Center for REALTOR® Development 071: Succession Plans and Maximizing Financial Opportunities with Renee Williams
Do you have a succession plan for your business when you want to leave it? Whether you have created a business that you wanted to do for life, or you decided, "I'm going to move on and take a different direction for my life, or for my business," this conversation on phasing out of your business, and creating long-term financial resources and assets, is for everyone. Our guest, Renee, will help you see ways to invest in yourself and your business to meet your long-term goals.
[2:32] Renee Williams is passionate about holistic business success, which includes finances, strategic planning, and retirement with passive income. She hosts the Agent Exit Podcast. Exit Strategy is huge! [3:43] Renee and Monica talk about bucket lists, plans for retirement and Monica's current Big Why.
[5:05] Renee talks about "someday" goals and being intentional in making them happen.
[6:42] Research shows that anticipation and planning for something can provide as much enjoyment as the activity itself. Take a phone video of yourself telling what your ideal exit strategy would be. Watch it in a year and see what steps you've taken.
[10:15] It's a lot easier to make the transition to exiting production when you have a written plan! What does exiting production look like if you want to keep some income after your last commission check?
[11:50] Ways to exit production:
- Sell your business.
- Invest in rental properties.
- Revenue share or profit share, depending on your brokerage.
- Receive equity in the brokerage if offered or in another business.
- Draw down on your Solo 401(k), IRA, funds you have already set aside, and savings.
[13:11] 1. How to sell your business. Renee recommends Nick Krautter's book, The Golden Handoff. Nick shares step-by-step instructions to sell your book of business to a known broker.
[15:57] Selling your entire business includes the database, assets, name, logo, team, and more. You may need a business broker to help you.
[18:53] As part of your planning, hire a third party to look at your business and tell you what needs to be renovated or fixed.
[22:03] If your brand is your name, it will be hard to sell your business. Rename it long before you sell it.
[25:58] Renee tells how she refers clients to other agents when she is busy.
[30:10] 2. Real estate investing is low-hanging fruit and there are many ways to invest.
[32:50] Monica invites you to listen to her episode on referrals with Gary Rogers and her episode on cash-based investing with Rich Arzaga for information.
[35:17] 3. If your brokerage offers revenue-sharing or profit-sharing, take advantage of it!
[38:12] 4. Are you with a brokerage that will allow you, if you are a top producer, to own equity in the brokerage? Ask. Times are changing for brokerages, too. They may be looking to share the burden.
[41:55] Get someone to represent you in selling your business. There are many ways to structure a sale.
[43:10] 5. Savings — when you have a transaction complete, you need to put some into the business, use some for personal expenses, set some aside for taxes, and put some into savings until retirement.
[44:51] Renee is heavily into real estate investments; her husband has stocks and some crypto. Solo 401(k)s and self-directed IRAs can both be invested in real estate.
[46:18] Monica suggests listeners listen to the Rich Arzaga episode linked below for information about finding an investment advisor who is knowledgeable about real estate.
[47:23] Renee's advice: go to Financialwellness.realtor. There are great tools to help you figure out what your financial goals are for your age and what kind of plan you need.
[52:07] Knowing your "number" so that you can sustain the lifestyle you want after you exit production.
[52:30] Looking at what debt you can pay off now so you can get to your exit number. Social Security may not be enough for you.
[54:04] Renee's final word is you don't need anybody's permission to plan your exit! Write a plan and make it plain. It is absolutely doable!
[55:05] Monica invites you to go back through past episodes to find topics you need to help you be more successful in your business. Use this podcast as a library! The earlier episodes are as relevant today!
Tweetables:
"We have to be intentional if we want 'someday' to actually happen. … Have an actionable plan so someday occurs. … Planning is free! It doesn't cost you anything to write a plan!" — Renee
"If you think real estate is expensive now, just wait! Just wait! It's going to get higher! So, there is never a bad time to buy a duplex … a triplex, or a quad!" — Renee
"Get a property manager. If you get too many [units], then you hire a property manager." — Monica
"The equity is just going to be phenomenal. There's just really no reason for us not to be purchasing some sort of real estate." — Renee
"It's good for us to get help … because we don't know everything!" — Monica
Guest Links:
Agent Exit Podcast with Renee Williams
Nar.realtor/research-and-statistics
NAR's Center for REALTOR® Development Podcast: Gary Rogers
NAR's Center for REALTOR® Development Podcast: Rich Arzaga
NAR's Center for REALTOR® Development Podcast: Melanie McLane and Rob Mehta
NAR's Center for REALTOR® Development Podcast: Bryan Bergjans and Juanita Charles
Additional Links:
Micro courses found at Learning.REALTOR
Learning.REALTOR for NAR Online Education
Training4RE.com — List of Classroom Courses from NAR and its affiliates
crd@nar.realtor
Host Information:
Monica Neubauer
Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR®
Monica's Facebook Page
Instagram.com/MonicaNeubauerSpeaks
Additional Bio:
Renee Williams is a former loan officer and corporate strategy administrator turned investor, REALTOR®, Director of Operations, and small business coach. For over a decade, she provided organizational support on billions of dollars in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestiture transactions for her corporate job, all while having a real estate license and investing on the side. Now she's leveraging that experience to help seasoned women entrepreneurs create a business they love and secure the future for themselves and their families.