Interview (Lars Hedenborg interviewing Clayton) about Clayton's transition out of active real estate production into a strategic/ownership role. Clayton entered real estate in 2005, connected with Lars through mutual coaching circles, began working with Lars about six to seven months before the interview, and—after an early pivotal call—stopped taking client appointments (about five and a half months without appointments). Coaching focused on mindset, accountability, and building business infrastructure so Clayton could work on the business rather than in it. Outcomes include regained family time, strategic planning, debt-free status (house paid off the prior year), and plans to launch/scale Mission Realty Real Estate.
Questions this video answers
2005.
About six to seven months.
About five to five-and-a-half months.
The house was paid off the prior year (relative to the interview).
Mission Realty Real Estate.
Clayton, how long have you been working with Lars?
About six months, seven months, I think.
Okay.
Time flies when you're having fun.
And how long have you been in real estate? And what was the path that led you to working with him?
2005, got into real estate. Path that led me to working with Lars was I met Lars when we were both coaching with a different coaching company. And we just. We had a lot in common, became friends and just continued to follow him and his journey and was impressed with what he was doing. And from a business standpoint, when he was still in production and then wasn't surprised, but kind of was that he started a coaching company. I just thought it was really neat and started following that. I appreciated the content that he was. That he was putting out there. And I knew just from reading that content that he had taken his business to a place where I wanted to go desperately, which led me to reaching out to Lars, frankly, because I trusted him, I knew him, and I was just in a place in my business where I knew I had to make some changes. So I reached out and. And contacted him.
Okay. Yeah. How was your business doing at that point when you first contacted him?
Well, I mean, that was the problem. The business was amazing. I mean, we're incredibly blessed. But it was running my life, and I have two small children and a wife that is my best friend. And, you know, aside from my faith, I mean, they're just the most important things to me. So it was just beginning to take over my life, and I knew I had to make a change or I was going to go do something else.
Okay, what were some of those things that you started working on right away that six months ago when you started coaching?
Well, I mean, the first thing, and I think most importantly, I mean, it was maybe the first call or the second call. It wasn't more than the second call. And again, I was just in a place where my mindset was not good. I didn't want to work with clients anymore. I was stressed out. It was impacting my relationship with my family and my children. And, you know, thankfully, I had just my own personal journey. I don't have any debt, and Lars knew that. It's just one of my things. We paid off our house last year. After talking with Lars on that second call, I was surprised when he said, just stop. If you don't want to work with clients anymore, don't. And the amazing thing about that is I didn't think I was there. And there's still part of me that doesn't Think I'm there, by the way, but it's been five months since I've been on an appointment. Five and a half months since I've been on an appointment with a client. So that was that one call. Just when he said, look, I've reviewed your numbers. I know you're debt free. I've looked at your P, L, you can. You're where I was when I stepped out of my business, is what Lars said. And that was awesome because I thought I was at least a year, maybe two years out from being able to step away, but it just wasn't the case.
Have you been seeing some results? I know it's still pretty new, but. Any results from the coaching?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, so the biggest result is I'm not in production anymore. And I know it's a little bit different for me because my volume and my. My profitability was just in a place where I didn't know it. I mean, that's the important thing I think that needs to be said is Lars had the experience to look at my business and the infrastructure, the people I had in place, my P and L, because he's been there and he's done that. So the biggest change, the biggest thing for me was was that second call. And now it's just building on that. Okay, so what next? And again, when you're working with somebody that's been there, it continues to grow their business, their real estate business, while actually not being in the business, but being able to work on it instead of in it, and has that knowledge that I just didn't have and still don't have to. His degree, that's powerful. So now it's just working on making sure that the business, the infrastructure is stable enough so I can go work on the things that I'm most passionate about.
Definitely. Okay. Clayton, how in your experiences, Lars, coaching different from what you've done in the past?
Accountability, you know, trust, you know, the coaches that I've had in the past, and there are a lot of them, great people, good became friends with a lot of them, but just no accountability. So, you know, I want somebody, and I think most people are this way when they hire a coach. I want somebody to kick me in the butt. And if I say I'm going to do something, hold me accountable. I don't care if I'm paying you. I'm paying you to. I mean, I played sports growing up, so my. My favorite coaches are the coaches that I hated at the time. And looking back, are the coaches that I actually Loved the most because they taught me the most, because they were hard on me, and they told me what I didn't necessarily wanted to hear, but I needed to hear it. So that's been refreshing, as Lars is pretty direct, but in a caring way, but he's not going to sugarcoat anything.
Have you noticed any improvements in your personal life or more time with your family life since then?
Yeah. I mean, it's Thursday afternoon, and I'm sitting in my home office working on strategic planning. This is what I've been doing all afternoon, is working on my business instead of in it. So, yeah, it's dramatic, and it's a little weird, to be honest with you, when you're used to going five to seven days a week, hard, and then all of a sudden you take a step back and. And you're forced to not force, but, you know, you start to look at your business from a different level. And again, that's where Lars is just key, because he can tell you, okay, well, this is where you need to focus now. And that's what he's done. So that's been. So, yes, My life has changed dramatically since starting coaching with Lars.
Awesome. What tips would you offer to someone who's in the program right now to maximize their success?
You know, I think just be humble and not to think that we know everything and just to listen and implement, you know, I mean, Lars, I believe. My opinion is that Lars heart is in the right place, and he has the business acumen, the experience. He's kind of been at a place where most Realtors have not in terms of transitioning out of their business and into another business while their real estate business is still running at a higher level. Listen, and to what Lars tells you to do and implement, it really is. It's kind of that easy.
Okay. And what would you say to someone who's kind of on the fence about working with Lars?
You know, I didn't. I didn't jump in with Lars right away, even when I probably had an opportunity to do it. And I had to get to a place where I was desperate, frankly, to give Lars a call. So I would say, don't get to that place. There are a lot of coaches out there. The unique thing about Lars is Lars spent a lot of time coaching with people outside of the real estate industry. And I think it was through that, like your Brendon Bouchards and your Tony Robbins. It was through that that Lars discovered. And I'm kind of speaking for him, but I hope he doesn't mind that he discovered what his passion was, and it was for helping other people grow and develop personally and professionally. I would just say to people, don't wait until you're desperate. If you do it before you get to that point, things could be a lot easier, and you could accelerate your business so much faster. If I had waited another year to call him, I'd still be in production, I'd still be working six, seven days a week, and my relationship with my family would still be poor. That's just a fact. So if you don't have another very viable option, which you're probably not talking to, Lars, if you do, then I would just. I would do it.
Great. Okay. And lastly here, Clayton, what does success look like to you, and where is your business headed?
So success to me is giving back. You know, I just come from a background of. I never realized until I got into real estate that there was so much opportunity to grow and to give, and now that I'm kind of moving in that direction, success to me is being in a position where I have the time and the resources and the energy and the desire to just give back of my time, my resources, my energy.
Yeah. And where do you see your business heading in the future?
So that's a good question, honestly, trying to figure that out. So I've got a couple of different ideas. I'm with Keller Williams. So one of the things I'm trying to figure out is whether or not I want to take this business to another level. I have a company that I'm launching called Mission Realty Real Estate with a purpose. And so it's just trying to. And that's the exciting part, is trying to figure out where to go now and how big do I want it to be. And just try to align that with, like I said, what I feel success looks like. And if I can go to work every day and my business supports what success looks like for me, then that's amazing. So that's kind of what we're trying to do now.
