0:16

Welcome to another

0:16

episode of agent versus lender.

0:57

And today I'm excited to have

0:57

Tonja Masina. with uh she's, the

1:02

broker and owner of Paradise

1:02

Realty. And welcome, Tonja.

1:06

It's, it's I'm really actually

1:06

pretty excited to have you on.

1:10

It's really a

1:10

pleasure to be on a podcast of

1:13

yours, too. So thank you for

1:13

inviting me.

1:16

Awesome. So tell us,

1:16

you know, just just introduce us

1:20

to yourself, tell us a little

1:20

bit how you got into business

1:23

and where you're at today.

1:25

Okay, so I started

1:25

in 2002, I wanted to become an

1:30

agent so that I could purchase

1:30

homes and just kind of build

1:34

wealth with real estate, like my

1:34

grandmother had done. And so I

1:39

got into real estate and I

1:39

actually really don't help

1:42

myself very much buying and

1:42

selling anything, because I

1:46

helped a lot of other people instead

1:49

have rental properties, you don't have any properties of your own.

1:52

I do now. But I

1:52

like thinking out back over 18

1:56

years for how much I thought I

1:56

was going to be doing it for

2:00

myself. I really haven't. So

2:00

yeah. So about six years ago, I

2:07

realized that I could probably

2:07

open my own company and reap the

2:14

benefits of doing that and

2:14

having more flexibility with

2:16

clients and not having so much

2:16

corporate red tape. And so I

2:20

opened my own company, and it's

2:20

been such a fun adventure. And I

2:25

I've loved every minute of it. I

2:25

should have done it sooner.

2:29

Yeah, so for those

2:29

that are listening, um, Tony is

2:33

the real deal. She did 120

2:33

transactions last year. I don't

2:38

know if I should say that. I don't know if that's a cool thing to say or not. But I you

2:40

know, she probably wouldn't, she

2:43

probably wouldn't toot our own

2:43

horn. So I'm going to because

2:48

that's an amazing, accomplished

2:48

accomplishment to do that many

2:51

transactions as a as a real

2:51

estate agent.

2:56

Thank you. I

2:56

really, I don't know how many

2:59

other people do so. I saw. So I

2:59

don't know. I just

3:05

so you know, what's

3:05

really funny is like, we were

3:08

talking and so tell me for 120

3:08

transactions. Normally you have

3:13

a team, what Who's your team.

3:18

My team is my

3:18

sister who I actually hired

3:23

probably 16 years ago because I

3:23

realized I couldn't do the

3:28

paperwork myself. And I actually

3:28

didn't like the paperwork. And

3:32

she's really good at it. And so

3:32

I hired her she's a really good

3:35

worker, she's able to do a lot

3:35

of paperwork she does. She works

3:41

only from nine to two every day.

3:41

And it's pretty much just her

3:45

and I and we've got a really

3:45

good system down. That makes it

3:53

really easy for me to plug

3:53

people and I still can't

3:56

probably do more than 120 and

3:56

keep the same customer service

4:00

level. And that's really important to me too.

4:04

Well, I I'm actually

4:04

shocked that you have basically

4:08

a part time assistant, and you

4:08

do 120 transactions a year.

4:16

That's a testament to your

4:16

system and to your into you

4:21

managing your time because most

4:21

of us just couldn't do that. If

4:25

you're you're what I call a

4:25

unicorn.

4:34

So I want to talk a little bit

4:34

about maybe what you do to

4:41

manage your time because I'm

4:41

just I'm just I'm still just

4:46

really shocked 120 transactions

4:46

with a part time person to help

4:51

you manage people work. What is

4:51

your day look like you you like?

4:56

You like plan out your day. Do

4:56

you have you You block time you

5:02

block time for specific

5:02

activities.

5:05

Um, most of the

5:05

time, I, I know that I've taken

5:09

a lot of classes that teach me

5:09

how to time manage and time

5:13

block. And a lot of times it

5:13

goes out the window, because

5:16

I've got people that come from

5:16

out of state or people that have

5:19

certain jobs that they have to

5:19

deal with. And so for me, it was

5:22

more of a and I prepare the

5:22

night before I get all the

5:28

documents I need for today, last

5:28

night, so they're all in a stack

5:32

ready to go in the order that I

5:32

need them in. And so that really

5:36

helps me be able to wake up and

5:36

focus on getting ready for the

5:39

day and, and giving the self

5:39

care that I need for myself to

5:43

be able to make it through the

5:43

day. So that was probably the

5:47

best thing that I ever did was

5:47

get ready the night before. So

5:50

I'm not stressed about anything

5:50

today. And I do, I probably

5:55

could be better at time blocking

5:55

as far as when I schedule

5:58

appointments, but I have to be

5:58

flexible, if I want to get a

6:01

listing, and they can only meet

6:01

me at 7pm. That's what I'm gonna

6:05

go, you know, and so you got to

6:05

be flexible, but also stingy,

6:11

kind of there's a good balance

6:11

there. I don't give up time with

6:13

my family if my daughter has a

6:13

soccer game. And I've raised

6:18

four kids, you know, in the

6:18

thick of this job, and my kids

6:23

always come first. And my

6:23

clients respect that. And they

6:26

understand it. And I've never

6:26

had a problem with that. You

6:31

know,

6:31

I've found so many

6:31

times that in our industry that

6:35

people think they have to be on

6:35

call 24 hours a day, seven days

6:39

a week. And and if you you put a

6:39

client off for a couple hours

6:44

are going to call somebody else.

6:44

And I've just found that that's

6:47

not true, as long as as long as

6:47

you can. You can tell people

6:52

what's going on and keep them

6:52

informed that, hey, I've just

6:57

I'm going to my kids soccer

6:57

game. Can I call you after that?

7:03

Mostly, I'm with you. Most

7:03

people are really respectful of

7:06

that, that you don't have to

7:06

leave your kids soccer game for,

7:11

you know, 30 minutes, most

7:11

people will wait that 30 minutes

7:14

or an hour. Business will still

7:14

will still be there when you're

7:18

done with the soccer game.

7:20

Yeah. And if there

7:20

ever was a person that that

7:22

wouldn't respect that it would

7:22

be okay. If they didn't want to

7:25

work with me, you know, but I've

7:25

done it has never happened, but

7:28

it would be okay with me.

7:30

Okay, that's, that's

7:30

a really good, that's really

7:34

good advice for most of us,

7:34

because most of us just don't

7:38

get that part. And I'm actually

7:38

a little shocked that you don't

7:42

time block a little bit more,

7:42

because, but but it sounds like

7:46

it sounds like you're very

7:46

organized. You put things

7:50

together the night before, which

7:50

I have personally found very

7:54

helpful. Because if I get up in

7:54

the morning, and I don't have my

7:58

day already planned, then the

7:58

day plans me.

8:05

Yes, oh, yeah. And

8:05

I do have a, you know, kind of a

8:08

simple morning routine where if

8:08

I have to get up and start

8:11

working on client things right

8:11

away it, it throws away

8:14

everything that I did I do in

8:14

the morning, and then I'm off

8:17

the rest of the day. So that's

8:17

the way I found to keep on you

8:21

know, I walk with my friends in

8:21

the morning. And that's

8:23

important to me. And if I had to

8:23

be doing stuff for clients in

8:28

the morning, then I would give

8:28

up walking with friends. And

8:31

that's not gonna happen. So you

8:31

know, you just got to

8:35

prioritize. Sure.

8:37

So there is some

8:37

time blocking you. So like,

8:39

like, I go, I go and do some

8:39

reading in the morning and I go

8:42

and run on the treadmill or run

8:42

outside or do a little little

8:47

lifting or do something. And and

8:47

I do that every morning. But

8:51

it's usually early enough that

8:51

most clients are calling me. But

8:55

so there's still some time

8:55

blocking that you do so that you

8:58

can have your priorities. And

8:58

just like you said, you have

9:01

your family, you have your

9:01

balance of life, because if it's

9:04

work 24 seven people just burn

9:04

out too fast.

9:08

Yeah, it's not

9:08

worth it. It's not worth it.

9:11

So 120 transactions

9:11

a year, how do you get business?

9:15

What is it that you do to bring

9:15

business in the door?

