Surviving Market Cycles and Leadership Lessons from a 25 Year Veteran

RPP - Alecia Scott

Suneet [00:00:00] Okay, we'll go. And what's, what's the name? What's the official name of your team again?

Alecia [00:00:07] The Scott team.

Suneet [00:00:09] And, uh, what brokerage are you with again?

Alecia [00:00:12] We're with Long Foster in Rockville, Maryland in Rockville.

Alecia [00:00:26] Okay, 5,

Suneet [00:00:27] 4, 3, 2, 1. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Reside Platform podcast. Today I am here with Alicia Scott from the Scott team, uh, long-time reside team leader. Super excited to talk to you today. Alicia, how's it going?

Alecia [00:00:48] It’s going really great and I likewise am very excited to have a conversation with you and um, I'm just honored.

Alecia [00:00:58] You called [00:01:00] and asked me to be here.

Suneet [00:01:01] Yeah. Well, I wanna just get this opportunity to share some of your story. I know probably inspire some people and learn, you know, some people can learn a lot of stuff from you too, and your success. So let's get into it. So before we dive into all the real estate exciting stuff, I'd love to hear more about kind of you and just, you know, how'd you get started in real estate and what was that journey like for you?

Alecia [00:01:27] Well. Uh, I am fond of telling people and it, it really is true. I, I got into real estate. I watched probably too many light night Carlton sheets, infomercials, way back, and, uh, thought I was gonna get in and be an investor and, um. I was coming off a six-year stint of, of being a stay-at-home alum and, uh, of course, wanted to get into flipping properties.

Alecia [00:01:53] And so basically immediately got in, uh, and people from my, what we [00:02:00] call the sphere of influence, started approaching. And wanted to do transactions, so I never really got into it. I was just like, Oh, wow. This is, this is kind of cool. So I just started helping people that I knew.

Suneet [00:02:11] Yeah. And

Alecia [00:02:11] That over time, I, I had also taken a new position as a crossing guard simultaneously.

Alecia [00:02:17] Okay. Yeah. Didn't start as a big game plan, but evolved over the years and, um, to what it is today.

Suneet [00:02:25] That's so cool because you went from a stay-at-home mom for six years, and we hear that a lot from many agents, right? I mean, I believe aren't majority of agents, women still. Um,

Alecia [00:02:37] So yeah.

Suneet [00:02:38] Yeah, so that's so great.

Suneet [00:02:40] You know, and you see, you know, a stay-at-home mom coming in. You also got a job as the crossing guard, was it for the kids’ school?

Alecia [00:02:49] Well, not my kids' school, but um, you know, my husband was also self-employed at that time. Okay. And I did it actually to do the benefits, actually, that was supposed to be my main gig.

Alecia [00:02:59] Okay. [00:03:00] And then I would, I just always had a love of real estate, you know, so I had been, um. You know, studying for the test and, uh, reading about it and then starting to pursue it just as an interest.

Suneet [00:03:13] Sure.

Alecia [00:03:14] Never imagined that it involved. Yeah. I, I got to be the crossing guard so I could get the, the, the benefits, because yeah,

Suneet [00:03:20] That’s important, right?

Suneet [00:03:22] Yes.

Alecia [00:03:23] School, but, and I did both and then it went from there.

Suneet [00:03:27] That's awesome. So, running a team is an entire different ball game than being a solo agent. How has your approach to leadership evolved over the years and kind of what, what's working now that maybe didn't work before?

Alecia [00:03:45] Uh, so, so many things, you know, in those early days, you know, I, I didn't.

Alecia [00:03:51] Uh, as a solo agent, I didn't even think about, you know, having a team as it related. Yeah. Um, I think how it evolved into a team [00:04:00] is very, very well, not very, very quickly back in those days, about, I remember getting to a point after about eight years in the business, and by then at three, three busy children literally.

Alecia [00:04:13] Um, I think I was that person that would like go to a real estate event and I would just be like crying through the halls, like trying to find an answer. And so it was hire an assistant, hire, you know, hire, hire your first assistant. Um, and I, I really couldn't find, you know, the time even to, to, to do that.

