Outside The Corporate Box
Outside the Corporate Box is for leaders, builders, and thinkers who knew they were never meant to stay inside someone else’s blueprint.
Hosted by JMan and Jeffrey, this show explores what happens when ambitious professionals step beyond traditional titles, rigid systems, and inherited definitions of success to build a life and business that actually reflects who they are.
These are conversations about reinvention, courage, identity, entrepreneurship, leadership, and the messy, beautiful work of becoming fully yourself.
From executives who walked away from the boardroom…
to creators who turned expertise into influence…
to entrepreneurs who chose freedom over comfort…
This is where modern thought leadership gets honest.
Because sometimes the most powerful move isn’t climbing the ladder.
It’s realizing the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.
Outside The Corporate Box
She Had the MBA, the Six-Figure Salary, and Was Crying in a Parking Lot at 10 PM | Tezeta Roro
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Tezeta "Tez" Roro had everything the blueprint promised: the MBA, the six-figure salary, the recognized company name on her badge. She was so proud of that job she wore her badge to the grocery store. Then came 10:00 PM on a corporate campus, nine months pregnant, working through a capital budget crunch, and the moment she realized the structure she had spent 12 years climbing was fundamentally incompatible with the life she was actually trying to live.
What she did next took two and a half years of calculated planning, a Forbes article documenting every step, and the courage to go from a guaranteed salary to 100% commission as a first-gen immigrant with a toddler, a newborn, and a husband consulting out of state three weeks a month. Today Tez is a broker-owner, speaker, and founder of Yourtopia Realty Partners. This is her story.
What You Will Learn:
1: Why the "golden handcuffs" of a six-figure salary are often worth less than they appear once you calculate taxes, commute, stress, and lost time
2: How Tez structured a deliberate two-and-a-half-year exit strategy as a risk-averse introvert with no safety net behind her
3: The difference between mourning a corporate identity and finding confidence in a new one
4: Why she used a six-month maternity leave to test whether she could actually sustain the real estate lifestyle before fully committing
5: Practical financial strategies for leaving corporate when you have a mortgage, kids, and no trust fund
6: What it really means to define success on your own terms, and why middle schoolers gave her a standing ovation
About Tezeta Roro:
Tezeta "Tez" Roro is a broker-owner, speaker, and founder of Yourtopia Realty Partners. A first-generation Ethiopian-American with a biology degree, MBA, and 12 years in corporate operations, Tez documented her exit strategy in Forbes and has since built a brokerage and property management company simultaneously. She speaks nationally on entrepreneurship, real estate, and building a business that aligns with your values.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 — Introduction: The parking lot moment
01:00 — Painting the picture: 12 years inside corporate
03:00 — The risk-averse introvert and what that actually means
04:30 — The immigrant path: biology, MCATs, and the pivot to business
07:00 — The cracks appear: parenting inside a corporate structure
10:00 — The RSV hospitalisatio and the conversation that changed everything
14:00 — Nine months pregnant, 10:00 PM, hitting a deer in the parking lot
17:00 — The second maternity leave that became her launch runway
19:00 — "We get married to the top-line salary" -- the real numbers breakdown
22:00 — What to do if you have no partner safety net
24:00 — The rebuild: identity shifts, isolation, and finding the new version
28:00 — Why real estate and the ding-ding moment during her own home purchase
31:00 — The introvert-extrovert misunderstanding and entrepreneurial risk appetite
35:00 — Letting go vs. mourning: how to leave without grief
38:00 — Lightning Round
41:00 — The Last Question: advice for anyone about to bet on themselves
Connect with Tezeta Roro:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tezroro/
Forbes Article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2019/07/31/plotting-your-corporate-exit-strategy/
FOUNDING SPONSORS:
1: Wise Agent | https://wiseagent.com/jsquared - The all-in-one CRM that helps real estate agents manage contacts, automate follow-up, and grow their business.
2: Subi | https://www.oksubi.com/ - Your AI transaction genie. From contract to close, your work is my command.
3: The CE Shop | https://j2.theceshop.com/ Use the discount code jsquared for an additional 35% off
SUBSCRIBE to Outside the Corporate Box for new episodes every Monday.
Outside the Corporate Box is part of J Squared Podcast Productions — a premium media network built for professionals who want more than entertainment.Read the full episode breakdown: https://jmanai.com/she-had-the-mba-the-six-figure-salary-and-was-crying-in-a-parking-lot-at-10-pm-tezeta-roro/
We had the NBA, we had the six-figure salary, we had the title of a company, everyone recognized that she was sitting in a parking lot at 10 p.m. nine months right now crying. That was the moment.
SPEAKER_01And I will no longer make apologies. When you values get violated grossly enough, then you know you have the back one in the coverage to start attacking that. But not alone, not me to make a ton of different stuff. My mom needs something. Can I pick up the first coming down here in five minutes?
SPEAKER_03When you're inside that of a box, I told the job that you love to become your identity. Like you said, you want your badge around as long as I'm losing a piece of myself.
SPEAKER_05She had the MBA. She had the six-figure salary. She had the title at a company everyone recognized, and she was sitting in a parking lot at 10 p.m., nine months pregnant, crying. That was the moment. And this is outside the corporate box. Welcome to Outside the Corporate Box. I'm Jay Mann, alongside Jeffrey Scott Stanton. And today's episode is brought to you by our founding partners, WiseAgent, Stuby, and the CE Shop. These are the companies that believe in what we're building here, and we are grateful to have them in our corner.
