Why Real Estate Chews Up Good Agents (and Spits Them Out)

Hello everyone, welcome back. Uh, this is Brokers Uncensored: Real Estate Reality, uh, and I'm Steve Zaras. Uh, we have Shadd Boucher and Becky Dewey here. Uh, we are all managing brokers with RE/MAX Alliance Group. We are excited about these podcasts. We hope you are as well. Uh, this is raw and real. What that means is that Shadd and Becky, they have no idea what I'm going to ask them. You're going to get true genuine answers. From the two of them.

Let's be honest, Steve, you'd get true answers anyway, even if I knew what it was.

Yes, yes, yes. And I just want to say that Becky and myself are world travelers if you look at our background, and Shadd decided to stay and take care of all of our offices for us. He's got a nice little bookcase in the back there. So anyway, we're gonna have some fun, and we hope that our video is helpful to everybody who watches it. You'll get our contact information afterwards, but here we go. Today's topic And we're going to start off with Becky. Uh, first of all, first topic is— or the first reason, I should say— is inconsistent income. And that is the elephant in the room with somebody who wants to get into our industry. And I have a few points to make, but let's start off with Becky.

I just think, like you mentioned, Steve, inconsistent income. Obviously, this is a commission-based business, and so there's going to be ups and downs. So, you have to have resources saved up. We recommend at least 6 months' worth to kind of withhold you until you possibly, when you're getting into this business, to withhold your expenses and that kind of thing. And some of those expenses are MLS fees and marketing costs, business cards, those kinds of things. So, not having a consistent income can deplete that savings fairly quickly.

Yes. Shadd?

So, I agree, inconsistent income is a problem, but I'm going to tie it back to that agents don't have a budget. They don't understand what they— they don't spend stuff on the smart stuff first and this and the other stuff because they don't realize they're running a business. So they run out and buy a Rolex instead of figuring out how to fund their marketing for 3 months or put back 2 months worth of their mortgage or any of those things. They, they basically think in a paycheck mindset, I'm getting paid next Friday, and that's not the case. You're always working off past funds. And I think that's, that's part of the problem.

Absolutely. And, you know, it's funny, if somebody is living paycheck to paycheck, this is not the business for them. You need minimum 6 months reserves to get started. And we've talked about this previously. It takes 5 years to make it in this business. And there's nothing worse than dealing with a realtor that needs to have that closing to make their rent. You want to talk about an emotional roller coaster? And a person that is not dealing with this industry logically, uh, it just, it becomes a terrible situation.

Well, let's hang on before we move on. Let's also talk about inconsistent effort.

Yes.

Yeah. Income stems from inconsistent effort. You know, we know you guys, we know these agents, the ones that get a big pop, right? They make, you know, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 commission. Who sees them for 3 months, right? They don't, they don't come into the office. They're not doing anything. They're all of a sudden you see their Facebook page and they're in Aruba and they're here and they're there. And then they come back going, oh my God, I'm broke.

That's right. And everything you do today will pay off in 3 to 6 months.

Yeah.

So, so it's when you get down to $0 in your checking account and you decide, okay, I'm gonna start going to the office, I'm gonna start paying attention. Well, it's too late.

Yeah, 90 days.

And we talked about last week, you have to market yourself when you're doing well.

Yep.

That'll get you through the tough times.

You have to plant those seeds and water and fertilize it.

Exactly. Exactly. So, you know, another one is lack of support and training. And a lot of brokerages will overpromise. They don't have the resources or the programs to help an agent, but some folks will leave the industry because they just don't have that support. Shadd, you want to start with that one?

Absolutely. In fact, I hate the word training. I love the word development. Development is, is imparting the skill, the actual brokerage, following up, applying accountability, you know, making those plans and that consistency. And but the biggest part about that is, is I was always taught by a mentor of mine years ago that when the student is ready, the teacher appears, meaning that the teacher's always been there, but the student hasn't wanted to be there to actually accept the knowledge and take responsibility and be there. So that's another big thing that's a problem is, is not just is the brokerage providing development, but is the agent willing to actually be coachable, trainable, and, and come in and actually absorb it and apply? And I think that's where most agents, they just— and again, they're coming from an employee mindset that now they don't have that. So they're like, oh, I don't— I've learned what I've learned and that's all I need to learn.

