Who is Alexis Papadakis-Greenberg?A real estate agent in the Englewood, Colorado area, Alexis works at eXp Realty, LLC. She helps people reduce homebuying stress as she educates them about the housing market. Alexis is a 25-year Wall Street veteran who has held key roles with several of the nation's top financial firms. She moved from New York to Colorado in 2018 where she is crushing it in real estate as a leader in luxury listings. I'm excited to bring Alexis on the show, as she's in a completely different part of the country than I am, and she's so knowledgeable. Join us to find out what she has to say about our industry and how you can be more successful as a Realtor.Quotations“Align yourself with people that are doing what you're doing and just model whatever it is they're doing.”“You have as much success as you prepare yourself for.” “Now that I'm mentoring agents, I'm trying to really figure out how to give them my ‘secret sauce’—which is just work ethic.”“You cannot sell real estate from inside your house.”Find out the following and more:   How Wall Street prepared Alexis for success in real estate    The importance of trusting your instincts        How Alexis transitioned from finance to real estate            How to get out of your head and make the important decisions       The importance of hard work and preparation·        Alexis’s advice to struggling RealtorsResourcesFacebook and Instagram: Keeping It Real EstateYouTube Channel (Upcoming): Keeping It Real EstateContact Alexis Papadakus GreenbergeXp Realty, LLC Office9800 PYRAMID CT STE 400Englewood, CO 80112(888) 440-2724 PhoneHer websitePodcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary:This episode is about foolproofing your business, steps you can take to protect yourself against any economic downturns, serious illness, or unfortunate circumstances. I love getting into discussions about real estate, finances, financial peace university, and Dave Ramsey's program and plan. When I get great questions, I love including them in podcast episodes. Normally they are from Realtors, right? I heard a great question the other day from my friend, Jonathan, who operates a great Chick-fil-A up in Reading. Jonathan and his wife and their kids were over at our house. He had just heard my business update for August, and he said, “So you had no clients, right? You said that it was nice to kind of have a break right now. Can I ask you, when would the break go from relaxing  and enjoyable to stressful, from a financial perspective?”I loved the question. I don't know that I gave a great answer at the time as we were sitting there having dinner. In this episode, I share with you guys what foolproofing my business means to me. So I want to know that if something happens to me, right, my family's not gonna be destitute. That's why we're still saving money.One way I foolproof my business is living way below our means. Listen to the episode for more.

Summary: On this episode, I talk about something that recently shook me and really made me think. “You're being selfish.” Those were the first words out of Vincent Pugliese's mouth on a recent mastermind call in Total Life Freedom. His words were directed to another member who was thinking about starting a community or a podcast—coaching and training people to do what it is that they do. And when the topic of a membership or a podcast came up the member said, “Well, you know, I, don't really want to do that. I just don't have the time—I've got so many other things going on.” There was a little bit of a shock at first, but then we got into a great discussion about what happens when we don't do things. Sharing your knowledgeThe basic point is that you are being selfish by not sharing what you're doing. You are doing a disservice to others by not being willing to share your knowledge. I’ve been guilty of it as well. Maybe I was feeling inadequate or maybe it was imposter syndrome—there were all these reasons and excuses for why I pushed back on the membership and community for so long.We’ve talked about how to pitch and how not to pitch. I didn't want to be salesy. But it’s a disservice to not tell people about what I’m doing—a disservice to those people by not being willing to share how I have grown my business, my podcast, and the membership. I am being selfish. What are you holding on to? Whatever it is, you are being selfish by not sharing the valuable information that you have. What you have to offer may not be a big deal to some people, but it will be very special to others. Listen in for more.Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Christina Diehl?Christina Diehl is a Realtor in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She knew she wanted to be a real estate investor since she was a kid. She now owns a portfolio of short-term and long-term rentals that contribute to her financial freedom. At the age of 40, she has been a full-time Realtor since 2010. In her free time, she stays involved with the community by volunteering in various governmental and nonprofit organizations. Recently she published an Amazon bestselling book, Money Girl, that aims to provide a financial education and inspiration to children all over the country. It is her goal to change the trajectory of future generations by ensure their understanding of debt and how money works.Quotations“Once you start buying investment properties, you become addicted to it and you just want more and more and more because you see how that passive income just becomes part of your life and you see how easily it can be made. My dad was a landlord, so that's what kind of showed me that I wanted to also be a landlord. I saw how that worked, and once I started buying properties, I couldn't stop. I remember even at one point telling my friends like, okay, I'm done now. I'm not buying anymore. And then the one day I was sitting for coffee with a friend, I was like, so guess what I did, she's like, you bought another property. And I was like, yeah, it almost became a joke. And that was a few properties ago.”"Your time in the market is way more important than timing the market."Learn all of this and more:Why it makes sense to buy a property that is cash flowing only a couple hundred dollars a month What made her decide to write the book and what that process was likeWhich things Christina considers before she makes investing decisions How to run the numbers if you’re risk averseWhat she advises landlords to do about the horror storiesHow to decide on properties in a crazy market Why you can’t have a “job on the side” if you want to be a RealtorResourcesMoney GirlContact Christina DiehlFacebook page: Lancaster Homegirl Her websitePodcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary: On today’s episode, I want to talk to you about becoming good at hard conversations. Some conversations, especially about money and compensation, can be hard and awkward, but if you aren’t going to stand up and advocate for yourself, who will? Learning to advocate for myselfWhen I was young and applying for a W2 type job, I asked for more money than was typically paid for that position. It wasn’t because I was greedy, but I knew the experience and familiarity I was bringing to that institution, and I felt I deserved more money. I felt the value I was bringing the organization was worth more money. I became a good advocate for myself—because I got good at hard conversations. I got good at saying, this is the value that I bring to the company and the organization. I think a lot of this comes down to how much you believe in what you're doing and how much you believe in yourself. Advocate for yourselfAs a Realtor, you will encounter hard conversations in your business. Suppose you were to change companies and ask for a higher split than their normal percentage. They will want to know what value you bring to the company that deserves a higher split than the norm. What will you say? You can’t just sit and stare back at them—you have to be your biggest advocate and get good at the hard conversations. What if a client comes to you asking why they should list with you when there’s a discount broker that has a lower commission? You need to be prepared to advocate for yourself by telling them what you bring to the table and what your company brings to the table. Tell them that you deserve their listing because you know the quality of the work you do, know that you’re going to communicate well with them and outwork any other agent. Then provide your client reviews to prove it. Don’t run away when people question your value and don’t try to change the subject to avoid hard conversations. Real estate can be very hard. If you embrace the difficult, stretch those muscles, get better at the things that are hard, get better at talking about the hard stuff, talking about your value, and talking about what your compensation should be—get better at having those kinds of conversations—you’ll have more success in your real estate business. Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Summary:  On today’s episode, I talk about an exercise I did recently with my friend Ken Carfagno. Ken is a great friend and mentor of mine and part of the Total Life Freedom community. When I asked him to take me through the exercise, I found it to be something that could be helpful for you as well as you try to create success in your real estate business. Determining prioritiesThis episode takes you through the process of writing out your nine things and then paring them down to three. I believe you will find that while many of us focus on business, when we pare down our list to what is really important, we will find the key to success in all areas of our life. When we are trying so hard to grow our business, we are neglecting the things that make us successful—like our rest and health. I hope you can think about this in your business. I hope that you realize that the priority is not business—the priority is taking care of yourself. You will not only be a more successful Realtor and a more successful businessperson, but you'll be more successful in your life.Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who Is Parker Nash?A marketing professional and 11 year veteran of Nike, Parker Nash grew their lines of business to more than half a billion dollars in annual revenue. He makes the claim that any business can grow if they use the principles he teaches. Now he’s here to help us, too.Learn all of this and more:How to get great clarityWho your most profitable clients areWhat the foundation of effective marketing isWhy Nike, Peloton, Apple, and other big brands are so successfulWhat the “me monster syndrome” isWhy it’s so important to speak like your clients talkWhether it’s better to work with buyers or sellersPodcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of succes to the listener. 

