Greg Goad with Goad Home Partners

Intro: [00:00:08] Coming to you live from the Business RadioX studio in Woodstock, Georgia. This is fearless formula with Sharon Cline.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:19] Well, hello for our fearless Formula Friday. Thank you for coming into the studio. I’m so excited to have a realtor, but he’s been in real estate since 2016 with his wife, which is so cool. Moved back to Georgia all the way from Big Sky, Montana, which is a total switch. I’m sure they live in Canton now with their two kids and their doggy Jack. I just it’s so cute. It’s like a wholesome story. He’s a big outdoor enthusiast, really happy to have, like a really positive and happy life and help people find their houses. I would really like to introduce to you Greg Goad of Goat Home Partners at Real Broker.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:58] Hi, Greg.

Greg Goad: [00:00:58] Hey, what’s up, Sharon?

Sharon Cline: [00:01:00] How are you?

Greg Goad: [00:01:01] Awesome.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:02] Good. So listen, I really think your story is cute. It’s like you and your wife having this sort of really happy family business together.

Greg Goad: [00:01:11] So she didn’t come into the business until last year.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:14] Oh, okay. So you started it just yourself.

Greg Goad: [00:01:16] It was just me. Solo agent.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:18] So how did you come from Montana here to Georgia?

Greg Goad: [00:01:21] So I was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, and I ended up in Atlanta in 2007. And I was actually getting sober and I got sober and my wife and I end up dating and get married. And, you know, she had graduated from Georgia and was looking for somewhere something else to do. And I was like, we should go to Yellowstone and like, work. And she was like.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:43] What has that always called you?

Greg Goad: [00:01:45] You can do that. I’m like, Leave the state. And we did, and we ended up staying in Big Sky. Like after one of the seasons that we worked, I would always wanted to work and live at a ski resort. Like I was like, How do you get good at skiing? You go live at the ski resort, right? It’s natural progression. And we lived there for almost five years and we got married out there, had a fairytale wedding in 2015. We actually just celebrated seven years being married.

Greg Goad: [00:02:11] And literally we had a delayed honeymoon and we were literally coming back from our honeymoon. And I looked over and we were from Bozeman to big skies about an hour, and we were halfway there. And I look over and Lawrence just ugly, crying like just bawling. And she says, I’m homesick. I was like, Oh, no. Right. So, like, my heart sank. I was like, Oh my God, what are we going to do? And, you know, because in my mind, like growing up in Augusta, Georgia, already, I would always dreamed of like living in the mountains and being able to do this, that and the other. You know, growing up in a different environment with a vibrant, different everybody is not about keeping up with the Joneses. Everybody was about having fun and going and skiing this or fishing that or hiking this slightly.

Sharon Cline: [00:02:56] Different feel right than.

Greg Goad: [00:02:58] 100%. Right, right. So when she told me that, I was like, Oh, but then what was cool was I came back here, I had some friends in Atlanta and I came back here and I was at a men’s workshop and outside of Madison, Georgia, at the Forge Camp, Rocky Eagle. And I ran into a friend of mine that he had a year sober when I came in in 2007. So he’s 16 years sober now, and he says, Man, what’d you been up to? I hadn’t seen you in a couple of years. And we start talking and this, that and the other, and.

[00:03:29] Let’s get married.

[00:03:30] Yeah, yeah. Tell him all the things. And then I was like, And my wife just dropped some huge, heavy stuff on me. She wants to move back home. And he looked me dead in the face. He’s like, So move home. He’s like, We need you here. And he’s like, Man, we need you in like this church community. We need you in this recovery community. Like we need you here. And that was like an invitation in a community. And I had never had that before. That was something new and fresh, right? And after I had, like, saying, Yeah, okay, I hear you, but really sweet.

[00:03:58] You cared about your wife’s feelings so well, you know.

[00:04:01] And this is how we got into real estate. He’s like, Where are you going to do when you move back? I was like, Man, I don’t know. He’s like, Well, I’m a broker. I’ve been in real estate for 15 years. You should get your real estate license. Sure enough, 2016, we moved back and I got my real estate license and I worked for him.

[00:04:16] How hard was it to get your license?

[00:04:17] It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

[00:04:19] Really? Why? Was it hard?

[00:04:22] They crammed a college semester into two weeks.

[00:04:26] Oh, wow.

[00:04:27] Yeah. And then. And then they give you a test. And I hadn’t taken a test in a decade.

[00:04:34] Was it so strange then to have to kind of go back and think? Because. Because my brain can’t take that much information.

[00:04:39] Head would hurt. I would get back from this like intensive, like eight hour course, and I would just be like, my head hurts. Like I’d never.

[00:04:49] You weren’t used to that. You’re used to Big Sky.

[00:04:51] I was used to skiing and, like, making sure, like, I got the right flies on to catch fish that day. Like, that was it.

[00:04:57] But you know what? This was like a really good time for you to get involved in real estate, right before everything kind of got more difficult with the pandemic?

[00:05:04] Oh, 100%. I’d been in the business for several years before that happened.

[00:05:08] What is your favorite part about being a realtor?

[00:05:11] Helping people. So serving people well, making sure that they are in the right place or need to go to the right place and making it as easy and streamlined as possible. And it’s all about them. It’s about service.

[00:05:28] So how does your recovery play into where you are right now too?

[00:05:32] So. My recovery. So the first people that would even give you an opportunity to sell several hundred thousands of dollars worth of anything was the people I was doing life with. So, you know, first time homebuyers. And like when I got into the business, my broker had a hedge fund that I was working with. So the first two years I bought and sold the hedge fund, you know, I was doing 25 deals out of the gate, so I’d already had that experience. So then once people knew I had that experience, we started to do some retail deals, is what I call them, because it’s normal, like me and you buying things, not a corporate entity, right? And I cut my teeth on. I would tell people like, hey, like, you know, you have your quote unquote AA sponsor, right? Or your Narcotics Anonymous sponsor or whatever. I’m going to be your real estate sponsor. And they took hold of that. And I.

[00:06:25] Take like, where did you get that idea? That’s so smart, you know, you and your brain, maybe it just dropped down. Sometimes they do just drop down from the sky. An idea and inspiration. I mean, that was really smart.

[00:06:36] Yeah. And then so two years ago, my my son was born. He was, like, born two months early. And we were in this, like, crazy, like family, like chaos. Right? And I had this I had been wanting to get into, like, video, right? I had seen other realtors doing listings and different stuff with video marketing, and I was just like, loving, like, I just I want to do it so bad. But I didn’t have a subject property, right, because you have to have a nice listing, right? Well, that was what I thought. Okay. You know, if I, if I could have gone back two years, I would’ve told myself, No, it doesn’t matter. Like, shoot the house, It doesn’t matter. Just shoot it. Just do.

[00:07:15] It. You were waiting for the perfect property.

[00:07:17] I was okay. I would tell anybody. Don’t wait for the perfect property. Just shoot the video.

[00:07:22] This is good to know. This is good advice for anyone, right?

[00:07:24] So I had this beautiful home in Carrollton, Georgia, that was a custom built on 16 acres on stilts. Everything was local. All the wood was sourced local, like custom cabinets, like custom everything. And then it had some history to cite stained glass from churches, all this beautiful stuff. You can look at it on my YouTube channel and Greg go, Best Life Atlanta and check it out is the first video I ever did.

[00:07:49] Sounds amazing. Just listening to it.

[00:07:50] And I shot this video and it exploded. It absolutely exploded. This is actually the second rendition of the video. I had it on my other YouTube site. But when I changed brokerages, I could not take that. Gotcha. So I had to start over. But, you know, such is life.

[00:08:09] What do you think it was about the video that just touched people so much?

[00:08:13] I think it was different. It was unlike anything they had ever seen. Not only like someone presenting a home, but also being charismatic and fun, like with real estate, you know? So many times people in real estate, they kind of like, you know, they have that boring kind of like, hey, like, just sold, just listed, all that kind of stuff. And that can be very not appealing.

[00:08:39] Well, it’s energy, right? You’re talking about putting energy into a property and talking about I can imagine someone like I’m picturing someone come to my house and say, here’s what’s interesting about this one, as opposed to just pictures. You know, the story behind it touches people, I.

[00:08:54] Think, 100%. So it’s storytelling. 101 is what it boils down to, is telling a story about the community. It’s telling a story about the home, what what love has gone into the home, you know, all those types of things. And painting a picture when you’re in the home. Can you imagine this? Can you imagine that?

[00:09:10] So what happened after that? That first big.

[00:09:13] Listing. So that first big listing, funny story because of when it happened, it was like right in the middle of 2020. Okay. It was like, no, this was before the real estate really, like, went off running. Like it just sat and I showed it a bunch of times and it stayed listed for a long time, but we had a ton of traction like on Social, and I was starting to attract more and more people to see like marketing. I was marketing things totally different than what other people were marketing. So we went when we posted that video on Facebook, it got 40,000 views in a week. Holy cow. You think about like, that’s State Farm Arena.

[00:09:51] Wow, That’s true.

[00:09:52] That’s true. It’s a lot of people.

[00:09:53] Put it visually. Yeah, you’re right.

[00:09:55] And then on YouTube, it did 17,000 views. So add that on top of that now, you know, views are different on YouTube than they are on Facebook. So Facebook, you can be there for a millisecond and they’re counted as a view on YouTube. You got to hang out for a minute, 2 minutes, and then the algorithm will count that as a view.

[00:10:13] Got you. So, you know, people are really staying and watching the whole thing.

[00:10:17] Now. Getting someone to shoot that video was probably one of the bigger hurdles.

[00:10:22] Okay.

[00:10:23] So I had to find a videographer to shoot it and like I had to show him my vision. Luckily, I had some mentors that I was looking up to that had content out there that like, Hey, you see this? This is what I want to do, but we want to do it here, right? And I called some of the big, bigger names inside the city limits. And, you know, they kind of gave me the Yeah. Doing Yeah. Or they wanted to charge me an exorbitant amount of money. And at the time I’m like, God, I just had this kid. He’s in the Nike right now. I’ve got this other kid at home. My wife’s not working. Like, I’m just like $3,000 for a five minute video.

[00:11:00] What?

[00:11:01] You know, I’m like, Oh, my gosh. You know? And then and then the other one was like getting someone to call me back. That was the other thing. Like just getting someone to answer the phone and make the call back, you know? And then I kept thinking in my mind, we go to Woodstock City Church, and when I Andy Stanley’s church in the Northpoint Community church scene, and I’ve been in groups and around groups since we moved back, and I remember that one of my friends that I was in a group with his son was volunteering and the production crew and I called him up. I said, Hey, I’ve got this crazy idea. I want to shoot this listening video for this custom home. I’m about to listen. Carlton, do you think your son would be interested? And he said he would be through the moon. Stoked to do this for you. And I was like, Okay. So I called him and he said, Yeah, we can do it. He gave me the price and I was like, Sweet, let’s go.

[00:11:54] Better than $3,000.

[00:11:56] I bet you was 17 years old. Oh, and the guy that helped him was 16. And what they produced was something that, like, you would have thought, like a creative artist that had been doing it for like, decades.

[00:12:08] These young kids these days, seriously, I’ve underestimated and I’m not proud to say that. So no, it’s true. And you I mean, it’s almost a natural extension of them as being able to tell stories even just through their phone, you know, which is kind of amazing. Yeah, well, it kind of worked out then, 100%. Do you do this with all of your houses now?

[00:12:27] I do. Every listing. I get a shoot listing video.

[00:12:29] Do you use the same people or have you?

[00:12:31] So I do and I don’t. They’re in the same what I call stock of people. Right? So they are all in and around that like live production scene because what we do is so different than just a normal setup. A camera with a tripod. Like there’s got to usually there’s cordless microphones, gimbels drones like editing. You know, if the editing is not on par, like it’s.

[00:12:56] Do you do the editing or do.

[00:12:57] I do not. I am not the editor. I can sell them. I can not edit them.

