Start With A Win

On this episode of the Start with a Win podcast, we are joined by Daisy Lopez-Cid, broker-owner of RE/MAX Premiere in Kissimmee, Florida. Daisy took the leap into the real estate industry in August of 2007, and while it was not easy going, she and her agents banded together with the community to weather the storm of the recession and come out stronger on the other side. 

Daisy has set up a culture in her office of truly caring for her agents, their clients, and the community, and many of her agents have been with her for more than 10 years as a result. She strives to mirror the values and practices of the broader Hispanic culture: giving, welcoming, warmth, and persistence. As one of very few Latinas in the real estate space, she has a unique perspective and also unique opportunities to work with Hispanic families as they navigate the real estate market.

She does her best to help her clients in any way that she can and build a relationship with the community, as evidenced by the numbers of past clients that still attend her annual Christmas party and just stop by her office to bring her food or say hi. Many people appreciate Daisy’s straightforward but eloquent way of explaining the way things really are.

Daisy has been involved with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) since early on in her real estate career, and in 2018 she served as the organization’s president. She speaks so highly of NAHREP and its members who demonstrate hospitality and persistence day-in and day-out. She brought Adam with her to a NAHREP convention several years ago and he was blown away by how inviting the agents were and their vocal commitment to their communities. 

She starts each day thinking about what she needs to execute before the day is over and then she gets out there and does it. Her father raised her to be strong, independent, committed, and resourceful, recognizing that there is no success without discomfort, and this is the message that motivates her to start with a win.

Connect with Daisy:

https://www.remax.com/real-estate-agents/kissimmee-fl-34741-daisylopez-cid-id13264321.html

https://nahrep.org/

https://www.facebook.com/daisy.lopezcid.3

https://www.instagram.com/daisylopezcid/

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

Our guest on this episode of the Start with a Win podcast is Shane Torres, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Concepts out of Polk City, Iowa. Shane got into real estate in 2009 after beginning his career as a homebuilder and seeing his business dry up during the recession. He and his wife had to make a lot of tough decisions to take care of their family during that period, and while becoming a real estate agent was a long shot at the time, this career shift has proven to be for the best.

Having gone from the brink of bankruptcy to $20 million in production within three years, Shane has a lot of insights to share with others in the real estate industry and in business in general. He has written a book on the topic and he also operates a coaching business called “The Road to $20 Million” to help his clients find their paths and avoid some of the mistakes that cost Shane precious time and money. He finds this work extremely fulfilling, being able to help his clients obtain a life balance, understanding the importance of both revenue and having a life that will let you enjoy it. One of his key points is to set upfront expectations and communicate honestly with your clients and loved ones about this balance.

The biggest business challenges that Shane has faced and has walked his clients through are mostly related to mindset. If you adjust your mindset to reflect an attitude of abundance by being focused on your “why,” you can set and attain very high goals and set up systems to support you along the way. Shane tells his clients that it is important to work toward their goals one step at a time with consistent effort. Shane starts his days with a win by spending some time listening to podcasts and Bible studies, getting to the gym by 5:00am or 5:30am, answering a few emails, spending time with his family, and then getting his workday started. Shane ended his time with us by dropping a new classic truth bomb: Don’t stoop to stupid.

Connect with Shane:

https://torresteamia.com/

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXSHANETORRES 

https://www.instagram.com/shane.torres/

https://twitter.com/REMAXTorresTeam

https://www.amazon.com/Road-20-Million-Bankruptcy-Multi-Million/dp/0578497816

https://www.roadto20million.com/

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

On this episode of the Start with a Win podcast, Kristen Long talks with us about her experience generating business using social media and how effectively building her personal brand on social media allowed her to become an independent agent in 2017. After working with a few teams in the Champaign, Illinois, area, Kristen realized that she was generating about 85% of her business herself and she decided to lean into her marketing background to get herself out there.

The most effective method she has found is through social media, specifically Instagram. In 2018, 25% of Kristen’s business came from Instagram interactions, and it is likely that many people who like and engage with her content now will reach out to her when they have a real estate agent need down the road. While many people spend a lot of money to boost their posts, advertise, and buy followers, Kristen emphasizes that you can reach thousands of people at no cost to you if you have the right type of content. 

Another unconventional way that Kristen generates business is by aligning herself with Target. It is her happy place, so it is very common for her to be posting about going to Target or something she bought at Target or someone she saw at Target, so when people who are familiar with her go to Target or pass a Target or think about Target, they automatically think about Kristen. This immediate connection sometimes turns into a referral when people think about Kristen and realize that they have a friend looking to buy or sell a house and recommend that they reach out to her. 

Overall, Kristen sees the value in being present on multiple social media platforms, but she recommends that people focus on the one or two platforms that they are most comfortable with. When you are comfortable, you can show your authentic self and not come across and pushy or sales-y, but rather just provide value to your followers. Kristen says that the key to generating business on social media is to build relationships by being authentic and responsive. She also urges everyone to run their own social media accounts rather than paying someone else to manage them because you need to be the one interacting with people and listening to what they want and need, and they expect and deserve to hear from the real you.

Connect with Kristen:

https://www.instagram.com/homes217/

https://www.instagram.com/Lkristen/

https://www.facebook.com/kristen.long.9803

https://www.linkedin.com/in/homes217/

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

Elisabeth Vezzani, CEO of Sugarwish, joins us on this episode of Start with a Win. Elisabeth and her co-founder noticed a paradigm shift in gift giving when sending e-gifts started to gain traction and the mentality switched from the giver choosing the gift to the receiver having the power to decide what they wanted. They started Sugarwish as a way to provide the receiver the joy and satisfaction of choosing their ideal candy box which has already been paid for by the giver, featuring over 80 different types of candy and over 50 types of popcorn to choose from.

The magic of Sugarwish is that there are multiple touch points that feel magical to the receiver and that also serve the purpose of keeping the giver top-of-mind. Elisabeth says that 80% of Sugarwish’s clients are business professionals who are looking for a creative and fun way to send gifts to their own clients for various reasons. Many business professionals wonder if they are striking the right note in their interactions with customers and leads, but by sending them something from Sugarwish which they get to pick out themselves, you can rest assured that your interactions will always end memorably.

Elisabeth speaks to building and maintaining a startup, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing your next tasks and steps, and realizing that you can’t do everything. She also talks about the impact of a good culture by investing in your human capital while your financial capital is still getting where you want it to be. Like many other successful people, Elisabeth starts her day with a win by making her bed and setting her mind on the priorities of the day.

Connect with Elisabeth:

https://sugarwish.com/

http://instagram.com/sugarwishgirl#

http://www.facebook.com/sendasugarwish

https://twitter.com/Sugarwishgirl

http://pinterest.com/sugarwishpins 

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

On this episode of the Start with a Win podcast, Adam talks with The Millennial Realtor, Ed Stulak. Ed is a RE/MAX agent based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, who is an Instagram and branding expert, and he shares some of his main insights with listeners during this show.

While working in the marketing industry, Ed had the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best and brightest on Instagram. Along with his own personal experience using the platform and seeing the potential for building community and providing value to followers, Ed was able to translate what he had learned into the real estate space about 3 years ago. Ed believes strongly that authenticity is the key to success on Instagram from a personal and professional branding perspective, so he doesn’t abide by any set of guidelines or rules about what he should be posting, but he rather posts what is most true to himself in the most engaging way.

Ed has been using Instagram since 2012 and he has worked hard to amass over 44,000 followers who are interested in his content and engage with his posts. Perhaps one of the big ways that he has built such a community is by taking a step back and considering the most engaging way to present each post. Instead of just posting a picture of a house he is showing, he aims to elicit an emotion by including something like him holding a puppy in front of the house that will make people stop scrolling. 

He has found that just by providing authentic and valuable content to his community, he is cultivating and converting leads without ever directly asking people for their business. Ed is constantly responding to comments on his posts, reaching out to new followers, and informing people of new deliverables he can send them if they are interested. These deliverables are items of value to the consumer and they are a way that Ed collects email addresses for his CRM. He is a big advocate of not putting all of your eggs in one basket, but having a presence on all social media platforms as well as old school media and methods. 

Ed approaches each new day with the mantra “Today is a great day to be great”, and it is clear that he wants to help others do the same.

Connect with Ed:

https://www.instagram.com/edstulak/

https://www.facebook.com/Edstulak1181

https://www.facebook.com/edstulak.realestate/?ref=br_rs

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

Our guest on this episode of the Start with a Win podcast is Nolan Mondrow, CEO of RemoteLock based in Denver. Nolan jumped into entrepreneurship right after college, starting a clothing export company in Japan where he learned the importance of being persistent, even if it is only because you don’t understand that your prospect is telling you “no” in their language. He came back to the U.S. and got his MBA because he felt that he needed to learn how to think more inside the box, after which he happened upon starting a business selling safes. This business eventually led to e-commerce and, in 2011, RemoteLock was born. 

RemoteLock is the only cloud technology for smart locks and their main customers are vacation rental owners and real estate agents. RemoteLock allows people to provide time-based codes to designated people who need to access the house or property for any reason and some clients have found uses for the technology that they can integrate into their CRM systems for more effective follow-up procedures. In the future, Nolan sees opportunities for RemoteLock to expand into the merger between multi-family units and the short-term rental realm. 

From a leadership perspective, Nolan talks about his strategies for keeping the right perspective when things don’t go as planned and being an example to those around you in handling challenges. Nolan starts his days with a win by making his bed, being present with his kids until they go to school, and then spending some time every day walking around his office to gauge how people are doing and collaborate with his team.

Connect with Remote Lock:

https://www.remotelock.com/

https://twitter.com/remotelock_news

https://www.facebook.com/RemoteLocks/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/lockstate/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt2L5eFkY6OcE50alkrvXFg

https://www.instagram.com/remotelock/ 

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Our guest on this episode of the Start with a Win podcast is Nate Martinez, co-owner of RE/MAX Professionals in the Phoenix area. Nate wears many hats as an owner, broker, team leader, and agent, and he is fortunate enough to have his wife and two of his children on his team. 

With over 33 years in the industry, Nate has overcome plenty of challenges and has learned many beneficial lessons that now point him in the direction of success. Even with everything he has going on, he prioritizes his team by setting aside several hours every Wednesday morning to talk through the issues of the week and also provide a collaborative space. Nate’s keys to success are being committed to learning, being coachable, and being a mentor. 

When it comes to continual learning, Nate doesn’t understand why some people make a conscious decision to just give up and stop improving when there are so many mountains left to climb. By being committed to learning, you are truly living life to the fullest and you are able to enhance the lives of others. Part of this also is the willingness to be coachable, recognizing that you don’t know everything and that a coach could help you improve yourself in all areas of life. Finally, Nate encourages everyone who wants to be successful to take the time to help others as well. This mindset of giving over gaining and abundance over scarcity is rare in a world where so many people are primarily focused on themselves, but this will make all the difference for you and those you are pouring into.

Nate’s advice to up-and-coming real estate agents is: (1) find a mentor, (2) find a coach, and (3) invest in yourself. He starts his day with a win by visualizing his day and focusing on the “Miracle Morning” principles.

Links:

“Trillion Dollar Coach” book: https://www.amazon.com/Trillion-Dollar-Coach-Leadership-Playbook/dp/0062839268 

“Miracle Morning” book: https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Morning-Not-So-Obvious-Guaranteed-Transform/dp/0979019710 

Connect with Nate:

[email protected]