Summary:In this episode, I talk about the lessons I’ve learned as I’ve built my business and how I’ve learned to do things differently. I want to talk to you about the value of your time and what your time is worth. DIY or outsource?When I started building my business, I felt that I should do everything myself and not outsource anything. As I learned the value of my time, it made sense to pay someone else to do tasks that I didn’t enjoy so that my time was freed up to work on my business or spend time with my family. This is something that you really need to think about in your real estate business. What is your time worth? Sometimes when I think about the value and worth of my time, it’s worth it to me to choose something for convenience. Convenience doesn’t mean cheap. It means something that saves me time so that I can focus on what is important to me. That might look like ordering food from Uber Eats or paying someone to mow my lawn. It’s worth it to me to have food delivered to avoid driving the 30 minutes to pay $10 for a fast-food meal I bring home, only to be distracted with other things, and have to refocus on my task. I want you to think about this in your real estate business. What are the areas where you are doing everything and stressing yourself out when you can pay someone instead? Yes, it means less money in your pocket, but it also means more convenience and an easier, more manageable workload. I encourage you to really think about this. Are there things that might cost some money to delegate, but would bring you more peace, convenience, and a lot less stress?Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Business updateI came back from Podcast Movement, where I learned a lot of lessons I may apply to the podcast. They joke that if you're slow as a Realtor, you go on vacation. And so that's kind of what it felt like last week when I came home. Several buyers reached out, interested in houses. I shared with you guys last month on the business update how it had been kind of slow since the end of June. I had nothing under contract. A buddy asked me, when does enjoying the peace and quiet go to worry? I said I'd have to not sell houses for three to six months, maybe more, to feel concerned, but I have been writing offers for a handful of clients. Even though the market shifted a little bit, it's still a seller's market, still hard to get houses. Nothing’s under contract right now, but there’s a lot of moving and shaking, and some stuff will be going on very soon for sure.Podcast growthThe podcast continues to grow. August was my biggest month. The listens and downloads were pretty high. I'm talking thousands of downloads higher than previous months. So again, I appreciate you guys. Thank you for finding the show and getting involved. Membership community for RealtorsI’m officially announcing the membership and going public with it. I wanted to create a membership that was very helpful for Realtors but also low budget. The price is $50/mo, and that includes at least 2 calls a month and Q&A time with me. It's going to include access to the private Facebook group as well. What I continue to find as I talk to Realtors is they don't have accountability and community. I've wanted to create that. If the membership is something that you think you'd be interested in, please reach out to me. You can email me, text, call me. You can just shoot an email to [email protected] or Ttext me 610-568-4651. I really have tried to build something over these couple months that is helpful to Realtors.I'm excited to continue growing and expanding with the Realtors there and the Realtors that continue to find it. And it's so funny. I've got actually a couple people in there that are not Realtors because they've just found my advice helpful. If you think that could be a fit, I'm happy to connect. If you refer people to the membership, I'm going to pay you 20% of their membership for as long as they're in there. On the home frontWhile you guys are listening to this, I'm taking the day off. Today is my son's third birthday. I love him very much and am super thankful for him. I've learned so much as a dad in these three years. Things are really good in my family. Taking some time today and this weekend to be together, celebrate him, and just spend some family time.Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or anything I can help you guys with. I'd be honored to speak with you. Thanks for listening to the show and helping it to continue to grow. And we'll see you guys on our next episode.

Who Is Athena Brownson?A Realtor and former professional skier (who learned to ski at age two), Athena Brownson is the daughter of a real estate developer and an interior designer. She suffered an injury while skiing and was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease and autoimmune diseases, and still is a successful agent. Her passion for interior design led Athena to get her real estate license. Her amazing eye for aesthetics gave her the ability to help her clients sell their homes and build a reputation for success. Despite her hardships, Athena never gave up and today is an amazing Realtor in the Denver area who has recently embarked on flipping construction and real estate investment.Quotations"I had the good fortune of having two ski bums as parents. And when I say ski bums, I say that loosely. They were very successful, very driven human beings. As you mentioned, my dad was a developer building primarily residential in Breckenridge. And my mom did the interior design for his properties, but the reason that they were in Breckenridge was because they loved to ski."“No story goes the way that we think it's gonna go, and our ability to pivot and have the discipline and accountability to really push ourselves to the next level is required.”“It’s a lot of breaking through barriers in your own mind that you can keep doing and that you are capable of completing and succeeding at so much more than you think you are.”"I've been in multiple coaching programs. I fully believe that in order to be the best version of yourself as a human and in business, you need someone looking over everything that you're doing, and saying, “I think this is your blind spot. This is something you're missing.”"I think as a real estate agent, you have to have a little bit of a psychosis in you. Yeah. You have to have that addictive personality that need for competition in order to really thrive and be successful."Learn all of this and more:What life was like as a professional skier How skiing made her unstoppable as an agent How, despite health challenges, her business has grown year after yearWhat she did during those moments of depression we all deal with The best question to ask potential mentorsWhat one of the most formative pieces of her success was Which spot in town will help you find the best clientsHow dining out or going to happy hour grows your businessWhy getting a coach is so important for your businessThe best piece of advise she ever receivedResourcesAtomic Habits by James ClearContact Athena Brownson:Instagram: Athena Brownson RealtorPodcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary:  In this episode, I use football as an analogy to talk about creating success in your real estate business. I talk about Paul, who is a coach at a real estate company. He does an amazing job teaching and coaching Realtors on how to have success in the real estate business. Paul also sees Realtors struggling with the follow up and the follow through—they either close a deal and never talk to that person again, or they don't have good communication. Real estate and football analogyWhat does real estate have to do with football? How does Tom Brady consistently make all those touchdowns? How does that translate into success in the real estate business? Tom Brady doesn’t make those touchdowns and win the game by throwing an 80 yard “Hail Mary” pass every time. It's called a Hail Mary pass for a reason—because it's basically impossible and you're praying that you can score. Tom Brady doesn’t do that. He hands off the ball a few yards, runs, passes the ball a few more yards, and runs again for as many times as it takes to reach the end of the field to score. That’s what we need to do with our clients! Client touchpointsA pass, a run, a pass, a run…each of those is a touchpoint with your client. Each one of those plays is a time you reach out to your clients, your sphere of influence, and the people you've worked with. Wish them a happy birthday, happy anniversary, or congratulate them on being in their house for a year—share a post about it on social media. It's all about touchpoints. Realtors are not having success because we are not making enough touch points. We post on social media about our business and hope that people see it, but five years down the road when a client is ready to sell their house, they haven’t heard from us once during that time. The relationship with a client begins at the closing table. Touchpoints shouldn’t be something that you just check off a list, they should come from a heart that wants to help and serve people. Be a friend. I talk about a client who found themselves without anyone to help them move at the last minute. I stepped up, showed up, and helped them. That client will always remember how I went out of my way to help and serve them without wanting anything in return. What creates success in the real estate market are touchpoints. But Realtors are missing the mark here. Check in on your clients multiple times a year, find out what they like—a favorite candy, coffee shop—things that show your client you’re thinking of them. Multiple plays, multiple interactions, multiple touchpoints with your clients will score touchdowns and build great relationships!Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Summary: In this episode, I tell the story of a Realtor who left a real estate team because the team leader over promised, but under delivered. He would promise his team leads, websites, and more, but never follow through. He would schedule meetings to coach and train his team members but cancel at the last minute. The Realtor believed that every team was the same with a leader who over promised and under delivered. I pointed out that no, that is not the norm. A leader to help you grow your businessEvery team should have a leader who helps their team grow their business. A good team leader wants to help their Realtors be successful, because when a Realtor is successful, the team leader looks good—the entire team or company looks good. The Realtor above left that team because she didn’t have a team leader willing to follow through on their promises. For those who lead a team or are a part of leading a team, this is a huge lesson.Building a good reputationIt is also a lesson for agents who interact with clients. Are you doing what you say you’ll do, or are you over promising and under delivering? If you want to be successful in your business, you must keep your word and always follow through—otherwise, no one will want to work with you. If anything, you want to go above and beyond, doing even more than they expected, so that they will write a good review and recommend you to others. When you follow through on what you promise, you build a good reputation that will make people want to work with you. This will give you the success you desire in your real estate business. Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno. Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Mike Forrester? I connected with Mike Forrester through the Total Life Freedom Community. Mike is a Men's Transformation Coach. He's the founder of the Living Fearless coaching programs and he hosts the amazing Living Fearless Today podcast. He has decades of experience overcoming setbacks and failures and he uses that experience to help others not let excuses derail them. His podcast focuses on helping men overcome fear, anxiety, and depression by highlighting success stories of those who have lived through it.Quotations     “This is bigger than my discomfort.”         “It doesn't determine what's going to go on tomorrow—in six months or in two years—but it's a matter of just persisting and looking at what am I doing, right? Who am I, what, what do I uniquely offer and who do I attract?”“Having a community helps to keep us stronger, to keep our focus in a lifted-up way.”     “I would say be careful who you listen to. Just because somebody has something to say, doesn't mean it's an accurate opinion, nor is it true.”Learn all of this and more: What Mike's parents told him, that he had to overcomeHow being a chameleon worked for him until it didn't What Mike noticed about successful peoplePractices he began to put into place that you can use as wellHow Mike took inventory and made changes     Realtors sometimes doubt themselves and their abilities. Mike uses his experience to encourage and coach Realtors to be the best they can be. He advises Realtors to be confident in their skills—if you don’t advocate for yourself to your clients, why should they choose you to list with? You’ve got to be a “bulldog” and fight to earn their trust and their business. Everyone has something to work on. Taking an honest look in the mirror and realizing that the responsibility for your business is all yours is the first step to success. Ask for feedback like Mike did and apply it to your business. Apply it to your business and your personal life. Join us for an interview you'll enjoy and benefit from.Resources:Mike Forrester’s WebsiteMike Forrester’s Podcast: Living Fearless TodayContact: hicoachmike.com Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary: On today’s episode, I talk about my irrational fear of flying. I’ve done the research and know flying is the safest form of transportation, but still, the worry is there. The hardest part is to get on the plane and take off. It can be the same for Realtors—the hardest part is that first step and the anticipation of that step. What is holding you back in business?What irrational fear is holding you back in your real estate business? Think about the irrational, or even rational fears that might be keeping you from having the best business possible. I want to help you overcome that fear and take that first step. Get that post out there on social media—once you reach out to that client, once you take those first steps and take off, there’s nothing left to worry about. Struggling to get started? Having a hard time with that first step? I want to help you. I’m launching a membership for Realtors in September to talk about those irrational fears and taking those first steps. Share your fears with me and then take that first step—get on that plane and fly.Podcast is edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of successto the listener. 

Summary: So many Realtors are not getting out of their house. Many ask me how I’ve created success. We talk all about what I do from social media to the way I build relationships, and we've often talked about Vincent Pugliese’s book, The Wealth of Connection, and just doing business backward. It's all about relationships. It's all about caring about people. When I speak to Realtors that are struggling, I will kind of ask them what their routine looks like, what they do on a daily basis. If it's on a phone call, it's normally awkward silence. If it's on Zoom, it is a blank stare on their face. Sort of like, “What do you mean, what do I do every day? I sit here at my computer and I try to get business.” And I'm all about sitting at your computer trying to get business, but you need to be getting out of your house. You might be sitting in your house, listening to this. And you're gonna sit in your house all day today and all day tomorrow and all day, the next day, wondering why you don't have any business. That’s what this episode is about. Today, I’m going to talk to you about how to get out and make those connections you need to build your business.Podcast is edited by Kenny Carfagno. Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Wendy Norman?Wendy is a photographer in Savannah, Georgia. She is the owner of Apt B Photo and specializes in elopement packages. She’s also developing a package in St. Pete, Florida, and has been in the wedding industry for more than a decade. She has built her business almost entirely through social media, and she advises others on how to do the same.In this episode, Wendy returns to talk about authenticity in your marketingQuotations“The biggest compliment I think I get from my couples is when I meet them and they say, ‘I feel like I’ve known you forever,’ or ‘You’re exactly the way you are on social media.’”“People have kind of gotten to know that I go like this one coffee shop they’ll pop in and be like, ‘Yep. I figured you'd be here because you're here a lot.’ By the time I work with them, they’ve already created this relationship with me on social media. So even though I’m just getting to know them in person, they already feel like they trust me. because they've gotten to spend all this time with me via social media. So it’s this way of creating a, a communication with your clients without physically being right there in front of them.”Learn all of this and more:What authentic marketing isHow many types of things you should share on social mediaWhat people say when they meet Wendy in person for the first timeWhether she dances on TikTok and why How to gain an advantage in your businessWhy referrals make your life easierHow getting curious grows your businessHow to be authentic in your marketingContact Wendy Norman@APTBPhoto on Instagramwww.aptbphoto.com Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary:In this episode, I speak with you guys about the power of saying yes and what can happen when you say yes to opportunities. I share an example with you from my business.Someone who wanted to move to an area of the country I don’t operate in asked me for help. At first, I thought, Well, you know, that's kind of a lot to do. Because it's just a referral. I can just tell an agent what you want, in the North Carolina area and hand it off to them and be done with it and get 25% of the commission.Business is about relationshipsBut something in that moment said, “You know what, John? Say yes. You have the availability. You have the time to go see them. You haven't seen them in a while, and this business is all about relationships.” This business is all about relationships. Anytime you are building relationships, you are in your sweet spot, that zone of genius, where you want to be in your business. Your business is all about relationships. It’s not about dollars. Say yes. Show up at these meetings. Show up in person. You’re not in the business of buying and selling houses. You're in the business of building relationships. And if you do that, you will have more success.Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

What is your dream day, guys? What would you do if you could do anything in the world for a day? I wanna talk to you about this, and I think it's important to have an answer. So if you can't tell me right now what your dream day is, I hope that by the end of this episode, you can. Think about what would you do if you could do anything in the world.Creating Your Dream DayIt has nothing to do with money, has nothing to do with providing. Imagine the bills are paid for. What would you do if you could do anything in the world? I have been so inspired recently to think about what my dream day is. And I'll share it with you guys before the end of the episode. In this episode, I tell you about my friend John Stange and how he created his dream day and lives it every week.Listen in, and find out about John’s dream day and mine. Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails.comJohn Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Who is Jennifer Zahourek?Jennifer is a highly experienced pediatric and adult emergency and trauma registered nurse, and she is also the owner and founder of RekMed. Before she became a nurse she had a crippling fear of blood, struggled with dyslexia, and was told by her nursing instructor that she would most likely never pass the NCLEX. She now sits as the CEO of RekMed, who has helped nursing students and medical professionals all over the world. She was in an amazing Business Insider article. She also has 38,600 followers on Instagram and 72,000 followers on TikTok.Quotations:"My whole thing is when you walk into this bookstore or something very similar to the things we sell, what do your eyes look at first? What is the first thing that you go to? And you'll see colors and book covers and things, and you'll be like 'That really got me.'""It's true, crawl before you walk, and you will be very successful."Learn all of this and more:How Jennifer learned how to teach things in her own way.What the biggest asset to her rapid growth is.How she saved up $20,000 dollars from her own paychecks to fund her first batch of planners.Resources:Business Insider ArticleContact Jennifer Zahourek:TikTok: @JennRekMedInstagram: Student Nurse PlannerWebsite: RekMed.orgEmail: [email protected] Podcast edited by Kenny CarfagnoShow notes and blog posts created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