Yes.

That's not this business by any shape of, of, of anything. It's just not.

Okay.

Becky?

I think it kind of boils down to is you get what you pay for. You know, cost is only an issue in the absence of value. So, you know, I love that one.

Darren Hardy. I love that one.

Yeah. So, I mean, you know, agents go, you know, they go for the low fees and high split and that kind of thing. And, you know, at the end of the day, You know, they don't have the manpower to, or the resources, those brokerages. I mean, you think about it, how does, how does the brokerage make their money and keep the lights on? You want an office and you want all these tools, but if the agents aren't contributing through a split or something like that to be able to provide those services, you know, it has to come from somewhere.

Yeah.

So, you know, there are a lot of companies out there and, you know, there are some agents that work great under those, you know, environments, but a majority do not.

Yeah, absolutely.

Survive. They're the 1% of the 1%. Yeah.

Yes. And, you know, we, we've all met, uh, realtors, uh, who work for some of these companies, and there is no support at all. And even for contract questions, any of our agents can call any one of us up and we'll help them through it. Uh, some brokers will tell them, hey, you got the, the helpline for Florida Realtors, give them a call.

I have a funny—

they'll answer your questions. I'm trying to have a martini here.

Don't bother me.

You know, I was talking to an agent about joining the brokerage. This guy— this was a couple years ago, and she was, you know, really grilling me about support and if she had questions or issues or whatever the case would be. And I'm like, literally, you know, that is my job. I work for the agent, so I'm here for as much or as little as you need me. So I'm going through that, all of that with her, and she's like, well, what would you do in this circumstance? And I said— I answered her question. She goes, oh. And I go, well, why may I ask what your broker If you had the same situation at your current brokerage, what did your broker recommend you do? Are you wait for it? Google it.

Oh my goodness!

Google it.

Yeah, but I think I think all three of us have called FAR's legal hotline in the years we've been doing this.

Yes.

Have any of you ever gotten a straight flipping answer from any of them? Like do this, or if you do this, you're fine.

It's.

Well, you could do this or you could do this. And I'm like, well, yeah, but that's not— which one do I do? Well, you can do this or you can do— okay, I came to you because they don't want to be on the hook for anything.

Well, and then—

Come back 5 times with the same question, you'll get 5 different answers.

Yeah, and then they appear to be non-committal sometimes.

Yeah.

But at the same— to stick up for them a little bit, maybe we're not asking the right question. Whereas if you have a broker in front of you and you can look at the paperwork together, Then the conversation is guided appropriately, right?

Correct. 100%. And it's just, it's just one of those things where it's, it's insane to, to think that there are brokers out there that— because ultimately we're on the hook, you know, it's, it's our brokerage and our, you know, and our license that's on the hook for the, the conduct of the, of the agent. So if you can't advise, I mean, it's, it's one of those things. But then again, Let's be honest, there are also agents out there that don't come to you until the building's on fire.

That's right. Well, I will say this before I move on to the next topic. You know, our brokerage has exceptional support and services for our realtors, and I'm proud to say that. And I'm sure the both of you feel the same.

Oh, look, we have— I mean, we have in-house counsel. I mean, we have the legal hotline.

Did you say in-house counseling or counsel?

Yeah, well, we should have in-house counseling, but Clearly, we should probably have—

We are the in-house counseling and we also have in-house counsel.

Yes, exactly.

Sorry, Shad.

We are the in-house counseling. You're not wrong. You're not wrong. You know, it's actually not to get off topic too much, but I've actually thought about putting a bar cart in my office and at some point making sure there's 2 keys to open it, one to my admin and one for me, so that there's like, you know, it's some days because this business is not for the weak, not even close.

That's right. All right. Let's go to the next topic. And I know you're going to love this. Let's talk about burnout. Shadd, start.

All right, so burnout. Um, I didn't take a vacation for the first 9 years I did this business because I was struggling to build a business. And then all of a sudden, I went to a couple of courses about scheduling and, and, and setting boundaries and things like that, and I built a very, very consistent business. But the problem with most people is they don't schedule their time, they don't triage their activities, meaning they do exactly what they need to do when they need to do it, and everything else kind of takes a back They don't prioritize lead generation. They don't put things in their place. They, they think that going and becoming a lifelong learner is gonna help them when all they're moving is from shiny object to shiny object, shiny object. And then eventually they just go, ah, this isn't for me. And it's not. It's— but you've been putting in massive effort just in the wrong direction. And that's why people burn.

Yes. Becky.

I think this is huge. I think agents in general just really suck at time management. Um, and they don't, and you can take days off. You're allowed to take days off. You're allowed to block those days out. You're allowed to take vacations. You're allowed to not work nights and weekends. I mean, these are things you have to do, but you have to be organized and you have to run your calendar. Your calendar doesn't run you. And there's just certain topics and ways that you ask people. You don't ask a customer when they're available. You say I'm available at this time or this time. Which one works best for you? Because chances are you have a kids' soccer game at 9 a.m. on Saturday. When do you think that person is going to be available? 9 a.m. on Saturday. Now you've backed yourself into a wall that now you're going to miss your kids' soccer game because you didn't plan accordingly. So happens a lot.

Piggyback off that. Everyone is a client. Your wife's a client. Your kids are clients. All you have to say is, I'm sorry, I have a client meeting at 9:00 AM on Saturday and I can't be there. They don't need to know that's your kid's soccer game.

Right.

That's, that's a, that's a massive thing. The second thing is make sure you bookend your boundaries. I get agents all the time that come in on a Saturday and they say, oh my God, I was out with the Johnsons showing property. I had to meet them at 10:00 AM and they had me out all day because they kept wanting to look at more and more and more and more. I said, oh wow, so you set an end time for you to be able to show on Saturday and they just disregarded it and kept you out all day? And guess what the answer from the agent is?

No.

Well, no, I didn't set an end time. Well, then the expectation from the customer is you're available all day.

Yes.

So you didn't say, yeah, absolutely, we can look at property on Saturday from 10 to 1 because I have another meeting.

I preach all the time to agents, they have to have balance in their life. If you don't have balance, this industry is going to eat you up. I grew up in restaurants. We worked long hours and very rarely did you have a day off. Now I am in complete control. This Saturday, we— I'm taking Saturday off. We're going to see monster trucks in Tampa. We're looking forward to it. It's gonna be a great time.

One of those Monster Jams, right?

My grandpa's going Sunday for his birthday.

Where you pay for the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge.

That's right. That's right. So, but the point is you need balance in your life. And sometimes that might be my wife and myself sitting in the driveway in our chairs while our dog is watching the squirrels. climb the trees next and waiting for them to get close enough so we can chase them. You know, we're just relaxing. You've got to have that downtime. And if an agent is constantly working and they have no downtime, they're going to burn themselves out quickly.

Well, there's a— there's actually a corporate term for it called constant whitewater. And the point is that life is a river, and if you're constantly in the whitewater, you're just gonna burn. There's no quiet time on the river. They call it constant whitewater. And I think That— I mean, you are— both of you familiar with Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant?

Yes. Yes.

Yeah.

2/3 of your life should be spent on personal and family, 1/3 generating the money to support the other 2/3.

Yes.

But you have to be regimented.

Yeah, that's right. All right, let's move on to the next topic, and that would be market conditions, because they are always changing. Becky, you want to start talking about that one?

Yeah, you got to be flexible in this business and you got to be ready to shift your sails, as they like to say. You know, I mean, listen, the last, let's, 5 years alone, we've had, you know, multiple hurricanes in our market. We've had, we've had a pandemic. We've had, you know, changes within the industry. I mean, none of those situations, any one of them was easy to deal with. Combine all 3 of them in a 5-year span and, you know, That can send you in a tailspin. And it's just all about adjusting those sails and educating yourself and, you know, working your sphere of influence and keeping to your tasks. I mean, you don't just— don't veer from your money-making activities and lead generating. Yeah.

All right, Chad.

It's— I'm just going to kind of piggyback on what she said. It's consistency of action. If you need to sit down and pivot, you know, if you're So hard-lined. I'm a listing agent. Okay, well, if listings are hard to come by or not selling, you're going to starve. So, if you can't pivot, if you can't move your business, if you are so like with blinders on that I'm just this, I'm just a buyer's agent, I'm just a listing agent, I just do rentals. No, walls are built of bricks.

Yes.

