We recently connected with Jillian Lathan and have shared our conversation below.

Jillian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know

If I could start over I would find a brokerage that aligned with my core values as a person and found a mentor sooner. When I was first getting started in real estate I chose a brokerage based on how much I had to spend monthly. After all, I had just spent thousands on getting my license and now to find out most brokerages charge monthly fees. The saying “you get what you pay for” couldn’t be more true. What I can say is every brokerage I have been with has helped elevate me in some way. However, my current brokerage aligns and supports every core value and mission that makes me thrive. To help get to where I am today with less capital would have to be my understanding of how to leverage my brokerage and team to my advantage. As business owners, we often try to do everything but sometimes doing everything saves money but you lose money because you can’t be everywhere doing everything. My brokerage has taught me you leverage what you do know and your team to get to the overall goal.

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

I am Jillian Lathan, Realtor and now food truck owner of Big T’s Smokehouse. I have been in the real estate industry approximately 3 years now and it is never a dull moment in this amazing field. I pride myself on assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase and/or sell of real estate. Always striving to seek and share knowledge with compassion and a positive attitude. I feel that I was placed on this earth to serve others, as I am charged with assisting in one of the biggest transactions in a persons life and I do not take it lightly. What makes my business unique is that I seek knowledge everyday and take pride on showing the value and attainable wealth through real estate. In business, I want to be known as a God-fearing business owner with the ability to solve complex problems as they relate to real estate. Also, to be known for providing an amazing customer experience in every aspect whether food service with Big T’s Smokehouse or real estate. Known for being reliable, committed, and hands on. I am most proud of the growth that I have seen in myself as a business owner and the many solutions that I have placed in my repertoire to assist every family I can. All of my clients become family and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

To keep in touch with my clients is through a robust customer relations management or CRM as commonly called. My CRM is like my virtual assistant and I am able to touch all of my clients with one click. I send personalized frequent market updates, birthday wishes, anniversaries, and so much more. It also houses my to-do list for the day and keeps me up to speed with all of the dates important dates of my clients. I am able to reach out and continue to foster relationships based on the dates in my CRM.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

A story from my journey that illustrates my resilience would have to be my journey in real estate overall. When I first started in real estate I had no systems, had no idea what a CRM was and not much guidance in the industry. My business was stagnant and I didn’t know what to do. I had a brokerage but definitely still felt alone in this business. I started to fear that maybe I would not make it in this industry. Maybe I had wasted my time even trying to do this real estate thing. I would often talk to my husband about having to make a change, but I wasn’t sure what or where the change would come from. I knew that my God given purpose was to assist families in real estate but maybe it wasn’t through being a Realtor. I knew I wanted to do this and I changed my thinking to I will do this and be successful by any means necessary. After much prayer and fasting, the opportunity for change presented itself. I moved on and never looked back. My business has doubled in volume and still growing. Aligning myself with those that align with me was essential to my growth. I have since hired staff and am seeking to hire more in the near future. What I have learned in my journey is to never give up. Whatever you want to do in life if you get confirmation that you are on the right path keep going. Success is often times on the other side of your fears and giving up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jillianlathan.bradenrealestategroup.com/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jillianlathan
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/realtorjillianlathan
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCF4mBAIl6Zi_GsRj8XVihVw

Image Credits
Terrell Lathan Keren Watson Ebony Royal