Remember when everyone said 2024 was going to be “the year to lay low” in real estate? Well, Chelsea and Kayla said “hold our pink drinks” and did the exact opposite.

In this episode, the girls are revealing everything they did when the real estate market hit a rough patch. From budget cuts to launching a podcast in record time, they’re sharing the moves that transformed their business in less than a year.

This is your playbook for what to do when your own business feels stagnant.

What 2024 Actually Looked Like for Real Estate

Following the pandemic, there was a record surge of new agents. 100,876 new members joined NAR in 2021 alone, which was an 82% increase from the previous year. But by 2023, that trend completely reversed. The number of self-employed real estate agents and brokers dropped by 15%.

Then came the NAR settlement, which freaked out a bunch of people. Agents who were on the border of retiring probably thought “I’m not dealing with this” and left. Brand new agents didn’t know how to show their value and probably left too.

Interest rates in July 2023 reached their highest range since 2001. And if that was happening in 2023, the major effects were going to hit in 2024.

The cherry on top was the election. Regardless of politics, there’s always a slight pause during election periods because people have uncertainty about what’s gonna happen.

At one point, there were more agents than listings for sale, which is absolutely wild!

So yeah, 2024 was a lot. But Chelsea and Kayla realized that in that moment, they could do one of two things. They could pivot away, or they could go all in on the agents who were serious about staying in the game. Guess which option they chose!

Step One: Look at Your Budget

Yes, this is everyone’s least favorite part. Even talking about it makes your heart race a little, right? But you have to spend money to make money in some capacity if you have your own business.

So the key is looking at where you can cut or change things so you can reallocate funds into places that are gonna help you move the needle.

Chelsea was paying almost $800 a month for ActiveCampaign because of her list size, so she switched to Flodesk for $39 a month. That’s $800 to $40!!!

And instead of just pocketing that $800 savings, she reallocated it. She decided to start a podcast because she wanted to get in front of more agents and help people understand how Modern Agent Social Club actually worked.

So take an honest look at your budget, and make sure your hard-earned money is being invested wisely.

Why We Started a Podcast When Everyone Said to Lay Low

The podcast decision was twofold. First, Chelsea and Kayla wanted to get in front of more agents. They knew they had a good product and the ability to help people, but they needed a bigger audience.

But, also, they wanted to get people in their circle, hearing them, talking with them, interacting with them, learning from them, so that by the time these people chose to join, they would be totally bought in.

Just like they teach their agents to do: build relationships and show up consistently so you can build trust.

For agents, this translates to: your face and your voice need to be part of your social media strategy. It can’t be graphics and checking a box like “I posted today.” If you’re not using social media to build relationships, you’re missing the whole point.

Whether it’s cozy coffee chats in your Instagram stories every Monday morning, or one reel a month that has your face in it, start small, but start somewhere. Little breadcrumbs that help people see how you talk, explain things, and handle client stories.

That’s what makes someone want to hire you.

The Pink Rebrand We Desperately Needed

Chelsea always loved the color pink. When she was a sophomore in high school, she wore pink every single day of the entire school year (which Kayla said was very Elle Woods of her).

But before this rebrand, she was more in the mindset of wanting things to look luxury or really polished. She wasn’t really leaning into her vibe and aesthetic; she was looking everywhere else for inspiration.

When they decided to do the podcast, Chelsea got scrappy. She wasn’t hiring anyone to do the cover because they needed to get going. So she did it herself and put pink on their brand vision.

Then she thought: why are we only putting this on the podcast? It should all be cohesive.

That led to a photo shoot with those colors, using pink more in their graphics, and consistent fonts.

Here’s your permission slip: step into who you are. Don’t conform to the mold that the real estate industry has created.

One of their members in Modern Agent Social Club posted two headshot options in their Facebook group: a black blazer “professional” shot and a pink one that felt more like her. Everyone except one person said pink, 100%. Yes, show your personality. What’s another black blazer staring at the camera gonna do?

The goal isn’t to blend in but to become unforgettable to the right people.

The Website Refresh

This one’s gonna hurt a little to admit, but Chelsea had spent $7,000 redoing her website a year prior. Her husband was like “what are you serious?” when she said she wanted to redo it again.

But that previous website just didn’t feel like her. And now that she’d figured out what her vibe actually was, everything needed to align.

She didn’t just want any and every real estate agent to join Modern Agent. She wanted the agents who were excited about using social media, who wanted to elevate their business through it, and wanted to have fun with their marketing.

She wanted people who were going to be a good fit and make her business better.

So Chelsea and Kayla went through their DMs, Facebook messages, and emails and screenshot things people were actually saying. They literally laid it all out and asked “how did she say it?” and put those exact words on the website.

Use the words straight from your community. Listen to how your family talks about the market during holiday gatherings; they’re probably not saying “I have a lot of equity but I’m not sure how to leverage it.” They’re saying “I would die to have a bigger kitchen” or “maybe we should do like a stepping stone house.”

Email Marketing That Works in the Background

Chelsea rebranded her email from “The Weekly Sip” (very wine bar themed) to “The Modern Agent Confidential: The marketing inside scoop for real estate agents.”

It’s cute, it’s fun, but it also tells you exactly who it’s for.

She created a simple format with headers that make the email easy to complete and bingeable to read: “What to post this week,” “What’s happening at Modern Agent,” “Something I’m recommending to everyone.” She changes them up, but having that structure makes it consistent and fun.

But the real game-changer is in the funnels.

When someone signs up for her email list, they get a welcome email telling them what to expect. For lead magnets, the funnel delivers the freebie, then a “hey in case you missed this” email, then a “how to use this resource” email, because they know how buried people’s inboxes get.

The great thing about email funnels is that you do the setup once and it’s all automated. Your people are getting nurtured by you, hearing from you, seeing your name, learning about you while you’re showing houses, watching movies with your kids, or binge-watching Gilmore Girls for the 37th time.

For agents, this might look like a buyer or seller lead magnet that nurtures people into scheduling a consultation, or a new client funnel that sets expectations and guides them through your process.

The point is that if you’re the agent who wants to scale, you need things working in the background while you’re living your life.

Ads and Outsourcing

Here’s what Chelsea learned about ads: they’re not designed to save your business. If you’re hanging by a thread thinking “I’m gonna do ads to fix this,” don’t. Put that energy into the foundational things first.

Ads are for pouring gasoline on the fire. But you need to already have some clients, an email list, and you need to see that things are happening organically.

Then when you add ads, it amplifies everything you’ve already built.

Chelsea decided to outsource ads because it’s not in her wheelhouse, and her attention being focused on learning ads wasn’t going to serve her business well. She’d rather spend time sending emails, posting reels, nurturing members, doing lives… the things that are her strengths.

Another lesson: There’s a time and place for outsourcing, but you have to outsource the right things. You can’t outsource relationships.

Kayla shared that she’s been able to outsource things like grocery delivery, carpooling, house cleaning… the things that free up her time for what matters most. But she heard about a successful businesswoman who pays someone to wake up her kids in the morning, and Kayla was like “never.” There are some things she simply wouln’t want to outsource.

So outsource the things that other people can do, and keep the things that only you can do or that matter most to your values and lifestyle.

Moving Fast Beats Overthinking Every Single Time

You need to move fast in periods when you’re trying to really ramp things up. It can’t be “I’m going to overthink this for six months and then maybe I’ll start a podcast or maybe I’ll show up on social media.”

When you’re clear on who you’re talking to, what your vibe is, what kind of business you want, what kind of life you want… all those decisions become easy. You don’t overthink them because there’s no time and no point.

Chelsea was listening to a meditation about becoming your future self and realized she’s already living that life. Not because she sat around hoping her membership would grow, but because of the work. Because she committed the time, made quick decisions, and didn’t overthink it.

For their website, Chelsea and Kayla decided on it in September, started interviewing developers in October, picked one in November, started designing in December, and it launched September 8th. Nine months. She literally birthed a baby in the form of a website.

When you’re so clear on your vision, decisions become easy. You don’t have time to overthink them. You just make the decision and keep your foot on the gas.

This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz.