KGCI: Real Estate on Air - The Power of Mentorship and Grit in Real Estate

Episode Date: January 12, 2026

Summary:This episode features an insightful conversation with guest Lauren Greene about the critical role of mentorship and "grit" in building a successful real estate career. The hosts and Lauren discuss the importance of finding a strong mentor, the value of learning from others' experiences, and the necessity of resilience in a competitive industry. While the content is primarily focused on mindset and personal development, it provides a powerful, inspiring message for agents at all stages of their career, emphasizing that long-term success is built on a foundation of perseverance and guidance.

Hey everyone. This is Real Estate Rich's podcast, and boy, is it going to be rich, full of the wealth and the tips and the tricks of all kinds of successful agents. Because that's what you want to be, right? Business builder who has success in their business, well, that's what we got going on here. And I'm going to have all kinds of agents, men, women, younger, older, sharing all their stuff because there's technology, there's just, how do you build your business? there's so many questions, right? So let's learn from some of the best. Gather your wealth and build your business. That's what this channel's all about. And I'm excited to bring it to you.

I'm Kathy Burns and I'll be your host. And stay tuned. Let's get at it, right? Hey, everybody, it's Kathy Burns with Real Estate Riches. And I'm excited today because I have a friend of mine, Lauren Green, who's going to be here with us sharing her nuggets, her gold. And I especially love her branding. So we're going to talk about that. Hey, Lauren. Hey, Kathy. Thank you so much for having me here.

I'm excited to have you. So I love, usually how I start out. I like to know a little background story. Fill us in. You're with Epic, which is a newer company in the area anyway, right? And it's a meta company, correct? Yes, correct. Yes. And that's new to you as well, right? Yes. Okay. And but you got a backstory, like how long you've been in real estate? Just give your little bio here of real estate? I had been in the real estate industry about seven years prior to this in my past life. That's what I call it. I was a stay-at-home mom for 11 years to my four beautiful children. And, you know, unfortunately came to the decision that it was time for my husband at the time and I to part ways. And I was just kind of sitting there thinking, I don't want to go

sit in a cubicle and look forward to a 5% raise year over year. I want to do something that I can literally create my own destiny weapon. So real estate seemed to be the right solution for me. I actually spoke to my ex-husband and told him what I was thinking about doing. And he supported me 100% and said that he thought it was a great idea. So went and took the course and just jumped in headfirst. And it's literally been one of the best decisions I've ever made. So what company did you start with? EXD, ironically. Oh, you did? You started with me? I did. I did. Right. right out of real estate school. Oh, that surprises me. I had no idea. I thought you started at KW. No, I did not. I was going to class with a young lady and her mother was actually at EXP and a very

seasoned agent. And so she really encouraged me and her daughter to join EXP and she would kind of show us the ropes. And it was very exciting to me. I tend to be kind of an innovative thinker. I like to be on the cutting edge when I can. And EXP was certainly that. in 2017. They were brand spanking new to the Charlotte market. And in hindsight, I'm kicking myself. I wish I'd stuck it out. But exactly what I'm going through with Epic right now, anytime a firm comes into a new market, there's a lot of growing pains. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, you know, being a brand spanking new agents with zero experience, no office to go to. It was a little tough for me at that time. So I actually made the decision very shortly after to go join Alan Tate, where I could have more of a hands-on

broker-in-charge. And that was a fantastic decision. Stuck with them for about a year, learned a tremendous amount. I was mentored by my broker-in-charge there, Kim Oberman, who was just, I mean, I could not have gotten lock here, you know. And she literally just took me by the hand and said, I'm going to show you how to do this. So that was a great experience. And from there, I've gone to a couple other places. I always said I was not going to be one of those agents that jumped around, but here I am. But I personally don't have an issue with that. And I'm going to tell you why.

I too. This is my fifth company. I'm with the expe now. But I started with Cola Banker. I didn't get what I needed at that window in time. I went to Remax. I was there for seven years. Then I outgrew it.

I didn't get what I needed. Went to another place. Not a good choice. Yeah. I think it's hard to find your home. You know, I think it takes a little while. It takes some time for you to figure out what you actually need, what your style is and all that kind of stuff,

and to find the right culture and a company where that kind of meshes up. I think the hardest thing for a brand new agent to do in this industry is to do it alone when they first start out. I think you need to be on a team myself. I did it alone. I know you did. And which shows the businesswoman that you are, that you're in tenacious because this is not an easy business.