[00:13:02] No, but like you’re giving jobs to people who need them or and are good at that. So and it all works out. It’s kind of nice that you were able to find a person who knew a person. Sometimes it just is that, isn’t it?

[00:13:12] It’s network.

[00:13:13] Yeah, that was what I talk about that with relationships, how important relationships are in the business world, especially as a realtor. Yes. So. All right. So how are you doing now with with your business? Do you feel like you’re in a really good groove now that the pandemic is over?

[00:13:27] And yes, so I have hit what I would call a stride. My business has exploded not just during the pandemic. You know, if you had a real estate license, you sold a ton of homes the last two years. No problem. Well, that stopped about two or three months ago, like the brakes went on it because things normalized, the interest rates from things became difficult. Right. For for what I do, you know, when I come in to list a home, like I charge the same as any other realtor does, but yet you’re going to get a professional video, you’re going to get professional listing photos. I’m going to hold an open house and I’m going to market your property, right? I’m really going to get out there and sell it. I’m going to try to sell it as quick as possible. Right. And I’m going to because it’s knowing who your market is, right? It’s knowing who you’re going to sell it to. You know, it’s it’s imagining like the person that would buy that home. You know.

[00:14:19] That’s a skill, right? Definitely. And it’s something you develop, I imagine, as you’re in the industry. So what are you finding to be the most challenging about your industry?

[00:14:30] Getting someone to answer the phone.

[00:14:33] The basics.

[00:14:34] Yeah, it really is. It’s basic. You know, I’ve got ten active contract right now, right? For a solo agent, that’s a that’s a pretty big amount of contracts going on right now that are in escrow. Luckily, I’ve got a transaction coordinator that helps me with them Once we go under contract, she helps. But, you know, getting an agent to answer the phone on a regular basis. You know, I had two different agents this week that I called and they don’t even have voice mail set up to know who they are. It’s just a number or their voicemail is full. Right. And it’s like, hey, like we’re trying to conduct business. I can’t get in touch with you. I had one that there was a language barrier, right? I couldn’t even get it because she didn’t want to talk to them because she couldn’t, unfortunately, you know, and I tried to text and there was just so much of a language barrier there. I’ve we’ve my client finally was like, I’m I’m done. I’m out. Like we made a full price offer in this market with zero concessions and they still wouldn’t accept it. I just like I was baffled.

[00:15:38] You know, I have I bought a house last year, and one of the reasons my realtor just seemed to be stellar compared to others is, is the time that it took her to respond. And she did talk to me a little bit about that, how important it was and how if you are open with communication, how much that elevates you. It’s a value that you can’t put a real number. Well, I guess you can in the end if you’re not buying a house, 100%. So fascinating.

[00:16:04] So you think about this. So how hard is it when your phone rings and set up answering it that you would shoot a text message back immediately saying, Hey, I’m with another client or I’m with my family? Don’t lie. Just tell them the truth. Like, hey, I’m with my family having dinner. Can I call you back in 20 minutes if they respect you enough and it’s not a911 emergency, you’re going to call them back in 20 minutes and they’re going to be okay with it. Instead, if you didn’t answer and you went to voicemail. Right. And then in an hour you call back. Your clients has been waiting an hour.

[00:16:36] You know, it’s so stressful to wait.

[00:16:38] To or maybe the next day.

[00:16:40] How hard is it to balance your life with being a realtor? Come on, it’s 24 seven. It’s the middle of the night. Someone was scrolling on Zillow or something.

[00:16:49] Yeah, So you get that. So I put my phone on Do not Disturb at 8:00. Right? And then I go into like nighttime with the kids and my wife.

[00:16:58] Son, I wanted to ask.

[00:17:00] He is amazing.

[00:17:02] Thank you.

[00:17:03] Yep. Yep. He stayed in there for 35 days.

[00:17:06] Oh, my goodness.

[00:17:06] Yep. He we found out in the middle of last year at 18 months that he has significant hearing loss, which we didn’t know. So now he has hearing aids and that little man is just crushing it. His motor skills are awesome. Like you can you can see, like he’s jumping and running and like he’s all boy.

[00:17:27] But it’s so great. It’s like, I appreciate that you value your family time enough to want to spend all that time and put your phone on silent when you I don’t know. It must be a challenge. You know.

[00:17:39] It is a.

[00:17:39] Challenge. I was going to say you’re 24 seven industry, so.

[00:17:43] My wife, Lauren, she’ll look at me and she would just like put the phone down Greg and was like, okay, put it down, put it down, put it down.

[00:17:49] But there’s a level of faith, right? Yes. That things work out and you get reached when you should.

[00:17:54] And 100%.

[00:17:55] There’s a lot of, I imagine, intangibles, you know, that you can’t contrive or whatever. Yeah. All right. So I have something else for you. What do you think is your biggest mistake in the industry so far?

[00:18:07] That’s a good question. Biggest mistake? Not shooting video sooner.

[00:18:14] In the beginning because you can see such a.

[00:18:19] Such a huge return.

[00:18:20] I was going to say traffic, I guess, is the word I was going to say.

[00:18:23] So what people think is they think they see all my stuff, whether it be social media, whether it be YouTube or Facebook or whatever it is, whatever. You’ve seen my content. People think I get like direct leads and we do get some of that, but a lot of it is. I mean, think about like you talk about that one video I shot. We 40,000 people saw it. I mean, how can you fill a room of 40,000 people? Right. So, like, if I want to talk about my new favorite coffee shop, you know, I get on there and collaborate them with them, you know, and share with them what they’re doing in the community. You know, I come in your studio and I see all my coffee up here and it’s like, Hey, I collaborate with them all the time. They live I live 5 minutes from their roastery. Like, I love going and hanging out there. You know, Harry and Latisha are awesome. They’re great folks. You know, I love Kelly, too. He’s their marketing director and does all their video content.

[00:19:15] I love that you’re talking about these people because they all are part of our our local community. Correct. And they all care about the people that come in their shop every day. I mean, it’s like I was saying, it’s a relationship. You’ve got relationships with people. I imagine I was talking to another realtor about this, what it’s like to keep relationships with customers or clients in that even though they’ve bought a house today and they may stay for a long time, they may not. Do you want to keep that retention? How hard is that?