9:19

I was funny. I get

9:19

a lot of agents that asked me

9:22

that just agents that call and

9:22

show my listings and like how do

9:26

you do all this? And it's

9:26

they're asking, they'll always

9:29

call and say can you tell me do

9:29

you get Zillow leads, do you and

9:32

I'm like, No, I've never done

9:32

any of that. But it's because I

9:39

I like working with the people

9:39

that I love and that trust me.

9:44

And so I just figured that it's

9:44

better time and money spent on

9:48

the people that have already

9:48

worked with me. They already

9:51

love me and trust me and I love

9:51

them back and I think if you

9:55

sincerely care about other

9:55

people comes through, and

10:01

they've always taken care of me,

10:01

I always just have people from

10:04

my fly. It's a constant stream.

10:04

And that's been perfect for me.

10:10

And I just keep in touch with

10:10

them. And I don't know they're

10:14

become a friends, you can't work

10:14

with me and not expect to be my

10:18

friend. So

10:20

sincerity can't be

10:20

faked. It just, it just can't.

10:25

I don't think so.

10:25

But I, because I just I really

10:28

do love the people that I work

10:28

with. And I feel like I can

10:32

learn something from every

10:32

single person. And so I just

10:37

love learning from them, and I

10:37

don't know being part of their

10:41

lives.

10:42

So it sounds like

10:42

then you You mind your, your

10:46

past client database, and you

10:46

keep in touch with people when I

10:50

say mine, and what, to me, that

10:50

just means you're keeping in

10:55

touch with them, you're, you

10:55

don't you don't do a

10:57

transaction, and then just say,

10:57

oh, call me in five or six years

11:02

or seven years when you want to

11:02

decide to move again, just like

11:05

you keep in touch with them.

11:07

Yes, I I even tell

11:07

them I say hey, you're not done

11:10

with me, I'm going to be your

11:10

friend for life. So yeah, they

11:14

they know, all through the

11:14

transaction that I'm their

11:17

friend, I go to their, you know,

11:17

baby showers and they're, like,

11:23

I go to their themes, because I

11:23

sincerely want to keep in touch

11:29

with them. I want to know what's

11:29

happening in their lives. That's

11:32

important to me to know, their

11:32

their kids names, their dog's

11:35

names, their grandkids, you

11:35

know, that's fine.

11:40

Yeah, that that's,

11:40

that's awesome. I've only met a

11:43

few people in my life, that work

11:43

strictly their database and do

11:47

no other marketing, and do

11:47

really, really well, I know

11:50

another loan officer. That's all

11:50

that's all he's done. And never

11:54

bought a lead doesn't doesn't do

11:54

the social media theme, doesn't

11:59

do you know, doesn't do

11:59

anything. He's just kept track

12:04

of his bait database of his past

12:04

client database. And just like

12:09

you become friends, so it's rare

12:09

that I find somebody that's done

12:13

that and done it to the level

12:13

that you have.

12:17

Yeah, I've taken

12:17

some classes on social media and

12:20

things like that. But I feel

12:20

like because of what my core

12:23

values are, it throws off. And

12:23

it just throws me off, it kind

12:30

of derails me instead of keeps

12:30

me in, in line with what I want

12:34

in my life. And so I just, I

12:34

don't get involved in the social

12:38

media and the people that do

12:38

that's great. Whatever works for

12:41

you, I think you should do it.

12:41

But for me, it was just kind of

12:44

pulling me away from my focus

12:44

and my family. And it's not what

12:49

I wanted.

12:50

So, yeah, good for

12:50

you for identifying that too.

12:52

Because most of us, we get

12:52

sucked into social media. I

12:56

mean, it's, it's a time suck if

12:56

you're not careful. So it's like

13:00

I find myself scrolling through

13:00

feeds all the time. And it's

13:04

just like, pretty soon, you

13:04

know, you think, Oh, I'm just

13:06

gonna go do one thing on social

13:06

media and pretty soon hours

13:08

passed.

13:10

Right? Yeah. And

13:10

I, I have never ever had that.

13:14

But just because I'm focused on

13:14

other things, and that's okay.

13:18

Whatever your focus is, you

13:18

know, make it work for you.

