Designing and Building Mid-Illinois: Realtor segment with 1st Choice Realty Pros

Summary

In this engaging conversation, Chris, Kaitlin, Lisa Miller, and Lydia Emmons discuss the challenges of balancing a real estate career with family life in a small town. They explore the chaos of managing multiple schedules, the importance of setting boundaries, and the unique dynamics of working with friends as clients. The discussion emphasizes the need for visibility in the real estate market and the strategies they employ to stay organized and effective in their roles.

Takeaways

• Balancing work and family requires setting clear boundaries.
• Creating lists helps manage daily tasks and reduce stress.
• Visibility in real estate is crucial for success.
• Handling friends as clients can be challenging but manageable.
• Non-negotiables are essential for maintaining work-life balance.
• Staying calm amidst chaos is key to effective management.
• Networking and relationships are vital in small-town real estate.
• Time management is critical, especially with multiple clients.
• Real estate never truly turns off; agents must be adaptable.
• Burnout is a real concern for agents; balance is necessary.

https://1stchoicerealtypros.com/

www.bigdogcc.com

Produced by Big Dog Media group with Big Dog Business Coaching

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Welcome to Design and Building Mid-Ellinois, one home at a time with Big Dog Construction.

SPEAKER_06 0:04

The podcast you didn't know you needed.

SPEAKER_03 0:06

It's Chris Hartzuck and Caitlyn Morgini. Join us as we explore the stories, expertise, and projects shaping the future right here in Mid-Ellinois.

SPEAKER_06 0:14

Whether you're planning to build, curious about the latest trends, or just love innovative ideas, we've got insights and inspiration coming your way. And some laughs too.

SPEAKER_03 0:23

Let's go.

unknown 0:24

Big dog!

SPEAKER_04 0:25

Hey there. I'm Lisa Miller, managing broker and owner of First Choice Realty Pros. We don't just help you find a house, we help you discover home. My team and I are passionate about taking care of your needs, making the process smooth, and ensuring you get the personalized attention you deserve. Ready for the next step? Call us at 217-825-3999. With First Choice Realty Pros, you've got a team that's got your back.

SPEAKER_03 0:55

Hey, welcome back to Designing Building Mid-Illinois, one home at a time, where we are talking everything we can about real estate, right? With our 10x partner, FirstChoice Realty Pros.com. We are saying that, but it's okay because you guys are first choice realty pros.com. If you're on the dot com, you can't. The bomb.com.

unknown 1:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:17

I like that. I like that. But no, this is our realtor segment. We're excited to have you know who back in here with us today. Lisa Miller and Lydia Emmons, right? No. And you know what? Check out their banging shirts today. I mean, state agent at your service.

SPEAKER_04 1:32

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 1:33

Right? So we'll definitely on the people that will watch our podcast will actually have to go look at our shirts.

SPEAKER_06 1:38

Look at our shirts.

SPEAKER_03 1:39

They're twinsies today.

SPEAKER_06 1:40

We are match. Really set you above the rest.

SPEAKER_03 1:43

Well, you are above the rest. Of course you're above the rest, right? Today we are talking about running the business in a small town and balancing work, kids, and chaos. Right? What types of chaos are we talking about, though? Wanna expand upon the chaos, Lydia?

SPEAKER_05 2:00

Mine are the kids. Balancing four different schedules.

SPEAKER_03 2:03

Luckily, the kids are young, they're not going to hear this for a long time. So it's okay, kids.

SPEAKER_05 2:06

They don't need one Oprah, Dr. Pitt.

SPEAKER_03 2:09

He loves you. So what kind of chaos are we talking about, Lydia?

SPEAKER_05 2:12

Yeah, I think the biggest thing with working pretty much myself. I mean, I work under you, but I have my own schedule. I think the biggest thing is trying to balance everything in a day. Waking up in the morning, what do I need to do first? Do I need to get on my laptop, reach out to clients, cook my kids' breakfast? And I have all three kids waking up at the same time and they're all crying together. Right. Really, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

There's no crying in real estate.

SPEAKER_04 2:37

Although there is a lot of crying in real estate.

SPEAKER_03 2:41

Just pretend there's no crying in real estate.

SPEAKER_06 2:44

You should deal with it every morning. Yes. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

All for you.

SPEAKER_04 2:47

So do I. So I'm not if somebody calls crying, I say, wait a minute, I gotta get Lydia because she can do this.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Lydia, take the phone. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:55

Um she's in a different frame of life, yes, stage of life. So she's got little ones still where I don't anymore. But I did. When I first started 19 years ago, I had kids. They were teenagers.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

She started when she was 12, folks.

SPEAKER_04 3:11

Yes. It was like yesterday. And so then you now you have teenagers, now you have their schedules and all of that.

