Why Retired Educators Make the Best Realtors with Joan Boyd

 On this episode of Club 13, we sit down with the incredible Joan Boyd, a retired educator who’s bringing her passion for teaching and people into the world of real estate. Joan shares why educators often make some of the best real estate agents—thanks to their patience, communication skills, and natural ability to guide people through big life decisions. From classroom lessons to closing tables, Joan talks about the unique strengths teachers bring to the industry and why transitioning into real estate can be such a rewarding next chapter. It’s a fun, insightful conversation you won’t want to miss! 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome back to Club 13, where our mission is simple. Help you become one of the top 13 agents who actually succeed long-term in real estate. I'm your host, Jennifer Burkle, and today's episode is called Why Teachers Make Great Realtors. Because our guest proves it. Joan Boyd retired from education at 52 with full retirement. She had a long and successful career as a teacher, principal, and worked at Central Office, but she still felt like she had more to give. She had always been interested in real estate, so she made a big decision. She started a second career. In her very first year, she became a top-producing agent, and she has grown every year since. Joan is now one of the brokers at our firm. She's mentoring new agents and she still runs a very strong personal real estate business. Today we're going to talk about what worked in 2025 and what she's bringing into 2026, the habits, relationships, and the simple systems that create consistent success. Welcome to the show, Joan. And also, she's my sister.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

I was wondering if that was going to be disclosed.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

And uh and we didn't plan this plaid thing. No, we are dressed singular. We walked in, we both had plaid.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

That's okay. So we'll get we'll get started. Um we actually, I didn't say this in the script either, but we all went to real estate school together. So Joan, my sister, my husband, Matt, and me, it was all a second career for all of us. So why did you choose real estate after retiring from education?

SPEAKER_02 1:47

You know, one of the things with real estate, it kind of popped in my head when I was still working. And there's no way. There's no way you can be in in uh as a at that time I was at Central Office and I was over all the the schools as executive director of curriculum and instruction. I loved it, but the it was in the back side of my mind, but I couldn't really execute it. So once I retired, uh that first year I took off, and that's when it the seed really came back. And um my my son was a senior, he was showing a lot, and I took off that whole year, and then it was the next year, and I called you and I said, Hey, I was thinking about this, and you had already been thinking about it, and we just at that time just kind of started going into real estate school. We kind of got started on those dreams, but we actually had the thought separately.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

That's what I was thinking.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

I know who I was wondering who which one of us actually called the other. I don't really fully. We were just talking about it, and you said, Hey, that's weird. We were thinking about it too, and then we just started looking at schedules and we got into it at the same time.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

And we just did it. We just did it. So, what surprised you the most about the real estate, you know, just being in real estate at the beginning? What surprised you?

SPEAKER_02 3:00

I did my research first a little bit, I knew some realtors. So I never had the concept. I hear this all the time, and I know you do too. Oh, I want a flexible schedule. Um, I want I love to show houses. I have that concept of HGTV. You show three houses, you sell the house, you get invited back to the party kind of thing. I knew it wasn't like that because we I had friends that were in the business, so that didn't surprise me. But what did surprise me is learning just the stats that um that that like 87% of the agents sell three houses a year, and you can't live off that. So I I was surprised how many people um you know just the numbers, how you have to really get good connections to really succeed and have a plan. And so that was a little bit of a surprising number for me.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Uh I think that's what shocked me the most, also, is just seeing how many people don't quite make it in this industry, and it's it is shocking. I I think it is, I think you're right. Um, so what's one belief you had about real estate early on that turned out to be completely wrong? Is that the same question?

SPEAKER_02 4:12

Well, I I don't know. I think they could be separate questions, but here's one thing that I'll just be real transparent. I guess I was just stupid, I don't know. But I'm from old school, so I just had the remembering how it was when I bought my house or when I was wanting to sell a house. Yeah, and I just thought that one person just did everything. Like you had you you wanted to buy a house, you drove by the sign, you called that person. They were the listing agent, but they also helped you, and everybody was helped by this one person that represented everybody. And and now, you know, that's just not true. Right. I had a really good example, if I can just throw this in. Um a colleague called last night. It was actually a friend of my husband's called last night, and she was telling about how she was getting uh complications getting into homes, and she said, I'm so frustrated, we need to be in home 30 to 60 days. And she said, I keep calling these people and I'm having trouble getting in these homes. She said, What's going on? And I started talking to her about representation, how you know it's really not in your best interest to be working with someone the seller's working with. Uh, it can happen, but most of the time you want your representation, it's not probably gonna cost you anything to have that.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

Right.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

And um I I just had the concept the way she thought, because that's how I bought my house, right? Is I work with the listing agent. So I was kind of uh surprised by the amount of the dual representation that you can have these days, which is I think a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

It's a great thing, yeah. And uh yeah, that's just something that you really don't understand.

SPEAKER_02 5:51

I think the older generation still a lot of them don't know that. And I I put myself in that category because that's not how real estate was done, you know, 30 years ago. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

And there are people out there that think they're gonna get a better deal and they don't realize that that's not true either, you know.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

They're gonna get, you know, that is still being paid. You and I know the deal's gonna be worse. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, so we I know I've heard you say this so many times about people that are in education. We actually have quite a few educators at Texas Legacy Realty, but they always Joan always says they're always make the best realtors. And I know you mentor a lot. So um in your experience, why do you think the educators make the best realtors?

SPEAKER_02 6:38

I think it's I think it's the f perfect transition. I I it's perfect. Uh think about it. Think about the good coaches. What do they do? That they're motivators, they they take care of those boys and those girls, and they keep everybody upbeat. They they're winners, they track their data, they have to do all that to win. A winning coach uh keeps up with their stats, they're a data watcher, they're also a real nurturer in in their sort of way that they do. They watch the film. Teachers are the same way, they they have relationships, they have clients too, teachers. They have clients, their children are their number one client, but they're parents, and then you're you're responsible to the school board in the community. So they they're natural leaders, they're natural nurturers, and they're hard workers. So uh they also are very uh the the attention to detail that teachers have, you know that. Yeah, uh they are constantly learning, they're lifelong learners, and uh, you know, they dot their I's they cross their T's, and that's where all the contract stuff comes in and learning the business on that side of it. But then they have the relationship piece that I think when you have both, it's win-win-win. You can you can be successful. In fact, I was at a wedding a few weeks ago and I had three teachers that are about to retire, and they've all come up to me talking about real estate. Oh, really? Uh-huh. And and I tell everybody if if you're watching out there and you're thinking about, call me because if if that's something you're thinking about, you can definitely be successful.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Yeah, I was trying to think about it. Um people that we've had come to our brokerage that were in education. I don't think we've had one that they were all successful, they all did well.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

A lot of the teachers though don't wait till they retire. Some some just get out of one uh career and they naturally go into real estate and they're making they would never go back because actually financially they're doing better in the real estate business. Um, and then some like me, they they retire and they get into real estate at that time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Yeah, I think it's interesting. Um, so like for you, what do you feel like um the skills from being a principal or being in the classroom like directly help you with your negotiations or your clients? Like what's something that you feel like is like a specific skill?

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Okay, so you're talking specific skills. Okay, so um one of the things this wasn't constant the whole time I was in in my career, but I would say the last maybe 12 to 15 years, um Josh YSD was really getting into, and they're a mid-uh, they're a mid-sized district or uh a little bit larger than mid-size. So uh our district was growing, it's it's actually growing a lot more now. I was in the same district all 30 years, so let me just kind of put that out there. I was in the same district. So we really wanted to be the best dis district out there, we wanted to be the best in the county, and we wanted our students to perform as well as anybody in the state. So we started getting into like the systems approach because what we found is we'd find a really good teacher, a really good coach, and then when they left, it just everything dropped down. Like everything went from great first to you know almost dead last. It could, it can happen. And it was all about the people. So we got into systems, and so if you build good systems, then every student across the board, whether you're at this elementary, this one, this one, or this one, they all get the same experience because the systems are there in place no matter who you hire, at what time, what experience level, um that all the kids are gonna benefit. So I had that um, you know, many, many, many years of the putting systems in place, but then the bigger piece was evaluating them. Like if something's not working, you've got to change, analyze, and redo it, and then look to see if that's working. So it was we called it continuous improvement. So we would look at where we are, how we're doing, we set goals. First of all, we set the goals, and then we would evaluate little steps along the way to see if we're getting there. So I just plugged that into just plug and play. Just plug estate. Yeah, I just plugged it into real estate because I thought, okay, I had to set goals then, so let me set some goals here. And and I just kind of started working into the same systems approach. I'm still working on it too, by the way, because you can get on that spinning wheel where you're working with people and you kind of let the systems go uh on the sideline, and then what happens is it you need those systems in order to sustain over and over year after year.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

I really feel like that's one reason a lot of our agents do so well is they can plug right into our systems. You know, they can plug right into everything that we do that we know is successful, and um it just makes it a lot easier for them.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

You know, honestly, I don't think all bro because I was at a brokerage before this one, um, so I don't think all brokerages do that. Uh one of our, and I'm gonna give a highlight if it's okay. Um one thing that I think that's been the best thing for me, and I think it's the best thing for new people that come in, is you know, every November we do our business planning. So if you go into the business and you don't have a business plan, just like because you are the owner of your business, you're a small business owner, and if you try to start any business without a you know, a carefully thought out business plan with goals, you're not gonna make it very far. You're just gonna start doing the work and it's just not gonna be profitable. So I think the business planning that we do here and all of our agents go through, I think it's very, very valuable. I did not do that at first, and very quickly uh you can see it's like night and day. Right. And so I think that's very, very helpful.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

I agree. It just um well, you know, and you can get there's times during the year that the market gets tough or you can feel discouraged and you just have to keep looking at your goals and you have to keep going back to that, and then you it just turns around. So just I feel like it keeps you on track in so many ways. Um so let's go back to the early days when you first got into real estate. Um what were your first like 90 days like just getting into the business and how you found clients and things like that? Okay, let's see, 90.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Well, the first 30 days, I think for most agents are kind of the same. Same old, same old. Because you're onboarding with wherever you're first of all, you're finding a brokerage, you're onboarding, there's all of these little kind of tasks you just have to take care of. Your your website and getting things set up. So 30 days of setup. But then after that, um I I remember getting my license into October, and I had my first closing uh in November and December. I had two before Christmas.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

And so I started working with those folks in November to close. So it was just weeks after I started that I had some clients and and there's not one client that came from anybody I knew. Uh well, let me change it. Um I had one out of the entire year that it was our uncle that I sold his 10 acres. So so there was one that was.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Oh, that we worked with you and not me.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

Yeah, yeah. Uh so that was the first one I did. Um, the first closing I had, but after that it was everybody I did not know. And I did online leads. I'll be I'll I'll just get it out there. Um, I talked to a few people that were making money in the business, and that was their system that they used, and I thought, okay, um, works for them, let me try it. And so I I borrowed money for myself. I borrowed $8,000 and I said, if I spend all this money, I'm going to be um close shop and go home. Because, you know, I didn't want to put good money after bad, and I did make some mistakes along the way. Um, I did that stupid billboard, you know, I did two actually in my in Joshua, and I um I did that. It looked good. It looked good, it looked good, and maybe it did do its purpose. It let people know I changed jobs and I'm not doing, you know, I'm not education anymore, but did it make me any money? Probably a flat zero. It probably didn't make me one red penny. Um so I wouldn't do that again. But the online leads one turned into I think 36 was the year end. I had 36 closings.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

So she had listen to that, she had 36 closings closings in her first year of real estate, where most people have three. I didn't think that's pretty much.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

But again, we you probably didn't know, and I didn't know we didn't know the stats.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

Yeah, we didn't know the stats. We didn't know the stats. So we thought it was easy.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

You know, I was just trying to keep up with the Joneses. I was, you know, I wanted to not to be the loser in the team. I just wanted to to feel like I was being successful and and just working the leads and connecting with people and selling homes and listing homes.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

And what you did right, you know, what I'm hearing you say is, and I know we had this conversation is, you know, I had you know owned businesses in my life, and you know, we knew enough about business that you have to spend money to make money. And I heard you say that with your online leads. I tried a certain company, you tried another company, we compared notes to see what worked, and um, they both worked. It was just one worked a little better than the other, so we doubled down, but it was just um you do have to even with your billboards, you tried it, you measured the results, and so that's smart because you're really doing something to push your business forward, and I think that's the biggest mistake that I see are agents are unwilling to do that, they don't understand that it's a business, you're not an employee anymore.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

And I was scared, I'll be honest, because I mean eight thousand dollars where it's eight or ten or even two thousand dollars, money's hard to come by. So I um I was a little reluctant to do that, but I thought this is what I have to do. And I was down to my last two thousand dollars in that borrow money that I thought if I spend this last two thousand dollars, I am done, but then I have my closing. Yeah, and I I will say that the rest is history because I never have to look to see if my bank accounts down to two thousand dollars anymore. Yeah, it's just not if you're selling and I'm I'm not saying that in a in a way that I I'm saying that realistically, if you if you can uh do uh hit your goals, whether it's twenty-four or thirty-six, even twelve homes, that would be a good year, and you can uh you can do well in this business, but you have to watch your numbers.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Well, and it does require something out of you. You can't put in a restaurant or an ice cream shop without chairs, you know, that does require something out of you. And there are people that are still successful that follow our system for sweat equity. You know, they know they're gonna have to get out there and really hit the pavement a lot harder because they don't have that money to invest, so they're gonna have to do uncomfortable things to get to that next level. Right. Which is fine too. It can be done.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

And I was trying to find a path, a a fast, a fast track because I knew if I could get a fast track, it would uh set me up for success for later. Because now I don't the last four years I haven't purchased online leads. So that seed um helped me create the sphere that I have now that I'm still working with those people.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Right.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

Uh or people that were connected to those people.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Right.

SPEAKER_02 18:29

So it did it did work for me.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

What do you feel like that you do consistently, just like a habit that you consistently do that keeps your business always moving forward?

SPEAKER_02 18:40

Okay, well, there are there are lots of different habits I I would say. Um, through your whole morning, keeping the system no, because you know about this. But one one thing I have done different this year is um because now we've been doing it since what, 2018?

SPEAKER_01 18:58

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Okay, so to business planning? Uh well we've uh we've 2018, we've uh 2017-18, we've been in this business.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

And so and so um those years hitting the pavement and and just um giving it your all and working hard. Now um we're in 2025, and one of the habits I've changed is I've uh instead of waking up in the morning with my coffee and my computer looking to see what's new on the market and seeing what houses I could get set up, I do it differently now. And you know what I'm you're probably you probably know what I'm fixing to do. No, no, no. Well it yeah, sort of. Um I I try to uh put myself first for you know an hour, whether it is, you know, the certain things, health things I do uh when I first get up, because what happens is you can always say, I'll do that later, and it never happens.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

No.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

You don't do it in the midday and you're not gonna do it at 9 30 at night because something's gonna suck up your time. So I kind of do a few uh the first 45 minutes to an hour. I do those things that I think are good for me mentally and spiritual spiritually and and physically, all those things that I need to do at my age that that make me feel better.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

And then I'll then I'll just be energized to do all the things in my business. So yeah. So I I but I would recommend but I would recommend. I probably that was probably a mistake early on, but I I just thought, oh, this is great. And I and I just did I it was a learning.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

What happens is you look at your phone and you're like, oh great, I've got to do this and this, and now you just learn over time that sometimes you just have to wait.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

But the little cards that you have given me, they help. There's these little there's these little not this is not it, but you know, just those little lines of at night or first thing in the morning, just writing out the things that really need to be done today.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Uh it can be on your phone or whatever, keeping your mind on the most important things because with real estate, there are some things that have to be done now. And and that's that's always been easy for me with being in administration because um those type of things, whether it was federal programs that you were doing, there was all kind of compliance that were connected, but just knowing what things to do for that, those five things, then if I can get those knocked out, and then uh do other things after that, but keeping my my mind on what has to be done that day. Right. So prioritizing, you do that.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

Well, I just I I don't know. We you can think you can have the biggest goal in the world. You can want to open the a huge business or you can have a goal to do anything, and if you just do a few little things to move the needle every day, it's like one day you turn around and you're there.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

That's true.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

And so it's not always the big things, it's those little disciplines every day that really

SPEAKER_02 22:01

And I'm a little old school, real old school, really, in in many ways, is just the checklist helps. And for me, the littlest things like my houseboard and my goal setting, just so I can physically see am I on pace? Am I doing what I said I would do for that quarter? Right. And just checking on that. And that's really, really easy. It seems, it seems almost too easy, but it's it's really you can have different systems. You can have very intricate, advanced systems, but you really can just have like little uh sticks and cross out your sticks. I mean, it's any kind of visual that works for you, but uh setting the goals, looking at them, and making my list to prioritize what I have to do that day. That's how I start. I usually end the day like that, and that way it's done for the next day.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

I I that's what I always try to do too, is do it at night, so then you're always fresh before everything starts happening the next day. So what do you think that new agents skip in the beginning that they should never skip?

SPEAKER_02 23:08

Well, do you care? Do you care if I reverse the question? Okay, I'm trying to think.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Okay, you said what do new agents skip? Skip in the beginning that they shouldn't. What I think that they do at the beginning, and I think they shouldn't, um that instead of skipping, they do these things. Okay. So it's kind of so it's kind of reversing the question. What I see a lot that agents do is they they join an agency and they stay in the seats all day long. They stay in training, and then they go to this training at this title company, and then they go to this training, and then they go to this training, and in their mind, when I get really good, I'll be an agent. And and I'm not saying skip those things. I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying that you have to when you first start, you have to kind of do both.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

You have to get the ball in place.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

You have to yeah, you have to start because honestly, you will never sell your first home. You'll always be in training because there's never training is ongoing, it never stops. But the best real estate agent is the one with experience with transactions, not the one that listens to what might happen in a transaction, right? But the one that's doing a transaction, and then have someone that can mentor you with that. Right, that's a lot more important. Um, but then um uh when they're in the you sit the question was what they uh the the misleading things they they skip. And then they skip action, they skip the action, yeah. They skip the action, they gotta do the action, they can't just do the learning. But then sometimes I think they skip getting a good mentor.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

Um, because I think that if you have someone that's been there done that, and you have that in place, I did not have that in place when it was not because I didn't want it, but I didn't have it available to me at where I was. And that really is what you what you have to have. If you want to be successful, it will keep you uh it'll keep you and your clients and everyone going in the right direction.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

I feel like that is why our new agents are successful. We crystal will set them up with a mentor, and the mentor the whole time is just trying to help them get their first deal because you have. I mean, even now, is any real estate transaction the same? No. Never personalities are different, the negotiations are different, and you just have to learn by getting out there and doing it and having a solid person behind you.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

I would have given a lot if I had someone that checked everything I did before I submitted these contracts at the beginning. Yeah. Because no one wants to mess up.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

No.

SPEAKER_02 25:46

Ever. And and so we you know, just what I had to do and what you had to do, just research, ask some questions.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

But we didn't even have Chat GPT.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

We didn't have Chat GPT. You just had to what I would do is do the just try to find podcasts with a a dry attorney that would go over page by page of contracts over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:09

And that's how I had to do it. And it was not the best way. A real life person would have been nice if I could have said, hey, I have questions about this part of the contract. And at my disposal.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

I didn't trust the school. I think we went to the same and experience. Yeah, we went to school at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 26:26

There's no way I'm gonna, I'm gonna have to verify this. No, but it was no, it was good having someone to bounce ideals off of.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

So I know in your business you have, I mean, like we talked about, you did the online leads, and you were good to those people, so they've come back multiple times and they refer other people to you. And so with your sphere of influence now, because we just did Pie Night, so I saw I know that you have a lot of people to participate. How do you stay top of mind with your clients?

SPEAKER_02 26:58

Well, I think that you kind of said it with Pie Not. Um, it's it's any kind of client event. Um what I really, really appreciate, I really do appreciate this too. I'm just telling you. Um, with Texas Legacy, uh, we have these client events, and we were focusing on last year we did two, and our main one is the Pie Not because it's right around the holidays, and we just want to bless our clients with something for Thanksgiving because it's right before, and give them a pie of their choice, and and really it's to talk with them at the event, and we have you know, food and fellowship, and it's just kind of a fun, yeah, and give away boots, and one of my clients won the boots last year. Not this year, not this year, but last year. And uh just you know, that type of thing, that environment. And some of them show me pictures of their house, they were building their new property, they're building, and they're just showing me what they're gonna do next. And um, and it's just a way to say, you know, I'm just doing this for you. No, no, no cells, no strings attached. It's just to say, I appreciate you. And I and and bring your friends and and I appreciate having you as a client. And and that's it, no strings attached. So I I love that. And you know what? I think they look forward to coming too. They can't always come, but I have a group that that they want to be invited every time, and I send personal texts out and we follow up, and if they can't come, they go, Oh, I'm so sorry I can't come this year. Hope, hey, think about me next year. So those little things, not just pineapple, but things like that, yeah, where I can give back to them, and I think that then they remember me when a friend asks about who did you use? They're gonna naturally share my number. Yeah, and I hope they do. I hope that's their work.

SPEAKER_00 28:49

You get more referrals than anybody. I think you're really good.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

That's what I'm hoping anyway.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

I think so. What do you think your clients remember when they work with you? Like if they are telling someone, oh, you know, Joan's my agent, and you know, what what what's the one thing that you think they say about you?

SPEAKER_02 29:04

Well, I've never asked them, but I would hope, um, I guess let me tell you what I hope they would say. I hope that they would say that she treated the experience like it was like she was her own deal, like it was she was buying or she was selling, because you know how you put a different effort into it. Um I um I always had this m this motto of you know of excellence and in the school business and committed to excellence. And I really that's how I put forth um do I make mistakes from time to time. Um we all make mistakes from time to time, but I'm committed to being excellent and uh and and growing and and to be the best I can be. And I uh give it give it a hundred percent. And I think that at the end of the day, they've bought their house or they've sold their house and they feel like they were in good hands.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

So I think that you definitely do that. You know, I know that you take things very seriously and that excellence um well I think it's important. I mean that well, listen, we have you talk to every new agent and go through the our core values and excellence and how you treat people and because it's very important that they're taught that from the very beginning because we have a high standard.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

You know, the thing, the the real facts about that is that there are a lot of agents out there. And some, you know, uh it's a revolving door. They come and go, it seems like a great business, and then all of a sudden, you know, out the door, they don't sell their one or three in that year, and it's just not it's not what it they thought it would be.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

Right.

SPEAKER_02 30:49

And you you would hate for someone to be entrusted in someone with someone that really doesn't have the experience. Right.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

And um, so that's why you should really call an agent that you trust, because now in this digital world you'll click, oh, I want a property tour, and then sometimes you get someone that is a brand new agent. You could get lucky, you get who you get.

SPEAKER_02 31:14

You get you get who you get.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

So it's important that you really interview and hire the best agent for the job. And a lot of people don't do that. Well, they uh they just don't realize.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

I don't I don't uh think that most people understand that um contractually if something's done incorrectly, that's one of the largest assets that they'll ever have, their home. And that um a mistake can be very costly. Right. And unfortunately it's happened.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

So hopefully not here. Just no, nothing.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

What happens in the industry in the industry industry.

SPEAKER_00 31:53

Um so I know right now you mentor a lot of our new agents, and um I know we've kind of gone through a lot of different things with new agents, but if you just had one hour to spend with a brand new agent and they're just like, give me a game plan, or like what are the mo three most important things?

SPEAKER_02 32:16

Um sauce. The secret sauce, everybody. Everybody wants to know the secret sauce. Um, I the first thing I would tell them is that you have to outwork everybody because the person that's outworking is gonna be the person that's gonna be on top, usually if they're doing the right things, if they have systems in place, of course. But you gotta you gotta be willing to work hard. You've got to be willing to keep learning your craft. Your craft is being the best you can at real estate, contracts, all that's really does matter, and it's really important. So keep that up. But what I would sit down and show them, and I do this, is I show them how to keep their their once they get that first deal, how to organize their things where they can set their systems up, I guess. Because they've got to have something that's repeatable.

SPEAKER_01 33:09

Right.

SPEAKER_02 33:10

That after they finish this transaction, it's gone, it's closed. What how do they start the next one? Do they even remember what they did and and just start helping them put a few things in place that they could then tweak it and do it the same repeatable way each and every time?

SPEAKER_00 33:27

And get out of mentorship.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

And get out of mentorship, that's right. But but I think that graduate, yeah, graduate mentorship and have some things in place that they can then kind of have their wings and they can go from there.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

So I know that there's probably the answer is no to this because I know you, but was there a moment that you ever thought about quitting?

SPEAKER_02 33:48

Well, uh, I think sometimes you in the back of your mind you think, um, is this uh what I want to do for the next 20 years, you know? But honestly, I never uh considered quitting. Um this is a very good business.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

It's a very good business. And and I'm I'm saying that there's a lot of pleasure out of working with people and helping them make those connections. And it's it's if you're a people person and you like working with people and you're not afraid of hard work, um, and and you can put some few systems in place, you can be very, very successful. And so when you're having success, usually when you're having success, that's not when you quit. Right. So uh, you know, there might be a time I I did slow down when when Sloane was born, my grandbaby, she I kept her uh that first year almost every day. So I slowed I scaled way back.

SPEAKER_00 34:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:48

Um so sometimes your priorities with your family changes.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:51

Sometimes you just get you feel like you're just too old. I mean, I may get there and say, Hey, I just want to go to Europe and and not come back for six months or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 35:02

You can just say yes or no on this one because I really don't know. Have you ever had like a real nasty client, like a real not nice one?

SPEAKER_02 35:09

I have not. Okay. Uh I have I've had some that are just one. I've had some that are difficult. Yeah. Don't get me wrong, um, because we all have different personalities, but I can't think of one that I wouldn't work with. Now, okay, I have now one just came to my mind. One just came to my mind that was still pleasant. They were fine. Yeah. But that that they they were more on the side of being unpleasant than pleasant. So they're leaning a little bit that way, but it wasn't really, it was just more about the person their personality. It wouldn't have anything to do with with anything that we disagreed about.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's a good thing. Yeah. I'll ask you that again in a year or two. There's gonna be one. There's gonna be one for sure. All right, we'll do a rapid fire. These are true, true or false questions.

SPEAKER_02 36:03

And you just want me to say true or false.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

True or false.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

That's it. No comments.

SPEAKER_00 36:07

No comments. Okay. Open houses still work. True. You need paid leads to be successful. False. Social media replaces conversations. False capital F. If you had a thousand dollars to create one closing, where would you invest it?

SPEAKER_02 36:28

Back into clients. Not billboards. Not billboards. No billboards.

SPEAKER_00 36:35

But your favorite question to ask on a listing appointment.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

That's not a true or false.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Well, we've pivoted.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

Okay. Um I like to ask this question because I don't think most agents ask it. So as I'm touring the home with them and I've got my little pad, I would ask them, um, tell me about something about your house that I would not know just by the tour, just by looking. Because, and I said generally speaking, it could be behind the walls, like an upgrade that no one would see, but more likely it's something about this community that helped you with your connections. And they they'll tell, like sometimes it's um we have great block parties, or I have a baby the babysitter that's always keep the kids or whatever that might be, and then I ask them, can I share this? Yeah um because I like to reach out when someone's showing my listings and give them some backstory about the house and always share that because um a little bit of the research says that if you can have an emotional attachment or human connection to a home, um there's more of a chance that that person would buy that home. So I think it gives a little edge there.

SPEAKER_00 37:50

Well, I think it matters. I mean, all I think that stuff really matters, you know, especially I think you do this too, where the parent the client will write their top ten things they love about their home and things like that, or you may do it in a different way. But I think anytime you get to read those personal things, it does help you understand the community because it's scary. Some people are moving here from out of state, they have no idea about the schools, they don't know anything, and to have some connection I think is important.

SPEAKER_02 38:17

And I I think that also when you're at in someone's home, you have to like walk it in the boots that you own those grounds, that you want to know everything that you can about that property, so and and ask a lot of questions along the way. And I think that a seller appreciates that because they know that you're trying to sell that home and get the answers, get the questions answered. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:43

I agree. So we're kind of um getting towards the end, and so what really worked for you in 2025? This has been a hard year for a lot of agents, but what's something that worked for you?

SPEAKER_02 38:58

I think um starting my routine and with my mind right, yes, and working on myself a little bit because then I think that the stamina stamina part that it takes in this business, I think I handled it better. Um this was my best year to date.

unknown 39:15

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 39:16

And and you know, it didn't start out that way. And I didn't, as I watched the numbers grow, I like, where did this come from? Where did this come from?

SPEAKER_00 39:25

2025 when you hear all these negative news stories next year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

But I started looking and tracking it. Some of these things were perking a couple years ago, they just happened to pop in in 25. Right. They didn't start in 25, but that just tells you that your pop lines can burst open two, three years later. Right. That you have to stay connected to those people. Um, but it really was shocking to me too, because all I hear around me, the noise, this is the worst year ever. And I'm thinking, well, okay, whatever. It's just like, well, I mean, it's just it's not a finished year, but I don't say that people need to hear that. But I don't really say that, but it and I was kind of surprised, but the numbers don't lie at the end.

SPEAKER_00 40:03

You just important people need to see success because you know, sometimes that noise out there is just bad. It's noise. I saw a headline and I swear I'm gonna try to make a video about it because it said young people cannot afford houses, so they're just going to do um like frivolous spending. I don't know if you saw that news story.

SPEAKER_02 40:24

No, but it seems like they're putting that out there and putting it in their head.

SPEAKER_00 40:27

They're putting it in their head, so they're trying to buy all this stuff that doesn't matter. And I want to say, like, it almost makes me mad. Like, it's almost like someone's trying to tell them they can't have a good future, and it would just make me want to stop and and want it even more.

SPEAKER_02 40:42

You know, that's where my focus going into 2026. Um, I want to focus on those first-time homebuyers in their 30s. They could be in their 20s, that's fine, 30s, but they could be in their 40s. Um, they are the low-hanging fruit for me because I want to help them show them that they can get in a home. They need to quit renting and spending all that money that they will never. The the quickest way to build wealth is to own a home.

SPEAKER_01 41:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 41:10

And if you don't own a home, you will never state in general. You will never acquire wealth in the I mean, it's gonna be hard for you to acquire wealth if you don't own anything. So the network gap is huge. So I'd like to help people. It is very, very possible. And uh that I want to focus on that because I think there's a huge misunderstanding about that.

SPEAKER_00 41:31

I agree, and it's really out there that narrative. So I think it's great that you're telling people this is this was your best year in real estate, and we need to get some positive narratives going out there and it was hard to sell a house this year though.

SPEAKER_02 41:43

I will I will say it's a little and no, not hard. It was harder for listings. For listings, you had to do you have to approach it a little differently. It took can take a little longer. So I don't want to make it sound like it was everything was just so easy. It wasn't easy, right? But it was doable. It had you could still make it happen. Um, but generally that's just how things are. You just have to keep tweaking things and find a way. Find a way.

SPEAKER_00 42:13

Um, so if someone listening right now is stuck, what would you suggest that they do?

SPEAKER_02 42:19

There's no reason to be stuck in real estate. There is a game plan. There are ways and tools and methods, but if you don't know what those are, you need to get with a brokerage that has the systems already built and plug in because you can have a good business too. That's what I would say. Um it took a while to find to find that for me because I didn't have that initially either. So once you have those things, then you don't have to reinvent them. You just you just actually implement them.

SPEAKER_01 42:51

Right.

SPEAKER_02 42:52

And be around, I think, oh let me put this, let me put this also out there. I think if you're at uh anywhere in in business that you're not surrounded by people that are doing well, it's easier for you to fail and give up because you don't see how you could do it as well.

SPEAKER_00 43:10

Right.

SPEAKER_02 43:10

So you need to surround yourself around people that are selling and are um closing transactions and a good attitude and and and that are business planning, right? And if you get connected in those things, you can do well too.

SPEAKER_00 43:24

Yeah, I agree. Well, Joan, thank you for sharing your journey and your wisdom. You're a great example of consistency, relationships, and simple systems that work in real estate.

SPEAKER_02 43:36

And I have a lot of work to do too. Well, we all do, we all do some work to do too.

SPEAKER_00 43:41

Um, for everyone listening, we're sharing a free download about this podcast on why educators make excellent realtors. So look for that. If this episode helped you, share with another agent who needs inspiration and real strategy, and make sure you subscribe to our Club13. Podcast. If you want to follow Joan, how can they connect with you on Instagram or Facebook?

SPEAKER_02 44:05

Well, Facebook is Joan Boyd Realtor, my Realtor page. Okay. Of course, Joan Boyd Personal. I post a lot there too. Instagram. I always have to look at this. I'm getting to my cards. Because it's because it's I've got underscores in there. Listing underscore and wait. Lifestyles underscore and listings. That's one of them. And then I've got Joan Boyd uh Realty Team as the other.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

So that's we'll follow Joan. Um she's very active on her social media page. And thanks for listening. We'll see you on the next episode of Club 13.