Are you a Realtor or a business owner?

If your real estate business were a publicly traded company, would you buy shares in it?

That question stopped me cold the first time I asked it. It is easy to feel successful when the revenue looks good, the phones are ringing, and the team seems busy. But revenue and business health are not the same thing. When I finally opened my books and looked closely, I realized I was running a great sales operation, not a great company.

The Tim Cook lesson

How many times have you walked into an Apple Store and seen Tim Cook, CEO, at the front desk? How many times has he taken your payment, handled your complaint, or answered a customer support call?

Never.

Because that is not his job. His job is to lead the company, not to do every job inside it.

So why do so many real estate team leaders still behave like they are the receptionist, the salesperson, the marketer, and the CEO all in one? If Apple ran that way, it would never ship an iPhone. Yet in real estate, we have convinced ourselves that wearing every hat is almost a badge of honour. It is not. It is a liability.

When you are doing everything, you do not own a business. You are the business. And that is a fragile place to be.

Where are you going?

Early in my career, I thought I knew what I wanted: wake up every day, sell houses, repeat.

It was not until much later that I realized I had never stopped to ask where I was actually going.

One of my favourite metaphors for this comes from Dumb and Dumber, starring Jim Carrey. There is a scene where Harry and Lloyd are driving to Colorado, and hours into the trip, they realize they are going the wrong way. “Boy, these Rocky Mountains sure look flat,” they say. That was me. Working hard, going fast, but not checking the map.

A real business owner does not just think about next quarter’s closings. They know what the business should look like in five years, and what kind of life they want alongside it. Because the truth is, your business should serve your life, not the other way around.

When I began aligning my goals with the life I actually wanted, time with family, margin in my calendar, freedom to step back — everything changed. I stopped chasing top-line revenue and started managing margin. Growth was not just about selling more homes. It was about widening the gap between revenue and expenses so the company could sustain itself, whether I was in the office or not.

Culture is not a catchword

I will be honest: the word “culture” used to annoy me. It felt like a corporate buzzword people threw around to sound progressive. But I have come to believe culture is non-negotiable. It is the heartbeat of any sustainable business.

Your culture is simply the accumulation of the best (and worst) qualities of the people within your organization.

If your team is full of positive, hard-working people who show up for each other, that is your culture. If it is full of gossip, drama, and excuses, that is your culture too.

And the leader sets the tone.

Think of Michael Jordan in The Last Dance. He was not easy on his teammates. He demanded excellence and set an unapologetic standard. You might not lead like Jordan, few do, but you cannot deny the principle: leadership defines the standard, and the standard defines the culture.

Google ran a massive study on what makes teams successful. The top factor for me was not talent or experience. It was psychological safety. The ability for people to speak openly without fear. As team leaders, we need to create that space. Ask your people, privately and honestly, “Do you feel safe bringing me feedback?” The answers might sting, but they will make your company stronger.

The ‘cost of sale’ reality check

Most team leaders I talk to do not actually know their cost of sale. They know their splits, but not their real profitability. That is dangerous.

Here is a simple test:

1. Start with your gross revenue. Say $3 million in team GCI.
2. Subtract your agent splits. Let us say your agents get 50 percent, so $1.5 million goes out.
3. You are left with $1.5 million in company revenue.
4. Now add up everything you spend to run the business, like staff, marketing, rent, tech, vehicles, even paper and toner. That might be 40 per cent or $1.2 million.
5. Whatever is left is your actual profit. In this scenario, that’s $300,000.

If you, as the team leader, are still selling, you must include your own split like any other agent. Otherwise, you are inflating your numbers and fooling yourself.

I once had an agent ask about my team splits. I told them, “My splits do not matter. Your numbers are not my numbers.” What matters is your cost of sale. If your cost of sale is 40 per cent, and you are paying agents 70 per cent, you are losing 10 per cent every time they close a deal. You are subsidizing them with company profit..

Until you know that number, you cannot make informed decisions about hiring, marketing, or compensation.

It is not complicated math, but it takes courage to face it. Because when you finally see the truth, you may realize the business you are proud of is running on fumes.

The sustainability test

If you got hit by a bus tomorrow, what would happen to your business? Would it keep running, or would it fold like a deck of cards?

That question is uncomfortable, but it is the one that separates a thriving business from a fragile one.

Sustainability is not about working harder. It is about designing systems, empowering people, and letting go of ego. The goal is not to be the hero. It is to build something that works without you.

The wake-up call

For years, I was the ostrich with my head in the sand. I did not want to see the expense side. I told myself the revenue justified the grind. But real leadership starts when you pull your head out of the sand and look honestly at the numbers, the people and the structure you have built.

If you want to attract investors, retain great people or one day sell your business, you have to treat it like one now.

Would I buy stock in your business?

If the answer is not a confident yes, you have work to do.