In this Live with Lisa: Candid Conversations Series, I interviewed **Allie Kirby **as we reviewed the topic: Building A Team.
I know that I am not alone when I say I am craving REAL conversations. Conversations that are real, raw and brave. Please join me for “Live with Lisa.” I’ll be talking to some of my favorite people about: Addiction, Advocacy, Anxiety, Beauty, Business, Faith, Leadership, Loss, Parenting and much more!
_________________________
**Featured Speaker Biography
_________________________ **
Allie Kirby *transitioned into real estate after chasing her own dreams of homeownership in Denver, Colorado. Born and raised in Prairie Village, Kansas, Allie graduated with her Masters in Elementary Education from the University of Kansas. After one year of teaching 4th grade, she decided to pursue her passion for dance and lifetime dream of moving to Colorado after growing up vacationing here numerous times with her family. Subsequently, two seasons after dancing for the Denver Nuggets Dancers she decided to get her real estate license and become a Realtor in order to educate and advocate for first-time homebuyers. She resided in Capitol Hill and danced for 3 years with the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders and in Super Bowl 50, then moved to Arvada with her husband to welcome their children Royce and then Selma into the world. She is the co-founder of Gals Who Give non-profit, a group of women with a fierce desire to inspire and who are committed to making a difference in their local Denver community.
Allie Kirby was named 3rd Year Top Producer at Your Castle Real Estate and Top 10 of 600 brokers in her 4th and 5th year at Your Castle Real Estate, as a member of the President’s Club. She was recently named one of 5280 Magazine’s Top Producers and is thrilled to create her own team as a principal-agent with Compass. Allie believes there is never a problem, only a situation to be handled with grace, patience, and attention to detail. She is stimulated by her client’s needs and drives to provide exceptional customer service with her kindness and infectious positive attitude.*
Interview Q&A
_________________________________
* Lisa: **You started out as a very successful individual agent. What made you decide it was time to form a team? *
Allie: Right after I had my son Royce (in 2017) I felt this sense of, “what’s next”. I had been in the business on my own for 6 years and truthfully felt alone and lost in what my contribution to the world was supposed to be. While I was surrounded by incredible agents at the New Era Group, who supported one another in our own businesses, I felt called to create a culture specifically for women, in my same position, as wives, mothers, and aspiring new agents of how to do this job, and NOT feel so alone! I wanted to share what I created and in turn become re-energized by the creativity of other new eyes in the industry.
* Lisa: Where did you start?*
Allie: It took a long time. I talked about starting a “group” or “team” for nearly 2+ years before I actually joined Compass with the intention to do so. I had NO idea of the structure, no idea who would start it with me, or if I would be the sole owner- It was terrifying. I explored starting groups with other New Era agents and while the respect for one another was there, the goal was never defined. I have to sincerely thank my husband, Liam (my C.O.O as I like to refer to him) and my Life Coach, Teresa Coltrin, for really diving into some tough conversations about ego, purpose, and long term goals to arrive at what I wanted my group to “look/feel/be” like. It also took committing to my authentic self and staying true to my “why” in this business.
* Lisa: **How did you prepare? *
Allie: Similar to what I shared above, I had a lot of conversations that ultimately lead me to the age-old, “JUST DO IT!”. At the end of the day, if it didn’t work out, I had found success as an individual agent. If the group or team wasn’t what I was enjoying then I could let it go. At this point, I started acting as a team and putting it out into my daily affirmations and gratitude that I was the leader of a successful, amazing team… and here we are!
* Lisa: *What systems did you have in place?
Allie: I had many different systems in place for my own business and I have shared those systems with my team. While they are building their businesses to stay authentic to themselves, only certain systems are required.
* Lisa: *How did you pick your team members?
