We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yarbrough Realty Associates a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Yarbrough Realty Associates, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
We never planned on working together on a mother-daughter real estate team. In fact, neither of us anticipated going into real estate at all! But, as we reflect now on the paths that led us to working together at Yarbrough Realty Associates, it feels like it was always meant to be…
As a stay-at-home parent who homeschooled all three of her daughters, Jackie honed her skills of exceptional patience, attention to detail, and a keen ability to support unique paths for each of them. And through this process, she found a genuine joy for education. Later, her career as a part-time doula allowed her to find an intersection between education and advocacy, as she developed the ability to problem-solve in stressful situations, communicate well with clients/fellow birth workers, and support families through deeply transformative phases of life.
These experiences set up Jackie perfectly for her next career, though she didn’t know it yet. An online career quiz suggested that real estate may be a good fit, and so she took the necessary coursework at Santa Rosa Junior College and passed her licensing exam on the first try. In her first year, she surprised herself by closing nearly 4 million in transactions, winning multiple awards from her brokerage.
As Jackie continued to grow in her real estate career over the next few years, Mia was nearing the end of her high school years (while taking concurrent classes at SRJC) and wondering what path to take next. Overwhelmed by the possibility of taking on college debt, she decided to continue at SRJC, and pursue real estate “just as a side gig”. The COVID-19 pandemic started soon after making this decision, but she continued taking classes online for two years, completing her real estate coursework and earning three Associates Degrees.
After Mia passed her licensing exam in 2022, she began interviewing brokerages. Jackie, looking for more support and growth opportunities, also began the same process. After we both decided to join eXp Realty, Jackie learned that she qualified to start her own team, based on her transaction volume. And so, Yarbrough Realty Associates was born!
Mia quickly realized that real estate is a full-time job – but luckily for her, she also realized that she had landed in the perfect career. Her experience with customer service and social media marketing had prepared her for some of the essential skills that come with being a real estate business professional. Combined with Jackie’s experience in the industry, the two of us soon realized that we had the potential to serve their clients better than any individual agent could.
We set up online profiles, business pages, and a website, developed client resources and documents to support buyers and sellers through their journey, and continued to hone our knowledge of the local market and escrow process. While the last two years have been a difficult market for both buyers and sellers, we have still have managed to increase our transaction volume each year, and also welcomed two new agents onto the team. And, more importantly, we continue to find the joy in our careers, and in working together. Advocating for our clients’ needs, explaining each step of the process, and providing consistent and clear communication are what we are most proud of.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
We are Yarbrough Realty Associates, a mother-daughter real estate team based in Sonoma County, CA. Jackie has been in the real estate industry for nearly a decade, and Mia joined her in 2022. Since then, we have worked together across the county (as well as our neighboring counties: Marin, Napa, Mendocino, and Lake) to serve buyers and sellers. Our approach as a multi-generational team is unique; with twice the support, availability, marketing, and industry knowledge, we are well equipped to serve a wide variety of clients.
As residents of Sonoma County for nearly 20 years (living in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Cloverdale) we know, love, and cherish this region for so many reasons; particularly the local communities and small businesses, incredible food and drinks, and the awe-inducing nature that surrounds us. It is our joy to help clients move in, out, and all around this area, and help them identify what towns and neighborhoods will suit them best. Living in such a beautiful area is a privilege that we do not take for granted, and seeing others find their home and community here is one of the most special parts of our job!
Our approach to real estate is based upon our principles of integrity and compassion. We understand the hurdles and complexities that come with a purchase or sale of a home; not just the financial elements, but the emotional ones too. We have worked with first-time homebuyers looking for a new place to plant their roots, single parents who are establishing a stable life for their kids, retirees who are seeking their forever home, relocation clients who are moving to be closer to jobs/families, veterans that need guidance on the specific resources available to them, LGBT+ couples who are searching for welcoming/safe community, and more. Real estate is about so much more than just a transaction: it’s an opportunity to build stability, community, and generational wealth for years to come.
Our goal with each of our clients is to get to know you on a personal level. We want to know what your motivations, priorities, and worries are, and then support you throughout each step of the process. Our systems have been built to serve our clients as efficiently as possible, while also striving to provide individualized service to each person that we work with. Everyone’s journey is unique, and we want to honor that!
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Our best source of clients has always been through personal referrals. We have been incredibly honored to have so many of our local friends and family reach out to us for real estate support and guidance. Many have also connected us to their loved ones, so we can assist them with their real estate goals! We recognize how intimidating it can be to start the process of buying or selling a home, and are always touched when someone entrusts us with being their guide through that process.
Another large portion of our business has come from relocation referrals. We have built relationships with realtors across the U.S., who operate with the same principles that we do. If anyone in our network is looking to buy or sell in another area, we’re always happy to help connect them to a local realtor that they can trust, rather than finding a random agent on Zillow or Google!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building our following on social media has been all about consistency with what we post; our goal is for our content to be approachable and informative to our following. We know that many people start their research online before they reach out to an agent, whether they are buying or selling. Being an easily understandable resource for the people that are just beginning to learn about the market and process is our goal. Based on that goal, we have tried to answer common questions that we receive, share stories of our clients’ successes, and provide updates on what is happening in our local market. Since we work with several different age groups, we aim to get our content out on multiple platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
As a multi-generational team, we also try to highlight the pluses that come with working with both of us. We can offer both old-school and new-school approaches, combining years of knowledge about the industry with a modern understanding of technology, marketing, and systems. Working with us does not cost twice the price, but provides our clients with twice the service, at a much higher level than most realtors can offer. So that is a key focus of our social media content too!
Our advice to anyone who is just starting to build their following is: don’t wait for perfection to start, and make sure to be yourself. Our posts that perform the best online are often not the ones that take hours to create, but the ones in which we are simple and authentically ourselves. Our goal is to always present ourselves as people first, business second. People want to work with who they are comfortable with, so put yourself out there!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yarbroughrealtyassociates.com/
- Instagram: @yarbroughrealtyassociates
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063672752057
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yarbroughrealtyassociates
- Other: Find us on @yarbroughrealtyassociates on most platforms, or reach us via our contact info below:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 707-490-6880Jackie Yarbrough | DRE #02027835
Mia Yarbrough | DRE #02126602
