Coffeez with Joe Shalaby - Rising to the Top in Mortgage ft. Bryan Miller | Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby Ep. 22

Starting point is 00:00:00 What's up everybody? Welcome to another episode of coffees for closers. I am here with one of my favorite people of all time that I've ever met in the mortgage industry, Mr. Brian Miller himself, the VP of National Sales at UWM. He's one of the foremost experts in the industry. Really the right-hand man to the founder, the president and CEO of UWM, Matt HBF. Brian Miller is a absolute visionary. He's one of the most brilliant minds in the space. He's really the catalyst, in my opinion, and I can argue this all day, for a lot of UWM's success, I would like all of you to kindly welcome Mr. Brian Miller himself. Thank you so much, Brian, for coming.

Starting point is 00:00:49 Thank you, Joe. Quite the hype, man. Man, I should have you walk around with me, introduce me when I walk in rooms. I like it. I know, I told you. I'll work for you. I'll work for you all day long. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:00:58 So, Brian, thank you so much for doing this. And I know I grabbed you and it's a last minute thing. And I know you're swamped and you're always swamped. And I really appreciate you doing this. So we're going to dive right into it. You know, I'll be candid. You've been one of my biggest inspirations since I got in the business. I remember and I was telling, you know, some of our media team earlier, like when I got

Starting point is 00:01:20 in the business, I wouldn't get on stage. I was scared to talk, you know, in a public setting. I remember you just coaching me, mentoring me, telling me how to get in front of cameras, telling me how to be a good public speaker and you know that's that's going to be with me for the rest of my life look at you now yeah where you came the first time we did it together to now is just mind-blowing yeah how how your success and sometimes just kind of get outside your comfort zone you know it's the only way you grow in life is getting uncomfortable so and you know you know you really were a huge inspiration for me I remember seeing you the first time and like

Starting point is 00:01:52 wow that guy's a star you know coming in like you look like you're 17 years old yeah aging I'm slowly aging Slow Asian. God bless you, man. You look great. So one thing I always like to talk to everybody about just to kind of open up little ice breakers. So people just get a vibe for who you are. It's like, how do you start your day? Your morning routine. You're very successful guys. So like, what do you do every day you start your morning? Yeah. I mean, I start my day with my family. So I get up around six and I make it a point to take my older kids to school before I go to work. So that way I get to spend some time with them because they're now teenagers.

Starting point is 00:02:29 their schedules are very busy after school. So I'll normally get up, you know, spend some time with my daughter, take her to school, take my son to school, head in the office. You know, then I start making sure that I've cleared all problems from the day before. If I didn't resolve anything the night before, I try to get it resolved the next morning before I really get into it. That way I have a clear head. I don't have things lingering and trailing the whole day that need to be solved.

Starting point is 00:02:52 Nice, nice. It's imperative. You start your family. You're a father of four? Yep, four kids like me. 15, 13, 11, and a nine-month-old oopsie baby, but he's been a blessing. That's amazing, man. God bless your family.

Starting point is 00:03:06 You just wanted to get caught up with me, huh? Exactly. Keep one up with me. I'm done now. My wife's done. She won't have another one. I know. My wife said the same thing.

Starting point is 00:03:14 I said, honey, I'll have two more, two more. Oh, wow. Crazy. So, like, I'll just jump into this question. You know, how did you get started in the mortgage industry? Yeah. I got, it's a good question. I got started actually my now mother-in-law, it was my, my girlfriend's mom at the time. I was going into my sophomore year of college. School was tough. Like I come from, it's nothing, single mom on welfare, you know, so having to go to college, I was trying to work full-time to pay my way through school, have a social life. And that first year school was rough for me. And going into my sophomore year, that summer, she got pressured me to interview at the evil empire, as I refer to it. But she had heard that they were, hiring young salespeople and I had sold things previously I had sold shoes I had sold window tent you know and I was pretty good at sales and just to kind of shut her up I went

Starting point is 00:04:06 online and applied and went in for an interview and they didn't hire me at the location by my house but they had a location an hour away that one of the teams was willing to bring me on and I remember walking in there and sitting to the right of me was a girl from U of M and to the left a guy from Michigan State and they're talking over me about how much student loan they had and it just like I'm sitting there going man I just fast forwarded four years like I did these guys just graduated college schools better schools than I was attending and we've got the same job you know I better make the most of this opportunity nice nice now um you start in the mortgage industry like when did you start at UWM so I started in the industry when I was 18 almost 19 and

Starting point is 00:04:47 what were you doing when you started oh phone sales you know working in a call center at rocket you know quick and loans back then they had 24 hundred originators. I had a lot of success early on. I was hungry. So my first loans I wrote was on a Sunday. No one else was in the office. You know, there thousands of team members. I was the only team member in there on a Sunday making calls and wrote a two-pack for an attorney. Was there for almost a year, about a year. Then I became a mortgage broker and realtor. Did that for almost two years. Flipping home, selling real estate, writing loans. And then in the beginning of 2007, when things started to change, products were disappearing quickly, I ended up going to do.

Starting point is 00:05:26 UWM and I was the youngest account executive there too. Out of all the businesses you could have went into, why did you pick mortgage? I didn't pick mortgage. You know, I saw an opportunity in mortgage. You know, I grew up with very little. You know, my mom married my stepdad when I was a little bit older and we were lower middle class at that point. But I knew, you know, I was fortunate enough that he had some friends who were successful that we would go stay with and visit from time to time and seeing those people's lifestyle,

Starting point is 00:05:55 I was like, that's what I want when I'm older. So I just saw an opportunity in mortgage, you know, whether it was mortgage or, you know, selling paint or something like that I like to think that I would have been successful. No matter what. So you know mortgage pick to you. Yeah, mortgage pick me. Yeah. That's awesome. Now you got four kids.

Starting point is 00:06:13 You're running, you're the VP for all of national sales. You manage all the top 100 accounts for UWM. And, I mean, your grind is unreal. How do you manage running such a, you? you know, a big empire. And you're the visionary for a lot of the technology. You're always implementing a lot of all, a lot of the initiatives that UWM has.

Starting point is 00:06:34 And you got a toddler. Yeah, toddler. A couple of businesses that I'm involved with too. You know, a lot of it's just scaling your time. That's something I've learned from Matt, you know, the importance of trying to control your time, having great people to support you, like understanding the value of time versus money.

Starting point is 00:06:53 So, you know, I have team members that work for me with me inside UWM and outside, just to make sure that I'm making the most of every minute of every day. So, you know, even though I'm naturally a salesperson and structure is something that I try to resist, it's the only way to survive, you know, blocking off time for the things that are important to you, you know, whether it be driving new business or building relationships or solving problems, you know, you've got to set some structure. because if not you get lost in the minutia.

Starting point is 00:07:24 Yeah, yeah, you're really good at that. Because, you know, one thing I really admire about you, Brian, it's like you're grinding all day, then you're spending time with the kids, then you're coaching hockey, then you're taking your daughter to dance, then, you know, you're making your wife happy. Yeah, I'm trying my best. Yeah, I just, it's amazing. It is. And I have a great wife who helps support a lot with the kids.

Starting point is 00:07:47 We're fortunate that she stays home. But yeah, it is. But, you know, that's the only way to do it. You know, I think if I were slowed down, I can't slow down ever, even on the weekends, you know, if we rarely have a day where there's nothing going on, I'm pacing around the house looking for stuff to do. So what do you think that source is of inspiration for you? For me, what do you mean, like drive? Yeah, what drives you? Definitely my kids.

Starting point is 00:08:13 My family, before my kids was my wife, you know, I never met my dad. So I always felt like I had a chip on my shoulder. I had something new to prove. And then I really put things in eye a year when my wife got pregnant with my daughter and I knew it was going to be a father. Like that, flipped a switch in me where I was able to really focus and work. When I started at UWM, I was given our worst territory at that time. You know, East Tennessee, the guy who had the whole state before me had gotten fired.

Starting point is 00:08:41 And he had the entire state of Tennessee. He couldn't get enough loans to keep his job. But at that exact same time that I kind of started at UWM and my life was starting, my wife got pregnant. So that was a great motivation for me to be like, all right, I'm going to give this all I want. I want my kids to have everything in life that I didn't have, and I was willing to outwork everyone else.

Starting point is 00:09:03 I love to see that, Brian. And one thing, you know, I've seen you throughout the years, and one thing I saw in you that I really admire personally is like, and I told you this, I'm like, Brian, God tests you with all this tribulation. Like you're getting thrown all types of tribulation. I'm like, like, really, you were tested like Job. Yeah, you call me Job sometimes.

