Welcome to Action Solves Everything, the show for those who want to stop overthinking and start producing. I'm your host, Alex Montagano, broker, leader, and founder of Lockstep Realty. Around here, we believe movement creates momentum, clarity comes from doing, and the agents who take action are the ones who win. Every episode is built to help you grow your skills, your confidence, and your career. Now, let's get to work. Awesome, thanks so much for tuning in today. We've got Summer Hudson with Find a Lot to Love at eXp Realty. And Summer this year will do right around 120 deals, over $30 million of business. She is a TikTok queen, just shy of 250,000 followers on the app. And Summer is one of my favorite people as she just carries this charisma of being Unapologetically authentic is how we'll put it. So Summer, thanks so much for jumping in today. What's going on in your world? What Oh my gosh, so many projects. It never ends in real estate. I feel like you find this pain point, right? And you're like, I got to hyper focus on fixing that pain point. And all in the background, there's all these other pain points. And so I tell people all the time, it's like you're in a raft that has a bunch of holes and you have to figure out which one you got to plug first to keep everything floating. So the projects I have working on right now are, you know, TikTok, like went through this weird, like they blacked it out and they were like, TikTok's never coming back. And so I immediately started sweating it because I was like, oh, my God, if you take TikTok away, that's a huge portion of my lead generation. So what am I going to do? And so then I thought back to like Wu-Tang once said, diversify your assets. So I was like, I gotta, I was like, I gotta listen to Wu-Tang here. And like, so now it's starting to shift my mindset to where my leads come from. Like social media is great. Right. But if something happens to social media, MySpace didn't stay around, you know, LiveJournal when people were on LiveJournal, that didn't stay around for very long. You know, everything has a season. And so for me, it's like, okay, social media is my bread and butter, but how do I expand that? And how do I hit all the different apps that are coming out? So this year I'm focusing on, yeah, okay, I'm really good at TikTok and Instagram, but what does YouTube look like? How does that work in my world? How do I make that something as a source of lead generating? Snapchat, LinkedIn, all of those other places, I feel like are untapped places for agents. you know, that's a project that I've got going, creating a well-oiled machine, you know, so there's some things. How much, there's like a million paths I want to take after that, so that was awesome. I heard our CEO of eXp Realty, Leo Pereja, was talking at a conference I was at, maybe six months ago, and he talked about the need to focus on particular things and referenced the idea of like, sometimes you need to let something burn. And so like, while you're plugging the holes of your raft, it's like, sometimes you need to focus on one particular thing. So like, talk about this year, how much business are you getting from TikTok and So I'd say probably like out of 120 deals, a hundred of them are coming from TikTok probably mostly. I maybe get one or two from Instagram here and there. It's not, So- Can we go back like, cause I remember one of our first conversations when we really connected and you had called me to shoot a TikTok on one of my, on one of my listings. And Yeah, like, what the hell are you gonna do a tick tock. And you had explained a lot to me that you're the success you were having and how it works. So like, can you take me back to like, how when that hit? And when you like, what made you think like, Oh, my gosh, I'm on to something like, did you have a viral moment? Or is there something Yeah, so initially, it kind of was a slow burn situation. It started out with, you know, Facebook, right? Everybody's like, Oh, get on Facebook. And that's where you, you know, get leads from. And Facebook rolled out Facebook Live. And so I was in an open house. And I was like, Oh my god, I'm so bored. I'm just gonna hop on Facebook Live while I'm doing an open house and see if anybody wants to like, listen to me chat. And so all of a sudden, all these people logged in and I was like, I'm literally an open house. Why are you not here? And half of the people were like, well, I'm sitting on the couch. I don't feel like coming. And I'm like, OK, but then there was something in that, right? Like, OK, they want to see it, but they don't want to actually show up. So then, you know, I started experimenting with Instagram a little bit and Instagram rolled out their stories. And I was like, oh, OK, I can take that same thought process and plug it into Instagram stories and just do when I'm in an open house, do questions and answers while I'm sitting here. I'm not doing anything else. I might as well like use this time to to talk to people through the Internet. So then TikTok rolled out and everybody was like, oh, this is stupid kid app. And I was like, okay, it's a stupid kid app, but it won't take long. MySpace was a stupid kid app. Like all those, all those apps start out as stupid kid apps and then adults come in and wreck it. So I was like, There's something here. So during COVID, of course, we couldn't do anything. And people were starting to really tap into TikTok and do dancing and all these really weird videos. And I was like, you know what? It's a perfect opportunity to start showcasing houses in TikTok and just doing tours because nobody can leave their house. They