Ken Hirschmann

STAYING ON COURSE TO BUILD HIS BEST LIFE

By Jane K. Asher, Ph.D.

Photos by Jessica Laine Photography

Ken Hirschmann, who was born and bred in Romeo, learned the value of hard work and the importance of self-reliance at a young age.

Starting from when he was a young child, his parents, as well as his extended family, instilled a strong sense of accountability in him and taught him to earn everything in life. At the age of 12, Ken embraced his industrious mentality and got his first “job” painting fences on his neighbor’s farm. Throughout high school, as a result of the mentorship of his football coaches, Ken continued to work hard on the field and also developed a heightened sense of accountability and teamwork — both in sports and in life.

After graduating from Central Michigan University with a degree in marketing and finance, Ken spent the first five years of his career as a district manager for ALDI grocery stores. “Being a district manager at ALDI was incredibly demanding. I worked long hours, wore lots of hats and always had to bring my ‘A’ game,” Ken said. “After a while, I began to grow a bit complacent and wanted a change — I also wanted control over my income and the autonomy of running my own business, and I actually loved the thought of working on 100% commission. Crazy, right?”

Ken, who was living in Royal Oak at the time, realized he had built a large network in Metro Detroit, which he knew would benefit him in real estate. More so, he enjoyed sales, helping people, customer service and the competitive nature of the real estate industry. “July 7, 2014, was my first full day, and I went in full time and full speed!” he said. “I think that’s the only way to successfully do it — real estate demands too much.”

From 2014-2017, Ken was an owner and partner at REALTEAM Real Estate where he and his team of approximately 80 agents averaged 1,000 transactions per year. Today, Ken is the team leader of Best Life & Co. and the branch office broker at eXp Realty — Royal Oak at their new office space at 928 E.11 Mile Rd. Over the past three years, his team has achieved a sales volume of over $100 million — $37 million of which they generated in 2019 — and they closed out 2020 with $47.5 million. As a result of his success, Ken earned the title of eXp ICON Agent in both 2019 and 2020.

Best Life & Co. Real Estate Team includes 12 agents and two support staff members. Backed by their “Beyond Real Estate” slogan, the team’s mission is to create an amazing client experience by turning clients into lifelong friends and family. “Our team is driven by a fun, competitive, accountable and encouraging spirit,” Ken said. “Lead generation and lead follow-up are in our blood and will always be a huge part of what we do!” All Best Life & Co. team members are also strongly committed to learning, growth and improvement, and participate in weekly accountability coaching.

“It’s been so rewarding to create a real estate company and a team where I am accountable for the livelihood and success of my 14 team members. It is incredibly motivating that they ‘chose’ Best Life & Co. … I love that!” Ken said. “The growth and confidence of our agents on a day-to-day and week-toweek basis is so cool to see. I take pride in knowing that they are really good agents and that our clients are being taken care of the right way.”

In his free time, Ken enjoys hanging out with his wife, Taylor, their 1-year-old son, Henry Joseph — also known as Hank the Tank — and their dog-daughter, a Boston Terrier named Charlie. The Hirschmanns spend a lot of time with family and close friends and regularly enjoy long weekends visiting Taylor’s family in southern Indiana. “We love to travel and can’t wait to have Hank join the party,” Ken said. “I am pretty simple — give me golf clubs, country music and a few beers, and I am all set!”

Ken and his team volunteer at Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit every December. During the 2019 holiday season, Best Life & Co. also asked their past clients to nominate families in need of sponsorship and submit personal stories about them. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when we read those stories and reviewed the eight applications we received,” Ken said. “We couldn’t turn any of them away, so we dug deep and sponsored all eight families — that meant a lot to us to be able to do that.”

On a personal level, Ken wants to be remembered as a good dad, husband, son and brother. “Oh, and maybe as a pretty good golfer, too — I’m still working on that,” Ken joked. In real estate, he strives to be a “good agent” who is trusted by his colleagues and friends in the industry.

“Real estate, like life, is never perfect — they both hit you with many ups and downs along the way,” Ken said. “In six years, I have been to one brokerage twice, opened up my own brokerage, left my own brokerage and started another team at another brokerage — all in six years! To say I have failed at some point is a massive understatement. Real estate gives you the rare opportunity to fail often and experience massive success as long as you pursue relentlessly — just stay on course, and don’t give up.”

Agent Spotlight: Ken Hirschmann