We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Estadt recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
One of my fist “real” jobs out of college was working for a major fast food chain. I have a business degree, so I was hired for a management position and thrown into the deep end. I had next to zero experience, yet I managed a store of 10-12 employees – I was responsible for inventory/ordering, scheduling and labor costs, routine and emergent maintenance issues. At the same time I was learning the proper procedures for every position in the store. I spent entire days washing dishes, cooking food over a hot vat of boiling oil, deep cleaning the restaurant (I’m talking scrubbing baseboards on my hands and knees) because the thinking was – “How can you expect someone else to perform these tasks if you aren’t willing to do them yourself?”
It was grueling, and humbling, and it taught me SO MUCH. I learned how to manage my emotions while multitasking, and to remain calm under pressure. I learned that I wasn’t great (yet) at managing people – I was more focused on making sure that they liked me instead of respecting me. It might sound silly but you don’t know pressure until your cook walks out on in the middle of a busy lunch shift – one day I was simultaneously cooking food WHILE running the drive through, talking to customers with a headset in my ear. My regional manager wrote me up that day because I didn’t make it to the bank on time to deposit funds – it was a “no excuses” type of place.
Quitting just wasn’t an option for me at the time and I stayed for almost 2 years. I gained so much valuable experience at that job and while I hated some parts of it, I really think it helped prepare me for some of the challenges I still face daily.
Lauren , 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?
This is my 5th year as an agent and I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else. I love the fast pace of this career and I thrive on the busy days when I am juggling multiple responsibilities.
I joined Roots Real Estate in 2017 as their first employee – Office Manager & AirBNB Coordinator – and we often joke about the tiny basement apartment that 4 of us shared as an office (and quickly outgrew). I never thought I would be in sales, but with some coaxing from my teammates I took the leap and got my license in January 2018.
Fast forward to today, I am now a Partner on the team (working alongside my life-long friends Rosanne and Daniel) and a Certified Mentor through our brokerage. In addition to my buyer/seller/investor clients, I consider my mentees my clients too. It can be intimidating as a new agent helping real people through one of the largest purchases they will ever make! The stakes are high and there is very little margin for error. It was SO important for me to have trusted, experienced agents to help me when I was new and so I enjoy being that person for the agents on our team and my mentees through the brokerage.
I am really proud of the team we’ve built and what we stand for. Our team ethos is “Humans Helping Humans”. Our goal is to make the real estate experience less transactional and more personal. We pride ourselves on being helpful, honest, and sincere to every person we encounter during the process.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
Read the statistics on how many sellers use the same agent they bought the house from – it’s depressing! It’s not because they do a bad job, but simply because they don’t keep in touch. As agents we spend so much time on attracting new business that it can be easy to forget about the people who already “know, like, and trust” you.
We launched a social club called #RootsInATL which is SO much fun – our team sponsors a quarterly event that’s free for our clients to attend (and bring a friend if they want to)! It’s our way of staying connected with our clients, adding value and enriching our community at the same time. Some of the past events include: a bike tour of the Forward Warrior murals in Cabbagetown; canned food drive & free family photos benefitting the East Atlanta Kids Club; and we always throw one of the best parties on the block for the EAV Strut.
These events are an easy way for our agents to connect with past clients but also a great opportunity to introduce our brand to new people. We get tons of referrals from these events, and it also builds teamwork. With everyone’s busy schedules, it can be tough to get all of our team in the same place but everyone shows up for these quarterly events!
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
We are fortunate to have such a close-knit team. We help each other out whenever we can – whether that’s providing advice on a difficult contract situation or showing houses when someone is out of town. I was able to take a 10-day trip last year entirely off the grid – that’s NO access to phone/email – and relax with full confidence that my deals are progressing along smoothly. I don’t know many agents who could say the same! In this “always on” digital world, I find it is essential to find a way to fully unplug in order to relax and prevent burnout.
One interesting thing about our industry is that everyone is a small business owner themselves. Yes, we all share team resources, but each person is technically an independent contractor at the brokerage level. Real estate tends to attract people who enjoy flexibility in lifestyle and schedule – but I’ve learned that too much of that can leave me feeling aimless and unmotivated. We aim to strike a balance between providing resources/structure but not asking for too much schedule or time commitment from our agents. It’s results driven.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rootsatlanta.com/
- Instagram: @rootsatlanta
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootsatlanta
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-estadt/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_v-lgwrCw4BTs2mIVnmEvw