From Fear to Fierce: A Real Estate Trailblazer’s Journey

Welcome back to WIRED: Stories of Impactful Women, the podcast where we spotlight bold, brilliant women redefining business, leadership, and the world of real estate. In today’s episode, hosts Heather Luce and Kimberly Downs invite Melissa Martin, president and owner of Kansas City Realty, to the mic for an inspiring and candid conversation.

Melissa opens up about her unconventional journey from social work to real estate, the personal fears she overcame to step fully into leadership, and how she’s working to build an agency—and a community—where women and independent voices thrive. From lessons in authentic leadership and supporting local businesses, to advice on building up confidence in the next generation, Melissa shares her experience creating a collaborative, women-led company culture that goes far beyond just buying and selling property.

Whether you’re growing a career, building a business, or looking for real-world inspiration, this episode offers connection, mentorship, and the reminder that yes, we all have the power to “do it ourselves.” Plus, you’ll hear how groups like WIRED are bringing women together to invest, rise, and celebrate each others’ wins—one honest conversation at a time.

So pour a cup of coffee, settle in, and let’s dive in!

Have episode suggestions or questions for us? Email us at WIREDPODKC@GMAIL.COM.

Transcript

0:00

Just being able to teach women your failures are going to make you stronger. I know my worth, but I was afraid to actually take the leap to put power behind it. We are all so much better when we show up how we are, who we are, and really take up our own space and talk about what we believe and stand behind it. I want you to believe that you have the power to do everything you want to do. It's that want to learn and grow as a person, as a woman, as an entrepreneur, just all the things that we're passionate about and that they want you to know those things. Do it yourself. We can do it. Welcome to the WIRED Podcast, where we spotlight bold, brilliant women shaping the future of business, commercial, real estate, leadership, and beyond. I'm Kimberly Downs. And I'm Heather Luce. We're the voices behind WIRED. That's Women in real estate development and your hosts for honest, empowering conversations that go way beyond buildings. Every other Wednesday, we sit down with women of influence, entrepreneurs, innovators, and change makers to share their stories, insights, and unfiltered truth behind their success. So whether you're building a business, growing in your career, or carving your own path, you'll find connection, mentorship, and real world tools right here. This is the WIRED Podcast. Let's get into it. Today's guest is Melissa Martin, my friend and fellow broker, owner, real estate extraordinaire. So, so. Oh, wow. That is an introduction. Hey, you've been in this industry a long time, I feel like. So you earned it. Yeah. Well, thank you. Yeah. How are you? I'm doing good. Good, Good. Yeah, we're happy to be here. Good. Well, first, let's just jump into, who are you? What do you do? Where are you from? Tell us a little bit about your journey kind of with Kansas City Realty. Yeah. So my name is Melissa Martin. I have owned Kansas City Realty since 2016. We are primarily a residential brokerage, but we do dabble in commercial as well. Currently have 22 agents. Before that, I was actually full time doing social work. My husband Dan was working in real estate and kind of saw what was happening there and wanted to get involved because it's really hard to do social work for, you know, 10 years and working in foster care in those situations, it was. It was really tough. So it was a much needed switch. Especially we started having kids and it was a good switch for us. So, yeah, that's kind of how Kansas City Realty was started. We started it from just basically seeing bigger brokerages and what they were doing and wanting to Be different and doing it our way in the most authentic way possible. Yeah, definitely. I love everybody that you guys have in your company. So a few years back, I started a group called the KC Indie Brokerage Group. And Dan and I became friends pretty quickly when we met and recognized that there were other owners of these smaller, independent, locally owned brokerages. But we weren't connected. We didn't have a network. And we just started getting together for monthly coffee meetups. And they're pretty informal, but they were so valuable. And I just remember thinking, I don't feel like I'm alone anymore. Because when you're in this role, not only are you a business owner, you own the brokerage, the business operations. So you're not like a traditional broker with a bigger firm, but also your agents, who you're close to and you work with every day are not your peers. The problems that you have as the broker or the owner or the business side of it is not the same as the business that they run working with clients. And so we've been getting together monthly for years Now. There's over 40 independent brokerages across town represented. And I will easily say that you guys are definitely part of the leadership in that group. So I appreciate that connection that we've had. Tell us a little bit more. You were working. Correct me if I'm wrong, you were working as part of, like, supporting the brokerage, but you weren't licensed until fairly recently. Yeah, I mean, I'll be completely honest. It was a fear. It's just a fear of testing if I'm going to go back. Everything's just a fear from when your childhood, you know what I mean? But yeah, it was just the fear. And so it was. It was like, okay, what? I own a brokerage and I'm not, you know, how much of a leader can I be if I'm not actually walking the walk, you know, And I really was just talking and I think it just. I finally was like, you know what, Melissa? Just get over yourself. Everybody's just worried about themselves. No one's worried about you. Yeah. And, yeah, and I did it and I passed right away. And it was like no big deal and everything was fine. But yeah, it was just. That was like more of an emotional barrier. Like I just had to get through to. To have the confidence to do that, which I think is, you know, a constant thing that I'm dealing with every day and we deal with as women every day. So, yeah, of course, of course, you're right. It's usually an internal battle. Right. And that nobody has the energy. They're really worried, and they have their own battles going on. So the. Dan is the operating broker. And what is your role? And do you have any other staff? So I work as the president, owner of the company, kind of oversee, you know, operations as well. We have Peyton Young, who. She's amazing, and she's our VP of operations. And I'd say she's like the glue that holds us together. She is a. She was a teacher for six years. And I always have said, I've told Heather every time, I'm like, if anybody ever wants to hire someone, hire a teacher. They are the most organized, dedicated, caring, loving people you will find. And I mean, that's. If we grow to hire other people, I'll be like, all right, Peyton, who do you know wants to get. Get out and spread their wings a little bit more? But, yeah, so it's just. It's just the three of us who run the show with the 22 agents. We do events and just, you know, the residential, I guess, ongoing things that we have going on, buying and selling and events that we throw. So it's the three of us that primarily do that. That's great. Yeah. You have a good leadership team that's solid, and you all know your roles. You all have different strengths, and it's really good. So we talk a lot about leadership on this podcast, so definitely want to dive into kind of your leadership skills. So some of the questions that I have for most business owners, too, is, you know, there's a very big difference between managing and leading, which I'm very passionate about. I've been managed, which was awful, and then I've been led. And so what are some of the things that you and Dan do there to stand out from other brokerages, other businesses, to be good leaders for the people that you have on staff? For sure. So I. And this is everything I say. I'm not talking bad about national, bigger brokerages. I will say that I have friends that belong to them and love them. They are not for me, and they're not for the people that we have with us. I feel like having our independent brokerage, Kansas City Realty, we are able to let our agents. I know I said spread the wings, but, like, take leaps that they wouldn't be able to take in bigger brokerages. And I know that for a fact. I. We had agents come to us from a different brokerage, and they wanted to donate their commission to a local, not for profit. And that bigger name brokerage was like, well, you just should write a check then afterwards. And they said, well, no, I really want it to come from you guys. Like, I want it to be this like, powerful thing like that we're all doing together. And they just said, no, we can't do that. And they came to us and we told them that. And once again, my social work background that is a huge part of Kansas City Realty is involving that community and supporting where you live. And we were like, yeah, can we just talk? Yeah, we'll just talk to our title company. It'll take two seconds. Made one phone call, took one minute. They're like, yeah, we'll write the check wherever you want. And it was done. So it's about just stepping outside and letting. I feel like our agents lead. We're all in this together. Yes, we're the owners in this, but we really do feel like, I mean, we know we don't have the answers. And I think being a leader is knowing you don't have the answers and being willing to grow and pivot with each question that comes. So, yeah, I think it's just being adaptable with everyone and the questions that we have. We are recently one of the things we're trying to look at. And it's just from experience, you know, I've come across, you know, a domestic violence situation, for example, from someone that I knew and she was looking to move. It just all of a sudden hit me and I was like, what am I doing? We haven't reached out to domestic violence shelters in Kansas City. How can we do that? So I spoke to a local shelter and we're trying to come up with. In which I would love also just saying, like anyone's help with, just to go to a shelter and tell women, this is what you do. This is how you can be a first