SPEAKER_00The playbook is changing. The question is, are you changing with it? This is outside the corporate box. Real conversations with real leaders who broke the mold and built something better. With your hosts, Jay Mann, and Jeffrey Scott Stanton.
SPEAKER_05Today we are sitting down with Tez Roro. Tez is a broker, broker owner, speaker, and founder of your Topia Realty Partners. She spent 12 years climbing the corporate ladder, did everything the system said would work, and still found herself choosing between her career and her family at 10 p.m. on a corporate campus, nine months pregnant. What she did next is exactly what this show was built for. Tez, welcome to Outside the Corporate Box.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for that. Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_05So walk us through it. Before we get into the decision itself, like paint the picture. What did your world look like when you were inside it? The MBA, the life you were building, you know, what was that? What was all that like?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I think I followed, you know, the blueprint that most people follow. Um, you go to a college, uh, perhaps even an advanced degree, get hired at a reputable company, make the six figures, get benefits, all that good stuff. Um, and that was working, I must say, until it wasn't, right? It was working. That's where I like to say I grew up in, um, you know, became a parent, got married, had my first child, bought a home, all of that in corporate. Um, but when I became a parent, I think that was a moment for me I realized that unfortunately the way that the corporate structure is uh set up here, it's not conducive to working parents to be dedicated um employees and dedicated parents, which I knew in my career that I was capable of. I know that I'm a dope employee and I know that I'm a dope, I you know, could be at the time parent. Uh, it just was not conducive in in the setup. And so that was, you know, the moment for me once I realized that, okay, so do I continue to live this misaligned uh life or do I do something about it? Um, and we bought a home uh, I don't know, 12 years ago or so. And that was, I've never, I mean, I never planned on being a real state professional. It was not in my peripheral, I don't know anybody, you know, around me, family, business in general. Imagine going from like six figures benefits to commission only. Like it just was not something that I was planning to do. But I think my own home buying experience kind of helped pave the way for, hey, I think this is something I can do.
SPEAKER_05Well, you describe yourself as a risk-averse introvert. Okay, and and be honest, did corporate exactly fit that version of you, or were you just good at fitting into what corporate wanted from you?
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean, over the 12 years that I was in corporate, I've held about six different roles, right? Anything from your typical behind the desk to in the field, in operations, working with, you know, small business owners. Um, I certainly wasn't at the time, you know, uh speaking to large audiences or anything like that. Um, I'm I'm a lifetime learner and student, and so I was always in, you know, professional development classes. I was in Toastmasters and things like that. So I did fairly well there. But I think I talk about the risk-averse introvert from a perspective of, you know, when I was in corporate, I was actually given a sales job, even with a salary base. And I said, no. I'm like, what do you mean? From going from here to like quota, like that's what I mean by never imagined being like on a hundred percent commission, right? But I think when your values get violated grossly enough, then you know, you have the backbone and the courage to start attacking that. Um, it took me two and a half years, uh, once I was licensed to risk mitigate and plan through my exit strategy. So that's what it took for me. I was not one of those people I got licensed, then boom, I'm gonna quit, and I don't have a plan. I don't have that luxury. I'm a first-gen immigrant, uh, I'm not a trust baby. Um, there's an article that I wrote on Forbes um documenting my exit process if anyone is interested in and learning. So yeah, yeah, I would consider myself that. Now I have become a little bit more uh higher appetite for risk because now I've been in the business for a while and know what to look for to take calculated risks.
SPEAKER_03So Tez, you mentioned the immigrant, and generally for immigrants, there's a path that you follow, it's like the expected path. You go to school, you get the degree, you work for a big company, you become a doctor, a lawyer. Like it's it's make your parents proud. Yeah, you make your parents proud. How much of that was your ambition, and how much of it was I'm following the path that I'm supposed to follow going into big box corporate America?
SPEAKER_01Great question. Funny you say doctor, because my undergrad is in biology and I took the MCATs to go to med school, right? Um, and and I decided against it. I think even back then I should mention that I am the firstborn daughter. I if you know, you know. Okay. Um, and so I my sister's about 10, 11 years my junior, and so I had just became the second, my our dad passed when I was 12, she was 10 months, so I became the second parent automatically. So there's a little bit of that, and that had a lot to do with why I pivoted. I mean, in med school, you don't get to work, you're you're just going to school, it's a high demand. I could not do that. I had to continue to work and help help my mom, right? So my mom was a teacher also. As soon as I was done with my undergrad, she was in my ear about when are you gonna go to grad school, right? So education is a priority in our culture. Uh, and I'm a nerd, so it's fine at work. But I think for me, the challenging part was not just community, not just mom, but even my college counselors. I went in with a bio major, pre-med intentions, having to pivot to business and having to explain why, right? Like when I remember I ran into one of my college counselors, I think at a store, she was like, What are you doing with your lab these days? And I said, Well, you know, I got my MBA and I'm and she's like, MBA? Like for her, it was like a disappointment. What happened to med school?
SPEAKER_05Why would you yeah, why would you do that? Why would you do business?
SPEAKER_01But I will tell you guys that I have physician clients, and that's something that I connect with them on. Is like they're always pleasantly surprised when I say, Hey, I actually have a biomedia and took the MCATs, and they were like, You made the right decision.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Whispered to you, You don't want all those loans.