13:23

Yeah. Good. Good for

13:23

you, though. So, I love I love

13:28

that business strategy. It's,

13:28

it's, it's hands down. By far,

13:34

the best strategy, if, if there

13:34

is one thing that you can ever

13:39

do to make your business, go to

13:39

the next level, it's what you're

13:44

doing. It's not social media,

13:44

it's not buying leads. It's not,

13:48

it's not any of those things.

13:48

The number one way to make your

13:52

business really sore is your

13:52

past database. So and you've

13:57

thought you you think, I don't

13:57

know if you knew that. But but

14:01

but that is and that's been a

14:01

proven fact. So you're living

14:05

testament to that. It's, it's

14:05

been fun. It's, it's nice to

14:09

meet somebody that's done that.

14:09

So let's, let's switch gears a

14:18

little bit. We we've, I had

14:18

somebody on on our podcast not

14:22

too long ago, just just a week

14:22

or two ago. And she was she does

14:27

a lot of builders she she does

14:27

$1 building. And one thing that

14:31

she mentioned was for advice

14:31

that she gave to the sellers or

14:38

to the to the buyer's agent was

14:38

to keep involved in the

14:41

transaction. But you and I have

14:41

had a different experience with

14:47

this. So let's talk about

14:47

builders and, and builders,

14:54

agents that are maybe captured

14:54

agents and what our experiences

14:59

and This may get a little

14:59

controversial. So this. So

15:03

anyway, let's let's talk about

15:03

that. So tell tell me about your

15:06

experience with builders and,

15:06

and builders agency. And, and

15:11

what that just what you have

15:11

found when you come across the

15:15

builders.

15:16

Okay, so um, I

15:16

think my biggest concern is that

15:21

no matter how much I try to

15:21

educate a buyer that I need to

15:26

be the first contact with

15:26

anything at all they do with a

15:29

builder, they don't quite

15:29

understand that they can't just

15:33

go online and click the little

15:33

bubble and ask, are there any

15:36

slots available? Because what we

15:36

found is even if a client just

15:40

asked a simple question, I'm

15:40

there capture that client's

15:46

information. And somehow that

15:46

means the client is working with

15:51

the builder and slash builders

15:51

agent. And so it's really hard

15:56

for me to explain to a buyer

15:56

that even if you want me to ask

16:03

one simple question, it has to

16:03

be me that asked, because that,

16:06

to me doesn't seem like it's the

16:06

best customer service for the

16:11

general public. So I've kind of

16:11

looked into it, I called the

16:15

division of real estate to say,

16:15

what can we do about this. And I

16:18

think the main problem right now

16:18

is that builders are not

16:21

regulated by the division of

16:21

real estate like we are, we have

16:24

certain codes, like if somebody

16:24

calls me on a listing to from

16:28

the general public, that doesn't

16:28

mean that they're my client, it

16:32

means that they're asking if the

16:32

house is available, and if they

16:34

can see it. So there's a

16:34

disconnect there. And it's

16:38

because the builders are

16:38

regulated by a different

16:40

department, which I can't

16:40

remember the name of, but they,

16:44

I had a great talk with the

16:44

division. And they said that

16:47

what we could do is, you know,

16:47

kind of get some people together

16:52

and talk to our legislature and

16:52

see if there's something we can

16:54

do to kind of make it better for

16:54

the public. And that was that

16:59

was my big concern is I just

16:59

don't want my buyers going in

17:03

and feeling like they have to

17:03

use the builders agent, they

17:05

have to use the builder's

17:05

lender, where it may or may not

17:09

be the best thing for them. And

17:09

they don't understand why just

17:14

asking a simple question would

17:14

mean that they have to work with

17:18

those people. And so for me, I

17:18

just want I just want the

17:22

general public to be protected

17:22

and cared for. And that's where

17:26

I'm coming at the angle of, you

17:26

know,

17:30

yeah, so as a

17:30

lender, we have you, we've come

17:34

across builders all the time.

17:34

And they have preferred lenders.

