May 27, 2025 • 15 mins
Are you feeling the pressure to start a team—even if you're not sure you want one?
You're not alone. In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on one of the biggest lies in real estate: the idea that building a team is the only way to grow.
Let’s be real: just because you can build a team doesn’t mean you should. And if you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “Do I need a team to make more money?”—this episode is your permission slip to rethink everything you’ve been told about scaling your business.
We’re digging into:
- Where the pressure to build a team really comes from (and why it's often B.S.)
- The harsh truth about what it’s really like to lead a team
- How building a team too soon can make your business harder, not easier
- Why leverage (not headcount) is your best growth strategy
- The real difference between looking successful and being profitable
- How to know if team leadership is truly aligned with your goals—or if you’re just trying to escape something
Whether you're rocking solo agent life or dreaming of a big, mega team, this episode will help you get honest about what you actually want—and how to scale in a way that supports your life, not steals it.
Bottom line? You don’t need a team to grow—you need clarity, systems, and a business that fits you.
Let's stay connected!
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🎓 Happy Agent Academy – happyagent.co/academy
Your go-to resource for freebies, on-demand courses, templates, and tools to help you grow a thriving real estate business.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello friends, and welcome to today's episode of
the Happy Agent Co podcast.
We are diving into a topic thatI deal with coaching clients
all the time, which is do youactually need a team to make
more money?
So if you have ever felt likeyou have to build a team just to
(00:25):
grow your business, grow yourincome, you're in the right
place.
I need you to take a breath,maybe grab a snack, a glass of
wine, a coffee, and listen tothis entire episode, because the
truth and by the end of this, Ihope that you realize that
building a team is not the onlyway to scale a real estate
(00:46):
business, and for some of you,it can be a fast track to being
overworked, overwhelmed andwondering why you ever started a
team in the first place, whyyou ever left that solo agent
life.
So I want to talk about wherethis pressure actually comes
from, what no one tells youabout team leadership and how to
(01:10):
figure out if starting a teamis really the right next move
for you.
So let's start with where doesthis pressure come from?
I think so much of this ispressure from the industry and
social media and marketing, andall of that does not help.
Coaching programs love to tellyou that a team is the next step
(01:33):
.
It's your natural evolution.
Instagram makes team leaderslook like little mini real
estate Kardashians, and what youdon't realize is that that team
of 12 people only two peopleactually sell real estate, and
then brokers like to push itbecause it helps them scale, it
helps them make more money.
(01:53):
So, somewhere along the way,building a team became the real
estate version of a glow up.
It was like look at her, she'sgot a logo, an assistant, three
people in her Instagram bio thatshe calls quote unquote
partners.
She must be killing it, andmeanwhile, you do not see what's
going on behind the scenes.
(02:14):
And that is what I'm hoping togive you a little sneak peek on
today, which is it is not alwayswhat it seems.
Looking successful is not thesame as being profitable and,
honestly, profit is what helpsyou build a work-life balance, a
sustainable business andlong-term wealth, long-term
(02:39):
stability.
So I have a funny story for you.
So about 10 years ago, therewas a particular broker or
brokerage in our market and theywere essentially turning
everybody into a team.
So there were so many teams ofone, which I thought was
hilarious.
(03:00):
It was like the blank groupwhen it was literally just the
agent.
They didn't even have anassistant, they didn't have a
showing agent, it was justeveryone was creating like the
Lindsay Dreyer team, when it wasliterally just Lindsay Dreyer,
so and like nothing else.
So I really think there's thisprestige factor when we do not
(03:23):
have to go there Like thegeneral public doesn't really
care.
They want to work with you andmost of the time they're coming
to you because they want to workwith you.
So many agents are buildingteams before they actually build
the systems, and I just thinkthat that is a huge mistake.
The harsh reality is that youdon't need a team, you just need
(03:49):
leverage, and that is the bestplace to start and it also helps
you get to the path of is ateam actually right for me?
So let's really dive into thattopic, which is is starting a
team actually the right move foryou?
And there are a few things youreally need to dig into.
The first is do you want tomanage people and I'm not
(04:13):
talking about client management,I am talking about buyer's
agents, showing agents,assistants, maybe even
eventually an ops manager,employees, because a lot of
times you can have them beindependent contractors but once
they flip to an employee status.
That is overhead, that is apaycheck that you have to keep
(04:33):
paying, that is a person thatyou have to manage and that is
something that a lot of realestate agents do not have the
skill set for.
