Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today on the podcast,
we are going to dive into
something that hits really hardthis time of year.
More specifically, we are goingto talk about summer break and
how summer break doesn'tnecessarily mean business break.
If you are a mom in real estateor a caregiver, or just someone
whose calendar suddenlyexplodes with summer fun,
(00:23):
swimming lessons, spontaneouspop school requests, this
episode's for you, because hereis the real deal Just because
school is out doesn't mean thatyour business also has to be.
I am a mom of three, so I getit.
You want to be present for yourkids and your family, you want
(00:44):
to make those great summermemories, but you also want to
keep your income steady, yoursystems running and your
momentum going, so when you hitthe fall market, you are not
hearing crickets.
Today, we're going to talkabout how to do both because
spoiler alert you absolutely can.
Now let's dive in.
(01:04):
First of all, if you have evernoticed that your business
slowdowns in the summer, you arenot imagining it.
Your routine shifts, yourschedule gets interrupted and,
let's be honest, sometimes themotivation just isn't there.
When it's 90 degrees andeveryone is asking you what's
for lunch and you're trying toget out the door to yet again
(01:25):
another activity.
But just because this time ofyear feels harder doesn't
necessarily mean that yourbusiness has to suffer.
Another thing is, yes, clients,they are busy too, like we are
all going through the same thing.
But a lot of agents will tellme every summer I lose all my
momentum or I'm just trying tosurvive until September.
(01:46):
But no, not this year, not thissummer.
We are going in with a plan andyou still have permission to do
it your way, which is obviouslysomething I really believe in.
So let's zoom out for a second.
What is actually really slowingyou down?
So let's zoom out for a second.
(02:07):
What is actually really slowingyou down and I am going to
wager that it's probably notjust the kids being home for the
summer it is potentially yourlack of structure with your
schedule.
It also could be a tinge of momguilt.
You also might just be tryingto run your spring market
schedule into your summerreality.
But we all know you are not arobot.
(02:27):
You are not a real estate robot.
You are a whole human beingwith a family, a business and
about 47 million thingscompeting for your attention.
So, before you overhauleverything, I want you to ask
yourself what is one thing thatyou can let go of this summer
(02:48):
and what are the non-negotiablesthat you want to protect for
the summer?
And this can be in yourbusiness, it can be in your
personal life, but that clarityalone can help you have a more
productive summer.
So I want to get into designingwhat I like to call your summer
strategy, and this is astrategy that actually fits your
(03:12):
real life.
You are not working eight tosix o'clock every day, but you
do need to work smart and withintention.
You guys are probably so tiredof me saying intention, by the
way, but it is one of myfavorite words.
Here's what that could looklike Time blocking based on your
real energy.
So if mornings are when you areat your best and you're
(03:33):
thinking the most clearly, Iwould find a way to protect them
.
You might decide I am workingfrom 7 to 10 and then you are
unplugging until nap time orwhen your kids are in soccer
camp or whatever works for you.
The next thing to designing yoursummer strategy is let's define
(03:54):
your bare minimums, and this islike what can you do?
You do not need 10 hours a dayto grow your business, but ask
yourself what three actions movethe needle most in my business
and will set me up for successin fall market.
And honestly, I'm going to giveyou a little cheat sheet.
(04:15):
It's really only three things.
It's following up, havingconversations, marketing,
putting yourself out there andtaking care of your clients.
So it is not complicated, buthaving good conversations,
keeping up with your marketingand your client care that should
probably be on your BAM minimumlist.
And then the third thing, underdesigning your summer strategy,
let's batch your work.
(04:37):
So maybe you spend a chunk oftime focused one morning writing
some handwritten notes to yourclients for the summer that then
you just mail out little bylittle.
It might be scheduling emailsout, follow-up emails out, but
you are batching tasked workbecause that does help with
(04:58):
between tasks switching and italso helps you be more efficient
.
So this isn't about necessarilydoing less, it's about doing
what matters the most.
And really, for your summerstrategy, you may not have as
many hours, so the hours thatyou are putting in need to
matter and they need to be super, super, super intentional.
(05:19):
Now I would be remiss if we weretalking about a summer break
that doesn't mean a businessbreak if we did not talk about
boundaries, because boundariesequal freedom and if you don't
set them, someone else is goingto.
So this summer, I want you toset your summer hours and stick
to them.
These can be realistic.
(05:40):
You can take time off.
You can say I am unavailablefor appointments on specific
days.
Your clients, if they arecommunicated, will respect them
because you communicated themclearly and confidently.
And these are my summer hoursand the right clients and the
clients that you want to getreferrals from will understand
(06:03):
this and they will respect them.
I know that there are realestate things that blow up and
it is also important to makesure that you have backup if
something totally hits the fan.
But having your summer hoursand sticking to them as best you
can backup if something totallyhits the fan, but having your
summer hours and sticking tothem as best you can again,
progress over perfection issuper crucial.
The other piece is you can useautoresponders and templated
(06:27):
replies so you don't have toreinvent the wheel every time
someone texts you.
And the thing about this is theboundaries don't make you flaky
, they make you sustainable.
I want you to remember that youcontrol the process.
This is your business, and thatstill applies in July.
Let's chat a little bit aboutmarketing, because marketing
(06:50):
does not have to be complicated.
In fact, I think summer is theperfect time to make it really
personal.
You are most likely going to beout and about having
conversations, maybe meeting newfriends, and that is the
perfect time to buildrelationships.
So, first of all, try to havebetter quality conversations.
(07:12):
I think that is a number onething, and then the other thing
is just some quick wins, like ifyou are at your kids with me
and you can post on social andtalk about how you're helping
clients with move into greatneighborhoods that have an
amazing swim team.
You can also share behind thescenes of your summer schedule
(07:33):
and like invite people into yourreal life.
I like the idea of doing just avisibility hour each week to
post, comment, connect online.
So if you're not on socialmedia, that's totally fine.
You do not need social media,but I feel like during the
summer it's a great time tobuild that personal content.
The other thing is you probablyhave downtime waiting for your
(07:56):
kids' activities or likeactually waiting for them to be
swimming or watching them do theactual activity.
So maybe you get a little bitof work done while you are just
waiting.
I feel like there is a lot oftime that we're just kind of
sitting around doing nothing,which obviously that's great,
like you deserve rest and torelax.
But those also can be reallygreat times to just like shoot
(08:19):
off a quick text to somebody whomaybe closed on their house two
months ago and just check onthem.
So consistency doesn'tnecessarily mean daily, but it
does mean intentional, and thekey is that you're still showing
up in your business and I don'twant it to feel overwhelming
because maybe you have a littlebit more responsibility at home,
but I want it to feel aligned.
So try to take advantage of allof the marketing opportunities
(08:42):
that summer presents in terms ofthose conversations that you
can have with people in yourneighborhood and in your sphere.
The weather's nice, enjoy it,get out.
It's just the best.
I love it so much.
In New England, where I'mlocated, it's just like magic
time of year.
So I definitely definitely takeadvantage of being outside,
(09:03):
because the winters here are meh.
This next tip might surprise you, or it might not, but you can
let your kids into your businesssometimes.
But you can let your kids intoyour business sometimes.
So I think letting your kids bea part of your business and
your process can actually bereally fun.
So maybe you have them help youstuff mailers or stamp
(09:24):
envelopes or, if they have greathandwriting address envelopes,
you can let them playphotographer.
So maybe you can work on yourB-roll or help you when you're
out of listing and record ashowing preview for an
out-of-state client.
I also think you could givethem a.
This is like a big.
I really like this one is youhave a work quiet time jar,
(09:47):
which are activities that theycan like pull out while you
return calls or you're working.
I just think like if you havethe older kids, it's a little
bit easier to kind of like letthem go on autopilot, but
there's that like sweet spotbetween like six and probably 12
, 13, where you can like getthem involved a little bit.
(10:08):
And I know my like 10 year oldis actually really great at
filming video and takingpictures, so I think I'm
definitely going to takeadvantage of her this summer in
terms of helping me do somesocial media content.
So, while it won't benecessarily perfect, it can be
fun to include your kids and Ialso think you're modeling what
it looks like to be an awesomepresent parent and a successful
(10:31):
entrepreneur.
And who doesn't want to supportpeople who are doing that?
I mean your sphere wants to seeit.
Your kids, I mean.
Obviously I want my kids to beable to see that they can create
any type of career that theywant, and so I don't hide the
realities of entrepreneurshipfrom my kids, but I do want to
have them see that you get tochoose how your business
(10:54):
operates in times where maybeyou want to have more fun or
you're not working as muchbecause it is summer break and I
want to end with this, even ifyour days look a little bit
different right now, I know itis peak summer, even if you are
juggling sunscreen and follow upwith your leads, and you may
(11:17):
actually even be running yourbusiness from a pool chair with
a wet kid yelling mom, mom, momevery five minutes.
Oh my gosh, I have afour-year-old.
So yeah, that's definitelyhappening.
I want to remind you you'restill the boss and that you are
still the CEO and you get todecide what success looks like
for this season of your life,and if that includes more rest
(11:38):
or more family time or moreboundaries, that is not a step
back.
That is actually a massive win.
So summer break doesn'tnecessarily mean a business
break, especially if you'reintentional about the hours you
do have to invest in yourbusiness this summer, and really
, what this all comes down to isthat you just want to be a
(12:00):
happy agent when fall rollsaround.
So don't let the pipeline rundry.
Do what you can and just knowthat you are doing better than
you think, and I hope that youenjoy the summer because you
deserve it.
Until next time, stay happy.