Permission to bring your kids to work. Permission to use bright colors. Permission to never cold call again. Permission to build your business exactly how you want it.

Chelsea Harold is here to give you all the permission slips you need.

In this episode, we’re sitting down with the agent everyone kept telling us we HAD to interview (seriously, like 35 of you said her name when we asked for your favorite agents to follow). Chelsea’s been doing things her way for 10 years.

From building an 11,000-member Facebook community to having her kids in listing videos, Chelsea proves there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to real estate success. She’s sharing how she built a team that lets her spend more time at home, why she pays her agents 50% (yes, really), and how being of service turned into a thriving business.

How to Build an 11,000-Member Community (Without Mentioning Real Estate Once)

What if the best way to grow your real estate business was to rarely talk about real estate?

Chelsea Harold has been doing just that with her Colorado Girl Gang — a Facebook community that started in 2018 and is now 11,000 members strong.

Chelsea doesn’t use her community to sell houses but to serve other women-owned businesses.

When a new med spa opens and they’re struggling to get customers, she’ll organize a happy hour there. She’ll order charcuterie from a local business, bring the girls, and create an event that helps everyone involved.

She even throws an annual Bay Day event for the community, where she brings in women-owned businesses for makeup, permanent jewelry, flower bars, hair bars, tarot readings, and photo opportunities.

This is the opposite of what every brokerage teaches. They want you calling everyone in your phone with a script, including your grandmother. But Chelsea’s approach proves that when you care about others genuinely, they’ll care about you back. When you’re of service first, business follows naturally.

After 10 years of this approach, Chelsea doesn’t have to be online 24/7 anymore. Her community advocates for her. The work she put in early — pouring into others, being of genuine service — now works for her around the clock.

Because here’s what Chelsea learned that most agents never figure out: if you’re only talking about real estate, you’re forgettable. But if you’re the person who consistently shows up for your community, celebrates other women, and creates experiences that matter — well, that’s the kind of person people remember when they’re ready to make the biggest purchase of their lives.

Come for the Goats, Stay for the Real Estate: How to Build Client Trust on Instagram

If you scroll back far enough on Chelsea’s Instagram, you’ll find that this is the same Instagram account she’s had her whoel life! We’re talking Valencia filters, pictures of random food, and Pinterest houses with captions like “Isn’t this so cute, guys?”

But in this way she’s let people watch her entire evolution. For 10 years, she’s been showing up in her stories, bringing followers behind the scenes — you’re in her house, watching her make coffee, meeting her kids, seeing her work from the couch with a baby on her lap.

Her Instagram feels like you’re getting a FaceTime call from your best friend. And then, sprinkled throughout all that realness, are gorgeous houses and — yes — goats. Lots of goats. She lives on a farm, and honestly, the goats might be her best marketing tool.

She also loves sharing client stories. She’ll post about working with someone for years — how they had a Zoom call in 2020, stayed in touch, and finally bought their dream home in 2023. Or how a client was able to use their home equity to pay down medical bills and put their kids in better schools.

This approach creates something most agents never achieve: clients who trust you before they even meet you. They always say, “I feel like I know you.”

It’s the opposite of every perfectly curated real estate account you’ve ever seen. Chelsea’s not trying to impress you with staging or designer outfits. She’s showing you her actual life — the messy, beautiful, chaotic reality of running a business while raising kids on a farm. And somehow, that authenticity makes her more trustworthy than any number of professional headshots ever could.

The time investment is about an hour each morning. She wakes up, spends time with her babies, then tackles content creation and engagement across her Instagram, the local account she manages, and her Facebook group. She drafts posts in Canva whenever she has a spare moment, keeps a running list of content ideas, and has learned to work in the pockets of time she actually has.

Pre-Modern Agent Social Club, she was spending hours researching trends, reading every marketing blog, trying to keep up with the constant changes. Now she can take proven strategies and make them her own, focusing her energy on serving her 20 active clients instead of trying to become a content creation expert.

The Colorful Rebrand That Changed Everything

At one point, Chelsea became tired of looking like every other agent. Tired of the endless sea of black and gold that’s somehow become synonymous with “luxury” in real estate. Tired of red and blue color schemes that made her want to gag. She wanted something that truly felt like her — bold, animated, refined, and confidently feminine.

Enter Caroline from the Blueprint Brand Studio, who was already in Chelsea’s orbit through the Modern Agent community. Chelsea reached out with the following brief: something bold and animated but refined, okay with retro vibes, boldly confident, and confidently feminine.

What emerged was a palette that completely transformed everything: lipstick red, orchid purple, lemon yellow, fern green, lavender, and azure blue. Each color has a name that feels intentional, memorable, and totally different from the industry standard.

The transformation was immediate and dramatic. Gone were the generic black and gold business cards that could belong to any agent anywhere. In came holographic cards in vibrant reds with custom brand marks — little H’s for Harold Homes that feel playful and premium at the same time. Suddenly, everything from hats to email signatures screamed “this is Chelsea Harold” in the best possible way.

But the real test was the yard sign. This took the longest to get right, and for good reason — it’s the thing people see when they drive through neighborhoods, the physical representation of your brand in the world. Chelsea started the rebrand process while pregnant, and Caroline kept sending options that were close but not quite there.

“We’re so close. It’s not it. It’s not it,” became Chelsea’s refrain.

Finally, exhausted and ready to just stick with the old black and gold signs, Chelsea decided to take a break. Then, in the middle of the night after having her baby, inspiration struck. She woke up knowing exactly what the sign should be, immediately emailed Caroline, and within days had the final design. The moment she saw it, she knew: “That’s it. Done. Print it.”

The excitement was palpable. Chelsea couldn’t wait to put that sign in someone’s yard, and when she finally did, her husband filmed the moment. The pride in her voice is unmistakable — this wasn’t just a sign, it was a statement.

The lesson isn’t to copy Chelsea’s exact palette (please don’t; she’s already using those colors perfectly). The lesson is to find what authentically represents you and commit to it fully. When your brand actually reflects who you are, everything else becomes easier. The confidence shows up in your content, your client interactions, and yes, even in how proud you feel putting your sign in someone’s yard.

How a Team Structure Can Help You Scale Without Burning Out

For years, Chelsea resisted calling it a “team.” It was just her and Hannah, this duo that worked together organically. But when pregnancy hit and she realized she was driving across the entire state of Colorado in a single day, something had to change.

“I can’t do this when I have a baby,” she realized.

So she did something she’d never done before: put out a job ad. But this wasn’t your typical “join our growing team” posting. Chelsea’s Capricorn energy came out in full force.

“I’m not going to hold your hand. You got to want to work,” she wrote. “This is the meanest, rudest job ad anyone’s ever seen,” she told us.

Only one person responded to that intimidating ad, and that person was Jacqueline — who’s still with Chelsea today. From there, the team grew organically through attraction rather than recruitment. People would approach Chelsea saying they were thinking about joining, they’d meet to see if they were a fit, and if so, they’d become part of the Harold Homes family.

The structure that emerged was born from necessity, not strategy. Chelsea currently has 10 buyers, and there’s simply no way to show houses to all of them while maintaining any semblance of sanity — especially with kids, a husband, and a farm. So the division of labor became clear: Chelsea handles the initial consultation, contracts, negotiations, and closing. Her team handles most of the showings and in-person hand-holding.

It might seem weird to hire Chelsea and then not see her until closing, but she’s learned to address this upfront. During buyer consultations, she explains that they’ll be working hand-in-hand with both her and one of her team members, and that while Chelsea might not be at every showing, she’s handling all the behind-the-scenes work that actually closes deals.

The key to making this work has been paying her team fairly. Really fairly. Chelsea gives her team members 50% of the commission, which makes most people’s jaws drop. But she’s thought this through strategically.

“I don’t want a revolving door of girls,” she explains. “I don’t want you to think of Harold Homes and Chelsea and whoever she has this week.”

The consistency matters, especially when your branding materials feature your whole team. She doesn’t want to be constantly redoing marketing materials because people keep leaving.

The generous commission split fosters genuine partnerships. Chelsea remembers being on the other side, working for months at a big brokerage only to get a check that made her ask, “Wait, where’s the rest of the check?” She was fired for asking that question.

“This is a career and they need to pay their bills,” she says. “I want you to stay with me and build a business together. I want to build this together.”

The traditional real estate model says you should do everything yourself, grind harder, be available 24/7. Chelsea’s model proves there’s another way. When you’re generous with your team, clear about expectations, and strategic about delegation, everyone wins. The business grows, the clients are happy, and nobody burns out trying to be everywhere at once.

Most importantly, this structure supports the life Chelsea actually wants to live — one where she can be present for her kids while still serving her clients at the highest level. Because what’s the point of being self-employed if you’re not building a business that supports the life you want?

How to Be Present for Your Kids AND Build a Thriving Real Estate Career

Before having kids, Chelsea had a plan. She’d hire Jacqueline, put the babies in daycare, and work, work, work. She thought she’d bottle feed so she could be away from the baby, keep everything separate and structured.

Then reality hit.

“I’m the exact opposite of what I wanted,” she laughs. “Now we co-sleep. We’re always together.”

Everything changed when she actually became a mom and listened to her intuition about what felt right for her family.

With only 25 hours of childcare per week, Chelsea’s approach became simple: bring the kids along. Need to do a listing video? Veronica’s coming. Open house? The baby’s there too. Someone actually asked her about having her kid in listing videos, and her response was perfect:

“My client said they would have hired Veronica if she was of legal age.”

When Veronica was nursing and wouldn’t take a bottle, there was no choice.

“I’m an exclusively nursing mom. If they’re not eating food and I am the food, I guess we’re going together.”

So they did showings together. Chelsea wearing the baby, showing houses, and nobody cared. In fact, clients loved it. The transparency and authenticity made her more relatable, not less professional.

Her approach to parenting mirrors her approach to business: there are no rules except the ones that work for your family. Growing up with a single father after her mom died, Chelsea was always with her dad wherever he went.

“If he went somewhere, I went somewhere. So why can’t my kids go with me?”

The key is being transparent about who you are from the beginning. Anyone following Chelsea on social media knows exactly what they’re getting: a successful agent who happens to be a mom, who brings her kids along, who works from home in sweatpants while nursing a baby. There are no surprises because she’s never pretended to be anything else.

“I don’t know where this rule is that kids can’t be part of your business,” she says. “My children are part of my life. They’re not like another section.”

The traditional real estate model says you have to choose: be a dedicated agent or be a present mom. Chelsea’s success proves that’s a false choice.

Skip the Script, And Trust Your Gut: Chelsea’s Advice Advice for New Agents

Chelsea gets this question every single day in her Instagram DMs: “I love how you started. How would you recommend I begin?”

First, find a brokerage that’s actually going to benefit you.

“I think everyone forgets that you’re not getting hired; you’re going somewhere where you’re going to be supported to grow your business.”

Figure out what you actually need. Chelsea needed her mother-in-law to be her boss and leave her alone. You might need extensive training, or maybe you need complete freedom. Get clear on what support looks like for you, then find it.

Second, and this is crucial: do what you love. What vibes with you? What gives you energy versus what drains you? Chelsea’s happy to be on social media all day but has zero interest in hosting first-time homebuyer classes. She’ll throw events she’s excited about but won’t do cold calls.

“There are no rules. You could do whatever you want. You just need to listen to what feels right.”

Your community could be anything. Women-owned businesses like Chelsea, or it could be animal lovers, Gilmore Girls fans, or even the clown community (her example, not ours). The point isn’t what you choose — it’s that you choose something that genuinely excites you.

Here’s what she wishes someone had told her: there is no secret.

“It’s like getting in shape. There is no magic secret pill.”

You’re not going to magically have a real estate business in three months. She cried every day as a new agent wondering if she’d ever make money, but she kept doing the work anyway.

“Every day that you’re crying, ‘Will I have a paycheck?’ cry and say, ‘I don’t know, but I’m going to keep doing it.'”

The key is consistency with the things that actually work for you, not consistency with what everyone else says you should do.

The work builds on itself. Every small action compounds. Every person you serve remembers. Every authentic connection becomes part of your foundation. But you have to trust the process long enough to see results.

People can sense when you’re doing things you hate. But when you’re operating in your zone of genius, doing things that light you up, that energy is magnetic. Think about who you follow on social media and why — that’s your guide for what kind of content and approach will work for you.

Chelsea constantly asks herself, “What would I like to consume?” If she wouldn’t want to see it, she doesn’t create it. If she wouldn’t enjoy the experience, she doesn’t offer it. This simple filter has guided every decision in her 10-year career.

For new agents starting on social media, Chelsea’s hack is beautifully simple: live your life and document it locally. Grab coffee somewhere? Film it. Tag the city every time you post — they’ll start sharing your content. Find a local boutique you love and engage with their followers.

The goal isn’t to be everywhere or do everything. It’s to be consistently yourself in the places that matter to your ideal clients. To serve your community so well that when someone posts “Does anyone have a realtor?” your people show up in the comments saying your name.

But here’s the most important part: you have to start before you feel ready. You have to keep going when you can’t see results yet. You have to trust that being authentically you, serving your community, and showing up consistently will eventually compound into something bigger than you imagined.

This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz.