How Christina Valkanoff Produced $50 Million in Volume Without Giving Up Time With Her Family

All right. Hey there and welcome to another case study. I am honored to have just spent a little bit of time here with Christina Valkenoff out of. What are you? The Triangle. Raleigh, North Carolina. And I don't know whether to call it Raleigh, the Triangle. But Christina, why don't you just kind of start off, just kind of give a couple minute overview of like, what the business looks like today. When you got into real estate, your personal, you know, situation, a little bit about your family, just to kind of get us started here.

Okay. I have a mom of three little ones and my husband owns his own businesses as well. So we're both entrepreneurial spirits. So we have a sweet little family, but a very demanding family all my time. I got into real estate when I was 18. I got my real estate license right out of high school and sold real estate through college. And then once I graduated from college, started my own team, I guess. Three years in one, realtor magazine's top 30 under 30 in the country. And we've just continued to grow and do what we do since then. So it's been a fun journey. And I currently have a team of two full time staff members that are our listing manager and closing manager, as well as a marketing intern and then three sales agents on my team and myself.

And what was production last year? What'd you guys do in volume?

Just under 50 million.

Awesome. So when we met, you know, what, what, what did you want to achieve? You know, when we first met, like, what was the goal in working together? What did you want to achieve?

When we first started working together, I wanted to really grow my business and I thought I wanted to get out of production.

And so what, so what, what happened with that?

I realized that I really love selling and I really love that piece of the business. And that when I took that piece away, it was taken away part of the passion that drives me in the business.

Yeah. And so what were the, like, what were the big problems, you know, that you were facing, you know, with the amount of production when you were doing. Because we chatted before, we sort of hit record here. And you know, our industry measures growth in like one way only. And you know, it's like how many homes, when you're running one of these teams and you're doing volume, it's like, how many homes did you sell? And it's like the worst measurement of growth ever. Like, nobody's talking to your spouse, nobody's seeing if you're spending time with your kids. You know, nobody really gets to see what that what's actually going on? Unpack some of that for us. Like, what was it like? You know, I challenged you to take a couple hours off on a Friday, and you took it a little differently than my challenge to you. But tell us what it was like when you first started working together. And then really the bulk of our work, what did we achieve together when.

We started working together? I was chasing a number, and I was chasing accolades of things like top 10, top 5, being on certain lists, certain awards, and I was chasing more and more production, and I really had very little work life balance. I was really working a lot, and my husband and my babies are my world. And I would do all I could to spend all my time with everybody, but work was consuming it. And then I was doing absolutely nothing for myself. And I was exhausted all the time. I was burned out. I was, you know, chasing something that even wasn't making me happy. And I didn't even realize it was when we first started that what really made me happy was doing what I love, which is selling real estate, but also having the life that I want with my husband and my children, where I get great time with them. And I'm not always being, you know, people at me in the real estate world. So I realized that in my journey and my coaching is that that's what was important to me, is to have a balance between all of it and. And what was most important was I wasn't taking care of myself, and therefore I was becoming not good for anyone because I was so exhausted all the time.

Yeah. So, you know, what, what are some of the things that you, you know, you. You have this amazing business. You do really well for your clients. I think you're like 80% referral based. I mean, it's. It's so people love the work you're doing for them, and they're telling their friends and family about you. How do you maintain that level of service and still not let the business. I mean, that is like the holy grail of, like, being a successful real estate agent and being successful as a mom, as a wife, as a woman of faith. Like, let's talk about that a little bit. How did you make that shift?

It wasn't easy. I first of all made sure that I was surrounded by people that wanted to help me achieve that and that were the right people in my life. I realized very quickly that I had a couple of people on my team that didn't contribute to the greater good of everyone. And so I made a lot of shifts in who I Surrounded myself with, first of all, in my team. And then I started by being very focused in where I was. So if I was at home, I was at home. And I only was texting, emailing, or doing things. If there was something that was super important that had to happen that night, like we're negotiating something that I had a timeline on. Otherwise, my kids and my husband had my 100% commitment to them. So I was focused where I was. I started really being very super critical about my time blocking. So how I schedule my appointments. It takes a lot for me to get an appointment with someone in the morning, because the mornings are my time where I'm crushing my big rocks of the day, and then I'll start appointments in the afternoon. I only work one evening a week, and a lot of times I don't even do that. My husband and I do date night, and I don't work weekends typically anymore because it just took away from the time that I get with my family. So I got very purposeful in booking appointments during Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. And I started. I heard Lars talk about something called a clarity break, and that Fridays were his clarity breaks. Well, I thought that was clarity of me. So I started doing all the things for myself on Fridays, and I'm probably three months into it, and I start telling Lars how great it's going in these Friday clarity breaks. Nobody knows where Christina is, because Christina's doing what Christina needs to be doing for myself and my family and whatnot. And it's totally different than what Lars meant, but it's been really great for me. So on Fridays, I'm pretty much doing something for myself or my family that feeds my soul.