17:39

And just like, just like most

17:39

agents do, most agents have a

17:43

preferred lender that they like

17:43

to work with. And when they are

17:49

building a house, they are

17:49

giving incentives to the, to the

17:57

buyer to use their preferred

17:57

lender. And it could be, it

18:00

could be some kind of an

18:00

upgrade, it could be some amount

18:03

towards closing costs, but

18:03

something that they're giving

18:07

to, to us, they're their

18:07

preferred lender. So in fairness

18:12

to the builder, I get why they

18:12

do that, because they know, they

18:16

know and trust this built this

18:16

this lender, and they'd want,

18:21

they want to make sure that the

18:21

transaction doesn't fail,

18:23

because just like you, you and I

18:23

know there's there's good

18:26

agents, there's bad agents,

18:26

there's good lenders, there's

18:28

bad lenders, and they don't want

18:28

somebody to get with a bad

18:31

lender and have have something

18:31

screwed up and have the whole

18:35

transaction fall apart, right at

18:35

the last minute. So they so

18:38

they're giving an incentive. The

18:38

problem with that, that I have

18:42

found is that oftentimes, the

18:42

loan that they're getting is

18:49

either a little more costly, or

18:49

not as good of an interest rate

18:53

than other lenders that can

18:53

provide to them. But they're

18:58

getting pressure from the

18:58

builder to use their preferred

19:00

lender, even though it's not in

19:00

their best financial interest to

19:05

do so. And it sounds like that's

19:05

the same. Same gripe or hate

19:11

use, gripe, But the same concern

19:11

is that is that they're getting

19:17

pressured from the builder to

19:17

use an agent. And I've even seen

19:21

them try to steal and just say,

19:21

hey, if you don't use your this

19:25

other agent, I can maybe get you

19:25

a better deal on the house. And

19:29

that should just be like, that

19:29

should just be wrong. And I'll

19:34

tell you why I have an issue

19:34

with this is is if who's gonna

19:40

fight for that buyer, if if the

19:40

agent is representing the

19:45

builder, then who's representing

19:45

the buyer.

19:50

And that's exactly

19:50

the concern that I have for the

19:53

public and why I think that

19:53

there needs to be a change to

19:58

protect them. I I really Feel

19:58

like something needs to be done,

20:02

both on the agent and the

20:02

lending side? Because you're

20:05

right, I have seen people go and

20:05

I'm like, Whoa, that's a

20:09

horrible interest rate, you

20:09

know, but you got $5,000.You

20:15

know,

20:16

gonna pay that

20:16

you're gonna pay 20,30, $40,000

20:19

in the long run for they do is

20:19

they look at this, they look at

20:23

this, this front end thing and

20:23

say, Hey, I'm getting $5,000 I'm

20:28

gonna use this because I'm

20:28

getting $5,000. But they don't

20:30

look at the long term.

20:31

Yeah, well, nobody

20:31

explains it to them, because

20:34

they don't have someone on their

20:34

on their side really, is kind of

20:40

how I see it. So for me, it's a

20:40

it's that I want to do what's

20:43

best for the people out there

20:43

that don't have the knowledge or

20:47

don't understand what's

20:47

happening. I don't I don't feel

20:49

like it's fair to them. And so I

20:49

really feel passionate about

20:53

trying to make a change to make

20:53

it better.

20:57

Have you had it? And

20:57

I think I think that's a long

21:01

time coming, because this has

21:01

been on my mind to how to make

21:05

that change. I haven't made the

21:05

phone calls to find out how to

21:09

do that. Have you done any

21:09

digging on on? You know, is

21:15

there a petition that needs to

21:15

be signed? Is there something

21:18

you know, you and I are gonna

21:18

get in trouble with builders

21:20

over this this podcast.

21:22

So hopefully, they

21:22

can see it from our perspective

21:25

as well, you know, where, as

21:25

well to a higher standard, I

21:28

can't just go take somebody

21:28

else's client whenever I want

21:32

to, because they asked a question.

21:35

And, and and on that

21:35

same vein as as a lender, if I

21:39

gave somebody an incentive to do

21:39

something, I'd lose my license,

21:44

I can give somebody incentive.

21:44

So somebody gives me a referral.

21:47

I can't give them a thank you,

21:47

you know, oh, here's $100 for a

21:52

referral.

21:53

Right.

21:54

They would take my

21:54

liscence.

