Bold Moves Podcast

From $50K Homes to Top Agent: Jenny Apodaca’s Bold Journey

• Mat Torres • Episode 19

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Discover how Jenny Apodaca made bold moves to transform her career from humble beginnings selling $50K homes to becoming a top real estate agent and building her own team. In this captivating episode of the Bold Moves Podcast, Mat Torres delves into Jenny's courageous career transition, personal growth, and the lessons she's learned along the way. From her incredible first year closing 36 homes to navigating challenges as a single mom, Jenny shares authentic insights that inspire risk-taking and resilience.

Jenny’s journey reflects the power of determination, adaptability, and her passion for helping others succeed. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to thrive in real estate or take a leap of faith in your own career, this episode is packed with actionable advice and heartfelt moments. Plus, hear how Jenny’s love for sci-fi and her ability to balance family, career, and personal interests make her story truly relatable.

Takeaways from this episode:
- How Jenny transitioned from unpredictable jobs to becoming a top-performing solo real estate agent.
- The importance of building connections for sustainable success.
- Insights into starting a real estate team with a focus on mentoring and independence.
- How to overcome challenges like balancing family life while pursuing your goals.
- Why embracing bold moves can lead to incredible personal growth and professional achievements.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation that proves boldness and authenticity pave the way to success. Don’t miss Jenny’s bold journey that inspires everyone to aim higher and achieve their dreams.

#successfulagent #customerserviceinrealestate #successfulrealestateagent #realestatesuccessstories #realestatesuccessstories

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:09 - Catching up with Jenny
01:46 - Jenny’s Real Estate Journey
05:38 - Life After High School
06:48 - Working with Family in Real Estate
10:41 - Getting Started in Real Estate
16:14 - Expectations from Jenny's Team
19:50 - Bold Moves in Real Estate
21:14 - Challenges as a Single Mom and Agent
23:20 - Emotional Aspects of Real Estate
26:00 - Collaboration with Jason Wentworth
27:50 - Scarcity Mentality in Sales
32:35 - Weird Experiences Showing Homes
40:48 - Evolving Definition of Success
42:24 - Next Bold Move for Jenny
43:26 - Sci-Fi Interests
49:35 - Inspiration for Boldness
51:05 - Best Advice for Success
54:20 - Tips for Being Bolder
57:05 - Favorite Song
58:40 - Connecting with Jenny
59:04 - Outro

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This is the Bold Moves Podcast, where real people share the decisions that changed everything. Hosted by Matt Torres. All righty, this is Matt Torres with the Bold Moves Podcast, and I've got a really cool guest. I've got Miss Jenny Apodaca. Hi. Jenny is a, she's being modest. She says, I'm just a real estate agent, but she's a superstar real estate agent who sells lots of houses because I follow you on social media. I see all those posts that you're making, house sold, sold, sold. But what's also interesting is we went to high school together. We did. Yeah. That's crazy. It is. It's wild, right? It's funny how small world, how small of a world it is and how things kind of circle back to you. Yeah. Yeah, that's crazy. Because like, so just to kind of fill listeners in, like BNI, you went to BNI, and if everyone who's listening doesn't know already, like most of my guests are from BNI. It's kind of like a natural thing. But yeah, it was crazy because like, I saw you walked in and I was like, I know you. I know that person. So it's funny. And that's cool because you know Afton and Afton's like this like master connector of people. Yes. And everybody. She has a gift. She has a networking gift for sure. Yeah. Absolutely. So it was pretty cool to like get in there. And then I had randomly known, I met Adam at a bar like two years ago. Yeah. Randomly. And so I knew him too, just from social media and meeting him that one night. And then so to walk in and like, kind of know a few people and be, and I'm 40 minutes from home and where I usually am. It was it was kind of a cool thing. Like, maybe I really should be here. Yeah. This is the right place to get to walk into. So that's awesome. Yeah. So give like, if you can a quick, you know, this is who I am. This is what I do just to kind of, like give a background of how long you've been in real estate, you know, all that good stuff. So I've been in real estate nine years and I just do residential. I don't mess with commercial, not yet anyways, but one day I probably will. I've been, I was on a team for seven years. I was on Advantage Home Team out in Casa Grande. And most of my business is in Pinal County. I really do specialize in that. And then I want to kind of expand on that. I do some Maricopa County, some Pima County, and then I've even gone up to the White Mountains and up to Cottonwood. Yeah. So that's fun and quite an adventure. Two years ago, I decided that it was the best fit for me to become a solo agent. And my goal was to start my own real estate team. And I knew that I had been on a team where everybody had done everything for me. And I knew that I needed to get out and be on my own for a little while so I could really experience real estate as an independent agent. So I could understand all aspects of the business and what it is that I need to do moving forward so I could help other people be more successful. Um, I didn't feel really that coming from such a dependent model would help me help other people. Yeah. So I wanted to take some time, um, and really just kind of learn the business from the ground up. But, and that's worked out really well. Yeah. Oh, and now I'm kind of ready to start my own real estate team. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. Pretty excited about it. Are you with Keller Williams? I am. I'm with Keller Williams Legacy One. Okay. And so we're in Casa Grande, which is really kind of nice because it's in between Phoenix and Tucson. So it gives me the flexibility to go to either market and not have too long of a drive. So like this team that you're building, is it going to be based in Casa Grande? Probably not. Um, I feel like there's so many, there's so many options, um, for people to find a, find a team or find a fit. Um, and honestly, like, I really feel like my life is kind of moving towards the Phoenix metropolitan area anyway. So I'm kind of looking at growing in that area specifically. So as my life transitions and my kids get older and, you know, I, I maybe not driving as much, that would be great. Yeah. So I think I've put, I bought my car in March and I've put 40,000 miles on it. Oh, wow. Just from like driving up here? All over. I mean, Tucson, I go to, I'm in Tucson a lot too. Yeah. So, um, thankfully, I mean, it's a Tesla, so I don't take it to like the white mountains or Cottonwood cause I might get stranded. What kind of Tesla is it? I would just a Model 3. Oh, just a Model 3? Yeah, no, it's just the, the little basic one. That's the little entry-level Mazda 3, or not Mazda, Model 3. And it's cute. It's a nice little car. I got it used. I didn't pay a lot of money for it cause I have a pickup truck and that's kind of like my, my go-to gal there. I love that truck, but... What color is the Tesla? It's white. Okay. Yeah. I was going to say white's the best thing to have in Arizona just because, uh... Oh yeah, for sure. The heat and the dirt. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think every car I've had has been like a white car. Yeah. I had a black GMC Denali before this. Yeah. And it was awful. You'd have to wash it like once a week and it was just impossible to maintain. Yeah. I ain't got time for that. So what did you do after high school? Did you like, did you go into real estate then too? No, I didn't. Um, I did a different path. I went to school to become a nail technician. Oh wow. After high school. And I was like, I'm going to do nails and I'm going to work in a salon and it's going to be glamorous. Right? Well, you know what I did? I spent every day for eight hours a day doing pedicures and scrubbing people's feet. Oh wow. For a living. And it was humbling. Yeah. In the most unexpected way. Cause you're literally washing people's feet all day. Like it just, it was very humbling, but it was also hard work and my back hurt after a couple of years. Um, do you want to know what's even more wild? Do you remember Dr. Wortman, our principal? I do. He was one of my most regular clients. I trimmed that man's toenails. Oh dude. Oh, that's, that's wild. Oh, that's a bad picture. Right? It was, it's even worse in person. So after that, um, I worked at Harrah's for a couple of years in the total rewards department, like doing customer service. And that was such an amazing experience because they really take you from the ground up and they give you a lot of customer service training. And then you're really learning how to deal with people at a different level. And I think that's really helped me in the business I'm in now because it is a lot like customer service. It's, you know, and having the ability to speak to people, to know how to calm a situation, to not be afraid to get yelled at even sometimes kind of helped diffuse things. So that was really good training. And then I spent after that, um, I'm much older than I look, I guess we're the same age though. So you're in it with me, but I spent 15 years at my, at an auto body repair shop writing auto estimates. Really? Interesting. Yes. So I managed the office, did the books and then wrote estimates on auto repair. Huh. And I, um, really fought with my boss on a level that was incredibly unhealthy. It was very combative. Really? And so it was very stressful. We couldn't see eye to eye on anything. And, um, I decided that I needed to make a change and I really had always had this passion for real estate. So I walked into my boss's office and I said, I can't do this anymore. Dad, give me your debit card. I'm going to real estate school. And so my dad was like, good. I can't work with you anymore either. Wow. It was your dad. Dad had an auto body shop. Yes. I worked for my dad for 15 years. And I don't know if you ever saw the orange County chopper show with Paul and, uh, Paul senior and Paul junior, how they would fight. It was like that except in Casa Grande, Arizona with my tall skinny dad and the short little angry person. And we would just go at each other constantly. That would have been good TV. It would have been great. I send that all the time. We would have been really, really well off because if we could have gotten a TV show, it was insanity. Oh, that's crazy. Yeah. So we get along really well now. Yeah. Family working together is always tough. I know my dad went into business with his dad and like doing like a trucking company that exploded. Like that didn't last very long, but yeah, it's, it's weird. You think going in, I don't know. It works for some people, but it just, it's tough because there's, um, there's not as, it's not as easy to set boundaries. Yeah. Right. So when you're having a bad day, you can take it out on your family member, right? Yeah. You can't take it out on a regular employee, but you could take it out on your family or if you're stressed or, you know, or if you need extra, but they're not able to do it. And you, it just, it, the lines get really blurry and the boundaries don't get really set. And they, even if they try to get set, they don't stay. So it's just a really tricky situation and it's different for everybody. But for me, it just, I really like my dad a lot more now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Um, so it seems like that was the catalyst to kind of go into real estate. Yeah. People ask why I'm successful. It's cause I never want to work for my dad again ever. Yeah. Uh, the first year is tough though for a lot of people, right? You know, like we talk about people going into real estate and I mean like real estate is one of those things where there's so many people that have license. So many people. Yeah. Like don't have a career with it. Like how did you get on the, get the ground, take the ground running and be in it for like as long as you have? So my very first year was, um, really kind of took my breath away going like now even going back and thinking about it, like, um, I, I've always been a very big people person. I love humans. Um, it is probably my biggest gift and my biggest downfall, right? I go into people. I love humans. I love getting to know people. Um, sometimes I get hurt, but I just keep coming back for more, right? Um, and then this kind of became evident that I've invested and poured into so many relationships that when I got my license and I started posting on social media, people started coming to me. Well, um, do you remember, uh, do you remember Megan Brown? Oh, name sounds familiar, but I'm drawing. Think if we maybe saw a picture, we went to high school with her. Um, she was my very best friend when we were kids. And then we kind of went our separate ways in high school is, you know, children do you kind of grow up and find your own paths and, um, but she messaged me and she was my very first client. Wow. Yep. She gave me my very first listing. I sold her house and helped her buy a townhouse. Um, just talking to a lady at the pickup line at my daughter's school. Um, she's like, Oh, we're, we're looking for a place. That was my very first contract. Unfortunately it took four months for it to close because it was a short sale. Yeah. So, but it was still like those things just kind of happened. Another friend messaged me and says, Hey, I just told my dad that you're doing all of this stuff in real estate. Um, he's going to call you. So he calls me and, um, he's got three homes to sell. So I got three homes to sell. And then he's like, you did such a great job. I'm going to have you list my personal house. By the way, I'm divorced