From Country Music to Real Estate Mastery: The Art of Reinvention with Kortney Wilson
Hosted by Mattias Clymer, a Realtor with Funkhouser Real Estate Group who leads Valley Homes Team in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Erica Clymer, a licensed therapist and real estate investor.
Kortney Wilson is a Nashville real estate agent and former country music artist who has flipped homes and hosted HGTV's Masters of Flip. She describes burning out after 100 transactions and how she now works with a smaller team. The episode covers hiring help for tasks you are weak at, keeping clients updated when nothing has changed, and building relationships before a sale closes.
Read the Full ArticleChapters
- 00:00 - Introduction to The REI Agent Podcast
- 00:12 - Mattias Welcomes Guest Kortney Wilson
- 00:36 - From Country Music Dreams to Real Estate Success
- 02:05 - How a Flooded Home Sparked a Life-Changing Flip
- 03:42 - Entering Real Estate and Discovering Her True Path
- 05:20 - From Flipping to HGTV Fame with Masters of Flip
- 06:58 - The New Show: Life is Messy and Helping Homeowners Heal
- 08:40 - Mattias Shares His Musical Side
- 09:10 - Rediscovering Creativity and Balance
- 10:32 - Burnout, Balance, and Building a Sustainable Career
- 12:20 - Why Kortney Doesn’t Believe in “Balance”
- 13:46 - Reigniting Passion for Real Estate
- 15:10 - The Challenge of Managing Multiple Brands
- 16:35 - When Followers Think You’ve Left Real Estate
- 18:04 - Hiring Help and Learning to Let Go
- 19:30 - Why Every Agent Needs a Social Media Manager
- 20:52 - Creating Content and Confidence on Camera
- 22:24 - Planning, Batching, and Staying Consistent
- 23:56 - Time Blocking and Realtor Productivity
- 25:18 - Communicating Even When There’s “No Update”
- 26:40 - The Power of Consistency and Client Care
- 28:02 - Advice to Aspiring Realtors: Want It—But Have a Plan
- 29:22 - Building Relationships Before Transactions
- 30:16 - Book Recommendations That Changed Her Life
- 31:20 - Lessons from Mistakes and Growth in Real Estate
- 32:10 - Where to Find Kortney Wilson Online
- 32:40 - Closing Remarks and Outro
Kortney Wilson shares how she turned a flooded home into a thriving career, proving that with courage, focus, and authenticity, anyone can reinvent their life and build lasting success in business and beyond. See full article: https://www.unitedstatesrealestateinvestor.com/from-country-music-to-real-estate-mastery-the-art-of-reinvention-with-kortney-wilson/ (00:00) - Introduction to The REI Agent Podcast (00:12) - Mattias Welcomes Guest Kortney Wilson (00:36) - From Country Music Dreams to Real Estate Success (02:05) - How a Flooded Home Sparked a Life-Changing Flip (03:42) - Entering Real Estate and Discovering Her True Path (05:20) - From Flipping to HGTV Fame with Masters of Flip (06:58) - The New Show: Life is Messy and Helping Homeowners Heal (08:40) - Mattias Shares His Musical Side (09:10) - Rediscovering Creativity and Balance (10:32) - Burnout, Balance, and Building a Sustainable Career (12:20) - Why Kortney Doesn’t Believe in “Balance” (13:46) - Reigniting Passion for Real Estate (15:10) - The Challenge of Managing Multiple Brands (16:35) - When Followers Think You’ve Left Real Estate (18:04) - Hiring Help and Learning to Let Go (19:30) - Why Every Agent Needs a Social Media Manager (20:52) - Creating Content and Confidence on Camera (22:24) - Planning, Batching, and Staying Consistent (23:56) - Time Blocking and Realtor Productivity (25:18) - Communicating Even When There’s “No Update” (26:40) - The Power of Consistency and Client Care (28:02) - Advice to Aspiring Realtors: Want It—But Have a Plan (29:22) - Building Relationships Before Transactions (30:16) - Book Recommendations That Changed Her Life (31:20) - Lessons from Mistakes and Growth in Real Estate (32:10) - Where to Find Kortney Wilson Online (32:40) - Closing Remarks and Outro Contact Kortney Wilson https://allthingskortney.com/ Kortney Wilson showed us that success isn’t about avoiding failure but embracing change with courage and consistency. Keep believing, keep building, and for more inspiration, visit https://reiagent.com
Questions This Episode Answers
- Who is Kortney Wilson and how did she get into real estate?
- Kortney Wilson moved from Canada to Nashville at 18 to pursue country music. After a flood damaged a house they had listed, she and her then husband started flipping homes, and she later earned a license to represent herself.
- How many transactions did Kortney Wilson do in her third year in real estate?
- Kortney Wilson says she completed about 100 transactions in her third year in real estate and was named rookie of the year at her brokerage. She says that pace led to burnout, and she now works with a smaller team of agents who take tasks off her plate.
- When did Kortney Wilson hire her first helper, and what should agents hire for first?
- Kortney Wilson did not have admin help at first and says she waited about three years before hiring someone. She advises hiring for the tasks you are not good at, and says a transaction coordinator or social media manager can be a good first hire.
- How does Kortney Wilson keep clients updated when there is no new activity?
- She texts clients even when she has nothing new, such as saying she has been looking at everything and the pickings are slim. She says that message usually gets a reply, and she treats the no-news text as the update itself.
- What book does Kortney Wilson recommend to real estate agents?
- Kortney Wilson recommends Let Them by Mel Robbins, which she says helps in both personal relationships and professional life, since you cannot please everyone. She listens to audiobooks, and says Rich Dad Poor Dad shaped her thinking in her twenties.
Episode Transcript
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[0:00] Welcome back to the REI Agent. I’m here with Courtney Wilson. Courtney, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you so much for having me, Matias. I appreciate it. Yeah. Give us a bird’s eye view if people don’t know who you are about what you do. Wow. How far are we going back? I’ll give you like a one-minute version. I was born in Canada. I moved to Nashville when I was 18, about 28 years ago, to pursue music. I got a record deal with Disney. I thought I was going to be a good old country music star. Life happened. Though I had a good little run,
[0:42] my music career was short-lived. That resulted in me evolving my path a little bit. My ex-husband and I, so my husband at the time, we started flipping houses, essentially to get us out of a real big pickle where our house flooded. Yeah. Over the holidays, because we were so broke, we turned the heat off to save some money and came home to like three feet of water while it was listed for sale. Yeah, it was brutal. It’s one of those shit stick of life stories where what came out of it was awesome. We ended up, I did a little renovation and our realtor at the time was like, hmm, you got to have a knack for this. Have you ever thought about flipping houses? We started flipping houses from that point forward and typically taking our time, not taking a year to flip, but maybe one a year because we were performers. We wanted to still be music artists. It was a few years later that I ended up getting my real estate license and predominantly to represent myself, but I also was like, well, if I’m going to do this, and at that point I had two or three kids. I have three now, but at that point I had two or three kids and they were young babies. I was like, okay, wait,
[2:07] this feast or famine in the music industry is kind of getting to me. Maybe I’ll throw some more eggs in the basket of real estate. From there, we ended up having a show with HGTV, flipping houses called Masters of Flip and then making it home with my new co-host, Kenny. Then I just finished filming a show, a new show that will start airing early 2026 called Life is Messy, where I’m actually taking more of my real estate expertise to help. I’m calling it light hoarders meets light intervention. It’s a very different show for me. Not massive renovations, very, very relatable. As realtors, we’ve all walked into the house and had people tell us exactly what they’re willing to do now that they’re going to sell it. We’re like, dang, if you could have done this when you bought it, you would really have enjoyed your house. It’s kind of like that. I love it. Man, I have a lot in common with you. I don’t have a TV show. Good for you. You’re probably better off. I’ve always loved music. I’ve been somewhat in music my whole life. I took a hiatus with that and then recently started a band as a joke. We have our
