Speaker 1: 0:30

My name is Megan Wassinger and I own and operate an independent brokerage in Fairfax Station, virginia, and we provide residential real estate services to people in Northern Virginia, dc and Maryland.

Speaker 2: 0:46

Beautiful. I'd like to ask you can you share what inspired you to pursue a career in real estate and how your journey has evolved over the past 30 years?

Speaker 1: 0:57

Well, honestly, I've been almost 20 years in real estate and I would say that, just like most people's careers, I think that it was born out of necessity. At the time, I was raising my oldest children, who are, you know, 30 years old now, but we needed extra income to afford private schools. We wanted to send the kids to private schools. So we thought you know, I had an. Obviously, since I was at home with the kids, I had a natural interest in all things that evolved around. You know, choosing, decorating, entertaining, pretty much everything in the home.

Speaker 2: 1:39

Yeah, I love it. And then, what motivated you to start your own boutique brokerage and how did you turn that vision into reality?

Speaker 1: 1:49

Well, before I became a broker for a larger firm, I had had a team and I just really liked. I really liked the dynamics of the team. It was smaller, you knew everybody and there was just an element of trust. So our brokerage really operates like a large team or a large family or a large family and it's not so competitive. We really encourage each other and so the vibe in our office is very much one of thankful, appreciation and education and sharing. It's unlike any real estate office I've ever belonged to.

Speaker 2: 2:33

No, I love that. Why is it so important for you to have that type of vibe in your office, to be not competitive, but being helpful, being kind and supportive of each other.

Speaker 1: 2:46

I don't know, because it's not just me, it's, I mean, pretty much every agent in the office you know, helps every other agent, regardless of where they are on their journey. Because you journey, because we teach a lot of classes to people becoming real estate agents, and I always say it's really easy to become a real estate agent. It's really hard to excel at it, and that is true because I might have a class of 20 students and all but two of them stick it out for the first two years. So I think teaching just comes naturally to me.

Speaker 1: 3:19

Being a mother of children, I'm naturally nurturing, but also I wanted to work in an atmosphere that I felt like I could, you know, flourish and I'm just really into also paying it forward and helping other people that might have been in a similar position as me. You know, transitioning from, you know, double incomes to single income and wanting some type of career that has the flexibility to both be a mom and work real estate. Because as real estate agents, we're really solo entrepreneurs and so we set our hours and you know we can juggle a lot. I think, especially as women, we juggle a lot.

Speaker 2: 3:59

Yeah, no for sure. And what you said there is that you want to be somewhere where you can thrive and you're able to have a supportive team behind you. I love it. And then what would you say is your approach to leadership, and how do you inspire and empower your team through that leadership, and how do you inspire and empower your team through that?

Speaker 1: 4:21

Well, I never really thought about it, but I did want to just touch back on one thing. You said that it's not competitive. I am the very competitive person by nature.

Speaker 2: 4:26

Just to clear the air.

Speaker 1: 4:28

Because I wouldn't want my clients to think that I'm not incredibly aggressive and competitive when it comes to their needs and representing their best interests. But as far as the office goes, we are not competitive with each other except in maybe a very healthy type of way. But so back to your question about leadership. Yeah, I don't know, um, I don't know. I I think that you know if, if you're giving all that you have and other people see you being generous with your time and with your talents, and you know, I feel like every single person that is in our office has just a unique set of skills that nobody else has.

Speaker 1: 5:14

So I guess my approach to leadership is giving people jobs that they excel at. Yeah, and then when I see that I've given them a task that is just like super stressful, I try to you know, in the back of my mind, I try to find ways to give them tasks that they're going to succeed and excel so that they get to the next confidence level. Yeah, you know what I mean, Because we didn't all start off our careers thinking we're the best at this. No, so encouraging people to really have small successes and building them up that way rather than to try and turn somebody into somebody. They're not overnight, and so I would say it's appreciating their authentic selves too. Absolutely not overnight, and so I would say it's appreciating their authentic selves too.

Speaker 2: 5:55

Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 5:57

Because I think people are all a little uncomfortable and stressed when they're being made to do something they don't enjoy.

Speaker 2: 6:04

Yes.

Speaker 1: 6:05

And there's so many facets of real estate. If you don't like door knocking, if you don't even like interacting with people on the phone, there are apps and text message and emails. Or you don't like to email, you just like to talk to people face to face. You know, or you don't like paperwork or you don't like directions. You know there's so many hacks to like. Either find a way for technology to help you do the things you don't enjoy doing, or find somebody else that in the office that does it better and maybe ask them to help you with it.

Speaker 2: 6:34

Yeah, teamwork makes the dream work Right. And then, what are some marketing strategies that you would like to share with other entrepreneurs? Maybe something that's working for you, or maybe something that you found, like you know what that for me personally that's not working for me. Would you mind sharing?

Speaker 1: 6:47

that. So I don't want to tell you all my secrets. Yeah, don't tell me all your secrets, but so I so I would say this year and towards the end of last year, I'm way more focused on social media. I would say that's been a huge shift and further away from like digital I'm sorry, print media, more into like digital media, whether it be, you know, ebooks or landing pages or click funnels. You know, posting content, having a content calendar, having events, having it like having all your stuff be really varied, like we teach classes, but we also host, like appreciation parties, we do fundraisers for local groups, we recommend certain contractors, we have people come in and talk about staging and decorating and we've even had, you know, cookie classes there.

Speaker 1: 7:45

So our office kind of is like a community hub and so we have this great opportunity to take videos. That's why, you know, I connected with your company, because that was something I was really trying to grow in my business. But just having that physical presence, the physical office, it's very warm and inviting but then also having a really strong social media presence. And I heard somebody say in a podcast recently like you know, social media is the new door knocking for real estate agents, you know, or cold calling. Like I mean I was never one to really do a lot of door knocking or cold calling, but I mean the traditional methods of reaching out to people are so different now, post COVID especially, I don't think people appreciate you just knocking on their door.

Speaker 2: 8:36

You know, yeah, no.

Speaker 1: 8:38

They're like who is it? So I would say, you know, just really becoming a master at the platforms that you want to post at is super important. Yes, I've had to like really stretch my brain and learn things like CapCut and, you know, play around with different apps and different services. That maybe could streamline my time. Yeah, but I think that I would say becoming proficient at and comfortable in front of a camera and uncomfortable in your skin and who you are and being authentic I think that really comes across. But also, you know doing the tedious work of editing and posting. Oh, yeah, like that is what takes 90% of the time, you know. So if that's something you're good at, find somebody else to do it for you. You, I said you can't be good at everything, but any business should have a basic understanding of how influential social media is.

Speaker 2: 9:42

Absolutely yeah, and it sounds like you understand the value of being on social media, getting your name out there, doing those dances. Maybe not dances, but doing them no, they're literally dances, see exactly.

Speaker 1: 9:52

Like a TikTok dance. I love that. No, I no. They're literally dances like a TikTok dance. I love that. No. I got like 30,000 views for a TikTok dance in my office and I was just blown away because I could post so much meaningful content and tell you so much important things about real estate and what not to do and the pitfalls to avoid and how to get the most for your house and how to negotiate deals. But everybody wants to see the dancing realtor.

Speaker 2: 10:19

Thank you for being the dancing realtor. Thank you for taking one for the team here Awesome. And then, what is one mistake you made early in your career and what did it teach you? Looking back, oh.

Speaker 1: 10:32

So I made a huge mistake early on in my career and that was as I was. You know I was a stay-at-home mom and transitioning into real estate. Of course it just, you know it was weekends, evenings. You know I treated it like a part-time job, like a part-time job when I wasted years of cultivating those leads and really being like purposeful and organized about my business, because, you know, referrals came in very easily. But also, you know, I wasn't the sole breadwinner at that point. So my career was kind of and even in my own mind it was kind of like secondary, maybe not as important as my husband's financially solid. You feel how wonderful your situation is. At any moment your spouse could die, your child could get sick, your husband could lose his job, you could get divorced. A lot of things can happen that will just take the ground from you. And so I think, as women, no matter how much you might identify as one thing always having something for yourself in case the unexpected happens.

Speaker 2: 12:01

Yeah, no, that is so true, and oftentimes we aren't thinking of the unexpected. Most of the time it really does come unexpected and you're really thrown for a loop there. But having that I guess maybe a backup plan too can kind of help, or maybe thinking of those things and preparing for it. But you can't really prepare for certain things, but just being aware.

Speaker 1: 12:22

We're just having some sort of financial independence. I would say and I mean that's not outlandish advice in today's day and age. But you know, I was married very young and and I um, and so it was very easy to, you know, think that my job, maybe outside the home, wasn't as important. And I would say, as women, you really need to treat you know everything, like it's your full-time job, unfortunately, even if you are doing it part-time, you know, take it seriously, be organized, get the systems in place that you need early on, because you know, even if you just do, you know one. You know what they say like a mountain is like one grain of sand at a time. But but be, be organized and be um, have a vision in mind. Like, don't just say, okay, I'm going to sell a house this year because I want to be able to afford to take my family on a European vacation. Like, have a big vision, a big reason for doing everything you're doing. That might be decades away. Yeah, you know, if I was starting over again.