They do not understand how tomanage people, because it
requires stability, it alsorequires people skills and
conflict management skills, andit also requires knowing how to
(04:57):
get productivity out of peopleand employees.
So it can be really hard for alot of real estate agents
because their personality issuch that they are chasing the
deal.
They're getting to the closing.
There's like an end point, butwith employees there's no end
point.
You're managing thatrelationship for basically all
eternity until that personeither decides they don't want
(05:19):
to work for you anymore or youdecide that you don't want them
to work for you.
So that is the first thing.
Take a really hard, raw look atdo you want to manage people?
The other tough question is areyou trying to escape something
or are you trying to buildsomething?
(05:40):
If you are trying to escapeproduction, for example, or if
you're trying to escape workingwith buyers, sure, maybe that
could be part of wanting tobuild something, but you really
need to figure out do I lovethis business, do I want to stay
in this business, or am Itrying to escape this industry,
(06:02):
or am I trying to escape a partof the job that is actually
essential for me to do?
And then the next thing is whatis most important to you money
or freeing up your time andenergy?
Because, as a team lead, youare not going to make as much
(06:23):
money per deal as you were whenyou were in production.
And there is a tipping point,when you're a team lead and you
really have to know yourfinancials and you really have
to know is it just about moneyfor you or is it about building
something and being a leader?
Because I will tell you, if youjust want to crush it, make as
(06:47):
much money as possible and thenretire, starting a team is a
hard way to get there because itrequires so much of you and it
requires such a different skillset than being a real estate
agent.
Running a team means that yourjob truly becomes people
management, getting productivityout of people, whether it's
(07:10):
your agents, whether it's youremployees, and you're really
going from it's not a clientservice role.
You're going from opening doorsto holding clients' hands and
then you go to managing peopleand really trying to leverage
(07:31):
their time and energy to getmore productivity out of them.
So it is a completely differentand oftentimes I find
frustrating shift for so manyreal estate agents, because they
are able to make money I'm notgoing to say quickly, but
relatively quickly and it's afairly big payday for them.
(07:52):
And when you're earning moneythrough other people, it can be
very frustrating because thosepeople may not have the same
work ethic as you.
They have bad days becausethey're human and I find that so
many real estate agents get sofrustrated by that because they
(08:12):
want everyone to be a mini cloneof themselves and it is so hard
to find that.
So I will tell you, that'sprobably been the most
challenging thing for me in 14years of running a real estate
brokerage, which is I don't have100% control of what other
people do, and so learning howto be a leader, learning how to
(08:34):
run a team, learning how toreally be a high producing team
and getting productivity out ofother people is a challenge and
is a skill set and, honestly,even after 14 years, I'm still
learning it.
But there are times where Ifeel really frustrated because I
am busting my ass and I'm notseeing people on my team
(08:59):
necessarily doing the same, andwhether that's because they have
something big going on in theirlife.
I'm not a total monster.
I totally understand thatpeople have things going on, but
just keep that in mind.
If you're the type of personthat gets frustrated when people
don't work as hard as you do orthey don't care as much as you
do, I would strongly considernot starting a real estate team.
(09:20):
Which leads me to the next point, which is you can be a very
high producing quote unquotesolo agent, and here's what you
need.
You don't need to hire fivereal estate agents and start a
team and all of that.
What you really need to do is,I like to start with tracking
your time, figuring out whereyou're spending your time, then
(09:44):
figuring out where are thebottlenecks, where could you
bring in real support?
Like a transaction coordinator,like a virtual assistant Maybe
it's outsourcing to a marketingcompany, but bringing in that
support where they aren'temployees.
They're independent contractorsand they have a very specific
(10:06):
portion bounded piece of yourbusiness, and I think TC is
probably the first thing to do.
I also love showing agents.
They can do showings, go tohome inspections, you can come
to the tail end of theinspection, get the wrap up, the
debrief.
So I really think anything youcan do to start leveraging,
(10:30):
getting some real support butnot necessarily having that
constant supervision of peoplecan be a really good call.
That will require you to buildsome systems can be a really
good call.
That will require you to buildsome systems.
It will require you to buildsome standard operating
procedures.
So you don't need a team tomake more money, but you do need
a system that runs when you arenot available and a transaction
(10:54):
coordinator can help.
A answering service oh my gosh,if you don't have an answering
service for your phone calls,that is like one thing that was
such a big game changer for me.