Allie: I always laugh at this question when people ask, and then tear up a little bit. I am a believer in the law of attraction. When I knew I was starting a team, I started talking about it a lot, openly. That said, I think it’s important to know that all my teammates, I knew through avenues of friendship, prior to ANY of us being Realtors. My very first teammate, Tabitha Tobias, was my favorite Corepower Yoga instructor during my Nuggets days (we had free membership there when I was dancing). She reached out about getting her license while I was still on my own and we just naturally became closer, talking about transactions etc. It was a no-brainer to ask her to become one of my founding members. Next was Lacy Caudel- our Director of Operations. Lacy and I had gone to the University of Kansas together, partied during our first years in Denver together and she too reached out about becoming a Realtor and joined Your Castle as well. Once I left to start my team at Compass, she reached out again as she was thinking about a change and without hesitation over the phone, I asked her to join my team, she said “Hell yes” and the rest is history. Once Tabitha and Lacy were with me, I didn’t even have a team name at this point. I knew I was drawn to “Monarch” but again was so afraid of it looking cheesy or being misunderstood! Tabitha and Lacy were crucial pieces of completing the puzzle and worked diligently with the designers at Compass to create our vision perfectly. After Tabitha and Lacy joined our business was booming, so we brought on Sydney (who had already been helping me with showings as an agent at Porchlight). Sydney and I danced on Broncos together and are both former Nuggets Dancers as well, thus asking her to join was also a no brainer! Then along came our team free spirit and mama, Kimberly Hidalgo, who I also knew from dancing with the Broncos. She and Tabitha were intertwined in the yoga world as well so it only felt right to welcome her to the family. Finally, during my daughter, Selma’s birthday, my dear friend and past client Melissa Milder shared she had quit her job and was ready for the next venture in life. Coincidentally, I was going to start searching for an assistant that following week, and I knew she was the PERFECT fit. Through love, friendship and like outlooks on life- The Monarch Group culture is better than I ever dreamed.
* Lisa: *Do each of you have a specialty, i.e. Buyer’s Agent, Listing Agent, TC, Admin Assistant?
Allie: Each team member operates as a Realtor with their own clients. That said, as I mentioned above, Lacy is my Director of Operations, Sydney Hulse is my Social Media Coordinator and Melissa Milder is my assistant.
* Lisa: *Tell us about the training you provide for your team.
Allie: Our team has Monday morning calls where we either bring in professionals in the industry to learn/network OR bring our issues to the table to help brainstorm ideas. I have one on one meetings with each team member to help them with their own goals and create the action items necessary to attain those goals. We are also fortunate to have the myriad of coaching programs that Compass and DMAR provides. We often take these together as a team as well to hold each other accountable to growth.
* Lisa: *How did you choose your branding?
Allie: My branding is very personal and a true labor of love… for as long as I can remember I have been completely obsessed with butterflies and their meaning. It stems from my teaching elementary school and studying the transformation of Monarch butterflies. Furthermore, my favorite quote is, “If nothing ever changed, there would never be any butterflies.” Given the transitions that home buying and home selling stem from, I loved the correlation of journey and change that they represent and truly think our clients can relate to the intensity transition can bring.
* Lisa: **What have you found to be the most fruitful ways of marketing yourself and your team? *
Allie: I have found staying authentic, having fun, and keeping things personal has worked wonders for our team. At the end of the day while we may be called “Realtors” we are really best friends who are great listeners, who want to help! We love to have fun, we want to see our clients beyond happy and we share a mentality that clients become family- so we love on them hard!
* Lisa: *What are the benefits of a real estate team?
Allie: I think the greatest benefit of a real estate team is collaboration and confidence. I have been in so many awful situations during transactions, where I just want to vent, talk through the issue until I am blue and the face, and have someone understand me, back me up and get me back in the boxing ring! I feel so fortunate to have cultivated a team where we can all bring our “issues” so that we can look at them from every angle- thus providing our clients with the ultimate service and opportunity for success!
* Lisa: **Talk to us about the greatest challenges. *
Allie: What is balance? What is “taking a day off”? Does anyone know!? I am an opportunist at heart, so any door, window, or small ray of light providing opportunity I jump at- which can be an issue in putting TOO much on my plate. I have been forced to say “no” to many things given the growth of this team, but I do it so that I am able to make my “yes” even more important and meaningful.
* Lisa: **How have you created a true team environment? *
Allie: I am an open book and I have established our core values, which each team member not only agrees with but easily practices in their own daily life. We talk through the hard stuff, we meet once a week, we talk all day via our group text and Instagram chat. We are a family! We are not just supporting one another’s careers, we are truly supporting each other to our cores, and through all aspects of each other’s life. Each one of these women will be at my children’s weddings and I know I will be at theirs, no matter when the wind takes us the support will remain strong for years to come, through acceptance, kindness, love, and giving.
**Let’s Connect!
**___________________________
Learn More about **Allie Kirby **here:
Learn More about Lisa and our team here: