After A Gritty 2022 I’m Focused On 2023

If I could place an order on my career, I’d like success to be a linear endeavor, every year I make more money, achieve greater successes, have my personal brand reach new horizons, alas things don’t always work out that way. My 2022 was spent working the deal in front of me, thankfully there were enough to keep the lights on at Jill Ann, LLC. 

Entrepreneurship can be exceptionally lonely at times, some that you love won’t love your business back. While clients who were strangers, who you made dreams come true for are your biggest advocates and even become friends. It’s the cliche journey of high highs and low lows, when the lows are low you may even be told to pivot away and find new challenges. When the highs are high, you better ride that momentum if you can. Building a business takes guts, you’ll never get it if you never do it. 

I’ll be frank, if you were building the ideal business on paper, real estate agency in a highly competitive market would not be it. I don’t say that to talk down on the profession I’ve chosen, but to share the realities of the business. Between the good agents it can seem like a mostly undifferentiated service business, only the good ones survive, because they sharpen their skills and implement systems to fill up their sales pipelines, and those agents are the only ones who can make any real money! We’re not compounding equity, instead we compound our relationships, our past clients, and our network of professionals who are only a call away. You could argue it’s not even a real business, I can’t exactly package it up and sell it. However, building a personal brand, a presence in my community, and having a genuine enjoyment for what I do is proving more valuable as time marches on.

Looking back on 2022, I found holes in my business, put marketing systems in place to better stay top of mind and spark additional business. I doubled down on my interpersonal skills by joining my local Toastmasters club, an educational organization teaching public speaking, communication, and leadership. There is also a real estate related side project I worked on with a close friend that were excited to publicly launch (soon!). 

As for brokerage results, 15 transactions for a total of $987,400 which makes for more transactions in 2023 than 2022, however deal sizes were down.

This is a pivotal year for me and my business, and I’ll need your help, if you’re not going to transact this year, maybe you know someone who will, referrals are a pillar in the top agent’s business.

Wishing you a healthy, joyous, and prosperous new year,