SPEAKER_01No, I mean, unfortunately, I think a lot of physicians are losing the passion for practice because how they went in it and how it's you know happening now is different. So I'm grateful to have had the courage to pivot, even if it was not understood or supported um by many. But my mom was supportive, honestly. Like I think all she cared about was that I I was educated. That is important to her. Um, she didn't you know stress me about why pivot to business. She understood that you know I I was on the right path. It was more so for my community and more of like my college. They didn't understand such a jump.
SPEAKER_05And so when did you first notice the cracks? Because you said like you kind of planned an exit strategy. So it was what it wasn't the parking lot that was kind of like the breaking point, right?
SPEAKER_01There must have been well before that where you were like so yeah, uh for anyone that's a parent and that's working in a 95 structure, I know this is gonna hit. So I had my first child, and um my husband at the time was we're in Jersey, so I'm in Jersey for those who are listening, and a lot of we're right outside of New York City, so we have tons of people who live in Jersey and work in New York City, right? So that's what he was doing. And so the part of Jersey we were in, not that it was far to the city, but there was not a direct train. So he had to either drive or take the bus. It was like a two-hour ride each way, which meant that I was the default primary parent, right? So if the kid got sick, I'm the one that got called. So that kind of started to happen more often with the first child, right? It was the hardest thing I had to do handing my newborn baby at three months to daycare. In those three months of maternity, by the way, I did the NDAs, the baby products, the blogs, anything to stay home and not have to go back to corporate, right? Unfortunately, those three months came and went pretty fast. But in any case, you know, that happened more where I started to feel like people were questioning my commitment to my work because of my parenthood journey. And when my son was like 11 months, he got hospitalized. He caught RSV. He was hospitalized on an oxygen monitor. And I have to tell you, up until that point, anytime the phone rang, it didn't matter who called me, my my body was in a state of anxiety because I just thought that it was the daycare calling me once again to pick him up. Right. I had to have some really tough conversations with my manager at the time, who was a young male. Um, from what I understand, was not partnered or had a child, so did not understand the parenthood journey. Let me tell you, once I came back, once I saw my baby in a hospital with the oxygen mask for four days, and I came back, there was this new level of courage and backbone that I grew. And I called a meeting with my manager and say, listen, this is what I can commit to you. I can commit to you that I'm gonna do everything I can, see if my manager, if my uh husband can make it, my mom, backup care. I'm gonna do everything, work from home. I mean, I do have an MBA and I'm a professional, I'm not a day laborer, so I can take my laptop and take it. And if I feel like I can't do my work, I'll take a personal day. However, I don't ever want to be apologizing for being a parent. I don't want to feel anxious again. Someone sacrificed for you to be here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Right? If I'm gone tomorrow, yo, hire somebody else, that job description will be out quick. But my son only has one mom, and I will no longer make apology for it. From there on, I'll tell you guys, people in the hallway, and that wasn't headquarters, will say, What happened? You walk different, you look different. They notice the courage in me. So that was the moment I say, This is no longer working for me. It's not working. I have to do something different.
SPEAKER_03Here's a question. What so from the time you're in the corporate world to having your first child and like how long were you in that corporate world till you had your first child?
SPEAKER_01So oh, I've been in a corporate world for 12 years. And by the way, I started when I was still in college, remember? Like, you know, I was still doing my uh, I think junior year of college is when I started. It wasn't supposed to be a career, by the way. Um, it was just a job to pay my new card notes that I was nowhere near qualified, you know. When you walk into the finance office, it was like you are now make that money. It was that type of a deal. Um, and so then it became and they paid for my MBA. I should say, I would say um I started at the company maybe around 2005, and I had my child uh 2012.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_01Um, but the first couple years was, you know, just finishing my college degree. It wasn't really meant to be a career. I think once I got my MB and things like that.
SPEAKER_03So like I was so probably seven or eight years into it is when from when it became more of your career until you had your first child. I'm I'm just trying to get time. So it's I'm gonna go sidetracking all the back to a second. So did you expect it to be different when you had kids? Like those only questions, because I I don't have kids. So like when you're in that corporate environment, do you think, oh, if I have kids, is is my corporate job gonna be different now?
SPEAKER_01Different, you said?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, is it is it gonna be like do did you have that thought behind it, like, oh, I'm gonna I want to have children, is my corporate job gonna be different because I have children now?
SPEAKER_01Um, I didn't think it'd be different. I know that so the the the benefit of having a different culture. So I was born and raised in Ethiopia for the benefit of those who are listening, and I I have seen a different model of life and what family looks like and what it takes to raise a child. So I knew that in the in the Western culture we don't have a lot of village and support, and I knew it would be difficult. Uh, but in my mind, I had that village, the backup care, the mom. I'm married, right? But even with that, it still was not enough. And so, you know, I expected it to be challenging, but I also know that I'm a dedicated professional. I take my job seriously. I'm gonna do everything I can to deliver. It was just an honestly unrealistic expectation. If I left at five, right, to pick up my son from daycare, it was it was obvious that I was the one leaving at five, right? Because everyone else was there longer.