and you have to deal with my ex-wife too. We don't get along very well. Okay. I can do that. So I listed the house. I got along with the ex-wife just fine. I ended up listing her house when she moved out of the area after that. So it just, things like that started to spiral and things started to grow. And then, uh, people would refer me and tell somebody. And then on top of that, I was doing four open houses a weekend. So I would, yes, I would do one in the morning on Saturday, one in the afternoon on Saturday and one on Sunday morning and one in the afternoon on Sunday. And I would post every single time about doing the open houses on my social media. I think I remember seeing that. Yeah. You were hustling. I still hustle. I definitely don't do as many open houses as I used to because it's exhausting and you get kind of depressed. Like, Oh, nobody showed up. But sometimes it's not about the people that are coming into the open house. It's about people on social media that are seeing you put in the effort. Right. Um, so between that and just kind of like my sphere growing, I closed 36 homes my first year 36. Wow. Wow. Yeah. That dude. Yeah. It was wild. Yeah. It was really great. Um, I was really blessed. And then I think the next year I closed 52 year after that I was 65. And then the year after that, I made it to 76 and then COVID happened or 2022 happened. And then it started coming back down, but I'm at, I'm at a respectable, I think 43 right now. So yeah. And it's tough market. Yeah. So I, I worked a little bit for this company that, um, worked with real estate agents and kind of like did a lot of the backend like marketing for them. Like social media stuff and videos and Trent, like just a lot of, a lot of stuff. And it was like coaching them and kind of. Of doing some accountability. And their whole thing was like two, two to three extra business in like 18 months type type. And it was, it was a sales job. Like I was on the phone talking to real estate agents and then doing presentations and then coaching them and all this other stuff. But it was interesting because they had a minimum, and it was like minimum of like 12 transactions. And I think it was like 6 million a year, um, in volume. And there were like a lot of agents that didn't hit that. that wasn't, you know, one, one a month is really hard. You would be surprised. Like it is really hard for a lot of people to hit one a month. Um, it is. And then it's hard for a lot of people to manage when a month, because it is such an all-consuming thing. Like this is somebody's biggest purchase, right? And, or biggest sale, and that's like their livelihood. So it can be very overwhelming to not only just find one a month, but to keep that going and then deal with that type of stress and pressure. So just got to say, those are some, some really good numbers. And if anyone is looking for a team, obviously, you know what to do. So kind of, I want to kind of touch on a little bit. Cause like, that's, that's very interesting. I find very interesting about this, that you're building a team and like you're offering to what, like mentor people, right? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. That's part of being on a team is why you could go anywhere. You could hang your license anywhere. You could pick any team. You could make that investment into any team. So what would set somebody apart to choose me, right? Because I'm not going to be able to like give you all the grandiose things that a lot of people do. I'm just starting out, but I can give you me, and I'm exceptional, and I'll pour myself into you, and I can promise you that, right? So that's kind of where I'm at. I'm not, not uncon, I'm not too humble there with my, I'm exceptional. You're like, I am amazing. Wonderful. Just ask me, I'll tell you. Um, so can you kind of give some details about like, okay, someone wants to come on to your team? You know, what can they expect? You know what I mean? Like what kind of, are you able? So I'm like, there's two different types of teams that you can do, right? You, you can do a team where you're lead dependent or you're learning how to grow your own leads, right? My, my hope would be to teach people how to hunt, right? Because if I'm sitting there and I'm feeding you leads, you're not going to learn. And one day I might not be there, right? That's just a reality of life, right? You blink one day and everything can change. And so my goal is to teach people how to build their own business and be successful at that. And, you know, maybe take some of the skills or the motivation or inspiration that I might have to give them so they can learn to take care of their own families. Um, and like, I, and I've been on a lead dependent team for seven years, and I never really needed that, but everything they did for me, the value that was provided was fantastic. but I can see the difference where some people need that. Right? Some people don't have that ability to go out there and hunt and get it. And that's a great fit, but that's not what I'm about. What I want to do is I want to help you build it. I want to help you grow. And I don't want you to be dependent on me to feed your family. I want you to learn to do it for yourself. So that's kind of where I'm at with what I'm going to offer. So, you know, obviously I'll have like, you know, the value adds like transaction coordinating and marketing and signs and lock boxes and, and things like that, but will I pay for leads? No, but I'll teach you how to find your own. Yeah. I'll do whatever I can to help you. Yeah. And then if there's times, you know, that I do have things available, then we can have those conversations. How many agents are you looking to initially? I would probably say like just two to three. I don't want to like go all in and build something so big that I can't give it a fair amount of time. Right. And then you see how that grows. Like, I feel like it's kind of going to be a God thing. Like he's going to lead me to the right people and lead the right people to me. Like, I'm just going to, my goal is to just put it in his hands and, and see where it goes from there. Nice. It's kind of, he's kind of led me this far. So right now that it's been the easiest road, but we're getting, we're making our way through it, so. So on, on like this podcast, we talk a lot about, you know, bold moves and like just, you know, things that we're really having to like take a leap of faith on, you know, like would you consider like moving from or going into real estate that bold move for you? Or is there something else that comes to mind as like something that's a bold move that you've taken? I, yeah, absolutely. I think going into real estate was the bold move. Um, that was, you know, leaving behind a hourly paycheck and the comfort of knowing exactly how much your pay is going to be, the benefits that you can get, like 401k or health insurance. You walk away from that and you're like, I got to make enough money to support my family and keep it steady. And that's a, that's a big leap of