KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Let's Build the Building Together with Latrice Williams

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

Hello everyone. Welcome back to behind closed deals. Today I have the pleasure of being with Latrice. Latrice is one of our EXP agents here in Ontario. And we are going to have the opportunity to learn about Latrice and her business and how she came about to be such a phenomenal real estate agent. You're going to be one of our speakers at EXPCon Canada. I'm so excited for that. And let's be, yeah, it's going to be an amazing event. So welcome, Latrice. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm so happy to, an honor to be on the podcast.

I've seen some of the episodes and I love what you're doing. So thank you for inviting me on. Thank you. I appreciate it. One of the things about this podcast is, you know, we always look at how real estate is perceived. No one knows really the dive in. No one's really dived in. to see, you know, how much work it takes to be in the real estate industry and how difficult

and challenging some of the real estate deals can be, but also how hard it is to escalate your level of performance and to always be prospecting and looking for a new business because every day is an absolutely new day. You're starting out completely brand new every single day. So Latrice, how is it that it came about that you chose real estate as a profession? So I think it kind of started when I was younger. My family, we moved around a lot when I was younger and I kind of always longed for the stability and I've had this passion about real estate in like I loved homes and I loved interior design and, you know, me and my mom would drive around and look at houses. And when I was thinking about, you know, what do I want to do and what kind of career

do I want and how do I mesh all of those things together. It was just a no-brainer of real estate where I can impact people's lives and I can still be passionate about what I'm doing every day. Absolutely. Was it a scary feeling for you to choose real estate? Because I mean, like it's not like you're waking up and there's a boss that's going to tell you you're working 9 to 5. It's not like you're, you know, finishing real estate school, Humber College and you've got a list

of 10 people that are waiting to buy and sell real estate. How was it for you? For me, it was terrifying. Moment of transparency, I started to do my real estate license. I was a single mom of two daughters. And I started to do my real estate license while working two jobs and taking care of my kids. And it was just too overwhelming. And then I had the fear of like, okay, you're going to do this,

but you have two people who are depending on you. And this has to work. So I put it on the back burner. Just continued to work at my two jobs and take care of my kids. And then when I met my husband, my life felt a little bit lighter and I had the opportunity to focus on what I really wanted to do. And when I saw that opportunity, I took it and ran and I was like, okay, I can do this. But still, I was still really terrified. But I did have a great support system.

And my husband behind me that was like, you know, if this is your goal, if this is what you want to do, go for it. And it makes such a big difference, the support circle that you have around you, right? A thousand percent. Either they can lift you up or really drag you down and you know you're very fortunate to have had that You're obviously made for this career so congratulations on that What sets your approach? What sets your approach differently than from others? Why do you think clients want to work with you? I think it's really just me being my authentic self when I Meet clients and I've had this conversation kind of with many realtors where they're like you know what do you do?

differently or and I always say to them I believe there's not one way to do real estate I think that there's so many great realtors because they just do it how they feel they should run their business whereas like door knocking can work for someone else and it doesn't work for me so there's not one one one way to do it so when I go into a listing appointment or I go into a buyer consultation it's more of like I'm relating to that person and we're having a conversation as opposed to like this is a transaction let's get it done and I think that's why I'm my clients continue to refer me and come back because we essentially become friends and acquaintances.

And the experience I give them is much more personal than just like you're another client of mine or another transaction. Absolutely. And then obviously your follow-up method is really good with clients, keeping in touch with them so that they continue to refer you business all the time. Was there, can you share a particular challenging event or moment that you've had? had in real estate. Oh gosh, every day. Every day is a new challenge.

Yeah, particularly, I think it would have been when I started, I've been a realtor now for seven years. Yeah. And I think the biggest challenge I had was getting out of my own way. When I, you know, first started, there was so many like fears that I had and kind of like not talking to myself in the right mindset as if I didn't belong in the room. And once I got over that fear and I was, I had the confidence in myself and I was like, you know, you've come this far. This is what you

want to do. You're definitely made for this. And when I got over that hurdle and I was able to take it like take the actual career by storm, that's when I saw, you know, the momentum and the clients and the awards and allocates and all that coming because I finally was like, you know, get out of your own way. I think that was my biggest challenge. So pause there for a second. What do you like what would be the reason an agent would feel like or an individual would feel like I don't belong in this room? Personally for myself, I started Well, I mean at the time what real estate was male dominated. I think the numbers are kind of getting more even Yes, and

I felt like I wasn't taken seriously because I was a young black woman coming into the industry that really looked a lot different before I got there. Like when I, I didn't know a lot of black agents or black female agents when I became a realtor. Right. So a lot of the people I was going to for help or, you know, support or resources in the industry, A, didn't look at me and B didn't have the same challenges as me, so they also didn't know how to support me. Right. And that was going to call to their own.

It was just, that was the reality of the situation. And that was one of the big reasons that me and my business partner, Sasha, started the model. Agent Academy, A, mostly just for women, because I see so many women coming into the industry now, like powerhouses, forces that are taking the industry by storm. And it makes me so excited. It makes me so happy about it, yeah. But there is a lack of support there. You know, real estate really has this competitive stigma.

So we started that to be like, no, we can all sit at this table. And let alone, can we not all sit at this table? Let's build the building and let's do it together. And I have so many women that come join me with EXP for that reason because they're looking for that support when they get into real estate. Absolutely. And they're always looking for that kind of support. How has it evolved? How have you seen it evolved or evolved from when you first started to now? A thousand percent I see a lot more women in the industry. I've seen, you know, the technology has changed in the last decade. and like a business or the business model of our brokerage, which is amazing. Things like that are, you know, changing the real estate industry and COVID.

That was like a whole other thing that was crazy and, you know, projected it into a different way. But I'm definitely seeing a lot more females in the industry. I'm seeing a lot more females at the top, let's say, that are paving the way or, you know, or the trailblazers for other women coming into the industry and being like, this is doable, you can be a mom or not be a mom and still be a successful realtor. And that's what I, like I share the same point as you is the way I've seen it evolve is that there are more women in leadership when it comes to the field. We can speak to our field.

And it really gives that confidence level, not just for females, but for males as well. You know, as we struggle in our day to day, maybe we're more vocal with it. However, the males in the industry struggle the same way every single day. However, they're not as vocal as we are. And that support, it's more looked at as, you know, there is someone in that role that is got the skill set, has the knowledge base, can lead the company or can lead the pack. However, I still look at them as that nurturing partner that I can go to and makes the conversation a lot more smoother for them to open up. That's my take on it of just seeing women in leadership. What advice would you give someone considering a career in real estate, but especially women?

Go for it. When I got my real estate license and my career started to take off, it's changed not only my life or my family's life. And I've been able to impact so many people in my community. So it's really rewarding. But I would say when you get into the industry and like, you know, you've decided this is what you want to do. find your tribe of people that you know can be a support and a resource for you and don't make the mistake like me to like you know kind of get in your own way take yourself very seriously yeah and know that you belong in the room you do belong here

you're you're going to be a great realtor it's not easy by any means and some days you're going to be like maybe i made the wrong decision but it's so uh rewarding and i wouldn't have picked a better career for myself that's amazing going back to your first second year in real state, what would you have done differently? That would have probably impacted your career in many different good ways? That's a great question. I actually never thought of that, but the immediate thing that comes to mind is coaching. So for me, it was you're coming into an industry that you go to Humber and you read all the books and you kind of understand what it is to be a realtor, but you don't know what it is to run a business. Right? If you're,

So a lot of people get in and they're like me at the beginning. I think I know what I'm doing, but there's definitely a much more efficient way to do this. And don't be afraid to ask for help. Like I was like, oh, maybe I don't need a coach. I can figure this out. But when I started to get that support and that accountability from someone else and like, you know, this is how you smoothly run your systems and, you know, use this technology and use this CRM and this is how you should be doing it and make sure you follow up,

my career was like much more smoother and I wish I would have done that from day one. I completely agree with you. There's a lot of things that I would have changed when I first got into real estate, especially my first and second year. And that has to be if I had a coach or I had a mentor, I would have probably not done the mistakes that I did, which is follow up with my clients after the deals closed. Didn't really, as you get busier, you start to forget to do things.

And if you don't keep in touch, these clients are not coming back to you because you're not building that community that you long for in your clientele, in your real estate career. So that's something I would have definitely changed. And keeping up with the education every single year. That is so, like, you know, maybe people's perception is that, you know, we get our real estate license, but we don't have to continuously educate ourselves, but education is every single day.

And not just in real estate. We're learning about mortgages. We're learning about home inspections. We're learning about so many different aspects. All the new rules, right? It's all. It's all thrown at us. Everything is thrown out at us.