It is not. No. Yeah. It's not. You know, I've always had a pretty driven personality. And I just kind of wanted to see if I could do it on my own. And it's been fantastic, you know. Yeah.

Well, that's great. So tell me about your branding. Your last name is green. And so I've always seen you branded in green. And it's a beautiful shade of green. Well, thanks. This is, I'm branching out a little bit today. But I'm actually, it's funny you mentioned my brand, Kathy, because I'm actually going through a rebrand as we speak.

And I'm coming to you live from my brand manager's office as a matter of fact because I wanted to unveil the new brand while I was on the show with you. And yeah, but with regards to the green, funny little story, I had a real estate coach very early in my career. And she was wonderful. Cheryl Knowlton out of Utah, very influential on the real estate industry on a nationwide level. And she's just the most amazing human being.

She's bubbly and energetic. And just sweet as candy. So anyway, we parted ways after I'd worked with her for a while. And we've remained French. She came back to me and said, hey, I'm piloting this training thing for agents. Would you mind attending and just kind of giving me feedback? Let me know what you think. And so she had a young lady in the meeting that we had.

It was a three-day, like, Zoom thing. And she was Cheryl's stylist. And she was saying things about, like, how to build your brand through how you present yourself. And I'm going to be honest, like she said that to choose your brand color and just cover your life in it, wear it all the time, on your spending and everything. And at first, I was kind of, I don't know if I really want to do that, but I immediately was like, you know what, I'm just going to try it. And so I started wearing green as much as I could. And immediately, I started to see the value in it. So I'm very grateful to Cheryl and her stylist for introducing me to the

concept because it makes you memorable. People for some reason remember my name because I'm always wearing it. Yes. Yes. You have the, even the color in your marketing pieces. I'll see it under contract that all being green. Different things will be within your marketing that you've done the green. So you're very branded to you. You are memorable. And obviously, I'm sure, because of the quality of work that you do, but it'll stick is what really is the point. they'll stick, whereas maybe somebody else might forget you, even if you did a great job. You know, I do think that's something that agents don't focus enough on when they get into the industry. It's funny when we go to real estate school, they don't tell you you have a PhD in

marketing and branding and all the stuff. You're kind of learning it on the fly. And I do think that more agents should focus on that if they can because it's important. Like this is this you, for instance, I learned through my Google research early on, like when you're doing your marketing, it has to look consistent. For instance, like if someone's scrolling on their feed on social media, even if they don't interact with whatever you post and they don't, you know, necessarily look at it fully, they recognize immediately, oh, you know, Lauren sold another one or got another one under contract because it's just consistent and they know exactly what they're looking at. So yes, yeah, I totally agree. I strive for. You mentioned something else. You got a coach

early on, I think that's critical. And there's a lot of free coaching out there that agents could find the free coaching until they can afford the coaching. Exactly. Because for me, in shoot, probably the first five years, I was barely, you know, hanging in there because I started broke. So I started broke, the market crash. So there was no coaching money, but there was, and there weren't a lot of coaching opportunities back in 2007, eight, nine, you know. That was not even, whereas today, there's coaches out there. Everywhere. And they give.

Of course, they're hoping that you'll sign up for more. But in the interim, take what they're offering. You learn a lot. Yes, learn. Yes. I think that's key. It's just always learning and, you know, as Kathy, you're a pro at that. Thanks.

So I also know that you're bilingual. Tell me how that helps you in your business. It's been phenomenal. I really didn't anticipate it being a part of my, business. And it's not a huge part with regards to, I wouldn't say that I have this tremendous, you know, base of Hispanic clients or Spanish speaking clients. I do serve quite a few, but it's not like half of my business or anything. But it's helped me tremendously. I absolutely adore helping the Latino and Hispanic community. They are some of the most amazing, hardworking,

loyal, loving, warm people you could ever have the pleasure of working with, interacting with. So I feel very blessed to be able to help that segment of our market. And then also with regards to project managing, like getting a listing ready, bringing contractors in. I feel like it has really helped me forge very strong relationships with a lot of the contractors that I have that speak which in turn helps my clients tremendously, you know, so. Yes, because that is a real big missing piece because the Latino group is growing so dramatically all over the country and they need to be served just like everybody else, right? And one of the biggest challenges they have is it's not just the realtor. It's all the different people that you need as you go through a transaction and they need to feel comfortable.