There's a better way to do business. We are talking on this episode about pitching, how not to pitch, and instead do a better job in your business of building relationships. Serve Others FirstI shared on an episode about how I was at Podfest and there was great panel speaking about podcasting and growing your podcast, and this lady stood up and boldly said, "How do I monetize my show?" I said, "Hey, I don't have a question, but do you mind if I address what she just said?" If you seek to pitch and just monetize, you're doing it wrong.Seek to help people. Seek to build relationships. That is a much better way to do business. I've seen that with my podcast. I've seen that with everything I'm doing within the real estate world, with my clients, but also on this other side of my business with podcasting, coaching realtors. Cold Pitching Never WorksIn this episode, I tell you about Lucas, a guy who is doing it all wrong, and Jennifer, who is doing it right. I was shocked by the way Lucas treated me. Take a listen, and see what you think.I received a lesson on what to do and not to do, and I hope the Realtors and podcasters out there can take the same lesson from this as well. Thank you guys so much for listening. Podcast edited by Kenny CarfagnoShow notes and blog posts created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary:On today's episode, I want to talk about the excuse people use about not having enough time.I recently was helping and coaching a Realtor, and they told me, "Oh, well, I'd love to build my business, but I don't have time." I was frustrated because I think "I don't have time" is a cop-out for why you can't do stuff. One of the things I've really learned here in my just about three years in real estate is that there is always a reason to not do something. All these different things we've talked about on the show, you have time to do those things. Build Your Business When You Don't Have Much TimeIt's very easy to say, "I don't have time." But I've learned to do little things in the 15-, 20-, or 30-minute gaps, and you need to do that, too. Between meetings, for example, it'd be really easy to go get a snack, turn on the TV, watch ESPN for 30 minutes or an hour. But I've had to say, "Okay, no, this is time where I could get that social media post done. Maybe send a couple text messages that need to be sent." Whatever it is that needs done.In this episode, I tell the story that I shared with this realtor to illustrate this.I want you guys to think about where you're doing this in your real estate business. Where do you maybe have these blocks of time where you're sitting there playing Candy Crush on your phone rather than getting some work done? Now I want to make it very clear. I enjoy relaxing. You need to relax, right? You can't be doing real estate, or podcasting, or whatever it is that you do, 24/7. You need some margin and balance. Definitely schedule that. It all has to be balanced out.Podcast editing is provided by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and brought to you by RealtorEmails.com.John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Walter Key?Walter Key is a 21-year Navy veteran. He's been a landlord since 2011, and he was licensed in 2018 while still on active duty. Walter has owned properties in multiple states.He bought his first house in 2001, which was early in his Navy career. He then sold it less than two years later at a $25,000 profit. He obtained his real estate license in May of 2018, and in 2019, Walter made six figures. He doubled that in 2020. Walter Key is in the top 3% of his entire region for closed transactions in just over two years as a solo agent, and he's never paid a dime for marketing lead gen advertising. Walter Key has much to teach us!Learn all of this and more: Why he bought a new property every time the Navy moved him How Walter Key was so successful so early on in his real estate careerWhy relationships are extremely importantWhat Walter’s three different priorities are for budgeting his calendar spacesContact Walter Keyhttps://linktr.ee/[email protected] edited by Kenny CarfagnoShow notes and blog posts created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

I am so excited to bring you my business update for August of 2022. This is my favorite episode every month. At the end of August, I'll be licensed for three years.Real Estate Business UpdateI had no settlements in July and I've got nothing on the books right now. I’ll have no settlements here in August unless like a cash deal comes through. And actually, it feels kind of amazing. I shared on the last update how I had closed nine deals in May and June. That basically took me through the end of June to 95% of what I made all of last year.I knew a lull was coming after the last deal that I closed at the end of June, and I was really looking forward to it after all the work that went into those two months.Of course, as the dreamer and visionary that I am, I don't sit still for very long. So I totally embraced the past month of having nothing on the books.I had four or five potential buyers over the past few weeks reach out to me. A few of them will be under contract here over the next few weeks, and we'll have some closings as we get toward September, October, and then finish the year strong. From June of last year to July of this year, we have had 14 consecutive months of growth in the podcast. I am super thankful for all the people I continue to connect with and how it's grown this show.On the Home FrontI did enjoy the downtime. I spent a lot of time with my wife and my kids the last couple months, especially in July. Next week, we're taking our first vacation as just the four of us going down to Annapolis, Maryland. I’m super excited for that. We'll spend four or five days together there in Maryland by the water. I'm excited to get away with them and just have some quality family time.Coming UpI literally spent all night building out the membership community in a private Facebook group. And I am super excited about it gearing up. We'll have our third call of the Real Estate Survival Guide mastermind community tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. If you're interested in something like this, feel free to let me know. I'm still only inviting people that I think would be a good fit. I'm not advertising this yet. My goal is to grow it about five members a month.August is going to be fun with some time away with my family going to Podcast Movement in Dallas at the end of August. If I go and visit Cowboy Stadium, I'll make sure I walk in there with an Eagles Jersey for a tour.Podcast edited by Kenny CarfagnoShow notes and blog posts created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary: On today's episode, I want to talk about what happens after you support the big players. When you support the big players, you become a big player yourself. Now I am not saying this to sound cocky or arrogant. I don't feel like, oh, I'm a big player or anything like that in real estate or in the podcasting world.But let me tell you the shift that has happened. Nine months before Podfest, I was at Podcast Movement. And let me tell you guys, I felt nervous. I felt intimidated. I made very few connections. I came home and felt frustrated with myself that I didn't make as many connections as I wanted to, but you know what I did? I started to listen to the podcasts and support the people I met there. And suddenly, I got noticed. Now, again, it's just like real estate, where if you seek to build relationships in real estate, you'll be successful. But if you seek to make money, you'll find you yourself not having success and not building what you really want. So, the point is, support what the big players are doing. I didn't just go to these conferences to meet some people and then leave. No. I met these people like I shared about in the last episode, Michael and Nick, heard about their podcasts, came home and wrote them a review.I bought their books. I left each book a review. I sent them an email and said, “It was so nice to meet you at X event. It was a pleasure to connect and hear about your show. Congratulations on X number of downloads. I just left you a podcast review,” and I sent them an email and talked about some things that I really enjoyed from their show.I think these two things go hand in hand when you support the big players, whether you have one podcast download or 50 million podcast downloads, it really doesn't matter. When you show support for others, they will start to notice you. They'll start to notice what you're doing, and they'll check it out.Do you want to become a big player in the podcast scene, real estate, whatever it is that you do? Well, support the people. When you do that, you start to get noticed, and you become a big player.Podcast edited by Kenny CarfagnoShow notes and blog posts created by HarshmanServices.com and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Who Is Ken Carfagno?You’ve already met Ken, the host of the Smart Cleaning School podcast, and today he’s coming back for a repeat appearance.In this interview, we talk about Ken Carfagno's ISO Model, and how he used it to grow his solo cleaning business to $60,000 only working two days a week.“When I became known and highly referable, and I was the go-to, I became the cleaning specialist. Realtors would say, Ken's the cleaning specialist. And then when someone called me, they already knew that I was the best.”“When you’re showing a home, you’re going to walk up the driveway. Your buyer’s looking at the yard, the garage, the roof. They’re looking at the neighborhood, walking up the sidewalk. Are the shrubs cut? You're getting to the front door, looking for the key. Meanwhile, the emotional buyer's looking around the yard. "Little things I would teach the cleaners were hey, there are light fixtures on both sides of the doors. Make sure those are sparkling clean. Yes. The doors should be clean because the people that you're showing homes to, they're emotional and you’ve got to create a great first impression. And they're looking at that front door for up to a couple seconds while you're jiggling the key."Now you open the door, and what is the emotional buyer thinking? They're thinking first impression.”Learn all of this and more:What the ISO model isHow you can use a cleaner to sell more real estateWhy being the cheapest isn’t the way to get clientsWhat the peace factor is and how you can use itWhether Ken charges by the hour or the job and whyHow long his waiting list isThe five phases of any businessPodcast edited by Kenny CarfagnoShow notes and blog posts created by HarshmanServices.com and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Summary: So you want to be a big player.I'm constantly intrigued by the people that want to build something big from their real estate business, like a podcast, membership or community, so many different things. Yes, absolutely. Build the things that you want to build. Build a real estate business, build a podcast, build a community or whatever you're building. But I think one of the things people are missing is to support the people already doing it. I've mentioned how I was at Podfest at the end of May in Orlando, Florida. It was amazing. What I saw was so many people supporting others. I saw people that you would think should be too big to do that. They've already built their thing. They've achieved success. And I learned so much watching them. I had multiple conversations with people who have built something incredible with their platform or podcast, and guess what? They still support the other people. They still support their friends that they've met along this podcasting journey.So many people at Podfest had recently released new books. Their friends and fellow podcasters were there supporting them, buying their books, posting about the books on social media, and supporting what they are doing. In this episode, I talk to you about some people I met for the first time at Podfest that have built incredible platforms and how, if you want to have success in your podcast and your real estate business, you support the other players, even if you are already a big player yourself. I hope you think about this and apply this to your real estate business.Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno Show notes and blog posts created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary:This episode is about making sure you're doing things the right way. On a recent trip, I booked a car with Turo. I think it was a 2021 Lincoln MKZ. Have you guys ever driven a new car or a very nice car that wasn't yours? You're super cautious, checking the brakes . . . I was double- and triple- and quadruple-checking everything.The longer you're in a car, the more comfortable you get. A few days into the trip, I was going a little faster, having a little more fun with it, enjoying the car. I sort of got comfortable.Many Realtors get comfortable not with a car but with their real estate business. They're not double-checking things, not triple-checking things. They're making mistakes. I can't tell you how many times in my real estate business I've seen paperwork that was not filled out properly.It's a huge liability to not do stuff correctly. Make sure you're following the real estate rules and regulations. Explain paperwork to your clients. I've seen it happen much where people are not careful about this.My encouragement to you with this episode is be that person driving the new car. Protect your client's best interest and make sure that you're not making mistakes that you'll be liable for. I hope that you can think about this in your real estate business and do a better job of overcommunicating, making sure your clients know the risk of waiving inspections or appraisals or covering appraisal gaps, and be cautious in your business just as you are with that new car.Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno Show notes and blog posts created by HarshmanServices.com and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Jeremy Kane?Jeremy Kane is a realtor in the Denver metro area, where he was born and raised. He obtained a bachelor's of science in psychology and was an administrator of two community corrections facilities before he moved on to teaching at-risk kids in grades 6–12.Jeremy was a high school basketball coach who jumped into the real estate game in June of 2013. He has grown his client's wealth exponentially has helped them take advantage of the market. He’s ranked in the top 200 real estate in agents in the Denver Metro market and has sold over 400 homes in his career. His company is in the top 2.5% of 82,000 agents worldwideQuotations:“There's a lot of top producing agents out there who will pass off every single first-time home buyer because they don't want to deal with it. And that's absolutely counter to how I operate my business.”“I will dig in and I will help anybody. Anything. You know, 400 credit score, no money, whatever it is, if I'm there for every step of the journey, and I can coach them to success and get them into that first home and help them start to build wealth. That's what makes me tick.”Learn all of this and more:What Jeremy’s father taught him after the crash of 2008How his background—from coaching basketball to helping at-risk school children— helped him become a successful realtorJust how low he’ll go to help someoneThe number of transactions he got from one client (hint: it’s more than 50)Resources:Jeremy Kane’s YouTube channelThe Realtor PlaybookJeremy’sFacebook pageHis handle for most social media is @JKCORealtorContact:Website: http://jeremykane.exprealty.com/Phone: (303) 210-0378Email: [email protected] handle for most social media is @JKCORealtorPodcast edited by Kenny CarfagnoShow notes and blog posts created by HarshmanServices.com and RealtorEmails.com John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

SummaryYou may be doing business the wrong way. The first session I attended at Podfest was about how to ask great questions to get the most out of your guest and how to have great guests on your show so that your audience is engaged and wants to listen to the episode.The panel did a great job talking about this, and then they went to the Q&A. Someone stood up very boldly, very strongly, and said, “This is all great. How do I monetize my podcast and make more money with it?”The panel wasn't talking about advertising. It had nothing to do with making money off your podcast, and this is the wrong way to do it. So many people in their real estate business, with their podcast, whatever it is, they think, “How can I make money first and foremost?”I now make money on my podcast, but really the podcast was a labor of love. I really poured my heart and soul into it for 18 months before it even ended up being something that I could monetize and make money off of. And for the year plus before that, I was spending hundreds of dollars a month on the show. Why? Because I was super passionate about what I was speaking about, and I wanted to help people. The reason that I've realized that she's doing it all wrong is due to my amazing friend, Vincent Pugliese’s book, The Wealth of Connection. I haven't mentioned this book as much as I want to. You guys really need to check it out. This book will change the way you think about business.I raised my hand, because it was Q&A, and I said, “Do you guys mind if I make a response to her question?” And they said, “Absolutely not.” So I said to her, “You're doing it wrong. The question should not be, ‘how do I monetize my show?’ The question should be, “How do I serve people? How do I help people? How do I share a message with people that they will resonate with, that will help them grow?” And I told this person that if she does those things, if she seeks to serve people, to help people grow and do all of those things, then the monetization can follow. So many of us, whether it's podcast, real estate, business, or whatever we're doing, are doing it backward.ResourcesThe Wealth of ConnectionPodcast edited by Kenny CarfagnoShow notes and blog posts created by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Summary: This week, we had a couple episodes talking about the current state of the real estate market. On Monday, we talked about navigating through the crazy and what that means with our clients and how to encourage them. Be aggressive but not stupid in a market like we are experiencing.On Wednesday, we talked about how this is not 2008, and a crash is not coming, and really more than anything, you need to be the expert and guide your clients on the current state of the market.I wanted you to hear that this isn't 2008, but I also want you to hear that changes are coming. We've started to see it all over the country with things starting to shift and adjust. It was funny, a few weeks ago when I settled on that luxury listing, I posted our template on Facebook with it sold, said congratulations to the clients, and then there were all sorts of comments and all sorts of obnoxious things that people say. One of the comments said, “How is the market? Is it a seller's market? Is it a buyer's market?” And I responded to that person and said that the market was starting to shift; we’re not seeing as many crazy and aggressive offers out there. A few keyboard warriors out there were like, “You have no idea what you're talking about. It's not a buyer's market.” And they went on. I responded, “I never said it was a buyer's market.” Just because it's not a buyer's market doesn't mean shifts aren't coming. And so that's what I want to talk to you about today. What shifts are coming and how do you prepare yourself for those shifts? Join us on this episode for more.Podcast edited by: https://outsourceyourpodcast.com/Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

SummaryOften, whenever some people talk about the real estate market, they bring up the housing crash of 2008, and you have to guide your clients and say, “No, this is not 2008. This is what is actually going on with the market.”So I had a client a few months ago, before things started to slow down who was looking at a multi-unit property in the Philadelphia area. And they said “John, why would I buy a home in a seller's market? What happens if 2008 happens and a crash happens again?” And I asked them “Do you know why 2008 happened?” And they didn't.The government over the prior couple years had made policies to ease the standards to get a mortgage. They wanted minorities to be able to own homes. And that's a great thing. It’s great to look for a way to help people of all race, color, et cetera, to be able to afford homes.The issue was there were years and years of expanded access to mortgages. Sometimes banks were giving out mortgages to people that really were not financially able to afford them. Many people don't know this. That's why I'm talking about it here. This isn't 2008, and it is our job to educate our clients. When they were giving out mortgages to people that could not afford them, those people then got foreclosed on. There were so many foreclosures, and they did not have equity in 2008.Do you know what has happened since 2008? A lot. There are so many different safeguards in place now.You need to teach your clients the facts. Tell them, “Hey, this is why 2008 happened. Yes, it was awful, but this is what the mortgage industry has done to correct it so that it doesn't happen again.”Resourceshttps://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUSPodcast edited by: https://outsourceyourpodcast.com/Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

The real estate market is crazy right now. I get ideas from all sorts of different things in the real estate business that later become podcast episode. Some of those are interactions with my clients. Some of those are things I hear from other realtors and other podcasts. I get wisdom and ideas I want to pass along.  A Realtor I know asked me about how I felt and navigating the crazy that is the current real estate market. Even people out there that are not realtors have seen the craziness that is going on in the real estate market.How do you encourage your clients to put in aggressive offers? This person had seen that I had had six clients go under contract recently. We just had an open and honest conversation about what I do. So I wanted to bring it to you guys. There's kind of two main pieces to this. One is the client side and how I coach and instruct them. The other is the building relationship side and what I try to do with agents.The piece we'll start with is talking about building the relationships with other agents. I recently had an offer in with an agent, and they actually took another offer. I was helping an extended family member buy a house. And this agent who works within my company, he actually took another offer. But then two days later, he called me. He says, “Hey, look, this buyer got cold feet. Your offer was like in third place, but I would rather work with someone that we know and trust and have built a relationship with rather than some, no-name agent that we don't know if they're gonna get the deal to the settlement table.”So I was able to go to my client, adjust a few things, basically a couple thousand dollars, which in the grand scheme of the $300,000 house was absolutely nothing.That’s just a small example of how I navigate the crazy by communicating with other agents. Every single time I show a property, I ask the agent, “Hey, what's gonna get this done? What is most interesting to your seller?” I sort of joke with them and we'll kind of laugh.We often think in the real estate business that all these other agents out there are our competition. I don't see it that way at all. In fact, if I can create a good relationship with you and vice versa, that helps my client and that helps your client, and we all get what we want.When you build a relationship with the agents, they'll give you some information about what offers they have, what those offers look like, and so on.And so I just communicate well and set expectations. My clients are not shocked by everything going on in today's market. When we meet the very first time, I tell them about the insane market I set proper expectations that we might have to make up to 20 offers over the period of sometimes up to nine months. The market is crazy, but if my clients already expect that they're going to have to put in multiple aggressive offers above list price, the crazy isn't actually that crazy. Things are starting to shift a little. Where we're not seeing 50 showings and 20 offers on every house, but I feel like this helps.

SummaryI want to share an amazing story from my friend, Emily. She is an amazing business owner here in Lancaster, PA. She owns E Is Key, which provides personal assistance/concierge services.Emily was at one of the mastermind meetings, and she was sharing some of the growing pains in her business, which she had owned for about two years and been all in full-time for one year. Someone said, “You are not a baby in this business. You built this boat; you built this entire ship known as your business.”And that was a game-changing moment for me, when I heard that. I knew I had to make this a podcast episode because so many Realtors do this same thing. So many Realtors doubt themselves and believe they are just a baby Realtor. You are not a baby. You built this boat. And this boat—your real estate business—is out to sea, sailing. And you did all the work to get it there. You need to believe that you've prepared your boat, that your boat can float on the water, will sail across the sea, and will be successful. So much of what we do in our entrepreneurial journey comes down to belief and confidence, but I'm not saying be cocky.Have the confidence to say “I'm not a baby. I've built this boat. I worked my butt off to build this business, and I've done a great job doing it.” I hope that this encourages you and you can think about this in your real estate business.ResourcesPodcast edited by: https://outsourceyourpodcast.com/Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Dustin Heiner?Dustin Heiner is married with four children that they homeschool, and he owns many businesses. He is the founder of Master Passive Income, the Real Estate Builders Conference and is successfully unemployed. Dustin is a real estate rental property investor who was able to make enough passive income from his business to quit his job when he was 37 years old. He has podcasts, YouTube channels, books, courses, and coaching offers. Quotations:“I quit my job. I was able to now not work, but rather jump on podcasts like yours, talk to great people like you, and just really just help as many people as possible.”“I like using the term successfully unemployed because I figured out a way to make money for myself and my family, but not work for somebody else.”“In reality, I don't get my value from my job. My value comes from my God, from myself and from my family.”“A wise man learns from other people's mistakes. If we learn from other people's mistakes, other people's trials, it's gonna make our lives so much better.”Learn all of this and more: Why Dustin in 2015, as a full-time employee, spouse, and parent decided to make a big shift What catapulted him into becoming a real estate investor and creating passive incomeThe story of how he lost his job of 14 years, and how that kickstarted his real careerHow he laid off his bossWhat he does while his properties work for himHow to make sure no one can take away your ability to feed your familyHow his risk-averse wife handled everythingResourceshttps://rewbcon.com/Real estate investment course: text Rental to 33777https://www.masterpassiveincome.com/freecourse https://www.masterpassiveincome.com/podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/c/MasterPassiveIncomeSuccessfully Unemployed [email protected] edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Summary:When you drop the ball, you not only hurt yourself, but you could also hurt other agents. An agent in another part of the country reached out to me to make a referral, and I almost didn’t get the business because of something another agent did to him. We had a really good conversation about how I could help, how I run my business, those types of things. Then he said to me, “The only reason I'm cautious about referring this deal to you is because of the company you work for.” That was very strange to me. I work for a pretty big company; there are thousands of agents who work for it. So I said, “What do you mean?” He replied, “I previously reached out in your area to try to get another potential client connected with a Realtor in the Lancaster area, and a Realtor from your company promised to call me back, and then I never heard from them. They dropped the ball, and I never heard back.” I apologized that this happened with that Realtor and restated here's how I run my business. Here's how I do things differently. I promise if you refer this client to me, I'll communicate well and do a great job. I encouraged him to check out my ratings on Google, on ratemyagent.com where I'm one of the top-rated Realtors in the Lancaster, PA, area, as I've shared before, in terms of the most reviews and the highest reviews in the area. We worked through it, and he did end up referring the buyer to me. I am now currently helping them try to find a home here in the Lancaster area. The point of this isn't really that specific client so much as it is about not ruining a good thing. Thinking back, I remembered a lender I used to work with who dropped the ball several times. I stopped trusting him. He also ruined a good thing. Lessons learnedThe only reason I almost didn't get the referral was not because of anything that I had done wrong but what another agent had done wrong. What one person does affects others. We have such a great opportunity nationwide to help people to buy and sell homes and to give and receive referrals and receive a commission just for making that connection.Some of you are like that agent and that lender: dropping the ball, not calling people back, or saying, “I'll get back to you by a certain time” and then not following through. If you answer your phone and you're a nice person, you're better than 90% of the realtors out there.We have to do a better job for our clients, for the people that we get in touch with, for the referrals that we give out. When we say we’re going to do something, we have to do it. We don’t want to ruin a good thing. Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Business update The luxury listing that you guys have heard about multiple times settled in mid-June on the 16th.May and June had nine different deals settled, and what happened in June was basically a year's worth of work. Through the end of June, I made 95% of what I made last year. A huge lesson here has been aces in their places: having the best people in the best spot.On the home frontOn June 21st we paid off our house, and I shared the news with my mastermind and listeners.My cousin bought a house and that settled on the 27th.Coming upVincent and Elizabeth Pugliesi and the amazing Total Life Freedom community, and Inspire Business community have been a huge part of my success. Entrepreneurs and Realtors are lonely and depressed and frustrated. I want you to have a community where you can ask questions. The Real Estate Survival Guide Community is doing our soft launch before a public launch in September! Our first call will be on July 5th at 7:00 PM eastern. If that is something you are interested in reach out to me. It's going to be small, invite only.Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Raymond Sjolseth?Raymond Shoujeth has had the privilege of founding over 45 companies with 40 failures and five successful, eight-figure businesses. The majority of these companies were founded through real estate while not being in the industry at all. He is also the host of The Agent podcast, which caters to real estate professionals, and The Chicago podcast, which caters to his local community. He and his wife operate in Chicagoland. They have five kids, two of which have special needs, and the family has three dogs.As an investor of 30 years, Raymond has had many single-family homes across seven states.Quotations from Raymond Sjolseth:“I don't have all the answers, but I have amazing support around me that can help me build a roadmap that works for what we need for our family.”“Most people will stay down when they get knocked down. They won't get back up. And I think that's what I attribute the most to is the ability just to begin again. Sometimes I have to begin again every day.”“I have problems and challenges, bad days and good days. And I have to make the decision to work hard. If I choose to be optimistic—not ignorant, not naïve—but optimistic, and focus forward, the chances of me having success are going to be much greater than being in a bad mood and sticking my head in the sand.”Find out the following and more:  Which Chinese proverb Raymond lovesHow you can maintain a positive attitude and focus on what's actually coming and what you're creating         Whether he plans first or just jumps off the bridge        What you need to do to have complete time freedom      How long it took him to go from zero to 18 millionResources https://www.raymondsjolseth.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/raymond-sjolseth-0515476/Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Failure to plan is planning to fail. I am sure this is not the first time you have heard this phrase. I've definitely heard it hundreds of times, but I don't think we pay enough attention and realize as realtors that we are setting ourselves up for failure. If we do not plan. And I want to share a story with you. I don't like sharing negative stories about other agents because I don't want to criticize. I will follow my friend Vincent’s great advice that if it's good news, I'll tell you their name, and if it's bad news, I will let it be anonymous. I want to talk to you about an anonymous agent who called me a few weeks ago and had an immense amount of audacity to ask me to do something that would have put my license in jeopardy, all because they didn't plan.The agent even went so far as to try to make me feel bad for not being able to do what they asked. “Look, I really need your help. I would help you. " And I thought to myself and I did kind of say, “How did you not plan on this?” They weren't really interested in hearing what I had to say, but I thought to myself, Wow, failure to plan is planning to fail. I looked up some things about this agent, and it wasn't shocking to me that, as long as they've been a realtor, they have done only one transaction.This is why I say, if you can answer your phone and have good communication, you are better than 90% of the realtors out there. I don't know how it went with this agent and their client, but I can't imagine it going well.Join me to find out what really important thing that agent failed to plan.Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

SummaryThis episode is about cutting off what is dead in your business and personal life.A few weeks ago, when I was away on vacation at the lake, my wife and I were sitting lakeside while our kids played in the water. A dead branch fell off a tree, and I kept looking at that tree and thinking about how the tree just loses its dead branches. Sometimes that happens naturally like it did in front of me there at the lake, and sometimes the branches are pruned by a person. That's what this episode is all about.You have an opportunity to become healthier and better at what you do by cutting off the dead limbs. Which dead limbs do you need to remove that you're holding on to? Pruning and shaping your life will make you healthier and you will be able to bear fruit and reach your full potential.Join us to find out more.Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

I'm thrilled to be bringing you this episode and to talk to you about a little more of our financial journey. I’ve shared about how being debt-free made me a better realtor. What I didn't tell you was that episode was probably actually recorded months ago.I recorded that after we had paid off all our consumer debt, the day before our son turned one. We've always been motivated by big goals. What I didn't tell you was what was also coming. I've kind of hinted at it this year on the episodes a few different times.As you can see from this episode's title, we have officially paid off our house. We did it yesterday, and the first people I told about it were the members of my mastermind community that's been a huge part of helping me grow in my business and in every single area of my life. I had the honor of sharing with them yesterday morning that we paid off our house, and they've been on the journey, supporting us as we pushed to pay off the house. We knew that it was going to happen here in June. Except for the mastermind group, you are the first people to hear this. And I hope, in all of this, that you can see the journey.We hit our goal of paying off our house by my 34th birthday, which is tomorrow. This is all crazy. I can't say enough how thankful I am for how God has blessed my business. We went from $70,000 just in consumer debt, and we paid that off by the time Kaiden turned one. Now we're completely debt-free, including our mortgage.Now we get to really do what we want to do, which is work less and not be running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I want to enjoy time with our kids. I want to really pour into them. I want to watch them grow up.You know that you have the ability to do this now, right? Maybe for you, paying off your house seems way too lofty. And maybe you don't think that that's a good goal to have. That's fine. Some people don't pay off their house because their interest rate is so low. But for us we felt like, especially in real estate with an inconsistent income, we just felt that that was what God wanted us to do.Show notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Summary:On today's episode, we're talking about the fact that being debt-free has made me a better realtor. Sneak peeks:“At some point, I need to get the real expert and the brains of our family operation on here: my wife. She’s good with money and probably the only reason we have a dime to our name. We followed Dave Ramsey's principles and plans, even during the hard few months that I've shared about previously when I only made a few thousand dollars.”“When you're struggling financially or not making it, there's this pressure that you feel. And I think it almost comes out of you, even if you don't want it to. Like, ‘Oh my goodness, you need to buy a house.’” Learn all of this and more:The stress I was under and how my wife was (is) a superstarHow we survived at the beginning, making only a few thousand dollarsHow long it took before business picked upThe plan we followedWhat being debt-free did to my interactions with clientsThe amount of debt we paid off and how fastHow close we were to losing our houseMilestones we passed on our journeyThe exact path you can follow to become debt-freeWhat financial pressure does to you as a RealtorWhy being debt-free relieves pressure on you as an agentThe difference this shift makes in your interactionsWhat it’s like to have the freedom millions covetWhat’s coming next for the podcastResources:Dave Ramsey SolutionsPenny HoarderShoestring Cottage50+ Resources for Living a Rich Life on a BudgetShow notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

This episode is kind of cheating. Technically, Google is not a social media platform. It's a search engine, but the way you can use it works just like a social media platform. So I'm including it in our series on using social media to grow your business.In this episode, I share with you a couple minutes of an interview I did with Sean Cochran. Sean is an amazing realtor in Chicago. I interviewed him in the fall of 2021. Sean has a huge business going on in Chicago through what he is doing on Google and with Google maps, etc. He really built it all through his platform on TikTok where he now has almost 325,000 followers. He's using Google in way that is game changing. Quotation: "You'll start to become known as the man around town or the woman around town. You're everywhere. And when people Google these businesses locally, they're gonna see Sean Cochran broker realtor’s review. I got almost 17 million views on my pictures around my house. I'm ranked the number-one highest realtor around here, and I don't pay for it.”Learn all of this and more:What will make you want to post photos with reviews on GoogleHow many agents have found him through a Google searchWhy Sean Cochran pops up first on Google searches (and how you can, too)How to get thousands of dollars a month in free advertisingWhy Google Maps is one of the best tools for your brandingHow many times a week you should postWhether or not to post negative reviews—and whyResources:The episode titled The Cowboy Realtor, an interview with Sean CochranThe Cowboy Realtor on TikTokHow to set up a Google My Business pageShow notes and blog posts are brought to you by HarshmanServices and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

Who is Gina Talarico?Gina Talarico is a social media marketing guru who is so much fun to talk to. She was on my amazing friend Matt Pete's podcast talking about social media marketing, and I knew I had to have her come on our show so you could benefit from her knowledge and experience. Gina lives in British Columbia, Canada and has been working online since 2018. She went through an ordeal when she lost her Instagram account, and she talks about what she did after that. Her goal is to get you comfortable promoting what you offer and recycling your content using multiple platforms so that you can appear in front of more people and effortlessly as possible. Quotations:“I'm a millennial, so grew up with a phone in my hand, grew up with social media. I was helping a friend of mine who was my mother’s age. She was in multilevel marketing and sick of hosting parties. She asked me for help, so I just set her up on social media, and she started making sales. After that, I realized this is a huge business opportunity.” Regarding the early days of struggle we all go through: “It's almost like you forget those things, the sacrifices that you make and the things that you do to get you where you are. Hindsight's always easier, right?” Learn all of this and more:Why Gina spent a few months sleeping in a recliner in a basement as an adultThe best way to find the right platform for you What's going to bring people to your pageWhat's going to make them want to stick aroundHow to take the stress out of promoting on social mediaHow to do videos without needing to appear on camera—or lip sync or danceHow her Instagram account got hacked (it wasn’t anything she clicked on)What caused her to pivot What to do if you get creator’s block Why you should feature people from the neighborhood How to capitalize on the fact that people are nosyWhy she turns away when she plays someone else’s videoWhat she was referring to when she said, “People are gonna judge you either way.”Resources:Gina Talarico's Instagram accountHer LinkedIn profileHer website Join us to hear Tina spill the tea.

Summary: This is part three of our series about how to improve on social media. This episode is about making sure you are on and using multiple platforms and not using social media as your end-all, be-all for communication with your clients. You might be thinking “Well, wait a second, John. We've been talking about how important social media is and how great it is for my business. Why are you now telling me not to make it my everything?”I had an issue on April 1. I woke up to what felt like a terrible April fool's joke. My Facebook account was shut down along with 3,500 Facebook friends and connections I had built over a period of 15 years. Gone instantly. The good news was that it turned out to just be a huge glitch. There was a New York Post article that said many Facebook accounts were disabled for no apparent reason. But at the time, I thought my account was completely gone. So I learned in that moment that one social media platform cannot be the only place you store your information. I had clients I didn't even have phone numbers for, because we would just message on Facebook Messenger all the time. Lessons learnedYes, use the social media platforms, but do not depend on them. Facebook cannot be the only place your content and contacts are stored. Get client phone numbers, email addresses, and keep them somewhere off of social media.You can download your entire Facebook account history (all your friends, pictures, uploads, everything you've ever put on the platform). Do it now just in case, God forbid, you ever lose your account. Facebook and other platforms can and do shut people down for no reason. It can happen to you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.When people search for a Realtor, the more that you have showing up in Google search results, the better. You want people to find your business even if your social media accounts were to disappear. That's why I've started doing a better job with that and having a website created and blog posts written. It was a huge lesson for me to stop putting all my eggs in one basket.I hope this is helpful for you. Think about this in your business. Yes, social media is great. It's amazing, but it cannot be everything. One social media platform cannot be the only thing you use to grow and promote your business. Diversify.Show notes and blog posts brought to you by Harshman Services and Realtor Emails.

Summary: On today's episode, we are continuing our series talking about how you can improve your social media skills to help your real estate business.On our first episode of this series, we talked about just posting and interacting and talked about how our team and I have all created a successful real estate business. We don't pay for leads. We don't buy leads on Zillow. We don't pay for ads. We just use organic social media growth to grow our business. I want to help you as well. I'll briefly describe what stories are. A story is basically a post that you put up that disappears in 24 hours. You can save some in certain categories you can create. Here is the great part about stories. People can interact with you in the story without it being public. When I talk to Realtors out there, a lot of the pushback I get is they get worried that people won't engage, and then they believe they kind of look like an idiot. Lessons learnedYou have to work through some fears and anxieties and just put yourself out there. If you don't want to put yourself out there, use stories. I've gotten many clients through Facebook stories. This is is a huge way to build your business for free. If you are not using stories, you definitely should start because they're free and there's so much potential. When you share a story, even if it's one that disappears in 24 hours, you can see who is viewing. Maybe you see that they look at your story, and right from there, you can message them privately and have a conversation. Shining example of thisWendy Norman of Savannah Elopement Package uses reels and stories to promote her photography business and her affordable packages in Savannah, Georgia. Maybe she has friends who are wanting to get married or thinking about eloping and didn't even know the options available to them. They see a story, message her, and it starts a conversation. I hope that this helps you and you can think about even this small win using stories on Instagram and Facebook to grow your real estate business.

Who Is Wendy Norman?Wendy is an award-winning photographer living in the Savannah, Georgia area. She spent the last 12 years photographing joy-filled whimsical wedding days through her business, Apartment B Photography. She’s a single mom to a pug and a rescue cat. In 2020, she shifted her business to focus on intimate weddings and elopements with the creation of the Savannah Elopement Package, and she recently opened the second branch of the package down in St. Pete, Florida. Wendy is an amazing photographer and business owner. I've really enjoyed watching her journey.We met through the Total Life Freedom community, and we are in the mastermind on Tuesdays together. She does an amazing job of using social media to grow her business by building and connecting with clients. What I love hearing about Wendy is when she meets clients, they'll say, “Oh, I feel like I already know you because I follow the stuff you're doing on Instagram or TikTok.” Quotations“I know I can take good pictures, but what I've learned is that being a wedding photographer is so much more than that. We're a dime a dozen; it's a commodity at this point. There's so many wedding photographers, and there's so many talented ones. So what really sets you apart is your personality and the way you interact with your clients, how much your clients trust you. Really, you spend the most time with a couple on their wedding day than anybody else does. I'm with the bride before she sees her husband on her wedding day, you know?”Learn all of this and more:How Wendy built a business she loves while she had a full-time jobThe best piece of advice she received, and from a surprising sourceWhat she does to create a great client experience Which five vendors are essential to the Savannah Elopement PackageHow photographers are like RealtorsWhat solved the burned-out photographer problem she had How social media lets you build a relationship with someone before you meetWhy you should pick five interests to mention on social mediaHow to work successfully with your Enneagram type The only way to set yourself apart from your competitionEnjoy a conversation with Wendy and John, who fight—and love each other—like siblings.Resources:Savannah Elopement PackageFree Enneagram test

SummaryWe are going to start a series where we talk about social media improvement and how to use social media differently. We’ll have some interviews with a few people I really trust in the social media realm who have done an amazing job of building their business and creating success through social media. I basically built my entire business through social media. I don't buy ads. I don't pay Zillow. I don't pay for leads. I don't do anything except use organic growth through social media. Two clients recently, one I had not spoken to in 15 years, and one I had not spoken to in eight years, reached out to me to buy a home. Megan continued to see my stuff on social media. She reached out to me and said, hey, my fiancé and I would like to see this house. We want to buy it. Here's the thing I need you guys to hear and understand. She had not spoken to me in 15 years. Megan never liked any of my stuff. She just followed me on social media.Lessons learnedThe Facebook algorithm is set up so that you people see you and you see other people when you interact with their posts, so just post and interact on there. Go through the birthdays on Facebook every day and shoot someone a message. I try to be genuine, ask how they're doing if I haven't talked to them in a while, etc., but you want people to remember you, right?You never know who's looking for a Realtor. You never know who may have had a bad experience with a previous agent. You have to be willing to reach out to these people. They'll be like, oh, I kind of forgot John existed. How's he doing? Oh, he's a Realtor now. You will have more success in the real estate business by using social media. Think about this and apply this to your business.

Business UpdateI am just very thankful for all the ways that God has blessed my business and for you guys who listen to the show and support it. In May, we had our 12th consecutive month of podcast growth. About this time last year, I was kind of stressed about the podcast. Had a lot going on in my business and at home. And it was a big stressor in my marriage because I would often be doing podcast episodes at the last minute,  on a Monday night for an episode on Tuesday. It was very stressful. I finally got my butt in gear, thanks to some amazing people within Total Life Freedom and Inspire business community, where people said, look, you just need to get ahead. Once I started doing it consistently and really had a plan, I ended up sometimes being a month or six weeks ahead. It gave me so much margin.It gave me time to not only focus on my real estate business and things I do for the team, but it also gave me time to promote the show and start to do other things like coaching and helping Realtors. June of last year was almost triple the average of the downloads in the previous five months. A lot of that was due to reaching out to people, sharing the podcast, being ahead of it, having a plan, and structuring things differently so that it released right at midnight and was one of the first episodes people saw in their iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or wherever they listened.That's a big piece of what's helped it grow. Whether you found me a year ago or longer, or found me last week, I'm very thankful that you listen. I want to somehow encourage people in the real estate industry. I want to be able to encourage people and help people continue growing the show.This past week I was in Orlando at Podfest for my first time there, and I learned so much.Normally I feel like I'm grinding and working all the time, and it's kind of cool and crazy because I don't have a ton going on right now. It's a nice little lull. I definitely needed it a few weeks ago when I was on vacation. And then with Podfest, I basically was gone 17 days in May. It’s been a really good month between Podfest, vacation, time to get away, and a lot of learning. I’m super excited about that and excited to share some lessons with you over the next few weeks and months in terms of real estate business. I often say ACEs in their places. I learned that at Chick-fil-A, where we talked about having the best people in the best positions at the best times. I've never been great at details. I've never been good at paperwork. We talk about sales, relationship, sales, relationships, paperwork, and the backend stuff is definitely not my gift. It is Cara’s.I outsource my show notes and my blog posts for my website. I outsource my podcast editing, and I really needed somebody to do paperwork on the backend for my business.On the Home FrontMy wife flew down to Florida on Sunday, and she was with me from Sunday to Wednesday of this week. And that was absolutely amazing. It was so nice to spend time with her. It was great to get away with her in Orlando. We don't really get time like that without the kids. We also went on vacation earlier in May and had some time as a family with her family and with my extended family. Coming UpJune's about to be crazy with five settlements. I’m very excited about it. Thank you guys again for all the success over the past year in my real estate business, but also here on the podcast. Thank you for the support and encouragement. It would not be possible. And the growth of the podcast would not be possible if it were not for amazing people like you, who listen to the show and share it and review it.

Who is Ken Carfagno?Christian husband, father, and member of the Total Life Freedom community, Ken is an amazing friend and mentor. He owns Carfagno Commercial Cleaning, and he also runs an amazing podcast, the Smart Cleaning School. Ken also has a community for cleaners. He does a lot of amazing things and knows the real estate industry very well from his cleaning days. Quotations from Ken“I said, John, look at this, look at where you were. I know you're feeling like you're not far along. Zoom out. Look at the trend line. Look where you were a year ago, look at where your life was, what your podcast was, look at where your family was.” “So Realtors out there, I highly encourage you to keep a journal. I mean, John has his in podcast format, as do I keep a journal. Write some notes. What's going on in your life right now? What was happening a year ago? You'll find that you have improved in some way, shape or form, and that will bring encouragement to you.”Find out the following and more: How to manage home life and workWhat Ken believes about owning a businessWhy he left his former life as an engineer at GEKey decisions that should be made early on in a marriageWhich elements in their family vision are keyHow he took his family on a month-long vacation to Florida in the winterWhen a police officer pulled a gun on him while Ken was cleaningWhy he moved and built a new business from scratchWhat prompted him to start a podcastHow he inspired John SchuchmanResourcesThe Holy BibleChapter a Day Bible podcastSmart Cleaning School podcastDave RamseyMichael Gerber's book, E-Myth RevisitedTotal Life Freedom communityJournal <a...