In a recent Go Time With Zuber episode, we spoke with Ahren Booher, the CEO of The Art of Real Estate Team in Strongsville, OH. We discussed her journey to being a successful real estate agent and some of the lessons she learned along with way. Ahren has been in real estate for more than 12 years and had more than 170 sales last year with $40 million in production. She has also been recognized as “Tomorrow's Leader Today” in her local association.
Lesson #1: Who You Surround Yourself With Matters
When Ahren entered the real estate job market (at the height of the Great Recession!), she had trouble with low energy and negativity. The recession was impacting her and the people around her. It was obvious a lot of people were also down. But she knew there was a better way and instead surrounded herself with people who had decided to win. She got a fresh start.
Lesson #2: Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
Ahren says you can “determine your own fate in any market.” She says she’s only ever seen the market improve, and in fact, Ahren has sold more every year than she did the year before. There’s no secret sauce to surviving the real estate market. You just have to put your head down and do the work, and success will follow. This is true in up or even down markets.
Lesson #3: Education without Execution is Just Pure Entertainment.
Ahren's hunger for knowledge and growth makes her stand out. It’s common that people tend to read books and listen to information to help them succeed, but that knowledge is useless if you don’t implement what you’re learning. She’s always been the overachieving student absorbing all of the information, but she learned when she left college, she was not executing what she knew. Starting to execute better was a pivotal moment for her.
Lesson #4: Get Out of Negative Thought
After college, Ahren was new to real estate and began to let feelings of doubt creep up. She decided if she left real estate, it would be her own choice – not because real estate was too hard. So she made a mental health switch, said “no more excuses,” and began to take action. Once she got out of negative thought mode and put on her blinders, she never looked back.
Lesson #5: All Work Expands to Fill the Time Allowed
A challenge many of us face–Ahren is no exception–is a lack of time. Ahren finds time by establishing three- and five-year goals with her team goals and adding leverage. She is sharing her vision, leveraging technology, and hiring talent to help take some of the pressure off her so she can spend more time with her husband and family.
Lesson #6: Know Your Big Why
Throughout our interview, Ahren kept coming back to know your big “Why.” Why are you doing real estate in the first place? She says you must take extreme ownership over your life and business and get out of negative thinking. There’s no secret sauce. If your “Why” is big enough, you can push through.
Lesson #7: Leave Your Comfort Zone
You never want to be in the room where you feel good because you’re the most talented person. To grow, you must leave your comfort zone and find the rooms where you're the small fish in the big pond. “Be around people that motivate you and have higher-level conversations,” says Ahren.
Being successful in real estate is 100% possible. You just have to be willing to do the work, ignore negativity, and surround yourself with game changers. Ahren’s real estate business is thriving because she got out of a negative mindset and listened to those who had gone before her.
Bottom Line
In real estate, we often hear a lot of pessimism from friends, family, and even other agents. We can let their comments burrow into our minds until we start doubting ourselves and fall into a negative mindset. Ahren had to make an effort and focus and surround herself with people who didn’t make excuses or try to talk her out of her real estate career. She knew she had to either listen to the negativity or push past it and find people who believed in her. She did the latter and is thriving because of it.
Are you ready to go all in with your real estate career? ClarityNOW offers a robust real estate management tool and free resources like the blog and podcast to help turn real estate agents into business owners. Book a personalized tour of the software if you’re ready to block out the negativity and take your business to new levels.
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