Don't Mow Your Own Lawn.
The power of NO more...
When I started in real estate sales, I did everything myself. I had a strong need to have control. I had this belief that others couldn't do it as well as me. My ego was getting bigger and bigger and this thought process actually worked for me -- until it didn't.
That's because in my first year I quickly hit my natural ceiling of achievement -- I was running out of time and energy. If I didn't let others help me, my growth trajectory, and the maximum I could do on my own, would be capped.
I had seen this happen to others and I didn't want it to happen to me -- the slow, tormenting decline backwards in fatigue. I also observed others suffer personally from putting all of their energy only into business and basically ignoring their family. I wanted no part in that.
There had to be another way.
To break through, I knew I would need to find other talented people to help me in my business and personal life. I would need to start being more selective on what I said yes to.
So I set a plan to change everything, and reinvent myself, so I could shed my skin and evolve once again.
Below is a list of things that I did that worked for me. I'm not saying this will work for you, but I can tell you that this new way of thinking and acting completely changed my life and my family's life. You may pick up an idea or two from it.
Note that the plan only worked because I was willing to put in the work and be coachable. The thinking can change overnight, but it's the actions that make it happen.
The key is really what you choose to do with all the new time you get by following this process. You can easily squander the new time you get back.
As stoic philosopher, Seneca says,
"It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it."
Well, I'm obsessed and don't want to waste it. You may be obsessed too.
Here's what I did in my business to get my time back:
No more showings. I hired showing agents and buyer agents. Instantly, I got 10-15 hours back per week of a very low dollar per hour activity (basically Uber driving).
No more setting appointments. I hired an ISA to set appointments for me. This saved me about 10 hours a week.
No more marketing. I hired marketing help and used Fivrr for one-off projects.
No more social and networking events where drinking was involved. Instead, I stayed focused on my family and personal friends.
No more answering emails. I hired a transaction coordinator and virtual assistant.
I reinvested the time I purchased back to continue growing my business by having more business conversations and my business doubled from $12M to $20M in production from my first year to my second year.
I was willing to invest the money into my business to grow it because I knew I would use my time gained back to grow it even more. If I had just stopped working after getting my time back, the entire operation would fall apart.
Over time, here's what I did in my personal life to get my time back:
No more grocery shopping. Brittany and I set up Instacart through Costco and pickup from Target. This saved a ton of time I was wasting going to the store and hunting around.
No more picking up dog poop. We have two rescue dogs, so we hired a company called Doody Daddy. No more picking up poop in 105 degree heat (this was a very easy decision to outsource).
No more mowing the lawn. I hired a person to mow and trim our lawn.
No more cleaning and organizing. I hired a house cleaner who organizes and even does our laundry and dishes.
No more struggling last minute for child care. We have on speed dial three babysitters who can help us. This gives us flexibility in our schedules.
No more getting sick. I did and still do get vitamin IV drips once per month, and focus on diet, exercise and supplements. The cost of being sick every other week for me had an insane cost to me and my family. Now I even have a sauna with red light therapy in my house that I use almost every day. Avoid getting sick at all cost.
No more Starbucks. Instead I save the 30 minute drive and wait time and made coffee at home, and by doing so, saved money too. Did you know saving 30 minutes a day by skipping the coffee line wait is equal to 16.5 working days a year?
I think at some point Brittany thought I was crazy and or lazy, or both -- because I stopped doing a lot of things other people do daily. But over time, she saw I was reinvesting in higher value-creating activities and seeing big results. So instead of doing everything (being "busy"), I was just doing a few things really well, with a web of support around me. The results compounded and the business began moving up faster and faster - yet I was doing less, not more. The things that I did do - creating business opportunities and converting new customers - was something I started to become a specialist at.
By saying NO, I was able to say YES to the things that mattered most. It took time to adjust to this mentality, but the proof came through in the numbers. What ultimately got me to the next level was learning the ability to say NO - a lot.
By doing so, we became one of the most profitable real estate teams (with, in my opinion, the best lifestyle) in the country and then got invited to speak at national and local brokerage events. We now teach these same tactics and strategies at our company, Momentum Realty, which also grew from $0 sales in 2020 to more than $615,000,000 last year, all by referral and with no recruiters. The company is now the #6 brokerage office by sales production out of 1,400 other brokerages in Northeast Florida.
This process worked for me and it can work for you. It’s certainly worked for many of our agents who adopted this process and chose to be held accountable to it.
So my challenge to you is to ask yourself: What are the low cost things I can NOT DO that'll save me a ton of time, so I can spend time on the things that matter most?
JB