Starting point is 00:09:25 Yeah, I called you Job before. And I just, and I was like, man, you know, it's amazing what you can go through. And then you bounce back and you keep, you keep that same level of inspiration. You keep that same level of drive. You just don't let it get you down. Can't, you know. Everyone's going to go through challenges, you know, and it's tough. I mean, dealing with some of those things.

Starting point is 00:09:49 you know, sometimes I block the bad things, which isn't healthy. But yeah, I mean, sitting there crying, being in your sadness isn't going to get you anywhere. And for me, I'm not done. So, you know, I still have more I want to do. So. But yeah. What do you want to do? What is the, what is the, what's the game plan? I mean, the ultimate.

Starting point is 00:10:12 I mean, I'm still young. I'm not even 40 yet. So you're not even 40 yet? No, 38 years old. you know so i i mean most of it's around my kids and what i want to do when i'm all the type of lifestyle i'd like to live you know the control and flexibility that i want so i've still got a good decade to put in you know before i get to that point but but by the time i'm 50 i'll never stop like grinding and working but i think i'll just do it in a different way yeah what do you what's

Starting point is 00:10:42 that vision look like for you just running businesses yeah running businesses consulting probably i I spend a lot of my time consulting. That's almost what I am when I break it down to the base level with our partners like you. You know, spend a lot of my time trying to help you improve your business. I remember when we met, you know, obviously your company was much smaller and trying to bring advice. So maybe at that time just, you know, becoming full-time consulting, being involved in a couple

Starting point is 00:11:05 businesses, but more importantly, focusing on the things that make me happy. You know, I think it was Warren Buffett, you know, that said this and something I've tried to put into practice this year is to spend my energy and money. to things that make me happy. You know, so for example, something my wife and I are doing is we're really focused on, you know, experiences for our kids rather than things. So rather than just buying them like the new game system that came out, you know, we're putting money towards taking a nice vacation and going to see new places.

Starting point is 00:11:35 So I want to do a lot of that. You know, I love being outdoors, surfing. Like if my dream life is to live in Hawaii in the winter, surf every day, you know. We talked about that before me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:11:46 on the North Shore. I'm not a great surfer, but I love it. And, you know, do some business calls in the afternoon and then, you know, watch the sunset at night and then come to Michigan. You know, I have a house in the lake, which I love being on the water. So I would be on the water every single day, mix in some working business, you know, when I'm older at some point. I love that. And I know me and you share that goal and we're going to still put it on our radar. We're both going to get a house together, North Shore. Let's go. Let's do it. Go surf every day and, uh, and I'm a lousy surfer too.

Starting point is 00:12:18 So, you know, we'll get good lesson, get a good instructor. Um, you know, one thing, again, you know, and this is not supposed to be just a, a, a podcast about saying how much I admire a lot of the things that you do, but another thing that I really look up to you at and, um, and you've mentored me in, in a lot of this, but like, your strong sense of grit. And what do you think, like, how did you get such a, uh, uh, you know, um, how did you get such a, uh, a strong sense of grit because that's something that you know people aren't taught in grit yeah they're not and I think that that that is I've always been super competitive even when I was young in sports

Starting point is 00:12:58 like I've never been afraid to work hard I always looked at it as trading time for money even when I was a kid and I was 13 and I got a job and then being able to have mentors and good mentors around me you know people that work hard no matter what like I was I was fortunate that and about my second year at UWM, Matt started mentoring me, our CEO. So for almost a decade, every Friday morning, I would come in and we would meet and share best practices, talk about ways to grow the company, and he would teach me about the business. So having good people around me that have a very, very strong work ethic and it drives you to do more. And then, you know, being born with the competitiveness, you know, wanting to win is important. I love it. You know, and I'm going to bring this up because

Starting point is 00:13:42 we're here. We're out of masterminds. Yep. I'm going to ask you up front, what motivated you to start the masterminds for all the top companies in the country? Yeah, I had, some of it was feedback from our partners, and really what was the catalyst is that I was fortunate enough that Matt mentored me. I had some other good mentors, and talking with our partners, the one thing that everyone lacked was people around them that they could lean on for support. So part of it was scaling my own time because I'm trying to help 100 people, 100 business owners. you know work with AEs and you know smarter to have you guys help each other really and from from request you know a handful of people had requests that man I

