Play Bigger in Real Estate with Raquel Q.

Stop Copying Models: Create a Business That Works for You

• Raquel Quinet • Episode 382

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In this episode of The Raquel Show, I’m diving into one of the questions I get asked most often: “What’s the best way to build a real estate business?” My honest answer? There isn’t just one. The truth is, the best model is the one that matches your lifestyle, your vision, and your energy.

Too many entrepreneurs get caught up chasing the “right way” or comparing themselves to others—when in reality, the beauty of real estate is that you get to design your business your way. In this conversation, I’m breaking down the most common models—from mega teams to solo CEO agents—and showing you the pros, cons, and the clarity questions you need to ask before you commit.

I’ll also walk you through:

  • Why clarity is the first step before scaling
  • The 4 most common real estate business models (and how to know which fits you best)
  • Tactical steps to reverse engineer your business from your lifestyle
  • How profit-first thinking, systems, and hiring decisions shape long-term success
  • The CEO shift every agent must make to create a business that truly works for them

👉 My challenge for you this week: Get clear on your non-negotiables, write them down, and design your model around them. Don’t settle for a business that runs your life—create one that serves your life.

If this episode sparks something for you, share it with a friend who’s figuring out their next step and tag me at @itsraquelq so I can celebrate your clarity. And if you’re ready to step into the Agent CEO Method and scale with systems and strategies that align with your lifestyle, visit LetsPlayBigger.com or DM me “AgentCEO.”

✨ Remember: there’s no one-size-fits-all in real estate. Don’t be afraid to pivot and always, always play bigger.

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Thank you for joining me on this episode of The Raquel Show, and remember, keep pushing your limits to achieve your goals.

For updates and collaborations or opportunities, go to www.LetsPlayBigger.com

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What matters most is building a business that actually works for you. And that means having clarity in the lifestyle that you want. None of these models are right or wrong. The best models are the ones that match your vision and match your energy and match your lifestyle. Remember, there's no one size fits all in real estate. There's no right or wrong. The beauty of this business is you get to design it, build a model that works for you. Don't get trapped in it and don't be afraid to pivot as you grow.

Welcome back to The Raquel Show. This show is for entrepreneurs who want to play bigger in business and in life. And I'm Raquel Quinet, and as always, I am so grateful that you are here today and you continue to listen to this podcast. You know, one of the questions I get asked all the time is Raquel, what's the best way to build a real estate business? And my answer is there isn't just one way. 

Before I think we used to have the red book and there would be different layers to the seventh level. Now there's just multiple ways and there are hundreds of different models that can work, whether it's mega teams, solo agents, solo agents with leverage, boutique, micro teams, expansion models, and the list can go on and on production partner models. But what matters most is building a business that actually works for you. And that means having clarity in the lifestyle that you want, the income that you want, whether you want to manage people, whether you want multiple offices or location, or you just want to keep it simple, whether you want to grow a big team or keep it lean, highly profitable and more freedom based. 

So in this episode, I'm going to break down how to get clarity on what you're building and give you tactical steps to design a model that matches your goals, not somebody else's blueprint. 

The first step is clarity. Most agents copy what they see. They see a mega team online and they assume that the only way to scale is this big, massive team because they see so many of them on stage or at real estate conferences, or they hear about someone going independent and think, is that the right move? But clarity starts with asking yourself the right questions. 

Do you want to manage people daily or do you want independence? Do you want multiple locations or do you want a lean high profit model? What kind of lifestyle do you want outside of real estate? Do you want a big leadership team? Do you want things automated? 

And here's a tip. I want you to write down your non-negotiables. That could be family time. That could be travel. That could be income goals. That could even mean freedom for you. Let those guide your model instead of awards, instead of production, instead of ego or comparison, because the model that works is the one that you're aligned your life with, just like your CRM. The CRM that works is the CRM that you use. So let's talk about the different and most common models that agents build. 

