Mike Michalowicz is a keynote speaker and author of many books dedicated to helping entrepreneurs thrive including Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, Clockwork, All In, Fix This Next, and more. Through his writing and speaking, Michalowicz aims to guide businesses toward healthy, lasting growth. Today, he’s on a mission to “eradicate entrepreneurial poverty” and shares with us some practical advice for achieving financial wellness in the real estate industry.

 

Key takeaways:

• Don’t underestimate the value of incremental growth.

• Align yourself with community influencers.

• Consider small actions you can take for your future self.

Due to high interest rates and limited availability, overall activity in the residential housing market is down in comparison to recent years. What advice do you have for REALTORS® who are discouraged by these current market conditions?

In challenging markets, it’s crucial to return to the core of what makes businesses thrive: delivering extraordinary value to a specific community. For REALTORS®, this means becoming an expert in your market, connecting deeply with your clients’ needs, and serving a niche where you are the top authority. You will see the “weak” and “half-hearted” competition fade out quickly during this market, and when things rebound, as they always have, you will be ready to gobble up opportunity. And be sure to store away a percentage of your commissions for future rainy days – even when it is actively raining right now.

 

Sticking with a financial plan can be difficult for anyone, especially when it involves implementing a new system. What are some tips you can offer to help REALTORS® commit to bettering their financial wellness?

First, it is critical to understand that financial wellness is almost exclusively about behavior management and has very little to do with being financially savvy or good at accounting. The next thing to understand is that you will win by taking small steps. So, I suggest today that you set up just one new bank account and call it PROFIT. Then, allocate one percent of your deposits to the PROFIT account. While it will have practically no impact on the availability of cash from deposits, it will show you that you can save something. Then, a month later, make it 2%, and then 3% the next month. These incremental improvements build your “muscle” around profitability. Over time, you can roll out the entire system. In short, “start slow and let it grow.”

 

How should someone approach goal setting if it’s not something they typically do?

Start with an easy goal that parlays into a bigger vision. Then as you make progress, stack your goals to achieve the big vision. For example, if you want to run a marathon (the grand vision), set your goal to stretch each morning for five minutes. In the early stages it is much more about the discipline of doing something, no matter how small, than it is about immediate results. Then start stacking goals, for example, adding a one-mile walk after stretching and practicing a short jog after. This approach works for financial goals, sales goals, and any goal for that matter. You know… “Start slow and let it grow!” Sound familiar?

 

What are some daily practices you recommend REALTORS® take to level up their business?

I would nurture relationships with community influencers. The REALTOR® who is connected with the fire chief, the school principal, the mayor and so forth have insights into a community that competing agents won’t. This is a massive leg up. I would also check in with my past clients to see how they are doing – you never know what can come out of those conversations: they may be moving or have a friend on the search for a new place. I do know if you don’t pick up the phone, those in-the-moment opportunities will never happen.

​

What advice do you have for REALTORS® who are having a difficult time leaving their comfort zone?

First it is important to know that there is a word for “having a difficult time leaving your comfort zone”: human. Yep, it is the definition of being human. It’s normal. But don’t confuse that with acceptable. Once you appreciate that the nerves you are feeling are normal-you/typical, you are empowered to take action. A great motivator is to be honest with yourself on the results that you are getting (or, better said, not getting) by your current efforts. Then ask yourself what position you will be in if this continues for two more weeks, two more months or two more years. It is likely a scary picture. So, you need to take action now on fixing it. Your two-years-from-now self will be very grateful.

 

Should every REALTOR® hire a coach? Why or why not?

The right coach is amazing. But it needs to be the right coach. If you utilize a coach who is an HR specialist, yet your biggest need is increasing your transaction volume, you won’t benefit. So, before you consider a coach, ask yourself, “What is my biggest challenge right now?” Then, bring on a coach who can help you specifically with that. And, if you don’t know what your biggest challenge is, hire a coach who specializes in identifying your biggest challenge and can bring in the resources to fix it.

​

Where can people find out more about you and your work?

The best source is my website, which is MikeMichalowicz.com. But I have a short cut to the site, and perhaps this is an idea readers can leverage in their own marketing. The shortcut site is MikeMotorBike.com. When you have a hard-to-pronounce or spell name, your customers will forget it quickly or never find it. But if you have something simple, something visual, and something that rhymes, then it sticks. Hence MikeMotorBike.com is the place to go. I have a ton of free resources waiting for you there.

 

To find out more about Mike Michalowicz, visit the aforementioned site, MikeMotorBike.com or his socials at @mikemichalowicz.