We recently connected with Keenan Schuur and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Keenan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Real estate had always been something I was interested it but it was kind of a scary thought to dive into, since it is 100% commission based and I was married with kids, so I started small. I got my license in May 2015 and worked as an agent part time, while I worked as a sales rep for a wine & spirits distributor. The first couple of years were pretty slow, I didn’t put a lot of focus on building my business. I had 1 sale in 2015, and 13 sales in 2016, by the time 2017 came I decided to see what I could actually do it with and started working it more. I was on the road most days working my territory for the wine sales job, then showing houses on nights and weekends. About 8 months or so into the year, I was mentally exausted with trying to keep up with everything. My broker sat me down in his office one day and said I was hitting the numbers I had told him I needed to, in order to jump into real estate full time. At that point my wife and I had just spent a large chunk of our savings in order to expand living space into our basement, so it seemed worrisome but it was something I wanted to do. I talked to my wife about it that night, and I quit my wine sales job the next day and I haven’t looked back. Now my broker and I are business partners. I partnered with him in owning the brokerage a couple of months before the pandemic hit. Now risks don’t seem like a big deal. We are looking a possible recession in our economy and inflation is still high, but myself and another business partner decided to open a CBD retail franchise and didn’t think twice about it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I knew at a young age that I wanted to be a business owner of some sort. I used to say I wanted to be an entrepreneur, without even knowing what that word meant. The older I got, real estate always jumped out at me, so it seemed like a good fit. When I working to get my license, I was starting to talk with brokerages in my area to see where would be a good fit for me. One night I was out to eat with a couple friends and my wife pointed out my now business partner at the restaurant with his wife. He had just bought the brokerage at the time, and I had heard good things about him and the company. I went up to their table and interupted their dinner, I introduced myself and made an appointment with him from there to meet and go over details and the rest in history. Throughout my career so far, and in all facets of my life, I have tried to lead with kindness and empathy. I feel those are the two most important traits in business and life, and will take you farther long term. What I am most proud of, actually has nothing to do with business or real estate but has equipped me better that anything ever has, and that is being a father. That has helped me build on that kindness and empathy and help ready me for changes or difficult situations. It has even helped with negotiating, have you ever tried negotiating with a 3 year old? It is near impossible haha

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being out in the community and being a genuine person, I believe has helped build my reputation. The old school way of being a shrewd business man, may work in some industries but I think it could become a thing of the past. Times are changing, the world is changing, the way people think and interact are changing. People want to be heard and seen as equals, having empathy towards people in your community, as I said before, is best for longevity in your career and helps lead a fulfilled life.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

There are 2 big lessons I have had to either unlearn or realize. The first being that problems or failures are bad. When you are young and taking risks, whether good or bad, there is always a chance at failure. I made a ton of mistakes in my personal and business life, and still make mistakes, but and they have all shaped who I am today. Failure doesn’t mean the end of the chapter or book, it is just a lesson for the next one. I learned this later in life, but I try to instill it in my kids. My wife and I do affirmations with our kids in the mornings and one of them is “my failures will lead me to success”

The 2nd thing that I had to unlearn or realize is that mental health matters. There is such a stigma around mental health, especially with men. We are told to “suck it up” , “be a man”, or “boys don’t cry” etc. However, this thinking leads to more issues long term, personally and professionally. I have really started putting my mental health at the forefront the last few years and it has been the best thing to enhance my life, both personally and professionally, and helps me better serve my clients and family.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coldwellbankerfortdodge.com
• Instagram: @yourcbdstorefortdodge , @keenanschuur, @keenanschuur_cbrealestate
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kschuur. https://www.facebook.com/keenanschuurcoldwell. https://www.facebook.com/coldwellbankerfortdodge. https://www.facebook.com/getsunmedfortdodge.
• Other: Tiktok- @keenanschuurcoldwell, @yourcbdstorefortdodge