Ways to work on your new real estate business from home - Part 5

“Look Shell, the last thing you want to do is be a one-armed wallpaper hanger”, were the eloquent words used by Tammy Wittren one day when we were debating a marketing idea I had come up with. She’s one of the top 1% lenders at Guild Mortgage across the United States. I can tell you for certain, she did not build a business like that on accident, by coincidence or overnight.

“You have to do the work”, are also her words and ones I live by.

I am blessed to have another incredibly brilliant entrepreneur in my mastermind group. Tracey Hicks is the owner of All Things Real Estate Store. This past week I have had two conversations with her that have blown the borders of my mind about what I thought and what actually is. Here’s the thing I noticed while collaborating with her. She knows the real estate business but has a different view of it from the retail side. She enables me to open my mind to a different perspective.  

I just named two people (of about a 15-person brain trust) that I talk to, deliberate with, ask questions of the world with, fiddle with the details with, and generally just admire and trust. They are also not all in the same business.

Since the Covid 19 pandemic began, we have been spitballing ways in this blog to keep your new business in real estate moving forward to the future of your success. The ol’ “how we stir today shows in the pudding tomorrow”. It’s true, we all might be wearing down the carpet from our laptops to the fridge in this stressful time, but there is also time and space to work on the things that until late we didn’t have time for.

This week let’s work on collaboration. If you haven’t, read the previous blogs about getting your foundations together with the Mentor, Visionary, Coach, and Accountability Partner. This blog will be an extension of that mastermind group.

Hopefully, in your travels at the office there were agents that you met and admired, escrow officers you’ve had coffee with, entrepreneurs that moved you, etc. Make a list of the folks (they don’t need to be in Real Estate) that have a very focused and intentional business mindset.

Now find ways to spend time with them. It depends on your interests, but this is the perfect scenario to find ways to collaborate. It could be about business, you could start sewing masks which we’ve seen a lot of, you could host virtual events, or start a project that could positively impact the world when this situation comes to end.

Here are the benefits of collaboration:

It Opens your Mind

When we are around like-minded people, we feel accepted. Sometimes, it’s good to be intentional about being around those who think a little differently with the intention of learning. Humans are not built with all the answers. Through experience we live our way into them. So, put yourself with someone like Tracey that can blow the lid off of what you thought you knew. They will challenge you. They will make you better.

Sparks Might Fly

Sometimes when you have two brains working on a thing that are different, collaboration leads to the unlikely but brilliant answer to a problem. This was true last week when I was working on sending out a gift to my closed buyers. My good friend Molly McKinley from RedTail help me create a piece that got almost a 50% response rate. It was a simple, but incredible idea born from asking the question “what if”?

A New Path is Forged

I bet you have a million questions to some of our industry leaders about how they got to where they are. Sometimes through collaboration you can totally change course. Have a virtual coffee with someone you don’t know well who you know has the time right now. Ask them the hard questions. Most entrepreneurs are not afraid to share with you how they got where they are. It’s a badge of honor you’re asking about.

They Can Save You Time

I can’t tell you how many times I thought I had an amazing idea, until I talked to someone in my mastermind group. Look, why reinvent the wheel? If you know someone or can be referred to someone who has done what you’re trying to do, find a way to collaborate.

Expand Your Network and Influence

This is a great way for people to get to know you in the industry and in business. Businesses and groups that collaborate grow faster than those who do not. You can still make moves during this pandemic, reach people and touch people’s lives. Even if it’s small, it’s something.

I’ll leave you with one other thing my brilliant friend, Tammy Wittren, says:

“Even if you grow just 1% today, you’re still growing and that’s 1% you weren’t yesterday.”

Get to brainstorming. What interests you right now that you could find a way to work with someone else on? What problem can you solve in your business or outside of it? I’d love to hear what you come up with. Leave a comment below.

Until then, chin up, keep your feet moving … and burn the white flag.

sz