$150,000+ GCI Growth In A Rural Town Of Less Than 10,000 People

Heather Mutz:
People in town are saying, "You're the expert in this. When we sell, we're definitely hiring you. Your marketing is just so much better than every other realtor." I mean people are verbally telling me this and it's pretty neat. It's pretty neat.

Tim Chermak:
Oh really? So, you're not drawing that conclusion, they've actually told you that's the reason they picked you is because they're seeing your social media videos?

Heather Mutz:
Oh and one more thing: they're not using their family who are realtors. This is a big time family town and they're like, "Oh, I feel so bad I'm not using my aunt. I'm not using my uncle to sell, but your marketing is just so much better so I'm going to have to break the news to them."

Tim Chermak:
This is the Platform Marketing Show, where we interview the most creative and ambitious real estate agents in the country, dissect their local marketing strategy, and get the behind the scenes scoop on how they're generating listing leads and warm referrals. We'll dive into the specifics of what marketing campaigns are working for them, how much they're spending on those campaigns, and figure out how they have perfected what we call the platform marketing strategy. This is your host, Tim Chermak. I'm the Founder and CEO of platform, I love marketing, and I talk too much. So let's dive in.

Tim Chermak:
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Platform Marketing Show. I'm here today with Heather Mutz and Heather is an agent near Hondo, Texas, kind of a Western suburb. I mean, Heather, is at about 45 minutes west of San Antonio? Is that right?

Heather Mutz:
Yep. It's about 45 minutes outside of the city. Super easy drive. Really perfect place to live and work.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. So, I mean it's one of those outer rim suburbs where if you're talking to someone not familiar with Texas, you might just say I'm from San Antonio, but that's not really the truth. You live about almost an hour west of San Antonio, kind of out in the country.

Heather Mutz:
Right.

Tim Chermak:
And you have a really, really impressive and inspiring entrepreneurial story. We'll just cut right to the chase here. You used to be a public school teacher making $32,000 a year as a teacher and-

Heather Mutz:
That is true. Yes.

Tim Chermak:
This past year, as a realtor, you made over $200,000, sold about 40 homes, 40 sides, and it looks like this next year is going to be even bigger and more successful because you're rolling that snowball, there's more people being added every week, literally every day to your database and your retargeting lists, and you're getting more referrals. Just in the past week, you told me you picked up six listings. And so this incredibly prosperous year you had last year, where you made over $200,000, again going from making $32,000 a year as a teacher to making over $200,000 as an agent, it looks like this year is going to be even more successful for you.

Tim Chermak:
So Heather, what has been the secret to that business growth? Tell me, what does your marketing plan look like? Because so many agents, when they start out, they're just scraping the bottom of the barrel. Some coach at some seminar tells them to just start making phone calls, right? Start calling your friends and family and asking them for referrals or start calling expired listings, right? Or calling for sale by owners and tell them the old pitch about, "I have a buyer. I'd like to come by and look at the house." That's what they tell any new agent trying to build up their business. You've never really done any of those things.

Heather Mutz:
I've never had to do that and I'm so thankful that I have never had to do that. I don't think I'd be doing this if that's the route that I had to take. So a little over 15 months ago, I guess, I made the decision to leave a team that I was on because it was closer to San Antonio, I really wasn't branding myself in my county, and I just felt like it was time to do that. And there's a marketing company called Platform Marketing, and they took me in and totally helped me build a brand that fast in my county to where I'm really one of the top agents right now that people are coming to and like I said, it was over a 15-month span. So this has happened really quickly. I was doing fine. I mean I was doing okay, but the growth that I've had since I made the decision to invest in marketing has just been huge.

Tim Chermak:
And so you were on a team before and you were a pretty successful member of that team, but what was your GCI inside of that team structure being on someone else's team?

Heather Mutz:
Right around 75,000. So, I mean I was making a good living.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah, certainly. Certainly.

Heather Mutz:
Yeah. I was just driving a lot and I wasn't building a brand for myself close to home. So, there's not any agents, I mean there may be a few trying to market and keep up with technology and all of those good things, but I just knew with Platform that I had something different to bring to the table, to my county. I'm a big believer in, we make enough money that we need to be marketing our client's properties well and getting as many eyes as possible on their properties, and that's exactly what I'm able to do and my clients are able to see that on social media, they're seeing their home get 5,000, 6,000 views over a two-week span. So, people are just coming to me. I'm not having to knock on doors, make cold calls. I'm just getting leads, referrals, and just community members calling me constantly saying, "When I'm ready to sell, you're the one I'm coming to. Your marketing is so good." I mean it's just, it's been such a blessing.

Tim Chermak:
So the business is coming to you. It's all inbound. You're not having to spend every day time blocking making outbound phone calls, calling expired listings, or sitting open houses on the weekend, crossing your fingers, hoping a buyer walks in. You actually have leads coming to you, you don't have to chase them?

Heather Mutz:
Yes. I haven't done an open house in 15 months and I don't know that I could ever go back to doing that. It's just, there's a better use of time and money and I've found that and it's been so much easier honestly. And one of the big things that I've focused on in the last 15 months is highlighting local businesses. And not only am I getting to help them and market their business, but I'm making these connections, I'm meeting new people. I'm not from my county originally. I've lived here for 15 years, and so I still meet new people daily. And just as I focus on them, I mean the respect they have for me in turn is priceless.

Tim Chermak:
And now you're in Hondo. That's your hometown where you're living now?

Heather Mutz:
Right.

Tim Chermak:
And that's which county is that in Texas?

Heather Mutz:
That's Medina County and in my little town, there's 8,000 people and I have six listings just in January. So if that tells you, and I think there's a total of 15 homes on the market right now in our town.

Tim Chermak:
Oh, wow. So there's more licensed agents there than available inventory.

Heather Mutz:
Oh, yeah. There's so many agents here, so many, and that's why I knew, I don't have the family name that grew up here and I'm one of probably, I don't know, 50 agents here. And so I knew I had to do something different and this has definitely been different and it's definitely been such a good thing, not only for me, but just I think everybody here loves seeing my videos on social media because I don't focus on myself, I focus on, like I said, on small businesses. And so they're seeing new places, new food, new stores. I mean it's a neat concept.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah, because you're doing a market update video, I know, every single month and sometimes you're even doing more than one a month, but that market update is essentially a 60-second video that you do where 50 seconds of the 60 seconds is basically you just promoting a local, small business. It's you filming a commercial almost for that local small business, and then maybe at the very end for 10 seconds, you're just quickly like, "Hey, by the way, here's what's going on in the real estate market here in Hondo." But most of the video-

Heather Mutz:
Yes, and it's so funny because sometimes I forget to do that and the video still goes over great. I mean-

Tim Chermak:
Right. So it's like a market update video where you forgot the market update part.

Heather Mutz:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean it happens.

Tim Chermak:
It's basically just every month Heather's going out and interviewing a local business owner and highlighting their business and maybe it's a coffee shop and you're saying, "Hey guys, you've got to come in and try their cinnamon rolls. They're amazing. Or you've got to try their lattes, their lattes are so good," or whatever it is, right? You're just highlighting local businesses. There's not really honestly any tie-in to real estate. You're not trying to make some awkward connection saying, "And this is why you should want to use me as your realtor," or something like that. There's not really a call to-

Heather Mutz:
Not at all.

Tim Chermak:
There's not really a call to action or anything like that. It's just you promoting local small businesses in your area because you want to be seen as being an advocate of your community.

Heather Mutz:
Yes. So January I did The Rock Fitness and they have an 8:15 class and so I got in my 80s workout gear and I just had fun with it. And I think I'm learning the more relaxed I am when doing these, if I do interview the owner or the teacher of the class or whatever, they're just so much more receptive and it's so fun. I look forward to that every month. I look forward to videoing. My first couple, I was nervous and I would stop and start and stop and start, and now I'm like one and done. I am who I am. I sound how I sound. And it's just, I've gotten a lot more comfortable with it.

Tim Chermak:
Maybe you stutter, maybe you for a split second forget what you were going to say and there's an awkward pause and honestly, who cares?

Heather Mutz:
Who cares? Yes. Who cares? And I think people get really intimidated with videos, but honestly that's been the basis of what I've been doing to grow my business for 15 months and it works. And with this marketing company, it is so simple because I film these videos, I upload them to Google Drive, they edit them, they blast them out, and over the last 15 months, they've created an audience for me, I don't know how they do it, I don't care to know, I let them be the experts, but they've created a huge audience for me. And what that means is when people are scrolling through Facebook, I'm popping up because at some point they've watched something of mine and now they just continue to see these market updates. They continue to see all the little advice videos that I do. And so, I mean I think my retargeting audience is well over 50,000 people at this point. So, I mean when you're talking mailing out cards or making cold calls, this just reaches a ton more people with so much less effort.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. And so what you just described there, Heather, is retargeting. And so from a marketing perspective, what retargeting means is really simply, someone clicks on one of your ads on social media. So let's say it's a Facebook ad. They click on one of your ads or maybe they watch one of your videos because one of Heather's videos popped up in their Facebook newsfeed, one of these market update videos, or maybe it's one of her listing videos that she's promoting a new listing. And even if they don't sign up, so this is the key, even if they don't click and actually give Heather their name and email and phone number, so even if they don't become a lead just by clicking on the ad in the first place or even watching a video, they're added to the retargeting list. So Heather can secretly keep showing ads to them, so the next time that person goes on Instagram or the next time that person goes on Facebook, they will keep seeing Heather's videos and Heather's ads. So it's almost like Heather's marketing is following them around the internet, even if they didn't click and become a lead.

Heather Mutz:
It's crazy and I have no idea who my audience is, but the funny thing is almost on a daily basis-

Tim Chermak:
But they know who you are.

Heather Mutz:
Yeah. That's what I mean. Almost on a daily basis I'm getting, "Oh my gosh, you're the girl in those videos at the grocery store," or my daughter owns a yard sign business for birthdays and she puts signs out in people's yards late at night. So one night, it's almost 11:00 PM, it's dark outside, and the owner of the home comes out, I don't know who they are, and he's like, "You're the realtor that does all those videos." And I just thought that was hilarious. I mean I have no idea who this person is, but they know me and I'm pretty sure the entire county now, because our county has less than 50,000 people, so pretty much our whole county is seeing me on their Facebook at this point.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. So people are actually recognizing you in person when you're out and about in the community, whether you're at church, you're at the grocery store, you're at maybe one of your daughter's sporting events. People are actually recognizing you and saying, "Hey, you're that realtor."

Heather Mutz:
Yeah, it's pretty neat. And that's another reason, I post personal ads sometimes too, just spotlighting my daughters and I and I want to make a personal connection with my clients as well where they see me as a mom also and I think that's been huge too. And the cool thing is I have a coach with this marketing company and every week I get new ideas on, "What video should we do this week? Is it time for another personal ad? Should I run another homes list?" And that's so helpful. It keeps me on track, it holds me accountable. I'm spending money on marketing. I need to put the work in and get the content out, so that's been really helpful.

Tim Chermak:
And so in your real estate journey, Heather, you started as a teacher making $32,000 a year, you joined an existing team, and you actually built up a pretty healthy business making a very respectable income, making $75,000 a year as a member of this team. But then eventually you realized, "I think I want to go out on my own. I think I want to more focus on my area where I live in Hondo, in Medina County, and so you left the team and in that year, or let's call it 15 months, you went from that last year on the team having made $75,000 a year, which again I want to say, that's not bad, right? $75,000 is more than the average agent makes, and you went from that to making over $200,000 out on your own. So, what was the marketing that you did to take you from 75,000 as a member of a team to making over 200,000 on your own?

Tim Chermak:
So tell us about some of the specific ads or some of the specific videos that you've been doing that gets your name out there and brings the leads in, maybe what's your most successful lead generation ad that you've been running as a Facebook ad?

Heather Mutz:
So I would say, and this is during COVID too, which is crazy, because there was a few months that not a lot happened, but right before COVID happened, I filmed a God made a small business owner video. And what I did was I had my photographer come out and take some video footage and some really good photos of about 10 to 12 business owners in front of their business and while they're working and serving people and the business owners were so grateful, I didn't even realize what a cool video this was going to be, but when it all got put together, it was just amazing. Most people that watched it cried. I think it's been viewed almost 100,000 times and-

Tim Chermak:
In a town of like 8,000 people.

Heather Mutz:
Right. So, I mean it was just mind blowing to me. And through doing that video, I met so many business owners and so many people from my community that I had never met. I built really good relationships and I definitely got referrals from that video. So I mean it just all works together. I think when you're helping other people and not totally expecting something out of it each and every time, it just organically happens.

Tim Chermak:
And so you said that the name of this video was God made a small business owner. Can you tell us what was the video? What was the script of the video for those who maybe aren't aren't familiar with that video that you did?

Heather Mutz:
So it was mainly about just all the hard work and hustle that goes into a small business and what it takes to keep it going and the stress that business owners are under to make those paychecks happen. And I think it just resonated so much with everybody, especially right now. I mean so many people are struggling and these business owners have done a phenomenal job to keep their business running and keep people employed and that was kind of the whole concept of the video is, it's a lot. It's a lot for somebody to take that on. And these businesses, most of them were super well known and had a huge following on social media. And so just a ton of people were able to see it and it was almost like an experience video to me where, I mean you felt the emotion in it for sure.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. And it really had nothing to do with your real estate business. There was no call to action of, if you liked this video, please list your house with Heather Mutz, right? It was just a video, I think, that was an inspirational video highlighting some of the hardworking business owners in your community. And it was kind of set to that script of the Paul Harvey, So God Made a Farmer, I think it's a famous speech, is it the 1980s?

Heather Mutz:
Yes, yes. Yeah.

Tim Chermak:
So God made a farmer and kind of just rewrote it, so God made a small business owner, highlighting a bunch of just mom and pop local small businesses. And like you said, that kind of went viral. I mean I'd say in a town of 8,000 people, if a video has a 100,000 views, that probably counts as going viral.

Tim Chermak:
But the important thing is it wasn't an ad for you. No one watching that would think, "Oh, this is an advertisement for Heather." It was just you doing something for the community without really expecting anything in return, but obviously every time someone shared that video, it's coming from your page. And so people are seeing you and they're associating you, I think, at a subconscious level, they're associating you with just being for the community. She really stands for the community, right? So it's like, if I wanted to buy a house here, I wanted to list a house, I would want to support you.

Heather Mutz:
Right. And what's so crazy is I would say five months after this video was released, I got a call from a seller. They were interviewing five different agents and I didn't know who these people were, but I set up an appointment with them. And when I walked in the door, the husband just lit up and he's like, "Oh my gosh, I've been waiting to meet you. You're the God made a small business owner realtor." And he's like, "Your stuff has been popping up on my Facebook and that was my favorite video." And I mean, just on and on and on about that particular video.

Heather Mutz:
And it was my videos that got me that listing appointment. While I was in that appointment, they picked up the phone and called every other agent and told them that I was their agent and they weren't interested in working with them. It was really neat, really neat. And I've had so many aha moments like that in the past 15, 16 months where I know it's because of my marketing, it's because of my videos, it's because of the effort I'm putting in to just get that content out there, which is really easy. I mean it's really easy. This company makes it easy for me, but it's because of that that I'm growing like I'm growing.

Tim Chermak:
How many total videos do you think you did last year, Heather?

Heather Mutz:
Oh man, I think I average probably four to five a month, so probably 50 videos I would say. I do a video for every listing that I have and that's something I'm able to present in my listing appointments that I do an HD video for you, it's seen by thousands of people, I mean, and there's nobody else doing that here. So that automatically puts me a step above what everybody else is doing. And I think it's just consistency and that's really what I try to do. And like I said, having an account manager helps me stay on track as well.

Tim Chermak:
And so, a lot of agents might think if they're doing even one video a month that, "Oh, I'm really tech savvy," or, "I'm really cranking out content. I do a video every single month." And here you are doing four to five videos every single month, so I think that just shows the difference between maybe being good at something and being excellent at something sometimes is just the volume of content that you're putting out. And that's how you went from making $75,000 in GCI to going out on your own and making well over $200,000 in GCI.

Tim Chermak:
So what does the advertising budget look like? Let's get into some specifics here, because I know a lot of people listening to this are probably wondering, "Yeah, well you added over $100,000 to your GCI when you joined the Platform Marketing," actually, it's probably more like you added 150,000 to your GCI when you joined the Platform Marketing program, "But how much are you spending on ads? Are you spending $3,000 a month on ads?" What is the actual Facebook ad spend that's driving that growth?

Heather Mutz:
So my average is, and I tell my account manager to try to hang out right around this number, is $600 a month. So I mean maybe a little over $7,000 this past year that I spent on ads and I mean, some of them went viral. I mean they all had thousands of views. It's so different than me trying to manually stick a video up and it's funny because I watch some other agents do it and you see them have 90 views or 150 views. It's totally, totally different. Yeah, with $600 a month, so well worth it.

Tim Chermak:
So all of that business growth, going from being a slightly above average agent to being an elite excellent top producing agent has been fueled by essentially spending just $600 a month on the actual ads that are promoting these videos and promoting your lead generation ads.

Heather Mutz:
Yes.

Tim Chermak:
And now with the actual lead generation ads, apart from the videos you do, you mentioned that God made a small business owner video that seemed to work really well for you. You mentioned that every time you get a listing, you film a listing video tour of those listings. Heather, you mentioned that you do market update videos every single month where you're highlighting a local small business. What are the actual lead generation ads? Because videos don't always generate leads per se, but what are some of the best lead generation ads that are working to actually get you names and emails and phone numbers of people to follow up with?

Heather Mutz:
Right. So a couple that I run that I love running at all times is homes on acreage and that could be small acreage, everybody around here seems to love looking and dreaming about even a home on one acre. So that one does really, really well and brings in even higher end clients maybe looking to-

Tim Chermak:
And so that's basically a Facebook ad where you're just offering a free report that you've put together, a free report of homes for sale in the area that have at least an acre of land?

Heather Mutz:
Yeah. And so then they're-

Tim Chermak:
I mean it's really that simple?

Heather Mutz:
Yes. And they're getting a list of homes and then I'm able to connect with them and ask them, "Are you looking for something more specific? I can customize this list for you." It just really starts the conversation. And I also do an affordable homes list. A lot of people are looking for homes under 250,000. That's another good one that works around here. What's cool is I can change them up. I can do a pools homes list. I can think of really whatever I want to think of and get that going to generate actual leads on a daily basis, and I do get actual leads on a daily basis and have multiple conversations every single day.

Tim Chermak:
And so the marketing process that we run at Platform is really two step. It's first, get someone to click on an ad, one of these free reports where it's a free report of homes with acreage or a free report of all the affordable homes in the area that maybe in your area, that means they're less than 250,000, or a free report of homes that have a pool, whatever, all these variations of a free report of homes with a certain characteristic. That gets the click or it gets the lead, and so that's step one. You just get people to click on the ad and hopefully opt into the ad so we're getting their name, email, and phone number.

Tim Chermak:
But step two is really the secret sauce of all this, and this is what most agents aren't doing, is just because you generate leads doesn't mean you're going to convert those leads doesn't mean you're going to stay top of mind with those leads, doesn't mean those leads are going to refer you or when the time actually comes, it doesn't mean they're actually going to want to work with you because maybe they've met a couple other realtors in between the time that they clicked on your ad and when they were actually ready to go. So, you have to have a marketing system in place obviously that's going to keep you top of mind and make those potential leads loyal to you so they do actually work with you.

Tim Chermak:
One thing we talk about at Platform is this high hanging fruit mentality or this high hanging fruit philosophy, which essentially is just acknowledging that in real estate, there is a sales cycle. There is a sales cycle. So if someone clicks on your ad in January, they might not actually be ready to list their house until June. I mean that's six months away, right? So even if you get that lead, who's to say that in the next six months they don't click on some other realtor's ad or they meet some other realtor or they get referred to some other realtor? You better have a way in those six months of, from the moment when they click on your ad to the moment when they're actually ready to list their house or they're actually ready to buy a house, you better be staying top of mind in a creative way so that they just don't forget about you in those six months.

Tim Chermak:
And that's, I think, the missing link in most marketing plans and most realtors is they don't have that step two, which is retargeting and all the content and all the videos that keep you top of mind, but it really is just two steps, that's it.

Heather Mutz:
Yeah. And so that makes your follow up so much easier too, because then when you're following up, depending on how far out they are, whether you're following up every two weeks or once a month or whatever, you're not a stranger to them, they watch you daily. So it makes follow up, it makes trust, it makes conversations, all of that so natural.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. I mean literally if you set this up right, and this is what we do at Platform, you can hire a company like Platform to manage all this for you, like Heather did, but you can set it up so that if someone clicks on one of your ads, they are seeing you every single day pop up in either an Instagram ad or a Facebook ad or even a YouTube ad if you want to be on YouTube. And so it is impossible for them to forget about you if you're popping up every day. And as Heather has proven, your business can grow even faster than even you probably thought was possible if you're filming multiple videos every month, because what we don't want to do is obviously just film one video and then they get on your retargeting list and then they just keep seeing the same video of you over and over and over again. That's actually kind of annoying if you just see the same ad over and over again.

Tim Chermak:
But by filming four or five brand new videos every month, someone who clicks on one of Heather's ads, let's say that you get a listing this month and someone clicks on that listing, but they're not actually ready to buy yet, they were just doing their research, it looked interesting, the home had nice curb appeal in the photo so they clicked on the ad, but they're not actually ready to buy until maybe in the fall. Maybe they're thinking, "Oh, we got to wrap some stuff up and we're not actually ready to go until September, October." So they're nine, 10 months away, because Heather is filming, let's say, four new videos a month, if it's nine months away, that means in between now and then, if they're on Heather's retargeting list, they're going to see nine months times four new videos a month, that's 36 videos that they will see from Heather in the next nine months, plus all of the videos that Heather already has running around the clock as evergreen videos that just run all the time.

Tim Chermak:
And so more than likely, in the next nine months, they will probably see 40 to 50 videos from Heather and that's the reason that Heather's converting so many leads is that when someone clicks on one of her ads in that nine months, if they see, let's say, 40 videos from her, it would almost be shocking if they didn't work with you as their realtor.

Heather Mutz:
It's been pretty crazy. And I remember after the first few months, people already recognize me and they would say things like, "You're everywhere." And I remember it took a few months for me to start getting multiple closings a month, but people thought that I was that busy already because they see me all the time. And I think that's huge for especially new agents starting. Hiring somebody to help with this, you will look like you're such a pro from the very beginning. And I mean, it didn't take but a few months for me to start having multiple closings a month, but like I said, at the very beginning, people already thought that's how it was for me, which is really cool.

Tim Chermak:
Heather, what's been your most financially lucrative month? What's the month where you had the most closings or the most GCI? Where you look back, "Hey, this month I made X amount of money?" What was that month?

Heather Mutz:
So that was December, and December's normally known for a slow time for real estate agents, and I closed 50,000 in GCI in December of 2020.

Tim Chermak:
Wow.

Heather Mutz:
Which was just mind blowing to me.

Tim Chermak:
So you made $50,000 in one month. And again, to put that into perspective, at your previous career as a teacher, you made $32,000 in an entire year.

Heather Mutz:
Yes. Pretty crazy, right?

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. That probably felt pretty cool making $50,000 in a month, because again, to put that in its proper perspective, you said you spent about $7,000 last year total on the actual ads and in just one month you made $50,000 in commissions, in just one month.

Heather Mutz:
Yeah. I mean that'll pay for ads for how many years to come?

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. Yeah. That's incredible. And so, you've grown so quickly, it's not like, hey, you went from 75,000 in GCI to making over 200, but it's not like it took you three years or five years. You did it all so quickly. What would your advice be to an agent listening to this who maybe is at that point in their business where you were at a couple years ago where you were making 60,000, 75,000, somewhere in that range, but you kind of always knew that you were maybe capable of taking your business to the next level? What would your advice be to someone who is at that point right now, or maybe they're at 75, but they just know that it would be life changing for them and their family to be able to get to 150, to be able to get to 200? What would you tell them?

Heather Mutz:
I would tell them to take the leap and to start building a brand in their community right now. And the best way to do that is with great marketing. So invest in good marketing. It's going to be something that I guarantee nobody around you is going to be doing and it's just going to put you on a whole different level. I mean I've lived this the last 15 months, I've seen what it has done, and I wish I would've done it three or four years ago, had I known about it I would.

Heather Mutz:
But I mean it's a no brainer to me. We just talked about the 7,000 versus 50,000. I mean it's something that I will always do and it's something that's just going to continue to grow my business. I'm starting to grow a team because I'm just getting so many leads and I've got so much business going that I'd love to give some of this to a team member. And so that's happening for me in 2021 and a billboard's going up next month. I mean things that I just never dreamed of, so I think we're only going to keep growing and that would be my best advice is, do it now. Don't wait another year, start branding and marketing now.

Tim Chermak:
Why do you think so many agents are scared or hesitant about investing in advertising or investing in marketing? Do you think it's because maybe they've been burned before or spent a lot of money in marketing that didn't work? Or is it just that maybe there's the stereotype out there that advertising doesn't really do anything? I mean because when you look at the results that you've had working with Platform, where you went from, I mean I can't say enough, you went from 75,000 to, was it 215? Is that what you said was your-

Heather Mutz:
Yeah.

Tim Chermak:
So 75,000 to 215,000 in GCI. I mean growing your business like that is obviously life changing for your family. That's not just the difference between, "Oh, we have a little bit more spending money to go out to eat a little bit more." It's like, no, now you can probably pay cash for your kids' college, you can buy a brand new car, you can take multiple luxury vacations every year, you can send the kids to private schools. I mean that completely changes the standard of living that you're able to provide for your family. And so when you see a result like that, why don't you think most agents aren't investing more in marketing? What do you think is the reason that it's not an obvious decision for other agents to do what you've done?

Heather Mutz:
I think they just probably haven't come across the right marketing tools and company. I know before this, I really didn't know where to start. And I think a lot of people are afraid to spend money not knowing if it's going to work, but just when you look at where everything is headed in the direction of social media and technology and all of that, I mean times are changing. Listings aren't being put in the paper anymore, just sticking a sign in the yard and putting a listing on MLS, that doesn't put you in the spotlight at all. So I think more agents are going to start doing this, but I think everything that you said, they're scared to spend the money, they've been burned, mailing out postcards, they didn't get one call back.

Heather Mutz:
I mean there's just so many things that we do as agents where you feel like you're spinning your wheels and I think agents are afraid, is this another one of those things that I'm going to do? But I've had multiple friends lately that have trusted me because they have watched my journey firsthand and they have trusted me and have dove head first into this and I cannot wait to see where they're going to be a year from now with Platform because they're brand new agents. I mean it's going to be so exciting to watch because I know it works. I mean I told them I'm 100% sure that this works or I would never push you into this or tell you this is what you need to do, but it does. It's changed my life. It really has.

Tim Chermak:
So you've actually been referring other agents even to join the Platform Marketing program?

Heather Mutz:
Totally. They're in other markets, so that doesn't threaten me whatsoever. I want to see them succeed in their market like I've been able to here. This year I got Best Agent in Medina County, which was so crazy to me because the agents I was up against, they've been here forever. They have a big name in this town and I think that was so solidifying to me that what I'm doing is right and is working. I already knew it was, obviously my income has changed so much, my daily life, but just getting that award this year was something really exciting. And I know it's because so many people in our county are seeing me on a daily basis and the people that I've referred to Platform, they see this unfolding daily and they've watched my journey and they're so excited to get going and have a life-changing experience also.

Tim Chermak:
So, you mentioned that they're in different markets. One thing that Platform does that's different from a lot of other marketing companies is that we are market exclusive. We will only work with one agent per market, not one agent per neighborhood or one agent per zip code or something, but one agent per market. So, what does that policy mean to you? How would you describe that to another agent of how Platform has that set up and why that's so beneficial to you as the agent?

Heather Mutz:
That is, I mean, that's the most beneficial thing. Nobody can duplicate what I'm doing. They won't be able to. The fact that I'm the only one in my entire county that has access to this is the game changer. So yeah, I don't mind referring people. One of my friends is in Waco and she's going to dominate because she's the only one in that area that's going to be able to do it. And so, whenever I find markets where Platform doesn't have an agent, I'm excited to get the word to somebody there that can benefit from this because it truly is a game changer.

Tim Chermak:
And so what is the sense of PlatFam mean to you? I know it's kind of a cheesy word, but we have this Facebook group that's this secret private Facebook group that's only for actual agents that are in what we call the Platform Family, and a lot of our clients started using this kind of slang phrase PlatFam for Platform Family.

Tim Chermak:
Talk to me, Heather, about this sense of community that seems to have developed in that group, because it's something I certainly never planned, I didn't think that just by having clients across the country that they would start becoming friends with each other and there actually would be a sense of community where you almost feel a sense of loyalty to the other agents in the group where, when you have a referral for maybe one of your sellers is selling because they're moving to some other city, often you refer that person to the Platform agent there. You don't really care what brokerage they're with. No one's really loyal to their brokerage, whether it's RE/MAX or Keller Williams or EXP or whatever, it feels like a lot of agents almost have this sense of loyalty to the PlatFam and to the other agents in the PlatFam. What has that experience been like for you, whether it's in attending masterminds or meeting, being mentored by some of the other agents, what has that been like?

Heather Mutz:
That has been one of my favorite things about Platform is the connections and relationships that I have made with the other agents. And it is, it's like family and we have these masterminds every year and when we get together, I mean it's just so good to see everybody. We instantly have that real estate connection, but it's not like your normal real estate conference. It's like being around family and I have learned more from some of these platform agents than I could have in 10 years just in the last year. To me, that's such a huge part, or a huge benefit of being a part of this marketing company is that now we do have a family of agents that are super close friends and family and it's just been really neat. And whenever I know that I have a trip coming up where I get to see everybody again, I'm so excited for it.

Tim Chermak:
Who are some of your favorite people? Let's actually start listing names. Who are some of the favorite people that you've met in the PlatFam and where are their markets? Who are some of these people that maybe you don't see on a regular basis, but every year you see them at the Platform Mastermind and it's like you're hanging out with old friends again, even though you only maybe see them once a year?

Heather Mutz:
So at this last Platform Mastermind, I really got to know a group that I just love and so enjoy spending time with, the Remys. They're a couple that have their own brokerage and I love watching them work together and just picking their brain and seeing how excited they are about their business. And I mean they feel like family to me already. Justin Lillers in Maryland, and he's in a really cool market and is such a great guy. I've enjoyed learning from him. I mean he does like 20 million a year all alone and just being able to sit down and talk to him about how he makes that work, how he's grown. It's just, it's such a neat thing.

Heather Mutz:
Shane Saunders and Aaron Alvarez, they're in Arizona and they are go getters and I mean they're just, they're so fun to be around, but they're such business-minded people too that I mean I've just learned a ton. And I mean I feel blessed to be able to learn from these people and I wish we did it multiple times a year, because I would love to see everybody even more often. And it's people across the country and what's cool is I told my girls, I have three daughters and I told them, "Mommy's meeting these friends that we can go on trips and stay with them and see cool places in the United States." And it makes them excited and that's something that I never dreamed would come out of this, was deep friendships like that where we could travel and stay and that has been such a neat thing.

Tim Chermak:
Very cool. Well, I want to completely change the topic, Heather, and I want to ask you about your lead conversion strategy. Because I know a ton of people are probably listening to this and maybe they're inspired hearing where your business is at and how much more money you're making and how much you're able to provide for your family now, and that's all really cool, but they're thinking, "Okay, what's involved on a daily basis?" What does your day to day look like? So walk me through an average day in your business. You wake up, do you immediately start cold calling people? What is your actual day to day look like? How many hours do you-

Heather Mutz:
You want me to be real honest?

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. I mean how many hours are you spending following up with leads in the CRM or calling people or filming video? What does a typical day in the life of Heather look like?

Heather Mutz:
So I normally get up, get my girls to school. They get to school by eight o'clock. I head straight to the gym and I work out for about an hour and have some me time and I get home about nine o'clock, get myself ready real fast, and then I usually either have a listing appointment or an appointment with a buyer or photos. I mean probably two or three times a week, I've got some kind of appointment like that. I have on my schedule every week to film a video or two. And so with Platform, we have an app on our phone, I'm able to spend about 30 minutes a day is probably about what I spend on making sure I don't have any new messages coming through from clients, making sure I responded to everybody, and just basically following up just a little bit a day. I mean really, it doesn't take long to keep up.

Heather Mutz:
What I do is I set a new task for whoever I follow up with and it alerts me when I need to reach out to them again in a week or two. So, that is so streamlined. I usually wrap up work by about 3:15 and I head to pick up my girls. I pick them up at 3:30. If I need to type up contracts or do any computer work, that normally gets done a little bit during the day, but I try to reserve my days for appointments and follow up and do my computer work while they're in practices or when they go to sleep, but I mean I would say on average, I probably work about six hours a day.

Tim Chermak:
Wow. So you're not working 12 hour days, you're not buried in your CRM doing follow up for three hours every day. You have, I mean it sounds like you have a pretty decent work life balance that you've got going on.

Heather Mutz:
I do. And I think that's one of the biggest things that smart marketing has provided me is the lifestyle that I want to live. And I mean I'm about to be a single mom of three girls and I need that time. Time, you cannot ever get that back. And the way that this marketing works has allowed me to be a mom first, to not be overloaded with busy work. I show homes maybe one weekend a month. I mean it's really freed me up to live and I mean we get one life.

Tim Chermak:
And so when you say that you're in the CRM following up with leads, I'm going to dive even deeper into the practical side of this and some of the specifics. How do you convert leads, Heather? If someone were to say, "Hey, what's your secret? I know you're filming a ton of videos and I know that you have this marketing program that's getting your name out there. But when it really comes down to it, how do you convert those leads coming in?" What is your process? What are some of the things you say to set appointments and to keep those conversations going? And when an email lead comes in, what do you email them that actually gets them to respond? I mean how do you convert leads? What would be your answer to that if you were teaching a class, let's say, to newer agents on, "Here's how to convert leads?"

Heather Mutz:
So when a lead comes in, they automatically get an email from me that's set up ahead of time, I don't have to manually do it, asking if they're just researching or if they're planning on buying. They get a second email from me asking another question. Anybody that responds to me, which so many do, I immediately respond to them. I do not let hours and hours go by before they get a response. They also get a text from me, and then we start the conversation and I start... It's like an onion, you start peeling back all the layers and I start finding out what exactly they're looking for. Are they planning on moving in the next one to three months or the next six months?

Heather Mutz:
And once I find out all of this information and I plug it all in, so that I mean I don't have to remember it, it's all in one place, super quick and easy, then I know, "Okay, am I going to be reaching out to this person once a week, once every two weeks, once a month? What does their timeline look like?" And then I put them on, I guess kind of a drip system where every week or two, I've got a task and the platform CRM reminds me. So I would never be able to do this if I had to write it down in a calendar. I mean all of it is so streamlined and so easy. And I just touch them and I build a relationship with them, and a lot of times I'm not even asking about houses, I'm asking just how they're doing and how their holiday went. And we just start building a relationship. So if they're six months out or a year out, by the time we go to buy, we know each other super well.

Tim Chermak:
And throughout that time, as you're doing that follow up, they're obviously seeing all of your videos and the retargeting videos and so they're a lot more likely, at some point, of you emailing them back and forth or texting them back and forth, they're a lot more likely to feel like they're getting to know you.

Heather Mutz:
Right. Yes. It all works together really well.

Tim Chermak:
And so you're not doing this on a piece of paper, like a legal pad. You're using the CRM just to set reminders to follow up, but I want to emphasize here that you're not spending three hours a day doing follow up. That's not necessary to grow your business in a very meaningful way. If you're having to spend that much time doing follow up, something else probably isn't right in your business if you're spending that many hours a day doing follow up.

Tim Chermak:
So Heather, do you have, I mean again, when you grew from... Because I just want to get as specific as possible, right? So we're not glossing over any detail here. When you went from 75,000 to 215,000 in GCI, did you hire a full-time assistant? Did you hire a bunch of buyer's agents? Do you have a full-time ISA? I mean did you hire anyone or is that just you that went from 75 to 215 in GCI?

Heather Mutz:
That's just me and that's working the schedule that I told you I work where I drop my kids off from school and I pick them up every day. So that's me, that's me being able to have that balance and grow that much. I'm considering hiring an assistant if I start growing even more, which it's inevitable I'm pretty sure. So, that's coming in the future. And then I just got my first teammate because honestly, I get so many calls and so many listings now that I could give away some of my leads to a teammate and let them really work them so that nobody falls through the cracks, and that's a good problem to have when you get so busy with people calling you and you're not having to reach out to people, but then you don't want to lose people either. So, that will be neat in 2021 to have someone on my team to help with those things.

Tim Chermak:
Why do you think so many agents feel tempted to hire a bunch of people before their business has actually grown? Because I see a lot of agents that are at, let's say, 75 or 100,000 in GCI, somewhere around there, and their immediate instinct is like, "Oh, I need to hire. I need to hire an assistant or I need to hire a buyer's agent or I need to hire an ISA." And I've always kind of looked at that-

Heather Mutz:
Do you want to know why? I think it's because those agents are not working six hour days. Those agents are probably working 12 hour days and going crazy to make $75,000 a year. I think that's the difference.

Tim Chermak:
Why is that though? But why is that?

Heather Mutz:
Because they're working harder, not smarter. And that's what this marketing has done for me. I feel like I am working so much smarter. I can go film a five minute video and literally I do one take, one and done, and that will get seen by more people than 30 hours of work doing other busy work. You know what I mean? It's just working smarter.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. It's just scale. If you're spending your time creating content and that content is seen by tens of thousands of people, there's no possible way you could ever sit down and cold call that many people and reach that many people in that same amount of time as it just took to film one video.

Heather Mutz:
Right. So they're hiring people to do that kind of thing for them, that's not creating anywhere near the results that a five minute video is creating.

Tim Chermak:
And again, I have to repeat, you're filming these videos but it's not like you're spending $5,000 a month in your advertising budget. You're only spending typically $600 a month on the actual advertising budget, the Facebook ads. And so, to create videos that are being seen tens of thousands of times, you have some videos that have been seen 50,000 times and even a video that was seen over 100,000 times in your small community, it's not because you're spending tens of thousands of dollars on Facebook ads, you're only spending $600 a month, it's just that the videos are done well and they're creative. So it's the kind of videos that people want to share.

Heather Mutz:
And to be clear, I use a selfie stick and my iPhone. So I have not spent a ton of money on equipment either. This is very simple.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah, these aren't fancy videos. You're not hiring a video producer to film you. They're very, very, they have a homemade feel to them, which is awesome because I think a lot of agents too blow a lot of money on super expensive video equipment thinking that, "Oh, if only my videos looked more professional, then I'd get more referrals or then my business would grow," and they end up just wasting money, thousands of dollars on fancy camera equipment or fancy lighting or microphones and someone like you is growing your business by over a $100,000 of extra income just by filming videos on an iPhone.

Heather Mutz:
Yep. It's super simple and it's super smart compared to the old school way of thinking when you think about marketing and advertising in real estate.

Tim Chermak:
Have you attracted more referrals through this too? Because often when we talk about marketing and advertising, it almost feels like we're assuming that when we talk about leads and growing your business, that it's new leads and it's cold leads coming out of people you didn't know. Have you noticed that since you started doing this marketing, you're also getting more referrals too? Or what has that mix looked like for you?

Heather Mutz:
My referrals have gone up so much and that's another reason why I told you I'm growing a team now, just a very, very small team, but my referrals have gotten... I mean I've gotten so many referrals lately that then it's hard to work leads because I'm getting all of this business with referrals. I just had one referral, this man doesn't know me, he's doing business in Hondo and a man that he was riding around with said, "I have the agent that you need to use." And I mean it's a 500 acre ranch that he's looking for, $2 million budget. I mean the referrals continue to be at higher and higher price points as well, so I mean that just comes, it comes with all of this. Your credibility is everything and consistency.

Tim Chermak:
So it's really just... So you got a $2 million buyer referral looking for a ranch with a budget of $2 million just because the person that made that referral had seen a bunch of your videos and those videos had positioned you as being the area expert, the local expert? So you didn't even know this person?

Heather Mutz:
Right. Yeah.

Tim Chermak:
And that's a two-

Heather Mutz:
And that is, people do. They're like, "You're the expert in this. When we sell, we're definitely hiring you. Your marketing is just so much better than every..." I mean people are verbally telling me this and it's pretty neat.

Tim Chermak:
Oh really? So you're not drawing that conclusion, they've actually told you that's the reason they picked you is seeing your videos?

Heather Mutz:
Yes. And they're not using their family. This is a big time family town and they're like, "Oh, I feel so bad I'm not using my aunt. I'm not using my uncle to sell, but your marketing is just so much better, so I'm going to have to break the news to them."

Tim Chermak:
That's awesome. That's awesome. Heather, as you look at the marketing that you've been doing, I think so much of what makes this work is people feeling like they're getting to know you. It's not just about getting a bunch of clicks. It's not just about getting a bunch of leads, right? Because if you want a bunch of clicks and leads, you can sign up for leads from Zillow or from realtor.com or whatever, there's easy ways to get leads, right? But I think what makes this work so well, and it's certainly true in your case, is that people feel like they're getting to know you the more videos they see of you and the more that we invest in that retargeting that you talked about. They feel like they're getting to know you and almost nothing can replace that. Wouldn't matter how many automated emails we send out or automated texts or how many billboards someone drives by or direct mail we send out, if they feel at an emotional level like they're getting to know you, that just accomplishes something qualitative that no amount of quantitative marketing tactics can take the place of.

Tim Chermak:
So, have you found it happening where you're going around town, whether it's at church, grocery store, wherever, are people recognizing you maybe where they weren't a year ago?

Heather Mutz:
Yeah, for sure. And I think touching on the, you can pay for leads all day long, but are those really the people you want to be working with or do you want to be working with people that already feel like they know you and chose you? And I think that's the difference is they've chose you, they've clicked on your video. They want to work with you. You're not chasing leads and that's the huge difference. And then, yeah, in turn you start becoming the little celebrity in your town and it's so interesting and fun, and then you're able to help other businesses and it's a domino effect for sure.

Tim Chermak:
What are some of the other videos that you've done? You mentioned the God made a small business owner. What are some other creative examples of videos that maybe for the agents listening to this podcast or thinking, "Wow, this is a lot of great ideas," what other ideas are working well for you? What other videos have you done that have worked well?

Heather Mutz:
So, in my market updates, I try to be super creative. I told you about the January one, I dressed in my 80s workout gear and really I got in there and lifted weights with them and really struggled. And I made it funny and I think the big thing is putting some creativity into these videos and it really takes sitting down for 10 minutes and jotting down a few thoughts and then going and executing. And I think obviously the God made a small business owner took a little bit of planning and we went to multiple businesses, but it was so worth it. I also just do some content videos where I'm walking and talking about whether it's inspections or appraisals. I think we assume, as agents, that a lot of buyers and sellers just know this process.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. You assume that everyone knows what you know.

Heather Mutz:
Yeah. And they don't. A lot of people don't even know that I can get my own representation as a buyer and I don't have to pay for that. I mean simple things like that. Walk and talk and do a 30 second video that, "Hey, I would love to represent you and help you find a house and guess what? It's free. You don't have to pay me. The seller pays for that." People don't know that. You think they do, they don't. So, I mean just think of little things like that and move and walk and make it casual and fun. I mean I think the more that you can relax, the more relatable you're going to be and it's good content to constantly circulate.

Tim Chermak:
You know what? I remember actually one video you did that, this is a good example of that showing that you're a real person and being authentic in your videos so it doesn't look like an ad, right? You had a video where you were, I think it was you selling an acreage property or maybe it was just a video promoting the free report you had of homes with acreage where you're shooting a gun and I think you were out there with clay pigeons or something and you're dressed in a camo T-shirt and everything, just playing off the theme of the video. You're not wearing a fancy business woman pantsuit or something, trying to look like this hot shot, corporate realtor. You're just having fun in the video and I think that sends the message that's like, "Hey, if you have to pick some realtor, you might as well pick her because she seems like she'd be cool to hang out with to go look at homes. She has a sense of humor."

Heather Mutz:
Remember the one I did on a roller coaster? I was just having a good time and I thought, "This would make a cool video to circulate around." So I got my phone out and videoed while I was on the rollercoaster. I mean you just have to think real life, people want to see that.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. The best ads, especially in a retargeting context, right? So we're not talking about necessarily trying to get leads in step one, because getting leads and getting clicks is easy, offering free reports of homes or new listing information, et cetera. It's keeping top of mind with those leads, the step two of the marketing plan, the retargeting, that's where I think a lot of agents fall short and that's where you've been absolutely excellent is making sure that you stay top of mind in a creative way where your videos and your ads don't feel like ads. That's the most important thing. Any ad that doesn't feel like an ad paradoxically is the best type of ad, the type of stuff you would post on your personal Instagram or your personal Facebook profile. That's what'll do the best as an ad. That'll get the most clicks, the most comments, the most shares, and that's what you want.

Heather Mutz:
Remember the ducks in a row video where I had my daughter throwing ducks at me?

Tim Chermak:
Yeah.

Heather Mutz:
That one was really cute and I said, "Do you have all your ducks in a row? Are you ready to sell? Are you sure your ducks are in a row? If you don't, be sure to call me," something like that. I got a call months later from somebody ready to sell and he kept talking about the ducks in a row video. I mean what's so reassuring is when these people specifically mention certain videos and you're like, "Wow. I felt silly filming that ducks in a row video and it got me a listing." It's just pretty neat.

Tim Chermak:
So what are some of the other ways that you help highlight businesses in the community? Because I know that's been a major theme of a lot of the videos that you've done is just trying to be seen as a realtor who's advocating for the community and trying to promote the community, not even necessarily just because it's in your own self-interest trying to promote yourself, but a lot of the videos you do are just giving a shout out to a local business saying, "Hey, go support them." Why has that been such a theme for you in your marketing?

Heather Mutz:
I mean I think the sense of community is huge and especially now, and when small businesses need more help now than ever, the fact that you are going out of your way to spotlight them and use your platform. I mean 50,000 people are seeing what I post and I'm constantly, "Hey, just picked up a coffee at this place," or, "Just had lunch here. It's my favorite sandwich place." I mean they appreciate that so much and I love being able to use my platform to do that for them. It's such a good feeling and I'm brainstorming new ways to support them even more this year. When you support people, I mean it all comes back eventually and I mean it just feels good.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. I know that you mentioned that you will actually be launching a podcast this year where you are interviewing local business owners in your community to give them more exposure, right? Would you mind sharing what the vision is for that?

Heather Mutz:
So, I actually just sent a ton of messages out today inviting these businesses to be the spotlight of my month. I planned out my year where every month the market update that I do will be at a specific business. And so, not only will I go in and do a fun market update at their business, promoting them, but then I'll also do a podcast with the owner where we're just learning about the business and the struggles and how they got started. And I'm so excited because I'm going to learn a ton from them and it's going to be really neat, and then I'm also going to feature them in a calendar. So whatever month their spotlight is, they will be featured and their picture will be in a calendar, they'll be in a podcast, and will have a market update running. So, I mean they're going to get a ton of exposure, I'm going to learn a ton about them, and I think it's going to work really well.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. I think one of the most valuable parts in the long run of doing this type of, what we call platform marketing, right? Which is to helping you build a platform in your community where you are building a brand in your community, right? One of the reasons that promoting the local small business community is such an important piece of that puzzle is that often it's the small business owners in the community that are the most connected. They're the most networked people in the community. They know the most people, right?

Tim Chermak:
So if, as a realtor, you know that, "Hey, I want to have influential relationships with strategic people that if I develop trust with them and I help their business out, that they might refer me to a bunch of people," you can't really go wrong with small business owners because small business owners probably know more people almost than anyone in a community because it's small business owners often that are on the board of deacons at church or they're small business owners are often the people on the local school board or they're the people volunteering to coach youth sports, and they're just very active in the community, they're very networked people.

Tim Chermak:
So if you make a couple friends that are small business owners, even if in filming all these videos, if you didn't get a single "lead" from any of these videos that you're doing to promote local, small business owners, just the relationships that those videos create with the actual business owner that you're interviewed, just getting your foot in the door in that business where now they know you, and if someone mentions to them that they're thinking of buying or selling, that business owner, if you just help promote their business, we'll probably refer that person to you, because they feel like they owe you a favor because you helped promote their business.

Heather Mutz:
Totally. And they're so receptive to what you're doing. Even if they know a ton of other agents, when you say, "I want to feature you," they are so welcoming and receptive to the idea, which has been really neat. You're not struggling. I mean you're offering them something that nobody else is, free marketing for them. So it's an easy pitch to them. I mean it really is. And then I've found that I walk out with all kinds of stuff, hats and shirts and free meals and they just want to give to me.

Tim Chermak:
Have you seen any agents in your area, seeing your success, have other agents tried to copy you at all?

Heather Mutz:
A little bit. I've seen a couple of my agents try to step up their social media game a little bit, but that's where I was telling you, they'll have 100 views or something and my video will be out for a couple days and have thousands. So I mean they can't duplicate it and I'm sure some of them are not happy, but they just haven't figured it out and they can't because only one agent per market can do this. So, that's the neat part.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. It's just been really cool seeing your business grow so quickly, Heather. In just a short span of 15 months, adding over $100,000 to your GCI, I mean really no, it's actually almost 150,000 to your GCI, that's really inspiring. How has that changed your life or your family's life? If you don't mind me asking a little bit more personal of a question, what is now possible in your life that you're making that level of money that maybe wasn't possible before?

Heather Mutz:
So something I didn't mention was I was able to build my first spec home because I had the money to do it and that's always been a dream of mine to build a house and sell it and get to design it. And I was able to do that this year, to work with a builder, and then I made another 35,000 in income doing that, so that's on top of the 215, just things that I never imagined I'd be able to do. We were also able to purchase acreage where my kids go to school so that if we ever want to build or do spec homes on that, we can, and we paid cash for that. We were able to purchase another lot to do a second spec home, and we paid cash for that.

Heather Mutz:
So I've been able just in one year to make multiple investments with cash that I just never would have dreamed. And it set me up to just continue to do these things and have multiple streams of income coming in that I didn't think was possible. And I'm so excited for that end of it too and what this next year has in store. And I have the time to be able to go check on the spec home. I mean so that's how... We talked about managing and balancing life and kids and time, I have the time to do that as well, which is awesome.

Tim Chermak:
That's great. That's great. I mean obviously if you can be creating that level of cash flow every year to where the profit you're making in your business is now acting as kind of a capital to fund other businesses where you're making even more profit on top of that, there's a multiplier effect, that's how you can build pretty serious wealth pretty quickly.

Heather Mutz:
Yeah. And so not only that, but I'll be able to take the girls on multiple trips a year. We love to travel. I'll be able to step out for a week at a time here and there and take them all across the country and they're excited for it, I'm excited for it, and that's just a way of life that I've always dreamed of and wasn't sure if it was possible and it's going to be now, which is neat.

Tim Chermak:
Awesome. Awesome. Well, Heather, are you coming to the upcoming Platform Mastermind in February?

Heather Mutz:
I am. I will be there in Naples. I've never been, so I'm excited.

Tim Chermak:
Cool. Cool. Well, I will see you there. I want to honor your time. I know we probably went a little bit over here, but I loved hearing your story, I loved hearing about your work life balance you've created. I actually didn't know you only worked six hours a day, which is incredible. This has been really fascinating and I think it'll be very, very inspiring for everyone listening to this to see what is possible when you really put down your excuses and embrace marketing, what's possible when you commit to filming four or five videos every single month, what's possible when you stop being scared of being on camera, you just create that retargeting content and you interview the business owners and you just follow the recipe, right? There is a proven Platform recipe and if you do the work, it works.

Heather Mutz:
And it's fun work. Get out of your comfort zone and do the fun work.

Tim Chermak:
Yeah. I mean your story, Heather, it's probably just as inspiring to me as any agent listening to this. So I've really enjoyed this conversation. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to be on this podcast. Apparently your day isn't as busy as I thought, you're only working six hours a day, but no, I mean that's awesome. Thank you for your time, Heather, and I look forward to seeing you next month at the Platform Mastermind.

Heather Mutz:
Thank you, Tim. I'll see you soon.

Tim Chermak:
Cool. Thanks Heather.