So, 25% of my business comes from here, 25% comes from here. So, at any time that there's a market shift like Becky's talking about, you move.

Yeah.

You just dedicate more time to this stuff that is working and less time to the stuff that isn't, but you don't abandon it.

And then you save your money. So, when the market does shift, you can start drawing from that emergency fund so you can survive and you can still be a nice, pleasant person to be around.

Well, and even to that point, Steve, so you have time to plan.

Yes.

You have time to analyze. You have time to not not switch out of fear, right? You can go, okay, well, let's look at the market. What is working? Where are we? Where are we going? And, and even to that, watch today. You know, I know a lot of agents right now that have been sitting on pins and needles because the next time that the Fed, they're going to drop rates. Okay. No, they haven't.

You marry the house and you date the rate.

Oh, you know, I would love to find the mortgage broker that said that the first time. And just kick him right in the shin. Right in the shin. That is just stupid. You realize that was—

That's how you really feel, Shadd.

Yeah, that was 4 years ago. And so far, I'm still married to the house and the date got uglier as we got on, right?

So—

Well, that's why you don't do blind dates, Shadd.

Exactly. It's a good point.

All right, next one. Unrealistic expectations. You know, a lot of agents, you know, they expect so much. But they have to understand it's a direct result of their efforts. But Becky, you want to start with that?

Yeah, I think we talked about this in episode 1 about, you know, why agents get in the business and them getting in the business because, you know, they think that they can make $1 million in the first year and they're, you know, and it's easy peasy. Well, the reality is, is you have to invest time and money into this business, just like you would any other business that you're doing. And there's going to be sacrifices and there's going to be a lot of effort that is going to need to be had by you. Um, and consistency with it. And again, you know, sacrifices with your family and, and some things that, um, in areas that maybe you normally wouldn't want to sacrifice them. But the reality is, is it's life. And if you wanna be successful, you're gonna have to do it.

All right, Shadd.

This business, I love it because you don't have to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth to make a living, to provide for your family, to own a home, to, to own something that works. I love that part about it. The problem is that the opportunity for every agent knocks on the door, and when they open it, it's wearing overalls and looks like work. And they've gotten so ingrained in Million Dollar Listing New York and HGTV. You know, I'm, I'm out buying my home and I'm work— I'm, I'm going to buy it with my husband and he's a seasonal apple picker and I, I weave worms into small mats. I mean, it's, it's, it's not the case. And that's the problem is—

Right.

And I will say this. And there should be more in the real estate process of getting your license that explains to you budgeting, that you do own a small business, that all that kind of stuff is there.

Well, you know, Shadd, I think that's even an issue with our education system. We don't teach our children finances, how to balance a checkbook, why you invest money, the Rule of 72. There's so many things that they don't know. And had they known it, can you imagine how rich our country would be?

Well, and right now, I mean, the stat that I've heard the other day and I haven't verified this, but the average agent in Florida has only been doing this since 2019.

Yeah. Yeah. And you want about 3 deals a year?

Something 4.

Yeah.

4.

Yeah. It's— and again, you don't learn anything at that point.

Yeah. No, you don't. All right. Next topic is high competition. Now, I've heard many times, and I'm sure the both of you will laugh at this because you've heard the same thing, is when somebody crosses the border of Florida, They get their real estate license before they get their driver's license. Everybody gets a real estate license. It's easy to get a license, but also their expectations are unrealistic. But Shadd, go ahead and start with that one. High competition.

We— okay, look, there's high competition in everything. Okay? There's high competition in everything. And honestly, that shouldn't matter at all. It really shouldn't. You should be out there working your business. With the, the differentiator is you. It doesn't matter what the guy down the street's doing. It doesn't matter, you know, if, if Burger King was afraid of McDonald's, it would get out of the business. So would Wendy's. So would everything else. So, yes, there's a lot of competition and you've got to be out there. If you have an expectation that people are just going to find you by osmosis, like all of a sudden they're just going to stumble upon you and work with you, no, you have to market. You have to, you have to network, you have to reach out, you have to be intentional, you have to be proactive. And if that's the case, then competition doesn't matter. I'm, I'm sorry.

I, I agree 100%.

I agree.

There's enough business out there.

Oh yeah. And oh geez, I just forgot what I was gonna say. Oh my gosh.

