A STEP BY STEP ROADMAP TO SCALE YOUR BUSINESS WITHOUT GIVING YOUR LIFE AWAY IN THE PROCESS
This is where most real estate agents live—they are barely getting by, hardly making enough money to make ends meet and usually end up leaving the industry or going part time in real estate as a second income. An agent making less than $100k of Gross Commission Income (GCI) must hustle to gain enough momentum to break through into the Ramp Phase of The Real Estate Business Freedom Code.
The Business Freedom IndexTM (BFI = Annual Income Divided by Total Hours Worked) range in The Start Phase is $0 to $25 per hour and most agents aren’t working full time hours if they’re being honest with themselves. As you begin to hit the $100k mark, there is definitely a feeling of excitement about what’s to come yet you are still stressing where the next deal is coming from.
In order to move through this phase, you must establish and maintain keystone personal and business habits and continually improve your sales skills. Shear grit and a determination to grow are what get you out of survival mode and into The Ramp Phase.
Annual GCI Range | $0 to $100K |
Business Freedom Index (BFI) | $0 to $25 |
Time Investment | 30-40 Hours |
How Does it Feel? | Excited and naive, 80% dropout rate, traditional methods are failing |
Strategic Question | Where is my next deal coming from? |
How to Get to the Next Level? | Keystone habits, Skills building and determination to grow |
Team Structure | Solo |
As you continue to do the right things and focus on sales related activities, you will enter The Ramp Phase. An agent making between $100k to $500k Annual GCI will be super busy, working most of the time and wondering if there is more to life than real estate.
The Business Freedom IndexTM range in The Ramp Phase is $25 to $50 per hour and you will need to seriously consider administrative support in this phase. As you begin to approach $500k GCI, you must also look to get leverage on the buy side of your business. As you continue to grow into The Build Phase, you must be thinking through systems as they relate to leveraged lead generation & conversion.
Many agents fail to move beyond The Ramp Phase as they are not willing to delegate tasks because they believe those tasks can only be done by themselves. This traditional thinking will force you to stay in the grind of traditionally successful real estate agents and you will continue to work 7 days a week and most evenings. Mindset is critical as you must believe leveraged growth is possible.
Annual GCI Range | $100K to $500K |
Business Freedom Index (BFI) | $25 to $50 |
Time Investment | 40-50 Hours |
How Does it Feel? | Hopeful and REALLY busy, wondering if there’s more to life than real estate |
Strategic Question | Where do I need leverage the most? |
How to Get to the Next Level? | Delegate Admin tasks; Leveraged lead generation; Selling is priority |
Team Structure | 1 FT Admin + 1 Agent |
Building the Foundation
When you push through and make it to The Build Phase, you will likely be working more hours than ever. You are learning new skills as a sales leader to your agents yet you are still heavy in personal production. A team leader in the $500k to $1M of Gross Commission Income (GCI) range must have a clear roadmap if they are to gracefully move on to The Lead Phase of The Real Estate Business Freedom Code.
The Business Freedom IndexTM range in The Build Phase is $50 to $100 per hour and although it is decent pay, there are still far too many things that the team leader is doing that need to be delegated. You have definitely hit a breaking point in terms of the hours you are investing and the stress you are experiencing.
In order to move through this phase, you must focus on building foundational systems (especially in client care) that will provide massive leverage as you scale. You must get leverage on the buyer side of your personal production through the use of showing agents. You will need to become a great sales coach in order to make the transition into The Lead Phase.
Annual GCI Range | $500K to $1M |
Business Freedom Index (BFI) | $50 to $100 |
Time Investment | 50-60 Hours |
How Does it Feel? | Hit ceiling with time & stress, need a clear roadmap |
Strategic Question | What systems do I need to build or firm up? |
How to Get to the Next Level? | Leverage on buyer side; systems for improved delivery; Sales Leadership |
Team Structure | 1 Admin + 2-4 Agents |
In The Lead Phase, your time is taken up more and more by serving your team members and driving them to succeed. In the $1m to $1.5m range for GCI, you can start to see the business taking on a life of its own. You are definitely feeling uncomfortable learning new leadership and management skills as well as holding team members accountable.