faith. Yeah, it is. And I think also too, like taking the teen thing more seriously and starting that, I think is also a big leap of faith because you're putting somebody else's trust in you, you're putting their family's trust in you, right? Like they're counting on you. And I think that's something to, there's something to be said for that as well. Yeah. So I think it's all, anytime you make a change, big or small, I think it's a leap of faith. Yeah, very true. Yeah. When you, when you made that move and you're like, you know, you're in it, what were some of like the challenges or like roadblocks that you faced that you were like, oh, okay, now I got it. Yeah. My kids, absolutely. It's been the hardest thing. Um, single mom, like where do my kids go while I'm out showing houses? Well, my kids have spent a lot of time in the car sitting outside of houses waiting for me, right? Like, thankfully they got old enough after a little while, but like leaning on my parents, leaning on family members, like that's just been, I think that's been the biggest roadblock is, is trying to balance it all and sometimes finding that balance is really hard and I don't think people talk enough about that and how difficult it is and how you have to make decisions on, am I going to be at this event or am I going to go show these houses, right? Because people always say real estate is so flexible. It's such a flexible job, but you're really at the mercy of other people's schedule, right? Like they want to see a house at 10 o'clock on Saturday because that's when they're off. If your kid's soccer game's at 10 o'clock on Saturday, you have to make a choice. Yeah. That's, that's hard. It is. I mean, like I'm, I'm not like a full-time agent. Like I've done transactions here and there, so like on a very small scale, I kind of know a little bit about that just because like I've had to like leave on the weekend to go like, go do like showings and it's, it's difficult, you know, especially when your kids have like birthday parties or, you know, stuff that's going on and you're like, wow. It's like, especially like if you're doing like, like if you're a buyer's agent and work on, you know, homes for the client for like three months, like you're working for free basically. You are working for free until they find something. Yeah, absolutely. And so you've put all this time and invested all of that and you've given away your family time to these people, not knowing if you're going to get a paycheck. Yeah. Right. So. Oh man. So that, that brings up like a, like a internal gripe that I've had about like when people talk about commissions and they're like, you're getting paid how much? And I'm like, I, I look at this and I'm like, you don't see all of the other things that happen. And I, I was telling my wife the other day, part of it is like, you know, for emotional support, because there, there is an emotional aspect involved when you're dealing with people for their emotional issues and, um, there's just a lot of moving pieces. There is. And they don't necessarily know like your expenses in the background either. Right. Okay. I'm showing you all these houses. Guess what? You're paying for my time. You're paying for my gas. You're paying for the wear and tear on my vehicle. Um, you're paying membership dues. You're paying your supra fees and you know, they're not super horrible, but they still do add up. And then, you know, a lot of times, how did you find that buyer? Where did that buyer come from? Did you pay for a realtor.com lead? Are you making that monthly investment to get those leads? And that's how you came across these people. Then you have to pay your taxes. You've got to pay the tax man. Not to mention the brokerage that you're at takes. Right. Fair, fair share. You've got, you've got broker fees, you've got technology fees. You know, it, it just kind of all adds up. So you, a lot of times when they make those comments, you just kind of tend to brush it off. It doesn't get to you as much as it doesn't bother me as much anymore cause I just ignore it. They don't know. And what they don't know, they don't know. Um, so I just try to treat everybody with as much professionalism as I can. And my goal is to make it seem like they're my only client, even when they're not. That's hard. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. But they can tell. They can. And they can tell the effort that's behind it. Mm-hmm. I, I, um, I like that because you can definitely tell a difference in an agent that gives you that attention and treats you like, okay, you're important. And then an agent who was just kind of like, okay, you're just another transaction. Let me move on to the next one. You know? Yeah. And that also is why I've stayed so busy in Casa Grande and Arizona City. And I honestly sell a ton of manufactured homes on leased land because I treat all those people like I would a normal house. I don't treat them any differently. And they appreciate that. They're, they, you know, I may sell their house for $50,000, but I didn't take any less time or effort than I did from 150 or $250,000 house. So. Do you run across, um, Jason? Cause Jason went to- This was Ferguson? Oh yeah. All the time. Yeah. All the time. We just closed a deal together last week. You really? Yeah. Uh-huh. That's cool. I think I saw him at like a, like a Severar event or something. This was like when I first got into it, this was like 2013 or something. And, um, he had just gotten into it too. And he was like a, uh, I think he was a tow truck driver. He was, he was working for Star Towing. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so he, um, got his real estate license and then he stepped away from real estate and he was working at Academy Mortgage as a loan officer. Yeah. I remember that too. And so what, he was a loan officer when I started in. So he was my loan officer because I'm like, we've been friends since kindergarten, right? Like you do my loans. So, um, I felt really comfortable with him. And then he went and left Academy Mortgage and then decided he was going to go into real estate. And I was like, okay, buddy, calm down. Cause we have a lot of the same sphere. I think if you go to our, his Facebook, we have over 400 friends in common or something. And so we, you know, we do have a lot of. So how did that work? I was like, you have similar, you know, SOI sphere of influence, you know, I think sometimes it, it works for us because neither one of us, both of us, I think, understand that there's enough for everybody, right? There's enough business out there for everybody to eat. Nobody's going to starve. You just have to be willing to go out there and get it. And, um, if Jason ever needs anything or I ever need anything, I know I can call him, he can call me. We, we have a really good working relationship together. I want to see him win. I have been trying to get him to come work with me for years. Yeah. I'm like, just come over here. It'll be great. You'll love it. You can be my buddy. We're going to the same office. It'll be great. That's cool. Yeah. Yeah. That's another, that's, oh man. I remember like when I first got in into sales in general, I didn't have that mindset. I was like, oh, competition. Like, you know, and I, and I think when you're 20, everyone kind of has that to some degree, but it wasn't until I got a little bit older, I was realizing, yeah, the world's, I mean, the world is small, but yet it is big. There's a- Well, I think most sales people get trained for that scarcity mentality. Like you have to go kill or be killed, be the hunter, be the most aggressive. Right. But in real estate, like that's, that's the thing that gets me is, is very frustrating for, that's one of my biggest pet peeves with real estate is that these agents come out here and they're so aggressive and they're so like, I'm going to fight for my client. And I'm like, look, we are all working towards the same goal. Like we all want the same end result. We want to make a compromise that works for everybody. And we want everybody to, to walk away like they felt like they won. Yeah. Right. And so there's no point in being like, rah, rah, rah, when you can work together and achieve the same thing that you were going to achieve anyways, without all of the friction. Now, sometimes things are going to come up and you have to address that, but you can do it with class, dignity, and respect. Yeah. And I think that in sales, people get so aggressive about protecting their paycheck that that gets lost. Was real estate your first sales job? Yes and no. It's my first like complete sales job, but also writing estimates for my dad, for his business, you're selling those auto repairs, right? So you kind of get a little sales training in that because you're, you know, they're going to go get two or three quotes from different places. So why are they picking you? Yeah. Right. Yeah. I think, like the sales environment you first get into kind of sets the tone almost, which is, for example, like. I, my first sales job was kind of like in a boiler room type setting, like it was a call center. So remember it, it was called SMC promotions, which I don't know if you remember, but like they had a commercial on TV. It was Tom Bosley from happy days and he was selling this making money like kit that people could buy and they could sell, resell stuff basically, you know, crazy catalog. And, you know, it was a big thing. Like, you know, uh, they had this call center and that's where I worked. I was talking to people who were calling in because they wanted to make money and I would sell them these packages. And I remember the management there, they were just like ruthless. They were, you know, and I was 18, you know, and I didn't know any better. And they were like, you know, you need to do this, this and that. And I, I, I remember just forcing people to go get their credit card, you know, and like, I need your credit card number. And, um, it wasn't a scam because it was a legitimate product. I mean, like I used it, like I even got it and started selling some stuff. Then. So I was like, okay, it's, it, it works. Right. You just, you, you, you feel slimy, you know what I mean? Like I didn't like that and I didn't, I didn't last very long there. Um, but I think it kind of affected me in every other sales job that I went to because that was like my first, like, you know, experience and it was just weird. Yeah. And then fast forward to when I graduated from college, my first professional sales job, I guess, was working for like an insurance company at MetLife and it was all relationship based and it was like night and day and it was, you know, I, I just think it's, it's just interesting. You know, I, I wonder if my first sales job had been something totally different. You know, if my other sales jobs, I'm rambling now, so. No, you're good. Yeah, no. And similarly, um, my boyfriend, when he, he worked at a car dealership and he was in the car business for 21 years, right. And, um, he said something along the lines of it's only a good deal if nobody wins. Right. That's, that was his mentality being in the car business. And I'm like, no, no, no. It's only a good deal if everybody wins. Right. Yeah. And so like, it's such, yeah, it's such a different mentality from each sales business, the next. Right. And so I think that a lot of times when people get, have those experiences in those sales positions, they necessarily don't come from the positive, like more motivating place in sales. So it definitely, your life experiences lead you to who you are. Yeah. Yeah, that is true. Yep. I did enjoy, um, touring homes. That's one of my favorites. It's mine too. I, when I, dude, when I was like eight, I wanted to be an architect. Like I would draw like floor plans and stuff and then, but I wasn't really good at math, so that didn't really pan out. Um, math is not my strong suit. Um, but, uh, touring homes, that was like really fun. It's the best thing ever. Um, so I even chair the Casa Grande monthly home tour. Do you really? Yeah. Uh, yeah. Where we serve. Yeah. So that's, you know, I love it. I'll go walk through houses all day long. I wish I could just, just to be nosy. Have you ever encountered anything weird going through any home tours? Like, like anything paranormal or anything? No, never paranormal. No. Oh, not on, I've run into homeless people during showings. Yes. Um, I've walked in on people having sex because they forgot I was coming or the landlord didn't tell them or what have you, or that was one of them. I've walked in on children sleeping because their parents didn't tell them I was coming. Um, I've seen more sex swings than I care to talk about, but yeah, so you see all sorts of things. Like I've seen grass growing through walls. I've seen, oh, there was one. This was my favorite. Um, it was a house out in Stanfield and it was a foreclosure and the real estate company, when the foreclosures happen and people don't want to move out, a lot of times you'll do what's called cash for keys. So you'll give them money. So they leave, makes life easier. So they gave him cash for his keys. He went out and took the cash and bought an old RV, parked it on the property. And so he wasn't living in the house, but he was living on the property in this RV. But when his tank filled up, he just decided to use the bathroom on the floor of the house. And I think I showed that thing five times. It was disgusting. That's gross. I have seen some things. I have smelled some things that I don't care to talk about. Yeah. I think I've had a few where there were some, some weird stuff. I remember I went to this one house and there was, there was no lock box anywhere. And I was like, okay, this is weird. And then all of a sudden this guy steps out and starts just looking at me. And I'm like, hello? He's like, hello? And I'm like, is this house for sale? Yeah. And I'm like, and then I had to explain, I'm here to show it. He's like, oh yeah, I'm showing it. And I'm like, wait, what? It was the owner. He wanted to show his own house and that doesn't happen very often. Right? Right. And I mean, so I'm like, I was very caught off guard at first. I thought it was like another agent or another client. They were still touring and they weren't done yet. But that wasn't the case. And this place was a mess. It smelled like really bad. Cause a bunch of dogs living in there. Rooms were blocked off because they were just blocked off for whatever reason and weren't allowed to go. And he's trying to describe the room and I'm like, okay, this is just so weird. The guy's wife had just passed away and he is leaving and it, you know. Yeah. He was having some mental issues. Yeah. That, and that happens a lot. You see a lot of that. Uh, oh, one, one time I had a guy down near Kearney that I took a listing for and he had 46 live rattlesnakes in his house. Are you serious? Yeah. So when you walk into one of the rattlesnake rooms and there were two of them, they'd all rattle because they were not used to anybody else but him. Oh, wow. That was, that was a crazy one too. I, my very first showing, it was an investment property and it was in Guadalupe and I, I remember looking like I got the call and it was kind of weird. Like I, you know how you just get a weird vibe, you know? And I was like, that's kind of strange. I looked at the house and it was a complete dump. And I'm like, okay, I guess. And, um, so I went down there. I, I carried, I was like, I made sure I was like, okay, I'm going to carry. And, um, I remember getting out of the car. It was a big burly dude, like maybe bigger than me. And at the time I was a lot skinnier. So I was like, you know, really small, like 165, something like that. And, um, I remember I went to shake his hand and I saw his eyes and they, they went directly to where I was carrying. And it was like a tiny little print, you know, like you can kind of see, but, and then he, then he looked up and he was like, and he just kind of looked at me and I was like, all right. And then, so we went and looked toward the property and didn't really have much interest and it was like just very quick and then, but it was just a really weird encounter, like a very weird thing. And part of me was thinking, is the dude trying to like do something, you know, like I may have been, there's some crazy things out there. I've had people make me feel uncomfortable. I mean, imagine being a five foot tall girl, having to go show strange men houses out in the middle of nowhere. So I won't go out to land anymore. And, um, people will ask me, can you show me this lot? And I will flat out tell them, no, I don't want to die in a desert. Not that I think you're going to murder me, but I don't know you. So no, thank you. I'll give you the directions and the GPS location and you can go check it out. But I do not go out into the desert. I never thought about that. Is that pretty common? Do, do agents just say, Hey, go check it out and then let me know? Most of them that I know do now. Yeah. Nobody really goes, like, if you're going out to where there's no cell phone service, like when you're doing the more rural areas, like, like I do when you're out in like, um, uh, hidden valley or silver bell, so hidden valleys out past Maricopa and there's no cell phone service out there. So you get out there and you're flying blind. And same thing with silver bell. Silver bell is about 30 minutes South of Arizona city. Hmm. And it's technically considered Eloy, but there's, there's no, there's no, um, towers out there. So you, when you're out there, you're on your own. I won't go out there anymore without, and even for listing appointments, I'll take somebody with me. Yeah. Yeah. Or if I've never met that client before, I'll, I'll grab another agent and be like, you're coming with me. It's training day. Wow. Yeah. So I had a client that was, you know, he calls me and he's a quirky dude and he wants me to come see his house out in silver bell and tell, you know, talk to him about listing it. Um, and so I did, I took another male agent out there with me and I was like, he's just learning and he's following along. He'd been an agent just long as I had, but he didn't need to know that. Turns out the guy was one of the nicest people I've ever met in my entire life. I listed like two, three homes for him. And I feel like if I needed anything, I could call him, but you just, you never know, and it's not worth the risk. It just takes like that one. Like that's, yeah, it, it's, it's crazy because real estate agents, they're, they're really vulnerable. Absolutely. Like people don't really think about it, but it's like, you're going to some house that's empty with some stranger. Absolutely. You know, it's like. You don't know what you're walking into. Yeah. Yeah. Do you always, um, you always meet your clients first beforehand? Like that, like, or do you sometimes meet them at the property? Like first time? I, shame on me. Um, we'll just meet them at the property most of the time. Yeah. But I always make sure that I'm sharing my GPS location with somebody that knows and I let people know where I'm going. So I do try to be safe that way. Yeah. But usually I'll just meet them at the property. Crazy. Right after they've signed their buyer broker agreement. Yes. Oh man. Um, how has your definition of success changed since you've been on this journey? Oh, you know, it's so, that's a really hard question. Um, to try and separate. So my career has been very successful. Yeah. Um, and that has been, it's been great being able to provide for my kids, being able to have that, um, stability and the, you know, crazy career where you're, it's not a stable thing, but I've been very blessed to be consistent. Um, and I think that the consistency would be how I define success. Hmm. Yeah. But you know, unfortunately life has been hard. Works great. I could sell houses all day long. So my success may like, it's hard for me to define that because it just, it's so like ever changing, right? Yeah. What your needs are. Would you, would you change anything? Um, no, probably not. No. I think everything you do, everything you experience leads you up to the person that you are in this very moment. Yeah. A hundred percent. And I like where I'm at. I like where my business is at. Um, I like who I am. Yeah. So you're comfortable with that, but I'm also want to keep growing. What would you say, like the next bold move for you is coming up? Like, what do you have your, your sights set on? I, the getting that team going and off the ground. Yep. The Copper Star Group. That's what I was going to call it. Yeah. Copper Star Group. Yep. Um, getting that going, getting it off the ground and, uh, really investing into seeing how, seeing people win. Yeah. So, um, yeah, I, uh, I, I'm really excited about that. I've been wanting to do this for almost two years now or well over two years now. And I had made some moves last year and I was going to open my own office and just kind of like go in headfirst into it. And then my life got really chaotic. And so I had to really reel it back and just focus on myself and my kids and making sure that we're okay. And then now I