SPEAKER_05In a corporate world that's built on grind it out, work, you know, be the last one to leave, be the first one to get there. But as a parent, you you know, you got to drop off daycare, you got to pick up at daycare or your help or whatever else. And uh the others really don't as a parent who has done that, you know, and and been in like we have that limited time to be able to get work done because we have a hard stop that can't change.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think some people are just honestly, I mean, the thing I enjoy about leaving corporate and doing my own thing is I don't have to, you know, deal with bureaucracy or red tape. I can call things the way that it is, and I will tell you just really cool people there. Like as an example, there was um uh what do you call it? Uh when people in union strike a strike, right? And there was a team of us, a small team of us, and of all the team, I'm probably the youngest with you know a toddler at the time. I was the one asked to cover in Garden City, New York, out of New Jersey, to go back and forth. I said, now y'all know I had a child, right?
SPEAKER_05Like Garden City, Long Island?
SPEAKER_01Yes. You know, dudes here who who who have adult children, right, who do not have this responsibility, like in what logic does this make sense? I mean, it it became a problem because my name, my name kept showing up, you know, and in the big ups, and I would get called in and say, you know, you're looking to move, and you know, this is not looking good. And I said, Well, feedback is a gift, right? I'll take your feedback, but I'm not taking it this time. You do what you need to do with that information. I mean, I really had to start being courageous and my moves. Um, so yeah, it was difficult.
SPEAKER_05So then walk us through what happened when you're sitting. Now, this is your second child, nine months pregnant, right? 10 p.m. crying. What was the break? What was the break of the city?
SPEAKER_01You know, several things happened. Like I remember crying in it. This is a huge, this is the headquarters of the national uh, you know, location. And so it's it's huge. It's a maze. You can get lost, buildings, parking lots. I just remember distinctly going to my car during lunch and just breaking down. I'm a pretty really resilient person, like I don't cry over everything.
SPEAKER_04Yep.
SPEAKER_01And I think it it was just like fighting through the system of just like, why can't you see what it is for you know for for what it is? Like, why isn't that we can't work with each other? I'm not giving less to work because I'm a parent. It's just the structure that you're expecting it is not conducive to being a parent. I remember one time it's called capital budget time, right? It's crunch time, and this is when all the different departments send in their products and services to us, and we look at it and you know, we approve and things like that. And it was 10 p.m. I was nine months pregnant and I left the campus. It's dark. I'm exhausted. Um, yeah, I have back pain naturally always. And so imagine being full full-term pregnant. And at the exit of the campus, I hit something. I was like, oh my gosh, I hit somebody's dad jogging. Like now I'm I I I kill soon. Like it took me five minutes to come out of the car because I didn't know what I was gonna find. It was this one of the scariest moments. Um, and I slowly come out and it turns out to be a deer. But it still shook me, right? That I I was I was exhausted and it was dark, and I hit something late night. It was another moment of like this can't be normal. Like this, I did what I was supposed to do. Like I got the advanced degree, like I'm a great employee, like I'm dedicated. I this cannot be all there is to it. And so I remember coming home, and I of course I was an eating dinner with my kid or husband, right? It's late at that time. My son is already sleepy and I had the work phone. And um, I got home, and my manager at the time, which is a different manager than the gentleman I mentioned before, um was sending me an email to the tune of work still not done. I lost my life. Lost and I was, you know, responding back. And Mike, my husband took, he's like, Whatever you're gonna say, it's probably not gonna be good. Just let it go. So that was, I think that was another moment of not to go. Like this, this can be all there is to it, you know.
SPEAKER_03So, what what'd you do the next morning? This is all happening, crying, hitting a deer.
SPEAKER_01Luckily, uh, by this time, I was already licensed. So I became licensed when my firstborn was two and a half months. Like I closed in June on my home. In August, I was in pre-licensing classes in the evening while working full-time and parenting. And in January, my license was active. I but it was a dual career agent, and you know, corporate and parenting is demanding. I really didn't get a chance to practice it. So when this experience happened, I said, you know what? I didn't even share, I shouldn't mention, I didn't even share I was pregnant with my second one until five months pregnant because I was in conversations about promotions and things like that. I knew for sure that I would impact it, unfortunately. And sure enough, as soon as I shared I was pregnant, I was told, congratulations, how long will you be taking off? That was literally the order of questions, right? Um, so I think then I knew that I did not want to come back. Um, this this is J-Man to your question, the risk mitigation piece. Like I did not know if I can move from, you know, a a secure, quote unquote secure, even though every quarter, right? Salaries on expense line items, you made a made a plan. Yeah, but it was like I can't, I cannot continue to do this. And I decided then that when I was going to take maternity leave, I was gonna take six months, which is career suicide, unfortunately, for women. Um, but I had decided that I was not going to seek going up the ladder anymore. Um, and I was gonna use that time to live a life of a realtor full-time. Now, I should mention my husband changed jobs at this time. He was now consulting out of state. So three weeks out of the month, he wouldn't be home. So now I have a toddler, a newborn, right? Nursing, not sleeping. Um, and and launching a new career. Yeah, a new career, but that's what it took. So for me, like I, you know, when people come to me and say, I want to do this, I want to do this, my question is what needs to be true for you to feel comfortable to move? And for me, it was living the life of a realtor full time. Um, because I've been in roles where I was great at it, but I didn't enjoy it. So for me, I needed to make sure that this was something I can do. At the time, I was with Kelly Williams, and so I did bold and uh ignite together, which is pretty intense for a new one.
SPEAKER_03But that's for me for those of you who know it, that it absolutely is taking both at the same time, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01But that's that's what I needed to do to say at the end of six months, I needed to have conviction to myself that yep, I can do this lifestyle and I'm confident and I can leave. And that is part of what I wrote in my fork article about how a risk mitigated to leave. So that's that's outproached.
SPEAKER_03You wrote in your intake, and I want to see if I can get this quote right. Um, you said people are married to the top-line gross salary number. What what do you mean by that? Unpack that.
SPEAKER_01So, what I mean by that is so we talk about the six figures, right? Like $100,000 is what most people refer to as six figures. So we think we're making $100,000, but when I started doing the numbers of like, okay, what really takes, what does it take to run our household? Well, first of all, we don't often think about the tax that gets taken away. We're not keeping $100K, right? So there's tax, there's benefits, and and you know, all these things. And then and then the time, the commute back and forth, the quality of time, the stress, the time that we're missing. So I really made a bare bone of I'm really getting this. Now, do I have confidence in myself that if I think I'm dope here in this structure and I'm living uh a life that's not aligned with my values and people are constantly violating my values, can I make that out here? That's what it came down to, right? Now, there are practical considerations like healthcare and things like that. Luckily, you know, my husband was employed with 95 at the time, so we were able to move it there. But I think we get married to the top line and don't really come down to both the number of what we're actually keeping and also how we can replace some of those concerns like healthcare or whatever it may be, so that it's it makes sense and it's something practical and achievable.
SPEAKER_05Quick shout out to one of our founding partners, the CE Shop. Look, continuing education doesn't have to feel like a punishment. The CE Shop provides online real estate education that actually makes sense. Pre-licensing, post-licensing, continuing education, all of it built to fit your schedule so you can keep your career moving forward without putting your business on pause. Check them out at the CEShop.com. Link in the show notes and be sure to tell them that J Square sent you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that that makes sense. A lot of times we talk to you know agents in training, we where it's always like how much you're making per hour for what you're actually doing. And you know, what's that all that other stuff, you know, for a nine to five corporate job, it's it's the driving and it's the commute and it's that. You know, for a real estate agent, it's the picking up the phone and doing that. So there's different costs involved in it, but you're right. I think if people are are married to that, oh, I make X amount of dollars, and might not realize how easy or sometimes how difficult it might be to make that outside the corporate box. And I think that's what keeps a lot of people stuck inside their own little corporate box because they see that number. You know, I think someone had said it in a in a one of the other podcasts that we did. Golden handcuffs. Yeah, golden handcuffs. It's it's like it's too good to leave.
SPEAKER_01Now I will say, remember, I said it took me two and a half years to transition. I will say you can use it to to fund your your business or your dream, right? Like for me, I knew that like between my husband so when my husband took that consulting job, which took him outside of the home for three weeks, it was really difficult for me, and so was for him. But he also got a bump when he made that jump. So between that and knowing our true number, I was, you know, if I didn't generate anything in a year, we'd be good. Also live below your means, y'all. Live below your means. That is the gift that keeps on giving, right? And so for me, that's that that was really helpful. So there's nothing wrong with starting. I mean, I'm an instructor and speak him. I tell people you don't have to leave, you know, your nine to five in order to launch this full-time. You can have you can structure your business in such a way that you can practice, you know, dual career. And there will be a point where you will feel comfortable jumping. For some people, this revenue. For for me, it wasn't. For me at the time, it was like, will I like the lifestyle? You know, will I be able to um win the challenges that come across? Right. And six months was the time that I needed to do that.
SPEAKER_05And so we you were fortunate enough to have a spouse that had the health insurance and had every, you know, that could help you with that. What if it's somebody who doesn't have that? Maybe their spouse is also an entrepreneur that has to, that was relying on you or them for their health insurance or some of those benefits. How do you talk to that person who says, I have kids, I have a mortgage, I have everything, and I can't really take that risk right now.
SPEAKER_03Even say that maybe maybe it's the person who's the single mom or the single dad that has to do all this himself and doesn't have someone to lean on, or even without kids.
SPEAKER_01Guys, I'm gonna suggest everybody who's listening to this, read my Forbes article. When I tell you, I literally documented my risk mitigation process. Even if I'm married, I'm the top mindset of like I need to be making my own money, right? Like that's just how I how I was raised and born. Now, here's some practical suggestions I would I would suggest. So for me, one of the things that I documented there was even though I was married, is I took a general loan from my 401k at the time, right? And I didn't touch it, but it was my, you know, my commission breath, you know, to make me commission breath free, right? Like I didn't want to chase commissions.
SPEAKER_05Like I wanted to just your commission breath freshener.
SPEAKER_01Or just I wanted to be free of that. I didn't want people to think that I'm chasing commissions if I'm actually really practic a practitioner and I'm serving them. For me, that's what needed to happen. Now, thank goodness I didn't need to touch a penny of it. Like I had it in a separate account and I had it repay itself, but that's what needed to be true for me. If I ever needed it, it was there. I wasn't going to act out of desperation. For people who have mortgages, I would say get your HELAC while you're still employed, right? Because you have to show some level of employment. Like there are strategies you can use for health care. There's something called federally qualified health center. Let me tell you, you will become creative when you need to make that move, right? And these are centers throughout this the nation where they have um schedule a fees, published fees for regular, you know, doctor appointments and dental. We have to use that actually. My husband is not freelancing as well. So we have to use that in between while he left until we got our insurance, you know, uh started as well. So you become really creative and finding solutions. So there are solutions that you can use.