So just really figure out, likewhat are you doing and can you
bring in support to give youmore time and energy back in
your business?
Your business should not makeyou lose your mind and it
(11:17):
definitely shouldn't make youlose your entire weekend.
And if it does, it's notnecessarily a team that you need
.
It's leverage.
You need leverage.
So maybe after hearing all ofthis, you are like I'm in, I
still want to build a team.
I'm not going to discourage you.
Obviously, I did that.
I opened a brokerage and Idon't regret it.
(11:38):
But I would encourage you tonot go full CEO mode overnight.
Don't go like full team lead.
I'm building it out overnight.
I'm hiring 12 agents.
We're just doing this.
I think it makes sense to starttesting the waters.
So, like I said previously,maybe it's a part-time assistant
, maybe it's a showing agent orone buyer's agent.
Maybe you have a referral-basedbuyer agent set up.
(12:01):
So if you have overflowbusiness or people that aren't
your ideal fit, you have someonethat you can refer them to.
The other thing is starttracking your systems and your
checklists.
Make sure you have standardoperating procedures before
hiring anyone, because you'regoing to need to plug people
into your system and how you dothings and most of the time it's
(12:24):
all just in your head.
You do not have it anywhere.
So start making a checklist,start getting it.
It could just be as simple as aGoogle Doc but start really
documenting what your standardoperating procedures are before
hiring anybody, becauseonboarding somebody, that
experience really sets the tonefor how successful they're going
(12:45):
to be and how much time andenergy they're going to give
back to you.
So do not skip the step.
Make sure you have the systemsin place, make sure you have the
standard operating proceduresin place before you start going
crazy and hiring a bunch ofpeople.
I think that testing the watersbefore you cannonball into team
(13:07):
leadership is so important,because once you're in, it's
hard to undo it and you are theone that's responsible for
keeping the whole thing afloat.
You have people relying on you,you have people leaning on you
and if you have employees, youhave people who are looking to
you to get their guaranteedpaycheck.
So here's the deal.
(13:28):
You do not need a team to makemore money.
What you really need is clarity, support and a business that
works for you.
I'm so passionate about this.
There is no one size fits allin real estate, and if someone's
trying to put you into a box,don't let them.
If leading a team lights you up, that's amazing.
Go for it.
Rock it, girl.
(13:49):
But build it because it'saligned with what you want for
your life and your business andnot because someone told you
it's the right or next thing todo.
And if you're loving solo agentlife, rock it.
That's awesome.
But you can get more support.
You can build more systems andyou can get to scale your way
(14:11):
Again.
This is all about buildingsomething that works for you and
, at the end of the day, a happyagent is a successful one.
And if you're happy, if you'reprofitable and if you're working
with clients that you love,guess what you are winning?
Hello friends, and welcome to today's episode of
the Happy Agent Co podcast.
We are diving into a topic thatI deal with coaching clients
all the time, which is do youactually need a team to make
more money?
So if you have ever felt likeyou have to build a team just to
(00:25):
grow your business, grow yourincome, you're in the right
place.
I need you to take a breath,maybe grab a snack, a glass of
wine, a coffee, and listen tothis entire episode, because the
truth and by the end of this, Ihope that you realize that
building a team is not the onlyway to scale a real estate
(00:46):
business, and for some of you,it can be a fast track to being
overworked, overwhelmed andwondering why you ever started a
team in the first place, whyyou ever left that solo agent
life.
So I want to talk about wherethis pressure actually comes
from, what no one tells youabout team leadership and how to
(01:10):
figure out if starting a teamis really the right next move
for you.
So let's start with where doesthis pressure come from?
I think so much of this ispressure from the industry and
social media and marketing, andall of that does not help.
Coaching programs love to tellyou that a team is the next step
(01:33):
.
It's your natural evolution.
Instagram makes team leaderslook like little mini real
estate Kardashians, and what youdon't realize is that that team
of 12 people only two peopleactually sell real estate, and
then brokers like to push itbecause it helps them scale, it
helps them make more money.
(01:53):
So, somewhere along the way,building a team became the real
estate version of a glow up.
It was like look at her, she'sgot a logo, an assistant, three
people in her Instagram bio thatshe calls quote unquote
partners.
She must be killing it, andmeanwhile, you do not see what's
going on behind the scenes.
(02:14):
And that is what I'm hoping togive you a little sneak peek on
today, which is it is not alwayswhat it seems.
Looking successful is not thesame as being profitable and,
honestly, profit is what helpsyou build a work-life balance, a
sustainable business andlong-term wealth, long-term
(02:39):
stability.
So I have a funny story for you.
So about 10 years ago, therewas a particular broker or
brokerage in our market and theywere essentially turning
everybody into a team.
So there were so many teams ofone, which I thought was
hilarious.
(03:00):
It was like the blank groupwhen it was literally just the
agent.
They didn't even have anassistant, they didn't have a
showing agent, it was justeveryone was creating like the
Lindsay Dreyer team, when it wasliterally just Lindsay Dreyer,
so and like nothing else.
So I really think there's thisprestige factor when we do not
(03:23):
have to go there Like thegeneral public doesn't really
care.
They want to work with you andmost of the time they're coming
to you because they want to workwith you.
So many agents are buildingteams before they actually build
the systems, and I just thinkthat that is a huge mistake.
The harsh reality is that youdon't need a team, you just need
(03:49):
leverage, and that is the bestplace to start and it also helps
you get to the path of is ateam actually right for me?
So let's really dive into thattopic, which is is starting a
team actually the right move foryou?
And there are a few things youreally need to dig into.
The first is do you want tomanage people and I'm not
(04:13):
talking about client management,I am talking about buyer's
agents, showing agents,assistants, maybe even
eventually an ops manager,employees, because a lot of
times you can have them beindependent contractors but once
they flip to an employee status.
That is overhead, that is apaycheck that you have to keep
(04:33):
paying, that is a person thatyou have to manage and that is
something that a lot of realestate agents do not have the
skill set for.
They do not understand how tomanage people, because it
requires stability, it alsorequires people skills and
conflict management skills, andit also requires knowing how to
(04:57):
get productivity out of peopleand employees.
So it can be really hard for alot of real estate agents
because their personality issuch that they are chasing the
deal.
They're getting to the closing.
There's like an end point, butwith employees there's no end
point.
You're managing thatrelationship for basically all
eternity until that personeither decides they don't want
(05:19):
to work for you anymore or youdecide that you don't want them
to work for you.
So that is the first thing.
Take a really hard, raw look atdo you want to manage people?
The other tough question is areyou trying to escape something
or are you trying to buildsomething?
(05:40):
If you are trying to escapeproduction, for example, or if
you're trying to escape workingwith buyers, sure, maybe that
could be part of wanting tobuild something, but you really
need to figure out do I lovethis business, do I want to stay
in this business, or am Itrying to escape this industry,
(06:02):
or am I trying to escape a partof the job that is actually
essential for me to do?
And then the next thing is whatis most important to you money
or freeing up your time andenergy?
Because, as a team lead, youare not going to make as much
(06:23):
money per deal as you were whenyou were in production.
And there is a tipping point,when you're a team lead and you
really have to know yourfinancials and you really have
to know is it just about moneyfor you or is it about building
something and being a leader?
Because I will tell you, if youjust want to crush it, make as
(06:47):
much money as possible and thenretire, starting a team is a
hard way to get there because itrequires so much of you and it
requires such a different skillset than being a real estate
agent.
Running a team means that yourjob truly becomes people
management, getting productivityout of people, whether it's
(07:10):
your agents, whether it's youremployees, and you're really
going from it's not a clientservice role.
You're going from opening doorsto holding clients' hands and
then you go to managing peopleand really trying to leverage
(07:31):
their time and energy to getmore productivity out of them.
So it is a completely differentand oftentimes I find
frustrating shift for so manyreal estate agents, because they
are able to make money I'm notgoing to say quickly, but
relatively quickly and it's afairly big payday for them.
(07:52):
And when you're earning moneythrough other people, it can be
very frustrating because thosepeople may not have the same
work ethic as you.
They have bad days becausethey're human and I find that so
many real estate agents get sofrustrated by that because they
(08:12):
want everyone to be a mini cloneof themselves and it is so hard
to find that.
So I will tell you, that'sprobably been the most
challenging thing for me in 14years of running a real estate
brokerage, which is I don't have100% control of what other
people do, and so learning howto be a leader, learning how to
(08:34):
run a team, learning how toreally be a high producing team
and getting productivity out ofother people is a challenge and
is a skill set and, honestly,even after 14 years, I'm still
learning it.
