Hi, I'm Rich McCarron
Owner of The Rich McCarron Team at eXp Realty
If you are thinking about making the move to eXp Realty, or maybe even joining our Team or another team, it's important to know who you are aligning with and taking "advice" from!
I started as an independent agent and built a team to leverage in order to create more time for myself and my family. It wasn't easy and it wasn't without mistakes. What I learned from great mentors, like Lars Hedenborg and his Team at REBS, was that it takes focus and energy to not only grow, but to sustain in these crazy times in our real estate world. I learned the value of leaning on others, and I am passionate about helping other agents grow and become truly successful in this industry.
Here's why...
Hi, I'm Rich McCarron
Owner of The Rich McCarron Team at eXp Realty
If you are thinking about making the move to eXp Realty, or maybe even joining our Team or another team, it's important to know who you are aligning with and taking "advice" from!
I started as an independent agent and built a team to leverage in order to create more time for myself and my family. It wasn't easy and it wasn't without mistakes. What I learned from great mentors, like Lars Hedenborg and his Team at REBS, was that it takes focus and energy to not only grow, but to sustain in these crazy times in our real estate world. I learned the value of leaning on others, and I am passionate about helping other agents grow and become truly successful in this industry.
Here's why...
Growing Up, I Saw My Father Struggling to "Break Free"...
For as long as I can remember, he yearned to relinquish himself of his rat race job and become a business owner. My father was always the hardest working person I knew. Being the sole economic provider for his family (my mother, me and my SIX siblings) he was always out the door at 5 AM, and he didn't get home from work until 6:30 PM. He tried his luck investing with a friend in a beauty salon and he bought some investment properties, but ultimately he was held captive by his JOB. He was a man with an unresolved entrepreneurial spirit and I knew that he always desired more time and freedom.
Real Estate Was NOT My First Career...
Fresh out of college, I became a Police Officer in Central New York. I proudly served our community for over 20 years! However, with my oldest child getting ready for college, I knew there had to be a better option for long term financial security. In 2011, I made the leap from Police Officer to REALTOR®!
First Year Lessons...
I'll never forget the day I sat down with my manager at my first brokerage. I was new to Real Estate and nervous about how I was going to keep providing for my family with my pension and a yet to be determined income from Real Estate. I asked my manager: "As a new agent, how many homes can I realistically expect to sell in my first year?". His response rocked me to my bones! He told me that if I sold 10 homes my first year I should be happy. I'm no mathematician, but even I was able to figure out that my commissions (after a ridiculously low company split) would not be enough to support my family AND pay for my son's tuition.
Panic Then Response...
To say I was panicked and second guessing my decision to retire from the Police Department and become a REALTOR® would be an understatement. However, I buckled down and drove myself to Barnes and Noble and started looking at books on Real Estate. After hours in the store, I literally walked out with two books: "Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies" and "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent". I chose to read The MREA first and it was eye opening. The first week I had that book, I read it three times and took an insane amount of notes.
On the following Monday, I went back to the office with a renewed energy. I met with my manager again and I asked him how many homes the top agent in the office sells, and he told me that she (as a solo agent) sells about 75 homes a year. I also remember him telling me, "don't set your goals too high" and "you're setting yourself up for failure trying to do that volume" (insert management fail meme). Well... I was determined and I made myself a business plan to sell 75 homes in my first year.
First Year Review...
As 2013 began, I looked back on my 2012 performance and I was so excited that I had sold 76 homes! (Though my enthusiasm was a little tempered when I learned the "top agent" had sold 82 homes that year - oh well!) Either way, I was very pleased, and I learned that through business planning and goal setting it is MUCH easier to achieve goals. This 1st year taught me to think bigger and for the next 2 years, I was the top selling agent in my office, selling 91 homes, then 102 homes respectively!
Time VS Money...
From the outside, things probably looked great in my world. I was a "high producing agent", I was speaking at Real Estate events for our company and training throughout our region, but things were not perfect. I got out of my first career to focus more on my family, to not work rotating shifts and holidays, and to never miss another school play, sporting event or family get together. Unfortunately, my "success" destroyed my good intentions. I found myself working 70-80 hours a week, missing family dinners, working every weekend, and I was never able to enjoy time with the people who mattered most: MY FAMILY! So, I did what I had read about many times in my "business bible" (The MREA) and I explored creating a team.
