The “Disney Tour Guide” approach to real estate with The Zach and Heather Harrison team

HousingWire

This week on RealTrending, Sarah Wheeler, sitting in for Tracey Velt, talks with Heather and Zach Harrison of The Zach & Heather Harrison Team at Compass, the #20 large team nationally by volume and #4 team in New York state by volume, according to RealTrends Verified.   The Harrisons dive into their unique approach of offering lifestyle tours rather than just property showings, helping clients choose not just a home but an entire community in Westchester County, New York. They also talk about changes in their market since the NYC mayoral race started, how they’re utilizing AI tools and more.   Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:   How they built their vision to "change the face of real estate" in Westchester County   How their interactive downsizing tours for empty nesters are solving inventory challenges   The impact of NYC's mayoral race on suburban real estate demand   How luxury amenities like golf simulators and indoor pools are reshaping buyer preferences   Why combining AI with human connection is the future of real estate   Related to this episode:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠The Zach & Heather Harrison Team⁠  https://zachandheatherharrison.com/  ⁠The Zach & Heather Harrison Team at Compass | RealTrends Verified⁠  https://www.realtrends.com/team-profile/thezachheatherharrisonteamatcompass-newyork-compass/  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HousingWire | YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXDD_3y3LvU60vac7eki-6Q  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  The RealTrending podcast features conversations with the brightest minds in real estate. Every Monday, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts join us to share their secrets to success, trends, and the lessons they’ve learned. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Sarah Wheeler, Editor-in-Chief at HousingWire, and I'm sitting in for Tracy

00:04Belt for this episode of the Real Trending Podcast. I'm excited to talk to Heather and

00:09Zach Harrison of the Harrison Team. The Harrison Team has sold or managed over $3 billion worth

00:15of real estate, and their client roster includes Fortune 500 executives, professional athletes,

00:21entertainment industry moguls, and global celebrities, plus numerous families moving

00:26from New York City to Westchester. We're going to talk about how they've built their team and how

00:31they're helping clients in a market that still has very low inventory. I hope you enjoy the

00:35conversation. Heather and Zach, welcome to the podcast. Thanks so much for having us.

00:40Great to be here, Sarah. We are, I'm so excited to do this. Of course, I'm not the usual host of this

00:46podcast. That would be Tracy Belt, but I am subbing in, and it's really fun to talk to you guys about

00:52such an interesting topic. Of course, you guys are in Westchester. So, you know, you've built the

00:58number one team in Westchester County and number four large team in New York State, according to

01:04the Real Trends Verified. So tell me about your team. Yeah, we started about 20 plus years ago.

01:11We had a great vision to try to change the face of real estate in Westchester. We were living in

01:16Manhattan, and we wanted to, we thought that it was a little bit sleepy out in Westchester, and we knew

01:21we wanted to live in Westchester, but we figured, what about the people who aren't from the county?

01:27Someone's from New Jersey, someone's from Long Island, you know, who better to show you these

01:30neighborhoods than people who grew up there? We knew that we wanted to move back to Scarsdale

01:34because we had grown up there and had such a wonderful experience, and we felt that a lot of

01:38the agents, you know, were more just door openers than really giving people a lifestyle tour, and we

01:44thought, why not, you know, kind of, like I said, be able to change the face of the industry by

01:51creating our own company and giving people tours of the different communities and helping them figure

01:56out which town is right for them. So that was kind of the impetus for starting the company. Our

02:00daughter was two, and we were living in Manhattan and kind of felt like there was a need for our

02:06type of realtor in Westchester County. Absolutely. Well, especially when you think about the fact that

02:12you had grown up there, moved away, and then moved back, like that's the experience a lot of people

02:16will have, right? They're like living in one of the other places. They're like, actually, I really want to,

02:20I'm looking at this new place. I think that's great experience for that. Yeah, we wanted to really

02:24show the lifestyle of the communities because it's really not about choosing a home. It's also about

02:29choosing a town and the lifestyle, and so what we did is we created a company where, and our team,

02:35we service the entire county, not just one specific area, which is important. So we have versions of

02:40ourselves and all of the different local municipalities throughout Westchester County from north to south to

02:46east to west so that we're able to give people the real inside scoop on what it's like to live in