might, they'll watch. And I did it for like six months. The six months that we were all stuck at home, you know, us as real estate agents, we had to keep going. Like we were still showing houses and helping buyers. And I ended up not getting anybody. Nobody cared. So for six months, nobody cared. Six months, I had like three followers. Nobody watched anything. And I just kept going. And I was like, OK, well, I'm just going to keep recording and doing whatever I can. And then a client called me and said, hey, I want to see this house way out in the country in a cornfield. It's super old. And I was like, I can tick tock this. Now, this was before my board started putting rules on what we can record. I think now would be I'd be shunned. But I showed up with my client and I just did a really funny video of me helping her tour this house. And it was super spooky. And we did a bunch of jump scare stuff. And I played eerie music because I was like, if I get killed out in this cornfield, it's your fault. And I went to bed that night with three followers and I woke up with like 10,000 followers the next day. And I was like, Oh my God. I mean, it was overnight. And so then I was like, this is insane. And it was people commenting, Oh my God, that's so crazy. I love this house. How cool. And I was like, okay, it's not that they don't want to see. tours, they want to see interesting tours, like they want to be in everybody's inherently nosy. And so they wanted to be nosy about how creepy this house was. So that's when I realized the power of like interesting videos and interesting tours. And then the next one I ticked off, I get more more and did anybody go back and watch your other stuff or as if like i pull up your tiktok account scroll all the way down to the bottom am i gonna Yes. You'll see some, you'll see some stuff that I probably should just yank off of there. Cause it would be horribly embarrassing. Cause it's like me doing skits. I had one where I drew a mustache, I like drew a mustache on myself and put a hat on. And I did this skit where it was like, um, I'm the, I'm the buyer's dad at inspection. I was like, Oh, this looks like crap. I can do that better. And You honestly, you should do that again, because I think today, like I think today's marketplace would love that. And especially with the following you already have. But look, like I think the huge takeaway is not like. Like you showed up and then you showed up again and then you showed up again. So you took something that you believed in and you relentlessly pursued it until the market validated and the response was the followers and the comments and everything. So like how, why, like while you're going through that, Are you ever like, this sucks, I'm not doing this? Or is there something in the back of your mind that's like, I believe in this? How do you keep going? And look, there's gonna be somebody that listens to today, and they're gonna be going through something. They're gonna be trying to get a following. They're gonna be trying to create something. And they're gonna feel like shit because they're not creating traction behind it. So give So I think, you know, everybody talks about a niche and like niching down, right? And here's the thing. And this kind of leans into that, like that authenticity part that I'm always preaching about to other agents. You know, there are a million house tours out there now, like everybody's doing it now. And they're like, look at this kitchen, look at this bathroom. Great. Who, I mean, yeah, that you're showcasing a house. Maybe you get a buyer who wants to see it because they are interested in that property. But by and large, The reason why my content stands out because I'm doing something different, I'm doing something that caters. It brings me joy. I like old historic homes. I like unique homes. Not everybody does. And so for me, I just keep showing up and finding I'm tick tocking the things that I love already. So I don't have that feeling of doom and gloom because I already am super jazzed. Oh, my God, this mid century hit today. That thing looks sweet. I'm going to go tick tock it. And then, you know, I find joy in that because I'm already doing what I love. I'm just videoing myself doing what I love. And I think that's the piece that agents are missing when they're trying to TikTok or video. You know, there's an agent out there that, you know, we talked and she wears the blazers and she wears the pretty dresses. But inherently inside, she would rather be on a field feeding chickens and living off grid and like eating holistically from her videos. You can't tell that she looks like a like a normal polyester blazer wearing agent. And I'm like, you're not relatable because you look like everyone else. I guarantee if you start talking like places to buy houses with chicken coops, Skyrocket, you would have so many Well, and it it like breeds out of you. So like I think about. like you sharing this about those unique houses, or you talking about this other agent who should be doing something else. And I was somebody, and I love this conversation so much because I fought social media for a long time. And I remember my early conversations with Drew Schrader when he's like, Alex, you should build a social media and you should post more. And it was like, I'm gonna build a monster business without it. What an idiot. What a stupid thing. And then when people came to me and they're like, hey, your real estate brand needs this. You need this. It was like, I started out by being somebody that somebody else wanted me to be. And then the longer I've done this, it's like, yes, I like to cold plunge. Yes, I like to talk about motivation. And but like, if you spend any time around me, like, you know, like, yeah, this is Alex, like, if I want my butt kicked, call him or if I want to learn about this, call him. If you want to talk about videoing a unique property, call you. And so I think that is something for anybody listening to this that's so important is do what you love. And so as you build your team, go down that path. How are you coaching your agents? And how are you breathing So with my team, you know, I think when people, when I started talking about a team, a lot of people were like, oh, you know, I don't know if I'm right for your team because I don't want to do video content. And I would tell them, I don't want you to do video content. That's not, my team is not going to be this team that's like all over TikTok and Instagram. I am, I don't expect that from my team. I would love for them to be, but at the end of the day, My goal is to help my agents on the team find what they're really good at and really push that. Like if you're good at open houses and somehow you get every single buyer that walks in the door, well then let's really focus on that as your lead generation and let's make it amazing and perfect and unique to you. And let's let's rock that out. And if this person over here is really good at like my agent may I she loves being on the phone. I can't stand it. But she can call anyone and just start a conversation. So she's a really great at cold calling. Like I she could do that all day long. And it brings her joy. She likes talking to people because she's an extrovert. I would rather die. Like I'm like, don't I? Send me a text, send me an email, but don't you dare call me. And so as far as the team, I think the people have this misconception that I'm gonna be the person that's gonna say, hey, you have to do social media and you have to do 10 videos a week. And it's not for me. For me, it's like, where's the joy? Because I think agents find success in the joy because they're doing what they love and that radiates out to everybody else and that feels authentic. Can you, like, let's roll with that further, because I think that is so powerful. Like, when All right, so let's fill the space of like 16 to 20 when you picked up a camera for the first time. And like, talk about what this was like for you then, like early So man, I was in the corporate world for a really long time. I was a social worker. If I told you my job history, you'd be like, you're nuts. But it's also what makes me really good at what I do. So just to kind of like backtrack a hair, I worked for CPS for four years. I worked at a maximum facility women's prison as a life coach inside the prison. I worked as a social worker for people with acute schizophrenia. And so I love I've always loved helping people and I hit a wall when when man upper management was just like. I was like, I'm done. I can't take this anymore. My pay sucks. My time and energy is not valued here. And somebody said to me, you would be amazing at real estate. And I was like, no, I'm not doing commissions. I'll never get a paycheck. I'll be so poor. And so for about a year, I said no to real estate until finally somebody said, I will pay for your classes and you can pay me back later. I believe in you that much that I think I'm willing to do that for you. And I was like, okay, you know what, if you really truly think that highly of me being able to do it, then I'll do it. And I took the course. And then I just, I've never looked back. And I'm so grateful for that person for doing that, because I, I wouldn't be here. But in the very beginning, my first year of real estate, you know, I joined a team, it was a small boutique brokerage. And I just sucked as much information out as I possibly could. And you know, in that, I think my first year I did 24 deals. And so, I know. And so I, I was like, Oh my God, you know, my first three or four leads came from my, my, my mentor and my team lead. Um, of course, but then after that, I heavily already, I started leaning into Instagram almost immediately then anyway. That's awesome. When did you know this is gonna work? And when you learned that, and you can pick which lane you wanna pick on this, because I think the conversation is good either way, but when you realize that, we could talk about the TikTok side of things, you wake up, you get 10,000 followers overnight, you feel this success behind you, I can't imagine, because I've never had that, and I've never had a post go viral or anything. What are you feeling? What does every day look like building off of that? you know, you see a lot of folks now where it's like, you have your viral moment and you're like chasing it. And then you see people's content and you're like, this is so cringe. Like, you're not yourself. Stop doing this. But like, can you talk more about that? And then like what the concept looked like, whether you're like double, triple down on stuff, like dig into that a little bit. So, okay. So backwards to the first part of it was the first year, like, how did I know that there was- Yeah, when did you know you were going to stick in the biz? Probably like eight months in, I think, was probably when I was like, okay, I'm okay. And it was because somebody threw a statistic at me that I was like, oh, and they said, it was like the average real estate agent, a seasoned real estate agent sells approximately eight houses a year. And I was like, eight, I'm already at like 10. And so, and that was like eight months in. And I was like, oh, well, if an average agent does eight and I'm already at 10, like I'm okay. And then I just kind of was like, I took it year by year. And my goal was if I ever fall under eight, maybe I need to pick up a second job, right? And so for me though, really because of the way my brain works, there is no going back. So for me personally, I don't ever look at something as like, there's an out, right? For me, it's like, I'm all in. Like if I'm gonna put my effort and energy into it, I'm gonna be the best at that. And I'm gonna put all of my effort in it. And again, I never wanna be the smartest person in the room. I always tell people, I want to be the dumbest person in the room and that does not offend me in any way, shape or form. Because then I have people to look forward to, or I have people to learn from, like I am always absorbing constantly. And so I, As time. I'm I'm going to pause for one second and little guys like somewhere being terrible. So, you know, eventually. My journey took me through social media and pretty, pretty quickly anyway. Like I started out with Instagram and once I realized like, oh, I'm, I'm doing okay. I'm over the eight a year. I'm, I'm rocking and rolling. And then I got to tick tock. And TikTok, I did not expect the growth that happened. It was so immediate. It almost crippled me. It's almost like you hear, um, I don't know if you watch all the like cooking shows and like, uh, They call it the guy theory effect. And your business, because he comes in and does all these like videos of your restaurant, a lot of those restaurants shut down after he comes because they get flooded with so many people. If they don't have systems in place and staff in place, the restaurant collapses. And so it was kind of the same feeling. TikTok exploded and I didn't, I did not expect the growth that came from that. And it happened so immediately. It was like, do or die. Like I had to figure it out so quickly or else my whole business would have collapsed and it would have been awful. So it was a Cause I think, look, You're a rock star, 120 deals, 250,000 followers, but be vulnerable. What did that feel like? What caused Um, I think initially the first time that I felt that way, like really felt that way is when everything exploded. And I just had people just like, I was inundated with buyers calling and sellers and it, and it felt great at first, but then I was like, I have no time for myself. I don't have time for my family. I was working, like I was getting up at eight o'clock in the morning and getting home at seven, eight o'clock at night. Um, you know, my daughter was little when all this was kind of happening. She was three and my husband was becoming the primary parent because I was trying to hold everything afloat. And there came a point where I just, I literally hit a wall and I was burnt out. And it was the moment that my daughter, and I think I've told you, I shared this with you actually, when I first was talking about coming over to EXP. And it was, I came home, it was late, the nanny went home, and I looked at my daughter and I said, Do you want to play? And she goes, Yeah, let's play. And I said, Okay, I'm you. And she goes, I'm you. And you're me. And I said, Okay. And I said, Mommy, what are we doing? And she picked up my phone, and then turned her back And when I tell you the ugly cry that came out of me that night, it was the it was a breaking point for me that I was like, OK, do I stay in real estate? Do I fix what my systems are? And I think not too long after that's when we had like a serendipitous moment that I called you to tick tock that house. And you're like, why? And we had lunch and, you know, in a way you were the person that was like, it doesn't matter how much money or whatever you have in the world. If you don't have time with your family, what, what does it matter? And that truly was a point for me that I was like, you are absolutely right. It doesn't matter. I could make a bajillion dollars, but if I miss my daughter's first steps, if I miss you know, things that she says or does. Because I'm not showing a house to somebody who really doesn't give a rat's ass about me or my day. Like, I don't know that feels rotten. And so for me, that was the first real hardcore look at my business and myself and what I wanted for my career. And the shift that I was like, OK, I do love real estate. I am passionate about what I do. I do not like the way I feel, though, when I'm when I allow people to suck my time and energy and it takes away from my family. Like my daughter's first will always be first and I have to treat it that way first. And then, you know, I had another wave of like, okay, I'm exhausted because I'm trying to figure out how to make these systems so that I can be home for my kid more. And then, you know, you always, you have bad days where a buyer or seller is a jerk and you're just like, what, this isn't even worth it. And so you get real shitty about it and you're like, this isn't even worth it. Um, but that really truly was the one point where I was like, I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if it's worth it to be away from my kid and to miss all these things. And for her to say that to me just killed me, but it propelled me Can you talk about like, let's push on that and like, If you're open to do that, like what? So that happens. And then what do you do? Because for listeners out there, it's like something comes up every single day, all the time in your business, in your life, that's going to make you question or make you wonder what you do. And I always tell and I told the story earlier to a friend of mine, and it's like, I had dinner with Maureen. We were dating. She had made dinner. I'm writing an offer for a friend of hers in Daniel Leeper's house. I didn't know Daniel, but I had the deal. I was bulldozing my way through the deal. And she's looking at me, and I'm working, and I'm talking to her, and I'm on the phone with Daniel. And she's like, Alex, in Maureen's love language, is quality time. And she's looking at me and I was like, I got to get this deal done. And she's like, you get a lot of deals done. Like, I don't love you for your deals. And, you know, the reason I always knew Maureen was different is because when she presented me with like these types of conversations, it was the first time in my life, like, I really cared how that made somebody else feel. And so like, Look, I love my parents, but when I would be at my mom and dad's house and a deal would come up, I'd be like, sorry, guys, I got to do the deal. And so with this conversation, I remember vividly at that point of like, OK, I'm going to be more cognizant of quality time with Maureen, and I'm going to do this instead when these instances come up. And look, I think it's important to recognize for everybody, you can create boundaries. I push on them pretty hard, but also it's important. You recognize them and we're not perfect, but you're constantly trying to improve and get better. So for your instance, that happens. What do you do? And then talk about how that success at one point is blowing up TikTok and doing a ton of deals That's such a good one. That's such a good one. Okay. So when that happened, um, of course, several days of tears, several days of tears, like I'm the worst mom in the world. I'm terrible. I can't do that. You know, my husband was like, wow, I've been trying to tell you, you work too much. And I was just, it was just chaos. And then after I had my boohoo moment, I was like, okay, where, what happens from here? And I always go back to that feeling of like, I always want to be this, this stupidest person in the room. And I recognized like, I am not the only mother out there or parent out there who is struggling in real estate with finding work-life balance. Who do I know that does those things well, right? Who do I know that looks like they're, in appearance, they look like they're doing that, right? And that's when I started reaching out to other agents that I look up to or seem like they have some answers that I don't have. And I asked them, what does it look like? How are you doing this? And the first thing they all said was, well, you've got to hire. You've got to start creating boundaries. And they gave me some formulas that, you know, it took me a while. It wasn't an instant fix. It was very much like, OK, I'm going to hire this person. What is that person's job? How does it alleviate my time? I mean, there's been times I've called you and been like, do I hire this person? My God, this hurts. And you're like, just stop it. Just hire them. And so it was a lot of like finding systems and automations for myself so that I can get some of that workload off. And so fast forward, you know, when I first started real estate, success to me was like the money and my numbers, right? It's all about the numbers. And now my shift has completely changed. Now it's time. Like I know I'm successful when I can do deals and still sit and have dinner with my family uninterrupted. Like that to me is gold compared to How does your family feel I think there was a hard, my daughter, like you could definitely tell that she was like, you know, it took her a little bit to adjust because all she's ever known is me being on the phone and running back and forth and, oh, just give me five minutes, I just need five more minutes. And so, you know, she would get to where she would say, like, mommy, you can answer that. And I'd be like, no, it's okay. I'm here, like, I'm with you, you When you redirect, we'll just call it what it is, like when you redirected your Titanic, like when you're doing that That was rough. I'm not gonna lie, like that, that damn near sucked my soul out for a hot minute. It was really, it was gruesome and grueling. And the thing is, is that, which is actually in an interesting way in a, almost to take this full circle back to the team. I joined when I joined real estate, I didn't know what I didn't know. And I had a I was on a team that didn't have a CRM. They didn't have automations. They didn't have any systems in place. So I never learned that I just had whiteboards everywhere like a mad scientist. And I didn't know that as I was building that because I didn't have systems in place, everything was going to fall apart because I had too much coming in and no systems to help me control it. And so part of the growth after the TikTok situation exploded my business, the first hole I had to plug in my ship. was the systems, right? And so now my team knows when they come on board, I don't care if you have one person in your contacts, I want you to create a system and automation for your one contact. I want you to set up your newsletters. I want you to set up all of your hellos and your holidays so that you can sit back and things are happening and nurturing your business without you having to do that. It frees up your time. And so, you know, building the team, I've been trying to teach them time management and those things that I had to gruesomely plug through so that they can avoid my mistakes, right? Like, unfortunately, I had to pave my own path. And I'm hoping that I'm teaching people what I should have learned to begin with, if that Yeah. Can you talk about like, because it feels like one day you're responding to everything, you're doing everything, to shortly after that, all of a sudden it's like