SPEAKER_06 3:20

And I don't know which is worse, man. Like the sports, the extracurriculars with the the older kids. Yeah. But the young kids, you really can't leave. I mean, a lot.

SPEAKER_03 3:32

So how do you can how do you handle and control the chaos? How do you do that?

SPEAKER_05 3:37

Honestly, I wouldn't say I do very well all the time, but most of the time it is um pretty good. They I think the biggest thing is staying calm. Yeah. Just knowing setting boundaries with work does come first, but my kids come first more. And I just always set out time aside to make sure, like, okay, this is my time to work and to be on my computer, reach out to clients, answer phone calls. But if I can't get to it right that second when I need to, I know I will get to it later if my kids need me first.

SPEAKER_03 4:10

So self-discipline.

SPEAKER_05 4:11

Yes. That's what I do too, Lydia.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

So do you do you create a list or do you have it in your head?

SPEAKER_05 4:16

No, I have, oh, I have a list. You should see my notes. That's great.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

Hey, because we teach we teach that all the time, right? In our coaching classes, stuff like that is write it down. Get it out of your head. Yes. If you if you have it up here, guess what happens to it, Caitlin? You don't sleep, it gets all jumbled.

SPEAKER_06 4:32

Ping, ping, ping.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

They're like pinballs bouncing all over.

SPEAKER_06 4:34

So he really helped me in this sense to reframe my brain because when I thought of a list that kind of like terrified me because I was like, Well, I'm not gonna be able to get all this done. It's just gonna make me feel like crap about myself. But he says to me, Caitlin, just do a brain dump. I was about to say that I'm big on brain dumps. He said it doesn't have to be a form.

SPEAKER_03 4:57

I have a brain dump form.

SPEAKER_06 4:58

Yeah. So I'm not kidding. I how long have I been doing it now? Three weeks. And I can't even the it helps me so much. Now I probably am not as organized as you, but I go through each day and I'll like circle the ones that I've are my primary priority. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 5:14

Primary priority.

SPEAKER_03 5:15

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 5:16

See her sit up. She was proud.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

She was so proud.

SPEAKER_04 5:20

She was proud.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

I had a little tear, like almost a dad moment there. Sorry, Donnie B. Sorry, Donnie B.

SPEAKER_06 5:26

But I'm glad you brought this up, Lydia. And I also think like you're a young mom. Not not too young, but I mean younger than me, is what I'm saying. So for you to be being able to have your own schedule and business with three kids.

SPEAKER_07 5:39

She's got her proof together.

SPEAKER_06 5:40

Three kids under four. Yeah, four, four and under.

SPEAKER_05 5:44

Four and three and under.

SPEAKER_06 5:45

How many kids do I think? But anyway, that's what I'm saying. And that's hard when you if the kids are home and you say, hey, this is time on the thing because they could kill.

SPEAKER_04 5:59

And you will have certain clients that will, they don't want to hear that. But most of them, if they hear kids in the background, they'll say, I get it. I'm a grandma. You're right. I get it. You know, because we can apologize for if if I have my grandkids and I'll say, Hey, I've got my grandkids in the car. So what what are we doing here? You know, quiet, quiet. And they'll say, I got grandkids.

SPEAKER_06 6:23

I'm okay. Sometimes, but to me, like that would be relatable to me. If I was a seller or buyer or your client, like and I knew that she's dealing with her kids, I'm like, man, I I'm gonna have a friend and someone to help me.

SPEAKER_04 6:38

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:39

I think the biggest thing with the schedule is with having three kids at home. I could set the morning aside for time for real estate, but then no one's gonna call until the afternoon. Yeah. So I think not every kid is like this, obviously, but with my kids, they know, like, okay, I'm answering a phone call, give me a few minutes, and they will go. They'll do their own thing. I mean, they are pretty good about it. Now, some days they're not. And I do have a few clients that they're like, they know I have three kids, they know how it is. Right, right. Um, I think the biggest thing with me is having family that if I gotta go show a house, I take the kids and drop them off and they go. Right. So that's you gotta have a support system. Yes. Yeah, very important, especially big families. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

You've got your schedule and you know, managing the kids, managing everything else that comes along, right? What are your non-negotiables with handling the chaos of life and work? What's your non-negotiables like?

SPEAKER_04 7:30

Before we go to the non-negotiables, I want to go back to chaos.

SPEAKER_03 7:33

By all means. Okay. This is your segment.

SPEAKER_04 7:36

I love that line. I love it. This is your segment.

SPEAKER_03 7:39

This is your segment.

SPEAKER_04 7:40

In that chaos of real estate, real estate happens when you're at a birthday party. When you take your grandkids to the Oh, I'm glad you I'm glad you brought this up.

SPEAKER_06 7:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:50

Yeah. When you're getting ready to go. You may not have had anything going on for the last two weeks, but you're getting ready to go on vacation, and 47 people will call. I mean, 47 people will call. I know. Like two. Now I'm saying I can't go. I don't want to go because I want to do this. Because it always happens that way. You're going to go on vacation.

SPEAKER_03 8:13

And you feel the chaos coming, right?

SPEAKER_04 8:15

You feel that chaos coming, and you're like, I don't want to lose out on them. What am I going to do? And you have to breathe and start.

SPEAKER_03 8:23

And call Lydia and say you've got me covered because I'm going on vacation.

SPEAKER_04 8:26

Yes. And you know, you write two contracts. Yes. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

That is definitely handle.

SPEAKER_04 8:32

Please let me do that.

SPEAKER_06 8:33

No, I'm going to give birth and then I'm going to write that up. That's the best story. But you're right. At a birthday party at Walmart, you are selling yourself everywhere you go. So I mean, your reputation matters.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

And if you're well at wearing real estate agent shirts, you know.

SPEAKER_06 8:50

And you're a mom that takes care of your kids, your grandma that's a youth minister. I mean, it all matters.

SPEAKER_05 8:57

As long as, and I think the biggest thing is you're moving your business forward. You're always staying on top of it with your clients and trying to get more clients and staying involved with it all rather than just clocking out. You never clock out in real estate.

SPEAKER_03 9:09

Well, first choice reality pros, you guys are staying on the cutting edge. I mean, we know that you're standing on cutting the edge. So you are always on point, ready to go at a drop of bat. Just boom.

SPEAKER_04 9:18

Right. And a lot of those agents out there are, you know, some of them are part-time, and some agents who are full-time will give a part-time agent a hard time. And I I've never done that because when you're in real estate and you're working, I worked as a youth pastor. And when real estate was going on, I was doing real estate. I just had to teach, preach Wednesday nights, you know, sometimes Sunday nights. And those were the times that I said, now I have to cut this out. So but tomorrow I can get back on it. Right. So you just schedule it that way. And because real estate is really, it's it's a hundred percent of your time, you know, because you're always thinking about it. You've got inspections, you've got all the things, the appraisals, you've got lenders to talk to, and you've got to keep your client in the know.

SPEAKER_06 10:06

So I always have a lot of the cell phones and the communications, like oh, yeah, somebody could be seeing a listing at 11 at night, and we know people don't care. And I'm not some judging, all right. We know I look at it. Hey, I get those calls at 11 o'clock in the night. Yeah, I send him stuff. Okay. After midnight, it's okay. I'm awake. I'm like, well, I know he is. That's why I'm like, but he's like doing work. We're both are, but that's what you're saying. With this now, it never turns off. And with being a mom, it never turns off. So I think that's perfect to go in the non-negotiables because how can you keep yourself from getting literally so burnt out? I still do. I mean, I need help, Lydia. Tell me.

SPEAKER_04 10:49

What are your non-negotiables? Wells there was a segment on uh national, what is it, National Association of Realtors. There was a segment on there, and it was talking about real estate agents getting burnt out because they're they have to be on top of their game for everything. Right. It's podcasts, reels, making sure your Facebook is up to date, making sure that the client is up to date. All of the things, and they said more agents are getting burnt out. And so that's why it's so important to stay balanced. And so the non-negotiables, if I'm going to spend time with my family and I have made that time, then I usually can talk to that client and say, Hey, I'm headed to a birthday party for my grandson, and it's gonna be from this time to this time, and I will call you at if it gets over at four, I'll call you at 4 30. Right. And then I call them at 4 30. And they always, most of the time, will say totally understand.

SPEAKER_06 11:51

And I like that you said that you actually tell them what's going on because I think sometimes people will make the mistake of not being as open as they should, because we're all dealing with crap in our life. I mean, everybody's got their own family issues. I don't care who you are. Yeah, you know, yeah, and I think, I mean, it's not like you have to tell everything, maybe to the extent that I do, but like you said, you're going to a birthday party. Yeah. The client respects that, man. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 12:20

I wanna I want to throw the devil's advocate here and throw a third ball in.

SPEAKER_04 12:23

All right. Oh, look at it.

SPEAKER_03 12:24

I just here we go. That's I am the Cardinals Coach. Come up. That's why I had to give you a couple of things. That's right, in June. That's right. Okay. So, birthday party, two to four thirty. Grandson's birthday party, right? Gonna go to it. But there's another offer on the table. There's a time, there's a time constraint that 3 p.m. This has to have been made. What do you do? Clock's ticking. What do you do?

SPEAKER_04 12:44

The they blow out the candles, I go in the other room and I'm on the phone. Yeah, I try to capture the the grand of it.

SPEAKER_03 12:53

Right.

SPEAKER_04 12:53

And then I am on the phone, either with that agent, I'm texting that agent.

SPEAKER_03 12:58

Because there is a situation that that could be happening.

SPEAKER_05 13:00

I've had two of these. Not for birthday parties, but so I mean two that I can think off the top of my head. Having we I was at my sister-in-law's bachelorette.

SPEAKER_03 13:09

Oh, oh boy.

SPEAKER_05 13:10

An hour never happened.

SPEAKER_03 13:12

Was there alcohol involved?

SPEAKER_05 13:13

No, I wasn't drinking because I knew I was just checking.

SPEAKER_03 13:15

It was just checking.

SPEAKER_05 13:17

It's supposed to be a pregnant.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

I should say, probably pregnant anyway.

SPEAKER_05 13:20

I was I was pregnant.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

There you go. She did not drink while pregnant.

SPEAKER_05 13:24

It was a whole weekend thing. And I went, had brunch, and went back and showed the house and did stuff with the clients, and then didn't get to go back to the bachelorette because I knew that this was important that I needed to do. Second one, we're in Florida for my sister-in-law's wedding. On our way to the rehearsal, I am writing a contract, heading to the rehearsal. We pull in and I'm writing.

SPEAKER_06 13:44

So now we know for sure. Birth, she's birthing and writing contracts. Yes. She's been to the wedding. Writing contracts. Yes. What else were you? What was the third one? The bachelor's card. She missed it.

SPEAKER_04 13:56

I think she missed some of it.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

So here's here's here's the thing. I've got to throw the 10X in there, right? The Grant Cardone. Because there's four levels of action. There's none, no action. There's retreat. You retreat away from the challenge heading, normal action, and then massive action. And we can tell today in this podcast what level that first choice reality pros do. And that's the massive action.

SPEAKER_06 14:22

Not only in business, but their family life as well.

SPEAKER_03 14:25

Exactly. So because you know that you seize the moment. You take that out, oh, I'll get to them at 4 35 or 5 o'clock when I'm done with my grandson's party and I feel like getting to it. That's normal action, right? That's normal. But it's the massive action people that are going to make a difference, reach their targets because they're taking care of their clients who are going to pay them in turn when they sell their own. Right. Right. So I just want to put it in the world. Well, and we have too, they take a lot of action.

SPEAKER_06 14:54

Passion responsibility for your career.

SPEAKER_04 14:58

Oh, yeah. I mean, we have our phones, we have our laptops with us at all times, especially in that case when somebody we know something's going on. My laptop is with me. And then I can, and it's already. And so I can go right to the program and bam, get that out very quickly and then be done. So I expect a ton from myself. I know Lydia expects a ton from herself. And so when we expect a lot from ourselves, then I expect a lot from other agents. So when I'm crying and we're in that crunch, right. And that other agent's not calling me back or not, I'm going, I am flipping. Yeah, I am flipping my gourd. It is just, it's too much. It's so hard when it's frustrating. It is.

SPEAKER_03 15:42

Other people aren't taking massive action. You're like, look, I'm busting my ass here for your client who's selling this home. My buyer wants it.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

Let's go. I'm trying to make you money.

SPEAKER_04 15:52

Uh-huh.

unknown 15:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:54

You know, I just suggestion. Maybe say, hey, you know, you can throw me 1% and I'll take care of your side of this. I know you can't, but you throw that out there. You throw that out some part-timers and be like, hey, you know, you throw me 1%, I'll handle your side of this and you collect nothing. I mean, you collect what you need to collect.

SPEAKER_04 16:09

You know what's the favorite part of that is when the client on the other side sees that we are working harder. And they'll know next time who to go with to us and say, we saw what you were doing. And that's all about staying visible. Like you guys are staying visible and that. And so that to me is more than money because they'll remember that and they will talk to people at coffee or whatever. You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:34

That's very word of mouth advertising. Word of mouth is at least expensive to put out there.

SPEAKER_06 16:39

And making connections, networking. That's one of your big things, Chris. Yeah, clearly. And I feel like you you guys are good at that. Yeah. We try to.

SPEAKER_03 16:48

So I love I love your non-negotiables. I love that. But I also know that the non-negotiables are negotiable when time it constraints are interjected.

SPEAKER_06 16:57

Well, you know, there's there's exceptions to every rule. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 17:02

Exactly. So on your on your daily, daily chaos wrangling, mastering all of this, what is your minimum standard day that you try to do daily? What is the minimum that has to happen daily?

SPEAKER_05 17:17

I think on my schedule at least, always checking the website, seeing what's new on the market, if there is anything on the market, if there's price drops, what all stands out for my clients. Now, I'm looking just in journal too. If I get a phone call that way, I kind of know like what's going on in the area for potential clients as well, but always looking for my active clients and knowing what's going on out there. And then I think the biggest thing is social media as well. Trying to always go through social media, see what else I'm seeing, share the podcast, share anything on Facebook that I can. Comment on anything.

SPEAKER_06 17:49

I saw you tagged us in something for sips. Yes. Which was so smart. I mean, so it was Lisa and me. And you think about that, that was that was a good idea. It's just little things like that. Like you said, staying active. Staying active so people see our name. Yeah, visit constantly. The podcast, obviously, your faces are out there, your voices are all out. And yeah. Well, for me, it's timelines.

SPEAKER_04 18:12

I'm checking timelines to make sure that my buyer's timeline, the inspection timeline, all of those things. I'm in can you know, contact with the inspectors or lenders saying, hey, we've got so many days. Right. You know, let me know if you can't get this done because I need to write an extension because I don't want the other side saying, sorry, you're too late. Right. Because my buyer, you know, we got to make sure our buyers are okay.

SPEAKER_06 18:34

Well, timelines are hard.

SPEAKER_04 18:35

Timelines are hard sometimes, especially if you're waiting on and there's probably several different ones for every everything. So if you're working with, you know, three or four or ten or twelve, you know, you've got all these timelines to keep in. So that is a very that is oh, that makes my brain really. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:52

Well, it kind of segues in. We we talked a little bit with Lydia in the beginning, but you know, how do you guys plan your day? How do you take and plan this with everything that's going on? So you have your minimum day, but how do you take those minimums and how do you schedule your day? How do you do that? I know we talked about your daily list or whatever, but Lisa, do you have a list that you're doing?

SPEAKER_04 19:12

Oh, I'm laying in bed at night. I have my list of things that I have to get done tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 19:17

You hear that? She writes it down, right?

SPEAKER_04 19:20

Yeah, it's in my phone.

SPEAKER_03 19:21

Not on the head. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:23

Perfect and then I write squaring up on me.

SPEAKER_06 19:27

I'm like, I'm like, I'm gonna go get my notes. There's good for the 4-H kids.

SPEAKER_03 19:32

All right.

SPEAKER_04 19:32

Anyway, yes, thank you. Yes. So kids fighting. I'm going through my list and checking it twice and thrice. And so just making sure that I'm on my timelines, you know, that I can get. So I put alarms out for myself because I'm like, I'm gonna forget this. I have to put alarms out. I got a dentist appointment.

SPEAKER_05 19:51

I've had to change it three different times because reminders, alarms, my notes. I have it on my phone.

SPEAKER_06 19:56

Well, I'm sure my dentist is getting mad because I've had post-it notes everything. So do you put then your stuff in like your calendar on your phone? Yeah. Oh, yeah. And what's your calendar of choice? So you brain Google.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

Google. Google, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_05 20:09

This is my monthly calendar. She has that whole information. I only have two colors on that. Yeah. I've got school, real estate, appointments, everything on there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:19

I'll show you mine after the podcast. You've seen it, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 20:23

You can tell I did really good at my brain.

SPEAKER_04 20:24

She doesn't know this, but I want her in the office more because I want her to help get me all straightened out.

SPEAKER_07 20:30

That works.

SPEAKER_04 20:31

Me and Lisa are like, well, you're pretty organized.

SPEAKER_06 20:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:34

I try to be. I have to be, or I'm just I have to have order. Yeah. And before I can remember just starting out, I can't even imagine doing this with littles with screaming baby and everything. Tommy's hungry. Oh, yeah. Tommy's hungry. Ran down. I fed him.

SPEAKER_05 20:50

I did with Weslin. I'd ride down one time, I fed her. This is totally type A. One time I did everything. What time I breastfed her, changed a diaper.

SPEAKER_06 20:58

That's not type A. That's or I mean that's that's not I know type A, but my sister's like that.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

You could run your own daycare because they have to do that.

SPEAKER_04 21:06

Yeah, ride all that diaper. Man, no, we have crying client. That's what we have. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:12

But there's no crying in real life.

SPEAKER_04 21:14

No, there's no crying. No. So like we have happy clients.

SPEAKER_06 21:18

You guys seem like like, do you sleep or no?

SPEAKER_04 21:21

Not I'm not as she says because she's so exhausted from the children, she goes right to sleep. Well, what time do you go to bed? Like midnight. I'm writing emails and sending them to people at 2 a.m. So when they wake up, they see 2 a.m. she was writing this email. So yeah. Yeah, it's crazy. I know. We're my brain does not. I want to take my brain out, sit it on the nightstand, and message from her at 3 56 one morning.

SPEAKER_05 21:48

And I woke up about 5 15 to feed Rowan. And I told them, and I'm like, what is she doing up? And the first thing I said is, I know you're asleep, but what'd you say? I I know you're asleep, but I couldn't put this asleep or I put this. Don't wake you up. Right. But I couldn't sleep. Oh, I can't.

SPEAKER_04 22:02

I couldn't sleep and I just had to share this with you. So I don't even know what to do. Those are some of the best thoughts. Yeah. Yeah. Because I'm like, she can see it in the morning. But here's the thing to our clients. We care enough that it's losing us sleep. We want to make sure that this is as smooth as we can make it for you because we don't want you losing sleep. We'll lose sleep for you.

SPEAKER_06 22:24

I love it.

SPEAKER_03 22:26

We've got a lot of taglines. We need to just like turn it on.

SPEAKER_06 22:28

I should have like a little book. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You do. You need a book. That's what I was about to say.

SPEAKER_03 22:33

No to the 10x quotes. We should have the first choice reality pros quotes.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

Honestly, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:39

We could set you up.

SPEAKER_04 22:40

My husband would tell you I'm full of it.

SPEAKER_03 22:42

I'm not going to ask what you're full of.

SPEAKER_04 22:46

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 22:47

Well, so all of this, you've got your daily schedules, you got your chaos, you're getting it organized, you're putting it together. But this one in a this one's big in a small town. How do you handle having friends as clients? How have you well first off, have you ever had friends as clients?

SPEAKER_05 23:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

Both of you have?

SPEAKER_05 23:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:07

Yeah. And how is it? How do you handle that? How do you navigate those waters? I know how I do it in construction and it sucks. I hate it.

SPEAKER_05 23:15

I think my biggest one is um setting a boundary of knowing not to get your feelings hurt. You want to elaborate on that?

SPEAKER_03 23:21

All right, here we go. We got a story. I think there's a story.

SPEAKER_04 23:25

Well, I'm you will be hanging out with your friends and they know you're in real estate, and yet you'll find their house come up Oh listed with somebody else.

SPEAKER_07 23:35

Listed with someone else. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:37

And and we try very hard not to let that touch us, but we're human. Right. And so, and it does. It's like, I wonder why they thought I couldn't, or wonder why. And it could be that they're having the thought, I don't want to be do business with friends. So people are really serious about that. Yes, yes, very serious. And and so my biggest thing is I've always said this God gives me double for my trouble. So if something has been taken away, God always gives me double. And it I mean that is so true. And all the things I can go back and look and say, Yep, that one was taken, but these two came. So it was okay. But you just have to set those boundaries and know that there when you're talking money, yeah, uh that friend thing, I mean, it can go out the window very quickly because money changes everything. It really is. And so you just have to be sensitive and you have to say, hey, you are signing a contract with a company. This is a business.

SPEAKER_03 24:46

You're signing with First Choice Reality Pros, not with Lisa Miller. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_04 24:51

I am signing it with you. That's a good way to put it, at least. Yeah, because this is a contract that you are agreeing to, and I want you to understand. And then I would go through each segment and explain what each segment of that contract means so that they understand.

SPEAKER_07 25:08

Right.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

No, you're not allowed to show that to anybody and then say, Oh, well, I don't think you're working hard enough for me because you didn't, they didn't call me, you didn't call me. If I put the sign in the yard, Chris, you know, here we go. You call me. When somebody knocks on your door, this is the this is my line. When somebody knocks on that door and says, Hey, I just want to see your house. Can you just show me? No. The answer is no. I'm in contract with that little lady out there on that sign. Call her with the cute face. We'll get you in here, ASAP. That's that's what you have to do. So it is. That's that's the thing. And I told her when she first got started, I said, family and friends can really rip your heart out because they will go someplace else, not meaning to rip your heart out. They may be, they may have been friends with that person for a very long time, and they just trust them. And you may be new, or I may have been new.

SPEAKER_06 26:08

And you never know. Maybe the spouse maybe had a had a close relationship with this person.

SPEAKER_04 26:13

Yep. You gotta look at it.

SPEAKER_06 26:15

But it is hard in a small town.

SPEAKER_04 26:16

It is hard in a small town because you'll say, Why didn't they choose me? Because then you start second guessing yourself.

SPEAKER_03 26:24

So boundaries with friends and stuff, and and if they're clients and all of that, but all of this wrapping up into your life, you know, and life as a brand. Elaborate on life being a brand.

SPEAKER_04 26:34

How we live our life, how people know us, and like I have heard people say, uh, I know Lydia works for you, and I just love her. I've heard nothing but positive things about Lydia, how hard she works, what a great idea.

SPEAKER_03 26:52

Caitlin's gonna cry.

SPEAKER_04 26:53

She is all of those things.

SPEAKER_03 26:55

Don't do it.

SPEAKER_04 26:55

Don't look at her tough.

SPEAKER_06 26:57

She's a tough cookie. She is so tough. No, Lydia and I will cry. Now, if she cries, then I'll cry. But you're right, she is so tough. Wait, I'll drop that.

SPEAKER_04 27:05

She is very tough. Yeah. She's gone through health issues, but I'm gonna tell you, she does not miss a beat. She is always on top of her game. Very intelligent. And she's so smart.