02:51these different communities. So as a young parent, you want to know where are the baby classes? What

02:55are the schools like? You know, how long is the commute? Where can I park, you know, for metro north,

03:01for commuting? What is it like to be a parent there? What are the local sports? Where can I work

03:07out? Where do I food shop? So we really created a team where we really offer a full service

03:12opportunity to really get to know the different communities, and then even after the closing,

03:17we help you acclimate to the community that you live in. I feel like every, I've been to a bunch

03:22of conferences, right? It's conference season, and the thing that I keep hearing over and over again

03:26is the differentiator is the relationship that you have with your homebuyers, right? And so to think

03:32about the fact that you guys start with, this is not about a house, this is about a lifestyle,

03:36I absolutely love that because it is so much more than just like, I mean, they can find a house

03:41online. They can see a house. That's not the same thing. Absolutely. Yes, it goes well beyond the

03:48home. It's the entire experience, the entire lifestyle. We have found that that's critical

03:53for our clients, and that's why our clients are so pleased with the outcomes in terms of once they

03:59find that great community and that great home, everything really comes together for them.

04:04And we've been in their shoes. We were that couple in the city living there with our two-year-old,

04:09and our apartment was getting too small, and it was time to, you know, figure out like, okay,

04:13we have to, time to buy a house. And we, like I said, we knew we wanted to be in the community

04:18that we grew up in because we had such a wonderful experience. But what about these other people?

04:22What about people being relocated from Chicago or from LA and who know nothing about Westchester,

04:26and they got a job at one of the local hospitals? That's what we're here for. And I think we really

04:31have done a good job for our clients and really, you know, educating them, you know, not only in the

04:36communities, but also on the market, like the market's tough these days. So that's another

04:39thing that we really try to, we pride ourselves on really giving good analysis and good insight

04:44into the market and making sure that people are not completely overpaying and for different

04:49neighborhoods and so forth. So it's really a full service operation. We also help you even after

04:53the closing with like figuring out which vendors to use, which pool companies to use, which contractors

04:57to use, which are the best plumbers, which are the best painters, the best decorators. We do it all.

05:01I love it. Okay. So I've bought like three houses in the last five years. And one of those houses,

05:06two of those houses were in places I'd never lived before. So that secondary service to me would have

05:11been, I did not have that. That would have been so amazing because you're in an area, you don't know

05:16anything about it. And we, like I said, even way past the closing, we're here for you. You know,

05:21we have, we've developed incredible relationships with all of our clients. I would say we've helped

05:25hundreds and hundreds family families over the past 20 plus years. And, you know, we've developed very,

05:31very tight relationships that, you know, it's, it's been a very meaningful and it's, it's our

05:35pleasure to really, one of our favorite things really is to give people tours of the neighborhoods

05:40because we are so passionate about living here in Westchester. So that's like still to this day,

05:45one of our favorite things to do is kind of highlight the downtown area, highlight the parks,

05:50highlight the different schools, you know, highlight the different shopping centers, highlight our local

05:55municipal pools. All of that is like part of what I love. I call it, we call it our Disney tour of the

06:00area. We feel like we're Disney tour guides a little bit, you know, we really pride ourselves

06:04in giving everybody a really good sense of all the different neighborhoods and kind of like the

06:09inside scoop on what it's like to live in all the different neighborhoods. And like I said, our team

06:13can do that successfully and, you know, throughout the entire county, which not many, you know, teams can

06:20say. Absolutely. Okay. Well, you know, we know that anything that happens in the city in New York

06:26City is going to affect kind of your market, right? I mean, that that's the way this is. So

06:31I know we have a pretty contentious mayoral race there in New York City. I mean, it's reached me all

06:36the way down here in Texas. So you know that that a lot of stuff is going on there. Have you how closely

06:42are, you know, potential buyers in Westchester looking at that mayoral race and saying this might

06:49affect housing one way or the other, because there's a lot of housing policy on the ballot seemingly.

06:54It's been fascinating. You know, there was a primary during the summer. And, you know, since

07:01the summer, literally every single buyer that we've worked with, moving from the city considering

07:07Westchester County has mentioned the mayoral election as one of the factors that was driving

07:12them to make that move. You know, buyers have said they're concerned about higher taxes in the city.

07:18They're concerned about safety. And, you know, one of the really amazing things about Westchester

07:22County is that we don't have resident income taxes in the vast majority of our towns, whereas the city

07:30does have a resident income tax. We do not have that in Westchester in the towns that we primarily

07:35serve. So it's, you know, something that's really important to a lot of the city buyers that we're

07:43seeing. And, you know, the actual election hasn't even taken place yet. This is all pre-election

07:48activity. Since August 1st, there's been an increase in deals going to contract by 15% versus

07:56the same period last year in Westchester County. And we would expect that to even be more pronounced,

08:03assuming that the election goes the way it looks like it's going to go in terms of who's been

08:08predicted to win the election. So it's very, very interesting for us. And it's a little bit

08:14reminiscent of the COVID era for us, where you had a tremendous number of people, you know,

08:21looking to move out from the city to the suburbs for additional space, a backyard, you know, that

08:28were cooped up in their apartments. So it's going to be really interesting to see how it plays out this

08:32fall, obviously. And we have early November on our calendars ready to see what the election results

08:38will be. What kind of inventory do you have out in Westchester County to absorb, you know, that new

08:45growth, the new influx of people coming in? That is a extreme challenge for us. It's fascinating.

08:52You know, Heather and I, we talk to great brokers and great teams around the country. And we've heard

08:58from colleagues in other parts of the country that, you know, there's substantial inventory,

09:02that inventory is growing. In the suburbs of New York City, it's a somewhat unique situation.

09:08in that you have, you know, zoning restrictions. So it's very difficult to build. I mean, you know,

09:13a builder can buy one house, tear it down and put up a new home, but they can't buy a house,

09:19tear it down and put up five houses or anything like that. And there's all sorts of setback

09:24requirements and so forth. So right now, inventory in the suburbs of New York City and Westchester

09:28County is a fraction of what it was pre-COVID. So you have that factor. You had so much that sold

09:37through during the COVID era. And then you also have the millennial generation, the largest

09:42generation in U.S. history that are looking for homes and, you know, kind of ready to make that

09:48move to the suburbs. So there's a lot of, you know, strength on the demand side of the equations too.

09:54So, of course, with low supply and high demand, what's happened in the Westchester market is we've

10:00seen price appreciation over the last five years since the COVID era to levels that many people

10:08never predicted. By way of example, there's a development in Westchester right now that is

10:15getting over $1,000 a square foot on their sales. That wasn't, you know, you wouldn't have seen that

10:22five or 10 years ago. So we think it's going to continue because we really don't see a way that,

10:29you know, inventory is going to increase substantially. And we just have this, you know,

10:35high demand on the buyer's side. So it's an interesting time. It's important to work with

10:40an agent or a team that has a lot of experience that can win these bidding wars because we're seeing

10:45a tremendous number of bidding wars on these properties because of the supply demand imbalance.

10:52And one of the great things about Compass is that we also have a lot of private exclusive

10:56listings that are just proprietary to Compass. So the buyers do have access to additional inventory

11:02that they might not see typically on the regular MLS or Zillow. So that's also one of the benefits

11:08to working with our team at Compass, which is beneficial to our buyers, especially in a very

11:14low inventory market. It's been a challenge for us for sure, the inventory, because a lot of our sellers

11:20and our empty nesters, you know, they would like to go somewhere. But like Zach said, there's not a lot of

11:25good options. There are some and we could talk about that. But, you know, they're happy in their

11:30homes. And then I think COVID changed the way that a lot of people looked at their home. They liked

11:35having a bigger space to live in, knowing that their adult children were going to come home and

11:39their grandchildren and so forth. So it's been, you know, a little bit atypical in terms of like the

11:44turnover. You know, Zach and I are going to be empty nesters soon. And we're not going anywhere.