Oh, Becky had a moment.

It was good.

Becky had a moment.

Oh well, you can carry on.

So, you know, I've always told folks in this business, especially when I'm teaching class, there's enough business out there for everybody who wants to work. You just need to work the plan and you just need to keep focused on the future. You need to have the resources, the education, the time, the education. Take the classes. Not only are you learning, but you're also hanging out with other people that are improving their future, you know?

Right.

And it drives me nuts when people say, well, the designations don't make you money. That is so untrue.

No, the education makes you money.

Yes.

I, I, you know, and let me, let me be back. I will agree the public does not understand what a GRI is.

Yeah.

Okay. They have no concept, but the education that allows you to apply yourself is invaluable.

That's right.

We get paid for what's here.

And the relationships you make with other folks at the class.

Yep. 100%.

All right, here's a good one. Becky, I'm gonna let you start with this one because this topic is lack of business skills. There's so many people that came from an industry or a job, they don't understand what it's like to have a business regardless of what that business is. Then they get into the real estate industry and this is 100% your business within the framework of your brokerage and the industry. So, if you would talk about that.

I mean, certainly. I mean, I think they— getting a business coach or any type of coach, whether it be your managing broker, if they're coaching, or, you know, hiring a physical coach to coach you through some of these tasks and keeping you accountable and, you know, and building your business. And obviously, I know, Shadd, we talked about this in one of the episodes as well, you know, hiring a CPA.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, they're going to be your best friend. They're going to tell you what you can deduct, what you can't deduct, keep you on task. And You know, paying those quarterly taxes, those are a huge part of owning your own business because you can get yourself in debt and in a situation really quick for sure.

Yes. Shadd?

I think you— when you get into this business, you need to lean on people that have walked where you've walked. And if you're not, you know, that's one of the things I think is a problem is agents teaching agents, because a lot of the agents out there, they've done 3 deals last year. They have no right telling you how you should budget, what you should be spending on lead generation, all of those things. And you need to hire experts until you are an expert. So, just like Becky said, hire a CPA until you understand the tax implications well enough to possibly not need them. But I'll be honest with you, as soon as you understand the tax implications, you're going to want them even more.

That's right.

And so, you know, going out there and you're hiring experts, and in a lot of ways, those experts, the ones that really have a push on your business, is your brand, your broker, and the people that you surround yourself with. You surround yourself with millionaires, you'll be the next one. If you surround yourself with a bunch of broke, lazy people, you'll be the next one, you know.

And our job as managing brokers, we kind of guide our realtors. We can't hold their hand through the whole process, but we can guide them. I'll give you an example. We just hired somebody from another brokerage. I won't say the name of the other brokerage, But we just hired them and we have another person that's in our office and his goal is to do 30 deals this year. So, next week, the new guy and the guy wanting to do 30 deals this year, I'm taking them both out to lunch so that they can start to develop that relationship. And it's important that somebody in this industry starts seeking out those who are successful. And I would say, take them to Starbucks. Lunch is expensive if you don't want to do lunch and you don't You have limited funds, but take them to Starbucks or do something and pick their brain a little bit. I have never, ever turned anybody down who wanted to learn something about what I know. Never.

And just show up in the office. The camaraderie in the office. I mean, just being in the office. Now, I'm not saying you need to sit in the office 8 hours a day, but just being in the office and talking to agents and hearing about circumstances that are happening with their transactions and that kind of thing. Those are learning experiences. And just, I mean, just general knowledge of things that can occur within—

Absolutely.

Industry is, is priceless.

Absolutely.

If you do this business and you're kicking and stumbling over rocks that other people have already kicked and stumbled over, it's your fault. Yeah. Because there are people there, or there should be people there that are willing to teach you and willing to learn. And I think, you know, part of this too is I'm going to go back to one other thing. Realize what the value is of things that a brokerage provides other than just your split.

That's right.

Getting 100% of no opportunity to make money.

Yep.

And you're on your own. You are on your own.

Yep.

All right. Next topic. Life changes. Things happen in our lives, and it may cause somebody, if they're ill or a family member or they got to move out of state to take care of a parent, things happen in our lives.

Yeah.

That cause change. And there's not a whole lot we can do about that. But Becky, you want to talk about that for a moment?

