March 25, 2025 • 19 mins
Are your finances a mess? It’s time for a reset! In part one of this three-part spring cleaning series, we’re diving into the financial side of your real estate business. Learn how to get your numbers in order, cut waste, and start building real wealth.
In this episode you'll learn:
- Why financial spring cleaning matters
- How money stress is holding you back
- 5 steps to take control of your financials
Financial clarity is the foundation of a thriving business. Take control of your money now, so you can build lasting wealth and enjoy the freedom you deserve. See you in the next episode!
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Welcome to part one of my three-part spring cleaning
series for real estate agents.
We are going to cover the threeareas of your business that you
need to spring clean, and todaywe are diving in to one of my
favorites your financials.
We are going to talk aboutgetting your money in order,
(00:56):
because spring cleaning is notjust for your closet.
It is also for your bankaccount and your financials in
your real estate business.
I know so many real estateagents who avoid money or their
numbers and they just havecommissions flowing in and out
of their bank account.
They are not paying attentionto their cash flow.
(01:16):
They have no idea what theirprofit margin is.
They don't even have a profitand loss.
To be honest, like the onlytime that they kind of get it in
order is for tax time, which itbasically is coming up or has
passed, depending on how you'reorganized.
So today I want to give you mytips for getting your financials
(01:37):
in order as a real estate agent, so your business can start
growing and you can startmeasuring and paying attention
to what matters in your business.
So let's chat about why yourfinances need a spring clean.
Money is the biggest source ofstress for most real estate
(01:59):
agents, and it is a huge reasonon why they feel overwhelmed.
When you don't have controlover your finances and your
numbers, your business controlsyou, or the lack of business
controls you.
So cleaning up your financialsis not just about making more
money.
It's also about keeping more ofit and using it to build
(02:19):
long-term wealth, which is whatyou should be doing if you are
in real estate.
That is how you eventually exitthe business, because, let's be
real, most of us do not want tobe selling real estate when we
are a 85 year old granny.
I know I did.
I do not.
I know my grandma did that, butI am not interested.
So let's roll up our sleevesand get into the five things you
(02:41):
need to do to clean up yourfinances this spring.
Step number one is you need toknow your numbers, and this is
really all about gettingorganized.
So, if you do not have anaccounting system or a
bookkeeper, I want you to goback to your 12 months of bank
(03:02):
statements, 12 months of creditcard statements and categorize
every single transaction that isrelated to your real estate
business.
We also need to know what'scoming into your business, so
you can pull that from your bankstatements, obviously, but your
brokerage should also have sometype of accounting system
showing what they have paid you.
(03:23):
And this seems very simple, butso many agents get stuck on
this and I know a lot of mycoaching clients are just like
head in the sand about money.
But we really dive into thiswhen we work together, which is,
we need to know what's comingin, which is your income.
We need to know what's going in, which is your income.
We need to know what's goingout, which is your expenses, and
having that information helpsus identify what your actual
(03:46):
profit is.
And then it also helps usidentify what your profit margin
is.
Now, why I like the profitmargin number is because that is
something we can track ontrends.
Because that is something wecan track on trends, because,
even if your profit is going up,it's showing how much more
profitable you are or how muchless profitable you are.
(04:06):
So knowing your profit theactual cash is super important,
but knowing your profit marginis also important.
So how do you actuallycalculate a profit margin?
It is your profit, so thatincome minus expenses divided by
your gross income, which in ourcase, as real estate agents, is
your gross commission.
And if you want it as apercentage.
(04:26):
You multiply that by 100.
And that is pure and simple thedown and dirty of it.
I have people ask what is a goodprofit margin and I think that
that just depends on what typeof business you're running.
So if you have a brokerage, ifyou have a teamerage, if you're
(04:50):
a solo agent, it all depends onwhat type of business you're
running, what your expenses are,what your return on those
expenses are.
So I would say there reallyisn't a set profit margin.
But it is a good thing to trackbecause you want to make sure
that it is improving over timeor it's just trending in the
(05:11):
right direction or stayingstable.
One of my coaching clients Iworked with thought that she was
making six figures because herincome coming into her bank
account was six figures.
But after we broke everythingdown I gave her the template to
do her profit and loss sherealized that her take home was
way, way lower than she expected.
(05:32):
So if you don't know thesenumbers and you're not tracking
it on a at least quarterly orsemi-annual basis, you are
flying blind in your real estatebusiness.
It is so important.
So my action step for you forknowing your numbers, is pull up
those bank statements, pull upthose credit card statements
right now.
(05:52):
Let's list out your monthlyrevenue, expenses and what's
actually left over aftereverything's being paid.
If you are already ahead of thecurve and you have a bookkeeper
and you're in something likezero or QuickBooks, pull that up
too.
We want to get a list of all ofyour income and all of your
expenses so we can move to steptwo.
(06:14):
Speaking of step two, it is allabout cutting the dead weight.
We want to reduce yourunnecessary expenses.
So are you paying for tools thatyou don't use?
I'm sure you are.
We all do.
As real estate agents we likedefinitely go for the shiny
(06:35):
object syndrome.
We love shiny objects, so auditthose expenses.
Are you paying for something youdon't use?
Are you paying for somethingthat is not giving you a return
on your investment?
I am going to tell you youprobably have at least a handful
of things.
Cancel those subscriptions.
They do not serve you.
You do not need them.
(06:56):
The other thing is stop impulsebuying things that you don't
need Courses, software, leadgeneration, tools that aren't
giving you a return oninvestment.
I can't tell you how manycoaching clients I have met that
are paying for lead generationthat is not giving them a return
(07:18):
on their investment, stop it,just stop.
If you are not taking advantageof everything you are
purchasing in terms of courses,software, lead gen tools, stop
paying for them, just stop doingthem.
I'm giving you permission rightnow Cut it out.
I remember I had a client whowas spending $800 a month on
(07:39):
three different platforms thatwere essentially acting like a
CRM, and she kept jumping to thenext best thing and just
realized that there's so muchredundancy, so technology and
systems.
There is a lot of tools outthere that actually start doing
more things.
So software is ever evolving.
(08:00):
I know that our CRM.
At one point we realized wecould send our email newsletter
from it, whereas that was like anew functionality.
So we were able to drop ouremail software and save our
brokerage $8,000 a year.
So software is evolving as well.
So if you haven't revisited yourtech stack or the software
(08:20):
you're paying for, maybe it doessomething.
Maybe it has a new featurethat's going to allow you to cut
out another piece of softwareor another expense in your
business.
So this is your step number twoyou are going to go through
your bank statements.
Your credit card statementshighlight every subscription or
tool and really think.
(08:42):
Highlight every subscription ortool and really think do I need
this or do I need to explore ifone of my existing tools can
replace this one, and I am goingto give you permission to just
go ahead and cancel that today.
The other thing is not onlycutting, but let's say you love
a piece of your software.
So, for example, calendly waslike.
It is one of my favorite tools,one of my favorites.
(09:04):
You can also experience somesavings by just going to an
annual plan.
So if you're monthly onsomething, going to annual can
also save you some money.
So I would only do that onthings that you know you're
going to want to renew yearafter year or you know you want
to commit to for a year.
I personally love doingsubscriptions on a month to
(09:27):
month until I know that I reallylove that piece of software.
But going month to month atfirst has saved me so much money
because after a month of usingit I realized I don't like this,
this isn't what I expected, orI'm not going to use it.
So those are my tips onsubscriptions cutting the dead
weight.
Step number three in springcleaning your business is you
(09:50):
need to figure out how to payyourself, like the CEO that you
are Shifting from commissionbased chaos which, let's be real
, is total chaos.
We have that huge influx in thespring and summer and then it's
like what the heck's going onthe rest of the year.
So we need to stop treatingcommission checks like a
free-for-all, setting up aseparate business account,
(10:13):
paying yourself a set salary,even if you're not really W-2ing
yourself but just pulling out$8,000 a month or $10,000 a
month and paying yourself that,getting used to having stability
in your income which,admittedly, is very, very hard
when you are a new agent and youare still growing your business
(10:35):
.
Do your best.
Maybe you just start with$2,000 a month.
My advice is look at yourprofit from last year, divide
that by 12, and then that iswhat you are going to pay
yourself this year.
And then, obviously, if at theend of the year you make more
money, that's lovely, but Ithink that that most people are
going to do the amount ofbusiness they did last year.
(10:57):
So I would go ahead and do that.
The other book that I reallylike is Profit First.
Admittedly, I do not follow thefull method, but it is a really
interesting book to readbecause it will give you an
overview of how you pay yourselffirst, and I honestly follow a
more simple version of it.
(11:17):
I do not set up all the bankaccounts but I still think I
learned a ton from that book andhighly recommend it because it
is so important that you payyourself first.
I know too many agents thatride the commission roller
coaster where they have a bigcheck, they pay it all to
themselves, they spend it andthen they have dry months.
So when I switched to payingmyself a set amount every two
weeks, just like an employeequote unquote of my business, it
(11:40):
was a huge game changer.
Like an employee quote unquoteof my business, it was a huge
game changer.
It basically got me used tojust having a consistent income,
which I think is so importantto being the CEO of your
business.
So action step on this isfigure out that salary amount
that you're paying yourselfeither every other week or every
month.
Your business needs to run likea real company, not a side
(12:04):
hustle.
The number one mistake I seereal estate agents make about
their finances is preparing fortaxes.
You can avoid tax season stressand those surprise bills by
just being prepared, so let'sset aside a certain percentage
of every single commission checkfor your taxes.
(12:26):
Have a separate bank accountfor your taxes.
This is a tax account.
25% to 30% is a good rule ofthumb, but again, everyone is
different.
So if you have questions onwhat you should set aside, ask
your CPA.
I like having that separate taxaccount because if it's out of
sight, it is out of mind, andthen you can just know that when
(12:49):
tax time comes every quarter,you can just immediately
transfer that money.
Now I would do thisautomatically.
So if you have the option withyour brokerage, which a lot of
them do, you can actually havethem.
Just take that 25%, put it intoyour tax account and then the
remaining 75% goes into your taxaccount and then the remaining
(13:10):
75% goes into your businessaccount.
So I love things that areautomated because, honestly,
when people are involved, we'rejust going to mess it up because
we get busy.
So if you can automate that taxsavings account, it is crucial
to making sure that you areready for tax time.
If you do not have a CPA, thisis another one.
(13:31):
Get one.
I don't care if you think youcan't afford it.
They are worth every singlepenny.
A good CPA will save you whattheir fee is and they are
priceless to being organized fortax time.
I have seen way too many agentsget surprise tax bills to the
tune of $50,000 because theyforgot to save for their taxes.
(13:56):
And if that's you, this is yoursign that you need to get
serious about tax planning, andthis is something that I
absolutely think is crucial torunning your business.
Like a CEO, you need to be ontop of your taxes, because tax
liens are no fun.
So your action items today ifyou do not have them, open a
(14:20):
separate tax account today youcan go online.
I love RelayFi.
I just opened a bunch ofaccounts with them.
It's super easy.
I will opened a bunch ofaccounts with them.
It's super easy.
I will put their link in theshow notes.
They let you set up as many asyou want.
So I have five accounts for abunch of different buckets in my
business.
Highly recommend them.
(14:41):
They also have a high yieldsavings account, which right now
is getting about 3.7%.
So definitely, definitely, getthat in order and check the show
notes.
I will put that link.
And my last step five on gettingyour financial house in order
for spring we are springcleaning.
Do you know that feeling afteryou're done cleaning and
(15:05):
everything just feels so good,like you're just so excited
because you just made so muchspace and room?
This is step five.
We are going to set some wealthgoals that feel exciting
because you have created spacewith steps one through four.
In your business, we areshifting from surviving to
thriving, so you're going to bebuilding wealth, not just income
(15:26):
.
So I want you to ask yourselfare you actually building
long-term wealth or are you justworking deal to deal?
And what this requires is thatyou set goals beyond just making
more money.
I want you to think aboutinvestments, savings, passive
income, and I think it's soimportant that you invest in
(15:46):
real estate, because that iswhat we know.
That is how I have built.
Most of my net worth is throughreal estate.
Honestly, it is one of the best, best ways to build wealth,
especially in this unproductableenvironment.
I have my tenants who pay mymortgage, and it is going to be
(16:06):
paid off in 15 years or 17 yearsor 30 years, depending on what
type of mortgage you got or howlong you've owned that property.
But getting that principal paydown every single year on my
rental properties is buildingwealth.
So not only am I making moneyeach month on those rentals, but
I am building wealth throughthat principal pay down.
(16:28):
You also get tax deductions forowning rental properties.
So I am a massive, massive fanof real estate agents.
Owning rental properties Alsoinvest in the market stocks your
retirement account.
We do not take advantage ofthese vehicles, but this is
literally how you build wealth.
(16:48):
This is how I have got to thepoint of having a net worth over
$2 million.
Is real estate putting money inthe market and being
responsible with my money?
I am a huge proponent of.
Money is power, and real estateagents need to realize that how
(17:10):
they use their money is goingto set them up for success and
for an incredible retirement.
We have such a uniqueopportunity on our hands that we
can make as much money as wewant to, but it doesn't mean
anything if you are not savingit and you are not building
wealth for the long term.
So I want you to decide on yourwealth building goal.
(17:33):
It might be buying a rentalproperty, maybe it's starting an
investment account, or maybeit's just setting aside a
percentage of every deal foryour long term savings, but I
want you to pick one and takethat first step today, because I
know too many real estateagents who have made multiple
six figures for 10 years, 20years and they literally have
(17:55):
nothing to show for it and I donot want that to happen to you.
So here's my quick recap onspring cleaning your financials
in your real estate business.
Number one know your numbers.
You have to look at your income, your expenses, your profit and
your profit margin.
Cut the dead weight, cancelanything that's wasting money.
So find the waste and cut it.
(18:17):
Three pay yourself like a CEO.
You need to stop the commissionrollercoaster and pay yourself
a set salary.
It does not mean W-2.
It just means a consistentincome salary.
It does not mean W-2.
It just means a consistentincome.
Four is prep for taxes.
We do not want to be set.
(18:40):
Number four is prep for taxes.
We do not want to be surprisedat tax time.
So set aside that money now andnot later.
And five is set your wealthgoals.
I want you to build long-termfinancial security.
So, whether that's throughrental properties, investing in
the market or just having along-term savings plan, you need
to be working on your long-termwealth because you do not want
(19:01):
to be 85 selling real estate.
So if you do one thing today, Iwant you to pull up your last
three months of statements andstart cutting out the waste.
Your business should be makingyou money, not draining it, so
let's start building wealth thesmart way.
If this episode has helped you,please share it with another
(19:22):
agent who needs a financialreset, and please don't forget
to subscribe for the nextepisode in this series, where
we're going to tackle how tospring clean your systems and
your tech in your business so itruns smoother than ever.
Until next time,
Welcome to part one of my three-part spring cleaning
series for real estate agents.
We are going to cover the threeareas of your business that you
need to spring clean, and todaywe are diving in to one of my
favorites your financials.
We are going to talk aboutgetting your money in order,
(00:56):
because spring cleaning is notjust for your closet.
It is also for your bankaccount and your financials in
your real estate business.
I know so many real estateagents who avoid money or their
numbers and they just havecommissions flowing in and out
of their bank account.
They are not paying attentionto their cash flow.
(01:16):
They have no idea what theirprofit margin is.
They don't even have a profitand loss.
To be honest, like the onlytime that they kind of get it in
order is for tax time, which itbasically is coming up or has
passed, depending on how you'reorganized.
So today I want to give you mytips for getting your financials
(01:37):
in order as a real estate agent, so your business can start
growing and you can startmeasuring and paying attention
to what matters in your business.
So let's chat about why yourfinances need a spring clean.
Money is the biggest source ofstress for most real estate
(01:59):
agents, and it is a huge reasonon why they feel overwhelmed.
When you don't have controlover your finances and your
numbers, your business controlsyou, or the lack of business
controls you.
So cleaning up your financialsis not just about making more
money.
It's also about keeping more ofit and using it to build
(02:19):
long-term wealth, which is whatyou should be doing if you are
in real estate.
That is how you eventually exitthe business, because, let's be
real, most of us do not want tobe selling real estate when we
are a 85 year old granny.
I know I did.
I do not.
I know my grandma did that, butI am not interested.
So let's roll up our sleevesand get into the five things you
(02:41):
need to do to clean up yourfinances this spring.
Step number one is you need toknow your numbers, and this is
really all about gettingorganized.
So, if you do not have anaccounting system or a
bookkeeper, I want you to goback to your 12 months of bank
(03:02):
statements, 12 months of creditcard statements and categorize
every single transaction that isrelated to your real estate
business.
We also need to know what'scoming into your business, so
you can pull that from your bankstatements, obviously, but your
brokerage should also have sometype of accounting system
showing what they have paid you.
(03:23):
And this seems very simple, butso many agents get stuck on
this and I know a lot of mycoaching clients are just like
head in the sand about money.
But we really dive into thiswhen we work together, which is,
we need to know what's comingin, which is your income.
We need to know what's going in, which is your income.
We need to know what's goingout, which is your expenses, and
having that information helpsus identify what your actual
(03:46):
profit is.
And then it also helps usidentify what your profit margin
is.
Now, why I like the profitmargin number is because that is
something we can track ontrends.
Because that is something wecan track on trends, because,
even if your profit is going up,it's showing how much more
profitable you are or how muchless profitable you are.
(04:06):
So knowing your profit theactual cash is super important,
but knowing your profit marginis also important.
So how do you actuallycalculate a profit margin?
It is your profit, so thatincome minus expenses divided by
your gross income, which in ourcase, as real estate agents, is
your gross commission.
And if you want it as apercentage.
(04:26):
You multiply that by 100.
And that is pure and simple thedown and dirty of it.
I have people ask what is a goodprofit margin and I think that
that just depends on what typeof business you're running.
So if you have a brokerage, ifyou have a teamerage, if you're
(04:50):
a solo agent, it all depends onwhat type of business you're
running, what your expenses are,what your return on those
expenses are.
So I would say there reallyisn't a set profit margin.
But it is a good thing to trackbecause you want to make sure
that it is improving over timeor it's just trending in the
(05:11):
right direction or stayingstable.
One of my coaching clients Iworked with thought that she was
making six figures because herincome coming into her bank
account was six figures.
But after we broke everythingdown I gave her the template to
do her profit and loss sherealized that her take home was
way, way lower than she expected.
(05:32):
So if you don't know thesenumbers and you're not tracking
it on a at least quarterly orsemi-annual basis, you are
flying blind in your real estatebusiness.
It is so important.
So my action step for you forknowing your numbers, is pull up
those bank statements, pull upthose credit card statements
right now.
(05:52):
Let's list out your monthlyrevenue, expenses and what's
actually left over aftereverything's being paid.
If you are already ahead of thecurve and you have a bookkeeper
and you're in something likezero or QuickBooks, pull that up
too.
We want to get a list of all ofyour income and all of your
expenses so we can move to steptwo.
(06:14):
Speaking of step two, it is allabout cutting the dead weight.
We want to reduce yourunnecessary expenses.
So are you paying for tools thatyou don't use?
I'm sure you are.
We all do.
As real estate agents we likedefinitely go for the shiny
(06:35):
object syndrome.
We love shiny objects, so auditthose expenses.
Are you paying for something youdon't use?
Are you paying for somethingthat is not giving you a return
on your investment?
I am going to tell you youprobably have at least a handful
of things.
Cancel those subscriptions.
They do not serve you.
You do not need them.
(06:56):
The other thing is stop impulsebuying things that you don't
need Courses, software, leadgeneration, tools that aren't
giving you a return oninvestment.
I can't tell you how manycoaching clients I have met that
are paying for lead generationthat is not giving them a return
(07:18):
on their investment, stop it,just stop.
If you are not taking advantageof everything you are
purchasing in terms of courses,software, lead gen tools, stop
paying for them, just stop doingthem.
I'm giving you permission rightnow Cut it out.
I remember I had a client whowas spending $800 a month on
(07:39):
three different platforms thatwere essentially acting like a
CRM, and she kept jumping to thenext best thing and just
realized that there's so muchredundancy, so technology and
systems.
There is a lot of tools outthere that actually start doing
more things.
So software is ever evolving.
(08:00):
I know that our CRM.
At one point we realized wecould send our email newsletter
from it, whereas that was like anew functionality.
So we were able to drop ouremail software and save our
brokerage $8,000 a year.
So software is evolving as well.
So if you haven't revisited yourtech stack or the software
(08:20):
you're paying for, maybe it doessomething.
Maybe it has a new featurethat's going to allow you to cut
out another piece of softwareor another expense in your
business.
So this is your step number twoyou are going to go through
your bank statements.
Your credit card statementshighlight every subscription or
tool and really think.
(08:42):
Highlight every subscription ortool and really think do I need
this or do I need to explore ifone of my existing tools can
replace this one, and I am goingto give you permission to just
go ahead and cancel that today.
The other thing is not onlycutting, but let's say you love
a piece of your software.
So, for example, calendly waslike.
It is one of my favorite tools,one of my favorites.
(09:04):
You can also experience somesavings by just going to an
annual plan.
So if you're monthly onsomething, going to annual can
also save you some money.
So I would only do that onthings that you know you're
going to want to renew yearafter year or you know you want
to commit to for a year.
I personally love doingsubscriptions on a month to
(09:27):
month until I know that I reallylove that piece of software.
But going month to month atfirst has saved me so much money
because after a month of usingit I realized I don't like this,
this isn't what I expected, orI'm not going to use it.
So those are my tips onsubscriptions cutting the dead
weight.
Step number three in springcleaning your business is you
(09:50):
need to figure out how to payyourself, like the CEO that you
are Shifting from commissionbased chaos which, let's be real
, is total chaos.
We have that huge influx in thespring and summer and then it's
like what the heck's going onthe rest of the year.
So we need to stop treatingcommission checks like a
free-for-all, setting up aseparate business account,
(10:13):
paying yourself a set salary,even if you're not really W-2ing
yourself but just pulling out$8,000 a month or $10,000 a
month and paying yourself that,getting used to having stability
in your income which,admittedly, is very, very hard
when you are a new agent and youare still growing your business
(10:35):
.
Do your best.
Maybe you just start with$2,000 a month.
My advice is look at yourprofit from last year, divide
that by 12, and then that iswhat you are going to pay
yourself this year.
And then, obviously, if at theend of the year you make more
money, that's lovely, but Ithink that that most people are
going to do the amount ofbusiness they did last year.
(10:57):
So I would go ahead and do that.
The other book that I reallylike is Profit First.
Admittedly, I do not follow thefull method, but it is a really
interesting book to readbecause it will give you an
overview of how you pay yourselffirst, and I honestly follow a
more simple version of it.
(11:17):
I do not set up all the bankaccounts but I still think I
learned a ton from that book andhighly recommend it because it
is so important that you payyourself first.
I know too many agents thatride the commission roller
coaster where they have a bigcheck, they pay it all to
themselves, they spend it andthen they have dry months.
So when I switched to payingmyself a set amount every two
weeks, just like an employeequote unquote of my business, it
(11:40):
was a huge game changer.
Like an employee quote unquoteof my business, it was a huge
game changer.
It basically got me used tojust having a consistent income,
which I think is so importantto being the CEO of your
business.
So action step on this isfigure out that salary amount
that you're paying yourselfeither every other week or every
month.
Your business needs to run likea real company, not a side
(12:04):
hustle.
The number one mistake I seereal estate agents make about
their finances is preparing fortaxes.
You can avoid tax season stressand those surprise bills by
just being prepared, so let'sset aside a certain percentage
of every single commission checkfor your taxes.
(12:26):
Have a separate bank accountfor your taxes.
This is a tax account.
25% to 30% is a good rule ofthumb, but again, everyone is
different.
So if you have questions onwhat you should set aside, ask
your CPA.
I like having that separate taxaccount because if it's out of
sight, it is out of mind, andthen you can just know that when
(12:49):
tax time comes every quarter,you can just immediately
transfer that money.
Now I would do thisautomatically.
So if you have the option withyour brokerage, which a lot of
them do, you can actually havethem.
Just take that 25%, put it intoyour tax account and then the
remaining 75% goes into your taxaccount and then the remaining
(13:10):
75% goes into your businessaccount.
So I love things that areautomated because, honestly,
when people are involved, we'rejust going to mess it up because
we get busy.
So if you can automate that taxsavings account, it is crucial
to making sure that you areready for tax time.
If you do not have a CPA, thisis another one.
(13:31):
Get one.
I don't care if you think youcan't afford it.
They are worth every singlepenny.
A good CPA will save you whattheir fee is and they are
priceless to being organized fortax time.
I have seen way too many agentsget surprise tax bills to the
tune of $50,000 because theyforgot to save for their taxes.
(13:56):
And if that's you, this is yoursign that you need to get
serious about tax planning, andthis is something that I
absolutely think is crucial torunning your business.
Like a CEO, you need to be ontop of your taxes, because tax
liens are no fun.
So your action items today ifyou do not have them, open a
(14:20):
separate tax account today youcan go online.
I love RelayFi.
I just opened a bunch ofaccounts with them.
It's super easy.
I will opened a bunch ofaccounts with them.
It's super easy.
I will put their link in theshow notes.
They let you set up as many asyou want.
So I have five accounts for abunch of different buckets in my
business.
Highly recommend them.
(14:41):
They also have a high yieldsavings account, which right now
is getting about 3.7%.
So definitely, definitely, getthat in order and check the show
notes.
I will put that link.
And my last step five on gettingyour financial house in order
for spring we are springcleaning.
Do you know that feeling afteryou're done cleaning and
(15:05):
everything just feels so good,like you're just so excited
because you just made so muchspace and room?
This is step five.
We are going to set some wealthgoals that feel exciting
because you have created spacewith steps one through four.
In your business, we areshifting from surviving to
thriving, so you're going to bebuilding wealth, not just income
(15:26):
.
So I want you to ask yourselfare you actually building
long-term wealth or are you justworking deal to deal?
And what this requires is thatyou set goals beyond just making
more money.
I want you to think aboutinvestments, savings, passive
income, and I think it's soimportant that you invest in
(15:46):
real estate, because that iswhat we know.
That is how I have built.
Most of my net worth is throughreal estate.
Honestly, it is one of the best, best ways to build wealth,
especially in this unproductableenvironment.
I have my tenants who pay mymortgage, and it is going to be
(16:06):
paid off in 15 years or 17 yearsor 30 years, depending on what
type of mortgage you got or howlong you've owned that property.
But getting that principal paydown every single year on my
rental properties is buildingwealth.
So not only am I making moneyeach month on those rentals, but
I am building wealth throughthat principal pay down.
(16:28):
You also get tax deductions forowning rental properties.
So I am a massive, massive fanof real estate agents.
Owning rental properties Alsoinvest in the market stocks your
retirement account.
We do not take advantage ofthese vehicles, but this is
literally how you build wealth.
(16:48):
This is how I have got to thepoint of having a net worth over
$2 million.
Is real estate putting money inthe market and being
responsible with my money?
I am a huge proponent of.
Money is power, and real estateagents need to realize that how
(17:10):
they use their money is goingto set them up for success and
for an incredible retirement.
We have such a uniqueopportunity on our hands that we
can make as much money as wewant to, but it doesn't mean
anything if you are not savingit and you are not building
wealth for the long term.
So I want you to decide on yourwealth building goal.
(17:33):
It might be buying a rentalproperty, maybe it's starting an
investment account, or maybeit's just setting aside a
percentage of every deal foryour long term savings, but I
want you to pick one and takethat first step today, because I
know too many real estateagents who have made multiple
six figures for 10 years, 20years and they literally have
(17:55):
nothing to show for it and I donot want that to happen to you.
So here's my quick recap onspring cleaning your financials
in your real estate business.
Number one know your numbers.
You have to look at your income, your expenses, your profit and
your profit margin.
Cut the dead weight, cancelanything that's wasting money.
So find the waste and cut it.
(18:17):
Three pay yourself like a CEO.
You need to stop the commissionrollercoaster and pay yourself
a set salary.
It does not mean W-2.
It just means a consistentincome salary.
It does not mean W-2.
It just means a consistentincome.
Four is prep for taxes.
We do not want to be set.
(18:40):
Number four is prep for taxes.
We do not want to be surprisedat tax time.
So set aside that money now andnot later.
And five is set your wealthgoals.
I want you to build long-termfinancial security.
So, whether that's throughrental properties, investing in
the market or just having along-term savings plan, you need
to be working on your long-termwealth because you do not want
(19:01):
to be 85 selling real estate.
So if you do one thing today, Iwant you to pull up your last
three months of statements andstart cutting out the waste.
Your business should be makingyou money, not draining it, so
let's start building wealth thesmart way.
If this episode has helped you,please share it with another
(19:22):
agent who needs a financialreset, and please don't forget
to subscribe for the nextepisode in this series, where
we're going to tackle how tospring clean your systems and
your tech in your business so itruns smoother than ever.
Until next time,
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