What do you think is the most rewarding aspect of being a real estate agent? For myself, I have an experience. And that experience kind of changed the way that I looked at not only what I was doing, but my brand. Because I realized how impactful my brand and my business was to my community. So I bought my first property in Churchill Meadows in Mississauga, and I really, really wanted to get into that community and let that be like my area. And they finally got a listing on Eglinton, and I was so excited. And so I had my sign up and my faces on it. And I was busy.

I missed the phone. And so I checked my voicemail, and it's a college student. And she's like, you don't know me. I don't need to buy herself. but I just walked past your sign and I want to let you know how motivating and inspiring it is for me to see you on the sign because I don't see that in this neighborhood and I instantly burst into tears. I'm about to burst into tears. That is so amazing. It was so amazing and I listened to that voicemail every like I would wake up in the morning and

be part of my instead of before I do my affirmations I would listen to it because it was just so inspiring that she was like that touched that you know I see a woman in my key community who's doing great things something so great and I and I realized that not only was I a realtor but I was a role model right and that's when I started doing you know more stuff with the youth and in the community and financial literacy for like teenagers and even young young adults who don't know like especially in my community the conversation about you know buying property and credited and finances is not something that was talked about so much So now that I'm changing the narrative of the conversation and I'm seeing the impact on my community and I'm seeing parents help their children buy homes and I'm seeing first time home buyers come into the market for making the right decisions and I'm like this is just so beautiful.

That's amazing. So what is it that you do? You hold sessions. Yeah. So I have a mortgage broker that I work with. And her and I were doing seminars for first time home buyers and just on financial literacy and how to have. you can if you're not ready right now but prepare yourself right and then we took it a step further to offer that to people like just a consultation let's call it so if someone would rather not

be on a zoom with six other people they can come in with zoom privately with us and be like you know here's my situation um or this is how much debt i have or like what should i do with this settlement of money or something that i got and we're having the conversations with people in the community and they're coming back to us so they're not always ready right but then they're coming back um we i'm I actually just sold. We did that for a mother and a daughter. They purchased. And then I just sold the property because they then came back and we're like, you know,

you helped us get this far. And now we're, they're separating and moving on. But like in doing that, we're seeing people like learn a different aspect of something that they had no idea that they could do. And we know, I mean,

you have kids. They're in school. We know that financial literacy is, I mean, if there's a word. One thing that they could teach our kids is how to handle money. Yeah. I would love for them to incorporate some kind of a class in high school or grade school on how to financially be responsible and how to manage your money.

And we don't have that. And unfortunately, you know, it puts together a group of individuals that go into the workforce, but have absolutely no idea on their savings, how to save for a down payment, how to purchase a property and what to do with it. And they're young professionals. And it's really sad to see. So I love the idea that you're putting that out there to the public. Now do you do that in community centers, libraries? Do you hold information about it?

I'd love to do it in person. It's just easier for us to do it over Zoom. And it actually started doing it during COVID as a way to like get in front of people and you know still be involved in the community when everyone was in their their bubbles. Yeah. And it's just continue to roll that way or it's just easier for people who are available to hop on Zoom. but I love the idea of doing it in person and making it an actual event where people can then also to network with each other and like you know have the same relatable situations where they can

then impact each other and be like well this is what I'm going to do and this is what has worked for me and maybe it can work for you and somehow incorporating that this is what you guys can do for your children right now so that they can find you know it waiting for them as soon as they're done or they start a job and and so forth so I think education when it comes to the financial side is really lacking when it comes to our teens and you know i it's great that you know we're responsible enough to be able to teach our kids but i i see i see kids coming not kids of young adults graduating and it's what do we do with our money we have absolutely no idea um can you share some strategies for realtors that are looking some winning strategies on

marketing and just how you get your name out there in the community So I'm really big on social media. Yeah, social media marketing. And more recently, I've been really trying to transition it. Not so much. I'm just posting, let's say, like a sold or whatever or some interesting facts. I'm actually changing it more into like a brand. So I've recently been doing some videos and stuff where you'll see me in the community,

which was really cool because I just stopped a few people on the street and asked them some questions. were nice enough to answer. I was then able to have real life experience. Right. People saying like if some people were renters, some people were owners, asked them how they felt about the Toronto real estate market right now. And the feedback I got on that video was was really good.

That's amazing. Yeah, and I'll definitely do that again because it was a couple of them. But I use social media marketing a lot. I also like to stay in touch with my clients, you know, and the people. that they refer and then I'll do other things where I'm like sending flowers and just just staying top of mind right what would be the system that you would use as a follow-up after the transaction

closed so your follow-up system staying in touch what would be the systems that you would use so I do anniversaries um so if I know if it's a couple if I know their anniversary I just put it in my CRM but I'll also do birthday anniversaries house buying anniversaries um if I know know one of my clients as a mom they get a newsletter on mother's day oh i love that yeah like small things like that when we're doing the consultation it's very in-depth like that's why i was saying that we actually become acquaintances because i asked a lot of personal questions yeah because i want to know you i want to get to know you i want to know what's important to you um i want to know like who you are because we're working together and when i so i'm going through all that and

there's normally a checklist that i use and then i'll take that back to my cair later and input that all in. So it's very easy for my system to just follow up later. But the client's like, wow, you remembered my birthday or you remember that I had two kids. It was like, yeah. That's amazing because you're building the relationship right from the beginning. You're not waiting to build it as you go along. Like you're really working hard right at the beginning to have that strong bond between itself and the client. And then now you're working together and just makes it stronger and stronger. And then you're using the CRM system to be able to be able to to be able to follow up with them.

Have you, this is an interesting question. Have you faced any gender-related challenges in your career? And if so, how have you overcome them? I have, not in the, when I first started, it was a lot of, how do I say this? I felt like I had to kind of not dull myself down, but like it was like, well, maybe I shouldn't wear this dress

or maybe I shouldn't have the blazer that comes down a little bit further because I wanted to be taken seriously. And then there was also like inappropriate comments and things that were happening from men in the real estate industry that were making me uncomfortable. And when I became more confident in me being a realtor and, you know, my business started to grow and I was really confident in who I was. I was like, I'm going to wear whatever I want. Yeah. I'm going to dress however I want. I'm going to do my hair however I want because I'm a really good realtor. So despite how if my dress is touching my ankles or it's touching my kneecaps, I'm still a really good realtor.

And so those were the things that I was facing. And then, you know, I also kind of like the competitiveness. Like I find like men are maybe just a little bit more competitive. Like if I get the listing and that gentleman doesn't, it's like, I think too crazy. In that same respect, I do get a lot of respect from the men in. in real estate and mainly because I'm on the same team as you I've built my brand I've you know I'm the results show improve yes absolutely you've worked hard you have exactly and so and they respect that and they respect me as a person and the conversations are great so I don't

really face a lot of any like any gender bias or any of that anymore but definitely when I first got in it was more so like me also having to amplify my voice yeah not being afraid to speak up 100% and it's tough because when you first get into real estate that confidence level is not there like you're just starting out what you took in humber is absolutely nothing like there in the real world so it's building up your knowledge base on how to do the contracts really working on how to get the clients closing the deals making sure the transaction goes smoothly and as you do more and more that's when your confidence level's going to go up then it's really you know when someone is well how did you get that or how did you do this and how are you doing this much business is because I'm working hard and then being able to achieve the goals that I put in place for myself. So, you know, the confidence level really builds up with the level of experience that we have in this business. And that's why I tell new realtors never give up. Like if you have a mind, you've got to put your goals down. You've got to have something that you're working towards.

You can't just wait around for every deal to just fall in your lap because it's never ever going to happen. Right. Can we talk about some of the initiatives? I know recently you sent me a link to a charity that you support. Can we talk about that a little bit and how that came to be? Yeah, I love that. Great question. I have three daughters.

My youngest daughter, her name is Callie, and she will be five in November. And two weeks after I had her, we got a call from sick kids, and they called this in and told us that she had cystic fibrosis. And cystic fibrosis is basically a lung disease. There's been a lot of, well, it's a lung and digestive disease, but there's been a lot of advances in the medicine. Right. And the things that work for her, thank God for us, because it's such a wide scope of house CF can affect any person that has it

because it's two genes from both parents, and they can be two of any genes, so it's like a wide range. Right. For us, Kali, who has a more mild case of CF. Oh, that's amazing. We do a fundraiser every year as May is CF Awareness Month. And so this is our fifth one, our fifth one or sixth one. But we do it every year and then we raise money from now until the end of May.

And that was the link that I shared with you. And then we do a walk at the end of May, which is this year going to be May 26 at the Toronto Zoo. That's amazing. Yeah. And she loves it. We went out here and she like she gets to see the animals and she oh that's exciting yeah so and we invite everyone to come anyone who wants to come walk with us it's a big group we spend the day at the zoo and when I first joined eXP I joined in March and I remember sending the same link to the group that I joined with and then just the support and the donations that I immediately got I was like literally like almost in tears who I was like, I just got here. Thank you guys so much for supporting me and my family.

And then John Tayloris set up a walk for the realtors, which, yeah, and we got up at 5 a.m. in the morning, and we went and walked around in support of CF. So I loved that. And that's when I joined the XPO. I was like, this is home. It's the one thing that stands out all the time to me is the level of support that you get from the community that you're with

and how the agents will come together at you know to help each other out no matter what um that's something that i absolutely love being a mom and being in real estate how is that going for you would you have chosen a better career i love that i have the opportunity and the freedom to be with my kids whenever i want like at the drop of the dime i can be like this is what's really important right now so everything else has to go on pause um so i love that that free that real estate has given me yeah but then there are times where trying to balance everything or you know I got home a little bit later and I didn't get to see Callie go to sleep or Paris in London look at my other two daughters they want me to do this

and I'm missing because I'm trying to balance everything so it can be tough because at the same time this is my career and I want to be really successful so at finding the balance where you know it's family and business it definitely is a challenge but I think that we we get along just well enough. And then, you know, real estate has changed the trajectory of my life and given me opportunities to do things for my kids that I probably otherwise wouldn't have been able to do.

And that's just that, yes. You might be late coming home. You might be early leaving. You might miss something for the kids. But it's also given you that opportunity to be able to give your family something that you wouldn't necessarily have been able to give them had you not been in this career.

I missed a lot, by the way. way when it comes to my kids. However, one of the things that it did provide me is that if one of the kids were sick, I was always able to be beside them. Exactly. I have made that game. I may not have been able to drive you to practice, but if you were sick, you can guarantee that I would always be next to you. Right. The one thing that I'm so fortunate, you know, having a career in real estate is that it gives you that opportunity to be there for your child when they need you the most. Yeah. And you know, and the most probably one of the most rewarding things about that when you know we have that mom guilt and we feel guilty is that my daughter is openly express how proud of me there. Oh, wow. I don't think it's better. Like if they look up to you, you are their motivation. I mean, you are right now you're paving the path for them, whether it's real estate or whether it's being an entrepreneur and another field. But you are showing them what hard work really is and to have.

you know, a good life and to have a successful career, you need to do this. It's never be handed to you. So, you know, expecting me to be at dinner every single day. It's difficult. But at least it's, again, I'm fortunate that I was able to show that to my kids as well. They're all successful human beings. I'm very, very proud of them, but it doesn't come easy. And they've seen the hard work and yours are seeing it as well. And, you know, as they start to, as they start to grow up they know what they have waiting for them if they work just as hard as you. Exactly. My last question to you is how do you stay motivated and enthusiastic about your work over the long term because it's never easy. There are days I know

that we all want to throw in that towel and say. Yeah. Honestly, I'm human so not always motivated just like you said, but I feel like for myself, I go through these spurts, and I've seen it since I've been a realtor, where, you know, if there's a goal that I'm working towards, or, for example, last year we were going to, I took the kids. My whole family went to Europe for two weeks. Oh, wow. So, yeah, it was amazing, and it was very expensive. So working towards, or there's, like, a goal that I'm naturally a competitive person. I was an athlete growing up. So when you have that, carrot in front of me. I'm easily more motivated. But day to day, it's more so that, you know, there's a lifestyle that I want to live. There's things that I want to be able to do for my kids. I love it. In terms of setting them up and, you know, helping them buy property and just teaching them about real estate. So that is like my daily motivation. That is my why, my kids and my family.

But it's really hard, especially in this market right now for the last little bit. It's been really challenging I know for a lot of realtors. It's hard to stay motivated when you're so used to the market being one way and then all of a sudden it turns yeah especially if you've never been in a down market right like if you've never experienced a down market for for those realtors this is a very difficult time. If you've gone through it you know that it's going to it's going to change any time now however we're waiting for that anytime now. Right. I truly believe it's having that circle around you you know you are safe. motivated because of your family and you also depend on that circle around you appears that are going to keep you motivated as well and that you know you always have to have that smile because you've got to lift them up and make them give them that confidence that things are going to turn around so you've done a

remarkable job in that so thank you well thank you letrice so much for being with us today I know a lot of agents are going to take the information that you've given and listen to this podcast and really find it resources and how they can apply it in their day-to-day. And it's always a pleasure to be able to sit with women in leadership like yourself. So we thank you for your leadership and your guidance as well. Thank you. Likewise.

I'm always screaming at you. I love you. Have a wonderful day and we'll see you soon. Okay. Bye.