[00:19:43] It’s hard because, you know, as business continues and you’re getting busy, right, We you know, we forget, you know, so what I like to do is I like to create such a heavy bond during that time. And it’s funny, we’ll I’ll do a deal with someone. You get used to talking to someone three, four or five times a week or multiple times a day, and then they close and it’s like it’s over. You hear well, you just hear crickets and then you call them like, Hey, I missed you. Like I didn’t talk to you in a week. I just wanted to call and say hi.

[00:20:11] You know, are they a lot of them maintain like, a friendship with you, Do you know what I mean?

[00:20:16] 100%. Especially people that move here and that vibe with me. Because a lot of times the the people that work with me because I’m so different than the average like quote unquote realtor, you know, it’s like, my hair’s long, it’s down to my belly button, you know, like I ride around on my one wheel all over town and like, I shoot these crazy videos and I’m just, you know, I’m different, you know, that attracts a different person, right? And I’m not for everyone and I don’t want to be for everyone.

[00:20:44] You know, you say a different person. What’s the average person that you attract with some of their characteristics?

[00:20:50] Outdoor recreation is number one, family oriented and then easygoing.

[00:20:57] Which is hard in this industry. Mm hmm. Gosh, I didn’t think about that. How important that might be to some. Well, for me, I’m high maintenance, so I have anxiety. So when I was buying my house, I was not, like, super calm. But I imagine if you have an easygoing attitude, pervasive, you know, it will help kind of help people. All right. Well, if you’re just joining us, I’m speaking with Greg Gaudet, good home partners at Real Broker. Can I talk to you a little bit about your recovery? Yeah. All right. So what sort of your history?

[00:21:29] So I had my first drink and I was probably I know this is going to sound crazy. I was like, five years old. Six years old.

[00:21:39] But, you know, parents sometimes will, like, give their kids sips of things.

[00:21:42] So that was kind of what happened.

[00:21:45] I’ve seen it, I guess, is what I’m saying.

[00:21:46] It’s like my parents split up when I was younger and my dad was getting remarried. And I’ve told this story 1000 times. And I remember during the wedding, it was at my my step mom’s like father’s house. And they had the reception and they had a big champagne tower and they just let me have it. And I remember having one and then like having another one. And then I felt a part of I felt loose. I felt good.

[00:22:17] Even at five.

[00:22:18] Years. And then I don’t remember anything. And I remember my grandmother tucking me in. That’s how that’s how like quick it was.

[00:22:23] Even at five, you had these the concept of how you felt different. Wow.

[00:22:27] It was wild. And, you know, it progressed until like, so after that incident, like, I probably didn’t have anything for a long, long time for several years. But then what happens? I developed something where when I was visiting my dad, it was something that was when we went out and did outdoor recreation stuff. You know, he was having a beer and like, I didn’t like beer, but like, I would get like, you know, Woodstock or Woodstock Woodchuck, Amber that kind of tastes like apple juice. Oh, right.

[00:22:58] Oh, it’s like a hard cider kind of thing.

[00:23:00] It’s a hard cider. So stuff like that. And then, you know, and then I realized when I was like 15 that people back where my mom lived and Augusta were like smoking weed and drinking beers and stuff like that. And then it just like, Oh, I had this whole other acceptance. And then I equated fun with those things. And I, I definitely had addiction on both sides. You know, my dad’s struggle with drinking, my uncle struggle with drinking. They’re both sober today, which is cool.

[00:23:31] Wow.

[00:23:32] Yeah. My uncle is going to celebrate 20, 20 years. Yeah. In February, I think. And I’m super stoked for him and my dad. Actually, I’ve got two more years sober than him. Really?

[00:23:44] Congrats. That’s like a huge, huge accomplishment when it’s around you every day. You know, I can’t imagine what’s so interesting to me culturally. Your family kind of set you up to have just a free access to things. You know that in someone’s personality, if you have any, because I do have an addictive personality, like it would be very easy for me to just think, well, if my family is and everyone is well, this is normal. It’s normalized. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.

[00:24:16] Yeah. So what happened was, you know, fast forward into high school. I got my first DUI and I was a junior in high school leaving a dance. And it wasn’t because I was, like, wildly untucked. It is because I was I was simply underage. Like, that was it. I got my second one the summer after I graduated high school and same thing. I was simply underage. I’d gotten a car accident and just because it wasn’t even my fault, but just because I blew, I got a DUI.

[00:24:43] And you weren’t 21.

[00:24:44] Yet, and I was in denial. And then I went off to college, and then I found some other substances that I went wild on. And I ended up back at my mom’s house and was like, hit a bottom. It was like, Hey, I need help. And I went back to them, got help, stayed sober for a while, and then I again end up going back out because I turned 21. And I had thought that like in my mind, like I had reservations, I didn’t think I was a true alcoholic. So I was like, you know, maybe I could like, be an adult and like, I could really do this, right. That was not the case.

[00:25:17] How hard was it to ask for help, though, that first time?

[00:25:21] It was extremely difficult. You know, you have you have to be done right like. Anybody. Everybody was like, What? Just stop. You just. Just stop. You can’t. You know, I had to be able to make my own stop, you know? And and that’s what people don’t understand is, like, you know, as much as you love someone, like they have to be done, you know, you can offer the olive branch, but you can’t make them take it.

[00:25:48] Truth. Well, for myself, I’m very stubborn.

[00:25:51] So.

[00:25:53] If I’m not ready, it won’t happen. Exactly, you know.

[00:25:55] Me too. Still today.

[00:25:59] We can be stubborn on this show talking about stubbornness. I mean, it’s kind of like a superpower in some ways. And that if I’m very determined to do something, I will do it no matter what someone says. But then it also can be something that hurts me, right? You know, but I think that maybe it’s something that helps you propel you forward in your life. You know, 100% success that you have now.

[00:26:20] Yes, 100%. Because what I realize is during my recovery process, I realized that it was community over everything.

[00:26:28] Interesting.

[00:26:28] You know, it was the release yourself. No, absolutely. I can do nothing. I will get drunk every time, but we won’t. You know, what we do is so much greater than what I can do. I can only go so far, but we can go further.

[00:26:45] When you’re alone, do you ever feel vulnerable that way, then?

[00:26:49] No, because that’s how. Where God comes in.

[00:26:51] Oh. So you’ve got some backup plans?

[00:26:56] Oh, yeah, 100%.

[00:26:58] So how important has it been then for you to have your community church? Because clearly it’s had a big impact in your life, it seems.

[00:27:06] It’s had a huge impact on so many different levels and really every aspect of my life and family, how my how my kids are being raised, you know, in in that community, like going to church on Sunday. Those things, you know, I’ve I’m on my fourth, fifth men’s group. You know, I lead a men’s group. I’ve been a high school group leader as well. I did that for four years. And to be able to you really get entrenched in the community. And I’d never done that before. And it it changed me, you know, because I realized how important it was for that community. And when when John asked me that, like, hey, we need you. Like, that was the switch, you know, that I realized I was like, Wow.

[00:27:49] That you have value like that, that you’re needed and wanted.

[00:27:53] Right? And then, like, telling other people the same thing, you know? Right. Whether it’s like, you know, guys just getting sober and they have this, like, crazy story, Like, my story is like a blip on the radar compared to some that I’ve heard. And I’d be like, Hey, the amount of men that you were going to help by you getting and staying sober is going to be unprecedented.

[00:28:16] And, you know, I think about how people have their adversities. I mean, that’s the show is called Fearless Formula for that reason, right? When you have adversities, what do you do to manage them? And then when you come on the show and you talk about it, you can help other people.

[00:28:29] And I talk about it openly. Like, you know, I joined this new brokerage, this national brokerage, almost two years ago. And, you know, that was one of the things, like I told the guy who I came, I signed in under, I was like, listen, this is my story. And we connected on some faith issues, which was great. But when I go to like national conference and stuff, like they know, like I’m the sober guy, you know, and not, not just like the dull, like, boring, like, so, like I’m probably more fun sober than I was when I was getting wild.

[00:28:57] You’re happy you have a peace, right? Yes. Do you feel it through your through all the different parts of your life?

[00:29:03] Yes, I do.

[00:29:04] It must be like kind of an umbrella over your family, you know, and the energy that you have when you have a peaceful spirit, it can permeate everything, I think. So how does that play into your relationships that you make when you’re working with people in in your industry? Do you talk about your your story?

[00:29:26] I do when it comes up, but I don’t press it on anybody. You know, I don’t like go into like I don’t call an agent. I’m trying to get a deal signed with like, hey, so like, I’m an alcoholic. Like, you should sign with me. No, we don’t go to that. But if it comes up, you know, I definitely am not shy to talk about it. And if they impress, you know, certain things, like, I’ll definitely like.

[00:29:46] I was thinking there’s something about being vulnerable when you kind of tell people your, I don’t know, dark, dark sides. Yeah, there’s something about that that can be so disarming. And it, it does create a it’s not a trust, but an intimacy and sort of a willingness to just accept your humanity.

[00:30:05] Yeah. So a lot of what I’ve found is you love somebody well enough for them to be curious on why.

[00:30:12] Huh?

[00:30:13] You know, you just begin to just continue to just love them, right? Not in a romantic way, but, like, just be there. Be graceful, you know, ask good questions, be curious about them, you know, and treat them like first class citizens.

[00:30:29] I’ve never heard that put that way. So I’m trying to process. I love the way that you put that together, because it’s the focus is on them, you know, which I think you can’t quite fake. You know.

[00:30:41] You can’t fake that.

[00:30:43] Yeah, no, but it comes from a genuine caring about other people. So when you compare your previous life and your life now, what are the biggest differences?

[00:30:53] I have a driver’s license.

[00:30:56] It’s the little things. That’s. That’s a big thing, especially in your industry.

[00:31:01] Hey, I mean, you know, so we can talk about that. So when I went to get my license, I passed the test, did all the things well, because I had all these old charges and stuff from DUI. So all my stuff was all from me being drunk and stupid, right? It was just stupid stuff like that. I had to go to every place in the state of Georgia that I’d been arrested at and get a clerk of court letter saying that I had been done with all everything from that charge five years before I applied for the license. Oh, it was exactly five years.

[00:31:30] Was it.

[00:31:30] Really? It took Grech two months to approve my license.

[00:31:34] Oh, really? That’s crazy. The timing.

[00:31:37] Yeah. So when I have guys that are like newly getting sober and they’re like whining about making it to meetings and the that comes from like, listen, I had a MARTA pass and a bicycle. You can get wherever you want to go if you want to go there.

[00:31:49] So no excuses. Right. If you want to sit. So what would you say then to someone who kind of has faced similar circumstances as yourself? In other words, if you could go back to yourself in who you are now, tell your your previous self words of advice, words of wisdom. What would you say?

[00:32:14] Go with your faith. Every time. Faith over fear.

[00:32:19] Faith over fear. I mean, that’s a really good advice when I think about how much the times that I have a true feeling of faith and it is really a feeling like all my anxiety goes away, everything seems to flow so well. But the minute I start to question, it’s like a whole different energy comes. It’s not fun.

[00:32:39] Not at all. And then so what also happens is like, you know, if you’re questioning faith, like when I’m working with someone, say I’m working with somebody in recovery or I’m working with somebody in real estate, I’m like, Do you believe that? I believe. Like, that’s enough.

[00:32:57] It must be so helpful to people to feel like they’re not alone in that space.

[00:33:01] Yes, very much so. That’s why I always impress on everyone like, Hey, who you surround yourself is so, so important. You know, you want to be with people that are going to encourage you and love you and be your biggest cheerleader and allow you to dream big.

[00:33:13] Do you have mentors in this industry?

[00:33:16] Yes.

[00:33:17] Who are your mentors?