systems, processes. How did you get there? Like, hey, I got into other rooms. Can you talk about what like, did you hire a coach? Did you invest in people? What So I kind of did like a spider web right I put my goal in the middle, and I was like what are the things I need to do to. Like Okay, this is the nucleus right like this is what I want, I want time freedom time with my kid what are the parts that are broken where where all the holes that and I just made these little. This chart of like and I just kind of brain dump. OK, I definitely need systems. Is that something I can do or is that something I need to hire out? OK, I definitely need. I already had a TC at that point. My next growth was an admin. OK, so I need an admin. Who does that look like? Where do I get that from? Do I need a coach? Probably, probably at this point because I'm drowning. So then one of my branches was hiring a coach. So then I signed up for Tom Ferry and I did Tom Ferry for a year. And that person was able to say, okay, here are your pain points. Let's work from A and work down. And so things were happening all at the same time. It wasn't that I did systems first and then I hired first. I did them all at once because I had to. you know, you go, it's like an undulating thing. You, you think you're like, Oh hell yeah, I hired the right people. I'm everything's going. And then that person turns out to be a turd. And you're like, Oh, I got to fire that person. They're terrible. Right. And then you have to start all over again. And so, you know, it's been a roller No, it just kept getting bigger and bigger and this year actually we I purposely so this year I actually did not do my goals, but I purposely was mindful about this year if I just stay the same. but I'm cleaning up my back end stuff and I'm cleaning up my messes so that the next year, maybe things look nicer and they're easier and I'm getting more time back, then fine. It's almost like, I always tell people, it's like the bow and arrow. You have to sometimes pull it back in order to shoot forward, right? And so for me this year, it was like, ah, I gotta pull back some. So my numbers are about the same as they were last year, which is the first year I've ever had that I didn't grow. but I did grow, right? Because I hired more people. I have more systems in place. I've got automation set up that I never thought I would have. And I've got more time with my kid than I, I mean, I've got more time with my kid than I've ever had. In Well, we asked a question about like success. And I have a question on here about like what winning looks like. And like, you just answered it. And so I think like, I really appreciate your openness about, I didn't set a goal. I had a real estate coach for a really long time, and he had a line that was like, losers have goals, winners have systems, Alex. And look, I was a goal guy, and I would set a goal, and I would run really hard, and then I would almost get my goal, and then I would be like, man, I'm crushing it. And because I didn't have real systems supporting what I was doing, I was just running really hard, I'd burn out. And then I didn't really care where I finished because I would artificially manufacture a goal based on what I did the previous year. So it's like, I did 8 million, might as well do 10 because that's the next round number. I did 10, I should do 15. And it's like, I had this, when I worked at Remax, one of the brokerage owners pulled me aside and was like, have you ever looked at how much money you actually need to make? And I was like, well, like, what do you mean need to make? And she was like, zero out what you spend every month over the course of an entire year. And this was like 2015, 2016. So I did the exercise and I looked at like, what I paid on my real estate investments, all my business, every expense I had. At the time, it was like, you need to generate $240,000 of GCI to live the life that you're currently living. That's like nine million. Well, what was cool is around that time, I was doing 10 to 12 million, I can't remember. But it taught me something very important. It was like, you now have choice about what you tolerate in your business and what you accept. And then you get to invest anything above and beyond to help create scale and growth for you. So let's hit on something here, like, as you're going through this, you're getting this eye-opening experience of like, I'm buying my time back, but my business is continuing to move forward because I'm creating scale. So like, What is demanding of you today with all of that? And like, what challenges are you like working on and like, what is important to you in a given day? Because I'm sure it's not what it used to be of like, why have these 10 buyers that I have to Surprisingly, every once in a while I do. But, you know, I think my challenge now is, just making sure that the team is a well-oiled machine, making sure that I'm supporting them. Because in reality, they support me, right? Like, they get my overflow. They get, you know, they show houses for each other. Like, if we get busy, like, you know, half the team right now is sick with whatever's going around for Christmas. So it's nice that we can call each other and say, hey, this client, for whatever reason, they've ghosted me for six months. And all of a sudden, now they want to see 15 houses this Saturday. Right. And so now, because the way we've got our team set up, we can help each other out. And, you know, I think. I mean, my pain points now really are just fine tuning everything, because it's still not perfect, right? I'm still finding the holes and the gaps in the systems. Building out a CRM, like right now I'm building out a super crazy CRM. I'm looking into AI. What does that look like? Do I have an AI bot answer things for me? Do I not? I mean, Here's the thing, I feel like real estate is one of those things you're always going to have to keep up with the next trend because real estate is, you know, it's a highly social career and society changes constantly. Like there's always something new happening, whether it's an app or politics or whatever. And so you have to shift with that. And so for me, it's making sure I'm staying ahead of the shift. you know, learning about AI and how can it help me scale with that, right? So it's not perfect. It's still a machine that we're trying to figure out where we need to oil it. But, you know, for me, you know, the fact that like tonight I get to go watch my kids karate recital, right? Like, I'm super pumped about that, because two years ago, I would have been like, sorry, kid, I, you know, dad, record it for me. I'm going to go show 10 houses that, you know, five o'clock at night or whatever. So I What seat does Future Summer sit in like For me personally, I really like the TikTok social media and helping other agents. Um, so while I'm forming this like back end, getting all the systems cleaned up, making sure my team is happy and healthy. Um, I really want to get into a world where I'm maybe offering courses or helping other agents figure out that authenticity piece on how to grow. Um, I really find joy in. in the education part of it, like telling people, why, why are you doing it that way? Does it bring you joy? No. Why are you doing it? That's miserable. Like, why can't you just record yourself doing what you love and what you're good at and let people find you like your vibe attracts your tribe. And so I really want to start lean, our industry can be so stiff and so like black and white. And I feel like this new generation of agents are realizing, like, I'm not a polyester blaring, you know, wearing with a badge and like sitting in an office as a robot, and I'm not going to door knock, right? Like, there's a whole new wave of us that are trying to be creative about how we present our business. And for me, I just, I don't know, I have more passion about teaching others I love that. I think one thing I noticed from 2025 is a stark lesson for me. Our industry is starved for high-quality education, and it is relevant education of today. So like, look, open houses work, but let's talk about what an open house looks like today, not what it looked like in 2019, like you mentioned the evolution of the business, like it has changed so much with like BAs and interest rate movement and clear cooperation. And it's like, there's always something to learn. And so I have a ton of respect for the concept of like, hey, if I'm going to lead people, I need to be ahead of the curve. I love that. But also like, it's not just your team. It's not just that, but it's like giving back to the industry as a whole. When you get your course launched, call me because I'll buy it. And I have so many people that, like, you could teach a course here with our team. I know our agents would love it, too. So, like, future summer educating, how do you create the momentum Um, again, it's just putting one foot in front of the other, right? Looking at all the holes in my ship and going, okay, what do I need to do first? And, you know, so right now I've built out my CRM to nurture my clients. What does it look like if I build my CRM on the other side for agents, right? Like what if I'm showing up for them, sending them newsletters that are, you know, informational or giving them guides to, how to do something, right? What does it look like if I record myself doing what I'm already doing all day anyway, and giving that to them and saying, this is what it looks like in my day. How does your day look? And so I'm already, in a way, I kind of zigzagged that way anyway, naturally. And I'm just kind of like, how would I want to learn, right? If I were a baby agent again, my God, I feel like I took the longest route to get here ever. Like, I'm like, I've been here for almost like almost an industry 10 years and I'm just now getting my feet settled. And I don't feel like it should be that way. Like it feels like when you get into real estate, you get your license and they're like, have fun. See you later. Pick a brokerage. Good luck. And, and there's all this trash information out there. And, and so then, I mean, our industry has a really high turnover rate if you think about it. And I think it's because people have this vision of all the people that are successful, but they don't realize what it took on the backend to get there. And then you have agents that like, get in and then nobody helps them. They're lost at sea and they really want it. But if there's nobody I also think like. because there's no guarantee of anything, no commission, no clients, no anything, there's fear behind any sort of incorrect action. So what's safe is that calling a for sale by owner or doing an open house worked. And look, I love those things, because those were pillars of how I built my business. But I think about, you had talked about an agent newsletter. And I remember I sat in on a training And look, knowledge is power, right? Like, that's the common conversation everyone has. But it's like, I call it bullshit. Like, knowledge is not powerful. Like, implementation of knowledge is powerful. Like, that is a stark difference. And I remember, like, this guy's talking about, like, sharing everything that you do and, like, giving it away and spending time with agents because that's what brings you joy and, like, just sharing everything. And I was like, man, I'm going to start writing an agent email. And a guy on my team, Russ, is like, cool, can you send one out by the end of the week? And I was like, oh, hold on. It's got to be perfect. And I was like, don't put me on. And so we go down this path. He's like, just write the first one and get it out. And I did. And I got a couple of responses from some friends. And they were like, man, this is really cool. I really like this. I was a journalism major for a minute in college. I love to write. It's something I enjoy doing. And I had found a ton of joy in doing it. And so, like, fast forward, I think I've turned out like 40 of them. agent emails yesterday in the course of an hour, working in chat and processing, brain-dumping some ideas. But it gives me a ton of joy. And I'm no longer concerned about what an outsider does, but I'm more excited about the impact I can make on the person on the other side of the computer or the phone or anything like that. And so I think understanding that, giving back to our industry, it is so important. So for you to be willing to share that is Yeah. Yeah. Like I, again, I, I'm a helper by nature, right? Like I come from all that social work background. It brings me joy when I, when I can help somebody see a pain point, right. And go, Oh, I have a solution. Have you tried this? Right. Because then when they're happy and they're joyous, I mean, you're, it fills your cup and it fills their cup. And then there may come a time when my cup needs to be filled and they can fill it. Right. And so I feel like I'm a firm believer, like that's what makes the world go round is is helping one another and bringing joy. I mean, wouldn't it be nice if we were all in a position of joy You know, I even tell my buyer, like when I have my buyer's agency talk with my buyers, I always tell them, look, you're going to sign this buyer's agency form that says that you and I are beholden to one another. But should you find yourself unhappy with me, send me an email that says, please mutual release me. Cause I guarantee if you're miserable with me, I'm miserable with you and life is too short. We can break up real quick. And that's my conversation because I'm not about It's too short. It's too hard. Last thing for someone listening who feels stuck or unsure about moving something forward or going down a path. What would you tell them? Whether it's like somebody called you or somebody bumped into you on the street and said, hey, I'm thinking about doing this. Could I I'm going to go back to you need to be the stupidest person in the room. You need to find the people that at least appear to have what you're wanting. And don't be afraid to reach out to them and say, I'm stuck because I think inherently most of us want to help. Right. I think a lot of us want to help to find the helpers, find the doers and reach out to that person and say, hey, you're doing something that I think you can help me fix. How did you do that? And start implementing that, like surround yourself with people that are doing it, because I If you could leave anyone one prince or one principle around taking action, what would it One principle of taking action. I don't know, what do you what do you what do you mean? I guess I need a little deeper than Yeah, yeah. So like. When you're faced with a challenge, you know you're supposed to do something, you have all the knowledge, but something keeps getting in the way. You know you're supposed to do it, you've got the knowledge, you've got the how-to, you watch the YouTube videos, but you just can't get going. Because maybe you're afraid or maybe you're nervous. Um, I think for me, I have to examine where is where is that coming from? Is it now? So I have a couple things. One is this analysis paralysis? Am I like, analyzing this to death to the point I'm not moving anywhere, because I'm just overthinking it to the point that I'm not doing anything? Or is it a fear of failure? And what does that look like? And then the other part is, is my cup full? And am I just exhausted and I can't pour into that because I'm just tired, right? And so for me, it's one of those three and I have to look at it. Okay, am I analyzing this to death and I just need to shut up and just pull the plug and just do it? Am I afraid? And if I am afraid, why am I afraid? Like where can I find the empowerment in that? Or third, do I need to go to get a massage? Do I need a nap? Do I need to go eat a really good meal, right? So I think those are my three, for me, those are my pillars. Is it, if I'm hitting a wall, which of those three things is it? Cause it's always one of those three. And then I do it, right? Like you just are like, okay, I, I need a really good Indian meal. Like I need some good hearty, Yeah. I love that. Awesome. That's killer. Summer, Awesome. Find a lot to love on all social handles. Summer, this is awesome. This was so fun. I could talk to you for hours, but we're going to wrap. Thank you so much. Congrats on all your success, and we'll see you on the other side, all right? Thanks for listening to Action Solves Everything. If today's episode pushed you, challenged you, or helped you even take one step forward, send it to someone who needs that same nudge. We all get better when we grow together. And if you're looking for a partnership that actually believes in coaching, collaboration, accountability, and becoming the best version of yourself, shoot me a message online on all social handles, alexmontagano, or at alexmontagano.com. Remember, Success rewards the ones who move. Now, take action, and