Yeah. So a clarity break is just a couple hour time block where you're away from everyone. Nobody can find you. You're just asking questions about your business. Are you on plan? Do you have people issues? You know, are your clients happy? And so you. You next leveled it. You challenged me to do the same thing. So I don't think I ever told you that I've been inspired to. You know, I went down from two to one day back to one day a week in the real estate business, and I gave my family Fridays.

That's awesome.

Yeah. And you inspired that, which is super cool. I love it. So let's kind of dig into maybe a little bit more specific focus areas. You know, what. What are the two or three areas that we focused on? I think we've been working, like, a couple years together. What are the three focus areas where have you? I want to get into the fact that you measure growth differently than other people, but what are the three things or two things that we focused on together?

Probably one of the biggest ones was the people component. I really struggled with liking people and bringing them into my world, and they weren't a good fit. And I had a lot of people surrounding me that weren't the right fit for my company. And so we really did a lot of work through people on my team and how I hire people, how I interview them and what matters in when someone joins my team. And not that I feel like I've gotten that piece down because it's an ever growing and changing piece, but I feel like I'm at a place where I'm really and truly, I have one of the best teams around and everybody on my team is really phenomenal and just aligns completely with who we are as a company. And. And when we started coaching, I had all the wrong people and I didn't know how to manage and lead either. And so we've had a lot of growth through who to hire, but also then once I hire them, how to lead them to be the great leaders of our team and also to manage kind of expectations and things like that.

Yeah. So, you know, we talk a lot about in real estate B school, you know, it really is like this equation and it's dicey. I struggle with it from time to time. It's time, money, and stress. Like, how much time am I going to put into this thing to get the financial reward that I want and a level of stress that's manageable. And I think financially, I think you've been okay. And it was really just the time and stress component, having misfit people in your life. And they're not bad people. Right, because you saw a reason to go into business with them. They're just not a fit for this business that you're building. So, yeah, there's more that just shift from like, you know, this is going to be great. You know, you have the potential to like, you know it's not a good fit. Like, I know it's not going to be a good fit. And managing. Let's talk a little bit. I think it's going to serve those that hear this to talk about, like, how do you measure growth? You know, I said the industry measures it. Like, there's only one way to measure it. I sell, you know, a thousand homes or 100 homes or whatever the number is. But how do you. How do you measure growth in your life?

And this is very much shifted since we met. Growth for me, having a very profitable business that creates the life that I really want to have for myself and my family. And it also is managed and balanced in terms of stress level and input into the company and into input into the business where it doesn't control my life always and every minute of the day. If you let real estate do it, it will control you. It will take away every relationship you have. It will become your partner, it will become everything. And you are just obsessed about your real estate career, which is the way a lot of people are in this business. And I didn't want that. So I wanted a happy marriage. I wanted a happy mom life and a good mom, and I wanted to make. Make the money that created the life that I want us to all have and be able to send all my kids to college and all those things. So for me, yeah, it's really great when we're on the top 25 list and when we win best Realtor in Wake county or when we this magazine votes us this or that. Those are wonderful. And I remember that's all I ever wanted. And now I'm like, oh, that's awesome. But that's not what drives me. So it's changed from I gotta get to this number of production, I gotta get to this number of where I'm ranked. It's changed completely from that to, you know, what is my life like and am I genuinely happy all the way around?

Yeah, that's really good.

And I can say I am now. I came into coaching a mess, like, no time, completely frustrated, every day stressed, and it was just crazy. And now I feel like I have this incredible business that I don't have to be top five. I don't have to be always striving to beat someone else. I'm happy and that's what matters. And so is my husband and so are my kids, and we have a great life, and that's what ultimately matters to me.

Yeah. I think you were at this intensive where one of our members, you know, and it's. It's a struggle for all of us. You know, you realize that we chase success when we. We try to figure out, like, getting this thing called success, when really it, like, let's just be grateful. Let's be happy for what we have. And so you built an awesome business. What. When we first started talking, you know, what objections did you have? I know you were referred by someone you trust, but what objections did you have when we first started working together or first Talking about working together.

Why do I need a coach? I mean, I listen to podcasts. I mean, I read books and mean, why would I. I think I'm pretty good. Like, I don't know that I really need a coach or someone. I mean, my husband and I are very open and communicating. I've got a lot of friends in the business that I bounce stuff off of. Like, I don't know why I need a coach. I mean, I feel like I already get that somewhere else. So why would I need a coach? That was kind of where I was in my head.

Yeah. And then. So now that you've been in the community for a while, you know what's your favorite part of real estate B school?