They need to feel heard. And so that's a big piece. Yeah. So tell me what has been your secret to your success, building your business as a single agent, even going through these different companies. How have you built it? Do you have a niche? What's your secret sauce? You know, I've always wanted to develop a niche. I just haven't really honed in on that per se. I would say that what has lent most to, there's a lot of factors, right? I think like we were talking about before, I've really gone out of my way to surround myself with,

mentors and seasoned professionals who have invested in my success. I am like forever indebted to John Fitzgerald and lots of people. I have an amazing coach now, real estate coach. He checks in on me all the time. He's not only my real estate coach, but he's my life coach, my financial coach. So I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to find those people that I knew were going to really invest in my success. So I would say that's number one. especially starting out. And then number two, I would say passion and obsession. I am so insanely passionate for my people, my clients, my contract, anybody that's in my circle, they are everything to me. They're like family to me. And I think my clients can see that. I think my, the people who I team up with in

the industry can see that too. And an obsession. I'm absolutely obsessed with this business, you know, Like just the last night, I was up until 2.30 in the morning. I hope I don't look super tired. But like researching this crazy market we're on right now, you know, like what's winning? And that's what I do with my free time. So anyway. And then I also think just focusing on your message, your brands and your reputation and how you present yourself. I think people really are magnetized to that, especially if you back that up with extensive knowledge and confidence.

I think that's pretty much the recipe. for what's made me successful. Yes, I think so too. Tell me about AI. How does that fit into your world right now? Well, you mentioned that I'm an epic, and Epic is the first AI-based real estate firm. So I'm super excited to explore that more.

I know you are an absolute guru, and I would love to get together off of the show sometime and pick your brain about it. But I'm slowly getting into that, discovering what can be done. It's funny, my son, who's 17, is really interested in getting into real estate, too. And so he's like trying to help me out with things, learn the business through the process.

And I was like struggling with something. And he was like, Mom, chat GPT. And he just showed me, typed a sentence in a chat, GPT. And it like did it in two minutes. I was like, yeah. So I'm really starting to discover and uncover the magic of AI. So. Oh, yeah. It is magic. Man. It's incredible. Ooh, I got so many projects. I'm getting ready to explore. Oh, I can imagine. I love it so much. Now, that's where I'm really passionate about is the tech. So for me, my audience is the agents that are struggling, that have started maybe this as a second career,

and now the market is really, it's turning, and you got to have grit in this part. And this is a come to Jesus' conversation here, people. If you don't have grit and you don't have tenacity and a willingness to figure out, like, who can help you and will help you, then this is not the career for you. You really, you need to go find something else because it's not an easy career. It's not.

And it's not where we're all driving. I have a cool car, but I earned it. You know, it didn't happen overnight. And there's challenging times. Even for Lauren, it didn't happen overnight. She's a single mom trying to get things going on her business started up when you first got divorced. So it's a business where you have to have tenacity.

You have to think outside the box. You have to, your proximity of who you're surrounding yourself with to level you up is critical. And so I really applaud you for what you've done in your career. It's wonderful. And someday I'd like to be working back with you again. I know. I'm looking forward to that day too. Well, I'm happy for where you're at.

It's grown. It's wonderful. And I'm grateful to have you on today. Thank you so much, Kathy. Is there anything you'd like to share that came to your mind? Well, I think you did a really nice summary right there. And then I think something else that's worth noting is even though this business takes a ton of grit, a lot of work, you know, you kind of have to like roll in the world of being uncomfortable, right? And you got to like that.

But I would also say that if you leave from your heart and really count every opportunity as a blessing, then everything you do, all that effort will come back to you in space. So totally agree. Totally agree. Thank you so much, Lauren. I really appreciate it. And thank you, everybody, for listening in. If you liked it, share, subscribe. We appreciate you all.

Bye now. So thanks for joining me on this episode of Real Estate Riches. Wasn't that great? I'm sure you've got a nugget or two. I know I did. So if you liked it, please subscribe below. Share it with everybody. Make some comments.

We really find that invaluable. And if you're thinking that you would love to talk about this a little bit, more let's get to a business strategy call I'll have the link below let's see if we can't mastermind together and see if we can't empower each other that would be great so until next time signing off hope to see you on the next one