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Welcome to Real Talk for Rookie Realtors – the no-fluff, real-talk podcast for rookie real estate agents who need encouragement and mentorship all while building a business they love.
This show is your go-to space for big sister energy, honest encouragement, and practical strategies to grow your real estate business with confidence—especially if you're doing it solo.
Each week, you’ll get bite-sized business tips, marketing advice, and behind-the-scenes lessons from someone who's been right where you are. Whether you're newly licensed, thinking about jumping into real estate, or tired of feeling like you're faking it 'til you make it—this podcast was made for you.
Expect real life stories, step-by-step guidance, and zero gatekeeping.
Grab your coffee, hit play, and let’s build the business (and life) you actually want.
Hello. Welcome back to Real Talk for Rookie Realtors. I am so excited today because I have my first guest on the podcast, and her name is Sam Walker, and she's the best. And I'm excited that you're here, but I am also so excited to not, like, be talking to a wall. I'm excited to be talking to an actual person today, you know, extrovert life.
Speaker 1:But Sam is So we have been at two companies together now, and I honestly feel like we're like a yin and yang duo. Yeah. I feel like a lot of your strengths are my weaknesses, and my weaknesses are your strengths. And so we've kind of like when people ask me about you that aren't in real estate, like, oh yeah, like my business bestie. Like we do the businesses together.
Speaker 1:So it's been so fun to just have like that support and friendship in business with you.
Speaker 2:Well, I appreciate that because every time on your podcast when you talk about, you know, that work bestie, I always insert myself. It's true. I think about I think about you and I think about our relationship. Yes. Literally work besties for life.
Speaker 1:I will do another podcast. Was on that at some point. In the car this morning, was thinking about how important it is to have friendships in business, and just, yeah, I was thinking of you. So that's the best. But okay, today we're talking about coming on as a new agent, being a solo agent versus joining a team.
Speaker 1:And it's actually great timing because in the past week, I think I've had three agents ask me about this. Yeah. And I never have personally been on a team. I jumped in straight as solo. And so you did start out on a team.
Speaker 1:So I thought it'd be awesome to bring you on and hear your perspective of what I don't have, Cause I was kind of giving them some tips on like what I think or like this may be pro and cons of a team, I'm like, I haven't actually been on one to know the nuances of it. I'm excited you're here. Yeah, me too. So can you tell us, well number one, share a little bit of your journey into real estate and why you're even here doing real estate? And then also point B, what made you decide to join a team instead of going solo agent in the beginning?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So when I jumped into real estate it was a career shift for me. I had been doing something completely different beforehand for almost ten years. I had been predominantly working in the live event production side of things where I was producing live events and doing a lot of organization, scheduling people, making sure this gets there and that that sort of thing. Carrying a lot of responsibility there and wearing several different hats.
Speaker 2:I decided to jump into real estate after I got pregnant and the event life is a very late life. So you're first one there, last one out kind of thing. And that just wasn't really conducive to having a brand new baby. So my husband and I prayed about it and I had always been interested in real estate. I grew up very much a 90s kid.
Speaker 2:My mom had HGTV or the Food Network playing all the time. And I loved watching just the different house things on HGTV and restoring houses and that sort of thing. So that's also a passion of mine. But the best way I knew how to jump into that was to jump into real estate. However, it was very scary to me to go from I had you know a very stable income and here I was pregnant making a shift and needing income still.
Speaker 2:I was very nervous about that. So I just kind of started poking around and I found a couple of jobs that seemed interesting but felt like a foot in the door.
Speaker 1:And
Speaker 2:so one of those jobs was a transaction coordinator on a team. And so I applied for that and I ended up going through the process of the interview process and it went really great. But I ended up coming on as a different role. So I think I could have done the transaction coordinator, but I honestly think I would have been a little bit bored with I agree, you would be bored. Thankfully the people who were interviewing me saw that as well.
Speaker 2:Love that. And put me in a more forward facing role, which was a showing assistant. And so that's how I started my journey into real estate. And I jumped headfirst into opening doors, showing homes, understanding the different things about homes and everything. I absolutely loved it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely loved it. And so that kick started everything and I'll kind of leave it at that point and then talk about some more later.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no I love that. Did not know that. I didn't know that you applied to be a TC at first. So learn something new every day. Yep.