But there are times where Ifeel really frustrated because I
am busting my ass and I'm notseeing people on my team
(08:59):
necessarily doing the same, andwhether that's because they have
something big going on in theirlife.
I'm not a total monster.
I totally understand thatpeople have things going on, but
just keep that in mind.
If you're the type of personthat gets frustrated when people
don't work as hard as you do orthey don't care as much as you
do, I would strongly considernot starting a real estate team.
(09:20):
Which leads me to the next point, which is you can be a very
high producing quote unquotesolo agent, and here's what you
need.
You don't need to hire fivereal estate agents and start a
team and all of that.
What you really need to do is,I like to start with tracking
your time, figuring out whereyou're spending your time, then
(09:44):
figuring out where are thebottlenecks, where could you
bring in real support?
Like a transaction coordinator,like a virtual assistant Maybe
it's outsourcing to a marketingcompany, but bringing in that
support where they aren'temployees.
They're independent contractorsand they have a very specific
(10:06):
portion bounded piece of yourbusiness, and I think TC is
probably the first thing to do.
I also love showing agents.
They can do showings, go tohome inspections, you can come
to the tail end of theinspection, get the wrap up, the
debrief.
So I really think anything youcan do to start leveraging,
(10:30):
getting some real support butnot necessarily having that
constant supervision of peoplecan be a really good call.
That will require you to buildsome systems can be a really
good call.
That will require you to buildsome systems.
It will require you to buildsome standard operating
procedures.
So you don't need a team tomake more money, but you do need
a system that runs when you arenot available and a transaction
(10:54):
coordinator can help.
A answering service oh my gosh,if you don't have an answering
service for your phone calls,that is like one thing that was
such a big game changer for me.
So just really figure out, likewhat are you doing and can you
bring in support to give youmore time and energy back in
your business?
Your business should not makeyou lose your mind and it
(11:17):
definitely shouldn't make youlose your entire weekend.
And if it does, it's notnecessarily a team that you need
.
It's leverage.
You need leverage.
So maybe after hearing all ofthis, you are like I'm in, I
still want to build a team.
I'm not going to discourage you.
Obviously, I did that.
I opened a brokerage and Idon't regret it.
(11:38):
But I would encourage you tonot go full CEO mode overnight.
Don't go like full team lead.
I'm building it out overnight.
I'm hiring 12 agents.
We're just doing this.
I think it makes sense to starttesting the waters.
So, like I said previously,maybe it's a part-time assistant
, maybe it's a showing agent orone buyer's agent.
Maybe you have a referral-basedbuyer agent set up.
(12:01):
So if you have overflowbusiness or people that aren't
your ideal fit, you have someonethat you can refer them to.
The other thing is starttracking your systems and your
checklists.
Make sure you have standardoperating procedures before
hiring anyone, because you'regoing to need to plug people
into your system and how you dothings and most of the time it's
(12:24):
all just in your head.
You do not have it anywhere.
So start making a checklist,start getting it.
It could just be as simple as aGoogle Doc but start really
documenting what your standardoperating procedures are before
hiring anybody, becauseonboarding somebody, that
experience really sets the tonefor how successful they're going
(12:45):
to be and how much time andenergy they're going to give
back to you.
So do not skip the step.
Make sure you have the systemsin place, make sure you have the
standard operating proceduresin place before you start going
crazy and hiring a bunch ofpeople.
I think that testing the watersbefore you cannonball into team
(13:07):
leadership is so important,because once you're in, it's
hard to undo it and you are theone that's responsible for
keeping the whole thing afloat.
You have people relying on you,you have people leaning on you
and if you have employees, youhave people who are looking to
you to get their guaranteedpaycheck.
So here's the deal.
(13:28):
You do not need a team to makemore money.
What you really need is clarity, support and a business that
works for you.
I'm so passionate about this.
There is no one size fits allin real estate, and if someone's
trying to put you into a box,don't let them.
If leading a team lights you up, that's amazing.
Go for it.
Rock it, girl.
(13:49):
But build it because it'saligned with what you want for
your life and your business andnot because someone told you
it's the right or next thing todo.
And if you're loving solo agentlife, rock it.
That's awesome.
But you can get more support.
You can build more systems andyou can get to scale your way
(14:11):
Again.
This is all about buildingsomething that works for you and
, at the end of the day, a happyagent is a successful one.
And if you're happy, if you'reprofitable and if you're working
with clients that you love,guess what you are winning?
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