Justin Stoddart
Welcome back to the Think Bigger Real Estate Show. I'm your host Justin Stoddart and I'm very excited about today's episode in which I have with me serial entrepreneur, and a financial professional that is actually host of the podcast Grandma's Wealth Wisdom and we're going to be talking about as a real estate agent, how you can show up more as an advisor than just as a customer service representative or salesperson. So, before I introduce today's guest, officially, let me just remind you that you can get show notes and highlights action steps by going to the website, think bigger real estate, sign up for our weekly update, as well as I've got a treat there for you when it comes to actually becoming more of an advisor. So today's topic fits in perfectly with that. And I want to thank Amanda Neely out of Chicago, Illinois, all the way from Chicago, coming on to the bigger real estate show. Amanda, thank you for coming on today.
Amanda Neely
Thank you for having me, Justin. I'm excited to be here.
Justin Stoddart
Yes. From one possible podcaster to another, it's a It's a pleasure to have you on so very cool. Now I know you are a business owner, you've started everything from coffee shops, to financial advisement businesses. And you're young, like I'm assuming you're young. You just got great cream or something. But I love the ambition. You know, I think sometimes people believe that they need to be in there, like in the late 50s before they can start getting after it. And you're kind of teaching the world otherwise, maybe kind of the millennial generation, I'm assuming.
Amanda Neely
Yep. Yep. So I hear a happy birthday is in order for you. Happy birthday? Yes. Then I'm an August baby. Myself, too. I just turned 35. So just a little bit behind you.
Justin Stoddart
Yeah, thank you for that. And Happy birthday.
Amanda Neely
Thank you.
Justin Stoddart
Now you've had your birthday, or you're going to have it this month?
Amanda Neely
I had it. I had it.
Justin Stoddart
I hope it was wonderful. Mine certainly was had a lot of people make me feel real special. Good. Very good. So let's talk a little bit about your podcast, grandma's wealth, wisdom, just tell us kind of in a nutshell. What's that all about? What would people expect to hear if they want to find your show?
Amanda Neely
Yeah, so a lot of times when people are thinking about their money, they are looking for what's the hottest, latest, most awesome product out there. But we like to return back to time tested time honored strategies. And in particular, the greatest generation, you know, they came of age during the great recession or depression, you know, in the 30s and 40s, early 40s. And we found have found that there's a lot to learn from, how they structure their financial lives and this post 2008 kind of life that we live in now. And so there's a lot more that's transferable than I think like what our parents would have used in the 80s and 90s.
Justin Stoddart
It is really interesting. That with the internet, right with podcasting, like there's a bajillion ideas, yet there are tried and true principles that when implemented, and, and utilize over time, they, they they have proven results, right. And there's a bunch of newer ideas that maybe don't have that same track record. So I love that you're kind of a voice for the millennial generation. On to these tried and true principles. Right? These these got a North Stars of financial wealth. Yeah,
Amanda Neely
yeah. And real estate is a big component within their because hat owning your own property, whether it's something you live in or that you rent to others, is a great way to create wealth that's worked for thousands and thousands of years.
Justin Stoddart
Great point, you know, and I love hearing you say that I think sometimes financial professionals are seen as, you know, antagonists to owning real estate, right, because it takes away their investment opportunity. And what I hear you and your counterpart, Mark Willis, who's been on the show, as well mentioned is that real estate is actually a very critical component of every buddies, wealth portfolio who is wealthy? Yeah,
Amanda Neely
yep, absolutely.
Justin Stoddart
And good thing, you're speaking to an audience of real estate professionals today. So you're in good hands with a mentality and philosophy like that.
Amanda Neely
Yeah, yeah. And, you know, grandma would have different views of how to use your whole in terms of, you know, pay off your mortgage as quickly as you can, where you might say, use that as leverage more or something like that. But the US the home as a source of where life happens, and where life is stewarded. And push forward is a great way to think about what a home can mean, not just in the wealth that it can create, but in the value that it brings to the lives of the people that are purchasing that home or, and are living in it. And that I think ties in really well with what we're going to kind of talk about today.
Justin Stoddart
You know, I think I love that you said that, because I think, you know, the life of a real estate agent, I get the great privilege of being around them all day long. And it can be a bit of a grind at times, right. And I think when people can step back and say, wait a minute, I'm helping people find, like, their favorite place on Earth, they're safe place, the place where they have their, you know, their, you know, oftentimes some of their greatest moments. And I, you know, a believer that, you know, the greatest work that we do oftentimes is within the walls of our own home. And that's not my own quote, I borrowed that one from a mentor but, but I think that when real estate agents start to recognize just how powerful their role in the world is, maybe it helps them rise above kind of that, you know, that grind. Let's, let's let's talk a little bit about because one of the things that you help people with when it comes to their financial life is helping them start with the end in mind, right. And I want agents, I invite agents to listen to this through a couple different ears, right, this one over here is going to listen to it as for your own personal finances, the other is going to be listened to it as the questions that you can adopt that Amanda is going to share with us today that you can begin asking your clients again, in order to rise above industry disruption, in order to rise above tech platforms that are discount brokers to rise above I buyers, you can't just have a flashier listing presentation, you actually have to provide more value have to provide more leadership. And so asking questions that get people to move and be influenced to make more and better decisions is critical. So I want you to teach us, Amanda, some of the questions that you have. We're going to keep today's show a little bit brief. But I'd like to have you teach us a little bit about what are some of the questions that agents should be asking themselves that they then could adopt to begin asking some of their clients to really, again, rise above kind of the commodities level of where real estate agents value proposition has been?
Amanda Neely
Yeah. So it's really pretty simple. And yeah, I like to go on a timeline kind of fashion, where I start with, where are you at right now? Like, what are some of the things that are happening in your life that could have a major impact on your financial future? Or like, what is the home you're looking for right now, in the case of a real estate agent, you know, you get the, the, you know, this many bedrooms, this many bathrooms, whatever it might be. And then but then also like sharing, like, well...