This One Time in Real Estate...

Are you holding off on buying a home because you’re waiting for interest rates to drop? In this episode, we break down why waiting for the “perfect rate” may not be the best strategy for your homeownership goals.Agent & Closing Coordinator Brittany Finnegan sits down with William Ward from Soleil Mortgage to discuss today’s changing real estate market, rising interest rates, and what buyers really need to focus on beyond the headlines. Together, they explore how to make confident decisions by understanding your budget, payment goals, financing options, and personal situation.From mortgage myths and Fed rate updates to creative strategies like seller credits and temporary rate buy-downs, this episode provides valuable insight for anyone thinking about buying a home in today’s market.The market may be unpredictable, but your preparation doesn’t have to be. Stop waiting for the perfect rate and start having the right conversations.

Too many people wait for the perfect moment, more confidence, more experience, or more certainty before taking action. In this episode, we discuss why waiting is holding you back and why success comes from taking action, learning through experience, and improving along the way.Confidence doesn’t come before action. Confidence is built because of action. Whether it’s growing your business, investing in real estate, becoming a better leader, or making a major life decision, the biggest cost is often not failure, it’s doing nothing.What you'll learn:Stop Over-Aiming: Planning years ahead halts progress today.The Confidence Loop: Action > Experience > Competence > Confidence.The Jeff Bridges Lesson: Waiting for 100% certainty destroys opportunity.The Cost of Inaction: Doing nothing is riskier than making a mistake.Marathon Mindset: Scale methodically to sustain momentum long-term.

Are you waiting for "someday" to finally start living your life? In this powerful episode, we dive into why postponing your health, family, and personal joy for work is a trap that too many high achievers fall into. Life is unpredictable, time moves fast, and no amount of money can buy back missed moments.If you’ve ever caught yourself saying "I’ll take that trip when work slows down" or "I’m available 24/7," this episode is the exact reality check you need. Learn how to stop letting business consume your entire existence and start holding yourself accountable to a schedule that honors both your professional drive and your personal life.In this episode, we cover:The 24/7 Trap: Why working around the clock damages performance and quality of life.The 90-Day Calendar Audit: How your schedule reveals and resets your true priorities.Money vs. Time: Why building wealth shouldn't cost you your present.Intentional Living: How to schedule family, health, and rest without losing your professional edge.Stop waiting for life to become uncomplicated or for the "perfect time" to enjoy what matters most. Tune in, get intentional, and start scheduling what truly counts today.

Ever look at your annual real estate association dues statement and wonder, “Where is my money actually going?”In this episode of This One Time in Real Estate, Kayla shares her journey through leadership, from getting started in the Young Professionals Network (YPN) at age 23 to serving on the National Advisory Board, and breaks down her presidential platform: B.E.E. (Bridge, Empower, Elevate). Together, we explore the tangible ROI for REALTORS®, from policy wins and protected property rights to land banks and continuous education.What You’ll Learn:ROI vs. A Bill: Why viewing association dues as an investment protects your business and changes how you value your board.The B.E.E. Platform: Breaking down the strategy to Bridge communities, Empower members, and Elevate industry transparency.Real-World Advocacy Wins: How local board advocacy directly impacts housing inventory, ADUs, and property rights.Education = Conversions: How continuous tech and contract training boosts agent confidence and conversion rates.Purposeful Leadership: Why stepping into association leadership is about guiding the next generation, not filling a resume.

Forget the social media hype about owning 100 units right out of the gate. Unlike buying a personal home, real estate investing isn't emotional; it’s strictly a numbers game. Keep it simple, strip away the noise, and remember: Math is the path.In this episode, we break down how to stop chasing home runs, build your core team of local experts, and land your very first property with confidence.In this episode, we cover:Hit Singles, Not Home Runs: Why starting small beats chasing massive, risky deals.The Condo Trap: Why rising HOA fees and insurance spikes make condos risky for beginners.Building Your Team: Why local bankers, not just standard mortgage brokers, are key to financing.The "Below-Market Rent" Trap: How to spot agent sales tactics and calculate true rehab ROI.Why Self-Manage First: How managing your first properties saves money and builds vital experience.House Hacking 101: How living in one unit of a duplex can slash your personal housing costs.The cost of striking out in real estate far outweighs the benefit of hitting a home run. Strip away the emotion, focus on hitting singles, and let the numbers guide every decision.

In real estate, the golden rule is buy what you know. But that rule doesn’t just apply to properties: it applies to your time, your energy, and your relationships.In this episode, we dive into what it truly means to invest heavily in what you know: your local community, your team, and your core audience. It’s easy to get caught up chasing thousands of random social media likes, but real success comes from knowing exactly who your people are and pouring value directly into them.From profiling a hidden gem of a St. Louis coffee shop to dealing with internet trolls who tell you "no one cares," we break down why sticking to your mission and serving your people is the ultimate strategy for long-term impact.What you'll learn:Hyper-Local Investing: Highlighting small businesses brings massive value to your community, even if it only impacts one person.Knowing Your Audience: It’s better to have a handful of hyper-engaged followers who trust you than thousands of strangers.Trolls vs. True Impact: When you know your worth and focus on adding value, online critics can't derail your momentum.Agent-Centric Leadership: Retain top talent by "buying into" your team’s success through marketing, exposure, and elite support.The Discipline of Consistency: Showing up Friday after Friday, even when you're slammed, is the ultimate investment in your listeners.

In a world obsessed with "what's in it for me," true success comes from turning the equation upside down. Whether you’re lifting up a local business, supporting your real estate team, or just showing up consistently for your audience, a give-first mindset always wins.In this episode, we dive into why you need to stop chasing vanity metrics and start chasing real, human impact. It's time to shift your focus to what really matters. When you focus on adding value to just one person, the returns are greater than you could ever imagine.In this episode, you'll learn:The ROI of Generosity: Why lifting up local businesses and your community drives the deepest, most authentic engagement.Tuning Out the Noise: How to handle the online critics without letting them steal your drive to do good.The "Town Center" Perspective: A powerful reminder about empathy, social media filters, and being grateful for your own journey.Agent-Centric Leadership: Why giving your team members maximum exposure and branding value is the best way to retain top talent.Too many people focus on the gratification and the impact they're having based on the wrong things. If you can just make an impact on one person, two people, five people, that’s all that matters. When you give, you get a lot in return.

In this episode, we break down why the most successful agents and team leaders don’t rush to “yes." They slow down and lean into the hard questions that others avoid.From interviewing potential agents to sitting with sellers, it’s easy to assume you know what the other person is thinking. But assumptions lead to missed objections, missed expectations, and ultimately missed opportunities.We talk about why top performers take a non-traditional approach: asking direct questions about competing interviews, for-sale-by-owner considerations, and true motivations before moving forward. On the recruiting side, it’s about curiosity over pressure. On the listing side, it’s about uncovering objections before they surface too late.The takeaway is simple: when you stop skipping the hard questions and start leading with curiosity, your clarity improves, your objections get easier to handle, and your conversions go up.

It’s the last Friday in June. Half the year is officially behind us, and the clock is ticking on the rest. If you’re in real estate, you already know the brutal truth about lead times: you don't have six months left of selling. What you choose to do over the next five months will completely dictate whether your December feels like a celebration or a season of regret. Whether you’re crushing your goals or feeling burnt out and left behind by the first half of the year, this is your wake-up call to take action and get back to the fundamentals.In this episode, we break down:The Pipeline Reality Check: Why the actions you take right now are directly building your January and February 2027 business.Lessons from Jon Cheplak: Embracing the willingness to take losses, checking your ego at the door, and mastering the mundane.The "Body Cam" Test: A hard, honest question about how you honor your time away from your family.The Failure of the "Hope Method": Why real estate isn't college; you cannot cram for a relationship-driven business.Stop looking at what everyone else is "crushing" on social media. Put your head down, refine your cadence, and get into action. Today is the tomorrow you talked about yesterday. What are you going to do about it?

"Other people's problems are not your problems."At first glance, it sounds cold. It sounds harsh. But in reality? It is one of the most compassionate and liberating lessons you can ever learn as a business owner, real estate agent, leader, or parent.In this episode, we dive deep into a powerful piece of advice from St. Louis real estate veteran Daniel Bergjans, who has sold over 600 homes and remains completely unbothered in today's challenging market. How does he do it? By drawing a firm line between empathy and ownership.When you absorb the stress, anxiety, and drama of your buyers, sellers, or team members, you don't solve the issue; you just become emotionally exhausted. True leadership isn't about carrying the obstacle; it’s about guiding people around it.In this episode, we cover:The Trap of Ownership: Compassion means listening, not taking on someone else's burden. If you absorb their anxiety, you lose the energy needed to find a solution.The "Tour Guide" Mentality: When the trail gets rough, people don't need you to panic with them. They need a calm leader focused entirely on the destination.Protecting Your Morning: A structured routine of gratitude and movement grounds your mind before the daily fires and emails that can derail your energy.Empathy vs. Burden: You can deeply care for and support clients through high-friction moments without internalizing their personal stress.Your responsibility is not to carry their burden. Your responsibility is to help them achieve their goal.Tune in to discover how stepping back from other people's drama will drastically improve your leadership, productivity, and peace of mind.

Why do I choose to stay at a Marriott time and time again, even when it's not the host hotel at a conference or event? It’s not just about the points; it’s about the consistency. When a brand delivers a predictable, high-quality experience, it lowers friction for the customer. That consistency creates trust, and trust creates unwavering loyalty.In this episode, we break down how top-down leadership and clear operating standards shape the customer experience, whether you're running a global giant like McDonald's or a local real estate team. We’re diving into why your culture dictates your reviews, and how to build a business where excellence becomes repeatable.In this episode, we cover:The "Marriott Effect": Why predictable customer experiences win every time.Top-Down Culture: How leadership values directly impact 5-star (and 2-star) reviews.The Power of SOPs: Why documented systems and training are the secret to scaling excellence.The Fragility of Referrals: Why every team member carries your reputation and how to protect it.The Ultimate Business Question: Are you creating a predictable experience that makes people know, like, and trust you?The greatest compliment any business can receive is when a customer says, "I knew exactly what to expect, and you delivered." Tune in, audit your systems, and let's get to work!

There is a lot of fear and noise right now about artificial intelligence replacing jobs. But let’s clear up the biggest misconception in the industry: AI will not replace great agents. It is going to make great agents more prepared.AI isn't "cheating" or "disingenuous"; it is quite literally the greatest preparation tool ever created. If you are still just pulling basic comps and reacting to problems as they happen, you are missing massive opportunities. The future belongs to the professionals who leverage AI as the ultimate research assistant while keeping their unique human value at the center of their business.This episode covers:The Ultimate Prep Tool: How a prospective agent used ChatGPT to prep for an interview, and why it was a brilliant display of proactive business.Bulletproof Listing Appointments: Why you need to run property addresses through ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini before you walk through the door to anticipate client objections and competitive positioning.Mastering Difficult Negotiations: How to use AI to channel world-class experts (like FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss) to script tough conversations, inspection hurdles, and low appraisals.Next-Level Recruiting & Leadership: How leaders can use AI to analyze production history and uncover real pain points before a one-on-one meeting.Where AI Fails: The critical line between leveraging technology and losing your authenticity. Discover why you need to stop using AI to write your social media posts, and why it can never replace judgment, trust, and heart.Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. AI simply gives us the opportunity to be more prepared. The leader, investor, and agent who is more prepared will always win.Stop reacting. Start anticipating. Tune in to learn how to put AI to work for your business today so you can stay irreplaceable tomorrow.

It’s Friday, May 22nd, Memorial Day weekend. While a lot of people are already clocked out, heading to the beach, and checking out for the holiday, we are leaning in. Consistency doesn’t take a long weekend.Welcome to Season 3, Episode 68. Today, we are confronting a hard truth that keeps top leaders up at night, and it’s an insecurity we need to talk about openly: Your business decays the exact same way people gain weight.Nobody wakes up 40 pounds heavier overnight. It’s a slow, drift. It’s a couple of bad meals, a few skipped workouts, late-night eating, and small compromises. You gain a single pound and think, "It’s fine, I’ll lose it next week." But day after day, it compounds.We always talk about the positive power of compounding: saving money, atomic habits, daily wins. But we rarely talk about negative compounding.Companies rarely implode overnight. Cultures don't collapse in a day. Teams don't become dysfunctional instantly. Instead, it’s a slow drift caused by small, tolerated problems that compound over time. As leaders, we tolerate them because it’s easier than confronting them. We avoid the elephant in the room because we’re afraid to lose people or disrupt the peace. But let's be clear: ignoring a problem never solved it.In this episode, we break down:The Trap of Market Excuses: Why blaming a down market for your dropping sales is a leadership trap that will break your business.The Reality of Firing: Why cutting loose a culture misfit or a toxic attitude has never made a great company worse.Curiosity vs. Conflict: How to address a high-performer whose standards are slipping without being an asshole.The Power of "Boring" Consistency: Why true organizational strength is built on the repetitive, invisible habits that standard people underestimate.Your habits, your culture, your leadership, and your standards are compounding right now. One day, the mirror will tell you the absolute truth about your business, your health, and your relationships.What are you allowing to compound today?