Alecia [00:04:36] Right. And I, and I wasn't administrative by nature, so that. That really was the catalyst. Um, and then after, um, but I, I made the, my first mistake was that I hired agents instead of Ah, yeah. So now I look back and I say, Hey, my first assistant was really my full-time [00:05:00] housekeeper that I hired. She was my first assistant.

Alecia [00:05:03] She's still with me to this day, so Oh, wow. Awesome. I was really the best assistant, you know, as just

Suneet [00:05:09] to help you take care of stuff at the house so you could be doing stuff at work.

Alecia [00:05:13] Yeah, I've had, I've had, uh, that I, I will say that's, that's definitely a number one secret. She was, and she still, we call her the nanny that never left.

Alecia [00:05:23] And she still lives with me to this day. All the kids are gone, but she still to take care of me and my husband, you know, now that he's in the business. But that, that, that kind of, you know, and then evolving from, uh, so I, I made the mistake of hiring agents. Sure. Like, like myself. And then we just doubled the trouble.

Alecia [00:05:43] And then, um, so it evolved from there. There weren't teams back then, per se, so, um, my early, I would say my early half is, was being a mompreneur. Right? Yeah. And, and transitioning to like, well, that's not [00:06:00] the answer either, right?

Alecia [00:06:06] From so, and to where it's today, where, you know, having, um, you know, onboarding, onboarding the, um, administrative staff. That was a challenging piece for me, too. And then getting the help that I needed with that piece.

Suneet [00:06:22] Yes.

Alecia [00:06:23] And, um, really, uh, them, them. Working our backend to where it is today, where we're able to actually do the scale.

Suneet [00:06:35] Yeah, that's, and that's, that's pretty. It reminds me of myself, too, right? Like, I didn't hire an assistant first. I started hiring agents. Mm-hmm. Right? It wasn't until about a year of having a team before I hired, um, a full-time admin part of the team. That wasn't like a, that wasn't virtual, that was there.

Suneet [00:06:58] Right. So that was a big [00:07:00] deal for me too, and I don't remember that stuff. So What's that?

Alecia [00:07:04] How did you train your first admin, like?

Suneet [00:07:07] I don't even remember.

Alecia [00:07:10] Right. Yeah,

Suneet [00:07:11] right. Like he was a little bit of a tc. He was a little bit of a transaction coordinator and a little bit of an admin, and he worked really hard.

Suneet [00:07:20] Uh, I think. Yeah, he had some personal issues, which, you know, it was, that hire was out of desperation. He had some personal issues that were pretty

Alecia [00:07:31] significant. Yeah,

Suneet [00:07:32] pretty significant. Um, so, um, but you know, since then, you know, I hired other good office managers and other admin, and now for me, um, when I look at it, like for my team.

Suneet [00:07:48] And my other traditional real estate businesses is I have, as my good admin, have become managers of the departments. Right. Right. So like [00:08:00] my ops manager for my team is really just a really fancy admin, right? He's the, he's kind of the utility person. Um. And then I have my sales manager who's also like the real estate specific admin who's there for the questions, right?

Suneet [00:08:17] I, I think some of the best people in administrative though are definitely, definitely Brittany Earnhardt at Riverside. She is incredible and Lauren is also super good at it. Lauren Holland and also Brooke, and those three have really shown me like what optimal administrative support is. For a real estate business.

Suneet [00:08:44] Right.

Alecia [00:08:45] And I have certainly seen that. I mean, Lauren, from the beginning of when I joined Reside, because you're joining and, and, and, you know, to solve a problem. Yes. And, and that is to take that next step through. And I, [00:09:00] I remember this woman is gonna think I'm crazy or something.

Alecia [00:09:07] Challenge initially, and she, she just handled it beautifully and that's what we rely on. She's just been, uh, an incredible mentor and support for my Claudia, who's our operations manager as well. So, yeah, been, it's been, it's been actually very beautiful to watch them, you know, support her and for her to now grow and along with the, the vision that I had and she, she knowing.

Alecia [00:09:36] You know, the problem that I was trying to move forward with in my own growth and development

Suneet [00:09:41] as Totally, yeah. They've, they've seen it and they've experienced it and Right, like administrative support is that leverage that. We all need, right? You have the leverage at the house, right? Um, I have somebody mow my yard.

Suneet [00:09:58] I haven't mowed a lawn in [00:10:00] 20 years, right? Like, we have somebody help the kids go to school and pick 'em up, right? And so, um. And if you want, as people wanna do more stuff, you just need more leverage. And leverage is people and technology and you, and, and you know, I love technology, right? So, uh, so anyhow, um, I'm always fascinated by how people in our industry handle being kind of like what you said, a mom, mompreneur.

Suneet [00:10:31] Um, and how you approach, I don't want to use the word balance 'cause I think it's bullshit, but how did you approach building the business with little kids back then?

Alecia [00:10:44] Um, yeah, I mean, number one, we talked about it. I got that support and, um, I always, when, even when I interview agents today, now I really have to credit, you know, strong family support, right?

Alecia [00:10:59] [00:11:00] Because, uh, so. It, it, it really is. That is the key thing because, um, you know, I've been fortunate to have a husband who has been really, really supportive of what I've done. Always. Yeah. Right From, from from day one when I came into it. Um. And just, we sort of aligned our family around it. So when my, because there, there were very struggling days and to your point there, there wasn't, there's not balance, right?

Alecia [00:11:34] Yeah, there's no balance. Yeah. Um, we just, we, you get better at, I think for us, us ladies, we, we get better at, at, at creating, um, stronger boundaries for ourselves around certain things. But, um, uh, in, in those. 10 years or so. Um, you know, he was, he was out there. Uh, as I'm sure I've seen, you know, you post family pictures, you [00:12:00] have a strong, supportive, um, spouse who, if you have kids, um, they're able to be with them a lot, you know.

Alecia [00:12:09] Um, at, at the time our kids were, um, you know, junior high school age, and I had one, my son is the youngest and my girls played a EU basketball.

Suneet [00:12:20] Oh wow.

Alecia [00:12:21] Wrapped up 10 and a half months a year. So I did have that, like safety and security of knowing that, and my husband went, uh, in as a coach for a a u ball.

Suneet [00:12:32] Oh, great.

Alecia [00:12:33] Yeah, so I, I remember having that conversation with my husband, you know, like, I can do this. Like, I'm, I'm not the person who can. I, I can do one or the other. I can, I can be a mom and I can support your business and I can have food on the table and all that stuff, you know, certain hours and, and run the kids.

Alecia [00:12:55] Um, but I can't do, um. I, I [00:13:00] can't, I'm not, I can't run this career like that. So we got the help and then he was supportive and he was with those kids doing the, the, uh, coaching. Um, and that allowed me the flexibility to pop in and out of our games and so forth, taking that off. So we did that in the early years and, uh.

Alecia [00:13:19] We were big on having our kids kind of step up to the plate also. And, um, I, I, I always, it's always interesting to me now these, these kids don't get their driver's licenses until later in the game. The day they were able to get their driver's licenses, they did so that they could participate in their own activities

Suneet [00:13:39] Yeah.

Alecia [00:13:40] And so forth. Um, so strong support and, and my parents, I gotta say to them, I mean, their parents were always my biggest supporters. Biggest fans.

Suneet [00:13:51] Yeah. Right.

Alecia [00:13:52] Yep. And, um. And, uh, getting, getting that support from family. Um, I don't know. I think it gives [00:14:00] you the confidence to go out there.

Suneet [00:14:02] Absolutely.

Alecia [00:14:04] So

Suneet [00:14:06] my mom and me, like my mom is always like traveling the world doing, uh, humanitarian missions, like big stuff.

Suneet [00:14:13] She's gone probably seven months out of the year and like long months. She is right now. She's gone some. Mm-hmm. She's always in some shit hole doing some humanitarian work. Right. Like some dirt road place. Um, so I that's yeah. Inspiring and supportive. Right. Which I think helps me push through all the stuff that I'm trying to do.

Suneet [00:14:35] Um, so what's your philosophy on building a and maintaining. Maintaining is important too. Maintenance is important too. A strong team, like how do you create an environment where people actually, that was, I just heard something odd. Um, how do you create an environment where people actually wanna stick around and grow with you?

Alecia [00:14:59] [00:15:00] Um, no, that's a great question. I, I, I think it's something. I feel that we've done really, really well. 'cause I've got, several of my core agents been with me 10 plus years.

Suneet [00:15:11] Wow. 10 plus years. Yeah. Yeah. That well.

Alecia [00:15:14] Yeah. So, um, you know, uh, it, it, real estate is a world where, um. We spend a huge majority of your time.

Alecia [00:15:28] Right. And I think just, uh, we have a nice little container here where, where people can be themselves, but also it's just, you know, we have, uh, I think when I look back on it, uh, when I took on on one of our earliest, uh, team retreats, we co-created our. Our team values. I dunno if you

Suneet [00:15:52] guys did it collaboratively, often

Alecia [00:15:54] we're like, we're family friendly, we're, we're growth oriented.

Alecia [00:15:59] We like [00:16:00] fun, family fitness, those things. So we were all aligned around certain things and I used to always, if it's not fun, I'm not doing it right. So, um, we have a lot of fun. They, they love to, to get together and eat.

Suneet [00:16:19] Where do you guys go eat at? At the house. House? Or are you guys gonna restaurants all over us? We

Alecia [00:16:24] do, we do some, you know, we, we've done a lot of team meetings at our home, um, over the years to use our, our, um, what's the tax rule? You could tell

Suneet [00:16:34] the, the Augusta tax.

Alecia [00:16:36] Augusta The Augusta Rule, right? Yes. Um,

Suneet [00:16:39] Augusta Rule.

Suneet [00:16:39] Yes.

Alecia [00:16:40] We had, uh. We, we do, you know, in, in the beginning, you, you, you start where you are with what you have, and then you, then you go from there, right? So,

Suneet [00:16:47] yeah.

Alecia [00:16:48] Um, we, we started doing Friendsgiving long before it became a thing.

Suneet [00:16:53] Oh, with the team at the house. That's super cool.

Alecia [00:16:56] Yeah. So we do Friendsgiving and um.

Alecia [00:16:58] Uh, the last couple years I'm [00:17:00] like, you guys are tired of Friendsgiving, right? Because like, I have to get my house. They're like, no. I'm like, do you guys like wanna do it at a restaurant or something?

Suneet [00:17:13] So That's so funny. You know? Yeah. When I built this house, I said, oh, I'm gonna have the team over like every quarter. I'm, I'm gonna have, well, not the whole team, but the, the top producers, the top five and their spouses over every quarter. I did it once and I was all, this is too much. Like, nevermind, we'll just go to a restaurant.

Suneet [00:17:35] Right. We'll just go anywhere else. We are not, I'm not messing up my house like we are not doing that.

Alecia [00:17:40] Yeah, so we do a quarterly team event and um, now it's to the point where, uh, had one of the, you know, going into the summer, it's like they'll start asking me in, in spring, like, when's that on the calendar?

Alecia [00:17:55] They. So they, they, they love that. And, um, of [00:18:00] course, we're, we're together. Um, I think the main thing is that they do feel supported, right? They know that there's, that there's several places for them to, to go and to get that support. We have a, you know, a, a team called Daily and um, or we. Talk about whatever it is they need to talk about and, um, for that day.

Alecia [00:18:20] And then they get the input from, um, not just me, you know, and other senior agents as well. Yeah. And this is a very nice collaborative environment and I think, uh, making it, I think safe for them. I don't, I don't, I always get them to show up every day. I'm like, Hey, we're not showing up here perfectly ready every day, because we never Yeah.

Alecia [00:18:51] Perfect. Doesn't exist. Yeah. So, um, just, I, I, I have just been very [00:19:00] fortunate that, um, everybody's willing to take responsibility for how they show up. Yeah. With the energy on an any given day. Um, and then I always tell them when you least feel like doing it, that's when you know you need to, to do right.

Alecia [00:19:17] Because the rest of the group will seem to kind of pull them through some kind of way. So,

Suneet [00:19:24] love that. How long have you been in the real estate industry for

Alecia [00:19:30] 25 years? Um. As of this year? Yeah. Yeah. All I know Century I, I started when I was 35 and I just turned 60.

Suneet [00:19:44] There you go. Um, so you, so you've seen some stuff in this business, some cycles, huh?

Alecia [00:19:51] Many cycles. Yes.

Suneet [00:19:53] Yes. Um, what have you learned through the cycles?

Alecia [00:19:59] Um, [00:20:00] what have I learned through the cycles? Um. Listen to people when they say that they've seen this before or if they haven't seen it before. Right. Um,

Suneet [00:20:14] super good.

Alecia [00:20:15] Uh, because I, I think back years ago, you know, um, many of us. You probably were still a kid when the 2008 bust.

Suneet [00:20:27] No, I got cracked and lost millions of dollars. Yeah.

Alecia [00:20:31] Yeah. So yeah, when you go through something like that, it changes. You really

Suneet [00:20:37] does

Alecia [00:20:37] it, it Sears you. And we went through that too. Uh, you know, severe, severe loss, right?

Suneet [00:20:44] Yeah.

Alecia [00:20:45] Um, I remember. It's like, oh my God. You know, I can't remember 2008, how old was probably in my mid to late.

Alecia [00:20:58] Oh my God. We just, [00:21:00] everything we worked for for the last 2025. Yeah. And I was like in a fetal position on the

Suneet [00:21:08] right,

Alecia [00:21:09] you know? And um. And I just remember my husband being so strong and he was just like, uh, whatever thing I was complaining about with, he was like, uh, we, we don't need two of us doing that.

Alecia [00:21:24] Right. Yeah. Kept going. And so really tapping into the strength at that time. Uh, it, it'll cause you to make some serious decisions, right? When you, when you get

Suneet [00:21:38] Yeah. I mean, so in 2008 I ran a mortgage company and I remember leaving the mortgage company and I 2007, I just bought some way overpriced, super expensive house.

Suneet [00:21:52] Um, it was like me and some girlfriend at the time living in like 5,000 square feet, right? Just spent all [00:22:00] my money on. I was my early thirties or I spent all my money on fancy restaurants and Vegas and nightclubs. Right. So when that happened, like, yeah, I had a bunch of stuff, but I didn't have a bunch of cash.

Suneet [00:22:15] So I actually, I. I said F this, I'm never doing real estate again. Let my license expire and then got out of the business completely for those five, six years. Yeah. Until I had challenges in my other business, which is an episode for another time. Um, and, um. I sat around for a year just like doing random consulting for other businesses.

Suneet [00:22:42] Um, and my, one of my best friends and my mom called me. They said, you should really become a realtor again. I was all, screw that. I'm never doing real estate ever again.

Alecia [00:22:53] Yeah. Yeah.

Suneet [00:22:53] That was 2014. Yeah.

Alecia [00:22:55] Yeah. Well, it was an interesting time because I. [00:23:00] I looked around and, you know, some of my biggest mentors actually at that time, like left the business, right, yeah.

Alecia [00:23:07] To go get jobs and, um, I think, you know, I reached out for, for help, you know, got, got coaching, you know,

Suneet [00:23:17] Uhhuh.

Alecia [00:23:19] At that moment when you probably least think that you can do that, right? You, you, you've got to find a way. And so, um, uh, just getting, getting back in, in, in motion and then it was, it was it. Those are those times when you look back and you think that those were the greatest gift,

Suneet [00:23:40] right.

Suneet [00:23:40] Those hard times to be able to get through it, to fill that grit and the resiliency. Absolutely

Alecia [00:23:46] correct. And um, I had people in my life at that time that, you know, would not allow me, actually one was a client was interesting enough, you have these angels that come into your life.