Speaker 1:Cool, so okay, give us a little bit of background about being on a team, because when I jumped in, it was kind of like learn the whole learn the whole thing at one time. Go for it from A to Z. I am with that client. And I feel like when you came on to our past company, you had a very different view of what like transactions looked like or the pieces that you had to learn. So tell me a little bit like, I guess, like pros and cons of what did you learn or like what did a team teach you that you might not have learned the same way as just jumping in as a solo agent?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What my understanding is about teams is there's a handful of ways that teams can be set up. The one that I was in particular was kind of like a big fish in a medium sized pond, would say in our market. So I had no idea. I did not know anything about this team or anything like that. And I feel like I just happened upon a team that was very, a very successful team.
Speaker 1:And
Speaker 2:so what that did for me or what, how that team was set up is everyone had a different, if you think about a pie, everybody had a different piece of the pie or an assembly line, like everybody had different roles. What that allowed everyone to do is to really hone in their skills and almost be a specialist in that particular area. So like I said, I applied to be a TC, but then there was a buyer's agent. There's also a listing agent. So buyer's agent only works with buyers and a listing agent only works with sellers.
Speaker 2:And then there's a showing assistant and you know, everybody had their specialty. And so what that allowed you to do is to be really good at one particular thing. Yeah. So it helped me focus my learning experience, especially at the beginning of my journey in a very good way. Also, what it allowed me to do is to be partnered with other agents who were much more seasoned than me and had the ability to mentor me in a way that I didn't necessarily know I needed.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So that was really, really good. The level of experience ranged from anywhere from someone just getting into it to someone who'd been in it at the time for seven plus years or more, and in one particular role. So that was really, really cool for me.
Speaker 1:It is interesting that those because to me a team, and this is not true, but in my head, you get on a team, you're there for a little bit, and it's kind of like a bridge to being a solo agent. But I think for some people that's not true, and they would just rather be and stay on a team. Yes, exactly. Which is, yeah, interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually to speak to that, I have a friend that is still at that team, and I mean, we've known each other for several years now, they are very happy, still on the team. And I think that you're 100% right. It just depends on the personality of the agent. There's a lot of benefit. You have a lot of leverage when you're on a team.
Speaker 2:I think it can work either way for anybody. I think we're going to talk about it a little bit later as to how to decipher whether or not it's a good decision or not. But for sure there are people that have been there for years that are happy.
Speaker 1:Yep, so one of the, I feel like the most asked question that I get, especially in the past couple weeks, is
Speaker 2:about leads. So I feel
Speaker 1:like most of the agents that I talk to are nervous to jump in being a solo agent because they don't know where they're gonna get their leads from. Yes. So what was the balance between that being on a team of how many were you responsible for bringing in your own leads? Did they provide them or what did that
Speaker 2:look like? Yeah, so I really didn't I didn't really think about that when I started off on this team, mostly because I didn't know. Had no You
Speaker 1:don't know what you don't know.
Speaker 2:No, I had no concept.
Speaker 1:Sometimes it's
Speaker 2:better that way. Yeah. A little scary. I had no concept for leaves. And so yes how this team particularly worked is you had to work up towards getting leads and so part of that started with learning how to work your own sphere.
Speaker 2:Thankfully for me because I grew up here in Greenville, I came into the situation with having like a good many people in the area that I could reach out to. Yeah. And so I started there. And so after you, they had it, that was one thing that was really good about being on the team is very structured, and I had a lot of clarity for what I was supposed to do. One of my personal sayings is clarity is kindness, and I felt like going into that team, having that clarity of what I should do each day with my time, how I should manage it was very kind to me, it was very needed.
Speaker 2:And so part of that was learning and knowing how to work my sphere in a non cringey way, and that was really important to me as well. And then you could work up towards getting leads. Okay. So this team did provide leads and how that typically works, if you're receiving leads, there's a handful of ways that it can work out, but if you're receiving leads from the team, usually it just means your split is going to be different later. And so that was very much the case there.
Speaker 2:Yes, no that's so good because I feel like a lot
Speaker 1:of the agents that come to me that's kind of their question is, and that's honestly why I created this whole kind of like rookie realtor situation, because they would get licensed, they're like excited to start, and then you get the license you best test and you're like, what do I do now? Right. And so it is so nice to have that structure, whereas I did not have that, and it was kind of just like throw spaghetti against the wall, see what sticks, which worked well for me. But I do think it's interesting because on a team, are jumping in, you're doing real estate, you're getting leads, like you said, can work up to getting leads from the team. And for me, I kind of just jumped in of, what do I need to do?
Speaker 1:I started building a personal brand that I didn't even know was building at the time. Right. And that has ultimately now been the thing that has brought me all my leads and built my business. But I couldn't have done that on a team because you can't really self brand yourself Correct. Under a team because you're the team's brand.
Speaker 1:Yes. So I feel like it is kind of like what what's more important to you? What do you want your business to look like? Or at least for the time being Mhmm. You can always switch over like you did and start building more of a personal brand.
Speaker 1:Okay. So to speak to that, how did you what was kind of the turning point of, hey, I think my season's coming to a close on a team. What does it look like to switch over and how did you know when it was time to go
Speaker 2:out on your own? Yeah, I would say I don't know that there was like one particular moment that made me decide I wanted to switch. It kind of was a build up. So like I mentioned this particular team very structured. You had to be there at 08:30 in the morning for a morning stand up meeting kind of thing.
Speaker 2:And then from nine to eleven you were on the phone making calls. And then after you had done those things then you could kind of like do whatever you needed to do for the rest of the day. That like I said that was really really good because it helped me know how to manage my time. And I would say you know, just like anything, you start to have pain points in life and you if you can identify what the pain points are and then bring a solution around them, then that's usually when a shift or a change is happening. And so I think that is kind of what started happening for me is there were some pain points in my schedule.
Speaker 2:My husband ended up getting like four weeks off from work where he was. He, in essence got like a sabbatical type thing where he was off work for four weeks. Well, I just remember being really sad that I couldn't do that same thing. And that was one of the things that I really longed for was that control or that flexibility. Not that you have flexibility in real estate necessarily, I think that's a myth.
Speaker 2:Don't preach that. Yeah. But that is kind of like what I was like, I would have liked a little bit more ability to manage my own time rather than being required to show up to something at the same time every day. Well I feel like that's one
Speaker 1:of the things you talked about of why you got into real estate. Exactly. Because you're having a child you wanted more flexibility all the things and then yes you didn't have it yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes and that's good like that was really really good for the time being because now I can fall back on that same structure but at that time so that was a pain point so at that time I really wanted to be able to go travel or something like that with my husband when he was off. And I would say too, the other pain point that I started feeling was was during the craziness of our market when we were in that twenty twenty, twenty twenty one frenzy, just the insaneness of it
Speaker 1:all. Wildness.
Speaker 2:And the thing about being on a team is they are set up for volume. Yeah. So, and that again, nothing wrong with it. As long as the client is served and taken care of and accomplishes their goal, there's nothing wrong with that. Different business model.
Speaker 2:Exactly. But for me, I'm such a high relational person that I needed, I did not necessarily like only having one piece of the puzzle because there were a couple of instances where you know a colleague of mine you know maybe didn't do a bad job but they didn't do it to the standard that I wanted. And so I was bringing my friends and my family to this team. And I was hearing a little bit more of like what it was like once the baton got passed to the next person. And again, it wasn't anything wrong, but it wasn't as warm or nurturing or whatever that I wanted for my friends and my family.
Speaker 2:And that was hard for me because I wanted to able to be the one that provided that for them. So those were, I would say those were the two main pain points that I was experiencing that helped me transition to being a solo agent.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's great. And I feel like you and I both genuinely love building businesses. Yeah. And so, in a way you can do that, but in a way
Speaker 2:you
Speaker 1:can't. I also just wanted to note that I feel like I have learned so much from you. When you came over, you spoke so highly about, I knew it was time for me to make a switch, but you came into the office and you were like, Oh, y'all just kind of do whatever you want? And I'm like, Yeah, I just do whatever I want. And you have said multiple times that how thankful for you, thankful you are when you started to have that structure in place.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Because I feel like it allowed you to know how to structure your days moving forward just because it's some of the habits you picked up. Which I feel like is so helpful because I just kind of had to make that for myself. Which has worked out, but for sure again it's just sometimes there could be more resistance there. Okay.
Speaker 1:Yes, that is so good. So talk a little bit more about the transition from going from team to solo agent. What I feel like jumping into real estate is so scary. Commission, the unknown, all the things. But what were the fears of being in real estate on a team and then jumping to solo agent?
Speaker 1:Like what were your thoughts and feelings around that? Yeah, so I would say there was a lot of fear switching for sure, for so many different reasons.
Speaker 2:One of them being, I'm such a highly responsible If you look at my StrengthsFinders, my number one strength is responsibility. And I felt so responsible to the company that I was at that it was really hard for me to walk away from that. That was a big thing that I had to overcome. Then of course, the fear of where's the business going to come from? My first year-
Speaker 1:Living on a prayer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my first year, very, very first year of being in real estate, was part of the, like I said, I was a piece of the pie. I was a part of the assembly line to over 100 transactions. I was so busy. I helped so many people and that was really, really fun. That was really amazing.
Speaker 2:I did not want to do that again though. I did not want to do that many again. But at the same time I was like, I gonna have anyone to serve? I definitely had a fear of that, like where anybody was gonna Thankfully, come there was a handful of people that I knew that were in my sphere. And that's kind of where I started.
