Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrea Wardell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Andrea, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Wardell & Holmes was started in 2018, with the help of my colleague and associate Broker Katie Christianson by my side. I had owned a brokerage and sold it in 2016, meanwhile getting my brokers’ license and relocating to Colorado, while working remotely and traveling to KC weekly to manage clients, we were representing a client at that time who was doing anywhere from 50-80 transaction closings a month, it was a big decision and one that I was glad I made to follow the business and create a place and company to house not only this client, but the clients we have today. Starting up any business has its unique challenges, learning lessons, and a LOT of hard work. My biggest concern was putting all my eggs in one basket, what if this client stops buying. my book of business was far more diverse, but at this time it was the biggest machine/focus, We started Wardell & Holmes with two people, and ending up growing, working 80+ hours a week, delegating, taking on salespeople and contractors and we continued to grow, There was a time where the largest investor client we were representing the day of our 1 year anniversary party, we had to cancel 87 contracts because of natural disaster and when I got that call it was not an easy one, we pivoted every challenge of the way, and the clients we have now are spread throughout all agents, locations, and buyer and seller type, the all your eggs in one basket was a starting point for the development of the next stages of Wardell & Holmes, I am ever thankful for that opportunity, and the ongoing opportunities, we have with our clients. Getting into Real Estate in 2008, has served as a unique mindset of pivoting, following distressed asset classes, guidance, and the opportunity to mentor the amazing team we have today.
I followed my gut with the guidance of those around me, and the support of those around me, and I am thankful every day for who we are and for taking that leap.

Andrea, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Wardell & Holmes Real Estate is a boutique full service Brokerage catering to Investors. We do Residential Brokerage services for Buyer’s and Seller’s
We do Commercial Brokerage services for Buyer’s and Seller’s
We provide education on the market and analysis for all facets of Real Estate
We do Investment focused Sales
We do Land Sales
We do Development Sales
We do Renovation management
We do consulting, project management, and have grown 25% annually since its inception in 2018.
I am also an investor with a mix of properties in my own portfolio ranging from Air BNB, Commercial, Multifamily, Long Term SFR, Office, and land.
Philanthropically we are involved with many organizations including High Aspirations, American Heart Association, Scale Up KC, and many other affiliations both philanthropic, and Real Estate related investor groups.
We have remained recognized in the top 50 of all Real Estate Brokerages in terms of volume in sales since our inception in 2018, and have been recognized by countless organizations including BBB, Zillow, Top Agent, Five Star Real Estate Professionals, Multiple Publications, Including Ingrams, Forbes, Fortune, and I am so proud of my team and the hard work that we put in to the KC Real Estate Market. We work on both sides of the state line, and also have affiliated Brokers who hold licenses in states across the US.

Have you ever had to pivot?

This time in the Real Estate market is a prime example of how to pivot with the changes, down markets,. media, economic factors, interest rates, fear mongering is nothing new to any businesses. I find education, and creative thinking to be the strength of any industry, watching the market, exploring methods for success, rethinking the old ways to work with today’s, and “when you say no, I say lets go!” Getting stuck in a mentality without pivoting your business to gear up and adapt will only do just that get you stuck.
When you can be forward thinking enough to change and create opportunities for your business and education and options for your clients, its sets you apart to adapt.
Easier said than done, but although it can be a little challenging, the challenging your business, and mindset is the role and reward to pivot.
Solutions are always present, albeit not always preferred, but if you cannot evolve then no problems will be solved.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

I had a property management company, I ran this company like I do my Brokerage, the property owners that I inherited with this company had been passed around from company to company, and unfortunately not only were poorly managed with their advice, property condition, and management, I found it to be astonishing the lack of competency. I managed 150 doors with three people, we did not upcharge maintenance, we operated with direct communication, and the triage it took to get these properties to a place of cash flow and condition, was a beast. Leasing, Accounting, Project Management of renovations sometimes 5-10 at a time including a 30+ unit apartment complex was some of the hardest work I have ever put in. While simultaneously running the Real Estate Brokerage, was 18+ hour days, and one of the most trying and laborious things I have ever done. When I felt the owners and residents, and properties were to a place that I could turn them over, I made the decision to sell.
Many of the property owners later decided to sell their properties, and I heard time and time again that the experience was just not the same as it was with my team.
Doing what was right took a toll on my mentality and did affect my other businesses, but it was the right thing to do.

During the ownership of the management company profit was never there, and the big picture, almost Robinhood mentality was far more important given the mismanagement for so many of these owners, and my unwillingness to leave them without someone championing and helping on their behalf. The objective of starting this company was a decision to offer what I saw lacking in the marketplace for Investors, and was asked by a Partner who owned a construction/maintenance company to start this endeavor. He backed out of this company three months into it, leaving it up to me. Property management is a very challenging business, no one is ever calling to say “Hey I love my toilet” treating people with communication, care, and respect was paramount for the success, delivering space heaters in the dead of winter, physically doing renovations, and maintenance became a part of my daily routine, and without my three colleagues all of which I may add were women, I couldn’t have done it.
Hard work is nothing new, this was a whole other animal, I learned what I am capable of, and I learned when you have to know when to hold them, know when to fold them. I am thankful for this time in my career, my team on the Brokerage side, is thankful that I sold this company, burning the candle at both ends, real estate by day and night, property management by day, and night, leaves little time for personal or downtime, but we did it, and that in itself is a chapter I will never forget.

Contact Info:

• Website: wardellholmes.com
• Instagram: @wardellholmesre
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WardellHolmesRE
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wardellholmesre/
• Twitter: @wardellholmesre

Image Credits
Andrea Wardell