Why Most Leaders SUCK at Building Teams - Kristen Cantrell

The Truth About Building a 7-Figure Real Estate Community - discover how Kristen transformed her real estate career by hosting 50+ annual events and building an authentic female-focused community. As the founder of Connect and Cultivate and Moms of Real Estate podcast, she shares her journey from GoDaddy call center rep to influential community builder who helped grow Real brokerage in Arizona by 150+ agents.

Learn powerful insights about authentic community building, including how to fill event seats, create valuable connections, and build a sustainable personal brand in real estate. Kristen reveals her unconventional approach to recruiting that focuses on relationship-building over traditional sales tactics, and how she overcame the challenges of transitioning between brokerages while maintaining her integrity and growing her influence.

Perfect for real estate professionals, team leaders, and entrepreneurs looking to build genuine communities and scale their influence. Get actionable strategies for hosting successful events, leveraging social media authentically, and creating multiple revenue streams through community building. Kristen's candid discussion about personal branding and business alignment will help you understand what it really takes to build a thriving real estate community.

#realestateconnections #realestatecoach #realestate #realestatesocialmedia #realestateinvesting
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This podcast has been edited and produced by Content by Fabio LLC

Transcript

For anyone who wants to build their brand and their community and you've been struggling to catch momentum on that, then there's probably chances that you're missing out on an opportunity that I've seen Christian do and it's pretty amazing. So if you're an agent, a lender, a title rep and you've been having trouble building that brand building a community through podcast through events through masterminds through Facebook groups is probably one of the most key things that you can do to really make connection with uh your audience and the people who know you like you and trust you And so today, you're gonna meet Kristen, who has done something pretty amazing. She's the founder of Connect and Cultivate and Moms of Real Estate podcast. Um, she helped grow real brokerage in Arizona by influencing probably a 150 agents to make the move to that brokerage. Now that's that's an insane amount of people that she was able to influence make a move. Kristen's a realtor, a mom, a wife. She's great at creating ways to make money. And she's here to show you how building a community can help you grow your business. So I've been watching you and I was telling you before we started this well, you know I I've been watching you grow and I and I connected with you because you and my wife had met um through through some I think through the cabin stuff. Right? I think that was initially maybe that's how you guys met. Oh my gosh. I don't even know. I feel like I can't even remember how I met Tracy, but we definitely connected again because we have cabins by Yes. So you guys met. And, um, and I started seeing your feed. And then I saw, like, this one post where you had left this brokerage that you were at, and you'd been there for a long time. And you were the face, in my opinion, of this brokerage. And so what you were doing is going out to the community and connecting with agents and saying, hey. Bring your business over here. There's a better model. And then you left. And when somebody leaves, I'm always curious about how they do that because there's an entire, um, you know, you you're selling one thing, and then you gotta switch gears and sell something else. Yeah. And hundreds of people moved with you. Yeah. And that doesn't happen through just sheer, um, hey. We got a better platform. It happens through knowing you, liking you, and trusting you. And then I was, like, looking deeper, like, what does she do? And you have a, um, you do these events. Tracy went to one of them that it was in Florida. He's, like, mastermind events that you were doing. And then you have this Facebook group and you do a ton of content. And I was like, well, that's how she's doing it. She's essentially created a tent of value at 2 people that are in the space, and then they come and follow you. And then through that, they're like, hey, Kristen. What should I do? And there's a level of trust. How were you able to build all that? I would love to tell you that I had, like, this master plan, but everything kinda just happened over the last decade. And I would learn as I went. Um, and so I think the biggest thing for me is like when I got into the real estate industry I did not sell real estate. I went in and I was hired to, um, bring agents into the brokerage and retain agents. And so what I learned was, okay, if I'm not the expert I've got to find the expert. And so I built relationships because that's super natural to me with all of the people that people wanted to learn from and I would bring them in and give them a platform to, you know, teach open house classes or to teach how they were doing social media stuff. So I've always, like, from the beginning, known that I don't have to be the expert. I just have to curate the space that people wanna be in and build the relationships with the people that people wanna know. Well, I think a lot of people get this idea in their head that they have to be the expert at every single thing. And then through that creeps in, this impostor syndrome idea that, oh my gosh. I didn't do open houses. So, therefore, how do I teach somebody how to do an open house? And you said, with an insane amount of confidence, I don't have to know that. I'll just connect you with the person that's doing it. Yeah. I didn't realize, uh, what great value it was to people to be the connector. I started seeing how much business was, like, happening around me with me connecting people. And there was a time, like, years into what I'm doing where I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, I'm kinda left out of this. And so I was, like, helping all these people become successful and I had to, like, figure out how I became successful through this. And, um, and thankfully, I figured that out today, but it took me for a a very long time. Yeah. So okay. So there's this idea, right, that, um, I'm in this mastermind and they were teaching us about how the Instagram algorithm has significantly changed from what it was even months ago, where right now, if you open up your your phone, you'll see a lot of videos that are there that are have 0 likes. It's pushing things that it thinks you're gonna like versus things that are really hot right now. Notice that. Yeah. And so what they're saying is what you have to do in order to get noticed and to build your brand is to get people off the platform. Yeah and the way that you do that is through putting them in your tent. So whether you have masterminds whether you have Facebook groups whether you have an email or newsletter, the idea is get somebody to find you through the Instagram or through your your platform, but then get them off and give them more value directly connected. Yeah. And I was thinking the only person in this market in Arizona who's done that, and it sounds like you did it without strategy, which is crazy, is you. And people need to know this because I think you're probably the biggest recruiter at your company right now. Are you? Have you done the numbers on this? I'm definitely not the biggest You should be. I mean, there there's people doing more than what you're doing is is pretty insane. But it's it's pretty remarkable that you have this following of people that know you, like, and trust you. So how do you take what you were doing with this cultivate? Um, what what is it called cultivate? Connect and cultivate. Connect and cultivate, which is a platform where you do masterminds. Right? Kind of. Yeah. It's it's basically, um, it's 2 different things. 1 is it's a space to connect female entrepreneurs to grow in their connections and also in their business, um, locally. And then nationally, it's to help, um, to help females who are ready to build a community in their local market. I guide them on doing that with my brand. That's okay. So you've taken this model and almost like a franchise and said, hey, you can latch into me. Absolutely. Use my name. Yeah. And I'm gonna give you the playbook essentially on what I did. Right? So that's one. But then through that you've taken that and you have the podcast. It's all female driven and then you have this Facebook group probably predominantly female driven. That's all females. It's all females. Okay, so I couldn't even get in if I wanted to and then you out and then and then you're you, you know, manage the properties and you also have, you know, you have a portfolio of of businesses. And then through this, you're you're getting people to then make moves with you to real estate firms Yeah. Without strategy. You just you just like, this has just all kinda happened. Right? Strategy now, but, yeah, there wasn't. It was mostly, like, I've just I think the thing the secret sauce to my success has been that I connect with people and I don't care where they're at. I don't care if they're a top producer or if they're a brand new agent. Like, I try really hard just to, like, get to know them. And somebody actually said this last week I'm like, I love that. That's actually, like, what I try to do is you've got to be interested not interesting. So instead of, like, showing up in a room and being ready to tell everybody about who you are and what you do, listen because they're gonna tell you all kinds of great stuff that you can say how can I help them and how can I either how can I connect them with somebody that's gonna help them? Um, what is it? And then you're able to, like, really connect with them because they're like, she saw me. She heard me. Like, I actually wanna be around her more. So when when you go out to events or when you do, um, your masterminds, what is your target audience that's gonna be in these in the that that that that you get attracted to? Um, I would say, like, the depending on which business we're talking about, but I would say, like, my favorite ideal client would be a top female producing agent. Okay. Yeah. Why is that? Because I feel like they already have a successful business, but they're looking for more. They want connections. They want to have conversations about what's next. Um, they're ready to take that next step. So I feel like those are just the people that I really gravitate towards. Um, that's all of my chapter leaders. They're all high producing agents all over the United States. Um, and I just feel like it's a different conversation than helping somebody that's like, I'm just brand new in my business. Right? And so I like that next step phase. Well, I totally agree. I mean, so you've decided that female is where you wanna spend your time. I mean, I work with guys. I don't want people to think I don't. I love my guys, but my marketing is all to women. Well, well, that's important. I mean, it's just like if you're a, um, if you're a real estate agent and you're predominantly marketing towards, um, investors Yeah. You're still gonna help the 1st time home buyer. Absolutely. Right? Like, you're not gonna say, oh, no. I only help investors, um, especially not in this market. But I think at the end of the day, why it's to specialize is because it really opens up the door to say, I want to be around this energy of my ideal client. And for you, that's a high performing. Um, but a lot of people don't really realize that when they're when they're thinking about their brand and when you when you build your brand, you know, did you even approach it from that perspective? Or it's all in retrospect. You're like, okay. Now I have a brand. Now I have these things. I have a tent. I have these people. And how do I leverage that? I mean, how what how did that how did that work? Well, I mean, for 5 years I was recruiting into somebody else's business and so it was like anyone that breathe was my target market and so that was like definitely hard. Um, but one thing that I did within one thing I learned along the way with moms in real estate was, um, I had a newborn and I had a 1 year old and I was like, I feel like when I cold call agents it was my worst nightmare. Like, I did not I hated it and I would have the most random weird people that would show up at the appointments and I'm like, I don't really connect with them. Like, and I thought like how can I connect with somebody that, like, is in a similar space as me? And so that was moms. And so I was, like, let's do a mastermind where it's called Moms in Real Estate and we'll get together. It's gonna be fantastic. And, um, my mentors at the time, the people that own the company, were, like, you're thinking too small. They're like why don't we do a talk show and you can be like Ellen? And I was like the last thing I want to do is be in front of all these people, like imposter syndrome, right? Like I had not sold anything, um, I would get really really nervous talking in front of people. And so, um, but we so that's why I partnered with the owner of the brokerage on like doing the podcast. So we started the talk show that led into a podcast. Um, and so that was like, oh my gosh I can create my own opportunity to bring in the type of people I want to be around. So that's what my podcast has been. It has been the best door opener for me for 8 years now. I just had a call with a girl out of Rhode Island this morning and I was telling her this. I'm like, podcasting for prospecting is the best thing ever. And I'm like, you wouldn't be on this call if it wasn't for my podcast. Like, I would have never been connected to you in Rhode Island and now you're ready to move to Real from Century 21. And, like, that opportunity, like, yeah, it can happen on Instagram, but it really like, my network has grown through consistently showing up every single week for that podcast. That is that is the way it is. So you did this hack. And this is what I love about you because what I strategize to do, you've already done more from just an innate trying to hustle. Right? So, like, we all I have these hacks. So I'll I'll share one hack with you is I created this podcast because I was out of content. I was like, I need more content. Yeah. So how cool would it be if I could just create content by asking a question and having somebody else answer that question? And then that's a piece of a 5 minute or 5, you know, clips that I can pull from a 1 hour segment. And maybe that'll work. Right? And so but through that, then the podcast became a life of its own that, no, I actually really enjoy meeting people and connecting and learning. And maybe I can teach, you know, through this podcast. So then it switched over to breakthrough. But you what you did on there, I wanna repeat this. Like, you were cold calling. Randos. Right? And people don't understand what it's like to cold call. Yeah. Because you have to have a level of rejection, you know, skill set that, you know, you just know you're gonna get. It's it's for me, it's like, how many no's can I get today? Yeah. And what this platform by podcasting, by picking a a lane that you're gonna be in, has allowed you to now attract people Yeah. Than to chase people. Yeah. Now I would imagine that you still got a prospect every now and again. But you can pluck people out of your communities to say, hey. We really connect. Let's go meet and see if there's a way we could help each other versus we've never met. You have no idea what I'm about. I don't even know if you have kids, but let's go meet. That's a weird It's it's hard. And I I did it for so long, um, where I was in a a spot of, like, just chasing. And I feel like it took I want anyone to know, like, it takes a long time of that of doing that where you're planting those seeds for all of a sudden it to be inbound. And, like but it's so great when you, like, stay consistent with something. I know that's, like, everyone says be consistent. But, I mean, 8 years you guys have been showing up for this podcast. Like, it took a long time. 8 years? 8 years. Um, and I didn't start, like, really seeing how much it benefited my business for probably 3 years into it. Mhmm. So I just, like, I always wanna stress, like, it takes a while, but you don't have to chase people if you do a good job with how you show up. Even with the podcast, like, it's not just about right here. It's about what's their experience before right here and then what's their experience afterwards? Like, what do you have to plug them into once they leave your podcast? And so that's something like where I have retreats, I have masterminds, like and I had to take myself where I'm not just like I'm super local to Gilbert, Arizona. However, um, when I realized like okay I have this nationwide audience, how am I showing up for them? How can we be in business together? And that's why being, um, at a platform like Real is so beneficial is because I automatically walked into a nationwide business when I joined. Right? And so I had that when I joined eXp too. And so you've gotta ask yourself, like and that's why I do retreats out of state. Like, these girls that are in Florida wanna hang out. These girls that are, you know, in Rhode Island might not wanna fly all the way out here. So I have to do stuff all over the place. That is crazy. So when you think about, you know, if you had to go back in the last 5 years let's just go the last 5 years. And if if you had to coach yourself on how to do it faster, What are some of the things that you would do just out the gates if you were starting, you know, 5 years ago, didn't have the platform that you have today? Um, you're still doing a podcast. You're just kind of scraping by. Like, just I'm just gonna show up this whole, you know, have some end result. What would you say to yourself today? Like, what can somebody who's listening do today that would really help them build their brand? Um, I think a couple things that I'll I'll touch on would be, like, clarity would be huge. Um, so understanding, like, why am I building a community? Why am I like, who is it specifically that I'm talking to? What's my goal with doing this? Um, what are the different opportunities when somebody's in community to work with me? And then the other thing would be, um, again, I'm gonna go back to consistency. So one thing I, um, I'll coach coach my girls on is, okay. If you're going to bring a Connect and Cultivate chapter into your local market, what does that mean? How are you gonna show up for them over the next 12 months? Because you have to say, okay. I'm gonna do 12 content creation days, 12 coffee and co working days. I'm gonna do marketing meetups every single quarter. I'm gonna do workshops every quarter. Whatever it is, like, whatever your value proposition is, you need to identify that so that you can go into the marketplace and be like, this is how I'm showing up. Not like, oh, I'm randomly doing this here. I'm randomly doing this there. And then when you have that consistency, the events aren't this, like, monster every time. It's like, oh, I'm doing a content creation and paste every time it makes it easier. The easiest thing, but it's so valuable because we've been doing it for so long that we've just, like, mastered it. So it's it's actually, like, everyone will be like, how do you do that many things? I'm like, I can't tell you how many events I show up to, and I'm like, k. How many people RSVP'd? And I'm gonna just, like, roll in, and I know what I'm doing, and everyone loves it. So it's it's just you wanna identify that. And then How many events do you think you're doing a year? Sorry to interrupt, but how many events do you think you'll pull off in a year locally? Locally? Uh, my gosh. Probably 50 to 70. You'll do 50 to 70 events a year Mhmm. Offering value in the community with a target audience of moms in real estate. Right? Like, I mean, other people show up, but, like, ideally, you're targeting because that's who you whose follows you Yeah. Is most likely a mom. Well, locally, it's, uh, female entrepreneurs. Nationally, it's moms in real estate. Okay. So locally, it's so you don't you're not just, um, pigeonholing this to or or really strategically saying just real estate. You're any any female entrepreneur. Yeah. Do you want me to tell you how I got there? Yeah. Let's talk about that. So when in 2020, I was told our brokerage is gonna close down, and I had to start my own business. And so this is not that long ago. And so, again, I had been, like, doing recruiting and retention and, um, can I go back on something real quick? Okay. Wait. We're gonna we're gonna slow this down. Okay. I don't wanna yada yada yada do this. Right? Because this this might even turn into a breakthrough moment for you. K. But you're you're crushing it. You're the main person on this brokerage. I'm not. In my opinion, you were because you were the one that people knew that were high. So from a community, like, I build a narrative that lives in my head. But I think it's shared with more than one person that this this group of people, you were the main person going out there and building realtors that were coming to work there. And so one day to the next, you're like, you're out or you this we're shutting down. We're what what was that? What was that like? Like, talk to me. Like, you're talking about in 2020 when we shut yeah. So I mean, gosh, that had been 5 years of, um, of bringing agents into that brand. And we were like a really great great great broker. That's why it was so weird that you guys were were shutting it down. Yeah. But Crazy. And I was super upset. I cried, and I literally was like, oh my gosh. Like, what's everyone gonna think? And I'm such a people pleaser too. So I'm like, I've told all these people. They've come, um, you know, but then the owner actually like told me, like this is the future of real estate. Like if we do not make this move, like where are we gonna be in 5 years? And at the time it was like hard for me to wrap my brain around that. Now looking back to almost 5 years, like I don't know, like, a lot of indie brokerages, I don't know how they're making it because the competition is so insane when you're looking at a company like Real. The margins are so low. Oh my gosh. And just like you can't compete. So it's like almost like if you can't beat them, join them. And so I get it now. And the move that they made, like, although it was so hard and there was so much shit talking along the way, like, we it was it was devastating for me. Like, I felt like I was getting broken up with for 6 months because people be like, I'm not going there. I'm going Oh, dude. That's the yes. So let's talk. There's so many routes we can go here, but what you're what you're saying is the the the company was going going in a different direction. Yeah. And then everybody scatters like roaches, and blood is in the water at this point. And so you have every recruiter that's in a real estate company hitting everybody up, like, and so you who who got somebody there Yeah. They decide to go a different direction. You take it personal. Totally. Because for whatever reason, that's how you're built. I'm the same way. Like, if somebody leaves me, they're not necessarily leaving me, but that's how it feels. If I have gone through hundreds of breakups Yeah. That, like, for 24 hours, I'm like, what did I do? What did I say? Replaying every conversation. And you have to build a protective shield around yourself. Yeah. But at the end of the day, it still hurts the same. Like It still hurts. I would say, like, you know, again, like, almost a dick decade into doing this. Like, it is so much easier today if somebody decides to go. You're like, cool. You you but it does. But usually yeah. But usually, I'm like, I have a conversation. I'm like, hey, that, like, makes sense for you. And, like, I support you and love you and, like, whatever. Come back if you want to. And the cool thing is watching people come back. That's the greatest thing. That is. And that that to me, I'm like, hey, keep doing that because I've had breakups that have gone, like, where I've been completely immature in it. Don't wait. Let's talk about it. Absolutely. I am such a bitch about this because I have been, like, you're dead to me. Yeah. We're never talking again. And then, like, 3 months ago, I'm, like, how are you guys doing? Do you know? Like, it's so funny how it switches. But but going through that like that maturity level of learning how to cope with you know somebody making a decision that at the time they believed was the right thing for them and their family to now you're part of that is because, you know, you have a pipeline of people that you're talking to that's probably deeper than it was before. Yeah. I always say to somebody like, you don't care about you're losing this deal. The only reason you care about this deal you're losing is because you don't have 10 others in the pipeline. Yeah. So let's go build 10 others in the pipeline. Absolutely. Yeah. That's a great thing for people to take away. Yeah. Um, but, yeah, I definitely like, I can't I can just tell you it's been something that's been, like, hard that I have gotten thankfully to where I am today. Um, where like, there's so many people out there. I feel like I tell myself that all the time and, like, I'm not gonna be everyone's person. Or the other super important thing is, like, I attach myself to a specific person or a specific company that might not be for them. And that doesn't mean that they're leaving me. Maybe they don't like those people or they don't like the company. So for me, alignment, like, when I moved to Real, um, I, like, did a lot of research because I was, like, I have got to be with somebody that aligns with my brand because my tagline was you can sit with us. And I was at a company where I felt like constantly it was like you can't sit with us because you're not on my downline. Oh, wow. Okay. Okay. Yeah. And so all of a sudden I was like, okay. And so I You realize that alignment wasn't there. Yeah. And I just put it on the back burner. I was like, you know what? I'm gonna put, like, building my downline like completely to the side. I'm gonna go focus on building, connect, and cultivate, which I'm so thankful for because it allowed me to like really pour in and build that leg of my business out. But, um, when I learned about Reel's culture, I was like, holy crap, like that is so on point with what I believe in. And the more, like, just going over there and the more I, like, really tap into, like, Sharron and Tamir and the leadership there, I'm like, this is what it's all about. Like, it's such an abundant mindset and it's such a like, no, if you're gonna say you're gonna do that for them you're gonna do it for everybody. And I'm like, yes, like I love that. So it was, um, it's actually a lot of like unlearning where I'm still we talk about this a lot because there was a handful of us in my organization that were at the old company that came over to Real. And so it was just like we're all unlearning, like, building these, like, silos where it's like, no. You're building this as your value proposition. And if someone's over here, they can't come to it. They don't get this. So we're not allowed to do that at Real. Say that again. You're not allowed to do that. You're not allowed to, like, build out basically, um, like, where I like, for example, if I had a coaching program and I'm like, oh, I'm gonna charge $1,000 if you wanna buy into this. But if you join me at Real, you get it for free. You can't do that. You can't do that. Yeah. That that levels a playing field. Yeah. Well, it also it you don't have the barriers anymore. So it's just really nice. Like, I had a girl, she's part of Connect and Cultivate locally and she's like, I am so sad, like, I didn't join I didn't have you as my sponsor, like, blah blah blah. I'm like, hey. It doesn't matter. Like, you can come to any of my stuff. I don't care who your your sponsor is. And so she's just, like, feel so good. And I'm like, I never want someone to feel like, oh, I'm so sad I'm at a company because I didn't go with the right people. I just saw that happen too often. So it's nice that really you don't you don't have that. That's really good. Now were you there? Did you join? I don't know the backstory on real. Okay. What I do know is that real showed up out of nowhere, and it's probably one of the biggest brokerages. Yeah. And I, um, I had an opportunity to see, uh, Sharon speak at a mastermind that I'm a part of. Okay. And he's also really good friends with the person that runs a mastermind. So he yeah. So he is very much involved in a lot of the the discussions they have. And I'm just amazed with, you know, his, um, his mindset and and the way that he's built this business on. We're just gonna bring people in and just go bonkers on training them and really giving them, you know, what what realtors need is coaching and development. And were you was Sharron there when you came in? Or did he come in? Okay. So how did you hear about real? Like, what got you there? I'm I'm so curious about that. Well, actually, at first, I lost a group of a 100, um, from e x p to Real. So So you were like, okay. What's going on here? And I actually tell the group this because we're still friends, um, and I was like when he told me I'm like, well, that's a stupid idea. Like, we're literally, like, far ahead of where Reel's at. Why would you ever do that? And so I was like, whatever. And I just put my head down and worked. And then, um, I had this happen like a couple times and then there was, um, my friend, Brandy, who runs the Moms in Real Estate Group with me, she was like, did you see that Dustin Broham moved from eXp to Real? And I was like, I don't even know who that is. She's like, well, I want to find out why he moved. And I was like, well and he had 350 people. And I was like, well, I have 250 people right now and I want to know, like, what would that look like? Because I gotta quit putting my head down and saying it's the same because obviously it's not. So you finally decided. I gotta figure that out. Yeah. I heard that. I was like, okay. Because I had had, like, enough things happen. Um, I was like, maybe it's not the same. So that was like, I went from being completely closed minded to, okay, I'm open. Tell me about it. And when I listened, I was like, well, shit. That's better. And I wanna be there. And it was, like, for it was when I was on that call, I was, like, it was specifically for me and my brand. And then I went and looked at it again from, like, what if I was a new agent? What if I was a team leader? What if I was a solo producing agent? What if I was an influencer? And it just, like, every single part of it, I was, like, I can see the future of what I'm doing and what they need, and it's there. There's nothing better than when you're in alignment with the company you're in. Yeah. And the leadership believes and they're doing it. Like, Sharron is not going out and saying, hey. Maybe you guys should market yourself on social media. He's on social media, and he's marketing like crazy. And then he's coming in and saying, if I were you, here's what I would be doing. Yeah. And that's exactly what you have taken as well. And you're taking people and you're putting them in front of, you know, realtors. Like, I think I saw that you were doing a live event the other day or you were doing, you know, you're always helping people to learn and grow in their business. And then through that, at some point, they're gonna say, well, what do you tell me about Real? Yeah. And you're like, yeah. I'd I'd love to. And this is not, like, a a bad way to do business. This is, like, probably a perfect way to do business. This is this is what I thought was gonna happen, um, too. This is one of the things I was, like, my ideal client is interested in real. And so again, there's there's like nothing wrong with eXp. I think it's like a fantastic company and especially if it aligns with your brand. And I'm not saying because it didn't align with mine that it's bad. Okay? So I want to, like, specify that for any of my friends that are there that are might be listening. But what I am saying is, like, when I aligned myself and what I believed in with a company that was in alignment, all of a sudden these people that have been, like, in community with me that were not interested in that company, all of a sudden were like, Kristen, tell me about this. I've been looking at it and it just opened up all this opportunity. I mean, just to give you an idea for anyone that's grown an organization, like, I never hit 40 frontline agents. So that means I personally sponsor 40 people. Um, I hit probably, like, 33 was, like, the most and I've been at Real since May. So under that's 6 months today. Yeah. And I have over 40 frontline agents. And so it's just, like, it is so much easier for me because it's just like, people are like, tell me about it and it fits and it works and it's like, this is like Well, okay. So let's talk about that because I don't think people and I want people who are listening to really connect the dots on this. So you have a Facebook group that was dedicated for moms in real estate. Yep. Right? You have a podcast that's dedicated to moms in real estate. And then you have this, uh, cultivate, which is for female entrepreneurs. Yeah. And so you've definitely picked the lane of where you wanna be. And then through that, you also recruit and help connect the dots for people that are real estate agents through a company called real. But all those things have synergies with each other. And it opens up the conversation to be like, okay, well, where are you at? Yeah. And why are you there? Yes. And then it's like, okay. You wanna have that conversation. Now let's sit down and talk about it. And let's see if it's a good fit for you. But that has allowed you to stop the rat race of cold calling. Yeah. Right? I will not cold call. Okay. So message people on Instagram. If I see somebody, I'm like, I vibe with them. Yeah. They I'll message them all day long. Same. Yeah. But, um, and and and usually, if we talk enough times or I I'm, like, connecting with their, um, Instagram, then I might pick up the phone or I may say, hey. Are you down to talk? Right? Or whatever the case is. But how many well so let me go back to that. So you you you've been able to because you've created events and because you've created masterminds and you've created everything that you've created, you've now been able to attract people to you, which is flip the script on and the confidence level to connect with somebody is different because you could say, I vibe with your stuff. Yeah. I've been watching you for months. This is amazing. That's a different conversation in a cold call. But also, like, one thing that was really important to me was when I'm being interested in not, uh, or being interested in not interesting is, like, if I if real isn't the fit for them, there's so many other opportunities. I wanna, like, make sure people know that. So, like, don't just have the one thing. Listen to what people are asking for and create the other things that they're asking for. Absolutely. If I talk to somebody and being a broker is a better opportunity for them, I'd be like, man, just go be broker then. Yeah. You know, if you wanna work from home and you want a better rate sheet or you wanna, you know, then work from home, like, and go do that. It you it's not a good fit, but you gotta have those options to where to route somebody. Um, but I think if I was you know, let's just say, because a lot of my audiences, uh, is lenders and real estate agents and predominantly leaders of of groups, uh, people. And I always encourage them to, like, get onto the community, build a build a a brand for yourself. And if you were brand new starting, where would you start with that? Like, if you had to say, okay. I'm wiping the slate clean. I'm moving to Wyoming. Mhmm. What would you do to get, you know, build rebuild what you did here, and how would you do it? Yeah. So I think the gosh. I haven't thought about this question. So starting brand new, I think that the biggest thing I would do is find out who I needed to know in that local market, and I would make sure that I was able to go have coffee or wine. How would you do that? Like, how would you I would find people on Instagram. I mean, I feel like Instagram is my go to for everything. So you go to Instagram. You're like, who does real estate in Wyoming? Yeah. And who do I need to know? And then I would literally just message them and be like, hey. I really like your page. I'm new here. I would love to grab coffee with you. Okay. Yeah. And so I think Are you nervous about that? Or is that just like, I gotta I gotta hustle that's how I'm gonna write me back. I probably forgot I wrote them. Like, I it's honestly, like, I do look at their profile and I'm like, k. I've like I said, like, I vibe with them. I'm gonna write them, but I used to worry about that. Now I do not care at all. Like, what's the worst thing that could happen? They don't write me back or they say, no. I don't have time. Okay. There's plenty of people, so I'll go find the next person that I need to know. But then I'll ask the people that I need to know, like, who I can who they think I should know. So you've gotta, like, keep spreading it. Mhmm. Yeah. And then I would just, um, start painting a picture of what I wanna build there. So I talk about this a lot with my girls is, like, you have got to be boots on the ground having conversations with people and you've got to like say hey I'm so excited about something that I'm doing. I'm gonna be creating this, this, this, and this and like I would love for you to be a part of it. Like do you see that being anything that you would be into? Mhmm. Um, so just painting a picture and then I would also I think if I was brand new in a community, I would there's a friend of mine, Cody in Michigan that does this and she's like a wing woman to events. So I would go find the local events and I would reach out to person hosting it and be like, hey. Is there any way that I could, like, help you? Is there anything that you need help with? I can invite people. I can do this, that, the other thing. Become valuable to your community. If somebody said that to me, I'd be like, you wanna help me with my event? Like, hell, yes. And that person's gonna stand out to me. And so 100%. Yeah. I would I would spend a lot of time intentionally putting myself in the rooms that are already created. Um, and You would intentionally put yourself in rooms that are already created. Yeah. That's the that's it right there. That's it. I mean, that's super I mean, anybody who's starting out, who's on the up and coming, who wants to build a community is get into rooms. Yeah. My gosh. It sounds so easy. Right? But people people don't do it. Yeah. But no, you laugh at I think you what did you do before all this? Just out of curiosity. What what was what word? Give me the history. Yeah. So I, um, I owned a vending machine company that was better than college for me. It was a big learning lesson. So I would fill up vending machines at construction sites. I had a 68 machine route. Sold it when I moved back to Arizona, and then I worked for GoDaddy, uh, and had my kids, and then that's when all this started. So you were at GoDaddy hustling the phones? Oh my gosh. The worst job in the whole world. Yeah. People loved working there. I mean, people loved it and hated it, but I I think call centers just suck, period. Yeah. They suck. And they're teaches you how to connect. It's like sorry to interrupt. But, like, I think that being in a call center for me taught me how to understand where conversations were going faster Yeah. Than most. Because you're you're fast forwarding life. Like, you're you're dealing with a 100 of people a day. Yeah. I'm just, you know, where is this going? And by the end of it, I knew I know it. I know where this is going. Yeah. You can predict. Um, but but tell me about that experience. Like, why did you hate it so much? Oh my god. You're so micromanaged. It was like, gosh. If you, like, went and got up and peed, you could lose your commission. Like, I Yeah. I was just like, this is, like, not me. Bananas. Yeah. I have, like, PTSD from that job. So you left? Yeah. And then I I literally was like, I'm never going back there. So I I started a, um, a company called Bones and Berries where I was making binky clips, and I did, like, t shirts and I spent way more money than I I made. And my husband's like, dude, you gotta get a job. And I'm like, what am I gonna do? And so I I mean, that whole period was so interesting. And I went to a bachelorette party, met a girl named Courtney who's actually moving to real with me full circle. I met with her again yesterday. Um, and she said, um, she's like, hey. I know this couple that's hiring a recruiter. I'm like, I could probably do it. And so I went and met with the owners of the company, and, um, the wife didn't even like me. And the husband's like, let's give her a chance, and I got hired. And that's how it started. And that's how it started. And I honestly like, for me, I've always, like, I've I've been lucky. Like, I loved and believed in what they were building, and so it was, like, easy for me to sell that company. Um, and then when I trusted them and moved to eXp, I really loved eXp. And I was like, oh, this is great. Like, I love what we're doing. And I just fell out of love. So I had to fall into love with something else. So I feel like you have to, like, actually believe in anything that you're selling. So, um, um, yeah. That's So let me ask this question because I think, um, a lot of people that are listening are also recruiters. Mhmm. Are, you know, it's a part of their that skill set is a part of their their position. What are some things that you would say are key things that if you're recruiting, you gotta be able to do x y z? What are what are some of the tips you would say? I mean, you have to be a relationship builder. You think the reason recruiting has such a bad rap is because people suck at it. Like, they literally it's like that you can think of that, you know, Keller Williams recruiter that call or whatever company that calls you and, like, lies to you and gives you the scripts that I hated doing when I started and you're like this person's full of shit. So I think that if you can just do a good job of figuring out how you're getting in front of people and being genuine and providing value to them and keep it like, once they're in your ecosystem again, like, what is the way that they're staying you're staying top of mind because they're gonna be unhappy at their brokerage one day. You wanna make sure when they're unhappy that you're the person that they're gonna say, okay. I wanna know more about where you're at. But everybody wants the quick and easy. I'm either gonna go with you or I'm not gonna go with you. Yeah. And then And you never like that. No one's gonna be that quick. And when they do, honestly, you're like, what's gonna happen? It's so true. You yeah. I this is this I'll tell you a quick story. So first off, anybody that I hire that lasts long, it's it's been a year in the making. Mhmm. Right? Or it could be years in the making of us meeting and going through it. And so anybody that I meet today, it's I'm looking at 2026, 2025. Right? But now it's time to build it. And that's, like, the earliest part of my pipeline. But when somebody call I had a guy the other day that called me, or he just emailed me, cold emailed me. So I'm looking at bringing my company over to you. I'm closing down my brokerage. And I literally was like, this is not going anywhere. Yeah. You're like, what's yeah. When somebody chases me, it's like that. Something's off here. You know? When it's that easy. When it's that easy. And by the way, we got it on track, but it, like, fell apart. As soon as it started, it fell apart. And then it took a lot to get it back on track. And we got it on track, and now we're in a good place. But but when when you don't spend the time to slow and sometimes it makes sense to slow it down. Like, well, hold on. Like, I'm not in a rush. Yeah. Let's take our time and vet this out to make sure it's the right fit because I don't want you I don't this is the last stop if we do this right. And I I think for you explaining it, like, you said it earlier. It's like, be interested, not interesting. Yeah. You know, spend a lot of time getting to know the hopes and dreams of the individual, not the tactical things that happen, like how what's commission and how do the splits work and all that stuff is what do you really want and what's really important to you? And can I help you? Because I can't help everybody. Yes. And like you said, have other options. And Yeah. And then also, like, leverage because if if I can't like, I I don't not that I don't wanna help a new agent. I feel like that's coming across the wrong way, but I'm not gonna help somebody write a contract because that's not where I live. Right? So I wanna make sure that I have partners and the people around me so that if I can't, they can and they can still be in my ecosystem. So I have a lot of team leads I work with for that reason is, like, I have new agents that reach out to me and I'm able to say, hey. I have amazing teams, amazing mentors, and I'm gonna hook you up with. It blesses You're a connector. You're a connector. Them. It blesses me. It blesses them. So it's like if you wanna make sure you have that leverage. If you can't do something, who can you partner with that can? Because, again, you don't wanna miss out on that opportunity. The most successful people in in our business that I know that are crushing it are connectors. They're just, like, always thinking of ways to help. And I'll even challenge you on something because I think that, um, I was surprised of how much you wanted to work with my wife because she does not do real estate for, like, the consumer. Yeah. She's licensed to do it for our family. So it's like transaction here and there just so we can save a little bit of money and, uh, in the, um, or tax benefit or whatever. But you've always connected with her and been like, hey, come to this event, come to this event or come with me here. And I think you just when you latch on to somebody that's the right energy that you're looking for, you're willing to help them. And I think that you're not just looking for people that are big performers. You're looking for the right energy. If if I might get my tapping the right There's literally, like, uh, lots of big performers that I will not pursue because I'm like the thought of working with them and what comes with that. Like, I'm in a spot where I can say no. Let's talk about this for a second because you and I are in, like, in so it's agree on so many things. I'd rather hire $10,010,000,000 producers than $100,000,000 to producer. And the reason for that is because I think that there's sometimes a you become like that. There's a there's a high level of urgency that for every quest they have that you have to be there. Yeah. And it's sometimes it's not feasible. It's it's it's not worth your mental health Yeah. To be to be on someone's beck and call and, you know, be, um, managed that way. Yeah. I I don't know. That doesn't work for me. But to take somebody from 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 and they're, like, completely loyal Mhmm. And there's a reciprocal relationship, then it's, like, added value. Yeah. Um, and I think that there's a big thing to say about that as well. Yeah. And I think, like, even when you talk about your wife and, like, you know, not being a big producer, like, just stop looking at people with their numbers. And I think that that's been a big thing too is, like, um, yes. Obviously, like, I am gravitated towards, like, high producing female people for my chapter leaders. But, yeah, when I'm entering