Speaker 2: 13:36

Yeah Well, thank you so much. That's so insightful and I appreciate you telling us this because sometimes maybe it'll resonate with somebody out there. I know it resonates with me because sometimes Thank you. Yeah, no, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 13:47

And let's see how does being a woman run business shape the culture and values in your brokerage personally, I just we're very different than your average brokerage, just because every real estate class and every conference and everything I ever went to it was all about sales and all about your income, and that was that really might motivate people.

Speaker 1: 14:19

If you show them a diamond ring or a mansion and be like, this is what you can get if you're really successful in woman. What really motivates me and I'm going to sound so you can dismiss me if you want, because I know that this is not what they teach in real estate classes but as a woman, I really care deeply about everyone having a home and having a place where they can have refuge from the world and life's anxieties, and so for me, what motivates me is definitely the client or the situation, and the worse the circumstances, the better I am. Like you know, give me somebody who has a difficult time getting approved for a loan or first time home buyer or you know, a tricky situation, and those are my favorite.

Speaker 2: 15:33

You're like challenge accepted yeah, I love that. No, that's so good. A lot of people are just like I don't want to jump through hoops, just give me the easy stuff.

Speaker 1: 15:39

So you're just like I'll take the challenge yeah, like without any intellectual challenge there, I think real estate would be boring. But almost every transaction has like its ins and outs and its new things. Especially as somebody who's constantly getting bored, I feel like every transaction is like a new adventure, yeah, and you also become a very meaningful part of your client's life. So the motivation for me as a woman is very much tied to who I am as a mother and who I am as somebody who loves to create warm and inviting spaces and make sure everybody feels welcome.

Speaker 2: 16:15

Yeah, you made me feel all cozy inside. Maybe it's just this jacket I don't know.

Speaker 1: 16:19

No, it's probably your office, because it's almost identical to my office Really. Even the green and everything.

Speaker 2: 16:24

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 16:25

No, I mean just the warmth and the fun and the vitality that's in here. It's a great vibe. Yay, I love hearing that. Oh my gosh, and we did not pay her to say that. You know the vitality that's in here, it's very, it's a great vibe.

Speaker 2: 16:34

Yay, I love hearing that. Oh my gosh, and we did not pay her to say that, guys. She literally said that from her heart. Thank you Appreciate that. Oh, you deserve it. Thanks. And how do you maintain a healthy work-life balance while leading a thriving business?

Speaker 1: 16:49

Hmm, so not to get on my Airbnb soapbox, but so one of the cool things that I do is I manage Airbnbs, and I have two in Florida that I manage, and so it's really nice because it gives you an excuse to go check the house but also take a vacation. So for me, um, for me, have it it's work because I'm checking on the house and checking on the cleaners and doing repairs while I'm there, but it's also, you know, very relaxing. I have family down there that I love to spend time with Um and it's nice to's nice to get a change of pace. So I try to incorporate my work and vacation into the same thing. I would say I'm not great at work-life balance, but everybody knows that there's a time to put work away.

Speaker 1: 17:48

As a real estate agent, you get calls. I just got a call at eight o'clock on a Sunday night. You know you're making lunches for the next day, You're tucking your kids to bed, You're getting ready for the week ahead. But when that call comes and you need to negotiate or ratify an offer, you know you have to do it. And so there's moments when there's you know I've got to plug back into work, but ultimately, if it's not something pressing.

Speaker 1: 18:17

I think every person has an innate knowledge call it intuition of when it's time to just close the computer and pay attention to the people around you that you love, and so that's really important. I wouldn't say like I'm really consistent about exercise or I'm pretty good about eating healthy. That's good, yeah, I am very healthy. But I think whenever you hyper-focus on one area and for me right now that's real estate and the business Whenever you hyper-focus on one area, the other areas like lag a little bit. So you are constantly trying to get that balance, that justice balance, back in line. But I think that's life struggles, not just a struggle of a woman, Although we do a really good job balancing and juggling.

Speaker 1: 19:08

I'm like, okay, I've got to be here for this and here for that, and somebody has to go to the hospital, like you know what I mean. So. So I feel like, uh, those things never stressed me out, I just try to prioritize them. What's the most important thing at this moment?

Speaker 2: 19:24

Yes, Well said for sure. And then let's see, I have so many questions. I'm like, what do I want to ask her? Hmm, what are some unique challenges boutique brokerages face, and how have you addressed them?

Speaker 1: 19:38

Oh well. So I guess when you're a smaller brokerage you don't have as much name recognition. So that is a unique challenge. And then, and the other thing that I'm horrible I wouldn't say I'm horrible at it, I just it does not bring me joy. It's the type of thing everybody has them that they kind of procrastinate on because it's the thing that they don't enjoy the most. And but I would say, like accounting and bookkeeping, and bookkeeping I mean I'm all about, you know, getting in front of people and talking to people and welcoming people and hosting events and teaching and negotiating. But when it comes to just sitting down and, you know, maybe putting your headphones on and just doing that monthly work, the bookkeeping and the invoices and paying the bills, I would say that's probably nobody's favorite part, but that is a very, very challenging part because there are many other things I would rather be doing.

Speaker 2: 20:49

Yeah, nope, everybody has that one thing, everybody. Some people enjoy that. Others are like, yeah, I don't want to do this part of my life.

Speaker 1: 20:56

So yeah, that is I mean, because if you were a bigger brokerage, you would have a staff to do that. So I think, smaller brokerages. I'm wearing a lot of hats and this is the year where I'm kind of giving some of those hats to other people, and um trying to work at what I'm best at and also um what I want to do and what brings me happiness.

Speaker 2: 21:19

Yeah, I love that for 2025. Yeah, a little bit of those hats and sharing is caring.

Speaker 1: 21:23

Yes, exactly, but you know, learning to delegate is a skill you know. In itself that's right, and it's also in learning how to automate systems that you keep repeating and repeating and repeating. How many hours of a day can you get back by just figuring out better systems, whether it be hiring somebody or purchasing an app, like I, really feel like technology has helped free up about, you know, 35, 40% of my time. That's awesome. From some tasks that aren't fun, not that fun. Yeah, no Good old technology, soul crushing tasks that aren't fun, not that fun.

Speaker 2: 21:59

Yeah, good old technology.

Speaker 1: 22:01

It's soul crushing. I'm like I've got to do this?

Speaker 2: 22:04

Yes, and you have, and you did. I'd like to ask you where do you see yourself in the next five years as a person and with your business?

Speaker 1: 22:13

Oh my gosh. So my vision board I just did, I kind of just did it in my head this year rather than having a physical one, but I definitely see. Did you say five or ten? Five, okay, in five years I see owning and operating maybe another. I would say three to five Airbnbs because I love that as my side hustle and it's very related to real estate and I really enjoy it. I'm working on a book right now of how to start your own Airbnb. So the book should come out, I'm sure, within the year, okay.

Speaker 1: 22:55

But I just get so many questions on how I do things and I was like, well, maybe I should just write them down, because it's really hard to give everybody everything that you figured out and learned and all your tricks. But I'm like I want to share it with you because maybe you want to do this too and you could have this great passive income and a great vacation house. So I would say so that's my goal for that. But my main goal is obviously on the business and growing my agents. I think I want to. You know I don't want to grow too fast because I want them really well trained, but probably within five years, you know, growing the real estate agents and just becoming kind of a brand name, especially in our local area, because we pour into the community so much. And I'm somebody who just really feels like you know, the more you pour into the area that you live and work and play like, the more they'll give back to you without you asking.

Speaker 2: 24:05

Yeah, it comes around like that good karma, right, I love it. Is there anything that I have not touched on that perhaps you would like to share? Whether it's about yourself or your business, you have the floor. My gosh, um have the floor.

Speaker 1: 24:17

My gosh, no, I just really appreciate you having me here today. I didn't come with any agenda or anything in mind. You told me just to have. We're just having a conversation.

Speaker 2: 24:29

We are yeah.

Speaker 1: 24:37

No, I think. Just you know, if you're watching us on social media, there's great things to come, great content, and you know, don't be afraid to reach out or stop by the office. We absolutely love it.

Speaker 2: 24:46

I love it. And now my final question do you have a quote, a saying or a mantra that has inspired you, and, if so, would you mind sharing that with our listeners?

Speaker 1: 24:57

I have so many, but I know I'll mess it up. That's okay, I won't hold you to it. I would say it would probably be along perfect life, wasn't you know how it turned out to be to. Just my advice would be if you're an entrepreneur, you're going to have setbacks, like there are so many times when you're going to feel like you're defeated, and you know, just to keep persevering and the work that you put in is going to eventually sprout and grow. But sometimes you can get discouraged along the way, and so if there's any other entrepreneurs out there or people feeling like 2024 was difficult it was, I mean, it was hard for many people but just keep putting in the hard work and um and you'll. You'll see that the fruits of your labor will will blossom. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 26:35

That's beautiful, well said. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I really appreciate you sharing your experiences, your wisdom and insights. It's been a pleasure, thank you. Thank you for having me Absolutely.