We were lucky to catch up with Westin Means recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Westin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

The whole “Why” for my business was born from the realization that many of my peers (including myself) were having trouble saving up enough money for the down payment needed to become a homeowner in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I grew up. The funds needed for a down payment and closing costs here in the Bay area often amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars since the cost of living is so incredibly high here. I noticed that many folks around me were becoming comfortable being renters and didn’t even have aspirations of becoming homeowners because they just didn’t know where to start, and it seemed like an impossible task.

I wanted to fill the gap that our public education system had left when it comes to investing and homeownership, so I decided to figure out if there were any ways that those of us who were having trouble becoming homeowners could still become homeowners, and not stay renters forever. I wanted families around me to begin building generational wealth. So I educated myself on first-time homebuyer programs, alternative loan products with lower interest rates, and down payment requirements. I also educated myself on local market trends and how to craft a compelling offer and remain competitive in a highly competitive seller’s market.

I’m happy to say that through my efforts I’ve been able to help a few folks that never thought they would become homeowners. I’ve gotten my clients down payment assistance, lender or seller credits toward closing costs, and better interest rates than what the big banks offer.

One story, in particular, sticks out in my mind. A client that I met through Zillow (who is still a very dear friend of mine) called in and wanted to see a home. I saw the home with her and slowly educated her about list price vs. sale price, and explained that most homes that were listed at her maximum budget would sell above that. We continued to see properties at the edge of her price range because she requested them. We kept trying over and over to the point where we had probably put 20 offers out there in the span of a year. Finally, at one of our showings, she let me know that she was beginning to lose hope. She started thinking she wasn’t meant to be a homeowner. I consoled her, and told her not to lose hope, and that I knew that if we remained persistent we were going to find the right place for her.

A few months later, we found a property that had recently gone on the market and was in her price range. We went to go see it right away and made an offer that was accepted on the spot! 30 days later, she became a homeowner for the first time! Being able to see her do this and build wealth for her daughter was moving and amazing to see. I was overcome with pride, knowing that I had played a small role in her story. She was a single mom and did not grow up rich, so she just had no idea where to start. No one to look up to and ask about how to build generational wealth. And clients like her are the exact reason I got into the business.

Westin, 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?

I was born in Berkeley, CA, and have lived in the Bay Area my whole life, even though my family moved a lot growing up. I’ve lived in Berkeley, Oakland, Corte Madera, Albany, El Cerrito, and Hayward, and I’ve currently lived in Oakland for the past 8 years. Having lived here my whole life, I have a deep love and passion for the area which shows through my work.

I graduated from Albany High School, attended Cal State East Bay (in Hayward), and got my Bachelor of Science in Finance. I chose finance because while attending classes at Berkeley City College (before transferring to Cal State East Bay) I discovered that I had a love for math. I considered becoming a financial analyst but ultimately decided it wasn’t for me because I couldn’t picture myself being behind a desk all the time. The next idea I had was to be a financial advisor because they understood all the concepts that an analyst would, but would be people-facing and would be able to be on their feet a lot more.

After I received my degree, I decided to pursue becoming a financial advisor, and the next logical step in my mind was to get a real estate license. My thought process was “What is one of the biggest financial decisions people make in their lives?… Buying a house!”, and if I’m going to be a financial advisor, I better know how to advise someone on buying a house!

So that’s how I became a licensed realtor, and the rest is history. I joined TEAMFAST in Oakland in 2019 and was the fifth agent on the team, besides the team leader Kenny Truong. Kenny and the team mentored me for the first 4 years of my career after which I went on my own within eXp Realty (which is the same company that Teamfast is under).

My tagline: “Honesty, Dedication, Persistence.” was created during an exercise at the Teamfast office in downtown Oakland when Teamfast hung its license with Climb Real Estate (which was a fairly small and local brokerage that later merged with Coldwell Banker). A guest speaker came into our office and explained that a great brand had a mission statement, and may utilize a tagline to summarize what their business stands for. I thought about it for a while, and I knew that Honesty had to be the first one for my business because I knew that the perceptions of real estate agents by consumers had gone down over time as shady, salesy, realtors had duped or coerced consumers into buying in the past and I knew I didn’t want to be like that. Next, I added Dedication, because I decided to dedicate all of my working hours to this craft. I wanted to know how to get my clients the best deal possible, use negotiating techniques effectively, and offer the best loan products and loan officers to my clients. My entire life going forward was going to be dedicated to real estate and helping folks build generational wealth, so the word Dedication seemed fitting. And lastly, Persistence. Persistence is a very important word to me because, through every challenge in my life, I know that if I persist, I will inevitably overcome whatever that challenge is. This was especially true in my early years in real estate, being a person that had no personal ties to real estate and had no family members or friends in the business.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

To keep in touch with my clients and past clients, I send out a weekly market email using Mailchimp. This was honestly an idea I got from Ricky Carruth, one of the biggest successful agents on social media. In my email I include market stats and summaries of news stories that affect the local market, I post real estate videos that I also post to my YouTube channel, and give my buyers and sellers advice.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Three books that I highly recommend for entrepreneurs are all essentially related to building your mindset and eliminating excuses. These are The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone, High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard, and The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.

Contact Info:

• Website: westinmeans.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westinmeansbusiness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westinmeansbusiness
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/westin-means/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/westinmeans
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@westinmeansbusiness?sub_confirmation=1

Image Credits
All photos taken by myself or Diana Garcia