[3:36] first concert coming up soon, which I’m really excited about. You need to plug your concert. What do you plan? Never missed an opportunity. Isn’t that the ultimate advice we have for realtors? 100%. I was just curious if you have had that side of yourself still. Now that you’ve been uber successful in a different area, does that a side of yourself that you still need to bring back or want to explore still? Yeah. I’m going to lift up my camera here. I’ve got a baby grand over there that’s been calling my name for about three years that I haven’t touched. It is on my list. I say this genuinely and transparently. It has been on my list for a couple of months and it keeps getting passed on to the next day because I’ve been super busy, but nonetheless, it keeps getting repeated on the next day that I am going to make my way back to music more from a vanity standpoint. I just want to play for myself for the first time in my life. I don’t want to go on tour or try to pursue a record deal or anything, but I miss music. I’m starting to miss it. I took a break. Much in the same way that I took a break
[4:51] from real estate for a bit. I was really burned out. You can burn out on anything if you have too much of it. Yeah. I think it’s about having success in life. I think it’s good to then bring about some semblance of balance where you can do things that are for you and that you enjoy and et cetera. Certainly, I’m not expecting a music career to blossom out of my show here coming out. You never know. You might pick up a client out of it though. You never know. Yeah. There you go. I’m going to hand up business cards. Yeah. There you go.
[5:30] Now, how has your work been balanced? You have real estate sales. Are you working with people, residential? Do you have a team versus like flips now versus like the TV show? Yeah. Well, so when I first got into real estate, I was hot and heavy. So I had both the TV show and I was just killing it. Like within the brokerage firm, I was the rookie of the year. I did 100 transactions, I think my third year in real estate, which was insane. But I burned out really quickly. And I was like, damn, this is not going to work for me. Now, I’m full disclosure because I know that when I was reading even the prep stuff for the podcast, balance was all over it. I don’t believe about it. I don’t believe in balance. I don’t know what balance is. Can’t speak to balance. Don’t talk to me if you’re – don’t look to me for advice on balance. I don’t know what that is.
[6:26] But, you know, things – it ebbs and flows. And sometimes I’m super, super, super busy with something. And then other times it like – it lays flat for a bit. And there are issues with both of those things because balance just doesn’t seem to be a thing for me. And I think coming from TV, you know, you’re filming. So you’re right in the middle of it. And you – when you’re filming a TV show, you typically don’t break, right? So you’re in it. And during those times, it became harder for me to show houses and to be the same kind of realtor that I was before. So I did have a small team. I’ve always had kind of a small team. I have a smaller team now than I’ve ever had. I have a couple of agents on the team and they, you know, do their own thing. And then when I need them to take something off my plate, they do that as well, especially when I’m filming or showing houses.
[7:18] So that’s been very helpful. But I now have like rekindled my love for real estate in a way. And I think it’s partly because I’m not flipping houses. So I’m not in it every day. You know, if I’m taking on a big house project, it might be one a year. But I’m just not doing that. It’s not conducive to the type – the market right now, especially where I am in Nashville. You know, you have to pay so much for a fixer-upper. So it’s allowed me a little bit more space. And like, I used to never show houses to buyers at all, like for the last few years. And this year, I’ve sort of picked that back up again. I’m like, wait, I kind of – I like this again. So it ebbs and flows, you know. And I don’t – I think, you know, to have a successful business, you sort of need to acknowledge that. Or the burnout is bad, especially in real estate.
[8:15] You know, I have a brand new agent right now and she’s killing it and doing so well. But in the back of my head, I’m like, okay, she could be – she is a prime subject for burnout, right? Because she’s so ambitious. But there are both sides of the coin. You’ve got the other people that you can’t – you know, you’re trying to like lift them up to get things done. Yeah. Well, and I think balance is definitely probably not the right word. And, you know, there’s something to the state of flow. Like when you’re so engaged and so gross in what you’re doing, that time seems to melt away. And I think more so than, you know, trying to balance everything, it’s more that you have that element in your life where you are fulfilled with what you’re doing.