Starting point is 00:14:25 wish that there was like a group or something that we could do where I could talk to other people that are in my situation the thing that I learned from Matt and I think a lot of people in our industry don't understand is that most owners and CEOs are just former salespeople they have never had any coaching or guiding they don't know how to make the right decisions or wrong decisions they haven't lived through it so if I could bring a community of all the best people together, you know, to share best practices, to learn from each other's mistakes and victories, they could all be successful together. And that's the way

Starting point is 00:14:54 it's work. There's some people in this group whose business has absolutely exploded in their time being there. You know, you look at like Robert Lynn, you know, he started off in the group. He was over in the corner, would never speak. He was on the show yesterday. Yeah, he's kind of quiet. You know, I met Robert when he started his company. And he's brilliant. He is brilliant. That's why I include him the group even though his production wasn't there starting out and now he's you know he's earned he's the best in florida yeah he's doing hundreds of loans a month and he's built a very strong business so you know that's rewarding to me i i want to help people you know i love helping people and seeing others be successful you know i think too many people like pocket watch or they don't truly root for

Starting point is 00:15:34 others i want people to be successful i it doesn't bother me i'm all i feel rewarding and fulfilled when I watch people grow and you know build their company or build their personal life and I could play a part in it you have a huge abundance mentality yeah it's like you know you just want to give give and give and you don't really care about anything else just keep pouring into people yeah and it shows you you fostered these relationships with these guys Robert you know when he didn't earn a seat you're like I'm going to get you that seat I remember starting with you I was doing you know I don't know 50 loans I think you were at a month or something and we grew to 1,500 loans a month under your, you know, motivation, inspiration, and mentorship.

Starting point is 00:16:18 Thank you. That makes you feel good to hear. And it works. It works. And you were also the catalyst for starting success track. Yeah. The catalyst for starting blink. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:16:28 Yeah, that was one of the big ones. Yep. Boost was another one of my things that have built. Yeah. And how do you come up with so many great ideas? It's being in the weeds of our partner's business. So a lot of times I feel like, you know, almost like a translator between the two sides because I in leadership and you really are at

Starting point is 00:16:46 UWM and then I'm very much in the weeds of our partner's business the trends that are happy and the things that they need and like success track you know when that was came up in one of the meetings with Matt you know one of those Friday morning meetings and it'd been on my agenda for like a year because looking at these retail lenders and this is still an issue today but but we're doing a better job of solving it is that we can not compete with a rocket when it comes to training education they bring in you know 30 40 50 60 kids off the street every month make them great sales people you know and and that was something was lacking our partners they didn't have the scale to hire a full-time trainer um for their people so there was a lack of education and you know success track now

Starting point is 00:17:27 we have 40 different classes hundreds of people on every week i'm really blown away by what it's grown to be i think it's a what a nine figure monthly bill that's got to be yeah yeah that's huge as well for UWM. It is. I mean, we take 150 people just in one group, EMC, every quarter. And in addition to however many are going from EMC outside of the dedicated one. So just on our company, you guys are probably spending $200,000 a month. Yes, easily.

Starting point is 00:17:58 It's a big investment, but it's worth it. It is. It is. The more skilled, the broker wholesale force can be, you know, the better for our business. our business. And I think that that's something that Matt has done a great job of and that I've learned from his is to him, does not look at the dollars. We don't even talk about it. You know, if something makes sense and you think it's going to help your business, just believe in it, and money will follow, you know, money will follow the success. You don't make any decisions

Starting point is 00:18:23 based on financials. I love that. I love that. And I always tell everybody, you know, don't worry about the money. Serve, serve your clients, serve each other. The money follows. The money is guaranteed to follow your success. Yeah. Every single time. Yeah, that's, the Merving mentality is a hard mentality, I think, for a lot of people. I've had people say that to me. Like, they only treat others the way that they treat them. They'll never give more, and I've never understood that. Like, you know, I'm going to help people no matter what, and I don't care what comes back to me in return.

Starting point is 00:18:55 Now, your success is at UWM, like, unbelievable, insurmountable success you've seen. You've started, you know, and tell the audience, like, where did you start at UWN? So I started off. I was the youngest A.E. there. We had a small team, small company, worked out of a windowless room in the back of an old grocery store. And I was by far the youngest. I wasn't even 21 yet. You know, I was given our worst territory. So this guy in America had the entire state of Tennessee. Back then we would do it by state. And I got assigned my territory. I had the eastern half of Tennessee, which Tennessee was looked at as the worst territory at that time. So I didn't even have a city. I didn't have Nashville or Memphis. I had Knoxville, which was a college town. So that instantly put a chip on my shoulder and I wanted to prove people wrong. But I had a few challenges. So, you know, one, I was too young to travel. No one could know what I looked like because I looked so young.

Starting point is 00:19:49 Like literally, they wouldn't put my picture on the website because I looked like I was 11 years old. That was the only thing our website didn't is you would click on, you'd see your A.E.'s photo. And I couldn't go see my people. And Tennessee was very much a handshake state. People wanted to, you know, shake your hand and meet you in person and nobody can meet me. And then the third was that, you know, people from Tennessee are amazing. I have some of my closest friends live in Tennessee, but a majority of the people I was working with, they didn't want more.

Starting point is 00:20:17 They were happy closing two loans a month. If they could buy ballots tickets, pay their mortgage and buy beer, they were happy, you know. So what I had to do is identify every single person that wanted to grow their business because there wasn't enough business in my territory to keep my job. So I went through and evaluated everyone in the people that wanted to grow that wanted to do more Those are the ones that I invested my time and energy into. And you fast forward a year later, you know, I have enough loans to keep my job before the threshold. And then the next step was, you know, becoming the number one A.E, which I did over the following year, year and a half.

Starting point is 00:20:50 And creating business in Tennessee. When I started in East Tennessee, there wasn't enough business to keep my job. And by the time I was done there, I was getting, you know, a couple hundred loans a month from that territory. how it helped numerous brokers build their business from scratch. And it was very fulfilling, rewarding. I'm still friends with a lot of the people I worked with. Some of them are even here now. Yeah, I think Matt Gladeo, right?

Starting point is 00:21:13 Yeah, Matt Cladio. Yeah. Kevin Kennerson. Kevin Kenerson? Yeah. Oh, you helped foster all these guys, huh? Yeah, I've been fortunate. I've got a lot of great relationships, a lot of, you know, close friends that are successful

Starting point is 00:21:26 and have vacation homes. Yeah. So when everyone's like, oh, I've got a vacation home, being said and I'm like, I'm not one of those people that's just not going to take you up on that offer. Be warned. That's awesome. So you don't really get to pay, you don't need a pay for vacation. They're all comes. Yeah, I don't know. Going to California, I got your condo, you know, Arizona, Rob's house. So, you know, it's good to have successful friends. Yeah. And you've got so many successful friends. You got access to private jets, you know, whatever you need. Yachts.

Starting point is 00:21:54 Like, you're dialed, man. It's like, like, but you were a reason why these people, people got all these things. I tried to be. Like, you were the reason why. Like, you know, I was talking to my priest earlier. I'm like, he was like, I just need some help with the vacation. I'm like making calls. Like, can he use this boat or whatever?

Starting point is 00:22:15 Like, because he's a reason why I'm here. Like, if you needed something, I'll make whatever accommodations. Like, get out of the house. Right. It's coming. I appreciate that. You know, just because it's so important to me, the relationship that we built together.

Starting point is 00:22:29 and where I am now, like, I wouldn't be where I'm at now. You know, like, and I don't think I've ever directly told you that, but, you know, like, I appreciate you telling me. You know, but what a cool thing that you do is to impact so many lives, because you impacted me. Yep. And then I impacted. Think of how many people you've impacted. It's crazy.

Starting point is 00:22:48 A thousand. A thousand people work at, I mean, we have maybe 1,500 people total. Wow. You know, but we have 900 people that are, you know, active. These are families. They have kids, you know. know, so you directly impact tens of thousands of people. You're right.

Starting point is 00:23:05 I've never even thought about that. I've never taken the time to reflect on it, but it's true. And it's amazing. You know, hopefully they impact people too. And we all just keep giving. Through your leadership, through your servitude, you're impacting possibly millions of people. Possibly. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:23:22 I don't know if I'd give myself that much credit, but, you know, possibly. And I hope, I do. I want to have a positive impact on people. I want to help others. Yeah. And one thing I think that more successful people should do, and I need to do this myself, is exposing yourself to younger people that aren't successful yet. You know, luckily, like I said, my dad had a friend who was a pilot and an entrepreneur,

Starting point is 00:23:44 and I got to see the lifestyle that he lived. But, you know, spreading that word to others, no matter where you come from, because I didn't come from the greatest place. But, you know, I've got a nice life now and I've worked hard for it. And, you know, in America, anything's possible. you know, it's what's great about it, you know, that you can come from nothing and create something. So you've seen so much success in the business and a lot of people like, you know, become successful and then lose it all. And then now they're becoming successful again.

