Ep 24 | No Zillow, No Realtor | How Shonna Ruble Has Built A Mega Team On Pure Teamwork and Strategy

[00:00:00] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: if you cannot roll with the punches, meaning if you make a mistake and you're gonna get super embarrassed about it, if we laugh and talk about it, and if you can't give it back and take it, we're not the organization for

[00:00:12] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: you because I promise you.

[00:00:14] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: If you jack up on something, on one of your deals are messed up with one of your clients, we're all gonna know we're gonna laugh at you and we expect you to give it back. So, and I probably get, get it back more than anyone else. Like they are hard. , But that's how I know our. Morale and who we are is true and authentic, like just true.

[00:00:39] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Who we're to ourselves is, we're playful, we're fun. Welcome back to the Reside Platform podcast. I'm your host today, Suneet Aggarwal, and I'm- super excited to welcome back our guest for her second appearance on the show, Shonna Ruble.

[00:01:03] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: From the Shonna Key team with LPT Realty out of Montana, and Shonna has just built an awesome reputation for leading the purpose and just having a strong production and a good environment on her team. Shonna, how is it going today?

[00:01:20] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: It's great today. How have you been?

[00:01:23] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: I've been good. So we just hung out in, , big Sky Montana, right?

[00:01:28] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Yes. Mm-hmm.

[00:01:30] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: , That was my first time ever in your state, so I'm glad that we were able to hang out.

[00:01:34] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Yes. And got to watch some awesome bull riding. And you're in the pretty part of the state also. not all of Montana looks like that.

[00:01:42] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Yeah, that place was super nice. How often do you go up to Big Sky?

[00:01:47] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Not very often, just a few times a year. So. Now that Robert's up there though, I like, I hope I get more invites up there.

[00:01:55] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Me too. Yeah. Now that Robert's up there. I, hope I get more, invites

[00:02:00] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: it's like I have a friend now in the Yellowstone Club, so like I expect him to invite me.

[00:02:05] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: And the shout out to Robert Palmer. Yeah. so we were hanging out that day, at the Mastermind and at the rodeo. And you know, me and your friends, people here who don't maybe not know that Shonna's awesome. And so if you ever meet her at an event, talk to her, right. She's a great, great person. And we were hanging out, , chitchatting like we always do, and we were talking about business and something you said really impacted me and made me say Shonna. I know you've been on the podcast, but let's get you back on, 'cause you were talking about knowing the love language of your team, I wanna dive into that. , But first I kind of want to, , just talk about like the team that you built. So, you know, you have a, top team in your market, and you have agents that have been with you for a while. What do you think is the reason that agents stay on your team for so long?

[00:03:04] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I think it all comes back to culture. I think we hear that so many times. Everyone's different of culture looks a little bit different, but I believe in one bad Apple destroys the whole batch. But I also believe in you have to earn the right to have this come to Jesus meetings with your people. , And I really think our secret sauce is I know my people, right?

[00:03:26] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Like I know their goals, but I also have tough love conversations with them. I mean. I truly believe we hold the people we love accountable. So when I get a new agent, I always tell them, if I am not holding you accountable, I could care less about your business, and I feel like you're a waste of my time.

[00:03:46] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: If I come to you and say, are you gonna work today? How many dolls have you made? Are you taking this serious? That means I see potential in you and I'm taking my time to call you out on your bullshit and the story you're creating on why you're not working today. And so we have this thing where . I earned the right to have those tough conversations and they actually get their feelings hurt when they don't have come to Jesus meetings with Shonna.

[00:04:10] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Like, they're like, but do you care about me anymore? I'm like, yes. , so I think and it kind of goes back to how do you earn that? Right? Right. Like we've talked about, I know their love language. . But I think so many times as leaders, it's funny because I have a post I'm posting tomorrow on social media because I think so many times in leadership we just wanna tell people what to do and we wanna treat them like a number.

[00:04:33] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And I was actually in Vegas at an event here recently and a broker said. Well, when I, an agent leaves, I don't care. I just replace them with another. And I thought, dude, do you know how much training that takes, how much time that takes to replace an agent on your team? Why not just pour into them a little bit and get to know them, and then you build them and they're continue to grow with your organization, , when you hit these different awesome milestones that you achieve.

[00:05:02] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Awesome. do you have any kind of like system that you have to regularly check in on your agents? Like how they're doing?

[00:05:12] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: so on Monday mornings I get a, what I call an agent report card. , it has like how many calls they made had, how many open houses they've done year to date, how many deals they have done, how many people that is in their database that has not been contacted in the last 30, 60, 90 days.

[00:05:31] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And what it does is I go through there and it's so elementary, like kindergarten level. I put a smiley face, I put a, like a frowny face, and then I put like. A real brownie face, right? And if they get more than three on there, then they know they're gonna get a call from our office manager saying, Shonna wants to meet with you this evening.

[00:05:53] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So Mondays is my come to Jesus meetings. And they know if they get a call on a Monday that Shonna wants to see you. I will wait until the office until eight 30 or nine o'clock, but we're gonna have a conversation on your actions that you committed to and you failed to do, and then we're gonna make a decision.

[00:06:10] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: you know, do we need to decide if it's best to part ways at that time, or are you going to step up to the plate and commit back to like what that commitment was? You said you did so and how do I do

[00:06:22] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: that? Yes.

[00:06:23] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: when they join Hawkey team, I have an expectation conversation.

[00:06:27] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I'll put money behind you, but you have to be willing to put the time and effort. So we have a contract and they read out I will do $150 a day. They initial it. I will host two open houses a week and they initial. I will work the people in my database and nobody will go over 90 days without contact. And they initial that.

[00:06:49] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So they have these things that they initial and I keep their file next to my desk. So Nic, when they have not done that and they're like, okay, like I'm broke, then it's easy for me to give 'em the file and say, did you or did you not initial these things? Yes. Okay. Well you made a commitment. Has that changed?

[00:07:07] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Because also I have your goal sheet in here of what you want it to achieve. I've never set their goals for them. It's their job to, set their own goals. Because success, you look different for each one of us. But it is my job to hold them accountable. And I feel like as a leader, if I'm not holding them accountable or somebody in my organization that means that they're just a number to me and I care about their family and it's my job.

[00:07:29] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Make sure they're putting food on the table.

[00:07:31] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: That's so good. Today's Wednesday that we're filming this, right? Today's Wednesday.

[00:07:37] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: How many of these meetings did you have on Monday?

[00:07:40] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I really don't have to have a lot of them to be honest with you 'cause they kind of stay off of it. So this past Monday I did not have, well actually no, Monday I did, I'm not gonna mention his name, but

[00:07:52] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: he. I not made his calls and stuff, so I kind of sat him down and, I think we think everybody's like, yeah, but you probably get pushback.

[00:08:01] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And I'm like, no, I don't get pushback, because they made an agreement, they assigned it. I did not change the rules in the middle of it. And you know, they're like, you're right. I failed. You're right. I'm sorry. I'll get on it. And then they'll go. I'll be honest with you, like every one of them has a little come to Jesus meeting or Shonna about every six months, and I intentionally do that even if they don't get three frowning faces, because sometimes they just need that booster shot to remind them that they're capable of going out and doing it and hitting their numbers.

[00:08:35] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: So let's get into the love language stuff.

[00:08:38] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: how do you understand the agents' love languages?

[00:08:42] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So what we do is anytime someone joins our team and we update our sheet once a month and it's on every single agent's desk and it's each team member's love language and their disc. And the reason we do that is if I backtrack to why I know it's powerful is. When my daughter, who's now 22, when she was like 13, 14 years old, she would tell people, she'd like, yeah, my mom's really close to my brother.

[00:09:11] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: We're not really that close. And I'd like, whatcha talking about? Like, I take you shopping. I buy you everything you want. Like I come and give you a hug and kiss every night before you go to bed. I don't leave the house without saying, I love you. And I just could not figure it out to the point that I went to a counselor and was like, I'm failing at being a mom and I can't figure this out.

[00:09:34] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: She's like, what's her love language? And I was like, I dunno, what? What do you mean what's her love language? So she gave me a book and I went and read it and it was very interesting 'cause I took the love language test and mine was quality time and touch. I, what do I do? I always make sure that I eat with my kids, even if it's dinner at nine o'clock at night.

[00:09:54] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And I took them in. Even Maddie was 14, so yet she's 22 and I still don't go to bed without going in, giving her a goodnight and saying, I love you, but hers was acts of service. My access service was a three. Her was like in the forties, so it made me learn when she said, mom, will you grab me a glass of water or Will you make me a grilled cheese?

[00:10:17] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I thought I was wonder raise like a very independent child. So I wasn't never willing to do that. But like, no, you're fully capable of making yourself a grilled cheese or you're fully capable of getting yourself a glass of water. And what I was doing is I was just telling her she didn't mean that much to me.

[00:10:35] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So once I changed that, now I just, every day I'm like, Hey, is there anything I can do for you today? And she's like, no, not really, but thanks for asking. And she even tells everybody, she's like, my mom is by far my best friend. And I'm like, yes, I'm winning. , And it did not take that long for me to see a shift once I started talking her love language.

[00:10:56] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So then I thought, how would this work in environment? Right.

[00:11:04] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Physical touch, like listen, like there's levels to this. Like if you see their love language is physical touch, like that means touch 'em on their back or something. Right? , But in our team meetings or office meetings, I come up and I just put my hand on their back. I'm like, Hey, is there anything I can do for your, you did a great job on that closing.

[00:11:23] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I know that was difficult. So I just make sure like I touch their backs because I know which ones that is important to them. I have some that's quality time. So I'll be like, Hey, let's just go to lunch together today. Or I'll just pull 'em into my office and I have a couch in my office and I'll just sit down like, Hey, how's things going in your world?

[00:11:41] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And it takes 10 or 15 minutes. But what I found is my agents don't leave me. Right? Like. I haven't had agents leave me in years. I've gotten rid of a lot of them, but they don't come to me and say, Hey, this isn't a good fit, because they know that I love them and I care for them, and I make sure that I serve with a purpose of knowing I can speak their love language to show them that I appreciate them because let's face it, so many brokerages that our agents could have chose to go work at.

[00:12:11] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: They chose to go and work with us and I think that we've got to realize that and pour into them and make them realize that they weren't just a number.

[00:12:20] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Dude. That's so good. Shonna, so frigging good. I love that. I'm so glad I had you on the show right now to talk about it. . How do you figure, like, do you have 'em take like the love language quiz, like when they join or what?

[00:12:32] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Yeah, they when they very first start, they have to take the disc assessment. And they have to take a love language quiz. And what we do is I get it, everybody in the office because about every six months, we'll go over the love language. So that way when a team member, what I say and the reason I tell them we do it is I'm like, Hey, there's gonna be times that an agent goes and shows for you or covers because your child is sick and we have everyone's love language.

[00:13:01] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So you'll know how to show them that you really appreciate them taking time out of their day to help you. And thumb is physical touch. If so, pat him on the back. Some is quality time, so I'd recommend y'all grab lunch together. Some is gifts, so you bring them a gift card, words of affirmation, some is just, hey, like, thank you so much.

[00:13:20] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: You're awesome. I really appreciate it. So there's five love languages. We train our team members and each agent in our office and all our leadership team. On, , how to, you know, implement that in their day-to-day with the team members. And like I said, every single person in our office has it on their phone and has it on their , desk.

[00:13:41] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And it's fun because they'll sometimes like, Hey, has this been updated? Such and such showed house for me this weekend. I don't see the new agent on there. Can I know what their language is so I can make sure I, Accordingly so It works good for our office. So.

[00:13:56] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: I think that's so great. But so since you built this culture, Have you ever found it hard, like balancing like the performance expectations while also genuinely like supporting the people

[00:14:12] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So that's a great question, and I think I'm a firm believer you cannot scale a family oriented office. Like it's just not possible if we're gonna be honest about it. Like everybody's like, oh, I love my little small knit family. That's great. I love money. I'm just gonna be honest with you. Like my goal is to scale more people I have in my office more listings, more opportunities.

[00:14:34] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: My agents get to make more money. I'm being selfish by wanting to keep it small. So when you look at it at how we do leadership like that, you probably think, oh, that's not scalable, but it actually is scalable. it's not all on my plate to love on them. What it is is they love on each other, and by us teaching it in a team meeting and everyone having that, you know, , at their desk, they're the ones that holds the culture.

[00:15:01] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I tell people, you are not running a successful business if the culture. To hold it and also to hold the standards because a good organization, your agents will hold the standards in the culture. And so I don't worry about us dropping the ball because literally, yes, it is scalable because each person knows what to do and they're the ones doing it more so than I'm.

[00:15:27] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: That's awesome. , How do you gauge the team morale besides just production numbers?

[00:15:37] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: this sounds very, 'cause we are the number one team in Montana,

[00:15:40] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: right? And so what I found is. Comes in with the expectation, thinking like that we're super put together and like super organized and like, no.

[00:15:53] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Everybody's like, come in, put your head down and work. And we do. But also at the same time, I feel for me. I love a fun culture. So what I love is on Saturday and Sundays, my agents send a message in Slack or a group text like, Hey, is anybody gonna be in the office today? I was just out running errands and just was gonna swing by.

[00:16:14] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So how I find that it works for us is we have a lot of laughter. I tell people on day one, if you cannot roll with the punches, meaning if you make a mistake and you're gonna get super embarrassed about it, if we laugh and talk about it, and if you can't give it back and take it, we're not the organization for

[00:16:33] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: you because I promise you.

[00:16:36] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: If you jack up on something, on one of your deals are messed up with one of your clients, we're all gonna know we're gonna laugh at you and we expect you to give it back. So, and I probably get, get it back more than anyone else. Like they are hard. , But that's how I know our. Morale and who we are is true and authentic, like just true.

[00:17:00] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Who we're to ourselves is, we're playful, we're fun. I'll just give you an example of yesterday. I don't make decisions. In my team. I feel like we're one brand, so we succeed together and we found together. And yesterday we had a new agent and he said. We got an open house lead and he was like, but the people can't buy it, but the parents are gonna buy it now.

[00:17:23] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So is that a team lead or is that gonna be a serial lead? Which the commissions are a little bit different. And I said, you know, I can make that decision, but I'm gonna let the team make that decision. And the team voted that, yes, that's a team lead. what I loved about it, AG even said like you do understand if you vote team lead, that's more money taken outta your off pocket later.

[00:17:45] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: This an OP and they're like, yeah, but it's the spirit of the team. Like we talk about the spirit of the team, right? Like, yes, these people's name's not gonna be on the deed, but he would not have gotten that commission check to deposit in his checking account if it was not for the actions of Shonna key team.

[00:18:03] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So it falls back on. Yes, that's a team lead, and it's gonna be a team split because. Who's going on the deed, it's still, he got that because of our efforts. And so I was super proud of them because they could have easily been like greedy and been like, no. But it was the spirit of the team that that's a team lead.

[00:18:23] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: We even, , I know we can't talk commissions, but we were saying like, should we adjust it to be like how the market was and it was gonna allow our agents to have higher commission splits? And they were like, no, you teach us to treat people how we would wanna be treated. We would not want another agent treating us that way.

[00:18:42] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Giving us less than, taking more. So we're gonna vote as a team that we're gonna be fair to everyone across the board. So like I keep on these little things where I give them a vote and they always just show up with class and integrity. And, that's how I know we have a successful business and it's gonna keep growing.

[00:19:03] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And the ones that don't think like that, we just kick out.

[00:19:06] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: yeah. Right. What's the communication cadence over in the Shonna Key team?

[00:19:11] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: , Are you guys like just all hanging out at the office and you're saying,

[00:19:13] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Hey, what do you guys think about this?

[00:19:16] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: my agents are in the office every day. And so I don't have any of that work from home. , Also if they are gonna work from home, we have a Zoom. So like all our VAs and virtual employees that we have are on a Zoom . And also the front of the office, so you can just go up and talk to them at any time.

[00:19:35] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: If an agent is not gonna be at the office that day, they'll be like, Hey, gimme the Zoom link. And so they'll zoom in and do their work from home so that way they can still see the, and hear everyone talking. But we also communicate through Slack, and then we have like a group text. We have one for our iPhone people and then one for our non iPhone people.

[00:19:55] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: there, we just send. Crazy memes or Hey, I've got this going on, or what would you guys do in this situation? So we actually, we communicate a lot. We also have a channel in Slack called the Knowledge Base for our newer agents. They're like, Hey, I ran into this situation that way.

[00:20:11] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I'm busy, or My son is busy, who's the broker? . Then the agents will jump in and say, Hey, this is how we would handle that. So then they've got everybody trying to help them navigate whatever they're facing at that moment.

[00:20:26] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Really, really good. a receptionist in your office.

[00:20:30] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: We do, yes.

[00:20:31] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Is their job only to be the receptionist?

[00:20:35] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: No, they're our listing manager. They get our packets ready, they get everything set up. They update our boards because. I hate, and you've been around offices. I hate the offices. When you got this guy who walks around like puff in his chest, like he, he knows it all and he's only sold two homes all year.

[00:20:53] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: But like he wants to act like he's king of the, to the new agents. So on our boards we have pendings and we have sold and we have total GCI. So we're open book. They know who's making money in that office and not. Who has deals coming up. And so it's her job to update that. , She does a lot of stuff for us, so it helps with the listings.

[00:21:17] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And, , she also, when I'm traveling, 'cause I do travel a lot, she still, one sits down and goes over the agent's numbers and so that may, they know how many calls they have to make, get an appointment, how many appointments to get a deal. And so she goes over their numbers and tracking with them.

[00:21:33] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Cool. Good stuff. , Do you guys have like online leads at your place or No?

[00:21:38] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: No. So we're all organic. We do not buy any leads.

[00:21:42] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: That's what I thought. Yes. How do you do that?

[00:21:47] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: My agents pick up the phone. no. So we,

[00:21:50] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Who are they calling?

[00:21:52] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So we, we circle prospect, right? Like , anytime we get a new listing, we call people and, , we'll say, Hey, we just got a new listing in your neighborhood. We also door knock those neighborhoods every Thursday.

[00:22:03] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: We also preview other inventory in our market. We do mailouts letting people know we. That listing. , And then we do client appreciation events a minimum of four times a year. And we just get a lot of repeat business and a lot of referrals and we paint. I tell like, so we both have the same post, John, we just get enough listings that people just have to choke on our name

[00:22:30] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: , we put out 40 open house signs with each open house. We have about eight open houses, , on Saturday and Sundays. So we just kind of do old school real estate. You know, I'm not saying I won't never buy leads,

[00:22:43] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Yet. So why fucking

[00:22:46] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: start?

[00:22:47] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Yeah. We, were in a very lean, very, very extremely lean, profitable business.

[00:22:53] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Okay, so lean. So how much staff do you have then?

[00:22:56] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So right now I have eight VAs and then I have a mailout coordinator. 'cause we do a lot of mailouts and an office manager. My son's the broker of LPT, so he's on their salary. And then we also have a recruiter on board our trainer.

[00:23:13] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Okay. And then you

[00:23:14] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: have the receptionist.

[00:23:15] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Yeah, which office manager is the receptionist? Yes. And

[00:23:18] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: she carries the phones

[00:23:20] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: seven days a week.

[00:23:21] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: we're very lean. Yeah. Like I mean, more money, I save more money I can put back into the business

[00:23:27] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: we're very profitable business

[00:23:30] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: you built this deeply relational team culture. Was that intentional or did something

[00:23:37] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: just evolved because of life

[00:23:40] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: time?

[00:23:41] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So that's a good question. I think what happened was. I started real estate. I was young, I was like 23, and I had no clue that real estate was commission based. you know, when you're 23, you don't know. And I didn't know what, I did not know. Literally. I was like, when did I get a paycheck?

[00:23:59] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: They're like, you're commission based. I, I know everybody keeps telling me that. So what does that mean? They're like, you've gotta sell something to get paid. Should have looked up that word. If we had Google back then I.

[00:24:11] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And first time I wrote a contract, I was so nervous, I forgot how to spell the word and the word of, and I went to the bathroom and threw up, and I told my brother, I was like, I don't think this is for me. And she's like, toughen up, buttercup. Get back in there. I like,

[00:24:24] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: yeah,

[00:24:24] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: let's go.

[00:24:25] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: , but what I found Nic, was I did not know what I was supposed to do. And somebody told me, if you cannot get two listings a month, you do not belong in my industry. And so I was like, okay, my job is two listings a month. Well, when you're chasing listings.

[00:24:42] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: You know, a year later, actually less than a year later, I was ranked 35th in the nation for top listing agents. And so when I did that, what I found was agents who'd been there for a while, jealousy started happening, right? And stories was getting made up and they were critiqued the way I did things. And then when I got like a bigger listing, , you gotta think this was like 2003 for like 1.5 million.

[00:25:08] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I take it away from, because they're like, oh, you don't have enough experience. So I left that brokerage and I'll be honest, that was the best broker I could have ever had. , She was just a phenomenal broker. She believed in tough love mimic her broker style. but I went to another brokerage and I remember the, , broker's wife coming up to me and she's like, 'cause I ended up.

[00:25:32] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Specialize in more in land. And she was like, land is for guys to sell, not girls. And girls should not wear jeans into the office. You should wear slacks and leave the jeans up to the guys. And I was like, if you, and so I was like, I'm gonna go out and do my own thing. , You were supposed to have $75,000 on the franchise thing.

[00:25:53] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I only had like $20,000 in my name. I was 25 years old, went and bought my first franchise. Had no clue what I was doing, but one thing that I knew was one bad Apple destroyed the whole batch, and I was not gonna have an organization. Where an agent could come to me and complain about another agent. So I have a rule, you are more than welcome to come to me and complain about another agent, but that agent will be present anytime you talk about them.

[00:26:20] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And so it's funny when you have like both of them, the stories change and that's a non-negotiable in my world, like. If you wanna come and talk about somebody, that's fine, but they will be here as well. And then it just kind of evolved just from my bad experiences that I had at previous brokerages and I realized I, I just did not want that type of organization.

[00:26:41] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And I also. Real estate's super hard out there, and I don't think the public knows what we do behind the scenes or how we deal with other agents and their egos. And, I tell people like when I started, I went to the pawn shop more times than I can count just to pay my MLS due. So like I know the struggles my agents have.

[00:27:01] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So I wanted an environment that they could come into and just be themselves and focus on sound real estate and have people that truly wanted to see them succeed and kick the drama out. And it just kind of evolved around that.

[00:27:15] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: That's incredible. What's your vision for the Shonna Key team in the future?

[00:27:20] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: and how are you gonna scale without losing the personal touch that you have?

