With greater than $1B in gross sales in 17 years, the co-founders of Weinberg Choi Residential in Chicago constructed their actual property enterprise on relationships.
An Early Lesson in Homeownership
Native Chicagoan Tommy Choi has by no means taken homeownership without any consideration. As a younger boy, Tommy’s grandfather typically reminded him of one of many prime causes he immigrated to the US from South Korea: for the chance to personal his own residence. “He needed to place his stake within the floor,” Tommy mentioned. “He needed to say that this piece of Chicago, this piece of America, was his.” His grandfather impressed upon Tommy the assumption that homeownership wasn’t a assure, however a privilege. Tommy couldn’t have guessed how this angle would later issue into his life’s work.
Just a few years after graduating from faculty, Tommy was at a profession crossroads. He was making good cash, however he was depressing in his day job. His inside gross sales place with a tech firm paid nicely sufficient for him to purchase his first property – a apartment the place he lived together with his finest buddy, Missouri native Josh Weinberg. Josh was working in gross sales for a nationwide homebuilder, and whereas he appreciated the actual property business, the 2 typically commiserated about their day by day grind. That’s once they began enthusiastic about constructing one thing collectively.
Tommy and Josh already knew they made good enterprise companions. Again in faculty, they’d created a worthwhile autograph gross sales enterprise that funded journeys and events. They harnessed the identical entrepreneurial spirit to put in writing up a brand new marketing strategy, and by 2007, the buddies had turn into licensed actual property brokers. Preferring to construct an impartial model, they opened Weinberg Choi Residential as a boutique brokerage and by no means thought-about becoming a member of a bigger group.
Regardless of their enthusiasm and dedication, Tommy and Josh bought pushback from family and friends, who thought they have been making an enormous mistake getting into the actual property business in the course of a downturn. Nevertheless, the prevailing market situations provided an surprising profit. Whereas different firms have been contracting and brokers have been leaving actual property, Tommy and Josh took up the slack, rising and constructing their community and database. “We have been on the market hustling, assembly individuals, actually constructing relationships – which has been the muse from day one,” Josh mentioned.
On the outset, the companions centered on what they knew finest: They concentrated their efforts on serving to current faculty grads discover house leases, realizing these renters would finally flip into householders. With persistence, their technique labored, and those self same purchasers referred to as again once they have been prepared to purchase. The strategy resulted in year-over-year development for the companions’ burgeoning enterprise.
Discovering A Sport-Altering Hiring Technique
Because the enterprise grew, Tommy and Josh discovered themselves carrying a number of hats – and approaching burnout. They knew they wanted assist, however as Tommy mentioned, “Once you begin to earn cash as an agent, that’s once you begin to get protecting over it.”
After 4 years, they made their first rent, and later grew to a seven-person crew. Whereas they have been doing nicely, they discovered themselves making hiring selections based mostly on favorable private impressions, moderately than on a candidate’s profession potential. They finally acknowledged they have been doing a disservice to potential expertise and to their enterprise.
Later, after becoming a member of Keller Williams® ONEChicago, they realized how necessary a complete hiring technique might be to their efficiency and development. They adopted Profession Visioning, KW’s four-step expertise screening course of, and by no means regarded again. Josh mentioned the deep-dive strategy to hiring has allowed them to set expertise up for fulfillment by positioning every particular person in a job that not solely makes use of their strengths, however fuels their fireplace to return to work every day. “Arms down, CV is the primary game-changing factor for our enterprise, which can be a game-changer for our life,” Josh mentioned. It’s what’s allowed them to scale their crew to 16 members robust.
Offering for his or her crew’s success has turn into Josh and Tommy’s prime precedence. “Our crew is tremendous necessary to us. Impacting their lives and [helping] them obtain every part they ever dreamed of and extra is why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Josh mentioned.
Discovering A Clear Cultural Match
Their deal with private affect finally led Tommy and Josh to Keller Williams. In 2016, a colleague they admired, who had simply joined a KW® market heart, invited them to sit down all the way down to be taught extra in regards to the firm. They have been shocked by the cultural alignment. Tommy recalled, “After we realized extra about it … we realized Weinberg Choi was mainly Keller Williams. We have been dwelling the tradition of what KW was.” That’s once they made the choice to affix Keller Williams® ONEChicago.
They plugged into KW techniques and fashions right away. Josh mentioned, “Earlier than we joined Keller Williams, we had tried out each totally different mannequin with our crew, and we have been very, very worthwhile. However we realized we actually didn’t have a mannequin – apart from making an attempt each totally different factor.”
By being strategic about their new hires and following a specialist mannequin, Tommy says they added years of information to their crew with out having to take action in real-time. “And we realized that not solely may now we have an even bigger life, we may create an even bigger alternative for everybody that’s a part of our household at Weinberg Choi,” Josh mentioned.
The distinction was rapid. Earlier than becoming a member of Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Weinberg Choi was averaging $30-35M in gross sales quantity a 12 months. Of their first 12 months with KW, they hit $50M, and from 2021-2024, they averaged greater than $100M in gross sales quantity and 150-175 items bought yearly. Since their founding, the crew has bought greater than $1B in actual property and served greater than 2,000 purchasers. It’s an accomplishment they by no means imagined could be potential for a referral-based enterprise.
Defining the Trendy Actual Property Skilled
After they made the choice to affix Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Josh recalled they did so understanding they might be capable to run their enterprise based on their beliefs and values, and construct on the model that they had labored so laborious to determine.
As a enterprise, Tommy says their differentiator is serving their purchasers as “fashionable actual property professionals.” To the Weinberg Choi crew, which means leaning into offline cellphone calls, lunches, and face-to-face touchpoints, whereas additionally offering digital content material that engages their audiences and will increase their on-line visibility. From explainer movies on rate of interest shifts to mortgage fundamentals and native restaurant suggestions, Tommy says constructing an internet repute is about creating helpful, well timed posts that construct belief with followers. For Tommy, it’s additionally about letting his character shine by means of and creating real connection. The twin-pronged strategy to advertising helps them keep prime of thoughts with previous and future purchasers, whereas serving as a throughline to their tradition and mission.
Tommy says he will get to honor his grandfather’s legacy with each shopper they serve. “I feel my grandfather could be very pleased with not simply what I’ve achieved, however what we’ve achieved as a crew, collectively,” he mentioned. “Particularly understanding the rationale why I’m within the place I’m right this moment was due to his journey right here.”
Watch the total KW Actual Property Function Fashions Weinberg Choi profile @kellerwiliams on YouTube.
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