SPEAKER_05We're gonna put that Forbes article in the show notes, folks, and the description on YouTube, so you have it. But let's talk about the rebuilding, not the version that looks good on LinkedIn because we don't want that. The real version, right? You mentioned something in your intake about about the loneliness and building something when the people closest to you, they really don't fully understand what it takes. And like, oh great, Tez, you got something new. You're gonna kill that like everything else, but it's different.
SPEAKER_01So, you know, I think there's two different seasons when I I felt that one is obviously leaving corporate and even the identity piece. Let's let's even talk about the identity piece, right? Like, even though this is something I chose to do, I have to admit to you that unfortunately, you know, the realtor community community doesn't necessarily have the most uh loved or respected, you know, respect in the community. And so, and and remember, I got into it because my buying experience was not great. And so there was something about having an MBA coming from a reputable company, and I mean, I was so proud of working at the company, guys. I would literally have like my batch when I went to the grocery store, like I wanted it to be known, like it was something I was proud of for whatever.
SPEAKER_02I wanted to understand this totally, I do.
SPEAKER_01Right, and so coming from that to a realtor, whatever that means for different people, and even for me to fully embrace it, I will admit to you, it took a while, right? Um, now understanding that this is not chasing commission, it's building business, and there's so much to it, and it's up and down, and roller coaster has so much more respect for it, then you know, that's when I became involved with my associations and things like that. So there was that phase of even for me fully embracing that profession and that title, right? Then more recently, um, I launched my brokerage and a property management as well. It's literally like two startups at the same time. And in both times, so when I was leaving corporate and you know, dual career and now, I had to have some really tough conversations with my family and friends. Like with my husband, you know, when I started, when I was transitioning, it was like, listen, I'm I only have the weekends and evenings, and so I'm going to be driving around, I'm gonna be showing, I'm gonna be practicing real estate, which means I'm not going to be home as much, right? Just having that agreement up front, this is what it takes for me to feel to fully confidently say I'm a professional and own it, these are the steps that I need to take. And we just need to agree that this is a family agreement, so there's no resentment or anything. More recently, I had to have conversations with with my friends. I mean, some of my best friends, you know, rightfully so. They said, Hey, you know, we haven't seen you in a while, feel like you don't really have time for us. And I had to say, listen, I'm in a season, a different season of my life. I'm in a building season right now. I'm in a go-go mode. I love you, I care about you. It's it's nothing, you know, has changed in terms of my care for you, but I simply don't have the time for physical presence to be in one space. I I could barely think and swim, right? Like yesterday, I took my son to swimming. I I had my laptop with me, right? Trying to squeeze in whatever time that I could. And so, you know, sometimes those conversations have been tough, right? Even with my husband, it's like, listen, I'm in a building phase right now, I may not make dinner because we have our routine. He does the mornings, I do the evenings, and we're like, I may not make dinner every night. I may be out at events in the evening. So I think it requires recalibrating with the loved ones or family, right? If we're caregivers for for our elder ones and if we have siblings saying, Hey, I need you to do a little bit of more of this now. And yeah, people don't always understand it. But I think one thing about me is I'm always clear in my communication and my intention. And you have to also be good with boundaries. Not everything is my weight to carry. I really believe that it's not mine to carry all the time.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so you mentioned identity shift and and isolation, Jeffrey. This is we this comes up often.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So this is probably what this is probably one of the biggest recurring themes, yeah, across all these, is that like and I've said it before, and you know, Jamie and I've talked about it, and Tess you mentioned we have almost everybody else said, is like when you're inside that corporate box, especially when it's a job that you love, it becomes your identity. Like you said, you wore your badge around. You know, I wore the t-shirt to go get my hair cut. You know, it was that type of that type of thing. So I always find that interesting. And and then what what is it like, and this is even one of the questions that's in here, but what is it, what is it like losing that identity? Because it's almost like losing a piece to me, it was almost like losing a piece of myself. And then and I said to him, I put way too much into the identity of that corporate Jeff that I was. So I'm always curious about that.
SPEAKER_01So for me, it wasn't about losing the identity, it was more so finding comfort in the new identity. So I didn't feel like I'm I was mourning that, and and unfortunately, unfortunately for me, the last couple years have been quite traumatic corporate-wise. Like remember, I said I was part of um uh Toastmasters, and so you know, I was like a leader regionally or whatever. So I used to, I used it was a corporate club, so I used to go back to the campus, the corporate campus. It was to the point where I had physical reactions, guys, when I went back on that campus because it was traumatic. So for me, leaving it was not, it served its purpose. Like I said, you know, they paid for my MBA, like I grew up there, like it was it worked until it didn't. So for me, it was not mourning that title, it was more so can I fully own and be confident in this idea of I'm a real estate professional and what does that look like for me? So it was more so stepping fully into this one.
SPEAKER_03So, so again, jumping around a little bit. So, why why why real estate?