Starting point is 00:24:12 And like, what are some of the trends that you feel are on the horizon in the mortgage sector? Yeah. I mean, obviously, the most important thing is the ability to execute. And even from like a business owner perspective, from an account executive perspective at UWM, I would watch AEs that could build it once and never bring it back. You know, same thing with business owners, build it once and never bring it back. You have to have the ability to set a goal and execute. But specifically on the horizon, I mean, AI is coming, you know, there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Starting point is 00:24:47 Technology is always going to evolve. So looking at ways that you can simplify the consumer experience, well, driving down costs. but creating scale I think will be very important in the future with some of the capabilities are already here today and the other big thing is investing in growing your organic brand I think a lot of times as a business owner you get put in a bubble and you've got your head down you're focused on what's happening around you in the immediate you know taking a step back and looking out the trends of where things are going where you should be investing because no matter

Starting point is 00:25:21 what more and more consumers are online every single day that's how they're acquiring the businesses that they work with and making sure that you're building whether it be your personal brand like you're doing right now or the brand of your company to be at the forefront. I love it. I love it. Let me ask you this. And this is really important for especially for people listening now. It's like what would you say the mindset one has to be that's crucial for success in the mortgage industry right now? That's a really good question. You have to have a long-term mindset. You know, that's what's important. And so focused on where you want to go. Like, what are you working towards? And I see people, you know, all the time that kind of make the

Starting point is 00:26:06 mistake, even some of them are very successful and they don't know why they're doing it or what their goal is. Like, is your goal to close the most loans? Is it to have the most originators? Is it to make the most money? Is it to have the highest impact on people? Like, what are you working towards and being able to break that down from a monthly, daily, hourly, what impact you need to have, a lot of people get discouraged because they're looking, they don't realize the length of time it takes to build something successful. So you've got to look for little victories every single day. You know, what's a win today?

Starting point is 00:26:38 And that's something I still try to do is get a win, get somebody new to talk to me, or make some sort of forward progress on a project, you know, help you hire somebody, whatever it may be, look for little victories every day, while being cognizant of your long-term goals. Let me ask you, what are some of the obstacles you think, the biggest obstacles you've faced in the space thus far, like just whether it's regulators, whether it's technology, whether it's people thinking you were too young?

Starting point is 00:27:10 I mean, that was always an obstacle for me. I think people judging me before they knew me was an obstacle. even when Matt made me a team leader, he's like, oh, your age is the only negative, you know, but he did it anyways because I was like 21 at the time. But I like being underestimated. I remember when I was the top producing account executive at UWM, they would bring in new people to hire and they'd walk them through the sales floor and they'd always stop by my desk and point to me and be like, oh, this kid's the top guy, he's making this much money.

Starting point is 00:27:39 And all these people, they would come to me and be like, oh, I'm going to take you down. You know, if you can do it, I'm definitely going to do it because I looked like I'm young, you know, I'm this kid. Then 30 days later, that same person has their head down. They won't make eye contact with me, you know, because it's a lot harder than they thought it was. Which I don't mind. You know, I'd rather be underestimated. People not see me coming.

Starting point is 00:28:01 I love that. You've always been the underdog. Yeah, I try to be. Yeah. And then you just show them. Yeah. Show them through execution. Work ethic, execution, paying attention to trends.

Starting point is 00:28:11 You know, I, the biggest thing that has been a key to my success. is like a thirst for knowledge. I literally think I can learn something from anyone. A homeless person, a janitor, somebody brand new to that just started at our company, the CEO, everybody has something to teach you, whether it's in business or in life.

Starting point is 00:28:31 You can learn from everybody, and I've tried to carry that with me throughout my career and not think that I'm better than anyone because I'm not. We're all the same. And, you know, really understand that. You know, if you spend time with someone, you're going to learn something. I love that.

Starting point is 00:28:47 You always have to stay humble. And that's what allows you to continue to grow. You stay humble. You keep learning from people. And that's really what's allowed you to be the voice for all these brokers with leadership at UWM. Because you're in the weeds with these guys. You're learning from everybody that you're working with. And you're bringing our voice to, you know, before I had a direct contact with Matt,

Starting point is 00:29:09 there was no, no one had a direct contact. You were the voice for me. You were the guy. and they were going to bat for you trying to make things happen. Yeah, you were the guy just making... Now you talk to Matt more than I do probably. Yeah, now it's like, not as much as people think just because we're so slammed, but, you know, it's been an awesome opportunity to be mentored by him as well.

Starting point is 00:29:30 Like you got that direct mentorship for decades. Yeah. You know, it's a lot of one-on-ones and amazing because now the audience is getting that mentorship through watching this podcast, right? Yep. Yeah, spreading your knowledge. Which is awesome. Let me ask you for, and I'm asking for a friend, like, how are you passing on your grit mentality to your kids?

Starting point is 00:29:52 That's a really good question because that's a fear of mine. Yeah, it's a fear of mine too. That's what I'm asking. A lot of it is my wife. My kids are great. And I don't even just say that to say it. Like, when everyone else compliments you and your kids, you know they're pretty good. And my wife has done a really good job of keeping them humble.

Starting point is 00:30:11 but for me is making them work for everything that they have. You know, if they want something, creating an opportunity for them to work for it. Sometimes because I grew up with nothing, I do go overboard and I'll spoil them a little bit. But, you know, it's instilling that work ethic and teaching them. Like, my kids, you know, I'm, especially, you know, the ones that are interested in it. Like, my sons are a little bit more interested than my daughter and the car for years.

Starting point is 00:30:41 I've tried to educate them on what I know, like to share my knowledge about business and how to run a company. Like my 11-year-old one day, two years ago, he was nine. He was like, I'm like, because he's always, I know, I know, I know. Like that's his response. I know, dad. I know. And I'm like, no one's ever going to want to hire you if you can't take coaching. And you always say, I know.

Starting point is 00:30:58 And he goes, well, you told me never to work for anyone else. So why does that matter? Like, I'm not going to work for anybody. I'm going to work for myself. And he's already got business plans drawn up on the different businesses he wants to do. And, you know, so. So creating a strong work ethic, but helping them figure out who they want to be. Most important to me is that my kids are happy.

Starting point is 00:31:16 And I keep trying to preach that to them. Yes, you have to have a strong work ethic, and nothing's going to come easy in life, but you need to figure out what will make you happy and chase it, go after it. I love that. Now, I'd like to end the podcast and let everybody in the audience know because this is my signature question is, it's a three-prong question. What's a personal goal that you have? what's a family goal

Starting point is 00:31:41 and what's a business goal and you can answer them in any order yeah so personal goal is to for this year was to get outside my comfort zone so you know I have started exercising

Starting point is 00:32:01 you know started a podcast because I wasn't comfortable with that so I set a little couple little tears of getting outside my comfort zone because sometimes things can be monotonous, especially when the year start passing quickly. So that has been my personal goal to get outside my comfort zone. And then family goal has been time related. So, you know, taking three vacations with my family this year is a big one because we didn't

Starting point is 00:32:27 hit that last year. We only took two. And then, you know, trying to take at least three dates with each of my kids throughout the year that are one-on-one or one trip with them. Like last year I took my son to Disneyland for his birthday and it was one of the coolest experience I've ever had. And then professional. One is financial based, which I won't share, but I have a certain goal there. But then also to meet with, you know, 50 of my partners in person this year, 50 of my 100 clients, you know, to build even better relationships with them and meet with at least 50 of them in person, which I think I'll surpass.

Starting point is 00:33:04 I'll probably get to 80 or 90. That's awesome. And we'll count this as one too because I don't think our conversation ever went this deep. Yeah. You know, we've hung out for years, but that's one of the things. And I say this all the time. The most enjoyable part of this podcast is the fact that I get to go so deep on and getting to know the guests on the show. It's just been awesome.

Starting point is 00:33:27 It's been awesome to sit with you and dive deep into your goals, dive deep into your vision. And you've been a pleasure to have. Thanks, Brian. Thanks for having. God bless everything that you do, man. keep winning keep in the community positive words about me too you make me feel good today yeah they could we're gonna go crush it thanks everybody thank you thank you

Coffeez with Joe Shalaby - Rising to the Top in Mortgage ft. Bryan Miller | Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby Ep. 22

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