By nature, our new reality has bred a deeper meaning into the word “isolation.” We are isolated from our offices, our co-workers, our friends, our family, our neighbors and from our everyday life. The moments we once took for granted, or even loathed — the commute, long office meetings, tough gym classes — are the very moments we are now longing for.
But what if this isolation can create a way for agents to come together in a way that has rarely existed before?
My brokerage is very small by headcount, and there aren’t many opportunities for me to connect with other agents within my office who are in a similar space as I am. At times, this has felt very isolating, as I didn’t know who to turn to with my everyday real estate thoughts, ideas, complaints and everything in between.
This led me to the creation of our local agent mastermind group. This group is composed of 15 to 20 agents, mostly from different brokerages and/or office branches, who in theory are each other’s competition. That’s right. We meet up with our competition to share what’s working, what isn’t working, our successes and our failures. We encourage each other to grow into the best versions of ourselves.
As we’re all aware, real estate is a fiercely competitive business. The exclusivity, lies, manipulation and aggressiveness are enough to push some agents out of the business. And unfortunately, most of us who have been in the business are all too familiar with this.
But what if we all lived and worked in a world where we truly believed the “stronger together” mindset? How much more powerful of an industry would we be if we supported and lifted each other up with positivity instead of tearing each other apart? I don’t believe that success in real estate is not finite.
This group initially met in person at my home, but since shelter-in-place orders came into effect, we’ve been meeting weekly on Zoom. Being able to connect with one another in such an uncertain and turbulent time has provided an opportunity for us to not only grow closer, but to tap into our creativity and force each other out of our comfort zones.
Two weeks ago, I created our group’s first video challenge. This was my message: “We should all video an interview with ourselves and send it to the group. I would like to include our biggest failures, our biggest lessons, our biggest successes and the most helpful wisdom nuggets you’ve learned along the way. My hope is that this will force us to look inward and also help others by sharing our story.”
Within a day, the video responses started flowing in. The inspiration that each one of my peers gave me was just the motivation I needed to stay on track.
For our second video challenge, my message to the group read: “What is on your growth plan this year? What are you doing to grow your leadership, your skills, etc.? Let’s share ideas for books to read, classes you’re taking, events you plan to travel to, coaching and accountability ideas, and more.”
Once again, the responses astounded me, and I felt hopeful that we would all come out on the other side of this.
I have always put a large emphasis on vulnerability in my life, especially when it comes to my business. Vulnerability is unnatural for most and feels incredibly uncomfortable. But in my opinion, without vulnerability, there is no long-lasting growth.
You must get comfortable with the uncomfortable. And if there was ever a time to work on that, the time is now.
Every business book you read emphasizes how important it is to be adaptable. We’ve all heard the saying, “the only constant is change.” This lockdown feels like a real-time scenario of the lessons we’ve read about. We can’t control what’s happening in the world around us, but we can control what’s happening in our world.
Some of you might be thinking: “This is a naive perspective. My market is different. We are very competitive.” But I want to remind you that I work in one of the most desirable markets where we are inundated with real estate agents and competition. If our agent mastermind group can work here, it can work anywhere.
Now, more than ever, connection is so valuable. At this point, I can’t imagine how isolated I would feel if I didn’t have our mastermind group to connect with each week.
Amie Quirarte is a luxury real estate agent with Tahoe Luxury Properties in California and Nevada. Connect with her on Facebook or LinkedIn.
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