You know, it's happened quite frequently. And unfortunately, the older we get, we kind of see that happening more frequently with the life changes. And the reality is, you know, I've had agents that have been in that circumstance and they've gotten their real estate license and moved out of state and thinking it's going to be just as easy and to be able to quickly establish their business as quickly and, you know, or not even quickly, but as well as they did in this particular state. Which is great. But again, when you're moving to another state, in this circumstance, you're going to get into real estate. You're starting over.

Yes.

You are starting over as a new agent. And, you know, I've had that experience where I've had agents, you know, move here from other states and they were, you know, been in the business 30 years and were topping their office there. And they come here and they're at the bottom of the barrel and they don't know anyone and it's starting over. But the life experience certainly, and situations will certainly put a damper on their business and the situation. And sometimes they do, are forced to go get a salary position to be able to sustain their household.

That's right. Shadd?

I think that if you build your business intentionally from day one, when you become a real estate broker, then you can follow that plan. If you have to move anywhere in the country, you can basically— in fact, I have an example right now. I have an agent that is part of my office who built a huge team in Canada, and all of a sudden during the pandemic, he just decided to pull up stakes and move to the US, literally through kind of like through a dart. And landed in Tampa. And he's now basically doing exactly what he did in Canada and rebuilding his business here.

And he actually has the resources so he can survive.

Correct. And he liquidated everything there and he's here. But the amount of traction he's been able to get in 4 years is just incredible. He's, he's pulling money out of Canada, getting it to invest in Florida. He's, he's building a sphere here. Um, you know, he's a, he's a Brian Buffini-trained agent, so he's just basically— yes, he understands he's back to step 1, but he understands what step 1 is and step 2 and step 3, and he's just executing.

He's just a top realtor who had his resources, the education, and he knew what he needed to do to make it happen, and he made it happen.

In fact, in fact, I had him teaching a class the other day in the office about cold calling, about going after expireds and withdrawns and, and FSBOs and all that stuff. And he basically— the entire class was just jaw-dropped because he laid out what he exactly— what he does.

Yeah, good. All right, next topic would be the cost of staying active. We, we have continuing education, we have dues. Shad, you want to start with that one?

Yeah, it's not high enough. Um, I think it should be much higher. Um, I think that that should be the barrier of entry, that, that it should be basically at something. But it is, it's expensive. It's Just when you think you've just paid a bill, then another bill rolls around. You've got MLS, you've got your dues, you've got all that stuff. But I'll be honest with you, I think it should be higher. Um, if you're doing business, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. But you do have to look at cost first. You know, when I was, when I was young, my grandfather ran a business, and I asked him one time how he was successful, and he drew 4 arrows for me. He drew one going this way, one going that way, one up, one down. And they just handed it to him. He didn't explain it. Okay. Later on, he finally explained it years later that basically when your inflow of your business is less than the outflow of your business, your upkeep will always be your downfall. And I think that's the problem that realtors have is they don't budget expense first.

Yes.

Expense dictates profit.

And let's say, let's face it, if you decided to open up a restaurant, let's say, You've got to find a location, you've got to do your build-out, you've got to buy your equipment, you've got to get your food going, you got to develop your menu and then have it printed. There's so many things you need to do. It's going to cost you a fortune.

Yeah. This is the only business you can start for $5,000 or $6,000.

Yeah.

Yeah. It's just—

Becky, you want to add to that, Becky?

No, I'm good. I think I picked— I mean, just everything Shadd said, I, I, um, that he hit it dead on.

All right. Last topic. Is probably my favorite.

Uh oh.

Good agents may leave our industry because they have a lack of passion. Becky.

Wow.

Well, I mean, did they? The question is, did they have passion when they got into it, or was it you know they knew what they were getting into and they didn't have the false perception of that they were going to make a million dollars in the first year? I mean. This, it's a fun business. I mean, I've been in it a long time. I think it's— I like the challenge of it. I'm all about a challenge. I like the changes. No 2 days are ever the same. No transactions are ever the same. You know, I mean, let's just say it's an adventure. Um, and it takes a special kind of person to get in this business, be successful in this business, and stay in this business, I think.

Yeah. Shad?

Well, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna kind of go To what she said is this business is never the same every day. And if you don't have passion for it, it will burn you out quickly.

Okay.

