How would you rate your balance between work and life?
Last week, CEO Verl Workman hosted husband-and-wife senior coaches Mark and Laura Ryan for our final WSS webinar of the year. The Ryans discussed the challenges real estate agents face in building a business that works for them and shared their roadmap for achieving a more well-balanced life. Watch the full webinar here:
Every agent asks it at some point in their career: to team, or not to team? It’s a serious question, and the answer largely depends on what an agent wants for their life. But one thing is for sure: if you want to sell any amount of significant volume, going it alone just isn’t feasible.
At a certain point, it simply becomes a problem of math; there are only so many hours in the day that one person can fill with work. Running a high-functioning real estate business alone also becomes a problem for the single agent’s well-being, and whether the stress is worth whatever money is being made.
Building a team unlocks potential for productivity and profitability that a single agent can only dream about. With a team, your clients can interact with a specialist at every step of the transaction. You can magnify your influence by mentoring rising agents and fostering a positive work environment. Perhaps best of all, you can enjoy a life – balance between what gives you prosperity and what you choose to do with it.
Ask yourself: why do you go to work every day? Why do you leave your family to go spend the day with other people? Why do you sell real estate? Obviously the answer is to earn money – but why do you need to earn money?
Life costs money, and things like mortgages, car payments, and groceries don’t come cheap. But there’s probably more to it, right? You are concerned with security, yes, but you also want to provide a good life for your family beyond just the necessities.
This is an important aspect of work-life balance that doesn’t often get talked about: the fact that financial stability gives you opportunities to create wonderful experiences for those you love. Balance means being able to spend time doing what you love, and the reason you work so hard is to make those times as enjoyable as possible – that’s what makes your business efforts worth it.
Of course, we can talk all day about the benefits of building a real estate team and how enjoyable a well-balanced life is – but it’s only talk unless those things are actually attainable. The Ryans emphasized that one main reason for the success they’ve had in their careers was the systems they’ve put in place to maximize their productivity. Specifically, they mentioned systematized lead follow-up and prioritization, intentional weekly planning, and focusing on daily dollar-generating activities.
They also stressed the importance of having an assistant to help execute those critical tasks that protect rather than generate income: things like paperwork, marketing, and other administrative material. As Mark says, “Either you have an assistant, or you are one.”
At the end of the day, no single process or activity will get you the level of work-life balance you are seeking. It’s by applying a few simple tools and keeping your “big why” in your sights, you will be able to achieve that balance while also growing your business.
