Play Bigger in Real Estate with Raquel Q.

Why Most Agents Get Stuck on the Real Estate Hamster Wheel

• Raquel Quinet • Episode 368

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I used to think working harder was the answer.
In the early days of my real estate career, hustle did help—until it didn’t. I was stuck on the hamster wheel: sacrificing weekends, missing family moments, riding the commission roller coaster, and feeling like my “business” was really just a demanding job I couldn’t step away from.

In this first episode of my brand-new 6-part series, The Agent CEO System: Build Your Empire, Live Your Legacy, I’m pulling back the curtain on:

  • Why so many agents get stuck and the three biggest traps holding them back
  • How to recognize the commission roller coaster before it drains you
  • The truth about hustle addiction (and why it’s disguised burnout)
  • What “no leverage” really costs you—not just in business, but in life
  • Small but powerful action steps you can take this week to start breaking free

If you’ve ever thought, “I got into real estate for the freedom, but I’m working more hours than ever,” this episode is for you. I’m showing you how to start creating a business that works for you—even when you’re not working—so you can finally step into the lifestyle and legacy you’ve been dreaming about.

We've all been told "Work harder is the answer"

And in the beginning, hustle does help. Don't get me wrong, but hustle without strategy, that's burnout in disguise. You see, the cost of staying on that wheel is crazy. It's not just financial, it's the missed family moments, it's the stress you carry every day, sometimes even in your head, which takes up capacity and it's the healthy sacrifice. The longer you stay on the wheel, the more normal it feels, but just because it's common doesn't mean it's right. 

Welcome back to the Raquel show. This show is for entrepreneurs who want to play bigger in business and in life. And today we are kicking off a brand new six part series called the agent CEO system, build your empire, live your legacy. This is for you. If you've ever thought, Hey, I got into real estate Raquel for the freedom, but somehow I'm working more hours than ever. 

If you're business feels like a high pressure job rather than a vehicle for the life you want. This series is going to be for you and it will show you how you can change all of that because when you work your business like a business, you can create an empire, one that doesn't just give you the income but builds the lifestyle and the legacy you've been dreaming about. 

So, over the next six episode, I'm gonna walk you step by step through the exact shifts, the exact systems and the exact strategies I've used and help other agents use to get them off that crazy hamster wheel and build a business that works for you even when you're not working. And today, episode number one, we're talking about why so many agents get stuck, the three biggest traps that keep them there and the first small moves to start getting out. 

So when I started my real estate business, I had the same dream most of us did. Raquel, get your real estate license because you could be your own boss, you can set your own hours, and you can have unlimited income or be an entrepreneur, and you can have those things as well. And yes, that's possible, but here's what I wasn't prepared for. My second full year in real estate looked on the outside successful; had closings every month. I was hustling. I was making more money than my old job, which was selling cell phones in a mall. But here's what it really looked like behind the scenes that no one always talks about. 

I was passing out newsletters to 10,000 homes in Union City, Fremont and Newark, with sometimes dogs chasing me and getting those few nasty voicemail messages saying, don't leave freaking garbage at my door. Weekends at open houses instead of going to family parties or hanging out with friends. And you know, I come from a big family, so there was always a party every weekend. And midnight contract edits in my car and going through drive-thrus just to eat. 

Then when I built a team a few years later, I felt like I was even more tied to my phone and computer. I remember going to basketball games and they would start and I would run out of the gym just to answer a sign call, just to answer a client call, just to answer an agent call. And there was a time where I missed the whole basketball game and wondered, why did I even show up? Why did I even drive here? 

One month I would close six or seven deals and think, my gosh, I've made it. The next month, crickets. And it was building a sandcastle with a low tide. No matter how freaking hard I worked, the ocean kept washing it away. And then it hit me. I hadn't built a business. I had built a very demanding job that I hated. And I remember thinking, I'm not sure what's worse. Working at the mall selling cell phones during the holiday hours or getting home really late, exhausted and being in real estate. 

So trap number one, my friends is the commission roller coaster. This is one most agents know all too well. Feast or famine. One month you're cashing big checks. The next month you're wondering if you'll even have closings and you may feel like you are there or going through this right now. I'll never forget August of that one year, my best month ever. I had grossed over a hundred thousand dollars in commissions in one month. And I thought, my gosh, this is it. I've cracked the code. Then September rolled in, guess what? Zero closing. And my expenses didn't care. This cycle, believe it or not, keeps you in survival mode. You can't plan, you can't invest. And I think this is what holds most agents back from investing, whether it's in their business or in coaching, and you can't breathe when you're constantly starting from zero. So one of my private clients was closing three to four deals, but always stressed. And on the flip side, I still have agents that are closing 15 to 20 deals with a team and are still stressed. So just know that there are different layers in the business where you will always feel stressed. So I knew we needed to build a consistent content plan or automated follow-up system. And within 90 days, both clients got so busy and steady that they got to be very picky with who they chose as clients. 

So here are some of your action steps: 

#1. I want you to audit your lead sources. Are they consistent or are they hope-based? And really look at your pipeline. 

#2. I want you to pick one marketing channel to master this quarter. 

#3 And number three is automate your follow-up so it runs even when you don't feel like making those phone calls, even when you don't feel like going through your pipeline, even when you don't want to open up your CRM. If I opened up your calendar right now, would I see consistent lead gen time blocks every single week? Or do you have systems that constantly create leads for your business every day? 

Trap number two, hustle addiction. We've all been told: work harder is the answer. And in the beginning, hustle does help. Don't get me wrong, but hustle without strategy, that's burnout in disguise. When I was building my team, I thought I had to be at every single meeting, answer every email, personally handle every client issue. It worked until I was exhausted. I was so irritated and I stopped thinking like a CEO. I know an agent in another market who proudly says I work 80 hours a week, but his net income is the same as agents in my private roster working 40 hours or less. Why? Because half of his time is set on low value task. 

So when you think about hustle addiction to get out of it is I want you to list your top three revenue generating activities. 

Number two is I want you to spend 80 % of your work time on them. 

And three, I want you to start delegating and deleting the rest of it because scale happens in subtraction, not addition. And if we track your week, how much of it actually grows your business versus just maintain it. We have a thing on our team where I often say, are we in growth mode or are we in maintenance mode? 

And trap number three, no leverage. If your business stops when you stop, guess what, my friends, you do not own a business. You own a job. And I used to feel guilty taking vacation because I knew everything would stall. I remember there were plenty of times where I took vacation and I wasn't fully present. That was my wake up call to build systems and a team. 

One of my private clients was terrified to hire. We started him with a virtual assistant for 10 hours a week and within three months he had doubled his capacity and started enjoying his vacation time and his weekends again. So if you have no leverage, here's what I want you to do. I want you to identify your biggest time-wasting task. I want you to create a process for it, and then I want you to just hand it off. What's one thing you're still doing that someone else could at least do 80 % as well as you? You see, the cost of staying on that wheel is crazy. It's not just financial, it's the missed family moments, it's the stress you carry every day, sometimes even in your head, which takes up capacity and it's the healthy sacrifice.

The longer you stay on the wheel, the more normal it feels, but just because it's common doesn't mean it's right. imagine clients coming from systems that you have set up months ago, a trusted team running your day to day. And trust me, when I tell you, you don't need a massive team to build a big business or income. from more than just your closings and maybe some days off so that your brain is clear. This is the agent CEO way and what is possible for you. And if you're listening to this and saying, yes, Raquel, I need this, I'm done with the hamster wheel, then I want you to take action today. The world rewards those who move quickly, not the ones who keep thinking about it. 

This is why I'm inviting you to join my wait list for the agent CEO accelerator where we build and install exact systems. I'm talking about in this series, right inside of your business. All you have to do is DM me the word agent CEO on Instagram at it's Raquel Q and my team will send you all the details. So here's your challenge for the week: I want you to identify three traps you're in right now and take one small action to step out of it. 

This is just episode number one of our series, the agent CEO system, build your empire and live your legacy. And in episode two, we're gonna tackle trap number one head on, which is that commission roller coaster. And I'll show you exactly how to get off it for good by building a predictable pipeline that grows with your business year round. 

Follow along for our next episodes because by the end, you will see a full roadmap to lead your business like a CEO, build your empire and live the lifestyle you've been working so hard for. I wanna thank you all, my friends, for hanging out with me on another quick episode and until next time, I want you to all keep playing bigger because something great is on the other side.