Speaker 2:It was surprising to me while I was there how many, when I did work my sphere, how many of my friends and family did come and work with me, even though I wasn't doing the whole thing. Kind of surprised me. So I just, you know, I leaned on God's past faithfulness to believe and have faith that more was coming. And so that is kind of how I stepped into that and really truly tried to conquer that fear with the faith that I have. I also the financial side of things when I was at the team, I was being paid a very small salary.
Speaker 2:So at least every time I was going to get a little something each month. And that was really nice too. We, my husband and I really sat down and reevaluated our budget and thankfully he had a very stable income like we were we were going to be okay but we knew we were only gonna be okay for so long before I had to make something happen. And one thing that I learned is anything you're doing today in real estate, you're most likely going to bear the fruit of that ninety days from now. I feel
Speaker 1:like we talk about this all the time.
Speaker 2:Yes, I have to constantly remind myself ninety days from now, we're gonna see the fruit of this. And so if I can make it ninety days, then I know something will come in within that time. If you can just kind of repeat that pattern and get going good from that,
Speaker 1:then I think it works out. Yeah. So were you on salary plus commission? Yes. You had commission opportunities as well?
Speaker 2:Correct, yes.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I was salary plus commission and then I could get bonuses kind of thing if they were my sphere.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:That's the best way I know how to explain that. It wasn't actually a bonus, but it was maybe like a higher commission
Speaker 1:or something
Speaker 2:like that.
Speaker 1:Higher split or something. Yeah. Just a side note, remind us, so how long were you on a team and then how long have you been a solo agent?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was on a team for almost two years and then I have been a solo agent, I guess, for almost three. I guess maybe more than that. Sounds right. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Ish. Yeah. Ish. Okay that's great. No it is it is so scary.
Speaker 1:Had yeah the commission, all the things jumping in, like these people have heard my story where I'm like, had a couple thousand dollars saved and a mortgage and the world shut down and I jumped in and you know what? If you do the work, it'll work out.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Okay, how did you prepare yourself for the transition? Like actually doing the thing, how did you get from point A to point B?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I really focused on our savings. I saved up to be able to make that transition. Then I just got to work. I mean, just kept doing the things that I had learned. When I was preparing to make a shift, I talked to a handful of people and I just basically repeated the thing that I did when I first started real estate, which was reaching out to my sphere, letting them know that I was making a change, and not asking them for business or anything like that, but just like, Hey, I know you're cheering me on.
Speaker 2:Thank you for caring about what happens in my life. I'm kind of feeling a little bit nervous. I struggled with imposter syndrome really bad too because I'd only I been felt like, oh I was only a showing assistant. So you showed houses. There's so much more to doing real estate and I was really struggling with that as well.
Speaker 2:So I just did the best that I could to talk to people that I respected in the industry and ask questions. So those were the big things that I did to prepare.
Speaker 1:Yep. Okay, what When you were officially out on your own, because you've done amazing, just let me say, love doing it alongside you, you absolutely crush it. What surprised you most about being out on your own?
Speaker 2:I would say what surprised me the most about being on my own was how easily I could let myself down. I say, oh, I fell back on the structure and the things that I learned from the team. And that is true. And I also could you know, drift from that pretty easily. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that was pretty surprising to me. It was pretty surprising to me how I could fall into the habit of being so reactionary that I forgot to be proactive in my business. And I feel like that is where the roller coaster of real estate comes from is when we get, when this, if you're looking at scales and one side is being reactive and the other side is being proactive, If one tips too far to the one side then that is when the roller coaster starts. So the roller coaster has been probably the most surprising thing to me. It is a full on roller coaster.
Speaker 1:And I mean you, I can attest to and tell you that you are a highly disciplined person and dedicated person. And that, I mean, just another testament to like, no matter who you are, we are all human and it is really hard to start your own business, be out on wake up in the morning with nobody telling you
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Where to be or what to do. Yes. And I mean, yeah, it's the hardest. And so I did a podcast I did a couple weeks ago about keeping promises to yourself. And it is so hard, but it's been such a game changer because it is so easy to tell ourselves, like, oh yeah, I'm gonna do this this week.
Speaker 1:And then be like, oh, well, it'll be fine if I do it next week or whatever it is. And it sure, your business might be fine ish, but you can build it you're gonna make it through, but it is not how you thrive and build a business and stay off the roller coaster. Right. You're gonna be strapped in, not able to get out if you're doing that and riding it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:No, I love that. So, two of the agents I've talked to in the past week have been asking me questions about, should I go solo or should I join a team? And I don't think there's OSFA, one size fits all. We my friends used to used think that was so funny. I've never heard that.
