Latest / Forget The Noise / 5. Everything comes down to a Why? | Featuring Anna Spataro

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5. Everything comes down to a Why? | Featuring Anna Spataro · Forget The Noise

• speaker-0: They say motivation is something you want. Discipline is something you need. Obsession is something you have to have. I'm gonna show you what I wanted, how I got it, and how I was obsessed to get there. Got another episode of Forget the Noise Podcast. Today we have my friend Anna Spataro on the podcast. We've been friends for four or five years now. She's a real estate agent that's locally, she's moved away, doesn't talk to me anymore. Kinda, you know, she's too busy, she's got too much on the go. ⁓ like I said, we've known each other three, four years. She's got a lot on the go. You guys think I have a lot on the go? She's got even more on the go. First and foremost, her backbone of business is real estate. On top of that, she's got a journal, another free gift, gratitude journal. We'll get into that a little bit later. And on top of that, she's a new mom. Recently got married. They've moved out of town about 45 minutes. So we're gonna dive right into it. So first question is, Anna, like introduce yourself. You got real estate right off the hop. So let's talk about that. speaker-1: Thanks for having me on. I'm super excited to be here and congratulations on this podcast. Thank you. But yeah, I just like like you mentioned, I've been a real estate broker for almost 10 years now. Sophia was born last year. So just been navigating like motherhood and growing a real estate business. The past year has been challenging in itself. And then yeah, we published the gratitude journal. My friend and I about three years ago, that was a big part. I know we've spoken about this before, a big part of like my self-development and growth journey, so much so that we like published our own because we felt that there was never a journal that had everything that we had wanted. So I use it every morning. It's something like I'm incredibly proud of, and I and I feel grateful that I'm now able to like pass that on to my family. ⁓ but yeah, I'm a real estate broker, a landlord, a mom. speaker-0: I forgot landlord, yeah, that's another one. All right, so we'll take this episode kind of a little bit differently. As you guys know, I try to keep all my notes organized, but I got squirrel brain. So we're gonna start with real estate. So we got 10 years in real estate, locally, Dufferin County, surrounding areas. How did you get into real estate? Like what was the first stepping stone into real estate? speaker-1: Yeah. I actually was gonna go to law school. I wrote my L Satz. I don't even know speaker-0: I didn't I don't know that. Yeah, I don't I don't know that well. speaker-1: And I studied for it, wrote it, and then I got in and then I decided I didn't want to go because I had worked at a law firm like one Christmas break for a hot minute and I was like, I don't I don't love this. This is not suits. So No, I I didn't I wrote the exam. speaker-0: We literally went to law school. Okay, you wrote the exam for and then you went to go work for two weeks and then you're like nah What? speaker-1: I wrote I wrote I worked at a law firm for two weeks to see if it's something I would like to do, not as a lawyer, obviously. It was as like a an assistant or a law clerk there. And I just was like, I don't love this. This is not for me and my personality. ⁓ and then I took some time in between university to figure out like what speaker-0: Number one. I love that. That's not getting cut out. That is not typical real estate agent. Can't give up a deal. Take it. Take it. That is amazing. She just yelled at me. speaker-1: Yeah, I think it's actually a client call. ⁓ you know what's funny? You know what's funny is I have it on do not disturb, but you know when you call twice, it bypasses it. So speaker-0: Yeah I got an Android, I don't have an iPhone so I haven't retired. speaker-1: So sorry about that. anyway, my mom was had an interior design business, so we and we moved around a lot. So I don't know, I was just always gravitated to real estate. And I didn't come from like a real estate background in the sense of like I had family in the industry, other than my mom having like an interior decorating business. That was kind of like the as far as it went. ⁓ so I was like, let me just go for it and and see. And I absolutely love it. speaker-0: This is amazing. So you went from law being influenced by interior design by your mother into real estate. Why not go into the interior design aspect of it? speaker-1: I think for me it wasn't the design component that I like loved so much. It was more helping people and talking with people. I was always very social and speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: Growing up in school, I would always get in trouble with teachers saying that like I chatted and talked too much and she was like, Yeah, now I get paid to talk. So so No, it's fine. It's fine. But ⁓ it was more just like being able to like I knew my natural skills were just communicating and talking with people, and I was like, I feel like this could be a a good use of like what I know I'm naturally good at, and being able to help people was something I was passionate about. speaker-0: You're not getting paid to make. Well that kind of piggybacks off of the gratitude journal. So let's dive into that. Like the gratitude journal, gone to real estate, you wanted to help people. And what's the purpose of the gratitude journal? Like how did you dive into gratification? I guess. I I I'm an advocate for that. Like I believe it. I think it's great. I journal like, but what started you in that journey of like practicing gratitude? speaker-1: I don't think like bef so we had published it in twenty twenty three. And then a year or so prior, I started maybe even two years prior before publishing it. I had started the practice, but before that I kept hearing about it. And I was like, like everyone knows the five minute journal. And I was and I was like, so I don't get it. You just kinda like write almost the same thing in a journal every day. It seems so pointless. And I just didn't understand the concept. And then It kind of entered my life when I was at a very low point in my life. Like just we were supposed to be getting married. I ended up calling off like our original wedding. We ended up getting married in Greece. There was a lot of like family drama, I know you know, like at the time that I was going through. And it trickled into a lot of aspects of my life. My business began to suffer. I just felt like I didn't know like if we were gonna end up. Mate like even getting married at the end of this, just because of like I felt like I was in such a low point that I just saw like all areas of my life impacted. And I was like, you know what? What do I have to lose here? Because everyone keeps talking about this. Like, let me just try this practice. And it came at a time where like I tried the practice and I was on this like 5 a.m. morning call with about ⁓ my God. It's a client. I have an offer going on right now, that's why. speaker-0: You can answer. You can make a deal on camera. speaker-1: No, it's fine, I won't. She's just like, How do I deal with this? I just need to mute it completely? Do I shut my phone up? Like speaker-0: No idea. speaker-1: Okay, wait. Turn my phone on. speaker-0: Does he turn the phone off? That is awesome. That is like the best on a podcast. Because right before the podcast started, she literally turned to me and she goes, I know the way you are. Make sure your phone is off. I'm like, Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure my phone's off. speaker-1: It's on Do Not Disturb Kate. I'm like, maybe if I put it away it just won't ring. speaker-0: Yeah. It'll just ring between every other question, not one. Right? Like, so like you're in a low spot. Let's pick this back up again. you want to give gratitude a chance. So I heard this quote a few months back and it was actually pretty cool. And it resonates with this. It's a mirror can praise the body and never see the war behind the eyes. And I feel like, especially as a business owner or someone going through hard time or a lot, like a lot of people don't see what's actually going in but like behind the scenes. speaker-1: Yeah. Mm-hmm. speaker-0: That's why I journal. Because like I look back at myself and kind of say, like, this is a shit I've gone through six months ago. It wasn't that bad. But no one else knew I was going through that. Only that journal knows what and I don't do like the whole like, you know, affirmation statement. I used to, but I don't do all that anymore. So how do you feel about knowing like you have to show up every day, put a smile on your face, especially with what you do? You're like you're like front and center. And then like there's this like war going on behind, like and you can't let anyone know. Like, do you ever feel isolated? Do you ever feel like you're not gonna make it or how do you just get through it? How do you just like turn it off and just say like okay, it's work time. speaker-1: Yeah, that's a good question because it's definitely something I'm still like learning how to navigate. And especially once Sophia was born, like I'm in this navigating this whole new world of like being a mom for the first time. I didn't have a Matt leave, and then I have live deals happening and clients calling calling me. And I'm I'm trying to almost trying to put put aside that like I just Had a child to be there for my clients and separate the two. And then to your point, with like also being in like a low point like a couple of years ago, it it's it's tough because I feel like a part of my success or a large part of my success is like like you are the brand and the business, right? So it's like it's hard to separate the two. And there's times where I feel like on the outside I have so much success, but then on the inside, I'm like, I don't. It sometimes feels like a bit of an imposter syndrome because. You're like, well, if only they knew what was going on behind the scenes. And there's so many things going on behind the scenes. But then on the outside and on social media, like I get messages from people that they're like, My God, it's so inspiring, everything you're doing, and all this stuff. And it's I mean, it's nice to hear, but then also it's just a reminder for people that like you only see one side of what it is a highlight real. speaker-0: That that's exactly what it is. And I find with myself even. Like I've had people say, Hey, that's really cool you guys are in a studio and it's not like they don't know I'm in like a little showroom with blankets hanging on the wall to keep the sound out. Like you know what I mean? It's like they see the front and center and then they're like, you know, that's so cool. I'm like, it's yeah. speaker-1: Like they see the final product, but like not what it took to like get there in the behind the scenes. So it is tricky to separate the two sometimes, especially because like what I do is you you have to be there for people emotionally. So then you in order to do that successfully, like you really have to put your own shit aside to like how can I help this person in the best way possible? And and and it's like It's it's a constant battle and it's even more of a battle now, like navigating like motherhood with it too. speaker-0: And I feel our industry is kinda aligned that way because I feel like I'm contractor first, financial advisor, marriage counselor, like emotional support dog. Like I feel like I'm all of that because like you're purchasing a house, which is the world's like a homeowner, a person's biggest purchase. And on top of that, I'm tearing it apart and have to put it back together. So it's like I feel like we're kind of aligned that way, where it's like we gotta guide people through that process. And if you're having a bad day, you can't show up to work having a bad day. Like you just gotta turn it off. Yeah. It just sucks to do that. speaker-1: And it's unfortunate because in the sense that like no one really cares if you're having a bad day because they have bigger shit going on. They're trying to sell a house, right? And they're stressed. So it's like you have to like absorb their stress and help them. Like they hired us for a reason. So it's like you can really go well speaker-0: I like that. You have to absorb someone else's stress because I never thought of it like that. But I'm like, how many times in a day do I take on someone else's stress on top of my own? Because like I know I have more than enough stress as it is. You know. And I'm like, now that you said that, I'm like, okay, yeah, because I don't want to call me worried about this and worried about that and doing this. I'm like, I do feel like I'm absorbing. And do you feel like you have a lot ⁓ of like speaker-1: Solvers for people. speaker-0: out or input and you never get an output. Like I feel like there's always input, input, input. It's always coming at me and I'm like, I never have the outlet, which we'll get into like a little bit later on with like the gym and personal development and stuff like that. But do you find like with real estate a lot of it's just like coming at you. Like, hey, can you do this and can you do that? And when's this gonna happen? When's that gonna happen? And no one's asking like, hey and I like are you handling it well? Like speaker-1: Yeah. There definitely and especially I mean it ebbs and flows like in busy seasons. Obviously it feels like it's w way more overwhelming at times and then it feels like everyone's coming at you like right now, call calling you and throwing things at you. But I mean I think that's why it's so important also like take time to like reset because I I mean I've gotten a lot better at setting boundaries within my business and not feel like I need to constantly respond to people within seconds because it's very easy as you know for it to just like take over your whole life. And then you build like resent Yeah. And then you just kind of like build resentment, but it's like we we kind of like create that. I mean we set the boundaries that clients speaker-0: It's so quick to do, right? Yeah. speaker-1: Like they don't know any better, right? So if they're gonna if we're setting this precedent that, like, okay, you respond within seconds and you answer the phone at like ten PM every night, then like they're gonna obviously speaker-0: I had a client like that and Sunday I even turned to cash one day and I'm like, I'm not taking on this client. And she's like, Okay, we'll keep working with them. I'm like, Yeah. We're already setting a bad like standard. Yeah. Like we have standards as a business. We're a legit business. Like these are our standards. They don't like it. They don't work for it. Just as much as they're seeing if I if they want me working for them, I see if I want to work with them. It goes two way. It's like a marriage. It's yeah. Yeah, exactly. ⁓ one thing I do want to talk about. We never touched on it as your mastermind because you know me, I'm an advocate for it. I love masterminds. I have not been invited to a mastermind to see it and talk to people, but tell me a little bit about it. Like where did it start from? Who's involved? Like what do you guys do? speaker-1: Yeah. So The masterminds started last January. So it's been almost like a year and a half of them. They're we we do them every month, and they're just agent only, real estate agent-only masterminds. And the initial reason that I I had wanted to create these was I just feel like there's such a lack of support in the industry. And again, just being in it for so long now and moving brokerages and and stuff. Common feedback I hear from other agents is they feel alone, whether they're a solo agent or they're on a team, a lot of people feel they're alone or they don't have the support. And I'm like, how can we create a space to just bring people together from all different like neighborhoods, communities, areas, brokerages, and just kind of like support one another? And I do feel like our industry is also just going through a huge change, too, that I'm like, we need to really collaboratively work together here. And I and I mean, we've been doing it, like I said, a year and a half and it's been so successful to the point where we had to cap them every month because we were just having so many agents coming, which was so incredible that the response was so great, but we had to just cap it to around fifteen people and then we have like a a g a different guest speaker come every month and that ranges from like a a home inspector to a stager, just different Ne this this month we have a bookkeeper coming. So it kind of just depends on the month. And then we try to cater like topics around like what that guest speaker is gonna be talking about and pull it into like value for the agents or value that for the agents that they can give to their clients as well. And it's just really like helped create a sense of like community for for people. Okay. It doesn't help that I I'm turning those off. If I figure out how to turn it off. I think you hold a button. speaker-0: Yeah. Two guys I felt how you turn it off. speaker-1: ⁓ both buttons? Yeah, you gotta hold button. speaker-0: There you go. speaker-1: This is what it's coming this is what it's coming to. I to shut my phone off. speaker-0: On today's podcast, we learned how to shut off an iPhone. All right, but the mastermind. So I wanna because a lot of people ask me this and like I get and you know we're the kind of the same. Why add more to your plate? Why not pun it off on someone else? Like give someone else the idea or plant the seed with someone else, say it, hey, this would be great to do. You know, you do it. Like why add to your plate? I know why I do it. I just wanna know why other people do it, right? speaker-1: I was gonna say that question coming from you. speaker-0: Yeah. I I know, I know, I'm I'm horrible for it, but speaker-1: I I think I've come to realize I get really great fulfillment from helping people. And again, it goes back to what I said with like why I got into the industry. And it's not necessarily helping just clients. It's I I'm realizing about myself that I just get genuine fulfillment from like helping even other agents. And I even just like the satisfaction I get when I s like see them succeed off of something that like we've created for them. And like the messages I get after, I mean, yeah, selfishly, it just feels it fills my bucket. It it's fulfilling for me. speaker-0: And I I'm at that point too. That's the podcast is a passion project. Yeah. I want to bring value to people. I want the episode with me and Cash was based on couples working together, running businesses together, like how to take away from that, how to manage it, how to like deal with the challenges. my buddy Eric, who was on, that was all about navigating, being a new business owner, the problems you're gonna face, stuff like that. A lot of my solo episodes are like imposter syndrome or you know, like taking something off your plate to put something on. Like so I I appreciate. The fulfillment thing is I'm at a point in life where I'd like to collaborate, not compete. Right. So we can do something together and bring value to someone. Like I'm joining like the D bot right now. And I want to be on the board of directors because want to bring more value to them. I think there's a lot more value that can be brought to business owners. So I really appreciate that, but like it's all been about like helping others and bringing value to others. So let's brag a little bit. Like the you know, let's brag a little bit. Okay. So tell us your biggest change to date. And your biggest challenge to date, and then we'll get into some accomplishments. speaker-1: Biggest change to date? speaker-0: As a whole, from day one you start as an agent ten years ago to today, like what's the biggest thing where it's kinda like, Whoa, I can't believe that. Like It could be everything. It could be personal, like you're wouldn't you couldn't picture yourself being a mother married. You could be at a new brokerage, you could be selling million dollar homes instead of two hundred thousand dollar homes. Like it could be anything. I I just want to know like where someone saw themselves day one versus now. Because I find, especially after seven, eight years, like people don't realize how far they've come. So I like to bring that to light with my guests where they're like, Yeah, you know what? Fuck yeah, I I did do that. Yeah. speaker-1: I know, and you kind of take for granted what you've accomplished because it just becomes a normal thing. That's why I'm like, I there's been so much accomplished, but to answer it, I guess like the biggest change for me is l is letting go learning to let go of trying to please everyone and really leaning into who Anna is. And when I when I let go of that, I I feel like I saw a lot ⁓ It became a domino effect in my business and my personal life. I feel like business began to gr grow more because I was able to just authentically lean into who I was without worrying about, ⁓ well if I post this, are people gonna think it's like dumb or not cool or whatever the case is, versus just being like, No, this is me and I'm just gonna attract like speaker-0: What I said when I when we first started the podcast? Wait, don't worry about it. Who the six followers listening? Like who cares? I did it at that point, right? speaker-1: so many new agents where where they see like Anna now 10 years later. And it's like, but if you look, scroll deep down on my feed, like and the videos that I posted before are like so cringy. And it's just like it's just like you have to start somewhere. But people just see the final product up to like where you're at now. And I think the biggest change is just like those small incremental speaker-0: Yeah, no, you do. speaker-1: Consistent moments throughout my whole career, but it's for me, I I'm recognizing it's just letting go of like everyone else's opinions and approval and just leaning into who I am. And I feel like once I did that the last two years, like everything has just like kind of blown up in a good way. speaker-0: I'm just gonna assume that that was your biggest change. So I think organically the biggest challenge would be come overcoming your biggest change. speaker-1: Yeah, I think You know, it's interesting because I feel like at the time, like this is all happening, and then a a year being into a mom, which is a huge change in itself. So like there's that component of it. And I and and I feel that like as I'm still kind of overcoming it, I'm definitely a lot better. But there's a part of me, and I don't know if like I said this to my therapist actually like last week. I've been feeling like the last few months that there's this feeling, and I don't know if you've ever felt this that there's a feeling inside me that It's either something is unexpressed or you just I feel like you can do more and then you're having a hard time expressing it. And I'm like trying to figure out like what that is. And I don't know if it's growing my business or or what the case is. And I feel like there's a version of Anna that I'm like still trying to like let go of and shed and and come into who I again, because it goes back to there, there's a a lot of like. Just childhood trauma that I carry, and I feel like it's hard to come into your full self when you're carrying this like burden. So I think I'm finally on the cusp of like letting go of that. And then that's probably what the feeling is inside me is like the full true Anna is probably trying to come through. And it's like I feel like I'm on the like break brink of it, just like letting go of a lot of the trauma. speaker-0: See, I felt that a few years ago and I feel like it wasn't so much something that was I wasn't grown into it. Yeah. But what is it called? It's ⁓ deferred life mentality. Okay. Where it's like, ⁓ when I make a hundred thousand dollars, I'll be happy. And then you get to a hundred thousand. It's like when I have two kids. Like I feel like I'm constantly living that lifestyle where I haven't like fucking adult now. Lately, but I'm like, I wake up one morning, I'm like speaker-1: Then you're the goal for speaker-0: I'm gonna fuck an adult now. I have a salary, I have a company, I have a business, I have a job. Like now is it like today's the good old days. Yeah. Right. Like good wait 10 years and like today's gonna be the good old days, right? Like that deferred life, words a year, like you're always pushing it forward. We'll get into goals a little bit later and stuff like that. But like so I kind of get the feeling. It's like I don't feel like I'm not my true self, like I really feel like today, this time is where I'm actually feeling like myself. Like I'm really dialed into myself and I don't know if I love it or I hate it. Because there's days where it's like, I think I said on another podcast or I was talking to someone, like I was saying, like I don't care to ask someone how their day was unless I generally care how their day is. I will walk into a room, walk right past someone. If they ask me, you didn't ask me how your day is how my day was, I'll say, Because I don't care. Because that's a waste of my time. Like that's where I'm really dialed into myself now. So I feel like I'm actually truly myself. Yeah. I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing, but I just don't have time for Mundane, complacent kind of conversation and stuff like that. But like that deferred life one, like that really hit me recently. Yeah. So like you're saying you like there's this version of you that's not finished yet. I kind of feel that with the like next steps where it's kind of like when I get here, when I get here, but I think that's the entrepreneurship mindset too, because you're always thinking, yeah. I started a fucking podcast. I know. Yeah, I randomly, hey, you want to be on podcast? You got a podcast? Not yet, but it's gonna happen. Like so speaker-1: And I think it I think the tricky part too is like for me when I when I was saying like, ⁓ there's this like feeling that I like want to do more. And then and like just even with conversations with people, some some people are kind of like, Well, you don't necessarily like have to do more right now because it's just the season of my life that I'm into where I I physically like can't necessarily do more because I'm home with a one year old who's not in daycare and like my time is just so limited. But then there's that part of me, that like entrepreneur part of me that's like feel like pulled back in a way because I'm like, ⁓ I just want to go, go, go. But then I need to remind myself, okay, but these are like moments that I'm gonna miss with my daughter. So I need to also just like enjoy that. And it doesn't always need to be so go, go, go all the time. speaker-0: And I feel but I feel like that's an unteachable lesson because I have kids that are sixteen and fourteen. Yeah. And like going back to the baby stage, like I I was pretty present as a parent. Yeah. But even then, I'm like, I missed out on a lot. Like yeah, I feel like I was I wasn't living in the moment. Right. I was looking forward to like, my kids are a little bit older, we can go on cooler walks or better trips or this and that. And I wasn't appreciating the one, two, and when they were seven, eight, nine, I was looking at twelve, thirteen, fourteen. Now that they're teenagers. speaker-1: Stage that they were currently in. speaker-0: No, my son gets in his car and goes. He goes, I'm going up for dinner and later gone. Right. And I'm like kinda sold, yeah, no, I I can appreciate that. But I can appreciate the mindset of like, I just wanna go. speaker-1: So it's like this constant battle of like you want to keep going, but then kids just naturally like they force you to just be more present. Yeah. So it's like so it's like I think it's hard when it's like personalities like us where you're so used to just kind of like going at lightning speed, but then they really force you to like slow it down and just like appreciate the moment. So I mean she's definitely like taught me that because speaker-0: They need you to survive. Right. speaker-1: Sometimes I'm like, ⁓ I just need to send this email. And then she's like crying and lack like pulling to be held and and you just can't send the email. So you're like, I have to be with you. So you just have to just like n I I'm like learning to just like separate it and and surrender to like what the season is right now in my life. speaker-0: Yeah. It doesn't look like you're kind of pulling back on go, go, go, right? Because like 2025, slowest year in real estate. Yeah. I heard some like 0.6% of agents sold a house. Like it was like an insane stat. Like don't quote me on it, but it was like a stupid stat. House prices are down, more buyers, less sellers, and twenty twenty five was your biggest year. speaker-1: Yeah. And it was yeah, I don't it was like speaker-0: You're like, ⁓ I just want to go, but I feel like my kids are pulling me back. And you're like banging out biggest years when it's the world's slowest e like economy. Because renovations were the same thing. It dipped down. I know people got squeezed right out. Yeah. And you're out there just like kind of crushing it. So like, why? Do you think social media was a part of that? Because you've really next. It's like, do you feel like the years of social media over and over again, the repetition? Building the credibility, the authority. During twenty twenty five, when people were tight on money, making more conscious decisions, landed you more deals because they got to know you over the years personally. speaker-1: I do think it was a lot of relationship building over the years that just kind of like J I I mean it's all just like ha being there at the right time where someone's, you know, wanting to make a move or buy or during that period of time. And I I think for me it was so interesting because I was so nervous when I found well, it was a it was a mix of emotions when I found I was pregnant, but like there was definitely a large feeling of like, holy shit, this is gonna like slow my business down and I don't know how I feel about all this. Like I'm th this was my first baby, right? So I was so scared in a way. I was so excited, obviously. But then I was like, I don't know what this means. And I just remember like clients saying to me, because we were putting listings on, like around the time that I was going into labor, and they were like, Are you gonna be around? And I'm like, look, I don't know what's gonna happen, but like I will be here and we'll figure it out. And I just think like I was just so confident that I was gonna somehow figure it out, that like everyone. had this blind confidence with me that like okay she says we're we're good so we'll figure it out and and I don't know like it it was it was just like such a slow year with real estate but it was like by far in the nine and a half years like and even COVID was a crazy year like last year was my busiest year. And and I think it was just I think it was because I also just got like super intentional with my time. Like I didn't have time to waste anymore because I had this newborn child that It's just like you you get super clear on like, hey, who's actually gonna like transact? And like who can I deal with? Like that's actually not like gonna waste my time and like let's go because I have to like come home and like I'm I'm waking up every two hours in the middle of the night, like feeding her, t whatever the case is. So like I I my capacity was already so at its like It was stretched that I'm like, I just need to work with people that are serious. And I feel like you just cut through the bullshit because you just yeah, you don't have the time. And that's I I guess translated into like just straight like speaker-0: I did it with our business when we opened the office. It was like now we're gonna do the 80-20 assessment. Like 80% of our time goes to 20% of revenue, and 20% of our time goes to 80% of revenue. So we're only gonna concentrate on that 20%. It does suck as a business because at first it feels like you're losing, but you don't really in the long run, right? But like I really want to touch on the social media thing because like you're phenomenal on social media, you really become vulnerable on social media. Big reason I'm doing this podcast is to become vulnerable. Yeah, yeah. bad at com having conversations. I'm just kind of like all over the place. So like, do you find it hard putting time and effort? Well now you're seeing the r the results, right? But at first, like this podcast, for instance, or me doing personal branding, sometimes I think to myself, I'm like, it's hard doing something where there's not an immediate ROI. Yeah. Like you don't know what the return is. Like I do a job for someone, I swing a hammer, I get paid. Yeah. You show them a house, they sign a deal, you get paid. But what we do on social media, There's no ROI to measure. So do you find it hard to like put that time in, or do you are you like me where you're just like, I love being center of retention, so I'll jump on the camera any time I can get, right? Like speaker-1: I don't necessarily I don't I think now it's just so second nature to me that I don't think twice about, ⁓ well, I gotta carve out time for it. I I've gotten more into just like documenting my life versus like creating, so it's just become easier in the sense of it doesn't feel as like scheduled. I'm just like, I'm gonna bring people along with what I'm doing. And people are so nosy that they just love to know what people are doing. So But when I was creating content, I I I used to I I d I know you remember, like I used to do content like batch it, like twelve videos every month. speaker-0: We've done collabs together in contact. speaker-1: So I was doing that like heavy, like two-ish years ago, I'd say. But the algorithms change. That's such a buzzword. Everything's it's shifted, and I feel like it there's not necessarily a place for that type of content on Instagram the same way it used to be. Yeah. And it shifted more to just like real raw, like documentation of content. I think at the very beginning, I was a little bit nervous to show up. And the biggest things I always hear from people is I don't want to talk on camera, but I mean you have to. Like, you just have to. There's gonna be no like I believe in it so much because social media, Instagram specifically, it's like 80% of where my deals come from is Instagram. So I'm like, if I don't show up and talk to this camera, like no one is gonna know who I am. They're not gonna DM me and reach out. It's it's like we're building this relationship digitally. My Instagram's already sold people on me before I even like have a conversation with them. Yeah. It's like an online resume now. speaker-0: Yeah, no. Yeah, it is. And people, that's where I find people go to right away because like even when I walk into an estimate, I have homeowners that come to me and said, ⁓ we looked at your Instagram or we looked at your Facebook page. I'm like, you didn't check out my website. Like you didn't look at my website, like you looked at who I was, right? And I get a lot of homeowners following me personally now before they even follow my business. Yeah. Because they want to know who I am as a person. Right. But I do find a lot of people. Do you have a problem not only being on camera, but becoming vulnerable? Right? Which I'm trying to, like I said, 10 times through the day already. I'm really trying to be more like that. You have your marriage, you have your real estate business, you have being a mother, you have personal fitness, personal development. Like, do you find it hard at all to be vulnerable in any of that? Or was there one of those things that was more difficult to become vulnerable? Well where it's kind of like, I don't know if people gonna chive with this. I don't know if I'm gonna get the same feedback as real estate as being a mother. Like when you introduced being a mother or personal like fitness, did you find your kind of following kind of shifted? Like who followed you, who responded? Like what was the whole journey like? Because you've incorporated like some people are like influencers in just one aspect. You're like, here's my whole life, fuck it. It's on the table. Yeah. Pick up whatever page you want. I spilled the book kind of thing. Yeah. speaker-1: I feel like it has to be that way for me though, because I I find the clients I work with were going through similar like life stages at the same time. So it becomes relatable. Like now my content has just become like motherhood in business, right? So like now that's a big portion of what people see on my page, but it's resonating with like so many moms now. And then they end up like messaging and And and it just starts conversation about whether like it's just relatable for them and whether they're on a Mat leave or they have kids that are like way older than Sophia and th and they're like, ⁓ I remember like when my kids were this age and and it just becomes this opportunity to like build a connection. And I f I find like whenever I'm going through like life changes or milestones, like when we were planning our wedding and going to Greece to get married, that became like The hub of my content. It was like planning a destination wedding. And then people follow along with that. And I was even with like the training for the half marathon, it was so crazy to me the amount of people that like messaged me good luck on the on the race date that I had never even met because I I brought them along to the whole training thing. I'd never ran a half marathon. They saw me like every morning showing up to like run. And yeah, like people are just brought in through all these stages. And it's just like, wow. feel like I really know who Anna is, ⁓ the person, not just like the real estate broker. speaker-0: Was it strategic though when you started bringing more stuff into the social media, I guess, limelight? Or is it just like whatever I'm doing, take it or leave it? Like I'm just gonna put everything out there? Or was it like strategic saying, hey, instead of concentrating more on, you know, my wedding stuff or being like a wife now, now that I have a baby, I mean put park the wife role and put the motherhood role on there. Like is that a strategic plan when you do that, or is it just kind of very organic like That's what I'm dealing with every day. Like speaker-1: Yeah, I honestly I've never really thought about it like strategically. I don't know, maybe I should I should more, but like it's just been very organic in the sense of, hey, this is what's going on in my life, and I'm just gonna bring you along for it. ⁓ real estate's like for the most part pretty boring. So I feel like that content's like not really what people want to see. I think about it as like what I consume when I go on the platform. What do I enjoy? And then I kind of speaker-0: Real estate's I find it's very repetitive, right? Like you've seen one house, you've seen them all. Like I know they're all different, but it's like from the drone footage into the front door and then a real estate agent talking and then walk through the house and like, yeah, that's it. Like I'm I've seen this a thousand times. So like I I do get it, right? speaker-1: Like for the There's also like so many of us that it's like no one really cares that you're a realtor. Like no one wants to go on your page and see like just sold, just listed. They wanna know who you are. And it's like you're gonna be working with these people for like months. Sometimes like I have one that's been on for like almost a year. Like there's times where you're like really in deep like a long time with relationships with these clients. So like you gotta be able to connect more on just like surface level here and the the social media component is to like sharing so much of my life is like where we're able to connect and it makes working with them so much more enjoyable because now it's like not only are we clients but we've built a friendship too. speaker-0: Well, it's personal resume. It's a branding like strategy thing. That's how we met social media. Yeah. You're at the gym one morning, you're Are you the AC custom guy? And I'm like, Yeah, I'm the AC custom guy. Yeah. That's right? I know, right? but it it is such a strong platform, right? Like that's why I want to have people like you on the podcast because you kind of veered off of that. And you're kinda like, I'm not gonna do just real estate. Yeah. I put myself out there and kinda do it, right? So I do like that. real estate as a whole, we kinda touched on how boring it is. speaker-1: Mm-hmm. speaker-0: Let's talk about some noise in real estate right now. Like trends, things that you think. I know, but like trends you think are just pointless, mundane. speaker-1: No ways. speaker-0: Like what do you disagree with going on in real estate right now? speaker-1: I mean, I feel like there's a lot of disconnect and just amongst the like real estate community. like in real on the realtor to realtor. I just feel like there's a a big disconnect. And I I mean clients, the consumer will never see it firsthand. I I and behind the scenes, it's just if everyone could just like get on the same page and work together, I feel like there's so many times where I've seen it go so much more smoothly when people are working together versus an agent that's just like not willing to cooperate with you and thinks that they're working in the best interest of their client. And there's there's just deals that fall apart because of the realtor. And I'm like, if only the sellers or the buyers knew that this is how you were representing. And it just seems like there needs to be more. I know we talked about vulnerability, but it it just there needs to be more like vulnerability amongst the like realtor to realtor. Even I even when I call agents and I'm like, okay, I I got an offer, like appreciate the offer. Like just being super transparent, like where do you think like we can kinda land and on a price and all this stuff. And some people are like, Well, I can't I can't say anything. It's like, okay, but I feel like like give us something here to work with. But then other agents where you talk to and they're like, look, like they don't really they're trying to keep it around this number, like maybe around here we can make something happen. And it's just like, okay, now we have something to work off of. So I feel like the industry in general is going through like a big shift. There's a a lot of fear. Like I feel like people are just nervous with AI. How does that gonna impact the real estate industry? Ver people are there's a mix of like people collectively working together, but then there's also a mix of like everyone's just kind of like trying to fend for themselves because they're just like scared. speaker-0: You think that's generational? Because the generation's kinda turning. Because I feel like we're in that generation where like slowly we're kinda taking over the industries and the older ones are kinda stepping back and speaker-1: Yeah, I I do feel like there's a t there's almost like a it's cycling. speaker-0: Yeah, like parents and kids taking over and they're kinda like Yeah. I talk to the kids like, ⁓ my parents want to do it the old school way and then you talk to like the parents are like, ⁓ they'll never do it the way we did it. I'm like, Yeah. You guys never get a fucking deal done. speaker-1: No. I do feel like the older generation they're kind of they are just stuck in their ways. And I and I mean you see most realtors, I feel like it's more like the younger generations now coming through. Like even the brokerages are more like there's so many like newer ones that are up and coming. Like cloud-based brokerages are just more tech forward ones versus like the old school brokerages that have been around. Like the whole industry is just changing, right? So I think the biggest thing is like People just kind of adapting to where like our world in general is heading and being able to just like pivot to like where we're at now as all as an economy as a whole and and how can we properly like guide our our clients accordingly? Like I know there's so many people too where they don't wanna they're set in their ways with like, ⁓ well, they don't wanna they don't see the value in staging, let's say, or something like that. And I see listings all the time where they're just like, Maybe if that agent took some time. speaker-0: things gotta stop. I look at some hoes, I'm like, ⁓ my god, it looks so bad with the AI stage you just stop like speaker-1: Or like totally like changes the layout of a home. And it's just Yeah, it's misleading because w you'll go off you'll book a showing off of the photos and then you go in and it's like, ⁓ well this is not and virtual staging is fine, but it can't be like totally reconstruct. speaker-0: That's what I'm at like you know what I mean? Because I've seen houses that I know. I'm like, hey, that's so and so's old house. I go look at it, I'm like, Yeah, that's not their house. Like it's just gone a little too far, right? speaker-1: And I and I'm noticing too, like a lot of people Are the conversations just because ⁓ I guess ⁓ the nature of the economy we're in, like people are are a lot more intentional with like where money's being spent and sometimes like the t the conversation about like commission comes down and and some people are okay to like drop it just to get like a listing, but right now too, like this past year I've just gotten very intentional with like working with people that are are serious. There's no like testing the waters. We're not gonna like put the house on at an overpriced price and just test it out and only take it off. Like I personally pour like thousands and thousands into each listing. So it's just everyone being on the same page. So I I've gotten a lot clearer with the conversations I have with people in terms of being able to like sift through who's serious and like who's just kind of like feeling it out. speaker-0: Exact same thing with contract. Like now before I'd be like, you know, I feel weird asking someone budget. Now I'm like, hey, listen, this is what the budget is. If you want the job done right and app decent, this is what the budget is. So you want high end, this is what the budget is. Kind of thing. Like it's not even at the point where I asked them what their budget is. I just had a call yesterday. I called someone that called me for an SM. I'm like, hey, look here, you're looking at this job? Yeah. Do you have 20 grand in the bank? And they're like, we're looking to spend about 25. I'm like, okay, I'll show up. Mm-hmm. Because I'm not gonna come in there and compete with someone. That's entry level. Right. Or doesn't do the standard of work we do. Like I hate to be an asshole about it, but a spade to spade. Yeah. You what mean? Like if the job costs that much, then do it. Like I feel like there's a lot of that in the real estate industry where people are like trying to strategically list a house. Like we'll draw on a bidding war. Or we're gonna overlist and make them feel like they're getting a deal. Or like I'm like, just sell the house for what it's worth. Yeah. Like you so many more deals will get done. Like, you know what I mean? If we know this house is gonna sell at eight ten, let's just list at eight fifteen. speaker-1: Well that's what's confusing is because there's there's so many different strategies happening right now. So it's like no one's on the same page. Some people are trying to like list low and get over, some people are like still in like COVID pricing. Some most people for the most part are like realistic, but there's a bit of everything happening. speaker-0: Even comps now. Like I have some friends like, ⁓ they comp this house, you know, three kilometers away on the other side of town in this neighborhood. I'm like, Well, one, that's a shitty neighborhood. Yeah. I know the house is they're both four bedrooms, twenty two hundred square feet, but they're not in the same area. They're not backing on their parquet. Like they're taking like the weirdest comps and just comparing them. But I'm like, it's not really the same. Like it's just like speaker-1: I know it's a lot of just like educating people. speaker-0: Yeah. So you wake up every morning, work out, mother, wife, real estate agent, gratitude journal, ⁓ mastermind group, mentor, whatever else you do. What's your why? Like why do you do it all? Like speaker-1: ⁓ I think. Originally I think the Y was speaker-0: Underly childhood issues. I know everyone has that. Yeah, until you pet chip off your b speaker-1: Yeah, I think it was like I think I I started tying like achievements to feeling safe. Yeah. And I was like, okay, if I just like make this much or do this or like whatever. speaker-0: No one can take that away from you because I did it. ⁓ speaker-1: ⁓ I mean, I'm sure you hear this all the time and not here just in our industry. ⁓ yeah, like it just became ⁓ like because I never felt I guess like safety that this was like my one way to control how I felt safe. And there be there becomes this like light that I guess you have where it's like the light is like being so driven, but then there also it's like a double edged sword where it's there's also this darkness where you feel like, okay, well you don't need to always be like chasing too. Like it's with it, like you being super Clear with why we are chasing. Like it doesn't have to always just be like you are good enough. You don't need the approval of everyone else. Now the why has shifted more to showing my daughter what's possible. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, which is totally like I I respect, and everyone's like decisions are obviously like theirs to make. But for me, like my career is such a big part of my life, and I never want to feel like I was raised. being told like you can't really be a successful business owner and a present mom. And I just feel like now I'm on a mission to prove that you can be both. And I want to show her that show my daughter that you can if you choose to do that, like you can successfully do b both. If you want to be a stando mom you can, but I don't ever want her feeling like you have to pick 'cause I felt that way. speaker-0: Yeah, and I feel like the two most important days in life are when you're born and when you find out why you're born. Right. And I feel like now I'm at the point where it's like I found out why I'm born. It's to build something. It's to set a standard. It's to kind of be the accountability person for the people around me. Right? Either my kids, my wife, friends, family, co-workers, whatever it is. I feel like I've taken enough of a beating where it's kind of like, Okay, I'm pretty resilient now. Right. So like I'm gonna show you guys, like I'll I'll keep the train going, right? But make sure you're tight on on the back because I'm not slowing down, kind of thing. Which I think is so impactful, especially to like kids, right? Especially women now. Like because like women are in an industry where they're so torn between they have to make choices, right? Between career or being a mother, or you know, like it's this old saying where it's like a woman damned if she does damned if she doesn't, because it's like, you know. A man steps in to defend a woman, right? As a man, yeah, you should step in to defend a woman, but are you taking away her credibility by being able to defend herself? Like you know what I Like either way, she's like either had someone step in for you or now you're getting questioned, could you defend yourself? Like it's so hard for women to do that. So I can appreciate you doing that for your daughter and like showing her like you have a choice. Like grandma stayed home and I went to work and I was present. So either way you can do it. speaker-1: It's like you could do either and I feel like ⁓ unless it's modeled to you, you don't really know what's what's possible. You kind of as kids only know what you you were raised with, right? And see. So yeah, I think it's ⁓ it's like our world has evolved in so many ways, but I feel like in this component it's like still lagging where there's like women are are working and and building businesses and being moms, but there's still so much more pressure that falls on women than men. Yeah. And I feel like it's it's speaker-0: A lot of that's on men too, and I hate to say it, but like even like surrounding myself around people, I find men are very complacent on just picking up the slack. Yeah. Yeah. You know, just doing the thing. It's kinda like if I'm at home with cashier, like we have a really good system where like there's no jobs. It's just if it has to get done, fucking do it. Mm-hmm. You know what I mean? I feel like a lot of men aren't like that. I feel like they have the shutters on because they were raised like that. Or it's kinda like that's not my job, not doing it. But they don't even see and acknowledge that it's a job to do around the house or with the kids or anything like that and they're just oblivious to it. Right. You mean but it's just as as an adult because as an adult, when you hit a certain age, to me it's like that's no longer an excuse. Yeah. speaker-1: It it's tricky though because so many people are like raised seeing that like dad went to work, mom stayed home. Yeah. But then like our world isn't like that anymore. So yeah, it's just kind of like, well, that's not what I knew growing up and now things are a totally different way. And being able to like integrate those two worlds now together at home and in business. speaker-0: So So after all this, people are gonna watch this podcast, all eleven of them, they say, Holy shit, I wanna get on the phone with Anna, I want her to mentor me. Who mentored her? Do you have a mentor, or do you have someone that you looked up to or someone you called when you had a hard time, or was it just through the mud? speaker-1: I had a couple like throat. It's never been the same person. I feel like as as each like chapter of my life progressed, there seemed to be a new person that I looked up to and was a mentor. I think it's very important to like have people that you can just call and bounce ideas off of. Like the people that I call are like they all seem to be like 10, 15 years older to ⁓ than me, which they have more life experience, right? So I really respect. them as business owners, as moms, or whatever the case is. And it's like you never want to go to someone do for advice that hasn't done what you want to do. Right. So there's a lot of people that will just give you the advice, but not everyone's doing what you want to do. So it's being very intentional with like who you choose to take the advice from and like mentor. speaker-0: Trust me I But it's a thing though. Even with the consulting coaching right now, it's like I feel like I couldn't really put it out there because like I had to have my business hit seven figures. I had to be able to build a personal brand. I had to like show up to the gym every day. I had to like start a podcast. I had to like you know what I mean? Like I had to do certain things to build that authority because I'm like, I can't tell someone what to do if I haven't done the thing. Yeah. You know what I Like I'm an imposter. Like you you said an imposter syndrome, right? ⁓ yeah, so I can appreciate that. And I'm big on mentor. I've never unfortunately never had a mentor, but networking has really got me there. Yeah. So it hasn't been someone in specific where I've called them, but like being around like minded people has really opened doors. Where it's kind of like not only like help me, but it's like open my eyes to what's possible. Where I'm like, ⁓ shit, like I'm gonna start a business. And then I get in the room and I'm like, Yeah, you what? Like I can really start a business because these people start businesses. Then you get to the next level, it's kind of like, I could have a million dollar business. And then you get to the next room, it's kind of like, these guys have six businesses. Like, you know what I mean? Like it opens your eyes to what's possible because when you grow up with not much and like a broken family and all that shit, you look at it and kind of say, Well, that's not made for me. You almost like set it like a barrier on yourself. I don't know if you've ever felt like that, but you have this barrier where it's kind of like, this is what I'm capable of because everything else is just impossible. Right. And then we get into those new rooms with the man. With the networking, it's kinda like, no, there's more than possible because that guy's more fucked up than I am. He's doing better than I am, right? Like, you know what I mean? speaker-1: Like just redefining what actually is possible. speaker-0: Exactly, right? ⁓ okay, so I said I was gonna try and keep this to an hour. So I wanna ask, what's one question you suggest people ask themselves? Just sort short and sweet. speaker-1: Who do you really want to be? speaker-0: Then what's one question you want to be asked? Fuck, that's a good question. Admit it. That's a good question. That's a good qu I know, it's a great question. I should like interview people for a living. That's it. Yeah. speaker-1: What do I want to be as? My gosh. ⁓ wow. I I'm I think the the first thing that comes to mind is like speaker-0: Mine would be what's your limit? I want someone to come to me every single day and say, What's your limit? speaker-1: Do you even have an answer for that? speaker-0: No, but that'll be enough to fire me up where I'm gonna push myself past that. And I feel like I do ask myself that every day where I'm like, Okay, AJ, wake up. What did you do yesterday? You did this. I'm like, So what's my limit today? If I can have someone ask me that every single day, nothing's gonna stop me. speaker-1: Yeah. I I I guess like the first thing is probably like w what you asked me earlier is like why are you doing what you're doing? Like I think everything comes down to a why. speaker-0: Yeah, I totally agree with that. I I I love that. And then so floor's yours. You can do your social plugs, you can do a little rant, you can do whatever you want now. Like you always try and give someone well last minute to kinda shout out. I know like six people have already tried to call into the show today and gonna hold a view, so speaker-1: No, I guess like I mean we have the journal and I know you mentioned it, but the journal's on Amazon. speaker-0: Yeah. We'll put all the notes in the show too. speaker-1: Anyone wants to purchase it, it's on Amazon. I'm incredibly proud of it. Follow me on Instagram. I'm sure you'll put that in the social handles too. but yeah, just ⁓ I think I what I want to just end off with is I know there's a lot of people that like really look up and respect the business I've built. And I think just really understanding again why someone's doing what they're doing and r and recognizing that like everyone has a story and just really leaning into what's your story, and you can't be anyone else. I know we hear that quote all the time, but you really just have to like lean into yourself. And I feel like that's when I started seeing the success is just leaning in more to who I am, not who everyone's telling me to be or who I think I should be based on what's on social media and just it's just just be you. And it's it's hard. It's so easy to say, but it's so hard to do. speaker-0: ⁓ 100%. I I I like that. So easy to say, hard to do. Another episode, Forget the Noise. We had Anna on today. We got into personal stuff, motherhood, business, trends, journaling, authors, masterminds. We've talked about it all. We even got some phone calls. So wait till next week. Another episode of Forget the Noise podcast. Thank you very much. AJ Chap T D signing off.