21:56

Yeah, it's a it's

21:56

a problem in my in my opinion,

22:00

that needs to be resolved. And I

22:00

did talk to the division. And

22:04

they told me to call my

22:04

legislature and see if we can

22:08

get I think what we would have

22:08

to do is get a petition sign and

22:11

get on their. In their meetings,

22:11

we'd have to get on their

22:17

agenda. So.

22:21

So put you on the

22:21

spot a little bit here. Is that

22:25

something that you're willing to

22:25

head up? Is that what is that

22:28

what you're saying? Yeah,

22:30

if I feel strong

22:30

enough about something, because

22:32

honestly, I care enough about

22:32

people that this this is

22:35

happening to, I'm absolutely

22:35

going to work on it. And I get a

22:39

lot of agents calling and asking

22:39

what I think about things. And

22:43

just because I I'm a broker and

22:43

owner, and we've had lots of

22:47

conversations about it, it's a

22:47

concern. industry wide. I just

22:51

think somebody needs to say,

22:51

this is what needs to happen.

22:55

Who's in? And I think everybody

22:55

would want to participate

22:59

because they care about people.

23:02

Yeah, I can see

23:02

that. I think you're probably

23:06

right. So a petition. So is is

23:06

that, are you I'm telling you,

23:18

man, we're gonna have some fallout from

23:21

I know, but like I

23:21

said, I hope they can see it

23:23

from our point of view where

23:23

they're licensed agents, and

23:28

they learn the code of ethics,

23:28

just like, just like I do, and

23:32

the things that are happening

23:32

are not. You know, it's not,

23:38

it's not correct.

23:39

Yeah. And I'm not

23:39

I'm not trying to say that

23:42

builders are bad because

23:42

building, you know, I've had,

23:46

I've had families, I personally

23:46

haven't built a new home, but

23:50

I've had family members, and

23:50

most of my family have built a

23:54

new home. And there's something

23:54

about having a new home, it's,

23:58

it's pretty cool, because you

23:58

have you have some say and how

24:02

that design is going to be and

24:02

so there's, there's cool,

24:05

there's some cool factor, it's a

24:05

cool factor.

24:07

I think I had 15

24:07

buyers last year that bought new

24:10

construction, I'm not against it

24:10

at all. I love the idea of brand

24:13

new, it's just if they're gonna,

24:13

I just want them to play by the

24:17

rules to make sure that people

24:17

are protected and understand

24:20

what's happening.

24:22

Yeah, I think it's a

24:22

matter of choice. And, and

24:26

people feel like their choices

24:26

are being taken away, either

24:29

because they're being a little

24:29

bit pressured, or because

24:32

they're getting an incentive

24:32

that maybe isn't as great of an

24:36

incentive as they think it is in

24:36

the long run.

24:39

Right? Because

24:39

they don't understand how that

24:42

incentive works. And maybe

24:42

there's a legitimate times when

24:45

there's just a true incentive,

24:45

but most of the time you know,

24:50

most of the times the clients not understanding how they're getting that incentive.

24:53

Well and and not

24:53

just incentives, but also going

24:57

back to if they don't you a

24:57

buyer's agent at such as you

25:02

that goes in and fights for them

25:02

and, and talks to the builder

25:07

and helps them understand some

25:07

of these logistics, then they're

25:14

just getting, they're getting an

25:14

agent. That's, that's, that's

25:17

there to protect a builder.

25:19

Right.

25:20

Right. And equally

25:20

important for the consumer to

25:24

understand that.

25:25

Yeah, like I said,

25:25

most of you know, no matter how

25:27

many times I try to educate my

25:27

clients on it, it, they're not

25:34

in a place where they understand

25:34

it enough to anyway, yeah, we

25:41

just we need to do we need to go

25:41

the other way and see if we can

25:44

help it. So yeah, I'm going to

25:44

be following up with that for

25:47

sure.

25:49

Oh, you've mentioned

25:49

a couple times, you're driven by

25:52

your values. So what, in your I

25:52

think your balance and family

26:01

Sorry, I'm switching gears on

26:01

you, again? driven by values?

26:06

What is what does that mean?

26:06

What does that mean to you that

26:08

you're driven by your values,

26:08

um,

26:11

I think everybody

26:11

is more than they know. But

26:15

whatever your core deep beliefs

26:15

are, like, for me, mine are that

26:20

I never want any regrets with

26:20

how I raised my kids and how

26:22

much time I spent with my kids.

26:22

And so for me that validate core

26:27

deep value of, of that important

26:27

family time was so ingrained and

26:33

deep in me that if I ever had

26:33

gone against that, it would have

26:36

been uncomfortable, I would have

26:36

hated my job. And you know, it

26:38

wouldn't have been worth

26:38

anything that I would have given

26:41

up to have that inner peace,

26:41

because I was following my core

26:44

values. So I learned a long time

26:44

ago that if your values are

26:48

clear, decisions are easy. And

26:48

so I want to find out early on,

26:53

what are my values? And what

26:53

things Am I holding true to that

26:57

give me peace, because the

26:57

second that you go away from

27:01

that is when you feel off kilter

27:01

and unhappy and overwhelmed. So

27:08

if you keep your your values in

27:08

line with what you're doing, and

27:12

how you're living your life,

27:12

it's just, it's really amazing

27:16

how it all comes together. And

27:16

it's just, it's amazing.

27:21

So how does that how

27:21

does that equate to? You said

27:24

you never bought Zillow leads to

27:24

your you don't do social media?

27:29

How does being true to your

27:29

values? How does that how does

27:36

that equate to sales? Or how

27:36

does that equate to your

27:39

business?

27:41

Um, so like, you

27:41

kind of brought up if if I were

27:45

to, I think social media can be

27:45

very addictive. I don't know.

27:51

Because I don't, I don't really

27:51

don't do it. I posted my

27:54

daughter's wedding pictures. And

27:54

I posted them and I left the

27:56

page. I don't even know who's

27:56

responded. So it's one of those

28:00

things I wanted on there for a

28:00

journal entry. But I'm not going

28:02

to go on there and see how many

28:02

likes I got, or because that's

28:06

not important to me. What's

28:06

important to me is, who did I

28:09

help today? And what do I learn

28:09

from someone today? And so I

28:12

think you can really get caught

28:12

up really easily in the wrong

28:17

things if you don't know what

28:17

you want.

28:22

So you so I'm going

28:22

to, I wrote down a quote that

28:26

you that you said, prior to the

28:26

podcast, are you not getting

28:33

sales? If you're not getting

28:33

sales? Are you true to your

28:38

values? And I thought that was a

28:38

pretty profound statement. And

28:46

if people were more true to

28:46

their values, they wouldn't get

28:51

you know, some of us are just

28:51

like, oh, squirrel, squirrel.

28:55

What's the next best thing? But

28:55

it's maybe not true to your

28:58

values. So your values are your,

28:58

your peeps, it's just like, my,

29:04

who is my family who are my

29:04

clients? You know, that's that's

29:08

my that's, that's your values.

29:08

And it shows in your sales it

29:12

shows in your business.

29:14

I love how you said squirrel because you know how many offers I get, you know,

29:16

when you are published in the

29:19

paper and things as a top agent,

29:19

I get so many calls for coaches

29:24

and for all these things that I

29:24

could I could dedicate my time

29:27

and my energy and my money to

29:27

but it's like, why would I do

29:30

that? I'm happy with what I

29:30

have. I'm happy with the number

29:33

I'm doing. I'm happy with the

29:33

people that surround me. So why

29:37

why do you add why add anything

29:37

extra? That would be a squirrel.

29:44

There's no need. There's no need?

29:46

Yeah, I love that.

29:46

Tonja. I don't even know what to

29:52

say to that. That's that's

29:52

that's like another profound

29:54

statement. It's it's just like

29:54

you know, what is important in

29:58

your life and you don't need to

29:58

Bring all these other

30:00

distractions in because it will,

30:00

it can, it can derail you pretty

30:04

quick.

30:06

Right? And when

30:06

you're doing 120 transactions,

30:08

I, I really have to stay focused

30:08

on taking care of those people

30:14

and taking care of my family and

30:14

taking care of me. And if you do

30:18

extra things that people always

30:18

great big hype of stuff, you

30:23

know, I could grow my business,

30:23

I could add a whole bunch more

30:28

people to my business, and I

30:28

could do 500 transactions, but

30:31

you know what, that's not that's

30:31

not my core, I want to be happy

30:35

with what I'm doing and have

30:35

that balance in my life. And you

30:38

have to find that balance. And

30:38

when you find it, it's

30:41

beautiful. And you don't need

30:41

anything else.

30:44

Man. It, I love

30:44

that. It's, it's been, this has

30:50

actually been a really

30:50

enlightening podcast for me.

30:56

Because sometimes, I always add,

30:56

you know, I'm always I have a

31:00

whole team behind me. So I'm one

31:00

of those guys that, you know, we

31:03

need to get more, we'll add some

31:03

more people, we'll just do some

31:07

more. And I think sometimes I

31:07

find myself out of balance

31:12

myself. So you know, it's

31:12

something that I probably need

31:15

to look at myself. So it's,

31:15

that's I thank you for bringing

31:19

that into the podcast.

31:21

You're welcome. What do you think at the end of your life, what do you want to

31:22

look back and say, I worked 80

31:26

hours a week? I don't think

31:26

anybody want to say that.

31:30

You know, and I'll

31:30

be honest, so you, you

31:34

mentioned, you mentioned that

31:34

you brought in your sister

31:39

because you didn't like

31:39

paperwork. It's not it's it's

31:42

just not your thing. And that's

31:42

the reason why I started

31:45

building a team too, is because

31:45

I found that there are things

31:48

that I that I do things that I

31:48

like to do and things that I'm

31:51

good at. And the other things

31:51

that I don't really like to do,

31:55

and I'm not good at, I just

31:55

hired out. Because I just, and

32:01

I'm finding that I'm actually

32:01

doing more business, and finding

32:06

more time to do other things,

32:06

because I'm getting all of that

32:11

other stuff off of my plate. And

32:11

it's allowing me to do the

32:15

things that I want to do, which

32:15

is going out and talking to

32:18

people and, and getting some

32:18

business in the door and doing

32:24

the sales type activities and

32:24

letting my team go closed alone.

32:28

And I don't get in their way.

32:28

Unless there's a problem. It's

32:31

rare that there's a problem that

32:31

they can't solve. But if there's

32:35

a problem they can solve, and

32:35

they'll say, hey, Ron needs some

32:38

help with this one. But other

32:38

than that, man, I just, I just

32:41

do the stuff that I like to do

32:41

and that I'm good at and leave

32:46

it to my team and

32:47

that a beautiful

32:47

place to be. Yeah,

32:50

it's wonderful. To

32:50

be there.

32:54

Well, the reason

32:54

why it takes me twice as long to

32:56

do paperwork, as it does my

32:56

sister is because I don't like

32:59

it. Any excuse not to do it.

33:03

I'm right there with

33:03

you. So Can Can I process alone?

33:08

Absolutely. I know how to

33:08

process alone. But it takes me

33:11

three or four times as long as

33:11

my processor, because she's she

33:15

likes that kind of stuff. And it

33:15

is just like it is just not me.

33:19

It's just takes me forever to do

33:19

that stuff.

33:22

I totally understand.

33:25

Well, Tanya, that

33:25

this has been awesome. I love

33:28

talking to you. And hopefully we

33:28

can make make make some change

33:33

in this industry a little bit.

33:33

And what if there was a what is

33:40

the best way for somebody to get

33:40

hold of you if they wanted to

33:42

get hold of you?

33:45

My cell phone,

33:45

text or call? Do you want that

33:49

number?

33:49

Yeah, absolutely. Okay,

33:51

it's 801-808-5084

33:51

801-808-5084.

34:04

Perfect. Well, any

34:04

other words of wisdom you would

34:08

like to leave us with?

34:11

Just a quote, everybody's heard before what you focus on expands. So make

34:12

sure what you're focusing on is

34:16

something you want to expand.

34:20

That's awesome. All

34:20

right. So if you want to get

34:38

hold of me or my team, you can

34:38

get hold of us at 801-628-7667.

34:44

And thanks again, Tony. I

34:44

appreciate you being on on this

34:50

episode.

34:51

The pleasure was

34:51

all mine. Really. Thank you so

34:53

much.

34:54

And that will bring

34:54

to close another episode of

34:58

agent versus lender.