[9:02] Like you’re so fulfilled that you are just, yeah, engaged in it so much. But also trying not to lose sight on, you know, your health or – For sure. And like everybody has their own – like some people have seven kids. Other people have one. Some people, you know, don’t have kids at all. And, and, you know, but they have a side business. Like everyone is trying to do the best that they can. I recently took a course within eXp when I joined there. I moved over from Compass earlier this year. And I took it because I knew that my agents were going to have to take it underneath me. And I wanted to kind of get a feeling for like what the course was about. And it was all over the map, the type of people that were taking this. And some of the questions that were asked during the course, like I kind of rolled my eyes like, oh my gosh, are we really going back here to like how, how do I create consistency in my business?
[9:53] And, but I, it also, I had to like take a breath when I did it because I was like, wait, mate, there’s a way for me to apply this to my life, right? And so I’ve, I’ve, I’ve this year gone back to the basics of like, what does it mean to be a good realtor? What does it mean to follow through? What does it mean to be consistent? You know, in my branding, what does it mean to make connections? Like, and coming right back, you know, to the beginning, which has been awesome for me. Yeah. I love it. It can be good to have a good reminder. Cause I mean, somebody who is as established as you probably can just have not do much and have the phone ring. Somebody that’s starting out has to do, you know, a lot to try to attract business and get that repeat business, et cetera. People are probably asking you, fine for me.
[10:44] True. Yeah. True. But I also like, I also feel like one of my obstacles in being a realtor here in Nashville is that I have several brands. So if you’re watching my main Instagram channel, you know, with hundreds of thousands of followers, you’re seeing funny content with my husband, you’re seeing brand deals for makeup and hair products and, you know, a partnered trip on a cruise line or you’re seeing lots of stuff. So it’s very easy to look at that and say, oh, she’s not doing real estate anymore. Right. And so one of the things, one of the obstacles that I’ve had is, has been like, oh no, hell no, I am doing real estate. Not only that, I’m that pays the bills. So please call me and then I’ll find out, oh my God, they didn’t, you know, they, they used a random person cause they thought I wasn’t doing it. So I’m having to really stretch and, and like, I’m even trying to incorporate more brand content into the main page and not just my real estate page, which is, is, is hard, but, but yeah, so that can be an obstacle. So, you know, for those of those listeners out there who are like, okay, well, you know, I pay the bills, uh, you know,
[11:59] as a mechanic or, you know, as a teacher. Um, and that’s what everybody knows me. It’s, it’s an obstacle to shift that brand because people want to know who they’re working with now. And this, in a day, day and age of social media, there’s zero excuses for them to just, you know, not choose who they connect with. Yeah, no, I can, I could definitely see that. I mean, I definitely get, uh, calls and are, do you even have time for me? And, uh, you know, I don’t think, by any means I’m at the point where I’ve had people not reach out. I mean, there’s probably if they thought I’m too busy, but I could see that definitely being something, uh, that you would have to struggle with. Um, I’m, I’m curious if we shift back to kind of when you were hustling and doing a hundred deals. Um, at what point, I mean, did you start off with somebody like an admin or what point did you, um, feel like you needed somebody else to help? Um, yeah, so I, I wasn’t, I didn’t have any admin in the beginning, uh, which is, was, I remember other agents being like, how are you doing it? But in my life, I get a lot of, how are you doing all this? Like, how do you have a podcast?
[13:08] How do you have a TV show and three kids and a real estate business and rentals? I manage my own rentals. For example, I’ve 13 rentals and I don’t use a company. I do it myself. So like, I, I, I, it was a bit before I brought somebody on, I was probably three years before I brought somebody on and it was because basically I had other things going on. Um, I think it’s important to hire somebody to do all the things that you’re not good at, you know, like it’s really hard to let go, but it is ultimately the way that you grow. Um, and I also acknowledge, you know, because I, you know, I didn’t grow up with money. So like, I, I have that deep seated thing inside me, like, oh my gosh, if I can save a dollar, I’ll do it myself. So it’s a real shit, mind shift to, to, to go, oh my gosh, do I spend money on somebody that’s admin or for social media or like a marketing person? Um, but I don’t know many people who have done it, who haven’t ultimately said that it made them money to do that. Yeah. And it could be a process too, right? I mean, it’s, it’s not that you always pick the right person right off the bat. Um, and, and so there’s,
[14:23] there’s definitely probably a learning curve of, of being a, somebody, a boss, uh, to ways as well. It’s a commitment, you know, and it’s always, you know, because people, people will leave you. I mean, they’re going to grow too. Uh, and you want them to grow, but you also, you know, don’t want you, you know, you don’t want them, you don’t want to grow them to leave, let have them leave you high and dry. So like, you have to find the right people. So I’m not suggesting, you know, just hire anybody. Um, but, uh, in the beginning it might be as simple as just a transaction coordinator and you get that feeling of like, oh, wow, I can take my hands off the wheel and just have somebody deal with that side of it. Um, it might be as simple as having a social media manager, um, which I think probably is one of the best things that you can have in this day and age. Yeah, seriously. I mean, that’s, that’s a, I mean, we should ask you some tips about social media because that is, uh, I think I see that done poorly so often or not at all. Yeah. Well, if you have questions, she’s right here.
[15:27] Emma say hi. Hi. Emma is my social media manager and she’s always, you know, a few feet away from me most days, unless she’s editing podcasts and stuff, but she’s, she’s in a day and age where people, especially our, well, the next generation, maybe not my generation. I’m, I feel like I’m older than most now, but, um, you’re, you probably have your hands in more than one thing. It’s not as simple as just like, Hey, I’m going to run an ad in a newspaper. You know, like when I started in real estate 15 years ago, they were still running newspaper ads for open houses. So how did we come so far so quickly? That’s jaunting for somebody who didn’t grow up in social media. Yeah, totally. It is. And I think it just becomes a job. Um, uh, and, and, you know, when you become a real estate agent, you often just feel like you have to wear all the hats and you have to do everything. And if you aren’t good at the social media, if you’re not good at the, whatever it’s, it’s, you need to learn how to do it. You need to get better at doing it. And I think what we both can agree upon is like, it’s often you need to focus more on what you’re good at and
[16:35] lean into that and then get, you know, other people to help you with the other things, um, like social media, if that’s not what you’re gifted at naturally. Exactly. Um, and do you do any batching of content? Do you, like, kind of plan out like maybe, you know, I’m going to do record like five reels or something like that or, yeah, well, um, I, how do I answer that question? Yes, I guess I do. Cause I, you know, we are always, we, when I have what’s called a shoot day. So, um, like after this podcast, it’s a shoot afternoon. So we have, we have branded content. We, you know, branded deals that we have to get out. Um, we’ll usually take an opportunity to add like a, have an, a funny video or two or a real estate video. And what I’m learning even for real estate is I’m not really needing to be too much in the video itself. So like, so people who are like, I don’t really want to be on camera. Well, number one, get over yourself. Um, and then two, seriously, get over yourself, like go sit, you know, in front of the mirror in the bathroom when nobody’s looking and talk to yourself, get very comfortable with, with, with the image that’s
[17:48] across from you, you, the voice that you hear, cause everybody hates their own voice. I did. I did. Um, and then find ways to not have to be in the video all that much, you know, work it, work around it where you’re doing tips or tricks or things where you’re just in the beginning or the end of the video and you’re just doing a voiceover for the rest of it. There are ways for us to play to our own strengths. If you’re awkward on video, unless you’re so awkward that it’s funny, um, don’t go, don’t do it. Don’t do it the way that I would do it where I would take, take you on a tour instead, do it as a voiceover where you’re just in the beginning or your face comes up. Like I would say my best advice is don’t make excuses for, for not doing it. Right.
[18:31] Find a way that works for you. There’s a gazillion ways. There are people with millions more followers than me that, you know, just put a picture up with, you know, you know, type over it. Yeah. Um, and yeah, yeah. So yes, I, we always have to, there’s always going to be a week where we, I’m completely out of commission. So we’re always banking content. Um, you know, no matter what the brand is like next week we have four podcasts, um, that we’re shooting, which is a lot, but we know that coming up, I’m out of commission for a couple of weeks. Sure. So we’re trying to bank several. It’s a lot of organization. Yeah. Yeah. It’s a lot of moving parts. Um, and to add to what you were saying too, like, I mean, I, I think it’s good to, to get used to talking, get used to being on camera, um, and hearing your own voice. You could do get over it.
[19:27] I have, it does take a little bit for everybody, I think. Um, but there’s also 11 labs where you could record, uh, you reading a paragraph and then you could, in theory, just have the AIs be you and talk, uh, do a voiceover for you where you’re not. I haven’t tried that yet, but I’ve heard about, I’ve, I’ve heard of it. It’s pretty cool. Yeah. So, I mean, there’s, there’s those options as well, but I think it, it is a skill that you can learn and you can get better at for sure. Um, yeah, yeah, for sure. So it sounds like you kind of have to do some time blocking, um, as far as like weeks and recording. I mean, do you have a regular time blocking system in place that, or answering emails or that kind of stuff since you’re such a, no. So I, I don’t do it the way that it was taught to me. I do it in a way that works for me, but I am a big proponent of time blocking. If you don’t, if you are, are not a good self motivator, especially. So for me, my morning, like I have a book here every day, whatever didn’t get carried, whatever didn’t get crossed off gets carried over. So my big thing is a to-do list. I have a,
[20:37] I have like a digital one too for different things, but I still enjoy the act of crossing it off. I don’t care if it’s the freaking dishwasher, like unload the dishwasher. I like the feeling of feeling, of feeling accomplished in my day. So I write everything down and usually in the morning it’ll be like answer emails, but I am one of those people that answers emails all day long. The things that I time block for, the things that I could easily push off shooting content, like as realtors, we have to show houses at all hours of the day. Like it’s, it’s, you know, something comes up and if it’s a hot commodity, I’m rolling. So I need to be able to get ahead in, in all the other areas of my life so I can drop it like it’s hot as they say. Um, and, and, you know, go show a house.
[21:24] And, and so that’s, that’s the hardest part to me about being a realtor is that you almost have to, your whole life has to be played ahead a little bit. Um, and you have to be a really good planner in order to be a really good agent and stay on top of it because otherwise you’re missing the ball or you’re not like one of the things that I do, I don’t necessarily time block in my calendar, but, um, usually when I’m drinking my coffee in the afternoon, my afternoon coffee, not my morning, I will sit there and go through each of my buyers. Um, the emails that have come through for, you know, that they’re getting so that I can go, okay, maybe there’s nothing, you know, but maybe the update is that there’s nothing, you know? And I think a lot of agents just go, well, there was nothing. So I will make a point to text my client and say, Hey, FYI, been looking at everything the last couple of days, eh, slim pickings. And then an immediately warrants a response back. Be like, yeah, I was seeing that. I was noticing that that is a good agent to me. That is somebody that’s communicating because now she knows I’m looking. If I don’t, if I don’t say anything and I have had,
[22:37] I’ve worked with agents before who just feel like, well, I didn’t reach out because there was no update. I’m like, that’s the update. Yeah. Yeah. I mean that that’s definitely in slower markets. That’s definitely the thing they advise for, for listings too, right? Like there’s nothing, no showings, nothing that happened. Like you should still reach out and yeah. Yeah. Have some, some sort of time where maybe you have a Monday morning that you go through and you reach out to, all your clients and give them updates. Yeah. That’s great advice. Yeah. So time blocking, not so much, but I’m really good, um, at being self-motivated and creating that list in the morning and getting to it. Um, the only stuff that I will time block is with now, you know, when you have somebody that you’re working with like, uh, you know, a transaction coordinator, coordinator, a market market and media consultant or whatever it is, that sort of forces your hand to time block for those things. So you’re, you’re kind of holding yourself accountable with that, that hire. Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Um, I am curious if you
[23:38] have any golden nuggets you want to share to any aspiring realtors or realtors that have been around, but need some inspiration. Yeah. I think, you know, 10% of the agents are going to do 90% of the business and you really just have to decide which percentage you’re in. Um, cause I’m going after it. I’m going out, you know, I’m, I’m, I’m, there are going to be people like me that are going to make time to do the video, to reach out to the client, to run the ad. Um, and I really think so much of it comes from not saying you want it because saying you want it really is just like, you know, the dream is nothing without a plan. Anybody can dream anything. Anybody can say, Oh yeah, my, my intent is to be this, but what is your damn plan? And if I put 10 realtors in front of me, none of them do not have a plan. It’s like, well, like I was thinking, I was like, did you do it? Well, I don’t know.
[24:39] I just don’t want to do it until what is that? Yeah. So if you’re listening to this, it’s like, there is a real big difference in the people that are, that, that actually are able to achieve those goals or those benchmarks that they put before themselves. They have the benchmarks. They, they did it. They made a plan. They were like, Hey, I’m going to reach out to X amount of people every single day. I’m going to comment on the Facebook posts and the Instagram reels and the, I’m going to make sure that my name’s coming up, that I’m, that I’m, and you know, I think one of the greatest things that I ever did when I first became a realtor, and I do that in any business today, whether like, I mean, when I started a podcast, um, my podcast, the shit stick of life, I immediately went to a couple of friends who had extremely massive podcasts, like way out of my league podcast. Um, and I was like, can you tell me everything? What mistakes am I about to make?
[25:35] So a realtor can do that too, right? When I became a real estate agent in Nashville, I took a couple of people to lunch. I said, can I buy your lunch? Can I buy you a coffee? Can I just pick your brain? You’re going to find that people, not everybody, but most people are willing to help you when you ask for help. And people like me believe there’s room for all of us. So there’s not, you know, that, that when somebody else is doing something, it’s not jealousy. It’s like, oh man, I’m going to learn from them. I’m going to figure it out. Like we’re out there. So there’s room for all of us. I’m, I’m very good friends with a handful of realtors, female realtors, especially who you would think that we would all be cutthroat and we’re not like, we’re all like, Hey, did you, you know, did you hear she started and she like just got to her first two transactions. We should do something for her. So like, I think, I think, you know, be that, be that person, throw that energy out there into the world. And then also ask for that back, ask for help.
[26:40] Yeah. Yeah. And, and, you know, see if you can provide value for, you know, like a, be willing to do whatever a top agent needs in your, in your firm. Right. Like, I mean, like try to give them some value as well so that they are more likely to help you and more likely to, to pass on leads if they can’t, you know, whatever. I mean, there’s exactly. Yeah. And then the other piece of advice that I really have is build relationships before transactions. Um, you know, have, make sure people know you’ve got them, that this isn’t so transactional that like you’ve closed the house and that’s it. Um, I’m always encouraging, um, my clients to like, reach out to me, you know, I may not have the answer, but this doesn’t end at the transaction.
[27:27] I have, you know, I have knowledge. If you’re looking to whether, whatever your expertise is, right. Mine is design. Like if you, if you want me to come over and help you place your furniture, come on, I work for lattes, let’s do it. You know? So like, I think there’s that too. And I think a lot of realtors are transactional and, um, and then you, they never hear from you and they hope that you, you hope that your client reaches out to you four years later when they, you know, had a couple of babies and they want to buy, but they’ve probably been reached out by others. Cause most of my friends know several realtors. Yeah, exactly. They’re, they’re going to have a new person, um, in their life that they might choose to work with. Um, or just, yeah. Yeah. And I’ve learned that the hard way to like, I’m not, this isn’t like me on my high horse, everything that I’m talking about, I have made mistakes, which is, you know, how I’ve gotten better is that I’m learning from those mistakes and I continue to do that. So, you know, be open-minded that, you know, it’s always changing and, and, and this isn’t a pyramid scheme, you know, every, every agent gets to work
[28:32] their way up to the top on their own time. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Um, do you have a, a fundamental book you think everybody, every agent, every person should read, or maybe just the one that you currently really love? So yeah, I, I, I recognize that you asked this question before even the podcast. You’re like, Hey, I want you to recommend a book. And the answer is I don’t read, but, um, I was a big reader for many, many years. And then I just stopped. Um, but I do listen to books. I actually have a, a New York times bestseller this week on my podcast next week. And I’m listening to her audio book. Cause I’m going to, it’s amazing. Um, so I’m an audio book girl, but, um, that counts, right? Yeah. Okay. Audio books count.
[29:17] Okay. So the book that I is not real estate ask, but it is profoundly helped me in my life. I think both men and women should read it is called let them by Mel Robbins. And, um, I think it’s one of those, those books that will, that helps you in both your personal life and your per like in your personal life, your relationships with other people, but in your professional life, because you’re not going to be able to please everyone. You’re not always going to be the one chosen. You’re not always going to get the respect that you think you deserve. And you have to let people show you who they are, um, let them, and then keep moving forward one step at a time to be who you are. You know, don’t let that thing stop you from moving forward. Um, and, uh, yeah, I don’t, I’m not a big, like, you know, I remember when I got a record deal with Disney when I was 19, everybody was like, Oh, you need to read the artist way. You need to write this. You need to read. Like I, I didn’t read any of it. I read, I read, did read rich dad, poor dad, which did was very profoundly impactful for me in my twenties. But other than that, I’m, I’m, I’m definitely the
[30:36] person that’s going to go and learn by making the mistakes, uh, or learn by being in the presence of, of people that are doing are way better than me and way cooler than me. Yeah. Well, and, and you know, the, you doing a podcast, for example, like you’re talking to super successful, interesting people all the time. And that’s a great way to learn. It’s one of the perks I like. Oh, I mean, sometimes I’m like, Oh my God, what, how did I not know that I’m such a moron? And they’re like, no, you’re not a moron. And I’m like, no, no, no, you’re right. I’m not a moron. I learned I’m not a moron. This makes me great for being able to take in this information. And I think real estate’s, you know, when we all go to real estate school, I mean, somebody that teaches real estate school is going to like roll their eyes at me right now, but we don’t learn how to be a good realtor. I don’t think, you know, it doesn’t take much in this country to go get your real estate license, but the proof is in the pudding because the people that actually get out there and do transactions or work under somebody else until
[31:36] they figured it out. Um, the doers are the ones that learn and sometimes they’re learning through their mistakes, but they’re learned. Absolutely. No, I agree completely. Um, and then, uh, what are the numbers of ways that people can find you if they’re not already following you? Yeah. Grams where, um, yeah, I, I have, uh, my main page is all things Courtney. Well, see the person next to me is like, no, you’re wrong. It’s all things Courtney. My name is spelled K O R T N E Y. But if you put all things K in, it comes up automatically. And then my real estate page is the Courtney Wilson group. Um, and that’s basically on all accounts, whether it’s YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and, uh, yeah. And that’s how you find me. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for being on the show. It’s been an honor, uh, and a great conversation. Matias, thank you so much for having me. Thanks for listening to the REI agent. If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe to catch new shows every week, visit REI agent.com for more content until next time, keep building the life you want.
[32:50] All content in the show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.