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Pleasure and joy might be deemed frivolous by society at large but according to Katie Macks they are your birthright.

Katie Macks is a leadership coach, and her brand is Audacious Leadership.

From Katie's website: "Audacious leadership values our differences and creates an environment of belonging. We value and fortify one another with dignity, respect, and love and we’re changing the way business gets done! We are ushering in a new paradigm of leadership and business practices that changes the way we relate in our businesses and in our lives."

Katie's message and coaching will be of benefit to anyone listening, but for real estate agents there's the added bonus that Katie was a top-producing real estate agent in a past life so she really understands and can empathize with the personal challenges faced by real estate agents. 

To schedule a 30 minute alignment call with Katie at no cost please click here.

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"Few things in life motivate me more than helping others get along more effectively. The core of everything I do rests firmly on a foundation of collaboration and collaborative problem-solving."

So says Shawn Dunning, my guest on this episode of the podcast, a collaborative leadership, conflict resolution, & team development consultant.

Shawn and I spend the first half of our conversation discussing his deep dive into local politics in 2022. Shawn ran for Mayor of the City of Richmond as an outsider in 2022 and came closer to holding office than anyone could have imagined. Following his mayoral campaign Shawn has set his sights for 2024 on a seat on Richmond City Council in District 6. 

The second half of our conversation is devoted entirely to Shawn's professional career as collaborative leadership, and conflict resolution consultant. We discuss primarily intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict, and the A, B, C of conflict resolution. 

To find out more about Shawn's consulting practice please click here. To gain insight into his political agenda please click here. To listen to a conversation I had with Shawn during his run for Mayor in 2022 please click here. To view Shawn's LinkedIn profile please click here.

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Aman Daro has become a regular on the podcast, and with good reason. If you've ever received statistical charts from me or any Red Oak Realty agent showing aspects of the real estate market in the East Bay most likely they were conceived of and compiled by Aman Daro.  Aman Daro is COO at Red Oak Realty but is more fondly thought of as "the data guy".

We invite you to follow along with our chat, a conversation around the 2023 Q3 East Bay Stats Report released a couple of week ago by Red Oak Realty, by viewing the 91 page report here as we highlight specific page numbers. Yes! It's an interactive live podcast!

If you follow the podcast episodes with Aman what emerges is the story of the East Bay real estate market. In our last chat we speculated that the theme of 2023 would be low inventory. That definitely has been the case. But there's so much more. 

I encourage you to listen to episode #5 of the podcast, my first conversation with Aman, to better understand his mission at Red Oak Realty and his approach to tracking data and uncovering market trends.

Aman Daro is CA licensed real estate agent DRE##1350412
Declan Spring is a licensed CA REALTOR® DRE#01398898

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Chris Brown has been selling homes in Las Vegas for 5 years and is widely respected as one of the top social media agents in the valley specializing in relocation and new-construction single-family homes. Chris is a Los Angeles native who moved to Las Vegas after spending three years in Orlando, Florida working in collegiate and professional sports. In the past year, Chris has sold nearly $10 million worth of real estate with 90% of his clients coming from social media. 

After working as an agent on a team with EXP Realty Chris decided to depart and join the number #1 luxury brokerage Simply Vegas as a solo agent. During this transition, Chris committed to targeting his clients 100% through social media by displaying the local lifestyle clients get when they live in Las Vegas. With an audience of over 160,000 followers, Chris has found his niche as the "lifestyle specialist", his new way of prospecting future clients.

In our conversation we talk about, among other things, the primary differences between short form and long form video, and monetization metrics; why understanding what each media platform is best designed for is the key to growth and success; understanding that consumers turn to YouTube for instructional and ‘how-to’ specific content as opposed to general media which often generates more random entertainment content; the value of contracting with a professional strategist for long form video content; consistency. 

Chris can be reached by email at [email protected] or on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube at the handle @CB.LasVegas.

Chris Brown is a licensed NV REALTOR® NRED#188080

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This podcast episode is cross branded with a podcast I host and produce on behalf of Bridge Association REALTORS®: The Bridge Association of REALTORS® Podcast

The first part of my conversation with Andrea Gordon was released on April 27 this year on the Bridge Association of REALTORS® Podcast and is exclusively available here. 

Andrea Gordon has a robust business. She’s consistently a top producing agent, not just at Compass but at a nationwide level. This makes for powerful insight on many levels because Andrea is never not in contract. She’s always in the market. And at the same time she's learned how to always work on her business. We talk about the challenges of a lean market and where to keep your focus.

Andrea is an MLS committee member. The MLS committee provides oversight of MLS policies, publications, and forms, and next year Andrea will be on the MLS board. Andrea is also involved with the MLS Management Group (MMG) consisting of representatives from Bay East, Contra Costa, and Bridge MLS. We talk about the recent stepped up pressure and threats to the career of being a real estate agent, the recent monumental change to Bright MLS on the east coast, and the first clear signs of changes coming to the decades old commission structure of real estate including several lawsuits that have been working their way through the court system and are finally coming to a head. For Inman subscribers, here are some links to get you up to speed: Anywhere settles lawsuit; Is Anywhere's settlement the first domino to fall?

Andrea and I have chatted before on an alternate podcast. In 2020 we had a rich conversation on the Let’s Talk, with Declan Spring podcast. If you’d like to listen to that podcast episode please click here.

Andrea Gordon is a licensed CA REALTOR® DRE# 01233563
Declan Spring is a licensed CA REALTOR® DRE#01398898

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Hailing from Sonoma County, and better known in the East Bay and especially in El Cerrito as 'The Little Hill’, Rachel Melby is an East Bay aficionado, and self-proclaimed ‘cool mom.’ After a dozen-odd years in the tech industry, Rachel finally made her dream of working within her local El Cerrito community a reality. 