  • Number one is this massive team, the mega team model. They have high volume, lots of agents, multiple admin players, and the pros is they've got market share, they've got leverage, they've got scalability. The cons are thin margins, believe it or not, high overhead and constantly recruiting because it's a numbers game. 
  • Number two is you've got your micro team or maybe even a boutique model and that's usually less than 10 agents. Usually a strong niche, big brand identity, maybe a big team leader that has a long standing book of business. And the pros is it's easier to manage, it's tighter culture and it's high profitability. The cons is growth plateaus unless you expand or add more. And the other con to that is if one of your agents is a top agents and they leave your team, a lot of production can go out the door. 
  • And then you've got your solo agent model, which I like to call your solo CEO agent model. It's just you, maybe a transaction coordinator, some systems automations, maybe a VA. And you might even have where you've got agent partners or showing assistance that when you leave out of town, you have someone in your office or someone in the industry that you can actually pass on showings to when you're gone. The pros is it's simple, it's highly profitable, and there's lots of freedom. The cons are you're still the rainmaker, you still do everything, and there's an income ceiling to your business. 
  • And number four is you've got expansion in multiple locations, know, teams in multiple markets or in states or within the states, multiple cities. The pros is there's massive reach, there is and could be huge potential. The cons is it does get complex the further you go out, especially if you're in different time zones. 

So you might have complexity and leadership and staffing and there's high risk and it might be harder to manage if you're just not used to it. And here's the truth. None of these models are right or wrong. The best models are the ones that match your vision and match your energy and match your lifestyle. 

So I want to get tactical because you know, on this podcast, I love to get tactical. So here's four steps to design a business that works for you. 

  • Step one is reverse engineer from your lifestyle. How many hours do you want to work? How much net income do you really need to live? What role do you actually want to play? Do you want to play the rainmaker? Do you want to play the leader? Do you want to play the coach, the visionary? You get to decide what role do you want to play? Do you also want to be in production? And then 
  • step two is I want you to think about profit first thinking bigger isn't always better. And we've proven that with several people that I've coached in the last few years that bigger isn't always better. Some of the most successful agents I know make more profit with lean models than some of the mega teams with crazy overhead. Always look at your net and not your gross. Even though some of those teams are getting awards, I can tell you some of them don't have a profitable business. 
  • Step three is leverage through systems. Whether you're a solo agent or running a team, systems collapse time. Everything in this business, the one thing that's common when it comes to growth, whether you are a solo agent or a big mega team or even a brokerage, every single business needs systems. Your CRM, your automations, your marketing engines, the checklist, these all create consistency and freedom in your business. 
  • And step four is people decisions. If you want to grow, remember this, nothing beats experience. Don't hire cheap, pay for people who have done it before. Experience hires absolutely save you money and move the whole business forward faster. 

And the last shift is the CEO shift. No matter which model you choose, there's one shift. you must make from agent to CEO. That means creating systems instead of putting out fires, looking at profit and scalability, not just transactions and making decisions based on your vision and not urgency. 

So I want you to ask yourself every week, am I operating like an agent or like a CEO? Because you can't build a business that truly works for you if you're stuck in the weeds of every single deal. 

So my friends, here's my challenge for you this week and get clear on what you actually want. Do you want to make a team? Do you want a micro team? Do you want a solo agent model with some leverage or do you actually want to expand into other markets? So I want you to write down your non-negotiables and design your model around them. 

Ask yourself, am I running a business that serves my life or a business that runs my life? There's such a big difference. Remember there's no one size. fits all in real estate, there's no right or wrong. The beauty of this business is you get to design it, build a model that works for you. Don't get trapped in it and don't be afraid to pivot as you grow. So if this episode spoke to you, I want you to share it with a friend or who's figuring out their next step and tag me at @itsraquelq so I can celebrate your clarity. And if you're ready to build your real estate business with systems and strategies that align with your life. want you to go to LetsPlayBigger.com or DM the word AgentCEO. 

Thank you so much for tuning in to The Raquel Show. I want to send you all the clarity, the courage and the momentum for the week ahead. And remember, keep taking action and always, always, always Play Bigger, my friends.