Suneet [00:23:56] Mm-hmm.

Alecia [00:23:57] And. Sit [00:24:00] down. Sit down, um, when you're going to them with, um, how do I get myself out of this?

Alecia [00:24:04] Right? And they're like, you can do this. Right? They offer you no sympathy. It's that you can do this and you just gotta put one foot in front of the other and, and, and do it. So inch by inch, you know, inch

Suneet [00:24:24] by inch. Yes. Like little compound effect. Right. I remember that was the first book I read when I got back in Darren Hardy Compound Effect.

Suneet [00:24:32] Wow. Just do those little things every day. So, um, the real estate business, we kind of talked about this just now, but we'll talk about it some more. The real estate business. Is super fascinating 'cause it definitely pushes us professionally, but it also leads to like a personal development journey. Right.

Suneet [00:24:53] Um, how has this industry changed you, like in your personal development and how you like, [00:25:00] choose to represent yourself?

Alecia [00:25:01] It absolutely, I mean, there's just no option. Yeah.

Suneet [00:25:08] True. You're so right.

Alecia [00:25:10] That's what I'm saying. You have, you have no option. Um, I am fond of telling everyone, it's like, well, what real estate really is, is a personal growth and development program with a pay plan attached to it.

Suneet [00:25:27] Oh, that's so good.

Alecia [00:25:31] So, and. You will only get paid in direct proportion to the value that you bring to the marketplace. Right.

Suneet [00:25:39] Oh, quoting Jim Rohn,

Alecia [00:25:40] quoting Jim Rohn on this. Alicia. That's right. Is that where that came from? I thought I got that one from someone else, but No,

Suneet [00:25:48] that is a Jim. Jim,

Alecia [00:25:51] yeah.

Suneet [00:25:51] Yes. Early seventies, Jim Rohn.

Suneet [00:25:53] Yes.

Alecia [00:25:54] Yes. Putting those two things together. Right. Um. You've got [00:26:00] to, um, develop your skills and ability, right? It's,

Suneet [00:26:05] yeah.

Alecia [00:26:06] I just had this conversation with a, a prospective new agent this morning, right? Who, you know how when they, they think the, the lead is the problem where the, the lead quality is the problem, or the source of the lead is the problem.

Alecia [00:26:23] When you, when you kind of drill down to it, it's like, no, we gotta, we gotta isolate. You know, and then go back conversation by conversation and, and build a little bit more resilience, a little bit more skillset around that. And, uh, it just has to do with being willing to have those fierce conversations.

Suneet [00:26:43] Yeah.

Alecia [00:26:44] I think, um, you know, if you are by nature a people pleaser. I, I, I, I love learning from, um, Jordan Peterson. I think I zoned in on this about him. [00:27:00] Like women were like, I think natural, like a,

Suneet [00:27:05] you know, oh, is that what Jordan Peterson said?

Alecia [00:27:07] Something like that. It's like, uh, yeah, like you're, we're more wired towards that.

Alecia [00:27:14] Um. And so I'm like, ah, you know, like we want everything to be okay and in conversations yeah, people to feel bad or hurt bad, you know? And, um, so we're, um, well, I don't know we as a collective, but you know, if you have a, a, a high sensitive personality like I have had over, over the years, it's been, it's almost like building, um, muscles in the gym.

Suneet [00:27:45] Totally

Alecia [00:27:46] of building that, um, that type of resilience, right, where you're, you're know, you know, to get to the point where you can have those hard conversations with clients that are, are uncomfortable. And [00:28:00] then, um, I just remember, you know, sometimes you would get those calls early on from clients who are screaming about something or nothing, and you're just.

Alecia [00:28:14] Again, I, I did my job. You get defensive or, or, or whatever. 'cause you think it, you know. Yeah. It's like, you know what, um, learning to have that better conversation where you can stay out of your own emotion and reactivity to that conversation. And then,

Suneet [00:28:31] which takes a lot of work, doesn't it?

Alecia [00:28:33] Yeah. And, and that's, that's really where the growth is.

Alecia [00:28:38] Right? And that, that happens over time. Right. So it's, um. And it has to be, um, practiced and, and built. And you have to go through you, you have to go through what you have to go through to get there, right?

Suneet [00:28:53] Yes.

Alecia [00:28:54] And either you do or you don't, and if you, if you're not willing, [00:29:00] right? What does John tell us? He says, you'll grow in direct proportion to the truth that you can handle about yourself.

Alecia [00:29:07] Is that right?

Alecia [00:29:13] Stop being so defensive all the time. If when you get that trigger feeling, something triggers you,

Suneet [00:29:24] yeah.

Alecia [00:29:24] Understanding they did this or they said this and has nothing to do with me.

Suneet [00:29:36] Yes. Control the controllables, your actions and reactions. Right. Right. And also I want to correct myself are, if there's any fact Checkers listening to, to this episode and want to tell me that, that Jim Rowan did not say that.

Suneet [00:29:48] Jim Rowan did. Brian Tracy did too, around the same time. So I don't know who said it first.

Alecia [00:29:54] Okay. Brian Tracy, another prominent real estate [00:30:00] coach in the industry. Yeah. Over. So

Suneet [00:30:03] yes. Um,

Alecia [00:30:05] I like,

Suneet [00:30:06] yes, I like lay in bed and listen to like Brian Tracy and Jim Roh while I sleep.

Alecia [00:30:12] Yeah. But,

Suneet [00:30:13] but,

Alecia [00:30:14] and, um, the, um, the, the personal growth and development, playing with the pay plan attached to it, um, really that's what it all boils down to.

Suneet [00:30:29] I mean, so I was a loan officer many years ago, my first three months as a loan officer. And I went and I wasn't doing well. Um, I was maybe 26 or 27, and my father lived in about two and a half hours away and I went to go visit him. And he always had all the personal development books, all the CD sets, all of that.

Suneet [00:30:50] Uh, he was an engineer and somewhat of a entrepreneur. He's passed away many years ago, but, um. I'm all, he's like, Hey, how's the sales business? I was like, oh, I'm [00:31:00] not doing really well. I haven't really sold anything. He's, I want you to check out this CD set. And it was a Tony Robbins set. Um, it was like Personal Edge or some, I don't know what it was called.

Suneet [00:31:12] It wasn't a, it wasn't at Unleash a Giant, it was one of his other ones. And I had about a two and a half hour drive home. So I plopped it in and I listened to it. You know, maybe three CDs on the drive home. No joke, Alicia. The next month I got a bunch of commissions and, and the thing was, there wasn't any like sales stuff in there.

Suneet [00:31:35] It wasn't how to be a better salesperson. It was all personal development. I remember the same time thinking it was hokey, but still having enough belief in it to. Really dialed down. And that kind of led me on my personal, the development journey. And I mean, now I'm a full-time coach and consultant, right?

Suneet [00:31:55] Like that's, that's my place where I live. So yes, it definitely has [00:32:00] impact. I'm so glad that you brought that up.

Alecia [00:32:02] Belief is key. And, and I, I, I tell people that, you know, during that time and, and people, people joke me to death to this day about Tony Robbins meet you death. But I always say Tony Robbins saved my life.

Suneet [00:32:14] Yeah.

Alecia [00:32:15] Because. When I talked about that vertical, uh, you know, moment when I was so down, I remember all I could do was the next best thing. Put on my headphones. Turn on Tony Robbins. Get out the door.

Suneet [00:32:30] Yeah, that's awesome.

Alecia [00:32:32] Yeah. Um, and then it went from there and, uh, yeah, and it, it, it culminated. I, I had my, my dream was to take my entire, um, family to a Tony Bins event, but that was one of my first, uh, well, a significant leadership.

Alecia [00:32:54] Because you can't want something for other people. Yeah. Want for themselves. So [00:33:00] it was like a dream, like, because it had been so meaningful to me, and it was so life changing for me. Um, his, his work at that time and, uh. I remember I finally got to the point where I'm like, okay, I could afford to bring my whole family to this event.

