We were lucky to catch up with Dan Winters recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Having a powerful vision of what your future is going to look like & being willing to sacrifice time with friends/family, sacrifice weekends, holidays & vacations and knowing that if you live like nobody wants to right now, you will live a life that most people only dream of.

Timothy Ferris says it best: “Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask”. Being able to think 5, 10, 15 or more years into the future and creating a compelling vision will guide each step you take in your business.

I moved to the Twin Cities in 2011 and started my business in 2013. I didn’t have a large network of friends/family to pull from in order to have a “successful” business- I had to hustle and part of that hustle was creating a vision of what my life was going to look like in 10 years…and it looks even better than I could have even imagined.

Dan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The catalyst to get into real estate came when my mom passed away unexpectedly at the age of 47 years old and I was only 26. It’s one of those defining moments in life that at the time is absolutely terrible but in the end is one of the most influential/impactful things that could have happened.

After my mom passed away I spent a lot of time grieving and realizing that things change in an instant and as cliche as it sounds, you only get one chance in this lifetime to make an impact. We didn’t talk much and I had promised myself that I would call her on her birthday- I didn’t. I promised myself that I would call her on Mother’s Day (the weekend after her birthday)- I didn’t. I promised that I would call her on Christmas (I thought to myself “What’s another 7 months?”. It turns out, 7 months is now a lifetime.

When I returned back to Minneapolis after her funeral, I sat down and created a list of things that I wanted to accomplish before I turned 47. I also decided that instead of putting things off and hemming & hawing, I would give myself 3 days to make decisions. If I couldn’t make the decision within that 3 days, it wasn’t important and I needed to move on.
Real estate was on the top of my list of things I wanted to accomplish. I had always been intrigued by how cities are laid out, the construction/types of homes and have known that I would be in a position where my job is to assist others in accomplishing their goals. I googled how to get my real estate license, signed up for classes, paid my rent up front for a few months, made an arrangement with my loan servicer for my car and with just $200 left to my name I held my breath and took the leap.

Not being from the Twin Cities, I didn’t have a large database of friends & family, it was a hustle from the beginning. I met people standing in line at coffee shops, at Target, working open houses and any opportunity I had where someone would let me talk to them about real estate, I was there. It took some sacrifice (friends, time visiting family, vacations, weekends off, etc) and now I’m living a life that I could have only dreamt of.

Over the past 10 years I’ve gone from a hope & a dream to something absolutely amazing. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some amazing people that have become part of my team (The Winters Real Estate Group) & have made some of the greatest friends a person could hope for. My favorite part of being in the real estate industry is that you get to impact people’s lives in such a gigantic way. Whether it’s helping someone become the first homeowner in their family, being there for someone who has experienced loss, celebrating the joy of new family additions, assisting people in building a portfolio to create generational wealth; it’s the most rewarding career and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

It’s the people that we already know. These are people that love you and want you to succeed. From starting with knowing almost nobody, it was important to always remember to say thank you, show our appreciation and keep in touch.

We make sure that we are keeping in touch with our past clients & sphere of influence through regular mailings and 4-6 client events throughout the year. We are also big on showing our appreciation for their support. Whether it’s a quick call, a handwritten note or a pop-by at their home; we always make sure to say thank you and return the love.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Coaching has had the biggest impact on my business. I joined a real estate coaching group in 2018 and if I could go back to 2013 I’d tell myself to sign up then. From learning how to communicate better with clients and the agents on my team, to having a defined vision for my future, to getting educated on how to have the tough conversations that come with real estate transactions, to just overall becoming a better human- hands down, the investment in coaching has been absolutely worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thewintersregroup.com
• Instagram: @thewintersregroup.mpls
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/theWintersRealEstateGroup
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewintersrealestategroup