Inspiration Found in Crown Point, Indiana

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My Masterful Mastermind Group! My own local Mastermind Group ended yesterday after a wonderfully insightful and productive 12 weeks. We had a wrap-up dinner last night and shared with each other the highlights of the time we have spent together, talking specifically about what we learned and what were our key takeaways from such a huge investment of time, love and work.

The two big gifts I received from our group were huge - one personal, and one professional. I blogged about the personal inspiration on WendyPiersall.com today. But I have wanted to share this professional Ah-Ha with you for weeks, because I know you will also appreciate my lesson learned.

One of my group cohorts is in real estate. He is aiming to become the top Keller Williams Agent in the United States. (Yes, my dear friends have dreams as big as I do!! ). Midway through our 12 weeks, Paul wisely decided he was going to speak to the current top 20 agents in the nation, and ask for their insights and advice on what it takes to be that kind of top producer.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I had made some assumptions about success in Real Estate. Things like being in a high-growth market, being near a major metropolitan area, and listing a lot of homes that you and I likely couldn’t afford.

Boy, was I wrong. The #1 KW agent in the nation is somewhere in Texas, in a market similar to what I just described. But the number #2 agent? She is in Crown Point, Indiana.

You read that correctly. Have you even heard of Crown Point, Indiana? In the 2000 Census, the population of this very cute and quaint little town was all of 19,806.

This information just fried my brain when I heard it. And it got me thinking…

If the Number 2 KW agent in the nation is doing THIS well in THIS market, what is defining and influencing her success?

It’s not the market. Crown Point is tiny.

It’s not the home sale price. Her average deal is a very normal $200K single family home.

It’s not even high growth - Las Vegas is kicking Crown Point’s butt when it comes to development.

So how is it that this woman does so well?

It’s because Jana Caudill has defined her own success.
On her own terms.
In her own backyard.

Which also got me thinking…

Have any of you been thinking small just because you run a home based business?

Would you rather be thinking bigger?

What could you do to redefine what you are capable of?

And what lessons can you learn from Jana Caudill about just how much success you can achieve with a small market, average fees and prices, and a low-profile brand?

I realized I had been making some ASSumptions about what I could and couldn’t do.

No more, Jana! Thanks for the kick in the pants.

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Comments

1. On December 15th, 2006 at 9:49 am, cjcm said:

He.. he… I had also made same mistakes before, making stupid ASSumptions. Now I don’t ASSume anymore and I always remind my subordinate not to ASSume anything… unless we are ready to get our A** kicked..

2. On December 15th, 2006 at 11:28 am, Holly Schwendiman said:

Funny how we do that isn’t it? Great post.

Hugs,
Holly
Holly’s Corner

3. On December 19th, 2006 at 12:52 am, Evan said:

Congrats on the success of your group! It raises an interesting thought on how long a Mastermind Group should exist for. I wrote a comment on it in my blog.

Keep up the great work!

Evan.

4. On February 3rd, 2007 at 8:02 pm, Helen Oliveri said:

It is inspirational to think that capturing such a small market can actually produce #1 status. It shows me that it is not about the size of the market but about the market share an agent captures. Focus small and think big. After many years, it all falls into place. Abd focusing on 2 counties is brilliant. Jana is my inspiration and I plan to achieve the level of success she has in just the same amount of time if not sooner. Aim High is my motto! Shoot for the moon, you may just hit the stars.

5. On February 3rd, 2007 at 8:04 pm, Helen Oliveri said:

Let’s overcome this changing market
Helen

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