Episode #44: Building a Relationship-Based Business with Garrett Maroon

[00:00:00] I had this plan, right? I'm going to double my business. I'm going to, you know, double my profits. It's just going to take me like 60 hours a week. And I remember like a moment that I just got hit and said, wait a minute, Garrett, in five years from now, would you be most proud of the guy who doubled his hours to double his profit or who figured out how to make the same amount of money and worked way less to spend time with his family? And like when I asked it that way, I said, man, I'd be proud of that guy. So I remember coming back up to my office, my whiteboard's literally right over there. And I wondered why, why am I so obsessed, though, with growing my team? That's what I was doing at the time.

[00:00:30] And I come up, what's the only thing on my whiteboard? Number of transactions, volume and profit. Like that's it. And so it hit me at that moment. I'm just measuring what they told me to measure. So that's the only way that I can decide if I'm succeeding or not. So I scrapped all that. Like I decided, okay, I'm going to scrap that. I'm going to create my own scoreboard, right? The only way for me to keep score and track what I care about is to change the way you keep score.

[00:00:57] Welcome to the podcast dedicated to real estate insurance and building your business.

[00:01:02] Join us as we take you along our own business building journeys with additional wisdom from our network of local and national experts. Welcome to Bricks and Risk.

[00:01:18] Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Bricks and Risk. I'm Timmy G.

[00:01:25] I'm Sean P.

[00:01:26] Nice. Love it.

[00:01:27] And Sean, we have one of my inspirational real estate, let's call them leaders, mentors. We have Garrett Maroon, speaker, podcaster and real estate authority. What's up, man?

[00:01:44] Man, thank you. That's very kind. Now I feel like I'm going to let you down, but I appreciate you. I appreciate you guys having me, man.

[00:01:49] We do that.

[00:01:50] We do that with the purpose of making sure you deliver on this episode.

[00:01:54] Oh, yes. I like it. Set the bar high. Let's do it.

[00:01:57] Awesome.

[00:01:58] Let's do it, man.

[00:01:59] We appreciate your time.

[00:02:00] So Garrett is a team leader at the Maroon Group, so it's a residential real estate team at EXP.

[00:02:06] He's a podcast host, just like us, called The Faithful Agent. It helps Christian agents grow their business and grow their faith.

[00:02:12] He's also a speaker and relational sales consultant, helping real estate agents reclaim a life of intention through authenticity.

[00:02:21] Nine years ago, Garrett started with just 40 people in his database.

[00:02:26] Since then, he has sold over 600 homes, 100% of them by relationship, which we can't wait to get into today.

[00:02:33] Garrett brings substantial experience and expertise to his team and their clients.

[00:02:37] Garrett also runs the Maroon Group, a top 1% team in Southeast Virginia, and is also the co-founder of The Faithful Agent, a nonprofit serving Christians in real estate, and the co-founder of the 210 Collective at EXP.

[00:02:52] Since discovering the Common Agent Scoreboard, Garrett has been on a mission to help agents reclaim an intentional life, teaching them to be both ambitious at work and at home.

[00:03:02] Garrett and his wife, Rachel, have four kids, Hattie, Dylan, Ivy, and Zoe, and a puppy named Samson.

[00:03:09] He's actively involved in his church and loves dad jokes, as do I.

[00:03:14] True.

[00:03:15] Nice.

[00:03:15] All right, so you started as a real estate agent with just 40 people in your database, which is kind of insane.

[00:03:23] What made you decide to go all in on relationships like day one to grow your business?

[00:03:30] Yeah, man, that's a phenomenal question.

[00:03:33] Honestly, so I came in, like many people, and I did every single class, right?

[00:03:37] I was Keller Williams, and so thankful for Keller Williams for so many things.

[00:03:40] Keller Williams my entire career until I went to EXP.

[00:03:42] But I came in, I went to the class on cold calling, door knocking, open houses, all those things.

[00:03:48] And I didn't know anything about business, right?

[00:03:50] I'm still trying to figure it out almost 10 years later.

[00:03:53] But I knew enough that if I built my business the way that these other ways, right, cold calling, door knocking, all those things,

[00:04:02] that even if it worked in five years from now, I wouldn't even want the business that I had, right?

[00:04:06] I knew enough to say, what's my personality?

[00:04:09] And if this is going to work, it's got to work based on who I am.

[00:04:12] And I was a relational guy.

[00:04:13] And so, man, that was really it.

[00:04:15] I would love to say there was some deep thought behind it.

[00:04:18] It was just, I don't like those other things, so therefore I don't want to do it.

[00:04:21] If I'm going to stay in this industry, it's going to be by figuring out how to work the way I already want to work, which is relationship.

[00:04:27] And so I just dove in to try to figure that out, and thankfully it worked.

[00:04:31] Nice.

[00:04:32] Go ahead, man.

[00:04:33] That reminds me when I started my insurance office.

[00:04:36] I had this idea that, kind of like you, was that I'm going to build this thing, and it's going to be word of mouth.

[00:04:44] It's going to be one degree from everyone that I know and I relate with and that sort of thing.

[00:04:51] And I built this UF40.

[00:04:54] I had this list of 100 people that I knew.

[00:04:57] You're like, I know they're going to like my bowling shirt.

[00:04:59] I know they're going to like this shirt.

[00:05:02] How can they not?

[00:05:04] And that's how I started.

[00:05:06] Very, very similarly is just leaning on the relationships.

[00:05:10] I didn't know if it would work or not.

[00:05:11] It was just for me, if I'm going to do this, I felt that it was the best type of business and that you could deliver for people that know you and your relationship with.

[00:05:23] And then from there, you know, referrals and everything else would follow.

[00:05:29] Yeah.

[00:05:29] No, that's right.

[00:05:30] I didn't, you know, and I didn't, I've since learned all the data behind it.

[00:05:33] Right.

[00:05:33] I didn't know anything other than this is how I want to do it.

[00:05:36] But as I continue to build, right, because the question often is, well, how did you start with 40 people?

[00:05:41] I only have 287 now and it's 60 plus deals a year.

[00:05:44] Right.

[00:05:44] So you don't need a huge database.

[00:05:46] The reality is, is I started to learn.

[00:05:49] Right.

[00:05:49] I learned numbers like the average person knows 256 people.

[00:05:53] Right.

[00:05:54] So I'm just sitting there doing the math.

[00:05:55] If I can get my database up to 100 people that I, that I know, and they know, like, and trust me, they're actually going to refer me because I've done the work and consistent in relationship by serving 100 people.

[00:06:05] If they know 256, the math is that reaches 25,600 people.

[00:06:09] Right.

[00:06:10] And according to NAR, 91% chance to convert a referral.

[00:06:14] I like that math better than how long would it take me to cold call 25,000 people?

[00:06:18] Right.

[00:06:19] And what would my conversion rate there be?

[00:06:20] So I just started to understand along the way, initially it was just, this is how I want to do it.

[00:06:25] And if I'm going to build a business, it's got to be my relationship.

[00:06:27] But as I started to understand the numbers behind it, the data, the psychology behind it, that's when I just really went all in to try to level up and understanding how to master this because it's, it's the best way to build your business.

[00:06:40] Right.

[00:06:40] You can, there's nothing wrong with Zillow leads or Google pay-per-click or whatever Facebook ads, nothing like that.

[00:06:46] But the reality is if that's your entire business, you're renting from a technology company that could change the algorithm.

[00:06:53] Right.

[00:06:54] The only way to really own your business is to have relationships that consistently produce repeat and referral business for you because no one can take your relationships away from you.

[00:07:02] So as I got deeper into that and just said, man, I got to master this really well because I want to grow and I want to build something that no one can take from me.

[00:07:11] You know, I really started to dive in and try to understand what that is.

[00:07:14] But I think there's so much data that just proves this is, it doesn't mean this is the only thing you should do, right?

[00:07:20] Maybe you should do multiple other things, but the foundation of who you are in business should be built on relationships because it's the lowest cost, highest return lead in the industry.

[00:07:29] And it's the only thing you actually have ownership of.

[00:07:32] So I'm just all in on that, of course, right?

[00:07:34] And that's just my perspective.

[00:07:35] But I've been fortunate that that's been my focus for almost 10 years.

[00:07:39] How was that received?

[00:07:42] So again, I've never worked for Keller Williams.

[00:07:44] I actually worked for two smaller independent brokerages when I got into real estate.

[00:07:48] And then I started my own independent brokerage.

[00:07:50] So my first almost 15 years, all I did were work for smaller shops where it was little, there was little boot camp, little guidance, little like do this, do that.

[00:08:00] They're kind of like, well, what do you like?

[00:08:02] You know, they're like feeling people out.

[00:08:03] Like, how was that received?

[00:08:04] So you come into real estate and they're telling you, these are the things you should do.

[00:08:10] You should definitely call people.

[00:08:12] You should knock on doors.

[00:08:13] You should send postcards.

[00:08:15] Like, you should pay for leads because, you know, if you pay 500 a month and one of them turns into a $5,000 deal, you know, you're 10xing.

[00:08:24] Like, how was it received when you came in?

[00:08:26] You kind of knew what you wanted to do.

[00:08:28] And these people are like, well, that's not possible.

[00:08:31] You're not supposed to do that.

[00:08:32] You're supposed to do these things.

[00:08:33] Like, what'd they say?

[00:08:34] Yeah.

[00:08:35] Yeah.

[00:08:35] So great question, man.

[00:08:36] I mean, it took me so five and a half months to get my first deal.

[00:08:39] Yeah.

[00:08:39] Right.

[00:08:39] So it was hard.

[00:08:40] And, you know, as an encouragement to any agent listening, like I think anything works if we give ourselves a long enough runway.

[00:08:47] Right.

[00:08:47] Most people say, well, that didn't work because our runway was too short.

[00:08:50] So the plane didn't have time to take off.

[00:08:52] Right.

[00:08:52] I originally gave myself my wife and I gave gave ourselves three months.

[00:08:57] Like, all right, Garrett, if in three months you haven't sold a home, you're going to quit.

[00:08:59] And three months came in.

[00:09:01] Yeah.

[00:09:01] I'm literally remember the conversation.

[00:09:02] And I said, babe, I think I can figure this out.

[00:09:04] Great.

[00:09:05] Let's do another three months.

[00:09:06] Thank the Lord we did.

[00:09:07] Because if five and a half months is when I got my first deal.

[00:09:10] Right.

[00:09:10] My runway had to be long enough.

[00:09:12] But then what was really interesting to your question is.

[00:09:15] So my first full year, I did 27 deals.

[00:09:17] Then the second year I did 50.

[00:09:19] Well, I had done 27 transactions my first full year.

[00:09:22] I was sitting down.

[00:09:23] Right.

[00:09:23] The team leader of Keller Williams office, like the CEO, basically, of that market center.

[00:09:28] I was one of the top 20 percent agents, I guess.

[00:09:31] And so I was on their agent leadership council.

[00:09:33] We're going around early in that year.

[00:09:35] This is 2016.

[00:09:36] We're going around the table.

[00:09:38] Bunch of top agents.

[00:09:39] Everyone's way older than me.

[00:09:39] I think I was like 28.

[00:09:42] And they said, yeah.

[00:09:44] And they're like, what's what's your goal for the year?

[00:09:46] And I said, my goal is I'm going to sell 50 homes this year.

[00:09:49] A hundred percent by referral.

[00:09:50] Right.

[00:09:50] I hadn't done anything else.

[00:09:51] And to your question, the team leader literally said, Garrett, that's not possible.

[00:09:57] You need to do other things.

[00:09:59] And so, you know, I was young enough and stubborn enough that I was like, no, it is possible.

[00:10:03] I'm going to figure it out.

[00:10:04] All the other older agents who are amazing.

[00:10:06] Don't get me wrong.

[00:10:07] All said, Garrett, you can't just do that.

[00:10:10] You've got to figure out something else to do.

[00:10:12] And I just didn't believe them.

[00:10:13] Right.

[00:10:14] And so honestly, I just continued to work on it.

[00:10:16] Fast forward two years.

[00:10:18] I've done 50 and then 50.

[00:10:19] Right.

[00:10:19] All by referral.

[00:10:20] I hire a coach and excuse me.

[00:10:24] And I get on the call with this coach.

[00:10:26] It's a maps coach through Keller Williams.

[00:10:27] And she was super sweet.

[00:10:28] But she says, OK, Garrett, this is your homework for the week.

[00:10:31] You need to make 300 cold calls.

[00:10:32] You need to knock on 100 doors.

[00:10:34] And I said, I'm not going to.

[00:10:36] And she literally said, well, Garrett, if you don't do that, you're not going to succeed.

[00:10:39] And I remember saying, I'm not trying to be prideful or cocky in any way, but I'm already in the top 1%.

[00:10:45] I asked you, I just want to do this in less time.

[00:10:47] I don't want to do these other things.

[00:10:49] So anyways, we get on the call the next week.

[00:10:51] And she says, did you do your homework?

[00:10:52] I said, no, of course I did.

[00:10:53] And I told you I wasn't going to.

[00:10:55] And she says, Garrett, you're not going to succeed in this industry.

[00:10:58] And so we've just, you know, like so much of my passion is I think there's a great quote from Albert Einstein.

[00:11:05] If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it's stupid.

[00:11:10] I think so many people come into our industry, right?

[00:11:12] There's a huge failure rate.

[00:11:13] And I think a big part of the failure rate is a fish comes into this industry who loves working by relationships.

[00:11:20] They're not the cold caller.

[00:11:21] They're not the social media expert.

[00:11:23] They're not any of those things.

[00:11:24] And the industry says, yeah, but you better do all of these things.

[00:11:27] There's one way to succeed.

[00:11:28] This is what it looks like.

[00:11:29] Be all of those things.

[00:11:30] And of course they fail because they're trying to climb a tree and they can't.

[00:11:34] My passion, whether it's referrals or not, it's social media, whatever it is.

[00:11:38] How are you made?

[00:11:40] Right.

[00:11:40] What are you naturally going to show up as?

[00:11:42] Just go be excellent at that.

[00:11:43] That's your job.

[00:11:44] Figure out who you are and be excellent at it.

[00:11:46] And so thankfully for me, I was I had some understanding that if this was going to work, it had to be this way because this is who I was.

[00:11:54] And there's way too many agents.

[00:11:56] It breaks my heart.

[00:11:57] Honestly, there's way too many agents that come in and like, I'm so excited for this new career and opportunity.

[00:12:01] And then they fail out.

[00:12:03] And I think a large portion is because they're told to do things that they can't do.

[00:12:07] Right.

[00:12:07] And it's just bad advice.

[00:12:08] So, man, I got a lot of pushback, honestly, until I started doing it consistently enough.

[00:12:13] Then everyone's like, whoa, tell me how to do that.

[00:12:15] Right.

[00:12:16] You just got to push against the grain for a little while and believe that this is the right way.

[00:12:20] And thankfully it worked.

[00:12:21] And now, you know, I'm able to help other people do it.

[00:12:23] I think in business, generally speaking, it's never from a good place to say you can only succeed by doing it this one way.

[00:12:35] I mean, like there's a ton of ways, like with insurance, that's, you know, my industry.

[00:12:43] I mean, there's tons of ways to be successful.

[00:12:46] Right.

[00:12:46] It's like pick your lane, dive deep and see where it can go.

[00:12:52] And to your point before is like the runway is like give yourself enough time to implement it and work on it and refine it and repurpose it and keep doing at it.

[00:13:04] And, you know, sooner or later, if you're committed to it, you're going to find a way to succeed doing it the way you want to do it.

[00:13:12] Right.

[00:13:12] If you're wholly committed to doing that.

[00:13:16] Do you know why I think, again, this is my own opinion as we talk about a lot of opinions in the show.

[00:13:22] But we got some.

[00:13:22] We got some.

[00:13:23] That's why we have a show.

[00:13:25] So let me compare real estate to insurance.

[00:13:28] Real estate is a high ticket sale, like big rips in real estate.

[00:13:32] You know, you sell a 500,000 house, you're going to make a lot of money.

[00:13:34] I've seen million dollar listing.

[00:13:36] Yeah, exactly.