SPEAKER_01So, as I mentioned, I um bought a home and uh it was not a great experience. Um, and I was working with folks who were in the game for 30 years. And when I tell you I caught things on the CD that were wrong, um, and I I was not in the in the in the industry, right? I did I it was just common sense. I'm well read and I I ask questions. And so I'm like after that, I said, because I remember the idea of this this model, the corporate model is not working for me, has already been planted. I've been trying to figure out what it is that I can nonprofit was another path for me, right? I'm on a ton of boards and my heart is in service, but I was like, but the lifestyle though, right? Like, I don't know if it's gonna support my lifestyle. And so there were many things that I I hired a uh a career life coach as part of that transition I should mention to help me clarify different things. And so it wasn't an automatic thing, but I think having gone through the process intimately, and then I was like, oh, this is how y'all do this? Like, you have no empathy for the person that's doing this for the first time, and they're probably making the most expensive purchase. They will, I mean, I had to hold everybody accountable, and that's when the ding-ding moment of like, hey, I don't have to get a whole other degree to do this. Let me go through the process and see if I can enjoy it. And then that six-month maternity period was like, okay, now that I have the credentials, do I think I will actually enjoy this as a lifetime? So going through the process is what made it a possible option for me.
SPEAKER_05And for the non-real estate folks, C D is closing disclosure.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sorry.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. Um, I'm gonna I'm gonna jump ahead a little bit. So you you said you're risk-averse. You're a risk-averse introvert. And I don't think I've ever heard that terminology. I know the risk-averse is, I know what an introvert is, and I and it it's like I'm I'm I'm trying to you explained it, but I'm trying to like click that. The risk-averse, because as an introvert, you are generally risk-avered, but to put the two together, so do you think being that risk-averse introvert or believing you are potentially slows you down in in the entrepreneur? In that decision making as a business owner, as an entrepreneur.
SPEAKER_01I I think for me, um the reason why I mentioned those together is usually when I hear about people quitting corporate or whatever, they are the risk takers, right? And uh they're the you know, the people, the extroverts, right? They believe they have connections or they don't even have a plan B, but they're like, they're gonna figure it out. That wasn't for me. I it I'm not built that way. And also the fact that I'm an immigrant and I don't have you know a ton behind me. I think that's an important story to tell. I think you often hear about the stories of, you know, I didn't know what my plan was, but I was like, I just quit. Like I cannot comprehend what that means. So the reason why I mention that all the time is often we don't hear about the stories where there is no capital behind them. And you know, there is no there, they didn't go to an Ivy League or like they they were the blueprint, like there was no blueprint to follow, and they made the blueprint themselves. So that's why I mentioned that. Now, a risk averse doesn't mean you know we don't take risks. I mean going to real estate commission, right? Like 100% commission, launching a brokerage, that is risk, that it's just calculated risk, right? So I'm not making calls and hoping it figures out. I ask tons of questions, I prepare. It's been three years since I had my brokerage licensed. And it took a year of planning for me to say this is, I mean, there's lawsuits, all kinds of things happening. And I'm like, let me just see how all of this is gonna settle. Like there's a process to my method, that's all it means. But we don't make decisions, we do take risks, they're just calculated ones. An introvert just means that I'm very protective of my time and my energy where I spend it. Um, you're not gonna find me, you know, if there's a networking and it's at a bar, not my scene. Um, but I we are very good listeners and we make great connections. Um, I'm just not the life of the party, but a lot of people have a hard time believing the introvert part because I do speak on stages and I am passionate about certain topics, but I'm very intentional about the spaces that I I choose to spend my time in.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's weird because that introvert thing, I think a lot of people misunderstand what an introvert is, um, especially people aren't, because technically I am an introvert. And that to me, that just means that when I recharge, I don't recharge in a group full of people. I recharge in unlike J-Man, when he recharges, he needs to recharge around a whole group full of people. We're all great on stage, it's just what we do afterwards is is how we recoup recoup our energy. Um most people who leave corporate America make it sound like a release, like finally, I'm out of here. Um we talked about before, you know. Also, some people is that that part of a grief. The grief, I really think it depends upon if you choose if you chose to leave or you were forced out. Um was there anything, because you said it really wasn't a mourning for you, it was more like that relief, but was there anything that you had to mourn to let it like to let go and actually be fully into your next adventure, be fully into that real estate aspect?
SPEAKER_01No, not really. So I think the type of person that I am is like, you know, even in tough situations and tough relationships, you know. Um, I think it's Denzel Washington who said, I'm from around the way, I'm gonna leave with something, right? Like I squeeze experiences out of every good or bad, and and I'll always be a winner for that in in my mind, right? So, you know, I definitely used my journey and opportunity. I raised $10,000 for my church and they matched it. Like, are you kidding me? Like, I used that opportunity, I got my master's out of it. I bought a home, like I used that path for what it was supposed to serve. But I think we have to be honest and say, and this is true in personal relationships, right? Like or in business, sometimes certain opportunities are meant to be there for a certain journey. And it's okay to say that thank you, I'll have grown it. And you know, when you start to feel misaligned emotions and stress and trauma, that's definitely a telltale sign that you have grown your welcome in that space, right? So I really didn't have to mourn much. Now, I will tell you that um I think the joy and and the win is, you know, I go to build up my kids' school and do career day almost every year. And last year I did it in a middle school, and one person, one student asked me, and this, you know, the students get given from the teachers like little planted questions if no one is asking this. So there's a funny. Yeah. But they're like, like we do when we're teaching in classes.
SPEAKER_03If no one asks me a question, please ask me something.
SPEAKER_01Right, exactly, exactly. So they're like, um, so what is like an average income of you know your job, right? I was like, well, first of all, it's not a job. Let's start there, it's a business. I said, you know, there are there are years.
SPEAKER_05Listen here, kid.
SPEAKER_01I mean, they're middle school, they understand. Um, I said, you know, there are years where I complained about paying too much taxes, and then I have to quickly remember that, you know what, this is a blessing. And there are years if Uncle Sam was gonna pay me, because it's been tough, right? Um, but I said, you know, my measure of success is being able to say that I never missed a beat of my children's life. I never, I no longer had to ask permission to go make the field day smack in the middle of the day. Like they know I'll be there.
SPEAKER_04Yep.
SPEAKER_01And can I tell you middle schoolers were clapping, like I struck a chord in them? That is my measure of success, right? Some years I make great money, some years I don't. But for me, I think that's the other thing too, is like, you know, what is your value system? You have to be, and I think I talk about this in the article, you have to be clear on your value system when you're making such a drastic career change because money is important. We need it to live, but what other thing? For me, the idea that I was not confined to and it's not a nine to five. We say nine to five, it's more like a nine to ten, but y'all know what I mean. Like being confined to a nine to five versus not, it just has changed the currency of time. Like, I am a quality of life aware that tomorrow is not promised. I may not be here tomorrow. So then I have to make the most out of this in my relationships, in what matters to me and living out my potential. So the fact that I'm not confined to a specific place and time, I probably work more now in my business than I did in corporate, even though I was, you know, wrong dogging it on corporate, but like just that alone, that that change makes a ton of difference. So if my mom needs something, it I mean, sometimes my get my kids get sick and the nurse calls me, they're like shocked that I pick up the first ring and I'm there in five minutes because that's not everybody's reality, right? So to me, that is the construct of time and how we use it is the biggest win, I think.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I love that because it's like, yeah, you're working nine to ten, but you might work nine to eleven and then go to lunch with your kid, or then right? You have so many things that you can do throughout the day, and like you said, be there for the for the moments that matter most because nobody's gonna remember that board meeting that you missed.
SPEAKER_01100%. I mean, speaking of that, J-Man, like that six-month period, the second maternity that I took with my second child, one of the memorable things I remember doing is when my husband was not traveling, I had lunch with him during the week outside, and I I just felt like giddy. Like I didn't have to ask permission for anyone to do that. I'm like, I want to do more of this, you know, or fitting in a petty. Like, I may still take my laptop now, but like I could still do that. You know, like for me, that is what's important. Like, not owing my time to anybody else, you know?
SPEAKER_05I love that. Well, we're we're gonna do our quick lightning round. These are gonna be just spitfire questions. You don't have to think too much about them. Just okay. Okay, you ready?
SPEAKER_03You got it. First answers usually the best. All right.
SPEAKER_05Yep. All right. First business you ever ran. Doesn't have to be official, it could be as a kid. What was it?
SPEAKER_03Avon.
SPEAKER_05Avon.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay. Um, a leader or someone famous you never met, but would do anything to have an hour with. Michelle Obama.
SPEAKER_05Best decision you've ever made that everyone around you thought was the worst decision you've ever made. Probably leaving corporate.
SPEAKER_03I was gonna say. I knew that was gonna be it. What does success look like to you? I know this answer because you said it already. What does success look like to you on a Tuesday at 2 p.m.?
SPEAKER_01Owning my time and deciding w what to do with it as I wish.
SPEAKER_05Last thing that genuinely surprised you about owning a business.
SPEAKER_01Oh, but I don't know that this is a surprise, but like all I mean, especially until you you reach a capacity where you can leverage it out. I had an assistant had to let her go. Um, every little minute thing, right? Like, I mean, launching my business now, like I had to do a new W9 and a new wire instruction, like every little thing. It has to get done, but does it have to get done by you? Like it's a lot.
SPEAKER_03Ten years from now. One sentence about you or to yourself.
SPEAKER_01You've made it. The business can now operate without you. Um, you own your time. You can travel. You made it.
SPEAKER_05All right. Last question says, and this is the one we close every episode with. What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone who's literally about to quit their job and bet on themselves?
SPEAKER_01Um, be clear on your value system. Um, because that's what's going to push you through when things get rough. And they will get rough, but you will get through them. If you're clear on your why and your value system, when things get rough, that's what you are left to hold on to. But you can do it. Even as a risk-averse introvert, you can do it.
SPEAKER_05Tez, before we let you go, where can people find you?
SPEAKER_01Um, TezRoral.com. LinkedIn is probably the best place. That's where I share more often what I'm doing, what I'm speaking about, just you know, thought leadership, and people can message me there. So yeah, you can find me on LinkedIn. Um, I think it's Tizita or Tez Roral Realtor MBA, I believe it has on there.
SPEAKER_05Okay. We'll put it in the show notes in the description. Uh, if this conversation hit you the way it hit us, folks, please share it. Send it to somebody who's in their own parking lot right now, having that moment. They need to hear this. Subscribe if you haven't already. And next Monday we'll be coming back with another one that you don't want to miss. But before we let you go, we want to say thank you to our founding partners, WiseAgent, Suby, and the CE Shop. They make this show possible and they're building tools that actually help people in this industry. Check them out. All the links are in the show notes. And thank you, Tez, for spending time with us. And thank you, Jeffrey, for being here with us as the co host.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, Tez. Thank you, Tez. Really appreciate it. Thank you.
SPEAKER_05And thank you to everyone for listening and watching. It's not something we take lightly.
SPEAKER_03Make it a great day.
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