What does your company, or even you, look like when no one is watching? Imagine a camera following every decision, every interaction, every moment at work. Would it reveal integrity, consistency, and accountability, or shortcuts, chaos, and ego-driven choices?In this episode, we explore the power of core values as the ultimate foundation for any thriving organization. Core values go beyond rules, policies, or slogans; they act as an operating system that guides decision-making, protects your brand, and builds trust across every level of your team.We dive into the real stress tests for values: tough decisions when deals fall apart, employees make mistakes, clients push back, or doing the right thing costs money. Learn why principle-driven leadership outperforms personality-driven or fear-driven decisions, and why cultural alignment is far more important than talent alone.Hear stories of hiring and firing based on values, how accountability becomes easier when tied to agreed-upon principles, and how living your values consistently accelerates growth, reduces confusion, and creates organizational speed. Whether it’s short-term challenges or long-term market shifts, core values are the guardrails that ensure your organization thrives, internally and externally.If you lead, work in, or aspire to grow a high-performing organization, this episode will challenge the way you think about culture, leadership, accountability, and doing the right thing, even when it’s uncomfortable or unseen.Listen in and discover why organizations built on values last decades, while those built on transactions and shortcuts rarely survive.

When the market gets tough, most people freeze. But what if that nervous feeling in your stomach is actually the exact signal you need?In this episode, we are tackling the raw truth about growth, leadership, and why everything you want in your business sits entirely on the other side of discomfort. With real estate trending toward a low watermark of under 4 million homes sold this year, it’s easy to feel insecure about where your next deal is coming from.Last year, a massive $12 million double-ended deal in April set a massive benchmark for our team. This year, we had to make up that gap without relying on a lucky break. We didn't freeze, and we didn't wait for perfect conditions. We restructured our team, leaned into the discomfort, and drove our company to the biggest first five months in our history.What you will learn in this episode:The Freeze vs. Fight Response: Why overanalyzing and stalling will kill your momentum faster than a bad market.Closing the Gap: How we handled the pressure of overcoming a massive $12M sales month from the previous year by pouring into our listings department.Chunking Down the Problem: Why you don't need to solve the whole puzzle right away, you just need to take the next uncomfortable action.Leading Through Uncertainty: Why your team needs to see you run towards accountability and discomfort, rather than pulling back.Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. Stop overthinking and start doing the work.

Let's be honest, you don't have an "I don't know" problem; you have an "I don't want to do it" problem.In today’s tricky "tale of two markets," having access to endless scripts, AI tools, market data, and coaching won't generate income. Only execution will.We break down why information overload leads to analysis paralysis and why the top-producing agents aren't relying on fleeting motivation, but on ironclad discipline.In this episode, we dive into:The Tale of Two Markets: Why we are simultaneously in a buyer's and a seller's market, and why over-communication is non-negotiable right now.The Trap of Information Overload: Why having access to too much training can actually freeze you in your tracks.The Cost of Inconsistency: Why skipping your calls today will wreck your pipeline 30, 60, and 90 days from now.Why "Boring" Scales: The truth about doing the monotonous, unsexy, basic tasks at a high level every single day.Actionable Steps to Close the Gap: How to start small, clean out the energy-drainers in your database, track your metrics, and find genuine accountability.Stop waiting to feel motivated and stop focusing only on your best days. It’s time to build systems so your worst days are still productive, and get back to the basics.Listen in, hold yourself accountable, and let's get to work.

There is a profound difference between a professional who operates well when the calendar is clear and an industry leader who thrives when circumstances are chaotic. This episode delves into the mindset required to become the latter.This week’s installment explores the danger of tying execution to ideal conditions. In real estate, transactions rarely go exactly as planned. Deals encounter friction, schedules get derailed, and unexpected variables arise daily. The professionals who secure the best outcomes and the highest client reviews are those who view these disruptions not as insurmountable obstacles, but as standard operating procedures. They bypass complaining and move immediately to solutions.Interestingly, the recording of this episode mirrors its core lesson. Bypassing the traditional studio environment due to emergent business priorities, the delivery method was improvised to ensure consistency for the listeners. It stands as a testament to the fact that while the environment may change, the standard of showing up remains non-negotiable.Listeners will discover:The three choices available when business plans fail, and why high-performers immediately eliminate the first two.How to maintain a high standard of service even when the operational approach has to shift entirely.The critical importance of imperfect consistency over perfect inconsistency in building a lasting business.Why the simple act of putting in the work, regardless of the circumstances, is the ultimate differentiator in today's market.Simple solutions often resolve complex problems. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to build resilience, stop overthinking, and focus on relentless execution.

Stop worrying about your feelings, and start worrying about your client's feelings.In a high-stakes market, emotions run high for both you and your clients. When a buyer questions your strategy or a seller sends a frustrated email, your natural instinct might be to push back and defend your expertise. But here is the hard truth: the second you get defensive, you’ve already lost.In Season 3, Episode 63, we break down the ultimate ego check for anyone in a relationship-based business. We explore the massive gap between knowing your industry and actually understanding your client's underlying fears. You'll learn why protecting your ego is the fastest way to break trust, and how shifting from defensiveness to genuine curiosity will completely transform your conversion rates.