Alecia [00:33:16] It was just gonna be so great, you know? Um, and we were all gonna walk on the call. So sign the whole family up we go. I had, but my one, my one amazing daughter who just, she will not be out of her own integrity, which I applaud her for. She said, mom, I absolutely will not go, I will not spend your money like that.

Alecia [00:33:39] Disbelief.

Suneet [00:33:40] Sure. She,

Alecia [00:33:41] she was the one who didn't go. And, um, we went and the first day they give you an opt out, right? And, um, three of them walked out. Uh, three of the attendees walked out and got their money back and decided they were gonna go [00:34:00] hang out in New York City. So my husband and my son stayed with me.

Alecia [00:34:06] The rest of it. My son walked on the coals and I walked on the coals. Oh,

Suneet [00:34:11] cool.

Alecia [00:34:13] So, so there you go.

Suneet [00:34:14] That's awesome. So, final question. What advice do you have? Or people of listening, other team leaders, other realtors, other aspirational team leaders, what advice do you have for them?

Alecia [00:34:28] I think the biggest thing that I advise people as they're considering coming into real estate or wherever they're at on their journey, I think if I could say in hindsight, in 25 years.

Alecia [00:34:41] Um, the most important thing is, um, it's not even it, it's there. There's so many things that you have to do in real estate. The biggest thing that becomes important is who you're doing it with. Mm,

Suneet [00:34:54] good.

Alecia [00:34:56] Really who you're doing it with. And, um, because I can [00:35:00] look, I can look back and I can point to, um, my significant.

Alecia [00:35:05] Mentors and, you know, and, and, and where are you in that? Because it's, I think with what knocks most people out is this incredibly lonely business.

Suneet [00:35:15] Yeah.

Alecia [00:35:16] When you start, um, and, uh, I remember feeling when I came in, where are the rules? Where are the, where are the guidelines? You know, there's lots of laws.

Alecia [00:35:28] But the laws of success are a little harder to identify.

Suneet [00:35:32] Yes. So,

Alecia [00:35:34] um, it's kind of like, it, it, it's the right person with the right mindset that comes in. Um, or the person that's, that's open to the growth and development mm-hmm. Things that, that will come along. Right. Um, not everybody. Off necessarily as a [00:36:00] superstar agent.

Suneet [00:36:01] Yeah. But,

Alecia [00:36:02] um, people can grow into that. So who are you surrounding yourself with, whether that be a brokerage or a team, or your home? Ah, you know, it starts with the home team, right?

Suneet [00:36:15] Yes.

Alecia [00:36:16] I really wanna know about that. When, um, someone's coming in, who do you have by way of support? Um, what does that look like for that person?

Alecia [00:36:23] Right? That's awesome.

Suneet [00:36:24] That's awesome. So good. So if anybody wants to send you a referral or maybe work with you on your team there in Rockville, how should they reach out to you?

Alecia [00:36:34] Uh, they can contact me directly by text or phone, um, (301) 252-2177, or find the scott team uh, dot com online and send us a email inquiry.

Alecia [00:36:49] Um, I'm, I'm open on social media with the. My profiles and stuff, you can direct message us and we cover, um, Maryland, DC Virginia and I actually [00:37:00] recently got licensed in Delaware.

Suneet [00:37:01] Delaware. Oh, expanding cool stuff. We'll have to get you back on to talk about the expansion.

Alecia [00:37:08] This has been super fun. Sun.

Suneet [00:37:11] Oh, good.

Suneet [00:37:11] Well, everybody, make sure you follow Alicia and send her all the referrals she can handle in all those areas that, that she just said. I really hope that you guys watching and listening got something out of this episode. If you did, please like sub, please, please like, subscribe, and share with a friend, and we'll see you on the next episode of the Reside Platform podcast.

Suneet [00:37:34] Thanks, Alicia. Thanks everybody. Awesome.

Alecia Bye.