[00:27:24] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Well, one, I travel like I'm only in my office maybe a week, a month now. So like, and they're holding the culture and everything. Great.

[00:27:32] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: So, it's deeply ingrained without you having to manage it.

[00:27:37] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Oh yeah, my mom, when she became terminally ill, I walked outta my office and said, Hey, if I have an office soon back too great. I stepped foot in my office one time in six months. , When I came back, we then became number ones in the state. , So like that's already built in how we act, how we treat people, and how we invest in the newer agents as they come along.

[00:27:58] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Division used to be, I wanted to be in all 50 states, and that was also one of the reasons I joined LPT was now it would allowed me to scout at a higher, faster rate going across state lines. But I'll be honest, like we all know people that's done that and like, I don't know if they're happy in life, so I'm like,

[00:28:16] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Yeah,

[00:28:17] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: geographic expansion is really interesting and I think there's other opportunities to get growth, like rather geographic expansion. How about you start a mortgage company too?

[00:28:30] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: And that's one thing what we're working on. Like I just took the LO class. I don't wanna take the test, but I took the LO class. I think insurance is a great way. I think also, and you're at this level also. Let's just be honest. I mean, people don't like to talk about, but we've made enough money.

[00:28:47] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: We don't get up and deal with the shit we deal with because of the money at this level. Right? We get up, there's somethings us when other people hitting their goals, right? Constantly pour. So I think. New thing that I'm more excited about is not having to take on the responsibility of taking Shonna A. Key team across state lines, but bringing people along and building an organization with people that I can help structure their business, but I'm not responsible for 'em.

[00:29:18] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Does that make sense?

[00:29:19] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Yeah, totally.

[00:29:20] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: the downline parts of things is like, I love that part of it. I love the teaching part of it and pouring into others. , But yeah, I don't know what the goals are for us, , but we're just enjoying where we're at and the growth we're having, and don't have any plans to slow down anytime soon.

[00:29:36] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Yeah. And I think, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. Like we're doing what we're doing. Because in many cases, yeah, like. don't necessarily need to work anymore. Right. I mean, but I will because it's my favorite hobby, right? Like, what else am.

[00:29:52] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Well, that's another thing. I don't think people, you know. When we started out young, like we're making these calls and you're doing all stuff, but when you get to our level, I mean, we both were on stage in Big Sky. It's just a different level of fulfillment at this point. And let's just be honest, we would not do, well.

[00:30:08] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: Retire I don't know what I would do if I did not have to

[00:30:11] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: work every day.

[00:30:12] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Yeah, I don't know

[00:30:13] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: what I would do. Shonna, I think this was awesome. If people wanna learn more about you and everything you got going, where should they go?

[00:30:21] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: I tell people the best way would be just find me on Facebook. I know that's probably like not the correct answer.

[00:30:26] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: just find me on Facebook, shoot me a dm. I love to connect with people. I love like just answering people's questions. , I've been through the trenches. I still do transactions with my agents, , just so that way they can't be like, you don't know what it's like out there.

[00:30:44] RPP - Shonna - Guest-1: So I like to check Maum. It's like I just closed. So I would love to help, you know, answer any questions or help someone and answer questions. Can.

[00:30:57] RPP - Shonna - Host-1: Yes, you guys. So hit up Shonna. She's doing great things. Send her all your referrals for billings. 'cause that's where I said mine. So if you wanna be like Sid, I don't know. she's the best out there, number one in the state. And to all our listeners, if you haven't seen our listening to her, to her first episode from about two years ago. Make sure to check it out. It's linked in the description. Shonna, thank you again for coming on for the second time. It was an honor. It was so much fun. I learned a lot of cool stuff about you and your business, which I didn't know about prior, so very cool. , And for everyone watching and listening, thank you so much for tuning in to the Reside Platform podcast. Don't forget to like and subscribe and I'll catch you on the next episode. Peace.