SPEAKER_03 27:18

I'm always so she is the epitome of life being the brand.

SPEAKER_04 27:22

Yes, she is. She's a good person. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:26

You should just cry on that.

SPEAKER_06 27:27

Well, I want to say she's a good sister. I want to talk, I'll talk about you, Lisa, unless Lydia wants to talk you up.

SPEAKER_05 27:33

I think, well, I talk you up a lot. I think my biggest thing is I've had a great role role model with it. Don't you start stop it? Okay. Um, I'll hold my paper up.

SPEAKER_04 27:44

You can't see her.

SPEAKER_05 27:44

Which is right. Yeah, so I think my biggest thing, like I said, is this is a career that I've wanted to go. This is the route I knew I wanted to be in. Having three little kids, they are my main focus. And eventually real estate will be it's my main focus as my career, but I'm putting a lot into it as much as I can with having three little kids. Right. I think that's the biggest thing with Lisa being my managing broker, is she knows I'm busy. She knows everything. We, I feel like that's the good thing about our relationship is we can get on a personal level of, well, just like yesterday, I had the conversation with you on FaceTime that I want to do more, but I know I'm in the thick of it with having three little kids that eventually I will be where she is right now. But my years down the road. Yes. You don't want to get yourself burning.

SPEAKER_03 28:31

And I don't want to I don't want to cut this off because I would not be doing my job if I did not 10 X's. You can be doing the same thing she's doing right now in the position you are right now.

SPEAKER_05 28:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:40

You can. Even with the three little kids, you can.

SPEAKER_04 28:43

Right.

SPEAKER_03 28:44

It's not years and years down the road. You can do it.

SPEAKER_04 28:47

Well, and she is doing it. Yeah. Well, what I mean, yes, you're gonna find herself.

SPEAKER_03 28:51

You're gonna find the additional fuel to make that happen. Because if your targets are big enough, you will find the dial to turn up the action level and find the time to make it happen. And she does. And so I know it's in you, I can see it in your eyes there.

SPEAKER_06 29:07

For from having five to seven kids. I mean, let's just say seven, but I'm just saying two of them are adults, you know. That yeah. But I I'm just saying, like you are 10xing it right now, yeah. By following Louise's model doing or selling or doing what you're doing with your clients and being 100% attentive to your kids. Because if you are not 100% attentive to your kids, I don't care how rich you are, you have lost in life. Yes and Elena, absolutely. I follow her. Yes, she will always like one thing she said, she tries to include her girls and always have in everything that they're doing, as long as it's age appropriate. But even if it's adult stuff, like have them, you know, even my kids will sit there when I'm doing my videos and stuff that I'll let them watch for a while until they start asking me for snack after snack.

SPEAKER_05 29:58

And I'm like, you know, this is how it is. I'll be writing something on the computer. I though they're like, I want to type, I want to type. So then I pull up a word document. All right, it's your turn to type, and then I get back on the contract, and then I'm typing. Yeah, we do that a lot.

SPEAKER_06 30:09

My grandkids help yeah. Now then there's sometimes you just need that piece of things. And I'm like, we're focusing, and they want to come up, and then the dogs come up, and I say, Now I've seen a nappia go somewhere I'm not. You know where I got that from? Donnie.

SPEAKER_03 30:26

Donnie, damn it, can't you be?

SPEAKER_06 30:28

But no, I that's what I'm saying. I think for your age and stage of life, you are 100% 10x. Yeah, very much.

SPEAKER_04 30:37

I think so too.

SPEAKER_03 30:38

That's awesome. Anything else about your life as a brand that you want to share with folks?

SPEAKER_04 30:42

I think that we're always in the mindset of real estate. We just are. People know that when you can't go to Walmart without saying, hey, I I I want to talk to you. And you're like, I just needed some eggs.

SPEAKER_05 30:52

But yes, and I think staying consistent is the biggest thing.

SPEAKER_06 30:56

So consistent. Yes. Yeah. So here's here's the thing. Everybody's known, even before Lydia came, everyone has always thought about Lisa with the friendly face. I'm really serious. That is consistency because your personality is consistent ever since I've ever known you. It's been the same. Happy Lisa, you always want to be around it. Oh, wow. So look, like your brain. See, we all love you. We all love you.

SPEAKER_03 31:17

So I'm like, and here, and so that is great to know. And so here's one thing I'm gonna throw the business flip on that is because with consistency, you can have velocity. And with that velocity, you create the revenue. But you have to have that consistency in place, ready to go. I like that.

SPEAKER_06 31:33

It's always physics, he's got a lot of physics.

SPEAKER_03 31:35

You got it with the velocity equals the revenue. Yeah, and that's to keep that keep that in place. So you know what? In closing, this segment, this has been a great segment.

SPEAKER_06 31:44

Let's throw this out to Lydia.

SPEAKER_03 31:46

Right?

SPEAKER_04 31:46

I know this was Lydia's idea today.

SPEAKER_06 31:50

Good job, Lydia.

SPEAKER_03 31:51

That's right, Lydia. So if it feels chaotic right now, you're not alone because you've got first choice reality pros, they are the pros to help you through this chaos that you feel. And the goal isn't to have everything perfectly together, it's to stay consistent, consistency, like that, consistent in the things that matter the most, hence the life brand, and focus on your non-negotiables, hit your minimum standard, and give yourself some grace in the process.

SPEAKER_04 32:17

That's true. Definitely have to give yourself grace, right? Gotta do that. Yes, you do. And that's hard to do. Yeah. Because we're hard on ourselves. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 32:24

Well, I we all the most successful people are hard on themselves, and that's how they become they become the most successful people. It's because they're so hard on themselves to constantly again be 1% better than you were yesterday, and by the end of the year, you're gonna be 300 plus percent better than you were at the beginning of the year.

SPEAKER_07 32:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Always strive to be better the next day than you were the day before. Okay relationships and business and what you do and your training and waking up a minute. I tell my employees this when they show up late. It's like, look, just just strive to wake up one tenant earlier the next morning, right? Just one minute, and then go two minutes, and then three minutes or five minutes. Yeah, then next thing you know, you're five minutes there before you're supposed to be, and you're ready to go. Yeah. So, but anyway, that's what builds the business and success, right? And any last parting words before we close this out with a little pretty bow? Did you have any parting words?

SPEAKER_04 33:12

We did this also for other agents that are out there, you know, that are just getting in the business.

SPEAKER_03 33:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:18

Just getting in the business and it's chaotic and they're thinking, I can't do this. Yes, you can. Yes, you can. You can so excellent parting words, Lisa.

SPEAKER_06 33:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:26

Because when people say you don't have I don't have enough time, that's an excuse. Yeah. It's straight up an excuse.

SPEAKER_05 33:31

You can always, yeah, always find time for what you want to do.

unknown 33:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:38

It might be late. Yeah. Yes. But not me. Like I said, that comes with the being consistent, always staying in contact, letting them know, like you said, hey, I've got this going on, but I will be with you shortly. I will be with you in transparency.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

If I get a text message from somebody and I'm in the middle of something, I constantly text, I text right back and say, I'm in the middle of with a client. Right. I will get right back. That's good. I need to, I need to start doing it. Because then they know she saw it. She's gonna get back to me. Yeah. Now they're expecting it.

SPEAKER_06 34:07

They know that you've seen it.

SPEAKER_04 34:09

And now saucy.

SPEAKER_03 34:10

See, saucy saw sea saw.

SPEAKER_04 34:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:13

By the seashore.

SPEAKER_04 34:14

And so now contact them back and they'll trust you forever. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 34:19

I love it. You know what? That is a great place to end today, right? And so if what we have shared today, what Lisa and Lydia have shared with us, with Caitlin and I today, and now you the listeners and followers has helped you in any way, make sure you share it with someone else who's in the middle of building something too, right? Never know who might need it today.

SPEAKER_04 34:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 34:39

So hey, thanks for being with us on Designing Building Mid Illinois, one home at a time, the realtor segment, dropping every Tuesday with our 10X partner, First Choice Reality Pros. You can find them at first choicerealtypros.com. That's one, the number one, stchoicepros.com, or 217-825-3999. Right? I love 3999. I just remembered it, right?

SPEAKER_06 35:02

Hey, you've remembered this entire thing. I've been watching you.

SPEAKER_03 35:07

Let's make it happen, right? Let's make it happen. Make sure to tune in next time. Share this with your fellow friends, or if you don't know, hey, listen to this podcast. It's awesome, right?

SPEAKER_07 35:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

Till next time.

SPEAKER_07 35:18

Bye! Bye!

SPEAKER_00 35:20

In the military, there's no such thing as good enough. You either do the job the right way or you don't do it at all. I'm Blake Middleton of Elite Roofing Professionals and Exteriors. I'm a veteran, and I brought the same mission first mindset back to Illinois. While others talk about the way it's always been done, my team focuses on the technical precision of how a roof should be built. We use the best materials, the best technology, and a level of communication you won't find anywhere else. Your home isn't just a job, it's a commitment. Elite roofing, high standards, zero compromise, clear communication.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

Give us a call today.com.

SPEAKER_03 36:39

Until next time, keep designing the building.

SPEAKER_06 36:42

See you soon!

unknown 36:43

Big Dog!

SPEAKER_01 36:44

This episode was produced by Big Dog Media Group, delivering powerful creative for brands and creators everywhere. If you're looking to take your podcast to the next level or just get started, Big Dog Media Group has you covered. Thanks for listening.