11:50We're going to stay right here in our house. And, you know, we look forward to having our college

11:54age kids come back home and having a place for them. So that that has been a been a big challenge,

11:59I think. So it's going to and I think with the rates potentially, you know, dipping downwards,

12:04I think that's also going to fuel the market even more so and be even more competitive than it's been

12:10over the past five years. I think also, unlike some other what we would maybe call COVID boomtowns,

12:16right, is the the reason a lot of people want to move to Westchester County, you know, New York City

12:23market is more expensive than ever. It hasn't seen that downturn. So there's no like, you know, if you

12:28move to, you know, Boise, or if you move to Austin, and like, you could then just move back now. But now

12:34it's like, where are you going to people don't move back into New York City if they've left for the suburbs,

12:38generally speaking? Right? Yes, that's an excellent point. And funny enough, a major

12:44news outlet reached out to us shortly after, like, maybe about a year after COVID and said,

12:51we're thinking of doing a story on all the people, all the COVID move outs from the city,

12:56who have now moved back into the city. And we know that you're the top performing team in the

13:00suburban market and Westchester. Can you just give us like some examples of clients that have moved back,

13:06you know, and at that point in time, I mean, literally, we had one, you know, we do hundreds

13:12of deals, we could only think of really one. And since then, like literally on one hand, you know,

13:19it's been so few that have actually moved back to the city. I think people are very happy with the,

13:25you know, the no income tax in Westchester for residents and the quality of life and the community

13:32amenities. And, and it's all, you know, just a very short commute to New York City, you can

13:36jump on a train Metro North and be in Grand Central in 3035 minutes, which is very attractive

13:44to people. So yeah, so it's really a special place. Amazing. Well, let's talk about those empty

13:51nesters. So I am one. And I know that you guys. Thank you. I also I now have grandkids. So that's

13:58even more fun. But I know that you guys run interactive downsizing tours for empty nesters.

14:05So I'd love for you to tell me a little bit about that. And then what you've learned by,

14:09you know, working with that demographic, which you guys are, you know, maybe close to, but not there

14:13yet. So exactly one of the one of the reasons why we started our upside to downsizing tour is because

14:18of the inventory problem, right? We wanted to help the empty nesters figure out where should they go

14:23after living in their bigger homes for a while? And what's the next step for them? We do the same

14:28kind of tour. We were doing the same kind of tours for our city buyers, our city to suburbs buyers.

14:32We used to call them suburban savaries. We would, you know, help pick them up in the city and bring

14:36them on buses and show them all the beautiful communities throughout Westchester and highlight

14:40our listings as part of the tour and give them like the inside scoop on all the different areas.

14:44So we one day we said, well, what about doing that for our empty nesters? We wanted to try to create

14:48inventory for our buyers and help these empty nesters figure out where to go. So the the idea was that,

14:55you know, you know, you don't have to necessarily doubt you can downsize your your your taxes and,

15:00you know, lower maintenance costs and so forth, but you don't have to downsize your life. That's why

15:04we meant we called it the upside to downsizing because we didn't want it to seem like they had

15:08to give up all of their, you know, things. So what we do is we we take these empty nesters on tours of

15:15the different local lower tax communities in Westchester in townhomes, condos, co-ops, all some of the new

15:22developments that are being built so they can get an idea of what it's like to live in one of these

15:27communities that have all these great amenities. Like a lot of them have pools and tennis courts and

15:31pickleball, a gym, a clubhouse. They also have a lot of the maintenance. They have homeowners

15:35associations that will then take care of the landscaping and the snow removal. So if they're snowbirds, you

15:41know, they love that idea. If they're spending half their time in Florida, let's say, and half their time in

15:44New York, these townhome communities are a great, great option for them. So that's kind of what we do is we

15:50show them all the different lower tax communities throughout Westchester, and we really give them a

15:54flavor of what it's what their life would look like, you know, from a financials perspective.

15:58We also try to help them through the emotional process of, you know, having to downsize and showing

16:04them, you know, what all the benefits are of going through this process. And the good news is now they're

16:10going to get a lot of money for their homes, right, that they wouldn't have necessarily, you know,

16:14previously. So that's always a positive thing where they could maybe potentially go buy two

16:19homes, maybe one in Florida, like I said, and one in Westchester. So we really try to give them

16:23kind of like the same opportunity that we do for our buyers. It was the same concept,

16:27you know, and trying to give them, you know, not just like waiting for something to come on the

16:31market and have it be listed and not having them really truly understand what these communities are

16:36all about. We want to try to educate our buyers. And even if they're not ready to buy tomorrow or a

16:41year from now, at least they know that we're providing a wonderful service. And we've had people take the

16:46tours several times. Yes. So they could just see, you know, and they and that's wonderful. We're

16:50happily to have them, you know, on the tour. And they get to keep learning about all these different

16:55communities. And then the idea is that once they're really ready to do something, they'll work with one

17:00of the agents on our team who can really kind of like, you know, hone down their, their preferences.