First, knowing anytime I have anything that I'm unsure about or I need advice on, there's always a community of people there ready to help, ready to advise. And I mean, Lars, you've been phenomenal. I mean, there have been times where I was like, this is just so crazy and incredibly stressful. Like, what am I doing? And you've always been there to say, well, let's break this down, let's talk about this and let's figure out why and what's going on. And having someone that you can really, that understands the business, that you can talk through all those pieces that really gets it and then pushes you to get out of your comfort zone, to do the things that it's going to take to get where you want to get, has been incredible. That's been my favorite piece because you've inspired me to do something different that I never would have done had I not been in the program. I mean, teary eyed about it because it's, it's pretty awesome. And then the group of people, I mean, everybody in the real estate B school that I've got really great friends, I mean, when I decided to go independent 60 days ago, I literally was making calls and everybody's like, okay, I'm giving you my list. I'm giving you this. This is what you need to know. Everyone in the community was ready to help me and it's just been, it's been really great and 10 times X what I invest in it from a standpoint of getting me where I want to go. And I think that's unique for everyone in this, you know, real estate B school that it's different for everyone. Everyone's journey is different and what they need and want out of the coaching programs different. But for me, it gave me my life and the ability to make the choice of am I going to create a real business that creates the life I want to live, or am I going to create a business that controls me every day? And I made the choice to create the business that's beautiful and fun and makes me happy. And I did it through the real estate B school.

Yeah. And just. Just seeing you and how you interact with our community and, you know, there was that time where not to brag on real estate B school. It's almost a commentary to how we think. Others have it figured out and we don't trust that what we're building is like, this is what I want. And the business. The cool thing about real estate B school is that you can pick up something from another member maybe that's a little bit stronger here that you realize, yeah, maybe I don't want to do that, but I. I probably have to do that if I want to grow. And it's uncomfortable. And at the same time, you can school them on like, yeah, guys, when you take a listing, this is how I turn it into three deals. And you guys aren't doing this on social media. And it's like, oh, yeah, you know, so it is this community of we're all building businesses versus selling real estate. We sell real estate. You probably at the highest level, and we wanting to build business that have, you know, this life of its own. So let me ask you, like, who would you recommend? You've been a great supporter of real estate B school. Who would you recommend real estate B school to and why?

I would say I would recommend the real estate B school to agents that are looking for people that will support you in your journey in this career and help you and advise you and give you advice. But most importantly, people that really want to find a way to grow in some area or aspect of their business that may be a really, like, a weakness for them. Because this group gives you the ability to. To push you outside that comfort zone. So if you know you need to make changes in your real estate career and in the kind of trajectory of where you're going, this is a group that will support you and love you through it, not just push you through it. Which is what I think a lot of other coaching programs do. Yeah, you're going to get kind of pushed through it some, but it's going to be through a way that is very welcoming and challenging and motivates you to want to make those changes, to do the right things, to get where you want to go. Does that answer your question?

No, it's really good. I Mean, and the thing I admire about what you've built, and it's funny, you know, I get to brag about you not for what really I've helped you do or what real estate B school has helped you do, but more so, like, I just admire the way you've built your business. And it's just a model for like, you can do a lot of business and build it in a way where you love doing it. You know, it really is people doing as much volume as $50 million worth of real estate with a small, tight knit team. Most of them are miserable. If you really get them, like, let's have a glass of wine and talk about how awesome your business is. It's like, well, I'm going to have three glasses of wine. I'm going to tell you that it really is challenging. Marriage is suffering, you know, and so you've just drawn this line in the sand. And I think it's what I admire most about you, and I hope it's what everyone takes from this, is that you can build a business in a way you can grow, you can scale. You know, we're having conversations now about like, what does 100 million look like for you? How do you maintain? So maybe that's one last question I'll ask you. What are you most excited about the future? When you look four or three years, you know, going from 50 to let's say 100 million, what do you look forward to the most? Or what are you most excited about for the future of your business?

I am at a place now where I have a great team and the ability to really want to grow now and grow the right way and excited about what the next year to two years, to three years, to five years are going to bring, because I'm ready to actually really grow and do it the right way, with the right people in place, with the right tracking system in place and with the right systems in place. So I've laid the groundwork for us and we've stayed, you know, fairly the same for the last couple of years in terms of production, but, but built monumental things behind the scenes that will allow us to now propel ourselves forward in production.

Yeah, that's awesome. And so if you're watching this, well, first of all, if you're watching this and you have referrals to the Triangle area in North Carolina, straight to Christina Valkenoff, that goes without saying, she will handle them with extreme care and love on them. But if you're watching this and you're like, you're at that point in your business where you probably have achieved what most agents think they want, it's that traditional success where you're probably selling 30, 40, 50, 60 homes a year, maybe 100 homes, and it is not what you thought it would be, and time is not your own. Maybe the money's good, but your spouse hates you and you kick your dog every day, and your children never get to see you. Like, if there's some aspect of Christina's story, you know, that strikes a chord with you and. And you're feeling like you're missing out in some areas of your life, just go to realestatebschool.com the next step is a business growth strategy session. There's no pressure. Sell in anything we do. It's getting on the phone to see if we can help you grow your business in a way where it's a business that serves you. You still serve your clients at a high level, but it doesn't consume you. So if that's your next step, go to realestatebschool.com Christina, I have so much respect for you and Andy and the family that you're building, and to get to hang out with you guys is such an honor. So I thank you for your time. Like I said, send your referrals over to Christina and her team. They will take excellent care of them.