A N I A
Squared SYNERGY HOW THE HOUSE CHICKS
Are Revolutionizing Real Estate
Revolutionizing Real Estate
By harnessing the power of what each woman does well, Laura McGurk and Cynthia Brown of The House Chicks have created a business model that is as innovative as it is effective This dynamic duo’s perfect blend of complementary skills and a shared vision has redefined what it means to be a real estate agent. Learn about how their approach is not just about selling houses; it’s about building relationships and creating an exceptional experience for their clients.
Stefanie: Hey everybody, I'm with Laura McGurk and Cynthia Brown from The House Chicks How are you all doing?
Cynthia and Laura: We're great Yeah, doing good How are you?
Stefanie: Oh, not too bad. Not too bad at all. So I want to get this started by asking you to explain to people what it is that you do. What is The House Chicks?
Laura: Sure The House Chicks is a small business We're both realtors in Columbus, Indiana and we service just about anything you could think of regarding real estate
So buying, selling, staging, designing, and investing We do all of that.
Stefanie: So why did you get into this business?
Laura: We both have very different reasons for getting into this business. My reason was very simple and basic. I needed a job that mattered and wasn't just a waste of time A lot of times for women, we start looking for jobs and all we can find is something that's really basic that barely covers the babysitter and it makes it feel like it's not really worth going out of the house for that job
So I wanted to find something that was fun and that mattered and kind of as a byproduct I got lucky and I found something that I can involve my kids in and I can work with my friends all the time and it just turned into a really beautiful job.
Cynthia: Yeah and for me, very different I was freshly married I didn't have any kids yet If you would have asked me on day one of having my license, why I wanted to get into real estate, I would have told you the most basic answer of I love people and I love houses I thought that was it It was just going to be a blast and it has been super fun, and I've learned a lot, but now I'm years into my marriage and now I have a
son, and with some business under my belt it's changed. It's not just about nice people and beautiful houses. It's serious business dealing with people's most valuable asset. I really enjoy getting to be a part of that journey with people
Stefanie: Laura, you said, a job that matters I actually haven't heard people say that Tell me a little bit more about what you mean when you say the job that matters
Laura: I wanted something that I got excited about when I said, I have to go to work. I wanted to be excited. I wanted to look forward to my day and I didn't want to come home and have conversations with my kids or my extended family to say, well, stared at a computer and I stuffed envelopes all day I know that there's a need for that and people do need to do that I just wanted something more meaningful for myself So with this job, not only does it fill my cup because I get to help people, but it matters to the people that I'm helping in a big, big way
So the service part of my job is something that was really important to me
"Something that matters, is helping people for me. "
Stefanie: How is your business different?
Laura: Our business is different because what we do is share what we're doing because we're always having fun selling a house is a big daunting job and we try to make it fun and not the big stressful weight that some people have to go through When we share that with other people, either just in conversations or social media, they see that it's fun and they're not as nervous or scared about asking questions and doing it So I think a big thing that makes us different is we're just sharing the experience, and making it look appealing and enticing
That attracts people to us really naturally Most of the clients that we work with are people that follow us on social media They feel they know us really well and they show up and we're instantly friends and that makes it a really nice transaction and it's easy to work with people like that
So the way that we share and the way that we just show people what we're doing and this is the way it looks to
work with us. I think that's a big part of what sets us apart from other realtors
Stefanie: So let's go back to when you first started The House Chicks. What created it and how did you two get together?
Laura: Cynthia is a new addition to The House Chicks She's version 2 of The House Chicks I started two or two and a half maybe three years ago with a different chick and it happened out of necessity We were just moms and we both were realtors and we needed some help to cover the requirements of the job
So we just teamed up and that worked really well for a little while and then Cynthia started and she got her license and we met her At that moment, she was in a different phase of life She didn't have kids and she had a lot of time to help us as busy moms fill the gaps so it started out of a need for some coverage and it just turned into a really nice relationship where we get to do business and do life with a person that's really like minded and trying to accomplish the same goals
Cynthia: Yeah, when I first met The House Chicks and got to know them one of the things that they said when I asked them why they were a team was with their families and kids and just so much going on they both function as half a person and together they make a whole person I really loved that but I didn't understand it at first Now I
understand it. We're on the same page.
Stefanie: Tell me about each other's dynamics. What do you both bring that the other person doesn't have?
Cynthia: It's actually really fun I'll start because we're really different So we easily bring different things and it works really, really well
I love to do and what I'm good at right now in the season of a new mom and everything is I'm really kind of behind the scenes a little bit. I love the marketing and I love the ideas and the creativity and Laura coming to me with a really good idea and then I kind of help make it go because she has a lot going on and I have a lot going on so we meet in the middle and that's kind of how we're flowing
Laura: Yeah Cynthia is really good with the creative and the visuals and making everything really appealing to the public So taking boring mundane things, like home inspections or stuff that people don't generally care about, and showing them in a way that's visually appealing. She's really good at that
Then my strong suit is I'm pretty task oriented I like to think that I'm a creative person, but really when it boils down to it, I have big ideas and I need somebody to dial it in for me and help me execute So that's what Cynthia is really good at and then just socially we kind of fill both buckets.
I'm really bad in social situations and Cynthia's great. (laughs) So that's one of those, we make a whole person things Like at open houses and stuff, Cynthia's there and she can help me and I have to be there and I do them very well But, the big social part, the interactions part is hard for me
Talking to clients I'm very straight to the point where as Cynthia will talk to them about their dog and make them feel comfortable and happy. Those are the kinds of things that we do together but we're vastly different in our personalities that way
Stefanie: How did you know that you had something here?
Cynthia: I think she knew before me, huh? Maybe
Laura: (laughs) It just kind of happened accidentally It was kind of just, we both worked hard and showed how we are authentically. We were attracted to the way that the other person worked. It happened very naturally. There wasn't a moment where one of us
had to beg the other and be like, 'I think you would be really good doing this for me.' We just meshed really well and worked together before we were a team and so when we knew that we worked well together it made sense to become an official team and work together all the time
Stefanie: Let's go back to the question about the job that matters
Because I think a lot of people want to find something that they can put their whole selves into and it's not a drudgery. When you were searching for something, was there ever a moment where you thought, I don't know if I'm going to find it?
Laura: Yeah
Cynthia: Yeah
Laura: Absolutely I personally tried a lot of stay at home businesses that are marketed to moms work from home, work after your kids go to bed, those kinds of pitches.
I would be mediocre at best at all of them That was really frustrating Doing real estate and being a realtor was the first thing that was fully outside of my house and was not marketed as a side gig It was a full job and once I started doing it and treating it like the business that it is I realized very quickly that it was the right thing for me You see it both when you're at your job and then when you're not at your job and you're doing regular life. I'm out to the store or I'm out to the restaurant with my family. I see these are potential jobs I could have been doing and it reinforced that I picked something that was really meaningful to me
Cynthia: I did a lot of different work I really started in the mental health field and I thought that was something that was going to fill my cup but turns out I'm a little too emotional for that So I felt really lost Honestly, when I started real estate, I was a little nervous that I was going to be home all the time. I did want to be home some of the time, but it’s really not that at all You can really make it however you want
I didn't realize, I mean, no one really tells you this when you're first starting off, but you can truly be as busy or not as busy as you want Now that I have a family, I can balance it really well and be home some of the time and be gone some of the time That way, both my family cup and my work cup are both being filled.
Stefanie: Let's talk about the ideal moment when you're working with somebody and then you just look at it and go, this is it This is that moment where I'm so glad I turned this way instead of going a different way
Laura: I think I've had probably a couple of those moments I mean, as I said, Cynthia is my second partner My first partner was a different experience and for a while there were three of us. So there were a few kind of aha moments where I was like this was a good idea This was the right choice for us
I would say that a big thing for me, and the way that I run my business is just clearing some head space so that I can focus on the really important stuff Because there's a lot of things that we have to do as a small business to keep our name in front of people and to just stay relevant
That can be really overwhelming when you also have to follow up on paperwork and you have to attend appointments and you have to show houses and go to people's houses and help them get it ready for listings and all the things that it takes for our job So when I met Cynthia and I was able to just talk to her I think probably something happened at the beginning where I was just complaining and I was like I'm too busy and I need to do this, but I don't have time
She just said well I can do that really easily and I probably was like, okay, sure But then she did it and it was way better than I could have done way faster and it was beautiful and it was done She just handed it to me and I realized that is exactly what my business needs somebody who can carry the load For the person who is the owner or the brain child, it's your baby, and you don't want to give it to anybody but when you finally take a deep breath and you can see that people can help and that is a good thing that's when it was a really big moment for me So I guess I had to let go of a lot of control is what that really boiled down to
Stefanie: So Cynthia, what is that moment where you said, I'm really glad it went this way? Laura talked about going to restaurants and looked around and thinking about how that could have been me had I not chosen this For you has there ever been a moment where you looked at your business and said, I'm just so glad I said yes to this?
Cynthia: Yes I feel there's been several moments One of the first moments was doing my own transactions That was some of my earliest ones and having Laura there to help me She's a really great teacher That was really great
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