[00:13:37] And that's like the insane part of real estate.

[00:13:39] But let's talk about it.

[00:13:40] Insurance, smaller rips.

[00:13:42] It's a it's a numbers game in terms of the number of people you help in real estate.

[00:13:46] You can help one person sell a five million dollar home and be good.

[00:13:49] So I think what it is in real estate.

[00:13:52] This is just what I have observed over the last 15 years is because it's such a high ticket sale and because the rips are so large.

[00:14:01] They look at it as like you just need one.

[00:14:03] If you just get one, you're going to make five, ten, twenty thousand dollars.

[00:14:09] And then you have confidence.

[00:14:11] So you're like, I made that cold call.

[00:14:13] I got my one.

[00:14:14] I made 10 grand.

[00:14:16] I'm going to make another call.

[00:14:17] So I think if you start off that way, you get confident.

[00:14:21] But what happens, you and I know this and you I'm the same thing.

[00:14:24] I never really did any of that.

[00:14:25] Have I made cold calls in real estate?

[00:14:27] I have, but not really.

[00:14:28] I was the same as you.

[00:14:30] And I think that as a no.

[00:14:32] Take that as a no.

[00:14:33] And I think what it is, is that when you get that high ticket sale because of that method, you're just going to buy into it.

[00:14:42] Be like, let me just do that again.

[00:14:43] And then everyone around you, everyone around you, your tribe is like, do that, do that, do that.

[00:14:49] It's not until you really kind of break off.

[00:14:51] You're just whatever.

[00:14:52] You're confident enough.

[00:14:53] You just love people enough.

[00:14:55] You got a lot of confidence in your social game and your customer service game.

[00:14:59] Whatever it is to go down this path that all three of us have gone down.

[00:15:02] I feel like you're going down that path to just be like, I just want to lead with value.

[00:15:07] And then when someone needs my services, I'm just going to over deliver.

[00:15:10] And if I do those two things, it will repeat itself.

[00:15:14] And the wonderful thing about doing it that way, again, this is content that we put out.

[00:15:19] You get to do it the way you want to do it.

[00:15:21] Because I think if you really asked 100 people, do you want to call 100 people a day or do you want to knock on 100 doors a week?

[00:15:27] And I would think the high majority would say, I'm really not interested in that because it's just too hard.

[00:15:34] It's too taxing.

[00:15:35] It's too many doors in your face.

[00:15:37] It's too many phones slammed on you.

[00:15:39] And you're just like, what the hell?

[00:15:40] Like, why is everyone telling me to do this?

[00:15:42] They're driving like, you know, a Mercedes into the office.

[00:15:45] And I'm like, I got this piece of crap car.

[00:15:48] Like, why can't I do that?

[00:15:49] I would actually disagree with that point a little bit.

[00:15:51] Here's my take on it is that it's not too hard, right?

[00:15:57] So like I said, it's hard.

[00:15:58] It's uncomfortable or whatever word you want to use.

[00:16:02] But where is your time most well spent?

[00:16:06] Yeah.

[00:16:06] And I think, Gary, you mentioned is like, where are you going to get the most ROI with your time?

[00:16:13] Yeah.

[00:16:13] Great point.

[00:16:14] Is it cold calling?

[00:16:16] Maybe.

[00:16:16] If you're a really good cold call, I guess.

[00:16:19] Who is?

[00:16:20] Or is it, you know, leaning on your community and your people and your network to try to really maximize every ounce out of that community?

[00:16:35] So, I mean, that's kind of how I would take it.

[00:16:38] I mean, I think it's so much what you guys are talking about.

[00:16:41] It is.

[00:16:42] Let me give you a quick story.

[00:16:43] So I'm getting ready to speak at this conference in, I think I was in South Carolina, maybe.

[00:16:47] And there's the speaker right in front of me who's a marketing branding expert was her title.

[00:16:52] She's written a couple of New York Times bestsellers.

[00:16:53] Super sweet woman.

[00:16:54] Right.

[00:16:55] But she gets on stage.

[00:16:56] And one of her points is she literally says, here's what I want you guys to do.

[00:17:00] You need to choose how you want to show up every day and just show up like that literally every day, day after day.

[00:17:07] And that's how you win.

[00:17:08] And I remember thinking, I totally disagree with that.

[00:17:12] Right.

[00:17:12] That sounds exhausting to come up with.

[00:17:14] How am I going to show up today?

[00:17:16] And I'm just going to be that and act counter to my nature and my personality.

[00:17:19] Now, I didn't get on stage and say, first of all, everything she said was wrong.

[00:17:23] Right.

[00:17:23] That would have been terrible.

[00:17:24] Please disregard.

[00:17:25] That would have been awesome.

[00:17:26] Yeah.

[00:17:26] Right.

[00:17:26] I hope none of you heard that.

[00:17:27] Yeah.

[00:17:28] But that would have been awesome.

[00:17:29] I definitely wouldn't have been invited back.

[00:17:31] But when I got on stage, I said, here's the difference in my perspective.

[00:17:35] My perspective, if too much of us, too many of us, let me say that better.

[00:17:40] Too many of us are saying this is what success looks like.

[00:17:43] I just need to work to become like them and then I will succeed.

[00:17:47] And then we wonder why it doesn't work.

[00:17:48] My whole pitch.

[00:17:50] Right.

[00:17:50] Authenticity is about no.

[00:17:52] Understand who you are.

[00:17:54] If you're naturally going to show up on social media, then learn how to do that and be excellent

[00:18:00] at it to build your business.

[00:18:02] If you naturally love hold calling, if that's true, I don't know if anybody does, but if

[00:18:07] you do, then be excellent at that.

[00:18:09] Right.

[00:18:10] If you are an open house kind of person, then be excellent at doing open houses.

[00:18:15] But acting counter to who we are makes no sense.

[00:18:19] There's no way if you guys are amazing at social media and you love social media, it's

[00:18:25] just a part of who you are, whatever.

[00:18:27] And I don't because I don't.

[00:18:29] Then no matter how hard I try, I will never be as good as you guys.

[00:18:33] It's not possible.

[00:18:34] Right.

[00:18:35] If you strive for excellence and so do I, you will always be better because you're naturally

[00:18:39] gifted in it already.

[00:18:40] Already.

[00:18:41] And so too much in this business, in my opinion, in any business, right, is us working counter

[00:18:47] to what we naturally already are.

[00:18:49] And that just doesn't even make sense.

[00:18:51] Right.

[00:18:51] It's just what we hear.

[00:18:52] And over and over and over the industry, what do they put on stage?

[00:18:55] Well, you know, this person, their expansion team did a thousand transactions last year.

[00:18:59] I literally remember being at a conference.

[00:19:02] This woman's on stage, probably a nice woman.

[00:19:04] I don't know it at all.

[00:19:05] She's talking about how she built her team to a thousand deals a year, which is amazing.

[00:19:09] But she just blew by this offhanded comment of, I didn't see my family for two years while

[00:19:13] I was building, but now they're all good.

[00:19:15] Right.

[00:19:16] And I was like, wait a minute.

[00:19:17] We're celebrating the person who ignored their family to put out a thousand deals.

[00:19:22] So the only thing the industry cares about, how many deals did you do?

[00:19:25] How much money did you make?

[00:19:26] Right.

[00:19:27] And so all of these ideas, right.

[00:19:30] Start come and I am impacted by him too.

[00:19:32] Right.

[00:19:33] It's like, oh, well, the only way I succeed is to do more deals than everybody else.

[00:19:36] And that's just not true.

[00:19:37] Right.

[00:19:37] I can't let the industry tell me what success is, because if I do, then it's going to force

[00:19:41] me to try to be someone I'm not.

[00:19:43] And I think there's so much baked into that, that we've got to let go of what the industry

[00:19:47] has tried to mold us into and say, who am I?

[00:19:50] How do I just be excellent at that?

[00:19:51] And what is that going to look like?

[00:19:53] Dude, it's interesting.

[00:19:54] So like, um, the first time I heard you speak was on, um, stay paid with Luke Acree and Josh

[00:20:00] like, what's up boys.

[00:20:02] And, um, dude, I'm telling you, I put, I put it on in my car.

[00:20:06] I'm like driving to an appointment.

[00:20:08] You're talking for like five minutes.

[00:20:10] I'm like, oh, this guy, he's, he's saying the things that I personally have always believed.

[00:20:18] This is before we were doing the podcast.

[00:20:20] Sean and I have known each other since we were 10 and we both built our businesses.

[00:20:23] The same way.

[00:20:25] And like, I'm listening to it after I got done, I shot Luke a text and I was like, dude,

[00:20:31] Garrett is a rock star.

[00:20:33] He was like, he's like that episode like blew my mind.

[00:20:37] And what, what was awesome about it is because it's the same thing in the podcast world.

[00:20:43] Most of the podcasts we listened to, cause I listen to all sorts of different, I listened

[00:20:47] to insurance now because of Sean.

[00:20:49] Most of what you get is about numbers is about dollars and cents.

[00:20:53] And, and I get it.

[00:20:54] We're in business.

[00:20:55] You have to look at numbers.

[00:20:57] You have to look at dollars and cents.

[00:20:59] Otherwise it might be a hobby as we were talking about before.

[00:21:01] But basically it's like, you're getting hit with the same advice from so many different directions,

[00:21:08] social media, you know, it's like a highlight reel of like someone's life and you're, you're

[00:21:12] only seeing the good and all this stuff.

[00:21:14] It's like when I heard your episode, I'm like, there's, there's not much out there that's

[00:21:19] really going over the relational, the relationship model of real estate.

[00:21:25] And when we were talking about this podcast, I'm like, man, wouldn't it be so cool if we

[00:21:29] could just talk about like what we do, like what we do day in day out.

[00:21:33] And what's great about interviewing you right now is because I'm finally talking to the

[00:21:37] dude who inspired me to do a podcast.

[00:21:41] You know, I'm trying to put some things on paper myself now for the things that I've

[00:21:44] done over the last 15 years.

[00:21:46] And it was really that episode from Luke that, that caused all that.

[00:21:49] So I think if you like, if you zoom out, right.

[00:21:53] And, and it's like, where are these voices coming from?

[00:21:57] And the voices of how many deals did you do?

[00:22:00] As a whisper like that?

[00:22:01] Yeah.

[00:22:02] How much money did you make?

[00:22:04] Right?

[00:22:05] Like it's the big box real estate offices that are like forcing this message down to

[00:22:15] the team members, right.

[00:22:17] And creating a culture that's like, how much have you sold?

[00:22:21] Your brother was telling me a story.

[00:22:23] He went to an event and he walks in and he goes, Hey man, how you doing?

[00:22:25] And he goes, Hey man, how many deals did you do last year?

[00:22:28] I remember that.

[00:22:29] And your brother was like, what?

[00:22:31] Like, it's nice to meet you too.

[00:22:33] So you have, you have the big box real estate shops that are like, have this like voice from,

[00:22:40] from above saying, you got to do this.

[00:22:42] You got to do that.

[00:22:42] And then you have these, these coaches, these real estate coaches that are coalescing around

[00:22:49] these big box shops saying, if you want to be successful, you have to do this.

[00:22:55] You have to do that.

[00:22:56] I think when you're, when Garrett, you're talking about, um, what you were saying before about

[00:23:02] you, this coach and they were saying, you have to do this.

[00:23:06] It's like, you know how you'd be a real good coach in this industry is like, you listen,

[00:23:11] like, what do you like?

[00:23:13] Yeah.

[00:23:13] You know, how do you find, how do you determine success?

[00:23:17] And let's build a program around that so that you can find ways to like raise your kids and

[00:23:27] spend time with your kids and, and do these different things to find a path for you to be successful

[00:23:34] and not listen to these outside voices saying, you've got to do this.

[00:23:41] I mean, it's, it's counter to all of the, you know, the, the noise that you hear now.

[00:23:46] But I mean, I think if you really look deep into yourself and you really want to be successful,

[00:23:54] there's a, there's a way for you to do it in the, in the way that you want to do it.

[00:23:58] It's just speaking to that person and committing to the idea.

[00:24:02] Yeah.

[00:24:04] Yeah.

[00:24:04] I mean, so I'm working on this book right now.

[00:24:06] It's actually called the common agent scoreboard, right?

[00:24:09] As I was teaching and trying to understand even for myself, because I'm the guy who's always

[00:24:14] said my family's most important.

[00:24:15] Right.

[00:24:15] But I had this moment, I'm out in my backyard a couple of years ago and I'm doing thinking

[00:24:20] time and I start to want, I had this plan, right?

[00:24:23] I'm going to double my business.

[00:24:24] I'm going to, you know, double my profits.

[00:24:26] It's just going to take me like 60 hours a week.

[00:24:28] And I remember like a moment that I just got hit and said, wait a minute, Garrett, in five

[00:24:32] years from now, would you be most proud of the guy who doubled his hours to double his

[00:24:36] profit or who figured out how to make the same amount of money and worked way less to spend

[00:24:40] time with his family?

[00:24:41] And like, when I asked it that way, I said, man, I'd be proud of that guy.

[00:24:44] So I remember coming back up to my office, my whiteboard's literally right over there.

[00:24:47] And I wondered why, why am I so obsessed though with growing my team?

[00:24:51] That's what I was doing at the time.

[00:24:52] And I come up, what's the only thing on my whiteboard?

[00:24:54] Number of transactions, volume and profit.

[00:24:56] Like that's it.

[00:24:57] And so it hit me at that moment.

[00:24:59] I'm just measuring what they told me to measure.

[00:25:00] So that's the only way that I can decide if I'm succeeding or not.

[00:25:04] So I scrapped all that.

[00:25:05] Like I decided, okay, I'm going to scrap that.

[00:25:07] I'm going to create my own scoreboard, right?

[00:25:09] The only way for me to keep score and track what I care about is to change the way you

[00:25:12] keep score.

[00:25:13] And so I came up with this concept and this idea, just the agent scoreboard, right?

[00:25:18] So what I teach and what the book is all about, and I mean, there's other things,

[00:25:21] but it's, I think on your scoreboard, there should be three items on the scoreboard.

[00:25:25] One is a profit goal.

[00:25:26] Sure.

[00:25:27] For me, the second is a wife goal and the third is a family goal.

[00:25:30] So for example, I've got a profit goal, right?

[00:25:32] I've got my wife goal was for us to get four nights away this, this year, just the two of

[00:25:36] us.

[00:25:36] We've done that.

[00:25:37] And my, my family goals take every seventh week off to be with my family.

[00:25:41] And so now that I have a way to keep score, I can look at every opportunity that comes.

[00:25:48] I can look at every way to build a business.

[00:25:50] I can look at anything and everything and run it through the list.

[00:25:53] That sounds good.

[00:25:54] Wait a minute.

[00:25:54] Does it score?

[00:25:56] Right?

[00:25:56] Yeah.

[00:25:56] It could help me reach that profit goal, but I don't know that I could take every seventh

[00:26:00] week off if I did this.

[00:26:01] So, okay, no, it doesn't work.

[00:26:03] Right?

[00:26:03] We just don't know how to keep score.

[00:26:06] And so because of that, so much of my heart too is right.

[00:26:10] My, my wife's a stay at home mom with our four kiddos.

[00:26:12] So she's crazy busy all the time.

[00:26:14] Right?

[00:26:14] I have such a heart specifically for the mom who's at home trying to sell homes, right?

[00:26:20] Doing five to 10 deals a year.

[00:26:22] And the industry keeps chewing her up and spinning her out saying, you're not doing enough.

[00:26:25] You're not successful.

[00:26:26] And it's like, wait a minute.

[00:26:28] Right?

[00:26:28] I had this woman come up to me.

[00:26:29] I'm speaking at this event.

[00:26:30] A woman coming up to me afterwards.

[00:26:31] The first time I've ever talked about the scoreboard in person, like two years ago.

[00:26:35] And she says, Garrett, I'm a single mom.

[00:26:37] I'm a solo agent and I'm a mom.

[00:26:39] I did 55 deals last year.

[00:26:41] And I was like, that's amazing.

[00:26:42] And she said, but everybody's been asking me, what are you going to do this year?

[00:26:45] And I've been telling them 60 or 70, cause we're just supposed to do more.

[00:26:48] Right?

[00:26:48] She said, but Garrett, after hearing you talk about the scoreboard, I'm going to intentionally

[00:26:53] sell only 30 homes and it's going to change my life.

[00:26:56] I was like, okay, well, you got to tell me more about that.

[00:26:59] Right?

[00:26:59] Right.

[00:27:00] She said, Garrett, I'm a mom first.

[00:27:02] I got into this industry to pick up my daughter from school.

[00:27:04] Guess what?

[00:27:04] I've never done.

[00:27:05] Picked up my daughter from school.

[00:27:06] Cause I've been so busy selling homes.

[00:27:08] So it's not, I'm not even scoring the way I want to.

[00:27:10] I'm just doing what they told me to do.

[00:27:12] Right.

[00:27:12] It doesn't mean you can, you can't be successful and a great parent or whatever.

[00:27:16] Right.

[00:27:16] That's not true, but it does mean so easily we go for the award, the accolades, the thing

[00:27:23] that's going to give us recognition, get us on podcasts, get us on a panel, whatever,

[00:27:27] instead of what do we actually care about at the end of the day?

[00:27:30] Right.

[00:27:30] So like, I don't want to grow anymore.

[00:27:32] My real estate business, because the more I do that, the more it's going to take me from

[00:27:36] my family.

[00:27:37] And I, you know, it's not a perfect balance, but I'm seeking this balance.

[00:27:41] How do I grow, but still be able to do four nights away.

[00:27:44] And every seventh week off, if it hits those cool, I'm in, if it doesn't, I'm not doing it.

[00:27:50] So I think we just have to give ourselves freedom to craft our own way to keep score.

[00:27:56] Because if, you know, if, if the NBA decided you can't do three pointers anymore, no one

[00:28:00] would shoot them.

[00:28:00] Right.

[00:28:00] If you change the way you keep score, you change the way you play.

[00:28:03] So if we just change the way we play, or if we change the way we keep score, we'll change

[00:28:08] the way we play.

[00:28:08] And I think a lot of agents need that.

[00:28:10] And that's my hope is that agents can craft their own scoreboard and then say,

[00:28:14] now, how do I just go achieve this?

[00:28:16] And let me filter everything I do through that.

[00:28:18] Yeah, dude, that's, that's unbelievable.

[00:28:20] Hey everyone.

[00:28:21] This is Tim, your favorite bricks and risk co-host, but don't tell Sean.

[00:28:26] I hope you're enjoying this episode and I'll get right back to it in a moment.

[00:28:30] Our audience grows through word of mouth.

[00:28:33] So if you would please take a moment of your time and give us a review on the platform you're

[00:28:38] on, that would be fantastic.

[00:28:39] Please also help spread the BNR word by sharing your favorite episode with a friend.

[00:28:45] We greatly appreciate your time and trust.

[00:28:48] Now, back to the show.

[00:28:54] So my brother, Ryan, he tends to be like Mr. Mooney over here, a little bit glass half

[00:28:59] empty.

[00:28:59] I'm more of a glass half full kind of guy.

[00:29:01] So your biggest struggle, and you had said getting awareness of what you are doing.

[00:29:06] So why has that been a struggle for you and your team over the years, getting awareness

[00:29:10] of what you're doing, man?

[00:29:14] Well, so I think for so long, right?

[00:29:17] So I grew up in the Keller Williams world and I'm so thankful for it.

[00:29:20] Like it taught me to be entrepreneurial.

[00:29:21] I didn't know I was an entrepreneur until I was like a year and a half in, right?

[00:29:24] Taught me how to run a business, taught me how to build it.

[00:29:27] But then you just go with the flow, right?

[00:29:30] I was young.

[00:29:31] I was doing well.

[00:29:32] And so the natural next step for me was build a big team.

[00:29:36] And I'm heading that direction.

[00:29:37] I'm reading the millionaire real estate agent.

[00:29:39] I'm aiming for the seventh level team.

[00:29:41] And I'm just doing what I think I'm supposed to do, right?

[00:29:44] And that's it.

[00:29:45] There was, it was not an awareness.

[00:29:47] There was no awareness.

[00:29:48] Let me say this.

[00:29:49] There was no awareness that my real direction in business was just given to me instead of

[00:29:54] chosen by me.

[00:29:56] And so here I am just building out a team.

[00:29:58] I have more agents.

[00:29:59] I've got three full-time admin, right?

[00:30:01] My salary payroll is like 150 grand, which is stupid.

[00:30:04] I work for my referral, right?

[00:30:06] Like why?

[00:30:07] And I'm just doing it, trying to build to the seventh level.

[00:30:11] And again, it wasn't until that moment of this realization of like, I don't even want

[00:30:15] this.

[00:30:16] Why am I doing this?

[00:30:17] And so then it became, okay, I don't want it.

[00:30:20] Now, how do I figure out what I do want?

[00:30:22] How do I unwind that now?

[00:30:24] Right.

[00:30:25] Seriously.

[00:30:25] Like, and I looked around and said, everybody says the seventh level was the freedom in your

[00:30:29] business.

[00:30:29] I've never met someone at the seventh level and I've been doing this for a long time.

[00:30:33] So then it was like, maybe that's not real.

[00:30:35] Maybe it is.

[00:30:36] Maybe it's not.

[00:30:37] I just need to figure out what do I want?

[00:30:39] And so for me, I had three agents plus me and then three full-time admin.

[00:30:42] I said, I want simplicity, right?

[00:30:44] That's how I work way less and still make it.

[00:30:46] So I cut down to one agent, one part-time admin, and I stepped out of production because

[00:30:51] I wanted the freedom to do that.

[00:30:53] And so I just had to go figure out how.

[00:30:55] And I think too much again, if thankfully, and it took me like eight years.

[00:31:00] So if y'all are listening and you're in this industry, like don't feel bad if you're five

[00:31:03] years old.

[00:31:04] You don't snap your finger and it just happens.

[00:31:05] Like, oh, absolutely.

[00:31:06] You have to go through it.

[00:31:08] That's right.

[00:31:08] I just ran with it for like eight years, seven, eight years, whatever.

[00:31:11] And it wasn't until that moment to say, wait a minute, I'm going to choose what I care about.

[00:31:16] And if the industry doesn't like it, who cares?

[00:31:19] Because my family does, right?

[00:31:20] And the people around me do.

[00:31:22] And so they don't get to dictate anymore how I'm going to keep score.

[00:31:26] And that, again, that mental shift just changed everything for me.

[00:31:30] It's still hard.

[00:31:31] Don't get me wrong.

[00:31:32] It's still hard to see my friends who crush it and keep growing, growing, growing.

[00:31:35] But I also know the numbers like you guys probably do.

[00:31:37] My buddy who's got 20 agents and I have one.

[00:31:40] And I'm as profitable as he is, right?

[00:31:43] I'd much rather have what I have.

[00:31:45] And so would he.

[00:31:45] Admittedly, he said that to me, but he can't unwind all of it right now.

[00:31:49] Right.

[00:31:49] So I think there's just so much ego, quite honestly.

[00:31:53] And I forget who it was, but I heard a speaker actually, maybe she was on our podcast.

[00:31:58] And she said, a coach once told her that you have two bank accounts.

[00:32:01] You have an ego account and you have a bank account.

[00:32:04] And you can only put every decision into one, right?

[00:32:06] Right.

[00:32:07] And so it's either going to go in your ego account, which is not going to help you, or

[00:32:10] you're going to make a good decision.

[00:32:11] It's going to go in your bank account.

[00:32:12] There's too much of that driving us in our industry to say, who cares if you do 20 deals

[00:32:18] a year because you're able to be home with your family?

[00:32:19] That's amazing.

[00:32:20] You actually are succeeding.

[00:32:22] Yeah.

[00:32:22] The person that did a hundred and never showed up to any of their kids' soccer games or lost

[00:32:27] all their relationships, you didn't succeed at all.

[00:32:30] Right.

[00:32:30] So I think we just got to reshape how we measure success.

[00:32:34] We've got to reshape who we put up on a platform.

[00:32:37] Where's the 20 deal a year show up for, you know, taking care of their sick parents, right?

[00:32:43] But they're doing what they can't.

[00:32:44] Why aren't they on the stage and talking about balance and what's, what matters?

[00:32:47] Because that's not what pays the bills for the company.

[00:32:50] It doesn't sell books.

[00:32:52] And it doesn't sell books.

[00:32:53] Right.

[00:32:53] So I think like, I just am passionate about resetting the way we keep score because then

[00:32:58] I think there's freedom to us to say now that I don't need to sell a hundred homes in a year,

[00:33:03] how do I want to do this?

[00:33:04] Great.

[00:33:04] Go be excellent at it.

[00:33:05] That's the goal.

[00:33:06] The one quote that I had from a previous episode, I said, nobody's going out to buy

[00:33:12] the grow your business by 1% a year.

[00:33:17] Right.

[00:33:18] Like you, everything.

[00:33:20] Is that the last copy?

[00:33:22] I'll take it.

[00:33:23] Hurry up.

[00:33:23] Hurry up.

[00:33:25] But like, it's just so important.

[00:33:28] I think that it's just this lemming mindset is that once you're in it, it's like, this is

[00:33:33] how you have to do it.

[00:33:34] And you, to your credit, took a step back.

[00:33:37] You're like, why?

[00:33:40] Like find your why.

[00:33:41] Like, why am I doing this?

[00:33:42] Like, what's the most important thing to me?

[00:33:46] Garrett's got a big family.

[00:33:48] I mean, you know, why four kids and a dog?

[00:33:49] It's like, it's crazy.

[00:33:51] Like to get to that point.

[00:33:53] Yeah.

[00:33:54] Yeah.

[00:33:55] No, you go ahead, buddy.

[00:33:57] No, you go ahead.

[00:33:58] Yeah.

[00:33:59] I was going to say, you've got to, my growth, right?

[00:34:02] Everybody says you're either growing or dying.

[00:34:04] And I think that's true.

[00:34:05] But then we assume growth is only based on numbers, right?

[00:34:08] And metrics.

[00:34:09] How many deals my growth has been.

[00:34:11] I'm literally doing the exact same amount of deals.

[00:34:13] I'm just doing in a heck of a lot less time.

[00:34:15] That's growth, right?

[00:34:17] That's intentional growth.

[00:34:18] That's where I'm trying to grow.

[00:34:19] We're revenue.

[00:34:20] Instead of, we're revenue.

[00:34:22] Like, we have some agencies that write all these millions of dollars of premium.

[00:34:27] I got this book of business.

[00:34:28] It's, you know, we're at 20.

[00:34:30] And it's like, well, yeah.

[00:34:32] And your staff is X.

[00:34:34] Right.

[00:34:34] And your marketing is X.

[00:34:36] And everything else is X.

[00:34:38] And then like, when you whittle it down to that, you know, bottom line, it's like,

[00:34:42] yeah, but like, you're generating the same amount of revenue with my book that's half

[00:34:48] the size.

[00:34:48] Yeah, what was your net?

[00:34:49] And then what's your quality of life is Garrett saying.

[00:34:51] Because again, if you don't, like, again, anyone can live their life any which way they

[00:34:57] want.

[00:34:57] If you love to work 24-7, 365, then more power to you.

[00:35:02] Do it.

[00:35:02] Kill it.

[00:35:03] There's a lot of people similar to the three of us who have families, who have interests,

[00:35:09] hobbies, who want downtime.

[00:35:12] And it's hard to find that sometime in our respective industries.

[00:35:17] Insurance, too.

[00:35:18] I've listened to some insurance podcasts.

[00:35:19] And like, they're just talking about, you know, mergers and acquisitions.

[00:35:22] That's the only way to grow.

[00:35:23] Like, you got to go buy someone.

[00:35:24] You got to go buy a producer.

[00:35:25] And it's like, same thing in real estate.

[00:35:27] Hey, you should be like, you know, you should hire an operations person.

[00:35:30] You should grow your team by like 20 agents.

[00:35:32] And if you do another 50 million, you're going to, then you're going to be putting your feet

[00:35:35] up and drinking out of a coconut.

[00:35:37] It's the same voices, though.

[00:35:39] It's the same.

[00:35:40] It's the insurance companies, right?

[00:35:41] And then it's the insurance coaches that are saying the same things because at the end

[00:35:46] of the day.

[00:35:47] You can actually lay on the fire.

[00:35:48] But it's not best what's for, it's not what's best for that agent or that business owner.

[00:35:54] It's what's best for them.

[00:35:56] Right?

[00:35:57] Yeah.

[00:35:57] And so I think if you differentiate the two and you can sit down, and I think this is

[00:36:01] where you kind of came to that moment, Garrett.

[00:36:03] It's like, what is best for me?

[00:36:05] Right.

[00:36:05] Like, what's going to make me the happiest and deliver, you know, with my business?

[00:36:14] All right.

[00:36:14] I'm going to shift here.

[00:36:16] So this is an awesome conversation.

[00:36:19] So you started The Faithful Agent, which is a podcast and a coaching training company

[00:36:24] for Christians in real estate.

[00:36:26] And you have the 210 Collective, which is a global Christian agent community.

[00:36:31] So tell us about those ventures.

[00:36:33] And again, it's like as you're diversifying your path in real estate, talk about those

[00:36:39] a little bit.

[00:36:39] Like, why did you decide to go in those directions?

[00:36:42] Yeah.

[00:36:42] So good question.

[00:36:43] And I think the beauty of slowing down for a minute, right?

[00:36:47] I think we need to get into a rhythm of rest, pause, ponder, think, for me, pray, and then

[00:36:54] move, right?

[00:36:55] I tend to build the airplane while it's in the air, and that doesn't lead to good decisions,

[00:36:59] right?

[00:37:00] And so just being able to slow down a little bit in my business, right?

[00:37:04] That was the intent.

[00:37:05] The intent for me was never to build this massive real estate empire.

[00:37:08] The intent for me was, I want to really build a great team so I could have freedom to pursue

[00:37:14] things that I'm passionate about, which, man, the more I talk to people, that's the thing

[00:37:18] I hear over and over.

[00:37:19] The thing in the way of them pursuing their passion is their business, right?

[00:37:23] And so it's totally true.

[00:37:24] And so I was fortunate that as this continued to grow, excuse me, I was able to pause.

[00:37:30] I was able to stop.

[00:37:31] I do a lot of thinking time during the week, a lot of journaling during the week, and a lot

[00:37:36] of reading.

[00:37:37] So I'm just constantly trying to learn new things.

[00:37:39] And so it just came to a culmination for me of, who do I really want to serve?

[00:37:44] I just kept asking myself that question.

[00:37:46] Who do I really want to serve?

[00:37:47] And the nature of it is, I want to serve everybody.

[00:37:50] Let me build something for everyone, right?

[00:37:53] And then I just became, and I tried that, right?

[00:37:55] I tried this company called Business by Relationships.

[00:37:57] Here's my 36 touch system, and it helps some agents, don't get me wrong, but it's just noise,

[00:38:02] man.

[00:38:02] It's what everybody's doing.

[00:38:03] It's noise.

[00:38:04] It's not really who I am.

[00:38:05] It's just what I thought was going to be the biggest opportunity for me, right?

[00:38:09] And so when I finally just paused and said, man, I'm fortunate.

[00:38:12] My business is taking care of my family.

[00:38:14] Who do I want to serve?

[00:38:15] For me, that became Christian agents.

[00:38:17] And it's a totally underserved population, right?

[00:38:20] And it's a very specific niche.

[00:38:21] So I just said, I wonder what will happen if I just go all in.

[00:38:24] And I just went all in.

[00:38:25] And thankfully, it's been amazing, right?

[00:38:27] It's been a huge blessing to me personally and to a lot of people, I hope.

[00:38:31] And so it was that culmination, right?

[00:38:34] Is again, it's trying to understand, just like in my own real estate business, just like the

[00:38:39] listener, your real estate business.

[00:38:41] What do I actually care about?

[00:38:42] What do I actually want to do?

[00:38:43] Right?

[00:38:44] You guys were using the word should because we hear that a lot.

[00:38:46] That's such a bad word in this industry.

[00:38:48] You should do this.

[00:38:49] You should do that.

[00:38:49] The question should be, if you want to do this, here's how, right?

[00:38:53] That's what we should be saying.

[00:38:54] But in reality, I just started to stop asking myself, what should I be doing?

[00:38:58] And just asking the first question, what is it that I desire to do, right?

[00:39:02] What's in me already?

[00:39:03] What is my natural inclination?

[00:39:06] What am I most when I'm most authentic to who I am?

[00:39:09] Who is that?

[00:39:10] Right?

[00:39:10] And so it pushed me in this past say, go talk to Christian agents, man.

[00:39:14] That's your heart.

[00:39:15] That's where you want to live anyways.

[00:39:16] That's where your biggest influence can be.

[00:39:17] And so I just went for it, man.

[00:39:19] We launched a conference.

[00:39:20] We started the podcast.

[00:39:22] We're about to do our fourth conference.

[00:39:24] Wow.

[00:39:24] And then the two, that was, so the faithful agent is a nonprofit organization for any

[00:39:28] and all agents, uh, man, just whoever come in, right?

[00:39:32] We do conferences.

[00:39:33] We've got local groups.

[00:39:34] We've got a podcast.

[00:39:35] The 210 collective is an organization at EXP where we are intentionally just getting

[00:39:40] into business with Christian agents so that we can specifically.

[00:39:44] Building a bigger tribe basically.

[00:39:45] That's right.

[00:39:46] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:39:47] Absolutely.

[00:39:47] And so the cool thing is, again, that's what I want anybody listening is.

[00:39:50] What do I really want to do?

[00:39:52] Who do I really want to serve?

[00:39:53] And I think for a lot of people, right, not to bring it back really quickly to scoreboard.

[00:39:56] A lot of people are going to say, it's my family and I'm not serving them very well.

[00:39:59] Then do that first and then figure out your business.

[00:40:01] And then once you've figured out your business, you get to ask a fun question.

[00:40:05] Now, what do I want to do?

[00:40:06] And that's the freedom for me.

[00:40:08] That's been a huge blessing.

[00:40:09] And so I'm thankful for that.

[00:40:11] It's, it's been incredible.

[00:40:12] Just being able to ask better questions of myself.

[00:40:14] Dude, that's, all right.

[00:40:15] So this brings something back.

[00:40:17] So when I started Copper Hill Real Estate, like 10 years ago with two partners, I was

[00:40:21] the operations guy.

[00:40:22] So I was more in charge of like, you know, meeting agents, bringing them in, training them,

[00:40:28] mentoring them, watching them grow.

[00:40:29] So one of the things I always said to every agent I would meet is we would go over like

[00:40:36] an annual plan, which was numbers based.

[00:40:38] But then we would also go over a marketing plan, which is more like, what are you doing?

[00:40:41] Is it, it's the stuff that causes you to go in debt or is the stuff that makes you sweat?

[00:40:45] Like basically was the way I put it.

[00:40:47] But the one thing I would always say to everyone is go with what you know.

[00:40:51] I would always say, go with what you know.

[00:40:53] And that is the direction that you're moving in, which is awesome.

[00:40:56] I mean, Sean and I, same way.

[00:40:58] It's like, even like doing this podcast has been like eyeopening because we just get to

[00:41:02] be ourselves.

[00:41:03] Like, you know, I get to wear a t-shirt and a backwards hat and just show up and have

[00:41:07] great conversations with inspirational people that we're hoping, hoping people will learn

[00:41:13] from.

[00:41:14] But when you were saying all that, that's, it reminded me of that.

[00:41:17] I just needed an excuse to buy bowling shirts.

[00:41:20] That's right.

[00:41:21] That's true.

[00:41:21] That's why we have the podcast.

[00:41:22] And he wears a whole lot of obey hats too.

[00:41:24] And we had a joke on one of our recent episodes that he was an obey model and making all this

[00:41:29] money, which is not true, but it was funny.

[00:41:31] It's not your AI version of you.

[00:41:33] Right.

[00:41:34] And so that's fine to bring it back to our pre show conversation.

[00:41:37] That Mooney has six fingers online.

[00:41:39] He's running around.

[00:41:40] He does very well for himself.

[00:41:43] All right.

[00:41:44] So, um, so you had also stayed on a past podcast.

[00:41:47] I've listened to some of the faithful Asian.

[00:41:50] I've listened to the ones you've been a guest on.

[00:41:51] You stayed on a past podcast that success in real estate is not rocket science.

[00:41:56] It's consistency.

[00:41:58] Why has being consistent worked so well for everything that you've done?

[00:42:05] And when you quote me to me, I'm like, Oh, I don't believe that.

[00:42:10] Yeah.

[00:42:13] Yeah.

[00:42:13] That wasn't me.

[00:42:14] That was a, I bought Garrett.

[00:42:15] Uh, no.

[00:42:16] So yeah.

[00:42:17] So, I mean, my answer would have been different, honestly, like a week ago, but I just started

[00:42:20] reading this book called the psychology of money, which is phenomenally fascinating.

[00:42:24] One of the things he gets into is the compounding effect of what we do right now.

[00:42:28] That's talking about money, but I'm going to talk about our work.

[00:42:29] But for example, he gives us an example.

[00:42:31] Warren Buffett has 84 and a half billion dollar net worth.

[00:42:34] 81 and a half billion came after he turned 65 years old.

[00:42:38] But guess what he started?

[00:42:39] Yeah.

[00:42:40] He started when he was 10.

[00:42:41] And so it's the compounding.

[00:42:43] He's averaged an annual return of 22%.

[00:42:45] I forget the guy's name.

[00:42:46] Who's like the best investor ever.

[00:42:48] It, uh, averages 66% a year, which is insane.

[00:42:51] He only, only has $21 billion net worth, 75% less than Warren Buffett, which is still crazy.

[00:42:57] That's insane.

[00:42:58] But why?

[00:42:58] Cause he didn't start until he was 30.

[00:43:00] Right.

[00:43:01] So the consistency is there, right?

[00:43:03] You, you talk about grow your business by 1%.

[00:43:05] That would be incredible because the compounding effect of that eventually would be amazing.

[00:43:09] If you stay consistent and if you stayed consistent, just keep doing it.

[00:43:15] Right.

[00:43:15] I mean, what's been fortunate for me is because the system that I created for myself is so

[00:43:20] easy.

[00:43:20] I've never missed a month in almost 10 years.

[00:43:23] I do exactly what I mean to do for lead generation every month.

[00:43:27] I never miss.

[00:43:28] Even when we've had babies, even when whatever, my mom passed away in 2022.

[00:43:32] Sorry about that.

[00:43:33] Why did it miss?

[00:43:33] Why?

[00:43:34] Because it was simple.

[00:43:35] It was easy.

[00:43:36] And I learned the rhythm of being consistent.

[00:43:38] That's all that this is right.

[00:43:40] It's not challenging.

[00:43:42] If you just do the same thing and do the right thing over and over and over again, and you're

[00:43:46] not going to know what the right thing is for a couple of years.

[00:43:48] So don't be discouraged.

[00:43:49] Just figure it out.

[00:43:50] And then you're like, Hey, this works.

[00:43:51] I'll just keep doing it.

[00:43:52] And I'll just keep doing it.

[00:43:53] And I'll just keep doing it.

[00:43:54] So that is the key, right?

[00:43:55] You guys know it too.

[00:43:56] We're talking about the podcast.

[00:43:58] We're 200 episodes in, I don't know if it's going to blow up, but if it does, it will only be

[00:44:02] because the compounding effect of the consistency of showing up every week to do it.

[00:44:07] That's how everything works.

[00:44:08] We've just become convinced that you can be in overnight success when no one actually is.

[00:44:14] And so it's, you know, I like, I love Nate Bargatze is a comedian.

[00:44:17] Love this dude, right?

[00:44:18] What did he do for like 15 years?

[00:44:20] He was in bars.

[00:44:21] He was doing tiny shows, right?

[00:44:23] And there was like five people there, 10 people there.

[00:44:26] Nobody cared.

[00:44:26] And then all of a sudden he blew up.

[00:44:28] He's not an overnight success.

[00:44:29] He's a 15 year overnight success, right?

[00:44:32] Everything is compounding.

[00:44:34] Every movement that you make is a compounding effect towards one direction, either the good

[00:44:39] one or the bad one, right?

[00:44:41] And so when you miss a day, all right, give yourself grace, get back up and do it the next

[00:44:45] day.

[00:44:45] But when you're consistently in relationship with people or whatever kind of lead generation

[00:44:49] you're going to do, the compounding effect of that over years, they build trust with you,

[00:44:54] right?

[00:44:54] You're the guy that showed up for 10 years.

[00:44:56] Of course, they're going to reach out to you.

[00:44:58] They actually believe you when you say I'm here for you, right?

[00:45:00] Because I'm doing it every single month.

[00:45:02] So the compounding effect in everything, in money, in life, in relationships and working

[00:45:07] out, right?

[00:45:08] And what you eat and whatever, it's all compounding effect.

[00:45:11] We just assume that in business, you can like put a dollar into the Zillow vending machine

[00:45:16] and it's going to give you a business.

[00:45:17] That's not true, right?

[00:45:18] Everything is compounding.

[00:45:20] So that to me is just the truth of our business.

[00:45:23] You can't shortcut it.

[00:45:24] And I've tried, right?

[00:45:25] But you can't.

[00:45:27] Consistent, show up, do the right thing and then do it again the next day and you'll

[00:45:30] be okay.

[00:45:31] That's literally what it is.

[00:45:32] Is this guy a stud or what?

[00:45:34] Oh, like, come on, man.

[00:45:36] I eat a lot of donuts.

[00:45:37] So I'm not a huge stud.

[00:45:39] I'm trying to be.

[00:45:40] That's why I talked about food as the compounding effect.

[00:45:42] The donuts get you going.

[00:45:43] It's like, yeah, I got a podcast.

[00:45:45] I got to crush two.

[00:45:45] Then I got to get on.

[00:45:47] Exactly.

[00:45:48] I need some energy.

[00:45:48] Let's get some donuts.

[00:45:49] Yeah.

[00:45:50] It's just everything that we've talked about.

[00:45:53] And we always look for this reinforcement.

[00:45:56] Like, you know, you look, are we doing this right?

[00:45:59] Because we live in this world of like viral everything, right?

[00:46:03] The viral video, the, you know, some business.

[00:46:06] Instagram gratification.

[00:46:07] You know, and it's like, it takes work to like day in, day out, keep doing it, be consistent.

[00:46:15] And I just don't think there's enough voices like yours out there that speak to the, the

[00:46:24] vast majority of people, right?

[00:46:26] The viral stuff is going to happen, but that's the, that's the small little percentage of minority

[00:46:32] of business people.

[00:46:34] And I think there's just such an underserved population of people that have talent.

[00:46:40] And if they could just see it through this lens of just keep at it, keep doing it, keep

[00:46:46] doing it would, uh, would take off and be successful.

[00:46:50] Absolutely.

[00:46:51] And so I just wish there was more of, of these voices out there.

[00:46:55] Yeah.

[00:46:56] I mean, to, to your point, to it, too many people are trying to win the lottery, not grow

[00:47:00] a farm, right?

[00:47:02] Right.

[00:47:02] Build a farm, plant, seed, and sow, and reap.

[00:47:06] And right then it's going to take time, but build the farm.

[00:47:09] Don't try to win the lottery.

[00:47:11] That's the problem with a lot of businesses.

[00:47:13] And I think people get burned out.

[00:47:14] I have a super quick, we had a guy on our podcast.

[00:47:17] I can't remember when, but Mike Hagee is his name.

[00:47:19] He runs a team in Charlotte.

[00:47:20] He just had a Instagram video go viral.

[00:47:23] It's like his Gen Z editor and it's him breathing or something.

[00:47:26] I can't remember exactly what it is.

[00:47:27] I saw that guy.

[00:47:28] Really?

[00:47:28] His daughter filmed it and it was like little short sits and she cut out everything on the

[00:47:34] video except him being like, yeah, he's just breathing.

[00:47:37] And it's hilarious.

[00:47:38] Right.

[00:47:38] And it went crazy viral.

[00:47:40] Guess what?

[00:47:41] I've seen since then a bunch of the agents that I know doing the same thing.

[00:47:44] My Gen Z editor.

[00:47:46] And it's like, I can breathe.

[00:47:48] Yeah.

[00:47:49] Right.

[00:47:49] You are.

[00:47:49] He, it is amazing.

[00:47:51] And I hope it is a huge blessing to his business.

[00:47:53] Right.

[00:47:53] That's an incredible thing.

[00:47:54] You can't just go do it and all of a sudden win the lottery too.

[00:47:57] Yeah.

[00:47:58] He didn't do that.

[00:47:58] Think he was going to win the lottery.

[00:47:59] He's just consistently making content.

[00:48:02] Right.

[00:48:02] So it's the, the reality for us.

[00:48:05] If you want to succeed, grow the farm, right?

[00:48:07] Just consistency over time, even in the Bible, Galatians six, nine says, do not grow weary

[00:48:13] of doing good for in due season.

[00:48:16] You will reap if you do not give up.

[00:48:19] Right.

[00:48:20] It literally says it right there.

[00:48:21] That's the point.

[00:48:22] Don't grow weary of doing good.

[00:48:24] Keep it doing it.

[00:48:24] Cause you will reap.

[00:48:26] It's not a question.

[00:48:26] You will, if you don't give up, that's the key.

[00:48:29] Have a runway long enough, keep doing the right thing.

[00:48:32] Give yourself a long enough runway and you will get there.

[00:48:35] It's when we pull the plug too fast that it doesn't work.

[00:48:37] Yeah.

[00:48:37] Garrett, I'm going to, after this episode, I'm walking down the street.

[00:48:41] You're getting a sack of seeds.

[00:48:42] There's a screen print shop.

[00:48:44] I'm going to print the shirt, grow the farm.

[00:48:47] I'm going to get your address.

[00:48:48] I'm going to send it down to you.

[00:48:50] Please do.

[00:48:51] Grow the farm.

[00:48:52] Hashtag grow the farm.

[00:48:53] I love it.

[00:48:54] Grow the farm.

[00:48:54] That's right.

[00:48:55] I absolutely love it.

[00:48:56] Well, we've taken up a lot of your time today and we could not be more thankful that

[00:49:00] you agreed to chat with us and share some of your time today.

[00:49:04] So real quick for the listeners, as well as the watchers,

[00:49:06] why don't you tell people where they can find out more about you and what you got going on.

[00:49:10] And the book.

[00:49:10] Yeah.

[00:49:11] If that's coming out.

[00:49:11] Yes, please.

[00:49:12] Yeah.

[00:49:13] So working on the book still, it's been a work in progress.

[00:49:15] It'll come out soon called the Common Agent Scoreboard.

[00:49:18] Soon could be in three years.

[00:49:19] Let's be honest.

[00:49:20] But the Faithful Agent Podcast.

[00:49:22] That's right.

[00:49:23] That's where you'll see me every week.

[00:49:24] You'll hear me every week.

[00:49:26] And then honestly, they can just text me at 757-266-2876.

[00:49:31] Honestly, happy to help in any way I can.

[00:49:33] Feel free to reach out.

[00:49:34] Very cool.

[00:49:35] That's awesome, man.

[00:49:36] Thank you so much for your time, Garrett.

[00:49:37] Absolutely, guys.

[00:49:38] Thank you.

[00:49:38] And that's all we have for this one, folks.

[00:49:40] So thank you for tuning in again to another episode of Bricks and Risk.

[00:49:45] Be on the next one.

[00:49:48] Thank you for joining us on another episode of Bricks and Risk.

[00:49:52] Our goal is that you walk away with one or two valuable nuggets.

[00:49:56] And we greatly appreciate you sharing your time with us today.

[00:49:59] You can find all B&R episodes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube,

[00:50:05] and anywhere else you get your podcast content.

[00:50:08] Until next time, keep learning and keep growing.