17:06I love that. And again, I hear a lot of relationship coming through, like, you're not like,

17:12oh, you know, you've already done this tour once you're like, come on, let's do it again.

17:15And and it's building that rapport with them. They know they can trust you to like show maybe

17:19they're maybe they're ready now, right when they weren't before. Totally. Yeah, we do it a couple

17:24times a year on a Friday, from like 11 to two, we tour them around, we give you a lunch. And then

17:29we have like a nice roundtable kind of discussion about the financial aspect about the emotional

17:33aspect of it. And we help give them, you know, all sorts of resources. Like, you know, we work with

17:38many different like, people that help with the downsizing process, helping them get rid of

17:43furniture, helping them declutter, you know, organize and just like mentally process and

17:47talk about the tax planning aspect of it. So we kind of like help them through the whole process.

17:52So I know that buyers today, you know, they want just more than like, maybe what we would consider

17:56that should traditional amenities like a pool or gym, you know, might be a pickleball court,

18:02it might be all sorts of things. What do you what are you seeing as far as like what people want,

18:05as far as the lifestyle and how that drives where they're going to buy?

18:10It's been really interesting, you know, since work from home has really taken hold since COVID.

18:17You know, it's no longer people just having their home to sleep and maybe have breakfast or dinner.

18:21Now people are spending their whole days there, you know, exercising at home, playing golf at home,

18:28golf simulators have become very popular, entertaining, dining. We've seen a lot of really

18:35fascinating things in the market. Basketball courts, indoor basketball courts have become very popular,

18:41which is really exciting for me as a basketball fan. Putting greens, we've seen indoor pools,

18:50that's been a new development, which is really interesting. So yeah, it really runs the gamut,

18:56but it's fascinating. We've seen a number of people build substantial home offices that their

19:02colleagues can come and work with them so that they don't have to commute into the city every day or

19:07wherever their main office is.

19:09We showed a house yesterday that had a hair salon built in with a hair sink, you know,

19:13so you don't even have to leave your house to get her to the beauty parlor.

19:16You can just do it right in your own home and have someone come to your house.

19:19That's crazy. I love that idea, actually.

19:21But people love the gimmicks. It's from a marketing standpoint, I love it too,

19:25because it helps us really, you know, attract, you know, it's fun to write about when there's

19:29like some fun things to talk about a house. But movie theaters, too. We see commercial quality.

19:34Oh, dog baths are very popular. Everyone has a dog here in Westchester. So dog baths are very

19:40popular or dog runs. Yeah. Yeah. It makes total sense to me.

19:46A lot of creativity. We love to see it. It makes our jobs that much more fun to see.

19:53And again, you know, you're talking about how it's not just a house, right? It's a lifestyle.

19:57It's a lifestyle. It's a life that people are building in the house.

20:01Absolutely.

20:03Let's talk a little bit about your team, right? I mean, here you are, you know,

20:06you have the number one team. Let's talk about what are some lessons learned from building and

20:11scaling your team?

20:13Great question. I think it's very important to have a vision, you know, of where you want to go,

20:19like a clear vision. So from day one, my vision for our team has always been, you know,

20:23we want to make real estate an enjoyable, rewarding, a first rate experience. And the

20:29goal was always to be the number one team in the Westchester market. And when we started out,

20:34you know, a lot of people thought that would be impossible. But that was always a goal of mine.

20:41Even our parents thought we were crazy.

20:42Yes. Yes. We both quit our day jobs.

20:45He was a lawyer. I worked in PR and marketing. And

20:47we literally quit our jobs to start our company. So that was always our goal. And, you know, I think

20:55one of the most important things for like people that are watching this or considering entrepreneurship,

20:59you know, it doesn't happen overnight. You know, I think sometimes like, you know,

21:04young agents will see like million dollar listing and they'll see, you know, one showing and then an

21:09agent gets a big commission. And in the real world, it doesn't really work like that. I mean,

21:14there were, you know, many challenging times that we've had. I mean, we've been in the business for

21:18about 20 years. And I think just, you know, being persistent, you know, working very hard at a high

21:26level over a long period of time. I think that's absolutely critical. And in people, you know, I mean,

21:34at the end of the day, a great team is really about great people. You know, it's transactions are

21:40important, getting deals done are important, but you can't do that without great people. And great

21:44people that, you know, buy into your vision and, you know, contribute to like a really positive

21:51culture. Like we want a culture where our entire team feels that they can thrive and succeed and

21:58feel welcomed. And, you know, one of the things I love about our team is we have an amazing

22:03team text chain where everything and anything you could possibly imagine, real estate or unreal

22:11estate related. People are asking for advice, recommendations and so forth. And immediately,

22:17you know, so many of our people will be super responsive and just give great recommendations,

22:21great ideas, great support. If somebody is working on a difficult deal or has advice as to handle how to

22:28handle a situation that might have arisen on a deal. So really just kind of working collaboratively

22:33and all working together has been very, very important to us and really helpful to us and

22:39growing to the position that we're blessed to be in, in the marketplace.

22:44So, you know, when you think about those agents and the ones that really do a great job, the ones

22:49that fit in great, and let's think of five years from now, right? A lot could change, but a lot could

22:55stay the same. What do you think the one skill that they're going to need to have five years from now,

22:59if you were going to, if you were going to come down to, there's one thing that agents need to have?

23:03I think one of the most important critical thing in the real estate business and pretty much any

23:10business, but absolutely real estate is AI. I think it's getting stronger and stronger, more powerful

23:18every day. And I think the agents that are able to use it to serve their clients better and to grow

23:24their business are going to be ahead of the game and have a tremendous advantage. And I think agents

23:29that, you know, put their head in the sand and say, I don't want to deal with this. I want to do it

23:34the way I've always done it. I think they're going to be at a disadvantage. I mean, we are already using

23:39it in our day-to-day business and our team is using it in their day-to-day businesses at a very high

23:46level. And I think it's just going to be very important to be on top of that and look for ways that

23:50can enhance your business because it's not going away. And it's, I mean, just the amount of power

23:58and an increase there's been in, in how strong it is just in the last couple of years has been

24:05extraordinary. So five years from now, you can imagine what it's probably going to be like.

24:10So to me, that's like, you know, a critical thing that every agent has to be on top of.

24:18But I'm still a big believer, even five years from now that everyone should still pick up the phone.

24:23I'm still like, my grandmother was a real estate agent and she always taught me that you got to

24:28pick up the phone, you know, and really communicate. So I still think that communication is key. And

24:33that's a skill that, you know, is really, really important and being a good communicator and

24:37having a good personality and, you know, just being, being a team player, you know,

24:44is really, really important. I think like AI can't take that away from, you know, being human,

24:50you know, and, and having a personality and really, you know, connecting, like, as we've been talking

24:55about with the buyers and from a negotiation standpoint, you know, not everything can come

25:00across whatever chat GPT is going to tell us to do, you know, to write an email. I always put in an

25:06offer in writing. And then I always pick up the phone and give the, you know, give the color.

25:10I think that's never going to go away. That's a skill that everyone should continue to have.

25:14Well, when you're talking about the biggest transaction of most people's lives, right?

25:18There's, they, they want that human connection. We've seen that from the very beginning,

25:21you know, oh, this, this technology is going to, you know, what is it? Disrupt the agent,

25:26right? This technology, and we've seen over and over again, it doesn't matter how old the people are,

25:31how young or old they, they want technology in its place, but then they want the human connection too.

25:36Okay. Right. Yes. So who's, who's had the biggest influence on how you both lead and grow your

25:42business? So that, that's a great question. One book I would allude to, and it's not a very well

25:51known book, at least I don't think so, but it's a book that I read very early in my entrepreneurial

25:56journey when I first formed this company with Heather. And that's Start Small, Finish Big.