The Business Freedom IndexTM range in The Lead Phase is $100 to $250 per hour which gives you some real breathing room in terms of being able to cut your hours back a bit. As you begin to approach the $1.5m mark, you must start delegating outcomes and roles rather than tasks as you’ve been doing.
In order to move through this phase, you must help your team members get ahead which is a bit of a different approach than before. As you transition into The Exit Phase, the culture and cadence of your team is critical during this phase as is running the right Economic model. Your team consists of a couple admin and a handful of productive sales people.
Annual GCI Range | $1M to $1.5M |
Business Freedom Index (BFI) | $100 to $250 |
Time Investment | 40-50 Hours |
How Does it Feel? | Uncomfortable learning new skills and letting go |
Strategic Question | How do I help my team members get ahead? |
How to Get to the Next Level? | Establishing a Culture and Cadence is critical, running the right Econ Model |
Team Structure | 2 Admin + 4-6 Agents |
Success Through Others
In The Exit Phase, assuming you put the right Economic model in place, you have the choice to exit personal production. In the $1.5m to $2m range for GCI, you will have the profit margin necessary to make the complete shift to leading and managing others rather than selling homes.
The Business Freedom IndexTM range in The Exit Phase increases dramatically and is in the range of $250 to $500 per hour. At this point you can cut back your hours even more in this phase. As you begin to approach the $2m mark, you must let go even more to parts of the business that you thought only you could do and while it can be scary, the opportunity you are giving others is a true blessing to them.
To keep your momentum going in this phase, you must grow transformational leaders in the areas of sales and operations. They will focus on optimizing lead generation, sales and client care systems. The team is still quite manageable at this point with 2 key leaders in place, 3 admin and 6-8 agents. Taking the final step into The Own Phase is mostly a mindset shift.
Annual GCI Range | $1.5M to $2M |
Business Freedom Index (BFI) | $250 to $500 |
Time Investment | 30-40 Hours |
How Does it Feel? | Success through others can be scary, more letting go and trusting |
Strategic Question | How do I grow transformational leaders? |
How to Get to the Next Level? | Systems for client care, lead gen and sales; Elevating Ops and Sales leaders |
Team Structure | Ops Manager + 3 Admin + 6-8 Agents |
Taking The Passenger Seat
In The Own Phase, you have completely delegated the day to day sales and operations of the business. You have 2 strong leaders in place and you have broken through $2m GCI and can grow to $3m and beyond with this simple organization structure. You will surely feel uncomfortable only working 2-3 days a week so you have to trust the people and systems you have put in place.
The Business Freedom IndexTM range in The Lead Phase is $500 to $1,000+ per hour as you empower others and take the “passenger seat” in your business. You start to ask yourself about the impact you want to make in the world as the cadence and culture of the business do all of the heavy lifting for you. In The Own Phase, managing your business by the numbers is critically important.
Your business may become pretty “boring” to you at this phase of growth. There won’t be many shiny objects to distract you or any squirrels to chase as you will have the discipline of an entrepreneurial business owner who is looking to own a profitable and sustainable business. You will find that less of your identity is wrapped up in the business at this point. Time to find a hobby (or two)!
Annual GCI Range | $2M to $3M+ |
Business Freedom Index (BFI) | $500 to $1,000+ |
Time Investment | 20-30 Hours |
How Does it Feel? | Comfort with agent to manager shift, more discomfort to become owner |
Strategic Question | Where can I have the greatest impact? |
How to Get to the Next Level? | Culture & Cadence doing the heavy lifting; Know Your Numbers |
Team Structure | 2 Leaders + 4 Admin + 8-10 Agents |
USING B-SCHOOL TOOLS, SYSTEMS & TRAINING ALLOWS FOR PROFITABLE & SUSTAINABLE GROWTH