We recently connected with Jessica Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

It has been a process for SURE. And it sounds woo-woo, but it all started with a decision. I heard a speaker talk about how he just decided he’d be an investor, and that’s what happened. I had never heard anyone speak about these things with such conviction. But I made a decision, believed it would happen, and committed to it. I also took a huge leap and invested in myself with a coaching program. But before I even implemented the things from the coaching program, my business started to grow. I’m convinced that your mindset, intention, and belief in yourself has a LOT to do with it, y’all!

I also found a bigger why. Prior to this, had subconciously decided that I needed real estate to be able to provide for my kids and allow me to spend more time with them. And that is what I did for many years – made enough to pay my bills and never got busy enough to scale, hire, etc.

As soon as my husband and I decided we wanted to think bigger, invest in real estate, and achieve financial freedom, we committed to it. The tactics I learned in the coaching program taught me how to start building relationships at scale using social media, and I started a journey to scale and grow.

Hiring and delegation did not come easy for me. Apparently, I tend to be a control freak when it comes to my business. I learned how not to work with my spouse, made some adjustments, and moved on. I learned the hard way what kind of team worked well for my personality type (and not). I listened to mentors, made lots of mistakes, and started over a few times.

But I stayed the course, learned how to leverage virtual assistents for help, and found support systems to help me grow in ways that are more aligned with where I want to be. I joined a new brokerage, and their model supports how I am growing my team. I’m working on a course to help other agents, and I look forward to continuing this journey to help show as many clients and Realtors that it is possible to create an amazing life for yourself and your family!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I never planned to be a Realtor. But life is funny like that. I was always the ‘good’ kid that did the right thing and wanted to prove my worth to my family and society. As such, I got my masters, a responsible job as an accountant, my CPA license, and married the ‘good’ guy. I’ve always been interested in real estate, investing, and personal finance. So I got my real estate license and did deals on the side for several years.

But one day, a few years later, I woke up a divorced single mom of two young kids. I knew I needed to create an amazing life for my kids. And there was no way I was going back to my accounting cubicle for 8-10 hours a day. My family was concerned. They asked why I’d take a ‘step down’ in my career from a CPA to a Realtor. It felt right in my gut, and I knew I HAD to start listening to this pull. I had to make this work. It was time to turn this ‘hobby’ into a healthy business. This was the key to creating the life I wanted for our future.

I collaborated with my new husband, and we used our backgrounds, strengths and passions to create something amazing. We became obsessed with how we could improve the experience for our customers. We knew we could build something great.

And the Key Group Austin was born. We hit the ground running and created a set of services that offered clients the best service possible. We want to be the VERY best advocate for our clients. My goal is to educate and empower my clients to make the best decisions for their family. We have a specialized product for upsizers, and we aim to make the process as easy and smooth as possible.

During the single mom years, I realized how important ‘home’ is, and how I wanted the kids to feel when they walked in. I wanted space to play with friends, safe streets and great schools. I knew so many of our greatest memories and times would happen within those walls.

A house is so much more than where you live. It’s stability for your family. It can move you closer to your goals and vision for the future. It’s where we raise our families, gather with friends and family, grow as humans, and live life to the fullest.

Today, we’re leveraging with amazing agents to continue to increase our speed, communication, service, and offerings.

We want to hear and brainstorm with you on what you want for your future and why. Whether you’re a buyer, seller, Realtor, or a friend, we are passionate about helping you create the life you want for your future. AND helping you believe that it’s possible. It starts with an environment that best supports your awesome life and memories that last a lifetime.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Starting out, I thought the only way to success was doing it like other people. I joined a brokerage known for their top notch education, but when I heard many of the speakers, they didn’t seem like my people. I wasn’t super gregarious, salesey, and it felt a bit pushy. The scripts felt SO awkward, and I wanted to puke when they made me call all of the people I knew to ask them these questions.

Over time, I met people who built awesome businesses in ways that felt more authentic to me. This introvert isn’t great at cold calling, door knocking, etc. I found ways to attract clients in a way that feels much more like me. Yes, it’s still outside of my comfort zone to record and post videos, be vulnerable on social media, etc.

BUT, it allows me to reach lots of people with each post, tryly be myself, and attract the people that connect with me, relate to me, and want to work with me.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

As a single mom on this business building journey, I ran into a super cute guy with a SUPER familiar face. I knew I remembered him from high school. I reconnected with Steve, an old friend that I knew from high school. He was a charming (and handsome) Realtor in Austin as well. Small world. We had lots in common, good banter, and THIS was the beginning of us.

A few short years later, we found ourselves married, living in a house in the suburbs, with an infant. Crazy, right? But life is short, and we knew what we wanted. We started talking about how we could use our backgrounds (accounting/finance and marketing), strengths and passions to create something even better? How could we improve the experience for our customers? The more we talked, the more excited, scared, and motivated we were. We knew we could build something great.

It wasn’t always smooth and easy, but it was worth it. Over time, we’ve found our ‘lanes’, what we enjoy, and we’re working hard to go faster together, and have fun with the family along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://keygroupaustin.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesssmithaustin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekeygroupaustin
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-smith-austin/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU9wefnNlN_knmdtgT1Uk-g

Image Credits
Kathie Quinn, Andrew Roberts,