What happens when you hit the reset button on your life and leap into the unknown? Join me as I recount my audacious transition from a career in law enforcement to flourishing as a real estate entrepreneur in a brand-new state. I share the nitty-gritty details of moving to a place where I knew absolutely no one, hustling to build a client base, and the relentless networking that made it all possible. This episode isn't just about success; it's about the journey, mental health struggles in a male-dominated profession, and the pressures of maintaining a squeaky-clean reputation. Offering a raw and unfiltered glimpse into my story, it's designed to inspire and provide actionable insights for women contemplating significant career changes.
Discover the power of personal branding and networking, crucial elements that fueled my entrepreneurial success. In this episode, I explain how building relationships with local business owners, loan officers, and community members helped me put my name on the map. Learn why it's essential to introduce your services to new people daily, the advantages of attending varied networking events, and the importance of leveraging social media to present an authentic, multifaceted professional life. Contrary to traditional advice, being your own niche and brand can set you apart in saturated markets. Authenticity and sharing your personal story can attract the right clients, making this episode a treasure trove of practical advice for any aspiring entrepreneur.
Love what you hear? Wanna be featured on Updated AF? Shoot me a DM!
IG: Tx_Realestatedoll
Or
IG: UpdatedAFCollective_Podcast
Please don't forget to subscribe and leave me a review!
What happens when you hit the reset button on your life and leap into the unknown? Join me as I recount my audacious transition from a career in law enforcement to flourishing as a real estate entrepreneur in a brand-new state. I share the nitty-gritty details of moving to a place where I knew absolutely no one, hustling to build a client base, and the relentless networking that made it all possible. This episode isn't just about success; it's about the journey, mental health struggles in a male-dominated profession, and the pressures of maintaining a squeaky-clean reputation. Offering a raw and unfiltered glimpse into my story, it's designed to inspire and provide actionable insights for women contemplating significant career changes.
Discover the power of personal branding and networking, crucial elements that fueled my entrepreneurial success. In this episode, I explain how building relationships with local business owners, loan officers, and community members helped me put my name on the map. Learn why it's essential to introduce your services to new people daily, the advantages of attending varied networking events, and the importance of leveraging social media to present an authentic, multifaceted professional life. Contrary to traditional advice, being your own niche and brand can set you apart in saturated markets. Authenticity and sharing your personal story can attract the right clients, making this episode a treasure trove of practical advice for any aspiring entrepreneur.
Love what you hear? Wanna be featured on Updated AF? Shoot me a DM!
IG: Tx_Realestatedoll
Or
IG: UpdatedAFCollective_Podcast
Please don't forget to subscribe and leave me a review!
Email: UPDATEDAF@GMAIL.COM
XOXO, Meg
Check out the new site! UPDATEDAF.COM
Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
Hey guys, welcome back to updated AF collective the podcast. I am your host, megan Worth, back for another solo episode. So I hope everybody's doing really, really good. I'm just in a really good mood. I've had like a really productive day and that is like my saying busy. I refuse to say busy and I call it productive because again, I'm trying to change up the negative words and add something that's more positive, and being productive in my world is more of a positive way to look at things. It's just like that, saying like I get to work, I get to do something. Well, I refuse to say busy and say productive. So today was really productive day and I feel very accomplished. And now I am knocking out another podcast episode. So here we are. Today's episode is going to be on niching and niching down, branding yourself. What does it mean If you are an entrepreneur or you are trying to start your own business? Everything, all the things. I have some advice. I also have advice that people gave me that I didn't agree with, or I tried it and it didn't work for me, I don't know. I'm just going to put out what I've learned along the way and hopefully it resonates with you. So, guys, welcome back to the show. I'm so glad you're here.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to the updated AF Collective podcast, where we celebrate the power and resilience of women. Join me as we dive into inspiring stories, engage in meaningful conversations and explore topics that empower women from all walks of life. I believe that every woman has a unique strength within her waiting to be unleashed. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a leader, a creative, a caregiver, or simply on your own personal journey, this podcast is for you. Together, we'll share stories of triumph, discuss strategies for success and provide a supportive space for women to connect and grow. Get ready for real, authentic conversations that ignite your inner strength and inspire you to chase after your dreams fearlessly. Welcome to the Updated AF Collective.
Speaker 2:
So about two and a half years ago I think it's been about two and a half years ago, I think it's. I think it's been about two and a half years ago I decided to quit my job in law enforcement, sell my house and move to a completely different state, knowing a single person, hitting the reset button on my life and starting completely over as an entrepreneur, not having a clue what I'm doing or what I was doing at the time, and ended up thriving in the career path that I am in right now and that's real estate. If you know anything about real estate, you know it's like referral base, it's client base. In order to thrive in this career, I feel like your first few years, unfortunately, I hate to say it, but you have to hustle, and when I say hustle it's networking.
Speaker 2:
When I first moved to Texas, I didn't know anybody. I had one friend who had just recently moved to Texas, just a few months prior to me moving here. She was actually my best friend and my neighbor in San Diego, and she left I want, oh my gosh like three months before me. I can't remember, she'll probably correct me. She listens to this episode, she listens to the podcast. So she left a couple months before me. And that is mainly the reason why I picked San Antonio out of anywhere else in Texas is because I was like, okay, I'll move in with her for a little bit until we find a place to rent or whatever, or I get my bearing.
Speaker 2:
I I just had enough of law enforcement and being a single mom and letting my nanny, who I absolutely love to this day Uh, my nanny pretty much raised my child, which I'm so grateful for her, because without my nanny, I would have been able to continue in law enforcement at all, and so, long story short, I just had enough and I wasn't present for my, for my daughter, I wasn't present at all and it was really, really depressing. Work was getting really heavy. Um, you know, I was like really struggling with my mental health and I didn't really tell anybody that I worked with because I feel like in a male-dominated profession, I feel like women have to kind of prove themselves. Maybe that was my reality, maybe I just made that up in my head, but to me I didn't want to show any signs of weakness, that I couldn't do my job, or I was struggling because reputation in a male dominated profession like the military and in the first responder world, like your reputation, is everything. That's what I mean.
Speaker 2:
Oh my gosh, like I was one of those people that kept my reputation squeaky clean because I was so afraid of what people would say behind my back. I was afraid of not being liked, so I didn't date, I didn't date my own coworkers, I didn't gossip, I wasn't in the drama like of it all Like, and if you are a first responder, you know like there's a lot of drama at like different departments whether you're on the fire side, the PD side, emt, paramedic like a lot of drama and I just wanted to stay out of it. I wanted to keep my reputation very, very clean. So I kept a lot of my mental health struggles to myself. Nobody knew that I was so severely depressed. Nobody knew that I was so severely depressed. Anyway, that was my breaking point. Is was right after, like the protests and everything that was going on and COVID it. Just I was at my breaking point and so I needed to just get out.
Speaker 2:
And real estate was something that was always in the back of my mind, but I never thought I would actually pursue it. So when the time came, I was like, screw it, I was done. My fear of having to stay at the police department for 20 years and retire outweighed my fear of failing as an entrepreneur in a new state or whatever. I didn't care, I just wanted out and I wanted to try something. And the whole reason behind moving out of the state was because I needed a new environment to grow in. I needed something that was that life-changing, that extreme. Not everybody needs to change their environment. That is a very extreme thing to do, but I needed it. My mental health needed it and it also took away my plan B.
Speaker 2:
If I stayed in California and did real estate there and started my book there and started the podcast there and everything I know myself, if things get too hard or overwhelming or I feel like I'm just like throwing the towel or I'm just going to like go back, you know, like go back to law enforcement I would have Because, let's be real, being an entrepreneur has its highs and it has its lows, and they're extreme. If you're an entrepreneur, you understand that high, high and that very low, low, because your your income is so reliant on clients and some months you have clients, some months you don't have clients. And I'm sure that goes with, like anybody out there that's an entrepreneur or running their own business. That requires clients in order for you to get compensated. Whether you're a business coach, life coach, any virtual thing, especially content creators, whatever it is, it requires you to have clients.
Speaker 2:
And in real estate there was those times where it's like I was just sitting there waiting for a client and it didn't look like it was going to get paid that month. I know myself, I know that I will panic and throw in the towel early and go back to the police department. So I packed up and I moved to Texas and I don't know, I didn't want to give myself an out, I didn't want a plan B. It was literally I was going to do this thing and it was going to work and that was it, I told myself. I said this is going to work and it did. But how did I make it work? Like I said, I hate the word hustle because, but because it's all how you look at it.
Speaker 2:
Hustle to me means hard, stressful, running yourself down, just like being exhausted. Every single day year I feel like, was like that. But it wasn't as bad as putting on a uniform and going out and busting my butt all day answering radio calls at the police department. That was hard work, like God bless our first responders, because that is hard freaking work. And I would happily take entrepreneurship. Uh, before ever going back and putting on a uniform, I would happily take a hard day as being an entrepreneur than taking a hard day as being a cop. And I remind myself that every time I feel like super stressed out, I'm like you know what? Any bad day here beats like a bad day as a cop beats like a bad day as a cop.
Speaker 2:
So when I first got to Texas, I moved in with my best friend for, I think, three months and I focused on getting my real estate license. I did not have it. I was still taking the courses. It was all virtual online courses. When I finished my last course, I believe for Texas, it was six courses, certain amount of hours or whatever. I can't remember any of that off the top of my head, but I literally took my state exam the very next day, passed it on the first shot and by the grace of God, this is really freaking hard, by the way and um, pass them on the first shot. And then that's when I hit the ground running.
Speaker 2:
I went to my first brokerage and hustled. But when I say hustled, what I did is I downloaded this app called Eventbrite and I went to every single community event, single community event, real estate events, women's conferences, everything and I just talked to people. I mean, when I tell you I hustled, that's what I mean. I networked my ass off from San Antonio all the way up to Austin, which is about 2 hours, san Antonio all the way up to Austin, which is about two hours. I just went to community events and it was crazy.
Speaker 2:
I talked to loan officers, other realtors, which you would think realtors would be my competition. But no, no, no, and that's another thing you have got to take competition out of your freaking vocabulary. If you're going to get an entrepreneurship and that goes for any entrepreneur Again, I don't care if you're an online coach, I don't care if you are a keynote speaker or whatever you need to network with people in your industry. Do not look at it as collaboration or, sorry, do not look at it as competition. Look at it as collaboration, and you need to introduce yourself to people. And that's exactly what I did.
Speaker 2:
I didn't go at it in a way of like, okay, I need a network so these people can bring me some clients or refer me some clients. I hoped that they would, but I looked at it as what are they doing that is working for them? I wasn't getting in this career to reinvent the wheel. I wanted to know, okay, how are you all doing this? And when I tell you, like I said, I networked. I passed out business cards to all these people loan officers, real estate agents, people who worked for title companies, surveyors, real estate agents, people who worked for title companies, surveyors like anybody in the real estate world I just talked to and then I would invite them to lunch. So I was going to lunch with them and I was just, oh my gosh, I was probably the biggest pain in the ass because I was asking them so many questions, but in return they got a free lunch, because I always paid and I just asked them questions. I would take so many freaking notes and a lot of these people turned out to be my great friends, which was really fun, but I wasn't. Again, I'm not trying to invent the wheel, and either should you.
Speaker 2:
If you see somebody succeeding and thriving in what you want to do, you need to find a way to get to that person, take them out to lunch, grab coffee with them, be their friend. They are not your competition and I mean, if anything, they're so far high above you. I look at my team lead, so I am on a real estate team and when I, when I began to work with him, I was like I told him. I was like I just need to do exactly what you're doing, and I have been and it's working. So it doesn't matter what career path you get into, what business you start any of that, you need to talk to your quote unquote competition. To talk to your quote unquote competition, but just take that word out of your vocabulary and talk to them. Another thing that I did like I said, I went to community events. If you are, especially if you work in real estate, that's where you're going to find the people who are going to be your clients, community members. You need to get your name out there.
Speaker 2:
I live in a small town and I'll share it with you guys. I don't care. I live in a small town called Bernie and it's a very small town. I love it here. I absolutely adore it. Somebody on social media put out that Bernie literally looks like a Hallmark movie, like a Hallmark set, like a Christmas set. It's so funny, which is crazy, because I've always growing up I've always watched Hallmark movies. I feel like I completely manifested living here in Bernie, texas, because Hallmark Christmas movies and Lifetime Christmas movies were always my absolute favorite movies to watch and I always wished that I lived in a town just like that and somehow, by the grace of God, I ended up living in this beautiful, beautiful small town that last Christmas some reporter came out here and was bragging about it and it went national and they're like this is the Hallmark Christmas movie set that you want to go visit, you want to live in. And I was like, oh, I totally manifested living here. So, anyway, back to what I was saying community events, these are, these are going to be your clients. And if not in that moment, even if they're not looking to buy or sell right there, in that moment, they they eventually they will or they'll know somebody and they're going to refer their friends, their family to you. It's great.
Speaker 2:
And then also I get to know all the business owners, especially here in Bernie. I can walk into almost I'm working on the rest of it, but I can walk into almost every single store here and they know me by name. They even know my daughter. So I walk into anything, any store. The employees, the baristas at the coffee shops, the owners of the different stores and restaurants, all know me and they've all referred me to their friends and family. So that's how I get clients that way. Or for them, for themselves. Also, loan officers and I've had so many referrals from loan officers, especially ones that are also former military. I go to their networking events. Believe it or not loan officers have their separate events and I pop in there and I know a lot of you out there listening.
Speaker 2:
You're probably not in real estate, but you know what this still applies. You need clients. If you are an entrepreneur, if you're a business owner, get out there. Make sure that five strangers every single day know your name, know what you do, know who you are and know your services. That was what I lived by for two years straight and I still try to do it to this day. But now that I'm up and running and things are busier, I don't really have that ability to but what I lived by for two years straight and I still try to do it to this day. But now that I'm up and running and things are busier, I don't really have that ability to but what I did every single day five strangers had my business card, knew my name and knew what I did. They knew I was in real estate.
Speaker 2:
You have to network your ass off, especially if you want to succeed as an entrepreneur. I see so many I'm a part of so many different real estate groups on Facebook and I see these like women saying what do I do? What do I do? And I'm like, girl, go first download that app, eventbrite. Go network and network hard. I mean, when I tell you I was networking hard, I would drop my daughter off at school and then I'd be gone all day until I had to pick her up, just at different conferences and events. And yeah, meet people, meet your quote, unquote competition.
Speaker 2:
I was given so much different advice but again, this is just what worked for me. I was given so much different advice but I again, like, this is just what worked for me. I was given so much advice, like I said, like when, when, when you're networking and you're asking people hey, how did you do this? Tell me your ways. You're going to get a lot of mixed information, but you have to take what applies to you and utilize it. I've tried so many different things.
Speaker 2:
The one thing that I felt like was really consistent with all this is with realtors, but it's not when it comes to the podcast and what came for the podcast and my book. They told me to do the opposite In real estate. They said you need to find a niche. Who's your niche market? Niche down, focus on that one group of people, which, for the longest time I did, I felt like I focused 100% on real estate and they were like okay, find your niche market. Okay, my niche market is first responders and military which worked great, by the way, because I still have military base access and so I was still going out to the military bases and introducing myself and doing all that fun stuff. But you are only supposed to focus on real estate and you need to put all your eggs in that basket and your social media needs to reflect, because they will.
Speaker 2:
They said it confuses people when they go onto your social media, like Instagram, and see that you're doing different things, right? So like it would confuse them if they, if I also was a podcast host I was, if I was a writer, if I was a speaker. It was supposedly confuse those people and I was told that for years. So I was so afraid to put on my Instagram that I was also a speaker at conferences, that I am a podcast host, that I'm also a writer, and I was really nervous about that because I'm like okay, well, my niche, my, my brand, is realtor. But then I realized, with the help of a very, very popular um podcast host and I have no shame, I'll say her name on the podcast.
Speaker 2:
It was Amanda Francis, and Amanda Francis said something that really, really resonated with me. She said be your own niche and be your own brand. And I was like, yeah, I am the brand, I am the niche. You can go onto my Instagram and pick a service. What do you need? Do you need a house? Do you need a new podcast to listen to? Like, I'm the brand, I'm the experience, and as long as I know how to market myself and market my brand and market my story to fit what they need specifically, for example, real estate, they need specifically, for example, real estate I can give them the entire experience, because that's who I am, what I know to be true, especially working in real estate, because, let's be real, there's so many real estate agents in every single state. It is absolutely saturated and, if you think about it life coaches, manifestation coaches, all those types of virtual coaches is also very saturated.
Speaker 2:
What is going to make you stand out is your brand, is your experience, and what can you bring to the table that is completely different than the person next door who's also probably doing the same thing. People want to know your story, people want to resonate with your story, they want to see that you have something in common with them. That is why it is so, so important that you're 100% authentically. You Don't try to be like anybody else, because you will attract the wrong clients. If I tried to be like whatever Amanda Francis right, she's a completely different person but if I tried to be like her, I'm going to attract clients that are more like her and maybe I'm not going to vibe with those types of people.
Speaker 2:
I am very authentically myself. When it comes to all aspects of my business whether it's the podcast, whether I'm speaking on a stage or I'm in real estate I am 100% myself and what I've noticed is that I attract clients that are also just like me and I can help serve them better. Does that make sense? Think about it. When you are somebody else and you are fake, you don't. I mean you're trying to put out this fake personality to try to attract certain clients or whatever. You're not going to vibe with them. Those aren't your people. I attract the people into my life by just being myself. Those people are going to turn into your clients.
Speaker 2:
I feel like when I first got into real estate, I had to pretend to be somebody that I wasn't. I had to fake it till I make it kind of mindset, which it's a survival mindset Faking it until you make it. It's very much like survival mode and I was attracting clients all across the freaking board. Some of them stayed but it wasn't a really good experience and then some of them just left. The ones that I had a really enjoyable time and the transaction and everything was like flawless and seamless and the experience was really really well. It was when I was the most authentic, when I was most myself.
Speaker 2:
So your story is what you need to base your brand off of. Does that make sense? Hopefully I'm explaining this right. Everybody has a unique story. What did you do? Career-wise or non-career-wise life experience counts. What did you do prior to starting your business? Non-career wise life experience counts. What did you do prior to starting your business? Because I feel like that should be your brand. I like the saying I can't remember who said it. Like Steve Harvey or somebody said your mess is your message and that right there can help you find your clients by taking your life experience. Whether it's messy or not, that doesn't matter, but taking your life experience, your previous career, your whatever and applying it to finding your best suited clients for your business.
Speaker 2:
I definitely still market my real estate services to first responders and military because I speak the language. I know what it's like to move from one country back to the States and need to find a house. I know that entire process. I know the language, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I know what it's like to work in law enforcement. I also speak that language too. I'm best suited for those clients. The clients that I have the hardest time with are the clients that are not first responders, that don't have any military history. Those are the ones that I have a harder time with. I don't know. I just feel like they're not best suited for me. But when it comes to my podcast or when it comes to me speaking to them, if I'm on stage and I'm speaking to them about my message or whatever, or business, that's where I connect.