into conversations with people, like, I am not worried about how many transactions they do. I just wanna know, are you a good person? Do I wanna be around you? Yeah. I can always tell, like, it's even if somebody's not doing great right now. Mhmm. I'll look at their Instagram and know that through authenticity Mhmm. Where they're gonna go. And I remember seeing a guy and telling one of my managers, like, that guy is doing nothing right now. But if you get them now, they're gonna be a monster in 2. And they were a monster in 2 years based on what they were doing. But you can tell from the authenticity where it's gonna go. Yeah. And it all goes back to I vibe with them or I don't. And this is what I think people miss. Our loan officers, um, real estate agents miss the fact that you being on social media gives your audience a chance to get to know you. And so, like, one of the things about you that I'm not, you have something in your brain that I don't have that is very critical to your brand. It is that you don't necessarily what I would say, play safe. K. Like, I don't wanna alienate anybody. You don't give a fuck. You're like Yeah. This is who I am. I'm letting it out. And I think that following your stories gave me an opportunity to get to know who you were. Yeah. And I was like, she's cool. Like, she's pretty dope. Like, I didn't understand it. Yeah. But as I watched your stuff, I was like, I need to get her on our podcast because I think people can really learn from what you've done. But, Christian, no one's doing what you're doing. Like, I don't know anybody in our market who's doing 50 events for women, 50 events. So what are some of the things like, let's talk about events real quickly. So people hate events, because the hardest thing about events is filling seats, and you talk about this a lot. Oh, yeah. Butts and seats. Butts and seats is the hardest. So what do you what is your game plan? Like, what do you do to get people in seats? Okay. So do not just post on social media. Like, even if you're an influencer, it's not gonna fill seats on. It's not gonna fill seats. So you and I even have a girl who has, like, 90,000 followers and has an event and is giving free tickets right now. Like, uh, I think the biggest thing is put it on social media consistently, but also have personal invites. Have a list of people that you can give free tickets to because you're wanting to be in relationship with them or they're influential or whatever. This is so good. So I'm gonna just gonna break it down. Yeah. Break it down. You got your your your posting. Right? That's one way, but that's not filling seats. Mhmm. You gotta be very fill some seats for sure. You what's really weird is I did an event. Did, like, a $100,000 event. Uh-huh. The VIP sold it one day, and then nothing. And then nothing happened after that. I was giving away seats because I just didn't know I didn't have any of the so and then last minute everyone's buying those tickets. Yeah. And he call everybody right? You got to call you got to DM. But then you said have a bucket of seats that you're going to give to the people that you want to be in a relationship with. And I didn't think about that. I didn't think about like, whole 35% or whole 20% or whole 10% aside. I think that's hugely key to say, look, I'm selling seats, but I'm giving this to you because I I want you in the room. Yeah. Absolutely. And depending on the event, like, I do not do this for every event. But if there is an event that it makes sense for, like, we will put them if it's a free event. So let's say it's an event for me just to build my network. Um, if somebody RSVPs, I put them on a calendar invite. Like, I wanna make sure they come because if somebody RSVPs for a free event, like, think about it. You have, you know, 40 people that RSVP and 20 show up and it's, like, it's so hard to gauge when you're doing all the things as an event planner. So one thing that will get your attendance rate up is just go to your Google calendar invite, answer who, what, when, where. So that calendar invite needs to be like totally sharp. So yes, they're gonna get the confirmation and the emails and all the things but also if you know that most entrepreneurs live by their calendar, it's gonna be blocked out on their calendar. And so That's true. So then they go in and, like, they're it's on there. I love that. No. That's that's one of the easiest things that I missed. Mhmm. Um, I'm I'm on a NARET board. Uh-huh. And I always get double booked on a day of an event because nobody put it on our calendar. And I'm like, guys, you gotta put this on a calendar. Like, because I you know, I'm working 2 different businesses. And so I live and die by my calendar, but I never thought about the attendees Yeah. That you gotta get them on the calendar invites. And then also, like, your email marketing around your event has to be on point. So I don't care if you told them where they're gonna go and answered who, what, when, where, why, and email 1. Email or answer it in every single email and have it the day before and the day of so that it's fresh in their inbox so they're not, like, oh, my gosh. I don't know where it's at and they're messaging you. So, like, every event that we do we have, like, literally emails that will go out. And the other part is, like, if you're able to create an experience beforehand and afterhand just like the podcast, um, it just deepens your connection with people. It also adds value to your speakers. It also adds value to your sponsor partners because they're seen before anyone walks in the room and they're seen afterwards too. Oh, I love this. This is amazing. Like, that clip for anybody throwing an event is super powerful. Because for somebody who's doing 50 to 60, um, do you do you sweat it if you don't get if you get low attendance? Are you just on to the next? No. I'm actually like, I love micro events. So, like, sometimes I, like, low key don't market my events because I'm, like, I want, like The 5 people that really care. Yeah. For sure. So depending on, like, I love a round table of 12. Like, that is definitely my spot. Yeah. My retreat coming up has 25 girls flying in from all over the place, and I'm like, oh, I was like hoping this is gonna be more like 12. So it's like there's just it's just a different room. Mhmm. Um, but it's, um, it's just definitely my sweet spot. Do you ever think about, like, potentially doing an exclusive event? Mhmm. Like, you have your general public events. Mhmm. And then you have these, like, really exclusive small round tables that have a higher price point. Like, I think people will be like, the VIP stuff. People are willing to pay 12. I sold $1200 seat tickets. Yeah. And then I couldn't sell the $400 seat tickets. Like, it was just insane. My most expensive thing that I offer is the easiest thing for me to sell. It's crazy. Why is that? I don't know. Yeah. Um, but, yeah, I definitely like, I have, um, a business set up with my tax strategist and we definitely wanna do that. We just have there's just so much to do. Who's your tax strategist? Barb Shreehan is your tax coach. That's who I use. Yeah. I I I think we met him through the event. Through my retreat. Yeah. So good. Yeah. They're amazing, by the way. Yeah. So plug for them. Yes. Them. So me and Barb have a company called its Hive House, and it is exactly what you're saying. So it's like a higher end exclusive mastermind that will maybe happen one day. Well, so I wanna get to this because I don't wanna miss out on this opportunity with you. And first off, you've been amazing. Thank you. I love the the the nuggets that you're giving our audience because this is exactly what people need to be doing. And it's hard. It's not easy. I mean, like, to start today and say, I wanna build a brand and then immediately go to events and building these micro things, but start with one thing and then execute. But the entire podcast is this idea that, you know, water boils at 212 degrees, and there's a moment that happens right before then in people's lives that before they start to break through, there's a breakdown. And I wanna know about you. Like, what happened right before you were, like, okay. I gotta change my mindset. I gotta do something to pull myself out of a hole. And tell us about that story if you're open to it. Yeah. So I would say, like, that was really, really hard for me because, um, I'm a very loyal person and, um, I, like, don't ever I'm a people pleaser. I don't wanna let people down. And so When you say that, leaving? Yeah. Like, leaving one company to go to another. Um, you know, it was, like, 8 years that I had not done that. You know? So it was for me, it was, um, I had to, like, remind myself it's okay to make a decision for me, um, and it doesn't need to be, like, a negative thing. And so I just had to figure out, like, um, gosh. I don't even know how to explain. It was it was still hard for me. Like, it was really, really, really hard in the moment, um, but I had to be true to myself. And I had to ask myself if I'm gonna move to the next level and I'm gonna do what I need to do in order to, like, grow the way that I want to and what's best for my family, then I need to put myself first, and that's okay. Are you doing this alone? Like, are you meditating on this? Are you thinking about it by yourself? Or are you No. I'm a you have, like, an elder. You have a you have an inner circle of people that you're talking to and Yeah. Getting advice from? I'm very open. Like, if I'm thinking about something, anyone that's next to me that will listen will know. Like so I definitely, like, have the conversations. I have the conversations with, um, yeah, I have a lot of really good friends that run businesses, um, that I would definitely go to for this kind of stuff to understand it. Um, but, yeah, I don't do anything alone. And so when you came to it and you finally were like, okay. Now it's time to communicate that I'm leaving. What was that like? Was it how you envisioned it? Mhmm. Yeah. It was it was definitely, um, it was definitely, like, how I thought it might go down but then, um, worse. Did you do it in person or did you do it over the phone or text? I did it. I did initially was a email and it said I wanna get all of this out because I didn't think I was gonna be able to in person. I don't I don't do well with, um, conflict with certain things. And so I knew that if I had done it in person, it would have been this whole thing where I would not have been able to get across what I was thinking. So I was like, and I started with my first sentence is literally, like, I gotta get this out and then I wanna follow it up with, like, a conversation. That's a really good way to do it because it gets your feelings. When you get in a situation when you're live with somebody, they'll either interrupt you or they don't let you get through each point because they wanna they wanna rebut for, you know, each each thing that you're saying. So you gotta get it all out and then say, yeah. Like, but if you wanna talk, I'm open. Yeah. You know? And so did you do the the follow-up talk in person? Yes. And how was that? It it was hard, but it was it went really, really well at the end. Like, really well. So you walk out right after this conversation, get in your car. Mhmm. You take a deep breath. And what was that like? Like for you? Like, what what went through your mind? Um, I just I mean, I felt very grateful for the conversation. Like, I mean, there I don't I don't ever wanna let people down, and that's not what I was trying to do. So I think the biggest thing was, like, I never have, like, ill intent towards somebody. And so I just always, like, I'm not gonna do anything the perfect way. Um, but my heart was in a good spot, and I was trying my hardest. Um, and could I have done something a different way? Sure. But I feel like I went in about it the way that, like, felt the best to me, um, without trying to hurt anybody. Um, so yeah. And now looking from the other side, right, at coming through and making that decision, was it the right decision for you? Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah? Mhmm. You feel like you've built something different than that you could put your name on and be proud of? Yeah. I didn't know I had a weight on my shoulder until I had Until it was gone? Yeah. Until it was gone. And so and that doesn't have anything to do with, like, the people I was aligned with. That just had the company I wasn't aligned with. And again, not because it's a bad company. It's just because it wasn't aligned with my brand. Mhmm. Um, so and it was just hard. I don't like shoving something into something that doesn't make sense. And so that it just now makes sense, and it's just easier to grow. I agree. And, I mean, I think that even people who have left me, if they can go and find their light, and it was just, like, energy wasn't right for them, and it wasn't you know, then that's okay. Right? Like but find your light. Like, find what you're gonna go and do. And that's what I really I feel like is most important now. You know, like we talked about earlier, we could be immature in our heads about how that works out. But because there's a rejection aspect to all of this, right, that we gotta that we know we're either giving somebody or we're feeling ourselves. And so for you, how important was that decision to building the brand that you have today? I think it was essential. So do you believe that do you even believe, like, now you because I I I watch enough of your content. Maybe I just haven't heard you articulated in this way, but you realize that you have the Kristen brand. Well, now I understand, like, personal brand a lot more than I did, um, but I think everybody needs to think about that. Now when I see somebody that's not, like, branding themselves, I'm like, you have got to I actually just said this to, uh, one of my girlfriends at a content shoot this week. I was like, your homework is to get your own, like, personal brand page. I'm sick of looking at this other page. Like, because I'm like, I don't connect with you at all on here. And so it's it's definitely been like people want to work with people they like and trust. And if you're not showing that on your social media, you're doing yourself a huge disservice. Yeah. Because people wanna do business with people. Yeah. They wanna do business with you know, it's it's like how we're sitting here is I watch enough of your content. Like, she's pretty dope. And she has a brand. And I wanna know how she did this because no one else is doing what you're doing. So thank you. Like, I have so much gratitude for the fact that you, you know, came in today. You did this live. We did it live and, you know, you did amazing. So thank you so much for being here. I'm honored to be on here. So thank you. Well, we're gonna we're gonna do more stuff. I mean, I hope that we can figure out ways that we can collaborate and do some more lives and, you know, get the message out there. But I think people need to know who you are and if you have an interest in Real or any of the other businesses that Kristen talked about, where do they DM you? Uh, definitely Instagram. So hey, Kristen Cantrell is the best way. And this works perfect for LOs too. Like, honestly, guys, I can't even tell you. One of my girlfriends in Oregon, I coached to do this, and her husband's in LO, and they kill it because of their community. I I the reason I have I mean, my audience is predominantly lenders, and I want them to learn to to to how to go out and build a community by offering value. And that's exactly what you're doing. So congratulations on your success. And I know that this this move that you did was really hard, but I think it was it was, you know, like you said, the right move. But I am just amazed with what your company is doing. Thank you. And, you know, I wanna be in as many rooms with you guys as possible because you guys are doing something different than anybody else. So congratulations on your move. Thank you. Alright, guys. Thank you so much, everybody.