Leveraging Discipline To Win 200M in Sales
Leveraging Discipline To Win 200M in Sales
What led to your transition into full-time real estate entrepreneurship?
To provide some background, my wife and I were both teachers around seven or eight years ago, enjoying our lives in education. At that time, my wife was pregnant with our first child, Avery, and we realized that while we loved teaching, we needed additional income to support the lifestyle we envisioned for our family. On a whim, I enrolled in a real estate course, fell in love with the industry almost immediately, and obtained my license—coincidentally, on the same day Avery was born. Initially, we planned to manage real estate part-time. I started first, and a few months later, Rachel joined me. Our business quickly gained momentum as we implemented unique strategies in our market. After about a year of balancing teaching and real estate, we fully committed to real estate. We thrive on entrepreneurship, building a business together, and the ability to support and grow with those around us. This passion for what we do energizes us daily.
How can real estate entrepreneurs transition from sales to strategic growth?
Our market has a mix of resort vacation homes and middle-priced traditional properties. Early in my real estate career, I admired local leaders for their business acumen and high production levels. However, I noticed that even those who were top producers nationally, selling three to four hundred million dollars a year, were still deeply involved in day-to-day operations. In comparison, I enjoy working directly with buyers and sellers, but being perpetually hands-on limits potential growth. For example, as skilled as Elon Musk is in coding, he doesn’t code for every venture because it would prevent him from scaling his businesses. At a certain point, after achieving significant personal and team success, I realized we could continue on this path and make a good income, or we could expand and diversify. Choosing expansion meant stepping back from being the top producer and reducing my direct involvement in daily operations to focus on broader business development.
Why is continuous learning and risk-taking essential for growth?
I was not a model student in high school, often getting into trouble and performing poorly academically. I was also significantly overweight, which added to my challenges. My transformation began when I entered college, urged by my parents to try it. The financial responsibility of paying for college myself was a significant wake-up call. I shifted from a lackluster student to one who worked diligently to earn B's and A's and eventually graduated. This shift in responsibility marked the beginning of my real growth.
My wife and I have always valued continuous learning as adults, regularly engaging with books and podcasts that inspire us. A pivotal moment was reading Tim Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek, which expanded my view of what's possible and motivated me to leave teaching for the business world. This book teaches that staying in an unfulfilling job poses a greater risk than pursuing what truly inspires you. While it's essential to consider decisions carefully, I believe in taking calculated risks, especially when young, because the cost of not trying and wondering 'what if' later in life is too high.
How can entrepreneurs use real estate to benefit their communities?
Our passion for our community has always been a driving force for us. My family has lived in lower Delaware for nine generations, so our roots here are deep. While teachers significantly impact the community by shaping young minds and future leaders, real estate and business allow us to influence our community differently yet profoundly. We can contribute significantly to local nonprofits and organizations through our success in real estate. Community service is a core focus for our team, and we actively participate in various activities, from Habitat for Humanity builds to hosting fundraisers for local charities. With a large team that shares a commitment to giving, we can make a substantial impact. Surrounding ourselves with people who strongly desire to serve has enabled us to do a lot of good in our small community.
Why should new real estate entrepreneurs consider hiring a coach?
One of the most influential decisions I made early in my business career was to hire a real estate coach. Initially, my real estate knowledge was limited; I had only bought and sold two houses and did not have a background in the field. I joined a small, longstanding brokerage with very experienced but older agents who were excellent with contracts and the finer details of real estate transactions. However, they hadn’t achieved the high sales volumes I aspired to. After realizing I needed more guidance to scale my business, I was recommended Tom Ferry, a leading coach in the industry. Despite financial constraints at the time—my wife and I were transitioning from teaching and had just had our daughter—we invested in this coaching, scraping together every penny for the initial fee. This financial commitment motivated us to engage with and fully implement the coach's advice. Living in rural Delaware, the strategies we learned, which were already common in places like Southern California and New York City, were innovative for our area. We quickly differentiated ourselves from competitors by adopting these new approaches, significantly boosting our business. Eventually, others in our region began adopting the same strategies, confirming the effectiveness of our approach. Hiring a coach proved to be the best decision for entering and succeeding in the business.
*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.*
