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. Welcome to another episode of Action Solves Everything. I got an awesome guest on the show today, Sarah Hubley. She got in the real estate industry in 2020. Sarah and I have been friends for a handful of years. She just made a monster move over to Highgarden where she teamed up with Randy Wosmith on the Hubley-Wosmith Real Estate Collective. Sarah's metrics as an agent are off the chart and every single time I talk to her, it's like they're getting better and better. So $12.9 million in production on 43 deals in 2024, 25 included 53 deals and over 16 million in volume. She just told me she's on pace to do over 20 million on 60 deals this year. That is insane. Sarah, how the heck do you do it? What Yeah, well, thanks for having me, Alex. This is super exciting and always good to catch up with you. But I mean, honestly, you just show up every single day and you love if you love what you do. It just doesn't ever feel like I'm at work. So that's how I get it done. Yeah, I think I want to like I want to dive into that part of things because I've had a lot of different folks who do this business a lot of different ways on the show and have been very privileged to have a lot of different conversations. And I think going back to what you just said of this concept of like, Hey, I just show up every day and I love what I do. Can you, has it always Yeah, absolutely. So obviously, I love people. And I love helping people. So for me, I feel like it just comes very naturally, which is great. And then obviously, there's so many different cool walks of life that you get to meet in real estate. So even from the very first deal I've done to you know, even this year, call it, you know, I'm on my 30th deal this year. They're all different and not one has been the same. And same thing with personalities and people. So for me, like I said, I think that's why it just makes me wake up every day and just show up. And I don't know. Like I Yeah, so I was in the adult beverage space for 10 years prior to this, and I was in the beer industry and that side of things. So I was the state director for Rheingeist and I called on the whole state of Indiana. So same thing, I was dealing with people anywhere from the wholesalers to, you know, I called on Kroger and a lot of the bigger accounts. And same thing, it was just helping people on a different side of the life, I guess, and still creating connections and relationships. So for me now, instead of selling beer, I'm Yeah. What made The great question. Um, honestly, 2020, when the world, you know, kind of closed down, it made me take a look at, okay, what do I really want out of life? And what do I really want to do? And I think again, at the end of the day, it's, I've always loved helping people and I've always loved just being around people. And, um, when COVID happened, I said, okay, let's at least go start this real estate course, see where it takes me. And, um, that's kind of why I've always wanted to get into real estate, but, didn't really know what I wanted to do in real estate. I actually talked about being a title rep at one point and now I'm actually really happy I didn't go that Very cool. I think you hear this thing from a lot of folks when they get into the space, and it's like, I love to help people. But then I think there's this common conversation that agents have, and it's like, they go from saying, I love to help people, and I wanted to help people, and that's why I got in the space. And then they all of a sudden don't want to do as many deals or they don't want to do the same work anymore. So it's like you see this like incredible ramp up for agents and then you see a pretty accelerant fall off associated with it. And I think the one thing I've always noticed with you is like. I mean, this conversation picks up like the last one, like the last one, and it always is a passion for what you're doing. And I think when an agent is representing a client, The client feels that. And I think there's nothing like running a transaction with a great agent on the other side who also has a clear understanding of what the goal is and what the objectives are. And then there's also nothing like one that doesn't have any interest in doing the job or who suffers from burnout or doesn't have their hands in this like somebody like you. So I just want to highlight that. I think it's something special about you and something that you do so well. Yeah. Six years in, you just made a massive move. And I think I would love if you could share what the move has been like and why the move and just Yeah. So chaos. If you want me to be fully honest, Street Chaos made a move overnight, which moving is never easy. There's never going to be the perfect time is what I really realized too. It doesn't matter if you have one deal pending, five deals pending, one house on the market. So it's a little chaotic, but I thrive in chaos. So for me, this is like, again, I'm like, okay, we're just going to do it. We're going to figure out how to make all the moving parts come together. Um, and I think for me, like I obviously love new challenges. So making a move, uh, was a fun challenge. There are days that I'm like, oh my gosh, how is it already five o'clock? You know, I don't know where the day went because there's always your to-do list is always going to be there, but. Yeah, I made the move to come to High Garden because I wanted to be with more local brokerage. Prior to this, I was with Mike Thomas and I've always been a big believer, it doesn't matter which brokerage you're with because your clients are going to work with you for you. I've never had somebody work with me just because of whichever brokerage I was with. I really wanted to prove that to myself. I think the first couple of years of being in the business, I was actually never with a local brokerage until now. He'd always been loving on the Fort Wayne brokerages and had a ton of just different opportunities with that. But like I said, at the end of the day, all of my growth wasn't, again, with a brokerage. It was me, you know, again, showing up, loving on my people. Just doing really good on you know the referrals I'm 100% referral now. And that's something that's super amazing to to be and it's more fun business, in my opinion, with that so. For me, obviously, the move was. Amazing. It's great to have the local support where now I can lean on a ton of other local agents in the office versus being a solo agent. So I think it's going to continue to help my business just continue to grow as well. So I don't know if I answered your whole question Yeah, no, that's incredible. I love the guys over there. Steve has become a good friend of mine. I've spent some time with Chris as well, and he's fantastic. Steve was on the show. Lindsey Smolling was on the show, who just made a move over there. Incredible growth and so much good stuff going on over there. When I saw you made that move, it's like that momentum for High Gardens Brokerage is like, yeah, this trends with everything that's happening and how they're doing. Kudos to They really are. Yeah. You keep mentioning loving on your folks. I'm referral based, all the sorts of that. Can you talk a little bit about, like, what that looks like for you? Because we have folks on the show who are like, hey, I got Summer Hudson on one of my early episodes. And she's like, Alex, I get more leads from TikTok than you could ever imagine. And we've had somebody like Drew Schrader on who's 100 percent referral with Here are the nuggets I do, and here's how I touch my client database and friendships and things like that. And so look, there's no one way to do the job, which I think makes this industry so fun. But I would love it if you could share what works for you and what Yeah, absolutely. So for me, it really is like I love to do birthday cards. I love to make sure and touch them for their home anniversaries. If I see something on social media where they just had a baby or they just became pregnant or anything, right? They got a job promotion, you know, anything like that. I am always super intentional when I reach out to my people and I love doing handwritten notes. I feel like that's just such an old school thing because who doesn't get excited when you get something in the mail that's a handwritten note instead of a bill. or something else. So I'm constant on just trying to celebrate my people and I love to do coffees. I love to do one-on-one lunches. There's not really like one specific thing that I do because obviously once I get to know my clients, It could be, hey, I'm going to pop by with a six pack, right? Or I'm going to pop by with a bottle of wine. Or, hey, can I stop by and bring coffee and donuts if you have 10 kids running around on a Saturday morning and you can't meet with them. But I think just doing a lot of the little things keeps you top of mind with your people and getting to know them. Next thing you know, the referrals come in and they're super excited to watch you win too. People do love to hear from us. I think a lot of agents get nervous on what to say to their clients when they're reaching out. Again, for me, it's just been always super easy and natural because I love just getting to know people and getting to know what makes them tick and then just staying in touch with them way after the sale. I never call people a past client. It's a big thing. Obviously, Jared James even hits on it. Nobody's a past client, right? Once Yeah, I have a couple things. One, when you talk about handwritten notes and like loving to receive those, interestingly enough, I got a note in the mail yesterday. I read the note. I put the note on the counter. My kids came home and my daughter's like, Dad, that card is so cool. Can I have the card? And like, that is just like Like that card made an impact. Like not only do you get to read it, but like your kids are excited about it. And it's like small things like that create memories or impacts on people and look like the world's hard. Like there's a lot of challenge out there. So to get something in the mail and interestingly enough, like you open all your mail and it's like junk, junk, junk, junk. Oh, what's this? And so it's this like, back channel of human connection. And you had said like so many agents don't like calling their clients. And it's oftentimes because the human element behind that phone call has poor intention. It's like I'm calling because this is what my coach said to do or because what my broker said to do instead of I actually care about you and I'm calling with something of value Yep. And it makes the conversation so easy, you know, and I'm curious. You're calling your database. Are you somebody that's like asking No, I ask, like I'm a big asker, but I do it in such a way that's not salesy. And again, like you get to know your people and your clients. And because I start literally from the first time they even talk to me, you know, asking for referrals, it just is natural throughout the entire time that they know me, where it's like, hey, do you know anybody else that's potentially, you know, curious about real estate? Or do you know anybody else that, you know, could use my help? And you don't have to say, oh my gosh, do you know somebody selling a house or buying a house? Sure, some people can be more blunt, but that's just not necessarily my style on it. But there's ways you can work it into a conversation. And people usually... It's funny. Literally, Randy and I were talking about that earlier today on how do we ask our clients for business. And it's very rare that I'll get one on the spot. But usually it's like 2 days later, I'll get a text and somebody will be like, Oh my gosh, I just had this conversation Yeah. I saw something on Instagram recently from a real estate guy that I respect. And he was talking about this, the concept of asking. And oftentimes the way that it's done is like, you'll call and be like, Hey, I just want to call and update you and see how your family's doing. And then it's this, oh, by the way, and the, oh, by the way, is just such a socially awkward and uncomfortable thing. It's like, actually, that's why you called all the other stuff that you just brought into the conversation was not the point of your call. And so what he talked about was like walking into the call and saying, Hey, Sarah, um, I'm, I'm calling because I'm looking for other opportunities in the business. So this is a sales call. And then you just say, do you know anybody? And then they all think about it and just say, otherwise, like, okay, yeah, I really appreciate that. Otherwise, how are the kids? And then, so it's like, you got it out of the way first, instead of like a bait and switch with the conversation. And look, I'd never heard of that, but I think there is an art, it's this just human element. And look, we live in this world right now where it's AI, AI, AI. And the reality is, is like, yeah, sure, you should be using it. And there's tons of leverage and benefit from it. But people want to be connected to people more than ever. And clearly, you're owning that. I would be curious, how are you working AI into your business, or if Oh, chat GPT, chat GPT. And I are like best friends. So there's a lot of times that like, um, I mean, obviously they help write a lot of my listing descriptions, or if I get a new idea that I want to do, I'll put it in a chat. Cause it knows my personality and I'll say, you know, Hey, here's kind of the end goal. Help me essentially build out this new system and we'll just kind of play back and forth. So I do that a ton. Um, and then it kind of just helps me organize, especially when I have like all these, like, chaotic thoughts on, Oh my gosh, I want to do this idea, but I also want to do this idea. So chat helps me kind of organize new system and things like that, which is great. And then I use it actually a ton for, let's say I am stuck on what to say to somebody. I'll put what I want to say, right? Copy that. Tell chat, make this a little nicer or make this like spicier, you know, and then it'll pump out like four different ideas until I kind of pick the one that I like. So I don't want to say like, obviously it's not authentic what I'm trying to say to a client, but sometimes I just get stuck in my own words and I don't want to say the same thing over and over. And then That's awesome. It's like a consultant for you or, um, a right hand, um, And look, I think that's an incredible use case for it. It's like, you don't have to do it by yourself, and the longer you play in the systems, the more helpful it becomes and the better it knows you. So that's really neat. I want to jump into, like, you have this incredible passion for what you do, and it, like, breathes through the screen right now in the conversation, but also, like, knowing you for a long time, it's like this energy and this passion. And one of the things, like, when we talked offline a little bit, you had texted me, is like, You know, there is no such thing as work-life balance. And it's interesting. I would love it if you could just like dive into what it looks like for you, because I think it's different for everybody. But I do think there's a commonality associated Mm hmm. Yeah, there absolutely isn't because I always feel like if I'm winning as a realtor, I'm sometimes losing at home, right? Like I just it is what it is. Or if I'm winning at home, then oh my gosh, like, some of my clients went, you know, without hearing from me all day when they needed maybe an answer and you know I never leave people hanging too long but it's trying to figure out that balance or I want to be a great dog mom right and be there and be present and go running with them but sometimes a showing pops up right and I'm always going to put my people in business first so work life balances. always going to be a struggle. And I've just, I've literally just came to terms with it. And one thing that has always hit me is my business coach, he told me he goes, if you die tomorrow, your to do list is still there. He goes, you're always going to have a to do list. So he's like, none of this even matters. Make sure you're at least having fun while So I always have to remind myself that always, I think, man, the concept of having fun and enjoying what you're doing. Look, every season is different in our business, and some days are certainly more fun than others. I think about when we're trying to drive particular goals or we're trying to have an impact, oftentimes you can look around and it's like, What are you doing it for? And like, who is this for? Or what is the reason of why behind it? And an old lesson I learned when I worked at REMAX, it was like a financial goal associated with like, how much business do you need to do to break even? So you, it can help you make a determination of what you do. So you don't have to work with everybody that sucks the life out of you and you can actually enjoy what you do. And I think so often as agents. there's this scarcity concept of like, there never will be another deal, or I have to close everything, or I have to do everything or say yes all the time. And it's like, look, the people that have the most success for the long term are the people that enjoy what they do. Because like you said in the beginning, it's like, this really isn't work in say, at least not for me. And maybe one day that will switch. But right now, I love what I do. And again, I don't ever feel like I'm at work, which is such a blessing. But maybe it also comes down to the people that I do work with. I would love to touch on that too. Because one of the things I'm trying to help myself mentally, especially partnering with somebody is How do I give up some of the business that maybe isn't a good fit for me? Or how do I pop stuff off? Or hire somebody to go show that house that's an hour away, right? Don't just say yes and jump in the car and do it. So that's been a big focus for me on just learning to rewire my brain a little bit on some of that because I'm such a yes person. And then there are times where I'm like, okay, why did I say yes to that? But it's okay to give up that business to maybe this other agent who, you know, wants it, they're going to do a better job. And so that's been a big thing for me too, that I've been really trying to work on to also help with that work-life balance. But again, it still doesn't feel like work, which is great. And when it does start to feel like work is when I realized, okay, then that's either not the right client for me or not the right fit because I'm very protective of that I think it's really cool that you're having this success and there's this evolution of you're moving brokerages, your business keeps growing and growing and growing, but you're constantly evaluating and you're asking questions like, why did I do this? Or how can I do this better? And look, I think it's really easy. You could do more business every year. Never ask those questions. and look up one day and be like, I don't like this whole sector of my life, or I don't like these things. And so I think it's really important. Like one of the things we really try strive to do at lockstep is help agents become the best version of themselves. And I think you asking those questions or how you learn what this season's best self looks like. Um, can you talk more about that? Like, have you always been about that? Or is this something that's like, as you've gotten older and more tenured in the business, like Yeah, no, um, definitely the last year where there is always that scarcity mindset. Like that is always a thing, right? Where I'll be like crazy, crazy, crazy. Then I'll hit this like little nose dive and crazy, crazy. Right. So I always have to remind myself when I need to find the business, I'm going to find the business, you know? So, um, it's really been probably the last year I've had to look at What do I give up? What do I keep? What do I, you know, again, just to be super protective of that time and that energy. Um, so yeah, it's just really the past year is kind of, I guess, you know, as I'm getting seasoned, because guess what? There will be another deal. the right person. I just haven't met them yet. Right. Or I always just think like, you know, most of the deals are coming from referrals. Who, who do I not know yet that I'm going to get to know? And I always have to remind myself that. And, um, that's a really cool, cool Man. I, I love that so much. I think, um, Like pulling this together, like I remember years ago, I used to sit and have a meeting with my financial advisor and it was me, Maureen, who's my now wife, and then my financial advisor. And there was always this conversation around how much work I did. And there was always this, it was like an internal guilt for how much I was saying yes to, why I was saying yes to it. You know, scarcity ties to it. And then an identity crisis with, uh, value tied to number of transactions or success. And over time it was like, can you delegate this out? Can you delegate this out? And then like, there's, it was like, well, what are we doing this for? And it's like, well, we want it simpler and easier. And, but it's like, Hey, I like really hard work. I like rolling my sleeves up and getting after it and working some evenings and doing some stuff. And look, since I've had kids, that desire has changed a lot, but I think it's important. Like you should, you know, for anybody out there that's trying to grow, it is completely okay for a season of life to be insanely passionate professionally, um, to work a lot of hours like that forever. It's not sustainable. Um, if it has negative impacts on relationships in your life that are the most important to you, that's not good, but there are seasons of life where it's okay that if there is clarity between you and a partner or you and your family of like, Hey, this is what the season is. I got to go do this. It's okay to do that. Yep, 100%. You make this merger, you move together with Randy. Why don't you talk a little bit about the why behind that? What brings Yeah, great question. So we, we did a deal about three years ago, and just always got coffee, stay connected, you know, and we had two listings right by each other did some open houses at the same time to try to drive traffic and then the conversation just switched to what if we partnered? And so we built out this whole potential plan and it just started to make more and more sense on one. I love the female male dynamic. I've always loved that. Um, especially for clients, sometimes I'll drive better with the client or he will, you know, or, um, sometimes he's got a different perspective, you know, than I do, or he's really good at the numbers and I'm really good at. people, um, all the way around. And then, um, the, the big why behind all of this is like, I can now go on vacation and literally hand stuff off to a partner. You know what I mean? Who I already trust, who works very much like I do. Um, and that was really hard for me to find, um, for a long time. I've had other business partners, um, which they're always it's always a fun different challenge right with people but I've never had one down here like locally in Indy. So it's been a lot of fun because now you can collab with somebody to spin ideas. Like I said, even go on appointments together where two sometimes is better than one. And we've just found that we really realized we run our businesses very similarly. So why not strengthen numbers? And we even talked about what is our why before we even partnered too, because I thought that was such an important thing to make sure, am I partnering with the right person for the why? And again, him and I have, that's very similar and we're doing it for our people and for our life and our what are our big goals? So we've talked about all of that, which is amazing. And what people can expect from us is we're really trying to hit the social media hard and just keep collabing and working on just strength, I That's really exciting. I've crossed paths with Randy a zillion times, and we finally got coffee a couple of months ago in the beginning of the year, I think, or maybe the end of last year. And he's just such a fantastic guy to spend time with. And I've been on the other side of transactions with him, always enjoyable, always just a great agent that works on the other side of the deal in partnership with the transaction. And he's always just been an easy guy to get along with. And so like when I saw this, I was like, I mean, I'm really curious to learn the why, but hearing that and understanding and like really unpacking it as it's like, yeah, it's a no brainer. It's an easy thing. Um, What are some other things that you think would be valuable to share? If there's anything you Yeah, for agents or life or anything I can do. Yeah, a little bit of all of it. Um, so I always think, especially if you're a newer agent, just keep showing up, show up every single day, even if it's, I mean, I know this sounds old school, but sitting in an office and listening to other agents talk and, um, especially when, you know, you get like a Randy and I, who wants our business starts ramping up. There's been a couple of times I'm looking around in the office and I'm like, Ooh, this young agent shows up every day. I just gave her a lead or I'm like, I just don't have time to take this one on. If you show up, you are just going to start learning the business more and more. And like, we have an open door policy. So we just our doors open. We're always putting our phone calls on speaker. So if you are a younger agent, you can come in, sit next to us, listen to the conversations. I'm an open book, you know, so I would always say, just show up, just go find people to that you like to be around and shadow them and Um, I guarantee, you know, it's kind of what you put out into the universe. You're going to get back, um, and be unique to you, right? Be genuine to who you are. Don't just because I do business one way, it doesn't mean that that's how somebody else has to do business, right? You can take nuggets from a couple of top producers and then build your own thing and just be very genuine to who you are because people are going to love that more versus being, you know, if you're not authentic, people will pick up on that. Um, very quickly. And then I always say, for life, make sure you're having fun every single day. Find the good because I promise if you do that, that'll radiate out too. And clients and people can feel your energy. And most people want to be around, especially when it's one of their biggest things that they're doing in their life, which is an investment in a home or buying their first home or their mom passed away and they need help. I think the more positive and just good energy you can bring, you're going to do well. And Cash, it's so true. I remember when I started in the business, it was my first full year and I was having success. And people were like, what is the key? And it was like, if you show up, you care, and you smile for people, it's unbelievable how the rest of everything falls into place. And look, I think our industry is littered with distraction, whether it's like looking at what your peers doing or should you be doing this or should you be doing that. But if you really pull back what our job is and what our industry's responsibility is, it's The fiduciary duty is to represent a client's best interest of what they want to accomplish around the sale or purchase of a piece of real estate. And it's an understanding of contracts. It's an understanding of client goals and what the main objective is associated with it. But where the magic happens in the relationship is the care and the joy in what you do. And, you know, when you don't have that, You're just pushing paperwork and you're an order taker, but the skill and the craft and the joy and the energy all stems from the people that actually love what they do and who they do it for. And you guys clearly do that. And, um, look, I'm just really appreciate that. It's a few and far between in our industry and something that should Yeah, absolutely. And then I'll make one more point The only other thing I think as you were talking, I'm like, I should at least say this is like, it's okay to not know everything. Like that was a big thing when I first started is I would get super anxious on, you know, a client would ask me, who knows, right? Like about a boundary survey. And I'm like, I don't, know even what that is. But I'd be like, Oh, let me get an answer for you. Don't ever pretend to know everything because it's always changing. The industry is always going to be something new is going to be happening. So don't ever pretend to know it all. And I still learn something new. I swear every day about our business. I'm even being six years in and I'm sure even when I'm 20 years in, there's still going to be something new, right? That I've never heard of or came up in a deal. So I would also say that's a big piece. I always like to tell agents is it's okay to not know it all, but it's, it's better to go find that answer for them. And you know what I mean? Get it from the right people and then help them through it every step of the way. And then you So that's amazing advice. I, Can't appreciate that enough. We always wrap with two questions. One, where can folks find you online to Yeah, I'm on Facebook and Instagram. I don't understand TikTok. And maybe I should, because obviously I know Summer crushes it on that. But I had to look up my Instagram, but I'm at sarah.e.hubly on both Instagram and Facebook. So And you can see kind of some of the fun stuff Brandi and I are trying to do. And Yeah. The last question we always ask everybody is, so this is a podcast that is about taking action and action has been something for me that look like on the best days and the worst days, like truly taking action does in fact solve everything. And that is something that I, um, I truly believe near and dear to my heart. And so one of the questions we Well, I'm trying not to. I've done such a good job not cussing this whole Um, cause I do cast like a sailor and I think that's from my beer industry days, just being around, uh, basically all men, but, um, I'm just going to say it. So just fucking do it right. Just show up every fucking day and just do it. Right. Don't overthink it. I just feel like if you, um, want to learn and figure out how to do it, if you sit still, it's not going to come to you. Business isn't just going to come to you. So just show up every day and just fucking do it. Man, I love that. And I appreciate that so much because it's like, you can feel that in the reality behind it. And if you're somebody that's sitting on the sideline right now, if you're an agent that's struggling, get off your butt and fucking do it and Amen to that. Sarah, this was unbelievable. I'm so appreciative of your time. Congratulations on your transition, your success, everything that you have going on. And thanks so much 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 else 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 actually becoming the best version of yourself, shoot me a message. at all social handles, at Alex Montagano. That's A-L-E-X-M-O-N-T-A-G-A-N-O. Remember, success rewards the ones who move. Take action,