 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:43,740 gonna, they're not gonna perform quite at the level that you're performing at. 191 00:09:44,010 --> 00:09:45,300 And we have to account for that. 192 00:09:45,540 --> 00:09:49,740 So I love what you're talking about because it, it creates consistency, which 193 00:09:49,740 --> 00:09:54,810 creates some level of predictability, which helps us forecast and forecasting's 194 00:09:54,810 --> 00:09:56,640 a really important skill in business. 195 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:00,480 A lot of times we confuse forecasting with goal setting and forecasting's. 196 00:10:00,540 --> 00:10:05,250 It's based on as much data as we can have and then as as strong 197 00:10:05,250 --> 00:10:06,990 of assumptions as we can have. 198 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:09,180 Goal setting is forecasting. 199 00:10:09,180 --> 00:10:11,490 Plus what do we think we can accomplish? 200 00:10:11,490 --> 00:10:15,719 So it's forecasting plus plus, you know, ambition is where we get our goals 201 00:10:15,719 --> 00:10:19,199 from, but forecasting we wanna be as accurate as possible, which means we 202 00:10:19,199 --> 00:10:23,430 need to be able to make good assumptions, which means we need to get consistency. 203 00:10:23,430 --> 00:10:27,359 So I think that that totally lines up with, with what you're, 204 00:10:27,359 --> 00:10:28,530 with, what you're talking about. 205 00:10:28,770 --> 00:10:33,719 Strategy is bringing consistency to the business, the, the repeatable, 206 00:10:33,719 --> 00:10:36,719 proven, repeatable system that's bringing consistency to the business. 207 00:10:37,215 --> 00:10:40,875 Having one offer to the marketplace, bringing consistency to the business. 208 00:10:40,875 --> 00:10:45,735 So I think that that totally lines up, John, with, with the, the forecasting 209 00:10:45,735 --> 00:10:47,625 issue that I see a lot of teams get wrong. 210 00:10:47,865 --> 00:10:50,985 I don't, I don't know if it was dimming or, or where, where I got 211 00:10:50,985 --> 00:10:54,105 this, but one of the things that they were talking about from a financial 212 00:10:54,105 --> 00:10:58,814 perspective was, you know, most people don't know how to, to, to look 213 00:10:58,814 --> 00:11:01,125 at the financials and evaluate and. 214 00:11:01,575 --> 00:11:07,845 It's, the rule of thumb is 75% on what is going to happen and only 25% on what has. 215 00:11:08,475 --> 00:11:11,835 And so, like you said, being able to get good visibility into cash 216 00:11:11,835 --> 00:11:15,345 flow and forecasting is way more important than, you know, if I had 217 00:11:15,345 --> 00:11:20,895 to prioritize balance sheet p and l. Cash flow to me is always at the top. 218 00:11:21,285 --> 00:11:21,945 Um. 219 00:11:22,814 --> 00:11:25,635 Especially for a lot of, a lot of agents, especially in this position that are 220 00:11:25,635 --> 00:11:30,825 trying to escape production, is that they don't have good visibility on, on 221 00:11:30,825 --> 00:11:34,305 the forecasting because they're so, I mean, that, that's all they do, right? 222 00:11:34,305 --> 00:11:37,695 Because their, their sales, marketing, managing cash flow forecasting 223 00:11:37,695 --> 00:11:43,545 because they haven't got to that, that other point to where cash is good. 224 00:11:43,545 --> 00:11:44,715 Cash flow is consistent. 225 00:11:44,715 --> 00:11:46,875 And then we can, we can be more strategic. 226 00:11:47,205 --> 00:11:50,565 So that's where a lot of it happens, and I think they get spread too thin. 227 00:11:50,570 --> 00:11:56,565 I, I would say the biggest, the biggest piece, um, you know, most, most agents 228 00:11:56,565 --> 00:12:00,885 start going to build a team and, you know, uh, we, I would love to maybe, maybe 229 00:12:00,885 --> 00:12:05,775 we can unpack Joel, we can unpack Jim and Leanne's, um, you know, game plan. 230 00:12:06,405 --> 00:12:12,165 Um, and, and Renee's a, a great example as well is like, you know. 231 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:14,670 One, why do you wanna escape production? 232 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,390 And two, what is, what is, what is, what is the freedom plan? 233 00:12:18,930 --> 00:12:21,720 Like, what is, what is the number to get you to freedom? 234 00:12:21,780 --> 00:12:24,240 Where, where is that going to come in from? 235 00:12:24,990 --> 00:12:28,410 Um, so I, I can use, you know, Travis can appreciate this. 236 00:12:28,410 --> 00:12:31,290 I could use Sta Reedy as as a great example, right? 237 00:12:31,290 --> 00:12:34,215 So we tried every which way we possibly could. 238 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:40,950 To see how exp would make sense for them, um, in what they were trying to do. 239 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:46,080 And we could just never make the math, math, it just never would make sense 240 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,680 based upon kind of their business model, what they were wanting to do. 241 00:12:50,100 --> 00:12:53,220 So it made sense for them to stay independent. 242 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,390 So now we're staying here, so what, what is, what is our freedom plan? 243 00:12:58,110 --> 00:13:00,870 And they're like, listen, the only thing we can do is let's, 244 00:13:00,930 --> 00:13:01,980 let's go get real estate. 245 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:03,750 And they like. 246 00:13:05,310 --> 00:13:08,910 When we were looking at this, they didn't, they didn't own one piece of property. 247 00:13:09,420 --> 00:13:11,760 Re I think Reedy only owned his personal house. 248 00:13:11,970 --> 00:13:13,620 I don't even know if Sta owned a house. 249 00:13:14,730 --> 00:13:16,020 Now, how many properties do they have? 250 00:13:16,020 --> 00:13:16,440 Trav? 251 00:13:17,310 --> 00:13:20,880 Quite a bit like maybe 30, 40 properties. 252 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:27,120 They're constantly using flips for cash flow, but their game plan is. 253 00:13:27,525 --> 00:13:29,445 Their freedom is, is real estate. 254 00:13:29,925 --> 00:13:36,195 So everything they do, all of their decisions move them closer to to 255 00:13:36,195 --> 00:13:38,415 investing in buying in real estate, right? 256 00:13:38,595 --> 00:13:41,835 Like Renee has her freedom plan, so everything that she's doing within her 257 00:13:41,835 --> 00:13:44,385 business to escape production has to use. 258 00:13:44,969 --> 00:13:49,560 The revenue to make the investments so that she can escape production. 259 00:13:49,709 --> 00:13:52,890 So I think the biggest thing too is, is getting real clear on what that game 260 00:13:52,890 --> 00:13:56,430 plan for, for escape is, is for you. 261 00:13:56,819 --> 00:13:59,699 And for most people it is gonna be through those investments. 262 00:14:00,150 --> 00:14:02,010 And so, um. 263 00:14:02,700 --> 00:14:04,950 That's just something to, to kind of keep in mind, and that's 264 00:14:04,950 --> 00:14:06,510 where it really starts, right? 265 00:14:06,540 --> 00:14:08,130 Why do you want to escape production? 266 00:14:08,130 --> 00:14:12,060 And what are we moving, you know, to, to freedom the next component? 267 00:14:12,060 --> 00:14:16,140 If, if it is still a team dynamic, you gotta have who's, it's 268 00:14:16,140 --> 00:14:18,060 gotta be all about the who's. 269 00:14:18,540 --> 00:14:20,520 Um, you've gotta have great people in there. 270 00:14:20,580 --> 00:14:24,960 Um, if, if not, it's not possible because you gotta think about these 271 00:14:24,990 --> 00:14:27,930 rainmakers that are doing, you know, that build these teams that are 272 00:14:27,930 --> 00:14:30,000 doing 40, 50% of the production. 273 00:14:30,579 --> 00:14:32,290 There's no way to ever escape it. 274 00:14:32,349 --> 00:14:34,150 If, if that's the, if that's the case. 275 00:14:34,180 --> 00:14:38,260 So we started working, Joel and I started working with, um, Jim 276 00:14:38,260 --> 00:14:41,199 Griffin and his fiance Leanne. 277 00:14:41,229 --> 00:14:42,609 They're in Johnson City, Tennessee. 278 00:14:43,390 --> 00:14:49,660 And I had, I had gone on a, um, our sand dollar Mastermind, um, 279 00:14:49,719 --> 00:14:51,609 a couple years in a row with Jim. 280 00:14:51,790 --> 00:14:57,310 And Jim was miserable and he, I was like, bro, what is going on? 281 00:14:57,310 --> 00:14:58,239 So he was miserable. 282 00:14:58,905 --> 00:15:02,805 I talked to him, we, we get back, go through p and ls. 283 00:15:02,805 --> 00:15:04,245 I'm like, bro, things look good. 284 00:15:04,485 --> 00:15:05,625 He's just miserable. 285 00:15:06,375 --> 00:15:11,324 And then he started complaining last year when we were at Sand Dollar again, 286 00:15:11,625 --> 00:15:15,795 and I, I, I just sit there and I just listened to everything that he was saying. 287 00:15:15,855 --> 00:15:17,145 And he's like, I wanna be done in two years. 288 00:15:17,145 --> 00:15:18,165 I wanna be done in two years. 289 00:15:18,165 --> 00:15:18,255 And. 290 00:15:20,189 --> 00:15:24,390 I was like, well, one, I, I got, I got your guy. 291 00:15:24,420 --> 00:15:27,630 I know, I know how we can do this and, but here's what it's gonna take. 292 00:15:27,660 --> 00:15:29,370 And so Joel and I jump on the phone with him. 293 00:15:30,660 --> 00:15:34,800 And what they were wanting to do is that he was wanting to increase the number 294 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:41,910 of doors they they own to be able to accelerate them getting outta production. 295 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:47,370 And so what we realized is that he needed to go crank sales. 296 00:15:48,435 --> 00:15:52,515 For two years, which meant he couldn't be head of company. 297 00:15:54,255 --> 00:15:57,704 And so I was like, you have your perfect head of company. 298 00:15:57,765 --> 00:15:59,295 And he goes, she'll never do it. 299 00:16:00,584 --> 00:16:01,395 She'll never do it. 300 00:16:02,025 --> 00:16:05,114 And I What was her initial reaction when we proposed it to her, Joel? 301 00:16:05,114 --> 00:16:05,925 It was pretty funny. 302 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:08,160 Hey, I have a quick question. 303 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,689 Do you know exactly where you are in your business and at 304 00:16:12,689 --> 00:16:15,240 what stage is keeping you stuck? 305 00:16:16,380 --> 00:16:20,130 If not, download the eight stages of the real estate business. 306 00:16:20,130 --> 00:16:23,130 It's the most powerful tool we've ever created, and it shows you how 307 00:16:23,130 --> 00:16:25,290 to stop surviving and start scaling. 308 00:16:25,949 --> 00:16:29,100 You can grab the blueprint at the eight stages. 309 00:16:29,615 --> 00:16:34,775 That's the, the number eight stages.com and get clarity on your next move. 310 00:16:35,255 --> 00:16:36,575 Alright, let's get back at it. 311 00:16:39,335 --> 00:16:42,455 She's pretty witty as it is, but she had something comical to say about it. 312 00:16:43,625 --> 00:16:45,005 I don't remember specifically. 313 00:16:45,005 --> 00:16:48,545 I'm, I just, I just remember thinking, well, I guess, I 314 00:16:48,545 --> 00:16:49,985 guess that conversation's over, 315 00:16:50,045 --> 00:16:50,405 yeah. 316 00:16:50,495 --> 00:16:50,735 Yeah. 317 00:16:50,740 --> 00:16:51,110 It's never gonna happen. 318 00:16:51,609 --> 00:16:53,829 Yeah, it was along the lines like, you're outta your damn mind. 319 00:16:54,219 --> 00:16:57,040 But, uh, but she said it more colorful and, and, and more 320 00:16:57,219 --> 00:16:58,959 to, to her, uh, sense of humor. 321 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:05,274 And we, we proposed it to her and we hit her with the question, what, what? 322 00:17:06,224 --> 00:17:09,524 Must it look like for you to stay committed to this for the next 24 months. 323 00:17:10,724 --> 00:17:13,484 And she's like, well, I'm not giving up my massage. 324 00:17:13,605 --> 00:17:15,494 I'm not giving up this, I'm not giving up that. 325 00:17:15,524 --> 00:17:16,784 We're like, great, we don't have to. 326 00:17:17,355 --> 00:17:19,635 So we ended up structuring and moving her head of company. 327 00:17:19,635 --> 00:17:21,105 We're 10 months into the process. 328 00:17:21,105 --> 00:17:23,744 They are the most profitable that they've, that they've ever been. 329 00:17:25,125 --> 00:17:28,395 They've had some of their best months ever, Joel? 330 00:17:28,395 --> 00:17:28,454 Yeah. 331 00:17:29,325 --> 00:17:29,835 This year. 332 00:17:30,585 --> 00:17:34,665 And so what was built was 24 month run. 333 00:17:35,355 --> 00:17:39,285 And all the systems and processes in place and get as profitable as possible. 334 00:17:39,285 --> 00:17:41,505 That was actually their word of the year was profitability. 335 00:17:42,195 --> 00:17:44,655 And they, they, they've hit it. 336 00:17:44,925 --> 00:17:46,245 Um, they're, they're doing it. 337 00:17:46,755 --> 00:17:53,055 And so now, now the game plan is building the leadership development. 338 00:17:53,205 --> 00:17:57,855 So year two of the plan is all about leadership development and, and 339 00:17:57,855 --> 00:18:01,245 then fine tuning the model, which we know we've gotta increase headcount. 340 00:18:02,115 --> 00:18:05,445 And increase agent productivity for that to be true. 341 00:18:05,865 --> 00:18:06,975 And here's the other kicker. 342 00:18:08,595 --> 00:18:10,185 Jim's only paying himself as a listing partner. 343 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:13,710 So you get paid for what you do. 344 00:18:14,250 --> 00:18:18,360 So when he steps out, that mechanism's already in place and the company's not 345 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:22,200 taking a hit for money being paid out for, for something that's not being done. 346 00:18:22,470 --> 00:18:25,380 So you just gotta get real clear on what the goal is in the timeframe. 347 00:18:25,500 --> 00:18:29,130 And what they did is they, they hit the, the, the science of scaling, 348 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,890 you know, set an impossible goal with an impossible timeline. 349 00:18:32,610 --> 00:18:35,940 And that was, you know, a 24 month run to put in a new head 350 00:18:35,940 --> 00:18:38,100 of company for, for 24 months. 351 00:18:38,100 --> 00:18:39,270 And then now we gotta groom. 352 00:18:40,050 --> 00:18:42,780 You know, who's gonna be the next level of leadership? 353 00:18:43,350 --> 00:18:46,465 So to me, it's, it's one, not having a goal. 354 00:18:47,595 --> 00:18:50,175 Not having cadence, not having structure, not having strategy, 355 00:18:50,235 --> 00:18:54,255 and then not having the right people, um, to allow you to do that. 356 00:18:54,345 --> 00:18:54,735 Right. 357 00:18:54,735 --> 00:19:00,315 So it was, it was part of it, it was, it was the real reason Jay came hard back 358 00:19:00,315 --> 00:19:05,925 at me to come back on board in 2010, um, after we parted ways in, in seven. 359 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,980 Uh, because he knew that he needed somebody to come in and run the company 360 00:19:10,129 --> 00:19:12,649 'cause he needed to move to the next step. 361 00:19:13,070 --> 00:19:16,490 So I think that's the biggest component too, is, is getting ego out of the 362 00:19:16,490 --> 00:19:19,129 way, knowing that you've gotta be able to, and that that was the example of 363 00:19:19,129 --> 00:19:23,720 Jim and Leanne is letting Jim's, Jim, allowing his ego to get out of the way. 364 00:19:24,139 --> 00:19:25,909 And he didn't have to be head of company. 365 00:19:26,210 --> 00:19:28,100 In fact, he enjoys not being head of company. 366 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:29,810 Um, he enjoys. 367 00:19:30,429 --> 00:19:31,389 Working with the agents. 368 00:19:31,389 --> 00:19:33,189 He enjoys training the agents. 369 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:35,649 Um, he's, he's coaching quite a bit. 370 00:19:35,709 --> 00:19:40,149 Um, he coaches, um, he took over coaching, you know, some this summer 371 00:19:40,149 --> 00:19:43,480 for pipes as, uh, pipes was, um, on. 372 00:19:44,115 --> 00:19:48,615 Um, honeymoon mode, um, after getting engaged and a lot of the 373 00:19:48,615 --> 00:19:49,635 events and stuff that he has. 374 00:19:49,635 --> 00:19:52,605 So Jim, you know, was coaching some of the best teams in the country. 375 00:19:52,605 --> 00:19:53,505 He was coaching Blake's team. 376 00:19:54,045 --> 00:19:59,085 Um, and, and so being able to have that, um, in that role and letting 377 00:19:59,145 --> 00:20:00,675 gaze ego go away to be able to. 378 00:20:01,155 --> 00:20:01,905 You know, to do that. 379 00:20:01,905 --> 00:20:05,055 And, and, and even like you guys, you know, like Blake's story, like Blake 380 00:20:05,055 --> 00:20:09,435 has tremendous leadership in place that allows him to take that week 381 00:20:09,435 --> 00:20:11,685 off a month, um, with his family. 382 00:20:11,685 --> 00:20:15,405 I mean, if you guys saw pictures he was in Orlando for, for almost like 10 days. 383 00:20:15,915 --> 00:20:18,045 Um, and being able to be there with his family and you 384 00:20:18,045 --> 00:20:19,425 can't do that without great. 385 00:20:19,770 --> 00:20:23,220 People in place, and I don't, I can't remember the last time Blake sold 386 00:20:23,220 --> 00:20:26,520 a house, um, and his, his margins are some of the best in the country. 387 00:20:26,970 --> 00:20:32,010 So there, there's just real clear ways of getting clear on what the goal is, um, 388 00:20:32,070 --> 00:20:36,000 and, and what it is that, that you really, truly want to do and, and make sure you're 389 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,065 moving towards a known, a known project. 390 00:20:39,330 --> 00:20:41,640 I mean, the other, the other things too, Joel, right? 391 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,770 Like, I think we've hit on quite a bit of, of them. 392 00:20:44,070 --> 00:20:44,700 Um. 393 00:20:45,050 --> 00:20:48,530 You know, the, the fear is, you know, stepping back profit 394 00:20:48,530 --> 00:20:49,820 drops, of course, right? 395 00:20:49,820 --> 00:20:54,500 Because if you don't have, have the right structure, I think not having weekly KPI 396 00:20:54,500 --> 00:21:00,050 Cadence, um, not having leaders in the right roles, um, not having the right 397 00:21:00,050 --> 00:21:04,970 comp models there, the right incentives, uh, not having the, you know, the, all 398 00:21:04,970 --> 00:21:06,920 the operational gaps that are there. 399 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:12,470 Not having the right, you know, scorecards, plans, SOPs, I think, um. 400 00:21:13,275 --> 00:21:14,835 The agent output is inconsistent. 401 00:21:14,835 --> 00:21:16,695 'cause you don't have the right training rhythm, you don't have 402 00:21:16,695 --> 00:21:19,545 the right people in place holding, holding the agents accountable, 403 00:21:19,545 --> 00:21:21,255 really leading them at a high level. 404 00:21:22,095 --> 00:21:25,935 Um, you know, I I look at like, like top notch out in Idaho, right? 405 00:21:25,935 --> 00:21:29,865 Like with, with, with Anthony being able to step out because he had Devon, right? 406 00:21:29,865 --> 00:21:32,535 And then he had, you know, his head of ops, uh, you know, 407 00:21:32,535 --> 00:21:34,335 there for, for, for a great run. 408 00:21:34,875 --> 00:21:36,915 So you look at. 409 00:21:37,365 --> 00:21:40,995 You know, a bigger future, um, you know, projects that's gonna get you to 410 00:21:40,995 --> 00:21:44,475 freedom, but then having the right people in place is the most, most important. 411 00:21:44,985 --> 00:21:48,435 Yeah, I think one thing, these are good, good examples. 412 00:21:48,495 --> 00:21:49,065 Um. 413 00:21:49,905 --> 00:21:53,895 Because with, with Jim and Liam, they're, they're looking at stepping 414 00:21:53,895 --> 00:21:57,285 out of production and stepping out of the business at the same time. 415 00:21:57,285 --> 00:21:59,085 And there, those are two different things and they need 416 00:21:59,085 --> 00:22:01,035 to be handled very differently. 417 00:22:01,035 --> 00:22:01,365 Right. 418 00:22:01,635 --> 00:22:05,085 If you're stepping out of production, like you said, John, for, for, for most 419 00:22:05,085 --> 00:22:07,240 people who are stepping out of production, they're not stepping out of the business. 420 00:22:07,935 --> 00:22:10,754 They're taking the time that they're saving in production and, and, you 421 00:22:10,754 --> 00:22:12,315 know, working on another project. 422 00:22:12,465 --> 00:22:15,105 But almost all of 'em are still in the business, at least in the beginning. 423 00:22:15,105 --> 00:22:16,515 They're still providing leadership. 424 00:22:16,605 --> 00:22:19,754 They're still, you know, helping guide, uh, guide the organization, 425 00:22:19,965 --> 00:22:23,895 uh, probably grow the organization, recruiting, um, things like that. 426 00:22:24,135 --> 00:22:26,445 When you talk about stepping out of the business altogether, it's 427 00:22:26,445 --> 00:22:28,155 an entirely different conversation. 428 00:22:28,425 --> 00:22:31,365 And it's a lot trickier to navigate, especially on, on 429 00:22:31,365 --> 00:22:32,745 relatively smaller teams. 430 00:22:32,804 --> 00:22:32,895 Mm-hmm. 431 00:22:33,165 --> 00:22:36,284 Because when you're stepping out of, when you're stepping out of production, 432 00:22:36,284 --> 00:22:40,635 in order to help grow the business, it, it's easier to maintain the culture. 433 00:22:40,635 --> 00:22:42,465 It's easier to maintain continuity. 434 00:22:43,050 --> 00:22:46,350 When you're stepping out of the business altogether, it, it's much 435 00:22:46,350 --> 00:22:49,770 trickier to navigate the, the impact that that might have on your culture. 436 00:22:49,949 --> 00:22:54,270 It's one of the reasons it's dangerous to have the, the family type environment for 437 00:22:54,270 --> 00:22:58,320 the team because you, we, we don't, you don't walk away from your family, right? 438 00:22:58,320 --> 00:22:58,409 Like. 439 00:22:58,790 --> 00:23:00,650 I thought we were all in this together, and you're telling me 440 00:23:00,650 --> 00:23:02,150 you're stepping out of the business. 441 00:23:02,210 --> 00:23:05,180 Like it could just, it can just destroy the team if you're not careful. 442 00:23:05,510 --> 00:23:10,460 Um, and, and now, you know, again, easy to fall into people having resentment. 443 00:23:10,460 --> 00:23:13,100 They feeling like you, you know, you're, we're making you rich, and 444 00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:15,020 now you're just gonna go retire on us. 445 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,750 So you gotta be really careful when you're stepping out of the business altogether. 446 00:23:18,060 --> 00:23:21,120 It's much easier to say, Hey, I'm gonna step out of production so I can focus 447 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:24,480 on growing our business and turning our company into something even better. 448 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,330 People, you know, get on board with that very easily when you're 449 00:23:27,330 --> 00:23:28,440 stepping out of the business. 450 00:23:28,470 --> 00:23:31,889 It, it, it's even more important to have the next levels of leadership. 451 00:23:32,205 --> 00:23:36,764 Continuity in the culture, continuity in leadership takes longer to navigate that. 452 00:23:36,764 --> 00:23:36,975 Right. 453 00:23:36,975 --> 00:23:40,754 We're, we're a two, a two year plan with Jim and Leanne and spending an, 454 00:23:40,845 --> 00:23:45,645 an entire year focused on the, the cultural and leadership transition 455 00:23:45,855 --> 00:23:49,514 already starting to promote and kind of give opportunities for other people. 456 00:23:49,514 --> 00:23:51,375 So I think you gotta be really clear on that. 457 00:23:51,375 --> 00:23:53,685 Auto production outta the business are two different things and 458 00:23:53,685 --> 00:23:54,975 need to be handled differently. 459 00:23:55,905 --> 00:23:57,764 Yeah, that's a great, that's a great point. 460 00:23:57,855 --> 00:23:58,995 And, um. 461 00:23:59,985 --> 00:24:03,825 You know, I still think there has to be, uh, you know, it's, it's, you 462 00:24:03,825 --> 00:24:07,335 know, in the business, on the business, over the business, I think can still 463 00:24:07,335 --> 00:24:09,735 be, be another, another component. 464 00:24:09,735 --> 00:24:12,315 I mean, I think there's, there's some other conversations that have to be 465 00:24:12,315 --> 00:24:14,085 tied there to, to the bottom line. 466 00:24:14,415 --> 00:24:17,775 Um, if you want somebody to still stay, you know, they gotta have the upside 467 00:24:17,835 --> 00:24:19,245 right, to be able to, to push through it. 468 00:24:19,245 --> 00:24:22,065 I mean, it was the only way that, that Jay was able to get me back. 469 00:24:22,065 --> 00:24:22,185 What. 470 00:24:22,770 --> 00:24:24,930 You know, I was never gonna come back as an employee. 471 00:24:25,020 --> 00:24:26,790 I was gonna come back as, as an owner. 472 00:24:27,210 --> 00:24:30,150 And so I think you've got to, you know, factor those things in. 473 00:24:30,150 --> 00:24:33,240 If you're, if you're really, truly trying to, to step away from it as 474 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,240 much as, as much as possible, you gotta factor, factor those things in. 475 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,400 Um, yeah, I, I mean, those are, those are, those are awesome, awesome points. 476 00:24:41,460 --> 00:24:42,030 Um. 477 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:44,370 I, I'll, I'll pause right there. 478 00:24:44,370 --> 00:24:46,770 I mean, any, you know, you guys have any other thoughts or 479 00:24:46,770 --> 00:24:48,600 questions, anything around that? 480 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:52,439 Um, you know, there's so many ways up, up the hill, right? 481 00:24:52,500 --> 00:24:56,939 You know, we got four or five different examples right here. 482 00:24:57,324 --> 00:25:01,350 I, I just, um, am grateful for the. 483 00:25:02,175 --> 00:25:06,585 Uh, her mission, if you will, like, I think most people think that they need 484 00:25:06,585 --> 00:25:12,015 to scale this really large team to step, like they need to build a Tina call 485 00:25:12,015 --> 00:25:17,895 team or they need to build to, to, um, you know, step out of, of production. 486 00:25:18,315 --> 00:25:19,635 Um, and this is the first time I've. 487 00:25:20,430 --> 00:25:24,810 Sat in a situation where they're like, well, that's not the only path, right? 488 00:25:24,810 --> 00:25:29,040 I know there's other paths, but for that to be articulated in this way, um, it's 489 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,500 almost kind of like busting the myth. 490 00:25:31,890 --> 00:25:36,210 Um, but perhaps it, perhaps it's, it's not a myth. 491 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:41,280 Like what do you, um, believe truly is, um, 492 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,770 I guess where you would need to be to, to. 493 00:25:47,625 --> 00:25:51,075 Uh, step out of production, meaning, and I guess it's all that, like you were 494 00:25:51,075 --> 00:25:54,315 saying, Joel, that math problem, you know, what does it take to fund your life? 495 00:25:54,315 --> 00:25:56,745 What does it take to fund the goal that you're trying to get to? 496 00:25:56,745 --> 00:25:58,035 Like, all of those things. 497 00:25:58,425 --> 00:26:02,115 Um, but do you think that there's like a certain benchmark to which this 498 00:26:02,115 --> 00:26:03,225 just doesn't, you know what I mean? 499 00:26:03,225 --> 00:26:03,415 Like you're. 500 00:26:05,175 --> 00:26:08,355 At what point is it you're just choosing not to do real estate anymore as 501 00:26:08,355 --> 00:26:10,725 opposed to stepping out of production? 502 00:26:10,725 --> 00:26:11,325 You know what I mean? 503 00:26:11,325 --> 00:26:11,385 I, 504 00:26:12,075 --> 00:26:18,075 I think it's, I think it's hardest to pull off on like mid-size teams. 505 00:26:18,555 --> 00:26:21,675 So I think it's actually pretty, I think it's probably easiest to pull off on 506 00:26:21,675 --> 00:26:24,645 small teams, um, or on really big teams. 507 00:26:24,645 --> 00:26:27,165 And the reason I say that is if you've got, if you've got. 508 00:26:27,475 --> 00:26:29,064 Four agents, for example. 509 00:26:29,544 --> 00:26:32,784 Um, it's pretty easy for you to step out of production, but, but 510 00:26:32,905 --> 00:26:34,945 feed those four agents, right? 511 00:26:34,945 --> 00:26:35,784 With your own stuff. 512 00:26:35,784 --> 00:26:37,254 What, what's happening to all your deals? 513 00:26:37,284 --> 00:26:40,435 You're just making four rockstar agents and yes, we're gonna have standards 514 00:26:40,435 --> 00:26:41,784 for them to do their own business. 515 00:26:42,145 --> 00:26:45,625 Um, but with, you know, with your experience, your brand, your 516 00:26:45,625 --> 00:26:49,254 marketing, you could keep three to four agents really, really busy. 517 00:26:49,524 --> 00:26:52,195 You can take a little bit higher split off those deals that you're feeding them 518 00:26:52,225 --> 00:26:53,695 'cause you're feeding them great deals. 519 00:26:54,074 --> 00:26:57,554 Um, and so you could say, well, I'm gonna take 70% of all these 520 00:26:57,554 --> 00:27:01,004 deal, these, these high level referrals that I'm giving you guys. 521 00:27:01,004 --> 00:27:02,175 I'm keeping 70%. 522 00:27:02,594 --> 00:27:05,445 Um, you're, you're feeding them consistently, one to two deals a 523 00:27:05,445 --> 00:27:08,264 month each, maybe even, and then they're gonna do their other stuff. 524 00:27:08,264 --> 00:27:10,395 So it's easier to do it on a small team. 525 00:27:10,574 --> 00:27:11,955 Now, of course, there's risk, right? 526 00:27:11,955 --> 00:27:15,074 When one, when, when a person leaves, that affects things more 527 00:27:15,074 --> 00:27:16,274 than it does on a large team. 528 00:27:16,635 --> 00:27:18,435 I, I think it's hardest to pull off. 529 00:27:18,900 --> 00:27:20,675 On like a team with like 10 agents. 530 00:27:20,675 --> 00:27:21,075 Mm-hmm. 531 00:27:21,155 --> 00:27:24,480 Because your personal business can't feed 10 agents, so you have 532 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,540 to keep the lead flow on which is overhead for your business, 533 00:27:27,540 --> 00:27:30,810 which means it's the profitability equation gets more difficult. 534 00:27:31,230 --> 00:27:33,540 So I think, and then, and then there's a point where, you know, I don't know 535 00:27:33,540 --> 00:27:37,860 exactly where it is, maybe it's 30 agents where, um, where there's enough 536 00:27:37,860 --> 00:27:42,420 business happening where you can afford to take a, a step back in the short term, 537 00:27:42,420 --> 00:27:45,000 in your own income in order to grow. 538 00:27:45,450 --> 00:27:47,580 Um, so I think it's trickiest in the middle. 539 00:27:48,225 --> 00:27:51,225 That's, it's been a theme of a lot of conversations we've had lately, 540 00:27:51,225 --> 00:27:52,875 John, of like the middle's tricky. 541 00:27:53,490 --> 00:27:53,640 Yeah. 542 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,230 Uh, tricky to navigate. 543 00:27:55,230 --> 00:27:55,530 So, 544 00:27:55,620 --> 00:27:55,740 yeah, 545 00:27:55,770 --> 00:27:59,400 so I think, I think like really small or really big is pretty easy. 546 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:00,690 And it's really hard in between. 547 00:28:01,050 --> 00:28:01,290 Yeah. 548 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:03,870 You gotta, you gotta have something else too that, that's 549 00:28:03,870 --> 00:28:05,460 got the income coming in for you. 550 00:28:05,550 --> 00:28:10,950 I think, you know, Kyle, Kyle Davis is a, a fantastic example and, um, 551 00:28:11,070 --> 00:28:12,870 you know, his, his whole goal was. 552 00:28:13,455 --> 00:28:15,405 You know, to, and, and, and listen. 553 00:28:15,405 --> 00:28:18,945 I mean, you know, Kyle doesn't mind me sharing this, is that Kyle doesn't have to 554 00:28:18,945 --> 00:28:22,815 work like at all, like literally at all. 555 00:28:22,815 --> 00:28:26,175 He doesn't have to ever get outta bed if he doesn't want to. 556 00:28:26,205 --> 00:28:30,585 He's got enough money to come in, but he just has such a fire about him. 557 00:28:30,585 --> 00:28:36,045 Like he couldn't, he, like, he would go crazy if he wasn't doing what he's doing. 558 00:28:36,585 --> 00:28:37,725 And, um. 559 00:28:39,180 --> 00:28:43,890 And so I think, you know, for, for him, um, he's just continuing 560 00:28:43,890 --> 00:28:45,690 to push that monthly coming in. 561 00:28:45,750 --> 00:28:46,920 'cause he's got enough coming in right now. 562 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,220 He doesn't ever have to do anything ever again, just just through his 563 00:28:50,220 --> 00:28:51,510 investments and everything like that. 564 00:28:51,510 --> 00:28:55,020 But he's built a machine that's uncovering opportunities for him. 565 00:28:55,230 --> 00:28:56,640 So that's what he loves. 566 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,220 He loves the game, he loves the chase, he loves the deals. 567 00:28:59,220 --> 00:29:02,010 Putting the deals together, which was honestly was my favorite part. 568 00:29:02,340 --> 00:29:04,140 I mean, I loved, I loved. 569 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:09,290 You know, every other week we had, you know, um, sheriff Sell Trav, right? 570 00:29:09,290 --> 00:29:10,639 Every, every two weeks the sheriff's sell. 571 00:29:10,639 --> 00:29:15,199 So Sundays, me, rusty and kinder meet at Cracker Barrel, have breakfast, 572 00:29:15,350 --> 00:29:17,840 go through the, go through the list, see what properties we wanted to see. 573 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,949 I, I, I, I could do the quick math on this is where we need to buy this one at. 574 00:29:21,949 --> 00:29:24,709 I would say, I'd just say, 'cause what will this one sell for? 575 00:29:25,455 --> 00:29:26,865 Rusty, how much is it gonna cost? 576 00:29:26,955 --> 00:29:28,875 Then I would run the math and I said, we have to buy it at this. 577 00:29:29,355 --> 00:29:33,135 And we would do, we did that for, we did that for, for years, and that was 578 00:29:33,135 --> 00:29:36,945 just my favorite part is going and finding and putting deals together 579 00:29:36,945 --> 00:29:41,145 and, you know, the developments and new construction and those projects. 580 00:29:41,145 --> 00:29:44,085 And that's what, that's what kept me, you know, plugged in into the game. 581 00:29:44,085 --> 00:29:45,525 As long as, as long as I was. 582 00:29:45,645 --> 00:29:49,635 And so I think just whatever it is, man, you gotta have something else 583 00:29:49,635 --> 00:29:52,275 you're pursuing, you're chasing, you know, Jay, like I said, Jay 584 00:29:52,275 --> 00:29:54,045 was the coaching company, Al was. 585 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:59,429 You know, um, you know, the call center and, and where that went and, you know, 586 00:29:59,729 --> 00:30:03,330 why we're even at exp is, you know, him getting sucked back into production. 587 00:30:03,929 --> 00:30:08,669 And, um, you know, cliff, just, you talk about return on luck, right? 588 00:30:08,969 --> 00:30:09,479 Um. 589 00:30:10,125 --> 00:30:11,115 It's a real thing. 590 00:30:11,805 --> 00:30:13,785 Um, you know, return on luck is a real thing. 591 00:30:13,785 --> 00:30:14,325 I think. 592 00:30:14,925 --> 00:30:17,775 You know, not saying Glen wasn't gonna be successful, but there was 593 00:30:17,775 --> 00:30:19,425 an element of, of return on luck. 594 00:30:19,485 --> 00:30:20,625 It was timing, right? 595 00:30:20,625 --> 00:30:21,465 Timing in the market. 596 00:30:21,465 --> 00:30:24,285 Timing, timing in the season of the market, what was happening, 597 00:30:24,735 --> 00:30:26,835 um, you know, timing in. 598 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:29,810 You know, the future is faster than you think. 599 00:30:30,050 --> 00:30:30,470 Right? 600 00:30:30,590 --> 00:30:36,650 The book that they dropped, that came out in December of 2019, and the only 601 00:30:36,650 --> 00:30:40,820 company that they talked about that was gonna be transformed by the, the, 602 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,510 the speed of technology, the only company they talked about in there 603 00:30:44,510 --> 00:30:48,740 was exp. So just there, there's just a lot of things when you look back is, 604 00:30:48,740 --> 00:30:51,140 is it's, it's pretty cool, but the. 605 00:30:52,409 --> 00:30:56,639 Biggest point of, of whatever it is, man, you gotta have a goal for freedom. 606 00:30:57,450 --> 00:31:00,270 And if you don't have that goal for freedom, then you, 607 00:31:00,270 --> 00:31:01,590 you're never gonna escape it. 608 00:31:01,649 --> 00:31:03,629 It's always gonna, it's always gonna have you there. 609 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:11,070 Um, I look at, you know, Renee, I look at, you know, the Ink team, um, and 610 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,740 you know why Laura's there, right? 611 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:14,820 Because it is family. 612 00:31:15,300 --> 00:31:16,139 She ain't family. 613 00:31:16,889 --> 00:31:18,000 And so. 614 00:31:18,375 --> 00:31:21,855 You need that component for the agents to see her. 615 00:31:21,855 --> 00:31:22,935 They know she's not family. 616 00:31:23,685 --> 00:31:28,245 Um, and, and so, you know, Sylvia's stepping, stepping away outta production, 617 00:31:28,245 --> 00:31:32,475 obviously Junior, you know, ramping up, uh, you know, Mike's there every day. 618 00:31:33,105 --> 00:31:36,555 And, um, but, you know, there's, there's a plan. 619 00:31:36,615 --> 00:31:37,785 It goes back to my point, right? 620 00:31:37,785 --> 00:31:38,715 You gotta have a Laura. 621 00:31:39,210 --> 00:31:40,800 To be able to, to pull that off. 622 00:31:41,550 --> 00:31:44,700 Um, you gotta have a Joel, you gotta have a jk, whatever, whatever the 623 00:31:44,700 --> 00:31:47,640 case is, you've gotta have those rock stars on the team side of things. 624 00:31:48,180 --> 00:31:52,320 Um, like for you, Renee, you know, you, you, you're building the ATM model as 625 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:54,060 Joel, you know, one of Joel's models. 626 00:31:54,060 --> 00:31:56,280 You're building the at TM model and you just have created leverage. 627 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,070 Yeah, you have a couple agents, you can feed 'em, but it's also 628 00:31:59,070 --> 00:32:00,330 leverage and support for you. 629 00:32:01,170 --> 00:32:06,900 Um, but Renee's goal is, is exit through, um, you know, exit through. 630 00:32:07,875 --> 00:32:11,685 Investments, which you guys have been amazing at, but you also, you know, 631 00:32:11,685 --> 00:32:15,855 you, you, you also have a who over there helping navigate and run those too. 632 00:32:17,055 --> 00:32:19,725 So it's all, at the end of the day, you wanna distill it down 633 00:32:19,725 --> 00:32:22,035 as it's a bigger goal and having the right people around you, 634 00:32:24,195 --> 00:32:25,335 sum it up simple. 635 00:32:25,455 --> 00:32:25,935 That's it. 636 00:32:25,995 --> 00:32:27,135 Big goal freedom. 637 00:32:27,735 --> 00:32:28,905 Get great people around you. 638 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:33,090 Cool. 639 00:32:34,140 --> 00:32:39,390 Joel, any, any other final thoughts before we, uh, get you outta here? 640 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:40,530 Go fix dinner. 641 00:32:41,430 --> 00:32:42,330 I'm proud of you, man. 642 00:32:42,330 --> 00:32:43,500 That's a really cool goal. 643 00:32:43,585 --> 00:32:44,580 I, I, I love that. 644 00:32:44,580 --> 00:32:48,840 For you and Carly and, and Wes and I think it's, um, you know, creating 645 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:53,280 those non-negotiables, um, you know, having clients, making sure that. 646 00:32:54,495 --> 00:32:58,004 You know, it's you, you bring, you know, make it four dimensional 647 00:32:58,034 --> 00:32:59,264 as Blake likes to talk about it. 648 00:32:59,264 --> 00:32:59,595 Right. 649 00:32:59,625 --> 00:33:03,284 You know, you know, faith, family, you know, finance and fitness, and 650 00:33:03,284 --> 00:33:04,725 what are, what are the four goals? 651 00:33:04,725 --> 00:33:07,725 What, what are the key goals in, in, in those that are non-negotiable? 652 00:33:07,784 --> 00:33:08,865 So it's really cool. 653 00:33:09,225 --> 00:33:09,465 Yeah. 654 00:33:09,705 --> 00:33:12,885 It's a, it's a, it's a domino habit for us. 655 00:33:12,975 --> 00:33:16,065 We're, we're eating healthier, we're spending less money on DoorDash, 656 00:33:16,635 --> 00:33:18,315 spending better time together. 657 00:33:18,375 --> 00:33:21,315 So it kind of hits, it hits all, all equities by the by 658 00:33:21,315 --> 00:33:22,815 one, you know, kinda one thing. 659 00:33:22,815 --> 00:33:23,715 So it's been fun. 660 00:33:24,615 --> 00:33:25,065 I love it. 661 00:33:25,725 --> 00:33:27,135 Anything that you wanna wrap up with? 662 00:33:27,135 --> 00:33:28,065 Any final thoughts? 663 00:33:29,205 --> 00:33:29,715 I don't think so. 664 00:33:29,715 --> 00:33:32,055 I think we hit every, we, we hit everything I wanted to do. 665 00:33:32,175 --> 00:33:38,715 Um, I just, I'll, I'll reiterate the, the better assumptions you can make, 666 00:33:38,715 --> 00:33:40,305 the better forecast you can make. 667 00:33:40,575 --> 00:33:46,995 And so where, where do you start right now is, is if you don't know your numbers. 668 00:33:47,415 --> 00:33:49,095 At a really high level, that's where you start. 669 00:33:49,455 --> 00:33:52,785 Even if you're not, even if this is years away, maybe if you're not even sure you 670 00:33:52,785 --> 00:33:57,975 wanna step out of production at, at all, where you start is knowing your numbers. 671 00:33:58,215 --> 00:34:01,275 'cause that's gonna be your, your, your, your personal numbers with 672 00:34:01,275 --> 00:34:04,875 your personal production's gonna be the foundation of the forecast 673 00:34:04,875 --> 00:34:06,255 you make to get out of production. 674 00:34:06,525 --> 00:34:10,034 And then now when we're, when we have ours, then we, now 675 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:10,995 we need to know our teams. 676 00:34:11,534 --> 00:34:14,654 Um, and maybe we find out, Hey, I can't step out of production until we 677 00:34:14,654 --> 00:34:16,484 get more consistency across the team. 678 00:34:16,574 --> 00:34:17,085 Okay, great. 679 00:34:17,085 --> 00:34:18,014 But now, now we know. 680 00:34:18,014 --> 00:34:18,375 Right? 681 00:34:18,614 --> 00:34:23,324 So that, that's where it starts with this whole conversation, starts with, um, 682 00:34:23,895 --> 00:34:26,024 with being dialed in with our numbers. 683 00:34:26,685 --> 00:34:27,014 Yeah. 684 00:34:27,105 --> 00:34:33,074 My favorite t-shirt that's ever been on expert mentors is, uh, from, uh. 685 00:34:33,839 --> 00:34:37,409 Everybody's friend, Chuck Fazio that said hashtag it's just math. 686 00:34:37,589 --> 00:34:41,009 That's my favorite t-shirt that anybody's ever wore on all 305 687 00:34:41,009 --> 00:34:42,540 episodes of expert mentors live. 688 00:34:42,569 --> 00:34:45,810 It's, uh, hashtag it's just math and uh, it really is. 689 00:34:45,899 --> 00:34:49,589 Um, and so if you're struggling with that component. 690 00:34:50,565 --> 00:34:54,585 To me, to me, the, the book that unlocked it all is, is Crabtree, uh, with simple 691 00:34:54,585 --> 00:34:59,055 number, straight talk, big profits, and there's so much to unpack in that book. 692 00:34:59,145 --> 00:35:02,595 Um, but just getting the salary cap concept, getting the, you 693 00:35:02,595 --> 00:35:04,215 know, pay yourself for what you do. 694 00:35:04,725 --> 00:35:08,475 Um, you know, your earn on, on the profitability of the business and 695 00:35:09,375 --> 00:35:12,285 being able to make sure that that's aligned to, to the future, to the goal. 696 00:35:13,545 --> 00:35:13,905 It's good. 697 00:35:15,544 --> 00:35:18,765 Guys, thank you guys so much for, for, for jumping in here, hanging out with us. 698 00:35:18,765 --> 00:35:20,024 Gary, it's great to see you, Renee. 699 00:35:20,024 --> 00:35:20,085 Yeah. 700 00:35:20,294 --> 00:35:21,734 Um, always great. 701 00:35:21,794 --> 00:35:22,845 And we, we were laughing. 702 00:35:22,845 --> 00:35:23,714 We gotta see Trav twice today. 703 00:35:23,714 --> 00:35:26,234 We gotta see Renee twice today, so, um, it's good. 704 00:35:26,234 --> 00:35:31,904 Uh, good, good having you guys in and, um, I think, uh, we'll, uh, we'll speak 705 00:35:31,904 --> 00:35:35,444 for Joel, but I think we'll, we'll, we'll keep running with these, uh, maybe not 706 00:35:35,444 --> 00:35:38,055 every week, but, uh, we'll definitely keep running with these power hours. 707 00:35:38,595 --> 00:35:40,634 So appreciate you guys. 708 00:35:40,665 --> 00:35:41,444 Thank you so much. 709 00:35:42,555 --> 00:35:43,035 Thanks soon, guys. 710 00:35:43,335 --> 00:35:44,055 See Bye. 711 00:35:46,845 --> 00:35:47,715 Thanks for tuning in. 712 00:35:48,075 --> 00:35:52,065 If you're done guessing and ready to lead like a real CEO with a custom 713 00:35:52,065 --> 00:35:56,505 strategy, real accountability and proven systems, check out my executive 714 00:35:56,505 --> 00:35:59,205 one-on-one coaching@johnkitchens.coach. 715 00:35:59,625 --> 00:36:02,295 Fill out the application and book your one-on-one call with me. 716 00:36:03,045 --> 00:36:05,145 Be sure to hit follow so you never miss an episode. 717 00:36:05,955 --> 00:36:06,795 Catch you on the next one.