The formation of my team allowed me to use the talents of similarly minded people I was already in business with, and leverage my time back. I was no longer doing all the showings, answering all of the calls, or chasing down crappy internet leads all by myself. I was happy to get more of my time back while still making more money than I ever made as a police officer.
Brokerage Changes...
We all get into this industry with lofty goals of making tons of money while "creating our own schedule". Unfortunately, the business of real estate isn't set up to make this an easy achievement. I left my original brokerage shortly after creating my team when I examined my "split" and saw how much money the brokerage was collecting (stealing) from me. My last year at the brokerage, I paid them over $100,000 from my split and my "marketing percentage". I moved to the brokerage that was founded by the author of my favorite book, where they had a great split and a "cap" on what you pay your brokerage. It was a good move for me and the team, and we continued to grow in the new environment.
Finding OUR Home...
After spending over 5 years at my second brokerage, I began to look for a change again. I started hearing about the "new model" of commission splits, caps and more at eXp Realty. At this point, this move wasn't all about me - it was more about my agents. In addition to an 80/20 split (which caps at $16K), this newer brokerage was offering stock rewards and agent healthcare. I saw the struggles many agents had paying for decent healthcare and it was difficult to find an affordable plan. I am blessed that I keep my health benefits from my police days, but I wanted my agents to have access to good, affordable health care as well. Being a publicly traded company with stock rewards provides something that no one in real estate seems to be ready for: an exit plan. If I only work another 10 years at eXp, I will have $250,000 in stocks to draw from to supplement my pension.
Who You Align with Matters...
Let me talk about the big elephant in the room! It is no secret that eXp has a stigma of being strong (sometimes overbearing) recruiters. This is true to a degree, but it is more about passion than anything else. Agents, like myself, are passionate about where we are and about the opportunities eXp has created for us and we want to share that with other agents. The best decision I made when I came over was partnering with Lars Hedenborg and “Game Changers Nation” at eXp Realty. Lars has created systems for growth, lead generation, surviving a shifting market, leverage and anything else you can think of - and he shares it ALL with agents in his organization! Lars is teaching me how to better grow and leverage my business to maximize my finances and time. I continue to grow and get better every day for my two families: The one at home and the one at work.
Growing Up, I Saw My Father as an Employee Who Was Always Struggling to "Break Free"...
For as long as I can remember, he yearned to relinquish himself of his rat race job and become a business owner. My father was always the hardest working person I knew. Being the sole economic provider for his family (my mother, me and my SIX siblings) he was always out the door at 5 AM, and he didn't get home from work until 6:30 PM. He tried his luck investing with a friend in a beauty salon and he bought some investment properties, but ultimately he was held captive by his JOB. He was a man with an unresolved entrepreneurial spirit and I knew that he always desired more time and freedom.
Real Estate Was NOT My First Career...
Fresh out of college, I became a Police Officer in Central New York. I proudly served our community for over 20 years! However, with my oldest child getting ready for college, I knew there had to be a better option for long term financial security. In 2011, I made the leap from Police Officer to REALTOR®!
First Year Lessons...
I'll never forget the day I sat down with my manager at my first brokerage. I was new to Real Estate and nervous about how I was going to keep providing for my family with my pension and a yet to be determined income from Real Estate. I asked my manager: "As a new agent, how many homes can I realistically expect to sell in my first year?". His response rocked me to my bones! He told me that if I sold 10 homes my first year I should be happy. I'm no mathematician, but even I was able to figure out that my commissions (after a ridiculously low company split) would not be enough to support my family AND pay for my son's tuition.
Panic Then Response...
To say I was panicked and second guessing my decision to retire from the Police Department and become a REALTOR® would be an understatement. However, I buckled down and drove myself to Barnes and Noble and started looking at books on Real Estate. After hours in the store, I literally walked out with two books: "Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies" and "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent". I chose to read The MREA first and it was eye opening. The first week I had that book, I read it three times and took an insane amount of notes.
On the following Monday, I went back to the office with a renewed energy. I met with my manager again and I asked him how many homes the top agent in the office sells, and he told me that she (as a solo agent) sells about 75 homes a year. I also remember him telling me, "don't set your goals too high" and "you're setting yourself up for failure trying to do that volume" (insert management fail meme). Well... I was determined and I made myself a business plan to sell 75 homes in my first year.
First Year Review...
As 2013 began, I looked back on my 2012 performance and I was so excited that I had sold 76 homes! (Though my enthusiasm was a little tempered when I learned the "top agent" had sold 82 homes that year - oh well!) Either way, I was very pleased, and I learned that through business planning and goal setting it is MUCH easier to achieve goals. This 1st year taught me to think bigger and for the next 2 years, I was the top selling agent in my office, selling 91 homes, then 102 homes respectively!
Time VS Money...
From the outside, things probably looked great in my world. I was a "high producing agent", I was speaking at Real Estate events for our company and training throughout our region, but things were not perfect. I got out of my first career to focus more on my family, to not work rotating shifts and holidays, and to never miss another school play, sporting event or family get together. Unfortunately, my "success" destroyed my good intentions. I found myself working 70-80 hours a week, missing family dinners, working every weekend, and I was never able to enjoy time with the people who mattered most: MY FAMILY! So, I did what I had read about many times in my "business bible" (The MREA) and I explored creating a team.
The formation of my team allowed me to use the talents of similarly minded people I was already in business with, and leverage my time back. I was no longer doing all the showings, answering all of the calls, or chasing down crappy internet leads all by myself. I was happy to get more of my time back while still making more money than I ever made as a police officer.
Brokerage Changes...
We all get into this industry with lofty goals of making tons of money while "creating our own schedule". Unfortunately, the business of real estate isn't set up to make this an easy achievement. I left my original brokerage shortly after creating my team when I examined my "split" and saw how much money the brokerage was collecting (stealing) from me. My last year at the brokerage, I paid them over $100,000 from my split and my "marketing percentage". I moved to the brokerage that was founded by the author of my favorite book, where they had a great split and a "cap" on what you pay your brokerage. It was a good move for me and the team, and we continued to grow in the new environment.
Finding OUR Home...
After spending over 5 years at my second brokerage, I began to look for a change again. I started hearing about the "new model" of commission splits, caps and more at eXp Realty. At this point, this move wasn't all about me - it was more about my agents. In addition to an 80/20 split (which caps at $16K), this newer brokerage was offering stock rewards and agent healthcare. I saw the struggles many agents had paying for decent healthcare and it was difficult to find an affordable plan. I am blessed that I keep my health benefits from my police days, but I wanted my agents to have access to good, affordable health care as well. Being a publicly traded company with stock rewards provides something that no one in real estate seems to be ready for: an exit plan. If I only work another 10 years at eXp, I will have $250,000 in stocks to draw from to supplement my pension.
Who You Align with Matters...
Let me talk about the big elephant in the room! It is no secret that eXp has a stigma of being strong (sometimes overbearing) recruiters. This is true to a degree, but it is more about passion than anything else. Agents, like myself, are passionate about where we are and about the opportunities eXp has created for us and we want to share that with other agents. The best decision I made when I came over was partnering with Lars Hedenborg and “Game Changers Nation” at eXp Realty. Lars has created systems for growth, lead generation, surviving a shifting market, leverage and anything else you can think of - and he shares it ALL with agents in his organization! Lars is teaching me how to better grow and leverage my business to maximize my finances and time. I continue to grow and get better every day for my two families: The one at home and the one at work.
Is a Team Right for You?
Watch this short video:
Have you let your family down because of real estate? Are you stressed all the time because of constant deal drama? Are you letting work get in the way of taking care of yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually?
I would often wonder on any given day:
- When will the time I put into real estate pay off financially?
- How can I stop working so many hours, especially nights and weekends?
- How can I find and bring on quality people so I don’t have to do all the work myself?
- How can I stop working IN my business and start working ON my business?
Have You Ever Asked Yourself Questions Like These?
I ask, because there’s quite a bit of misleading information out there in terms of growing your real estate sales business. Most traditional real estate coaching programs teach you how to sell more homes no matter what the consequences are in your personal life. And you end up working more hours to serve the increased demands of your business.
It’s a formula that doesn’t work if you want to have a life outside of real estate.
We were able to build profitable, systems driven businesses that allowed us to step up in the areas of life that mattered most - and now you can too!
Take Control of Your Business & Life By Implementing Our Tools, Systems & Training!