time home buyer. Because most of the times they're not getting the house. They said, you know, they have no skills, they don't know what they're doing. So I think with saying all these little things, it's just being a leader is just being more open to the ideas around you and not just being like, everything has to fit in this box. In that same question, what do you do as the leader? Because we all know that we can lead, but we also have to fill our cup, you know, so that we can actually have the influence that we need to have with others. So what do you personally do to do that? I love sitting on my front porch. It's a porch hang. I really do think, and I Know, it's like real estate wise and everything I say, I'm like, I feel like we just went down as a society when we took away the front porch. You know, everybody has the front porch. What were you doing? Well, and I mean, like I said, beautiful. I know subdivisions. You drive into your garage. That's amazing. Like, I'm jealous of those moments. I don't have that. But when you were doing that, you just go drive in your garage, you close the garage door and you walk in your house and that was it. Front porches is where you build community and you get to know your neighbors and you know, it's fun. So my. That is my peaceful place. That is my happy place. Otherwise, I mean, it's really just. It's porch, family, friends, wine. I mean, I love wine. I do, I love wine. I'll go to Marco Polo. They have great wine. It's a small business at Waldo, and just pick up a few bottles and it's just my happy time to just breathe. And we invite our agents over too. Like, it's just, we all have to realize that, like, you work all the time in real estate and there's never a break. There's never like a. Nope, we're not selling this time. So, yeah, it's trying to just like make work fun and make. When I, when I'm not doing it, just trying to stop and be in the moment Be present. Yeah, yeah. Which is, you know, two kids. I have a 13 year old girl and a 10 year old. Oh, no, he just turned 11 on July 5th. So we have an 11 year old boy. Yeah. And yeah, so it's trying to. They're. They're already not hanging out with us. They're already gone. So it's like, okay, I'm just gonna sit here at home and just wait for them. They have to come out the front door. Right. I'll be on the porch. So, Melissa, tell us about your experience buying your commercial space that you guys are currently in. That was an experience. We did that through an SBA loan. We found the building it was listed in, let's see, 20, 23. And then we. It was about a year of negotiations, enough so that we were like, oh, we're not doing it. And then all of a sudden we're back and we always loved it. It's in the west side. It's a 17,000 square feet. It's a compound. It's kind of like compound, I like to call it. It's not catching on, but one day it will. I call it like the beehive, because I feel like we're all little bees running around. Not including Kansas City realty, we have 10 tenants that are all around and it was really important for us to get like local artists and things like that. So we have the arts department, we have Billie's Grocery, their commissary kitchen. We have CORE Strong Gym, the West End Tattoo, Cheatin' Snakes. It's a clothing brand. And of course a lot of people know Panthers Place. It's a. I call it a greenhouse cocktail lounge. So yeah, we saw all of these things. We felt some of these tenants were there when we purchased. Some of them were. It took a very long time. The SBA loan, you know, it's, it's you. You have to be tenant of 51% of it. You have to jump through. I swear it was like blood tests to like figure this out. I mean, we really did actually have to take. We actually had a nurse come to our house. Now that I think about that, we actually had a nurse come to our house to do blood work and make sure, you know, like, oh, are we going to be healthy? Are we going to do this to get this loan? So yeah, it was a huge, huge deal. We had purchased a building off the courthouse step for a previous building off of Jarboe. And so this was the first time we were going all in and we just knew we needed the space to create the community that we wanted. So in August, it'll be three years that we own it. So yeah, That's awesome. So also recently you have converted a portion of your space as an event space, is that right? Correct. It's the westside Lounge. It's a micro event space within our brokerage. It can, it's. It's basically can hold up to 100 people, you know, sitting and standing. It's a very laid back feel. Projectors, tv, shuffleboard. We have the garage door. That's magical. So you open that up and there's the Vines from Panthers Place that are right there. We just want our office when you go for real estate wise, our office is not a cubicle. You won't see a cubicle in sight. It is more like we want you to feel like you're home when you're coming and you're making this, you know, big decision about if you want to rep us, represent you or how you want to buy a house. And we just want everyone to feel comfortable. Right, right. Very entrepreneurial too of you guys to take the space that you already have that's comfortable. It's cool and, you know, generate income from potentially and just utilize it in a different way. So I always think that's cool. Women come up with creative, I mean, creative solutions all the time. Speaking of that, we kind of wanted to get into, you know, this is the podcast about women with influence. We kind of believe everyone, all women have influence in certain ways, some more than others. But specifically, what kind of advice? Leadership advice or just experience, like business advice? What kind of advice do women comes to mind whenever you're asked. Yeah, I, I spoke earlier about having the confidence. I mean, as silly as it was for just a silly test, I think as women maybe that we are not given the confidence growing up that we need. And I think it's really hard that we have to sit there and build it up later in life. And so my goal right now with my daughter, my daughter's friends, anyone that I meet, even younger agents, just any, is to just build their confidence to know that it doesn't have to start when I'm 42. And I honestly feel like 42 is when I'm gaining my confidence and knowing I know my worth. But I was afraid to actually take the leap to put power behind it. Instead, I was just like, oh, I don't want people to think that I'm too pompous. Like, you know, and I'm putting myself down and I want to instead sit there and go, women can, if we, if we start even younger, younger than me. I mean, I'm still young. I'm 42, but younger than me at 20. And sit there and go, okay, I want you to believe that you have the power to do everything you want to do. I think then it's going to start earlier and earlier. So like my daughter, who's 13, she will walk into a room and she will nail it. I'm scared of her, you know, like, she has the power. She's a beast. But that's why, that's what I think it's important for women to do and not have this narrative that we are cutthroat. And if one woman has it, then I can't. Everyone can have it. There's enough piece of the pie for everyone. And it doesn't have to be a male dominated field in whatever you're doing. It has to be a human dominated field. It has to just say, guess what? I'm here to show up. And I don't care what sexual orientation, race, anything you are. I just care that you show up and you bring something positive to the community. So, yeah. and you show up as your authentic self. Right. We are all so much better when we show up how we are, who we are, and really take up our own space and talk about what we believe and stand behind it. Yeah. And I think plenty of times that we just don't believe in ourselves. And I just really want people to start believing in themselves earlier, because if I did, then I think I know I would have been unstoppable through some earlier trials and tribulations that I had, you know, and I wouldn't have doubted myself more. Sure. Do you think it helps to just listening to you and talking about the confidence? I think a lot of times as women, especially as we're trying to accomplish things in our life, we let what we think, quote, unquote, the failures. We see that as a setback instead of changing that mindset to that failure is actually going to teach me something to make me stronger down the road. You know, we just. When people trip up and fall, we let it. Especially as women, we see that as a personal, like, oh, this is personal for me, you know, and now I'm not who I thought I was. And I think in young girls, too, they see it and they're like, oh, I can't achieve that kind of. We were talking about just even with when I bought my building, you know, she was always like, you should come to WIRED. You know, you own a building. I'm like, no, I don't. Like, oh, yeah, I do. I just, you know, I mean, we don't let that sit in, you know, that way too. But just being able to teach women your failures are going to make you stronger. Don't see it as a failure. I'd like to come up with another word. I have a word. I have a word. Okay. I say it all the time. So every failure, you just sit there and you go, Every failure, it's. You just. You're paying your tuition. Oh, there you go. So every failure you have, you've paid tuition. So when you slipped up and you didn't make the right choice, or let's say you. You lost. Let's say you lost the building or you lost the client or something didn't work out, guess what you did. You paid tuition and you learned something from it. That was a learning experience. And now you know something different. And now you can sit there and. And go, okay, well, that's what happened there. I paid my tuition. Man, it hurts. It hurts to pay tuition. It's money. It hurts. That emotional or sometimes it's even financial. Yeah, School's expensive, but you, you go through it, you learn, you come out better. So. Yeah, I love it. It's you paying tuition. It's a good word picture. Yeah, Yeah, I just, It's a really good. Yes. Yeah. And it's like. And that's. I also, I love being able to see something and like, think, like, just have a little quip and go, okay, nope, we're paying tuition. Do I need to be reminded about that? Yes, I am human, but. Yes, of course. But it's the steps. It's the steps to getting us to the better thing, the greater thing that is going to come. And it shapes us and makes us who we are. Right? So again, going back to the being authentic. Like, how can you be if you're ignoring the parts that maybe you thought were not the best moves, you know, and things that you learn from that got you to where you are. So you just have to kind of accept it. But it's all, again, as women, we kind of internalize all this stuff and we're like battling ourselves because of what we've been taught and how we are seen in the world. But if we actually like show up and do it and own it, then we embrace that power and we become great. I'm a queen of negative self talk. I mean, I will say it. I am, I am the queen of it to myself. And I, It's a really, it's a part they say, like, what, what's what? Don't you like, like, it's that. It's the negative self talk. But just realizing that everyone also, I say constantly, everybody's just worried about themselves. Everybody's thinking about themselves and not even in such way, but like, I'm like worried when I, you know, get here, like, what are they going to think of me? And so you're thinking like, oh, where? What am I going to wear? What am I? Everybody's thinking about themselves. If we all go, okay, you know what, we're okay, we're all thinking about ourselves, so we don't need to worry. I always think of yoga because I always think nobody's looking outside their own mat, right? Like, anytime somebody knew, I mean, I'm not a yogi. I wouldn't say I do yoga for a workout and a good stretch. And honestly, the 5 second nap at the end, Shavasana is why I'm in. But if I bring somebody new to go try it with me and they're not super familiar with it or they're not super sure, I'm always like, Nobody's looking at you. Nobody's outside their own mat. And plus, there's always an out. You can always just say, it's yoga now. I'm gonna use that. I'm used that. It's true. Exactly, exactly. So overcoming some of what you're talking about for me and my career, WIRED has really helped me figure it out. Right. Like, it's the mentors, the women that I look up to and I really respect and I really want to build. Be. Like, when I grow up, you know, they're looking at me and saying, take up your space. What are you doing? Own that. You do own your building, you know, whatever it may be. So we wanted to ask you, as a WIRED member, what do you like about the group? Why were you attracted to it and how did you find it? So when you were saying, like, oh, I own a building, I wanted to say. And I was like, okay, they may bring this up, but I have been asked by one of our agents, Kimmy, and then Annie Presley also, she's a member of WIRED. They've been saying for the last year that I should go. And also, I've been telling you that. Yes, you were also. So, Heather, Heather, Heather, Heather, Heather. Yes. But I mean, yes. Multiple women. Multiple women in my sphere have told me to go, and I have not been able to go. And I think it was just timing, and it was also, once again, like, what do you mean? What. Why would I go do that? Like, what do I, you know, bring to that? And so I went. I mean, I joined very recently, and I mean, I've known about WIRED, up followed WIRED, but officially, like, done that. I went to a coffee hour, and it was magical. It was exactly what I needed at that time. I actually said, though, if I went a year prior, I don't think I would have been in the right head space. Like, I don't know if. I mean, maybe I would have. Maybe it's. That's me validating my. My. My scary attitude. Yeah, but I just don't. I think it was exactly what I needed. It was a group of women of all different ages just sitting there and coming up with ideas and going, well, how do you feel about this? And how do you battle it? And it was one question, and everybody took time to go around, and every answer was different. Everyone had a different take. And then they came up from people answering. I mean, I was taking notes like, oh, my gosh, I never thought of that. And it's the same thing that you're just like, we're able to bounce things off of each other. And it's so. It's magic. I mean, it really is. And I am not big into groups and like the network. I really am not. But that group is magic. And you can tell when people come in, and you can tell, like, just the intelligence that's bursting from that place, like, the power. And I. I feel like I. I feel like they level me up in my confidence and. And just being around them is something that I'm valuing more. I've gone to every bet sense that I can go to. So. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's very energizing. When I leave there. I just feel very, like I can do anything right now. Anything. That if they can do it, I can do it. They believe in me, I believe in them. And you're right. It's not just a networking group. Right. It's definitely. We're very vocal about that. This is not a networking opportunity if you're just coming to chit chat with people. That's not what this is. But there's mentorship in there. There is resources in there, There is community there. And it's. It really, truly is meant to help women, like, rise up even beyond where they already have. Exactly. And I just remember in the early days going there, and I probably didn't necessarily subscribe to it in the beginning and say that these are my women, but I wanted them to be my women. Right. I