feel like we're in a really good, like, not the best place, but a great place to like really do all of this as our life kind of transition. So. Okay. Yeah. Very cool. I know you mentioned, um, when we were on BNI that, uh, you're a sci-fi person. I am a sci-fi person. Dude, I, I did not know this. Very rare to find a fellow sci-fi person. And it is. Yeah. We're, I mean, we're much cooler than the rest of the population. It's a true story. So yeah, I feel like I kind of blew your mind with that one. I did not expect that. Like, you know, like you, sometimes you can tell a sci-fi person, like you probably look at me at yeah, sci-fi. But some people are like, well, you see why you need to stereotype yourself like that. All right. Star Trek? Yes. Original series? Um, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine. Voyager. I loved Voyager. And then we did have the conversation about the new one. Um, was. Are you talking about Discovery? Yep. Was, I watched the first couple of seasons and then I was just kind of like, eh. Yeah, it kind of petered out for me. Yeah. And I, I've seen some, uh, previews of like the Starfleet Academy one. Well, I was like really excited about it. It looks just like Discovery. Yeah. I don't think it's like, I don't know. I don't think it's going to be good, but we'll see. Um, but you also like Stargate too. I love Stargate. So Stargate, it's kind of like my thing. I've seen absolutely every episode multiple times. Um, uh, may have had a little crush on Colonel O'Neill. It's, um, and Stargate Atlantis. So like, yeah, big, big, big fan. Yep. I think that my favorite episode too. When they got caught in the time loop. Oh, interesting. Yeah. I don't know. I've, I've probably watched that episode alone, like 50 times. I just thought it was hilarious and I loved it. And him, the repeating of it, like the Groundhog Day aspect of it. I just, probably my favorite. Have you ever seen that movie Groundhog Day? Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Um, they're making another Stargate. I heard. Plus, you know, Atlantis, that's where Jason Momoa got his start. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. Yep. Interesting. Wow. Yeah. That's, that's true. Oh man. Um, I'm glad you said Voyager was good because now we can be friends. That was actually my favorite one. Yeah. Because it was such a male dominated thing. Right. Like, and then having the female captain and that, that was like nine, like late nineties, early two thousands. Right. And that was still like, kind of that it was, I mean, even now sci-fi is mostly male dominated. Right. Yeah. Um, I did think having a female Starbuck though on Battlestar Galactica was a little weird, but she did a good job with it. She did. She did. Yeah. She's, she's badass. But I was like, at first I was like, eh, but they worked out. Oh, you just Battlestar Galactica. Okay. I told you I'm sci-fi-ered. I wasn't lying. If you throw a Battlestar Galactica, I was like, oh yeah, that really is sci-fi. Right. Um. Yeah. So I, yeah. I liked, I liked Voyager because it was, it was kind of like a, I don't want to say like misfit, but like ragtag. Yeah, it was. Absolutely. When you think about it. Um, and then like TNG was like the more refined, you know? Um, my wife had a question the other day. She was like, why are they bringing their families on the starship when they're going to be like going and doing stuff, you know, and I, I never thought about it, but I'm like, they did bring families. It was like a family ship, you know, like you brought your kids and wife. You know, they probably didn't know what to expect. Right. Yeah. Why wouldn't they, why would they leave their homes for so long? And they, they didn't know what was out there in the galaxy to explore and how much danger they were really going to be in. Yeah. Right. It's all unknown. Um. But now we know y'all gonna get blown up. Yeah. Have you seen Picard? Yes. Oh, I loved that one. That was really good. Yeah. The third season was like a fan tribute. Yeah, it was. It was so good. It was cool. See, I enjoyed that a lot. Yeah. Yep. First season on that so much, but then like the second season got better. And then the third season was just amazing. Yep. And then that's cause, uh, Discovery came out about the same time and that's why I was so hopeful with that. Yeah. Yeah. Did you, did you finish Discovery at all? Did you watch? I lost my patience for that. Yeah. See, that sucks because like, um, my son is really getting, he's into Star Trek. He likes TNG. He likes, uh, he particularly likes Spot, Ada's cat. Uh, so he likes the episodes that show Spot cause he loves cats. Um, so we had to find all the episodes that featured Spot. So that's fun. That's awesome. But, uh, yeah. So he likes TNG the most. He'll watch Voyager. He doesn't like it as much cause he's really into TNG, but he really wants to watch the newer episodes. And I have a hard time because like when I've seen some of those episodes and they're like, F this and that. And I'm like, this is not Star Trek. Like, you know, it kind of makes me mad. It does. Yep. A hundred percent. It's supposed to be where you can sit down with your kids and like watch something cool and I can't do that with Discovery, you know? So yeah, I'm disappointed about that. But anyway, I digress. I can digress on that all day long. You're fine. Don't worry. So I have, I have slights, uh, it's not diagnosed. Slight autism on the spectrum, you know, my son, he, he has autism, more social, emotional, um, probably gets it from me. Um, but it's very interesting because like when I talk about like a particular subject, especially like Star Trek, I go to town, like I, like I will just go off the rails. Yeah. Yeah. So I have a few things like that too. I, that I get really passionate about. So you, it's not, it just happens. You get me talking about golf, working out or politics and I'll go on all day long. Oh, I don't know if we're getting into politics. No, we definitely don't. Our podcast isn't long enough for that. Um, what is your favorite book, podcast or resource that inspires boldness? Um, so I've been actually listening to a ton of millionaire, millionaire real estate agent, Jason Abrams, um, as a podcast. And I, I just like hearing it. I like hearing all the positive stories, all the different things, all the unique takes on stuff. So I've been really, really into that quite a bit. As far as book goes, um, the last one I read was Let Them Theory with Mel Robbins. Probably like, I think that everybody needs to read that at one point in their life, like it's been very, very impactful on me and like just understanding that this right here is the only thing I have control over. Other people's decisions, actions, the way they interpret things are not what I have control over. And I have to let them be who they are. And, and then I can only focus on this person right here. I've just started like seeing her stuff. I want to read one of her books, but like just some of the clips that I've seen, you know, doom scrawling, you know, I just thought of the things I'm like, Oh wow, that's, that's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a great book. It's a great book. Yeah. What's it called again? Let Them Theory. Let Them Theory. Mm-hmm. Good. Yep. I think I've heard of it. Um, what's like the best piece of advice that you would say that you've, you've ever received? Other people's opinions of me or none of my business. Oh, yeah. You can't control that. You can't control that. You can work so hard to try to get everybody to like you, to think well of you, to respect you. But at the end of the day, you are not going to please everyone. Yeah. Right. So you cannot get yourself so worked up and so wrapped up into what are, what are they thinking about me? What, why are they judging me? Why are they looking at me like that? And that's both business and, um, personal life. Like all of it that you just have to really like, and it goes back to why I like that book, Let Them Theory so much, because you just have to kind of let them have their own expectations, their own opinions, and you cannot down yourself, um, by worrying about what other people think about you, which is a really, really hard thing to learn and then to stay doing. When do you think you, that kind of like hit for you where you kind of realized that? Um, it's been probably the past like three years, um, as my career got more successful. You know, sometimes that breeds jealousy and, and weird things. And then, um, also I tend to be, um, kind of a bull in a China shop sometimes. So I don't always rub people the right way. I try, but I'm not, you know, I'm not everybody's best friend, but I want to be. No. Um, so, you know, not, I'm not everybody's cup of tea. And then this past year, definitely. Um, with my, like, uh, so my boyfriend passed away on January 7th. And, um, like learning that as I grow and transition and grieve and my processes are not going to be everybody else's processes, you know, the people that are, have been around me are not going to, um, always like the way I deal with things or what I do or how I cope with things. And I'm not always going to like what they do, but I have to let them do their thing and they have to let me do mine. Right. And I think that's been really kind of the biggest, like that's, that's when it's really, this last year, I'm just kind of like, I have moved into the phase of my life where I no longer, I don't, I just have to focus on going forward and being the best person that I can be because there's no right or wrong way to do things. Right. There's no right or wrong way to build your business or move forward with loss or, um, love people where the only thing you can do is just be a good person. And that's the only right or wrong, good or bad, right? It's very black and white. Be a good person or you're not a good person, but all the other minutiae in the middle of how you do it and how you get there, there's no right or wrong way. There's no and, but just. Interesting. So, yeah. In one word, how would you encourage someone else to be bolder? Okay. I would say pick one thing that you know you need to do that you keep procrastinating about and just do it, just rip the bandaid off, write it down tonight. And then the first thing in the morning, when you're up and going, do that one thing you've been putting off and let that be your first baby step because we tend to block ourselves from doing the things we need to do to be successful by listening to the things inside that keep us down, right? I'm not good enough for that. I'm not going to be able to do it. So just pick one thing that you can focus on, like one task that, you know, do I need to call those leads? Do I need to follow up with my clients? Do I need to pay this bill or do I need to set this appointment? Like just pick one thing that you're afraid of doing and you've been putting off and just do it because the rest of the day it'll be easier. Yeah. That's difficult. It's the hardest thing. So if you do it first thing in the morning, the rest of the day is a much easier day, right? Yeah. Yeah. Is it different for you every day? Or is there like- It's different for me every hour. I go a thousand miles a minute. So yeah, it's, it's always different. Yeah. Yeah. But a lot of successful people have the same routines and same habits. I do not. Can I shake it up a little bit? Different? Absolutely. Yeah. Yep. That's, that's hard because like it's, we, we're creatures of habit. We like to have like systems and routines and yeah, that's, I guess like it just kind of keeps you, keeps you on your toes. You gotta stay on those toes. I guess. Yeah. Yeah. For, for like, as you get older, you know, I'm noticing like, you know, you forget things and like, I guess that's really helpful to keep those brains like- Yeah. Firing and- Absolutely. Like tomorrow I'll probably work out in the morning. Today I'm probably going to work out at night, right? Like it just doesn't, it's just going to be different and I'm going to do it when I feel like it, but I'm going to focus on the other things I need to do until I can get to that thing that I want to do. Yeah. Cool. Today it was blow drying my hair. Yeah. I don't really, I don't really blow dry my hair. Is there anything that we didn't cover that you want to share before we wrap for this, this episode? No, I think we had a really great conversation actually. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. Oh, I have a question for you. Oh, okay. Favorite song. What's your favorite song? Oh, my favorite song? Oh. Huh. See, I don't listen to a lot of music all the time, but I had to pick. Oh, okay. So one song that kind of gets me, um, I like, I like country music. I do too. My wife doesn't, I can't stand it, but, uh, and I, you know, I can see why. Cause some of the lyrics I listened to, I'm like, Oh, I didn't realize that. Um, but, uh, Rascal Flats, uh, down the broken road. Wow. That's a great song. Yeah. That's a great song. Yeah. It kind of sticks out for some reason. Yeah. Um, yeah. Yeah. What about you? Uh, shake it off by Florence and the machine. Oh, interesting. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, really? Oh, gone with the wind. Gone with the wind. Oh, interesting. Mr. Holland's Elvis. Oh, that's a good one. Yeah. That's a really good one. Yeah. Oh, yep. I love me some Scarlett O'Hara. I'm going to think about it tomorrow. Awesome. Well, that is going to be a wrap. Yeah. Well, thank you so much. This was great. I loved it. Yeah. How can people get ahold of you really quick? Oh, um, you can call me 520-424-1055. Um, my Instagram is JennySellsTheBlock53. And, uh, yeah. Find me on socials. Awesome. I'm there. Well, it's been a pleasure having you on the show and, uh, yeah, until next time. All right. We are out. Go Cougars. Thanks for watching the bold moves podcast. For more episodes, visit our website and follow us on social media. Keep making bold moves.

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Mat Torres

Host
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Jenny Apodaca

Guest