Speaker 1:But there's like a tag on a shirt or something? No. And it says OSFA, one size fits all.
Speaker 2:Very nice.
Speaker 1:There is not an OSFA to I can't make it fast. There's not a one size fits all to jumping into real estate. And you and I both, we are both from Greenville, actually, both went to the same high school, and we have both are pretty involved in our communities, all the things. And we have a pretty good sphere of influence. Like, we're very loyal friends, we're dedicated to our people, and I think that has reflected back in our business.
Speaker 1:But say somebody is living in a city that they've only been in post college or have just moved into and want to jump into real estate, like, working your sphere isn't a very viable option because there's not going be much of a sphere at first until you build it up. Right. And so that is kind of when I was talking to this agent, like, hey, if you were younger and you also don't have a sphere here, like it probably is a good idea to jump on a team. Or if you are, you know, want to dove into like building a brand, getting social or buying leads or whatever it is, like going out as a sole agent, then that's fine too. But it feels like a team would be a better fit.
Speaker 1:So I guess like if an agent is a newly licensed agent is trying to pick a company and trying to dive into where they should join a team or go on a solo agent, what would your advice be, keeping in mind that there's not an OSFA? I'm sorry. I can't help it.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I would say there is not anyone that can answer this question other than the agent themselves. There's no right or wrong answer. I think you really have to do some deep diving into what your personality is like on one hand, and then you also want to take some time and go on some interviews. Don't be afraid. My husband, he used to work in HR.
Speaker 2:He works with me in real estate now. That's been a big shift for us. When he was in HR and over the interview process and that sort of thing, he would encourage people like when you're in an interview, you are just as much interviewing the company that is interviewing you. Yes, you applied for the job, you can only tell so much from a piece of paper when you're applying for a job. You just as much are interviewing the company.
Speaker 2:So don't be afraid to interview some companies and see if the team fits for you. Now be prepared, exactly. And be prepared, they're gonna be highly recruit, like high intense recruiting you because they do want people to come on. It is a little bit, there is a sense of it where they need warm bodies physically. But to extent, that's what works out.
Speaker 2:So don't be afraid to do that. I think also one thing that was going through my mind when you were talking just a second ago was you can go about it two different ways. If you are wanting to I was in a position where I could go all in. Yeah. I didn't have to I had the benefit of another income with my family.
Speaker 2:Not everyone has that. Thankfully, that income could sustain us for quite a while. So I had the luxury and the privilege of being able to jump all in on a team, and that worked out really well for me. But I think if someone who is still working a full time job and wanting to start their career in real estate and needing to kind of do it on the side, but build it into something full time, then perhaps jumping in as a solo agent is your best bet. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because your sphere is your work. Wherever you work can be your sphere.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And so I think that could be a way to look at it. And then also, if you have the ability, maybe you have a savings account that can last you for the next ninety to one hundred and eighty days is what I would kind of prepare for. Maybe you can jump all in and you can jump into a team that's teaching you the structure, that's teaching you those things, and you're not necessarily wanting to build your own brand. You're used to the corporate job and jumping into a team is gonna be an easy on ramp for you to start. Either way you go, I think you just have to commit to it and work really hard.
Speaker 2:Give yourself six months at least, and then be willing to change your mind. Be willing to make a change. That was something that I have learned how to do better in my more recent years, in my 30s, where I used to feel like if I commit to something, I can't un commit, I can't change. I have to be there forever and ever.
Speaker 1:And
Speaker 2:recently, I feel like I've given myself permission to change my mind. If I evaluate the situation and feel like I have a good case for changing my mind, it is okay to do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. No, I totally agree. And on that note, real estate culture is very interesting because there are real estate agents that I know that have been at six different companies in six years. It's kind of wild how easy it is to switch. It's kind of a buyer signs and click a button to switch companies, which I am not saying we ever need to do that.
Speaker 1:Like, do not be a little company jumper, but there is always the option to switch companies and you don't know what you don't know. So start out where you think is the best fit you feel peace about, move forward. And yeah, like you said, six months, a year, if you decide that this isn't the best fit for you, then move on and find a better fit. So I love it. Okay, think that's all we got.
Speaker 1:Isn't she the best? It has truly changed my business experience, having a business bestie like her in it. I did thank her for being on the show and somehow that part of the recording got deleted and is nowhere to be found. So, just know that that did happen. We did not just cut off.
Speaker 1:But if that's the biggest tech fail we had in my first guest interview, we're gonna count it as a win. You can find her on Instagram at Sammy Ray Jay, and I can't wait to chat with y'all next time.