Rachel is a tech and marketing veteran turned Realtor who discovered her passion for helping people find their next home while serving as an undercover real estate matchmaker through her El Cerrito-based instagram community page @thelittlehill.

Rachel has years of experience building strategic partnerships, leveraging data, and developing content for companies like Google and YouTube. After too much time helping big tech get bigger, Rachel dreamed of nothing more than working alongside folks in her own East Bay community.

In this conversation we talk a great deal about Rachel’s entry into the local real estate community as a social media expert with an already established and thriving community page on instagram, and how she managed with great care and integrity to use her community page as a launching pad into her real estate career @littlehillrealestate 

Rachel Melby is a licensed CA REALTOR® DRE#02179456

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Aman Daro has become a regular on the podcast, and with good reason. If you've ever received statistical charts from me or any Red Oak Realty agent showing aspects of the real estate market in the East Bay most likely they were conceived of and compiled by Aman Daro.  Aman Daro is COO at Red Oak Realty but is more fondly thought of as "the data guy".

Has the local real estate market started to recover?... Well, it continues to be complicated…

In this conversation with Aman we catch up on the speculation floated in our March conversation that a historically low supply of homes might continue as the overarching theme through at least the end of Q2. Aman walks us through some of the key data points so far this year and contrasts them with 2022 and further back in time. We touch on recent challenges in the property insurance market and the surprising increase in the number of East Bay sellers who are not moving out of the area. 

I encourage you to listen to episode #5 of the podcast, my first conversation with Aman, to better understand his mission at Red Oak Realty and his approach to tracking data and uncovering market trends.

Aman Daro is CA licensed real estate agent DRE##1350412

Ideas for the show or to want just to support us? Send us a text!

This podcast episode is cross branded with a weekly podcast I host and produce on behalf of Bridge Association REALTORS®: The Bridge Association of REALTORS® Podcast

Ruth Stroup is a 17 year insurance agent with Farmers®, and founder of the Ruth Stroup Insurance Agency in Oakland. 

In our conversation Ruth educates me on many aspects of property insurance and the changes she has seen in her 17 year career. Topics include a brief history of property insurance since the 1980’s and the unintended consequences of 1988’s Prop 103; State Farms May 27th announcement that it has discontinued writing new policies on California property; The reinsurance market; Population growth and property development; Insurance company formulas - loss ratio, combined ratio; Firelines and the 3 factors that comprise fireline scores; Types of insurance carriers in California; FAIR plan; Insurance coverage and purchase contract contingencies; Property insurance inspections after the policy has been written.

Ruth Stroup Insurance Agency, 3560 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94610 License #0M13985
Declan Spring is a licensed CA REALTOR® DRE#01398898

Ideas for the show or to want just to support us? Send us a text!

This podcast episode is cross branded with a weekly podcast I host and produce on behalf of Bridge Association REALTORS®: The Bridge Association of REALTORS® Podcast

Cameron Platt is a broker and co-founder of Abio Properties. Cameron’s career in real estate was born out of a dissatisfaction with his practice of law. He realized he had a stronger passion for helping people in real estate transactions than in court. These days he considers himself a “recovering” attorney.

In our conversation Cameron and I discuss the value and protection that REALTORS® bring to consumers and the pressing need for REALTORS® to understand and articulate their value to consumers in the face of downward pressure on commissions from various places including new tech, private enterprise, and lawsuits. We reference the  Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of REALTORS® as a key document that each REALTOR® should carefully review and consider in their dealings with consumers.

Cameron has a long and impressive history as a leader in the REALTOR® community: 

Past President, Oakland Association of REALTORS®

Director, Oakland Berkeley Association of REALTORS®

Director, California Association of REALTORS®

Committee Member, National Association of REALTORS®

Click here for a link to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of REALTORS® 

Cameron Platt is a licensed CA REALTOR® & Broker DRE#01403911 
Declan Spring is a licensed CA REALTOR® DRE#01398898

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“A well thought out estate plan is an act of love for yourself and your beneficiaries”. So says my guest Loulena Miles. 

In our conversation we cover the basics of estate planning, and the different main documents that are involved in an estate plan. We talk about how to refresh an estate plan and the hazards of do-it-yourself estate planning. We also spend some time talking about digital assets, and the importance of creating an advanced medical healthcare directive and thinking clearly about end of life care and beyond.

This conversation was originally recorded as a live Zoom presentation to a small audience and Loulena provided 3 documents to accompany her talk. The documents are available by clicking on the links below and I encourage you to download and/or print item #2, the Podcast Handout, and have it available as you listen to the talk.  

1. Main Presentation Slides (simple)
2. Podcast Handout (detailed)
3. Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their Wills (WSJ - 2/16/2023)

Loulena Miles has been practicing law as a licensed California Attorney since 2003. She began her career in public policy in Washington DC working for the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. Following completion of her law degree, graduating in the top of her class at Golden Gate University, she worked as the Staff Attorney at Tri-Valley CAREs practicing environmental law and public policy. She then worked in private practice as an Associate Attorney at Adams, Broadwell, Joseph and Cardozo in South San Francisco with a focus on administrative law. Most recently, before forming Miles and Torres Associates, Loulena assisted senior citizens with legal issues including maintaining housing, healthcare and financial solvency. She is a Strauss Scholar and a New Voices Ford Foundation Fellow. She presented at the United Nations in New York and Geneva and the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India. She holds a certification in conflict resolution and mediation. She was awarded Witkin and Cali awards for top academic performance in Wills and Trusts, Criminal Law, Legal Research and Writing, Negotiations and Toxics Law and Policy. Loulena Miles is a member of East Bay Trust and Estate Lawyers and is currently serving on the nonprofit board of Tri-Valley CAREs.