wanted this to be like my people. And now, no doubt in my mind, those are my favorite people. And I just. There's so many of them that I'm like, she's so cool. You know what I mean? And I just, like, hear about their story. They're certain. Certain people on there that have to me, they are just like, man, it's hard not to idolize it a little bit, but if I can really step back and realize this is a connection that I have, like, a real friendship that I have with somebody who has done so much more than I've ever even, like, thought about doing. And it's just. And they started where I am starting at some point. Right. And they're willing to give it. They're so generous with their time, and they're willing to give me tips and give me resources and connect me to people and the trainings and opportunities, and it's just. It's incredible to be a part of it. And I. And I will also just say for you, also, the value that you bring. Yeah, I appreciate it, but what I'm saying is I'm learning where I fit in still, I feel like I'm a newish member. I'm on the leadership, I'm on the board. You know, I'm the podcast chair. Yeah, I don't feel like that makes you the newest person. No. But I still feel like I'm young in my career. I'm young on absolutely who I am and like figuring it out and just being involved with this group has really helped to, like you said, just own what I bring to the table too. For sure, for sure. It's fun. We are always growing. You're always growing and it's never the perfect. People used to say, oh, there's never a right time. I don't agree with that. I think there is a right time. A year ago, like you said, wasn't going to be the best time for you. But that the moment that you did come and you joined, it was. And I, I think even the coffee we were at the other day, it's like I was the same way. It's like you left and you're like, and a year ago I did visit. It wasn't the right time for me and I left thinking these women are passionate about helping other women grow and it's that want to learn and grow as a person, as a woman, as an entrepreneur. Just all the things that we're passionate about and that they want you to know those things. Do it yourself. We can do it right. So just to reiterate, every month we have two wired events that we want everybody to come to. The first Friday we do our coffee meetup. It's at Chingu Coffee. It's a building that a group of our WIRED women came together and bought an investment property together. So they're one of our tenants. We love supporting them and it's just a meet up to where you get to figure out who's in the room. But also it's a good intro to WIRED. I would say if you're thinking about should I be a part of this or not, it's a good thing to check out. We also do a monthly Happy Hour and with that, our next event actually coming up. Melissa, thank you for hosting. At the westside lounge on August 20 from 4 to 6, we're doing a panel showcasing women that are doing multi million dollar projects development projects right now. So I'm excited. It's going to be inspiring, it's going to be cool and your space is awesome. So I'm looking forward, I'm really excited. Billie's is going to give us treats too. So I'm excited. That's awesome. So, Melissa, do you have anything you want to please plug or anything fun Upcoming? Fun and upcoming? No, I mean, besides the westside Lounge, I would just say, you know, we. I mean, we're also putting things out for a World cup because for businesses wanting to do that, we rent our space out for 125 an hour at the westside Lounge, you know, and it's, it's approachable for everyone. I would just say, if anything, just support your local businesses and your small business owners. And that includes. I don't think people think, but you know, Kansas City Realty is a small business just like your KC Local homes and you know, and I think when we all support each other, then I think we all rise together, so. Absolutely, absolutely. If somebody wanted to rent your space, how would they find it? Like social media or. Yeah, you can go to social media. The westside Lounge on Instagram. There's also the Westside Lounge dot co slash links. You can go there. Okay. Yeah, you can find us anywhere. Or just, you know, walk in and say hi. The. Yeah, you know, just. Just see it. Or if you go to Panther's place, you can kind of see it through the windows there, so. Absolutely. Well, cool. Well, thanks, Melissa, for being here. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for listening to WIRED, where Kansas City's ideas come to life. We hope you left today with something useful, something that you can act on, share, or carry forward with you. And looking forward to our next episode, we have Katie Ramos. She is a commercial real estate agent and WIRED leader. And she's going to come on and talk about the POD project, which is a recent WIRED Group investment. A bunch of women came together and raised over a million dollars for this project that just closed. So it's going to be really exciting and I can't wait to talk to her. Well, subscribe to the show so you don't miss what's next. Yeah. And if this conversation matters to you, chances are it'll matter to somebody else. So share it. See you next time right here on WIRED.