[00:33:18] So Bob Thompkins, he’s out of Greenville, South Carolina. He was him and Brad McCallum, or two of the two guys that got me into where I’m at at Real Broker. And they are just so heavy in the video scene. And what they’re doing is. So like seasons ahead of where I’m at, you know, so looking up to them and then locally, you know, I’ve got local folks like John, John, John and I, I don’t work for John anymore technically, but before lunch day, we were on the phone for an hour catching up, you know, because, you know, at the end of the day, like we’re still friends, You know, just because I don’t work for him doesn’t mean I’m not friends with him. Got you. And when I told John that I was leaving his brokerage to go work at this other brokerage, he says, Man, I love you. I can’t believe you haven’t left sooner. I hope you learn something from me. And you always have a spot wherever I’m at. Like there was no hard feelings. It was no like getting upset or angry. It was just like, Hey, man, I love you.

[00:34:16] I always appreciate people who who honor your path, even if it’s not one they want you to go on 100%. That’s so nice. And it feels like, too, that you’ve you’ve surrounded yourself with such a nice group of people that you feel like you could call it any minute if you needed something.

[00:34:31] Oh, absolutely.

[00:34:33] Yes. Hugely important, I think. But even in this industry, I mean, it’s so volatile right now. I was just seeing like interest rates have gone up to like 7%.

[00:34:42] Yeah, no, you’re right. 100%. Yeah.

[00:34:45] So how is it going? Like you said, it’s changed in the past three months. How is it right now out there?

[00:34:51] Well, the people that need to buy and sell are still buying and selling. Right? So that’s what people forget about. Like life is still happening. People’s jobs are changing, their circumstances are changing. You know, they’re getting older, they’re downsizing. Like things are like life doesn’t stop just because the interest rates at seven whatever percent, you know, So to be the face that they come to that they know and trust that like we can get this done.

[00:35:16] I can’t imagine, too, how let’s say there’s someone who’s who thought that they could have even six months ago afford a bigger house. Now they have to kind of just imagine a smaller spot. But how challenging that is for you to still continue on with them?

[00:35:30] Well, some of them, they can’t.

[00:35:32] What do you mean.

[00:35:32] It bumps them out of they can’t afford it anymore.

[00:35:35] Oh, no, I didn’t think about that. I was just thinking it would make them have a smaller place or something. Well, I dealt with this last year.

[00:35:41] Well, for some people, yeah, but the people that are at the bottom like, hey, the bottom of the bracket, you know, like it bumped some of them out.

[00:35:49] What do you think’s going to happen? Do you think it’ll balance out?

[00:35:51] Again, it’s balancing out and I think that interest rate definitely will come down. You know, what’s happening is the the Fed hiked it way high and then ultimately it’s a game. They’re going to bring it back down because we got spoiled at that two and 3% mark that was, you know, falsely low. Like that wasn’t real. They did that on purpose because they didn’t want the economy to stop. Gotcha. They kept it and then they kept it rolling for too long.

[00:36:16] Do you think that’s the biggest misconception of your industry, is that there isn’t someone sort of in the back end kind of making things happen to make it look like it’s a certain way, but it really isn’t. Do you know what I mean? Smoke and mirrors a little bit.

[00:36:29] About what?

[00:36:30] About, like, the interest rate being falsely low?

[00:36:32] Hmm. Yep, definitely.

[00:36:36] I don’t know. I guess I was wondering what it’s like to you. Kind of have the inside information. And if it were me coming to you, you know, you would know that. Well, this isn’t real. None of this is really real.

[00:36:46] I mean, I’ve got a I’ve got a client who I helped him buy a place, you know, back when he had a 1.7 interest rate. Now, granted, that was a 15 year loan. But I mean, that’s just crazy. It’s like free money, you know? So a lot of people took advantage of that. And, you know, the people that did good for them, you know, good for them, like, that’s great.

[00:37:08] I remember back 20, 30 years ago, it was like 11% seemed like a really good deal.

[00:37:13] Right. And now we’re now we’re thinking seven, like, oh, my God, this prospecting. Right.

[00:37:19] So what would you say is like a perfect day for you in the industry? What would be the perfect day for work?

[00:37:26] For work?

[00:37:28] Closing celebration.

[00:37:32] Yeah, closing day is always cool. I don’t like to wear socks. Typically, I wear shoes that don’t require socks, but I have this. This, like, boils over from, like, football days, but, like, I’ve got, like, closing socks.

[00:37:47] They’re special. Yeah.

[00:37:50] I’ve got this trout pattern sock. And my. My mom bought them for me and they’re like my closing socks. And now I’ve got a blue pair in the same pattern. So I’ve got a green pair and a blue pair with little rainbow trout on them.

[00:38:04] In closing days, a big, big deal.

[00:38:06] Closing day is a big deal.

[00:38:07] So is it the biggest challenge for you is is managing their emotions, too?

[00:38:12] You know, 100%. So, ah, in our job as realtors and real estate agents in our industry, you know, we we we can be we’re the salesperson. We’re the friend where the psychologist, we’re the therapist, we’re the financial advisor. Now, granted, I am not those things, but I have to put that hat on for a minute and be like, Hey, like, I’m not officially like this your financial person, but this is my opinion right now. And that’s what I always tell people. This is, this is just my opinion. I’m not the end all. Be all like take, take it is for what it is. But yeah, you know, being able to talk to someone to where they can make a rational decision or even such a.

[00:38:52] Huge amount of money. Right.

[00:38:53] Such a huge amount of money. And then tell, you know, talking to them in a way that maybe pause a decision if they need to pause. Right. Like, hey, you’re really upset whether it be like sad, upset or angry. Upset. Take a few minutes. Call me back in an hour. Call me back tomorrow. Like we don’t have to make this decision right now. You know, and I think knowing, like, what your time times are, you know, like, so when when I go under contract on something, there’s all these timelines. As you know, you just bought a home, you know, you got your due diligence period, you have your appraisal contingency financing contingency like all these different things. Right. And knowing those timelines, right. So like when my transaction coordinator sends out the executed contract, it has all these dates on it, right? Well then she puts them in a Google calendar for me. Oh. So I track all of that stuff, so I know all of our different timelines. Right. And so when we have a decision we need to make or we’re trying to like, you know, go back and forth and negotiate something, whether it’s negotiating a price or repair or something of those natures, or maybe it’s you’re negotiating a temporary occupancy because you know how crazy that was. Did you know, like it’s like six months, Hey, I sold my house. I have no clue where I’m going to go because I can’t get under contract. Right. Right. You’re dealing with that a lot. Last year. So, like last year, I had a relocation and they found me through YouTube.

[00:40:15] Wow.

[00:40:16] Cool. Yeah, Awesome. Brought them here and they rented the house. They bought back to the sellers for six months.

[00:40:25] Wow.

[00:40:26] What? Like, that’s just crazy, you know? But, you know, that’s. That’s where we were at, you know?

[00:40:31] But as a buyer, you’re just praying the right property will come up and you’ll have enough money to be able to compete and right the stress of it. That’s like a peace that they were able to have for six months. I haven’t heard.

[00:40:42] Yeah, well, the funny part about that was too, is we got inside the deal and I realized that the people that were selling the house were friends from church.

[00:40:50] Oh, wow.

[00:40:52] Really? I showed up to the inspection and they were like, What?

[00:40:57] What are you doing here? You’re the.

[00:40:58] Buyer’s agent. Like, I feel so much better about this deal now.

[00:41:00] Oh, that must feel good.

[00:41:02] Yeah, well, I mean, you think about, like, everything that’s at stake here, and this was a nearly million dollar deal to, you know, this was a $800,000 house, and that’s a lot of money.

[00:41:11] Yeah. It’s so stressful.

[00:41:12] Yeah.

[00:41:13] So how important is social media to you? Very. I mean, it sounds like with people finding you on YouTube and all of the.

[00:41:19] So I did not come up with what I’m about to say. I got this from Jesse Peterson. He’s a friend and mentor of mine that works up in Winnipeg, Canada. And he says, make social, social again. Right. So it’s not don’t think of marketing, make it social again, socialize with them. People want to interact. People don’t want you to just leave a heart and an emoji and be done. You know, like converse with them, leave a cool comment, like shoot a.

[00:41:48] Medicine behind that.

[00:41:49] Right? I know. And then like you have local friends and family that own businesses and operate business, collaborate with them, share their stuff. I know I love when people share my stuff, so I try to share as many people’s stuff as I can.

[00:42:02] Do you feel like you’re always having to think about it?

[00:42:05] Not anymore.

[00:42:07] Why is that?

[00:42:08] I have trained my brain. I know. My. My wife’s stinks so hard. My wife’s always like. Because what I’ll do is if I go out, like, for example, my mom was just here from Colorado visiting last week for fall break for Cherokee County, and I worked most of the week, but we took a few days off and we went to Blue Ridge. We rented a cabin, awesome cabin, and it was in between Mocksville and Blue Ridge, and we went to the apple orchard. Right. So instead of trying to post stuff to Instagram, the whole time I was the apple orchard, I just took video and took pictures. Right. And I saved it into the content bank. Right? So people always think, Oh, you got to post it right then. No, save it for later. Like, they don’t need to know that it happened yesterday. Right. Enjoy that moment. Take the photo, take the video. You know, And with with doing video, you can take different transitions and like, you can move the phone in a certain way and make it look really cool. Right? So like when you piece it together tomorrow or later down the road, whether you do a reel or just a regular video or whatever you’re doing, you know, you can piece that together and it’s like, boom, you’ve got content.

[00:43:14] And it looks like it could have been just right. Then in that moment.

[00:43:16] Not really.

[00:43:17] Knows.

[00:43:17] 100%. So, you know, and it’s doing that go into restaurants and people want to see they just don’t want to see like the just clothes anymore. And that’s what I was learning. I was trying to figure social media out in the realm of like, you know, like I wanted to be like the corporate, like just sold, just bought people because it looks so like sexy and streamline and, like, produced. Right? And I’ve quickly realized over the last year that that’s not what people want anymore.

[00:43:45] Really?

[00:43:46] Yeah. People just want authenticity. Authenticity is so big and because they want to be able to trust you, you know, think about you’re buying a home, you know, through you. Like you need to be trustworthy so that authenticity is so big.

[00:44:00] So how did you train your brain to be more amenable to social media?

[00:44:06] I think it’s that creative nature. Like I enjoy creating content. So like when I when I film with my videographer, like I have several different, like staple pieces of content, like listing videos, community series. And then I started doing shorts about a year ago. So whenever I have a community series or a listing video, what we do is we batch content. Okay? So like, I’ll, I’ll take notes of like, hey, I want I want to do this reel, I want to do this short, I want to talk about this place. You know, another one that I’m doing is now, you know, right. So I’m going to different places in and around Cherokee County, and I’m talking about the history. Like, for example, we did the Rock Barn and we talked about the history of the Rock Barn. Right? I did the same thing with the mill, you know. So I went through all these different places and just simply told their history. Right. Under 120 seconds. Right quick. I’m talking. I’m walking. Nice B-roll of that. We’re talking about our community. You know, cool things because you think about it, the mill is an amazing, awesome space to go hang out and experience like downtown Canton. You know, you’ve got the amphitheater, the green space, you got Reformation Brewery, you’ve got the Mexican restaurant, you’ve got Community Burger and Atomic Biscuit, all these new places.

[00:45:20] Antiques.

[00:45:20] And you got the cotton mill, right? And then you’ve got like giggle Monster Donuts is in there. Now shout out to Arturo and Jennifer. I love them. You know, just a little shameless plug for them. I love their donuts. And if you haven’t been there, they’ve got two locations. I got one on Bell’s Ferry that’s on the bridge mill north entrance, and then they’ve got one at the mill.

[00:45:37] Okay, Good to know. What’s nice is I think you would talk about how you before we went on the air, you talked about how you had been part of a competition for is it ticktalk you said?

[00:45:46] Yeah, it was a ticktalk competition.

[00:45:47] Tell me about your Ticktalk competition.

[00:45:49] So I was in a Facebook group and Instagram group called Drunk on Social and Tristen and Amaro and Jeff Fischer. Tristan is a agent in LA and Jeff is a mortgage broker out of Missouri. And they created they Kristen had lab coat agents, which is a huge like several hundred thousand like Facebook group of agents. Right. And this was like a little baby of that And they they coined it drunk on social and it’s all about social media and they’re trying to help agents like grow their social media and what to do with it. Right. So you know and this was Tik tok was still fairly I mean, it’s still new, but it was like really new then, you know, and they had this competition to do 100 tiktoks in 30 days with other realtors nationwide and to tag them throughout the process. And I did. I went from literally I think I had like 20 followers and I grew up to 1300 in 30 days, you know, And that’s that’s a lot. But it’s not a lot either. Like, I know, like, for example, bizarre coffee. Sabrina She’s grown. She’s grown there. Tik tok to 30,000 people.

[00:47:01] I have to follow her.

[00:47:02] Oh, my goodness. Yes. You will be wanting and craving whatever is on the menu.

[00:47:08] So listen, how important is it to kind of indoctrinate yourself that way? Like you make it you normalize it for yourself every day. If you do these tiktoks like you kind of force yourself on a timeline to do them. Now, it’s a very natural thing, right?

[00:47:20] Yeah. So what happens is, you know, with social media, you can fall into what we call the black hole, right? You’re scrolling. You’re scrolling the death scroll.

[00:47:27] That’s what it’s called.

[00:47:28] You’re just scrolling to scroll, right? You’re not going anywhere. You’re just scrolling. Like you’re just like your brain dead. You just like, I just want to scroll and check out, right? Yeah. Well, you’re at that point a content consumer, right? So what you have to do is you have to you have to find a way to become a content creator and not a consumer. So you have to do a little bit of both. Like I go to social to get encouraged to create content. You know, there’s other realtors that I follow nationally that I followed their account because I follow them for inspiration, right? It’s like I’m not following it like verbatim, but like, hey then, now, you know thing, I stole that from Ben Fisher. He is out of Long Beach, California. He’s got a successful business team and his Instagram is awesome. I love his.

[00:48:11] Stuff. I think that’s interesting. It’s like not as if someone can make that their own brand. Like, I there’s not like a one person that says now, you know, anyone could decide to do it. Yeah, I love the entrepreneurial spirit of it. Yeah. Have you learned something really cool?

[00:48:26] Yeah. So, you know, with with doing those, you know, for example, I was going to do one actually, we’re going to shoot it. Yesterday I was with my videographer, but the water was too low. I was going to do one at Rope Mill, the little park here in downtown what’s what’s not in downtown, but it’s close to downtown Woodstock. And they have a canoe and kayak launch. Well, Little River is so low. The thing is, like on the sand right now, you know? So like me, me and Chris, my videographer, like, walked up to the bridge and looked around like, Bro, where’s the water? And we were like, time out. We’re going to wait til the water rises and we’ll reshoot this again. But what I didn’t know is it was legit, like we call it rope mill, but it literally was a mill that produced cotton ropes. Like, I did not know that from the 1800s.

[00:49:14] You can appreciate history when, you know, a little tidbit like that. You know, when you walk around and imagine someone else being there back in the 1800s.

[00:49:22] Crazy.

[00:49:22] I know. Who would have thought Woodstock would be the what? The town it is now. All right. I have a big question for you and we can end on this one. How? What are you not afraid of now? Now that you’ve kind of come on to the other side of some very major challenges in your life.

[00:49:39] Me.

[00:49:41] With Sudeep Sudeep An answer?

[00:49:45] Yeah. You know, not being scared of who I am, but being who I am.

[00:49:50] Like just accepting.

[00:49:51] Yeah, just being authentic and being you in. It took a long time, you know, and I’m still discovering who I am, but I’m more confident in who I am and I can go anywhere and talk to anybody today.

[00:50:02] Because you feel comfortable with who you are. It is. Yeah.

[00:50:05] You’re not. I’m not scared of me anymore because I know me.

[00:50:09] That’s a great answer. I’m not there yet. I would love to be there someday. But I love that answer because I was thinking you would think maybe something more practical. Do you know what I mean? I’m not afraid of, you know, not going through a sale.

[00:50:22] No deals die all the time. That’s what people don’t realize, too. Like, hey, like, I just literally we were supposed to close on a townhome right up the street in ten days, and the buyer decided to back out yesterday.

[00:50:33] Oh, how disappointing.

[00:50:34] Yeah, and they’re buying a new house, so I had to push that closing back.

[00:50:38] Oh, geez.

[00:50:38] And then we had to start from scratch. So we’re doing an open house Sunday and we had to like, relaunch.

[00:50:43] It’s just the nature of the industry, I.

[00:50:45] Guess, is how it works.

[00:50:46] But I like that you’re like, so.

[00:50:48] Well, you know, I could get wrapped up into it and have it consume me, but that doesn’t help anybody, you know, like I need to get this place sold for my client, you know? So I need to like, hey, let’s get let’s get this thing sold. You know, we created a marketing template and I sent it out to 60 agents that who searched pop for that house with the video that we made for it. Right. I called the people on that list, left voicemails, texted them, I’m doing an open house like, hey, like, no, like, let’s get this thing sold. Like, let’s not revel in it. Like, not.

[00:51:19] So let’s just move on.

[00:51:21] I hope somebody comes and looks at the house. No, go beat the concrete, like go make it happen.

[00:51:27] Well, if anyone wanted to reach you, what’s the best way?

[00:51:30] So I am all gas on Instagram right now at Goad Home Partners.

[00:51:36] Go home.

[00:51:36] Partner. Shoot me a DM.

[00:51:38] Great. Thank you for coming in. This has been just a really great conversation.

[00:51:42] Yeah, this is awesome. So thank you. Ray England. I will just put it out there, our mutual friend for putting us in touch and thank you so much. This has been awesome. This has been a fun experience and it’s so good to get that.

[00:51:53] Home for me too. I did. That’s like the goal of mine. I think this is the happiest part of my Friday is being able to come and chat with people.

[00:51:59] Frye Yay.

[00:52:00] Frye Yay. All right. Well, thank you, everyone, for listening. And please tune in next week for another fearless formula. Have a great day.