Speaker 2:
Be a whole freaking experience when it comes to your brand and marketing yourself. Experience. When it comes to your brand and marketing yourself, you are an experience. You are not just one thing Okay, you are multi-dimensional. Use that. Be so freaking, authentic and so much yourself that it attracts your, your clients, your dream clients. That's, that's what you need to be doing and I hope that's what you're doing and, like I said, like when you start being fake, you're going to attract that. You're going to attract fake. You're not going to get along with those people. They're going to be. They're the ones that are going to be asking for refunds because they're going to see right through that you are not the person that you're advertising yourself to be and they're going to get out. It happened in real estate. It's going to happen. I don't recommend doing that.
Speaker 2:
Like I said, niching down I don't want to just focus on one different thing because we are all multidimensional, but you can niche down when it comes to certain aspects of your business and don't be afraid to do multiple different things at the same time. Like I said, everybody told me I need to just solely focus on real estate because it would confuse people looking for a realtor. Like oh, what does she do? Is she a podcaster? Was she a speaker? Like it's. So it's confusing. It's not confusing.
Speaker 2:
You go to my page. You can clearly see that I am all of these things. I'm a whole damn experience. Pick something. I have great reviews on Google for real estate. I have, you know, a certain amount of followers on my Instagram that are here just for business, for entrepreneurship. Yeah, you don't have to be just one thing. I hope this makes sense. I hope you guys got something from this. I hope it. I hope it resonates.
Speaker 2:
If you guys are interested in something that's a little bit more customized, little one-on-one, I am offering business coaching. You can explain to me what you're trying to do, what you're trying to get into. Yeah, let's talk one-on-one. If you go to updatedafcom, you can sign up for 45 minutes. I can't remember the price off the top of my head, but it is very affordable. You guys, you can reach out to me on social media. My links for my Instagram are in the show notes. Sorry, I'm like again, late night podcast episode. I'm exhausted. Dm me. You guys, if you can't afford it, just say like hey, I just need advice on this one thing. What do you got? Now I'll tell you exactly what I did.
Speaker 2:
The thing is, you guys, if a girl like me, who left law enforcement, can move to a completely different state where I didn't know anybody and thrive in real estate, you can thrive in anything you want. If you feel stuck, if you feel like okay, like I've gotten myself this far I'm doing great. But now what? Because I've done the same thing, I'm like, okay, now what? Now, what do I do? I feel stuck, I feel stagnant. You can ask me, like what I did and what really did help, guys, was one keep networking, keep going, don't stop. Because I did go through a period where I stopped networking and I had to recently get back into it because I was like, wait, I feel stuck, like what do I do next? Okay, go back to the basics. The basics were networking. That worked for me.
Speaker 2:
Your basics can be something different, but, especially if you become so successful in your business and then you feel stuck, go back to the basics. What got you to that level? Go back, because maybe you fell off the wagon, maybe your habits You've changed up your habits and your new habits led you down a different road. Go back, go back to the beginning of when you started your business and start over. But you're not starting over, you're starting with experience, right? So, anyway, I hope you guys get something out of this podcast. Thank you so much for listening. I love you guys so so much. If you would do me a favor, rate me an honest review. If you are feeling super nice. You can hit subscribe. You can also create an account on updatedafcom. That website is up and running.
Speaker 2:
I will start my blog soon and that way you'll be alerted to new episodes, new blog posts, all the things. The blog is solely going to be on my personal life. I do have a hard time talking about my personal life here on the podcast. Eventually I'll get there. But my life, my personal life, is a shit show. My business is great, my daughter's great, I'm healthy, she's healthy, all the things are really really good. It's just like ugh. Beside that, I feel like my life is a freaking mess, but everything else is good. Got to be grateful for something, and I am grateful for that. I feel like my life is a freaking mess, but everything else is good. Got to be grateful for something, and I am grateful for that. Thank you guys so much for listening. I will see you next week.