You wake up— if you wake up expecting yesterday to be like today and you're not, because it's not going to be, you know, you have to be passionate about this. You have to. And this is— I think this is the problem to exactly what Becky said. People that get in this business for the money Are going to realize that that the amount of work it takes are not worth the money. Okay, at any at any price, you have to be in this because you believe in the dream of homeownership. You believe in helping people find that forever place to to have Thanksgiving dinner and host baby showers and and all those things. You and build wealth. You that if that is the reason you do this, the money will come, but it can't be. Nobody's passionate about money. I'm sorry. They're passionate about what the money provides.

Right.

But nobody's passionate about the money. And if you're not passionate for the consumer and the end goal and you're truly doing this because you believe that homeownership is one of the greatest rights of any country in the world, I mean, it's, it's fantastic. Then, yeah, you're not doing this for the right reasons and you're going to burn out. You're going to burn out.

Rewarding business. I mean, there's nothing better than watching that you know, newlyweds buy their first home and planning on raising their family there and staying in touch with them and watching their children grow and those kinds of things, you know.

Yeah.

And then there's other times where there's situations where you're dealing with divorces or passing of parents that are a little bit more emotional that kind of hit us, you know, in the gut a little bit and bring us up. But I mean, it's, it's a rewarding business. But knowing that you've helped somebody, um, in a stressful situation, um, or a life-changing situation And, and they're happy at the end of it. It's very rewarding.

Yes. And many of us, you know, we don't know what's going on in somebody's personal life. They might be having marital problems or have an ill parent that's got dementia, and they're trying to, you know, kind of juggle work and family responsibilities and have some sort of balance in their life. So it's tough. There's so many stories that we get to hear being in our positions. And some of them, you get frustrated because you want to help them, but there isn't anything you can do about it. It's their journey. You can only be there for them and help them on the business end. However, the passion has got to come from within. And if you follow everything properly, you will have the passion. But if you're getting beat up from a couple different areas in your lifetime, it's going to be hard to keep that passion. Wouldn't you agree?

There's got to be a difference of passion And emotion.

Yes.

Because sometimes too much passion creates you become really emotional in a situation and, you know, it all boils back to, you know, well, and I think, I think to Steve's point, if you are passionate about this, that's what gets you through the nasty times, the low times.

Oh yeah.

Those, those points where, you know, because yeah, people generally come to us on their most exciting day when they're going to buy their first home and on their worst day when there's been a divorce or a death or Those things. So, yeah, I think, again, I'm going to tie it all back. If you're here just for the money, you can't.

And you have to believe in yourself. You have to be a visionary and see your future the way you want it to be. Look, many times we all need to check up from the neck up.

I get it.

We need to refocus, you know, reevaluate. And that's where the balance in your life comes in because you need to have those quiet times to think of these things.

But, uh, or, and your brokerage needs to come in. You need a support system. Yeah, you need somebody to actually be not afraid to look at you and go, okay, you're being stupid. Like, yeah, this, this is— and, and let's be honest, that's never happened to me.

I've never—

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. And, and I think— but I think that's what, that's what an agent deserves from their brokerage. If that brokerage says, I support you, well then that's having the tough conversations. And I think that's a big thing with this business. And, you know, have any of you guys ever helped an agent realize that this ain't where they need to be?

Yeah.

Yeah.

When I sit with somebody who wants to get into our industry, I'll do everything I can to talk them out of it.

Yep.

And if I can't talk them out of it, then I'll do what I can to help them.

Yep. 100%, Steve. 100%.

Voice of reason.

Yes.

Yes.

All right. Well, this is an exciting episode again. I'm really enjoying this, and, uh, I hope the folks watching our podcast are, uh, you know, you're enjoying it as well. This is Brokers Uncensored. Real Estate Reality. And again, I keep saying this is raw and real. We're just, we're just talking, and this is— we're not making any of this up. We're just talking as we go.

Mm-hmm.

And please like and subscribe and continue to watch us and share it. Tell your friends. And if you are in a place that you're not happy, please contact us. We're here for that, you know. And otherwise, have a great day, a great week, and And set some goals and have balance in your life. And hope to see you soon. Talk to you. Thank you, Shadd.

Thank you, Becky. Thanks.

Thanks, Steve.

Have a good one.

Yep.