26:03It's by Frank DeLuca. He's the founder of the Subway Sandwiches franchise. And there's a quote

26:11in there that's always, you know, stuck with me that you really, as an entrepreneur, you really

26:17have to take an approach of ready, fire, aim, as opposed to ready, aim, and fire in that you have

26:28to have a bias towards action. You know, I think, you know, some entrepreneurs, they get bogged down

26:34in the planning or the dreaming stages, which are very important. But at the end of the day,

26:39you have to take steps forward to really make progress. And you can always adjust as you go.

26:46You know, you can always change the focus. You can always change the business. You can always make

26:52changes, but you have to be moving forward. So that's something that I think has been, was important

26:57to us in the early days when we were, you know, quitting our day jobs. And we had to really take

27:04action and do so many different things to build the business, grow the business. And, you know,

27:09it was not easy in those early days. It's not easy today either, by the way, but the challenges today

27:16are different than they were in the early days. And I think it's just, you know, it's so important to

27:21really just kind of take those actions, move forward, get the business moving, and then you can always

27:29adjust as you go to kind of lead to the ultimate destination that you're trying to reach.

27:35Along those lines, I would say my grandmother was my inspiration, right, for wanting to actually

27:40change the face of the industry. You know, I saw how that generation kind of just kind of took a

27:46little bit of a different approach to real estate, a more laid back approach. And I think that helps

27:51give us the fire and the fuel to kind of create the kind of company that we felt, you know, that this

27:57new generation, you know, needed. And so that was kind of, she actually like helped, you know, in a

28:02way I took some positive things from her, you know, being on a phone and communicating, but we also kind

28:08of took some of the other things and tried to like really change the face of the industry. We always

28:12joked in the beginning days, we're not my grandmother's real estate firm, you know, but that

28:16was part of my inspiration. But her grandmother was a real estate dynamo in Westchester County and

28:23an amazing woman. And it was really incredible that she would come to our open houses when she

28:31was in her 80s, you know, and would really enjoy them and would be asking us about deals that we

28:37were working on. And, oh, I knew that I knew the owners of that house, you know, 30 years ago.

28:44We still have all her address books with all her listings handwritten. And yeah, so we love that part

28:49about it. But she definitely gave us a great inspiration for starting our company. Absolutely.

28:55I love that. And we know so many people, whether it's real estate or mortgage,

29:00the family connection is strong. A lot of people know about the industry, know they want to get into

29:05it. Even if they have to, it takes them a while, right? They might go do something else. It's that

29:09family connection for both. For sure. And in our family, we also, my brother's also developer

29:14in Westchester. So, yeah, so that's also, you know, my dad's a contractor. So that also gave us

29:21like another impetus for wanting to do this and helping them sell their product as well.

29:26My last question is, what's one habit that sets you up for a strong day in real estate?

29:31I'll go first. I always like to exercise in the morning and have a healthy breakfast.

29:37In our business, it's very common for Heather and I to be running around from house to house,

29:43meeting to meeting, showing to showing throughout the day. A lot of times, like we don't, we're unable

29:47to grab lunch. Maybe we won't have dinner until very late at the night. So I find a great kickoff to

29:53the day is, you know, exercise, lifting some weights, doing some cardio, and then having a really

29:59great breakfast just so I'm set up well for the whole day.

30:02I'm a little different. I get right to it. I don't want to miss a beat. I, from the minute I

30:09wake up, I open my eyes. I'm already texting people back and responding to people. I, cause I'm

30:14usually out in the field all day and I can't be like, you know, texting and driving, responding

30:18all day. So I like to get a lot of my, you know, email work done first thing in the day so that I can,

30:22you know, feel like I can run around and be with clients and be present and in the moment at the

30:26listing presentations and whatever with clients. And so that I'm not like dealing with that kind of work.

30:31So I like to get all that way right when I wake up. So that's, that's how I start my day.

30:37I love that. Two different perspectives. Both work very well and probably work very well together.

30:42You do. Yes, absolutely. I love it. Well, Heather and Zach, thank you so much for

30:47being on the podcast today, sharing some of the insights of what's going on in your market and

30:52also how you guys are really growing your team and have seen such success. So thanks for being on.

30:58Thanks for having us, Sarah. Thank you. It's been great being with you.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended