Episode Details

We've always been solo agents, and there's a whole category of questions we get from listeners that we genuinely can't answer, the team versus brokerage questions. So we brought in the one person we've been holding out for since day one: Laura Buck Smith, who along with her husband Steven runs a 25-person real estate team and their own independent brokerage, The Market Real Estate Company, in Baton Rouge and now Fairhope, Alabama too.

Laura walks us through the whole evolution, starting as a buyer's agent at 22 straight out of Bob Brooks's real estate school, joining a team, co-listing her way into her own business, and eventually starting her own team with Steven once they had more business than they could handle themselves. We get into the exact structure they've built over the years: three tiers agents can choose from (50/50 team split, 70/30 team split, or 100% commission as an individual agent paying a flat brokerage fee), why nobody has to pick a lane and stay there forever, and how new construction subdivisions and open houses (which still bring in 25 to 30% of their closings most years) fueled their early growth long before online leads existed.

We also talk candidly about the harder parts: what 2024's slower year looked like for a 25-person team, why starting a team should come from having too much business rather than wanting to escape doing the work yourself, how they handle underperforming agents with training instead of shame, and Laura's honest answer on why she's never wanted to be a broker herself despite decades in the business.

Here's what we cover in this episode: -How Laura got into real estate at 22 through a local real estate school and was placed with a mentor -Fourteen years at RE/MAX before eventually opening an independent brokerage -How co-listing with her original team lead evolved into building her own team with her husband -Why new construction subdivisions and heavy open house activity fueled their early growth -Why open houses still bring in 25 to 30% of their team's closings in a typical year -The three-tier structure agents can choose from: 50/50 team split, 70/30 team split, or 100% commission as an individual -Why almost nobody leaves the team once they've been on it a while -How leads get divided among 20-plus team members using a rotating weekly schedule -The support staff structure behind the team: admin, marketing, and an assistant to the assistant -What 2024's slower year looked like financially and emotionally for a 25-person team -Why they scaled back team perks (like the annual trip) honestly instead of overextending -How they expanded into Fairhope, Alabama within a week of a top agent's request -Why you should have too much business before starting a team, not too little motivation to do it yourself -How they handle underperforming agents: training, secret shopping open houses, and reviewing online profiles instead of blame -Why Laura never wanted to become a broker herself, and how she's stayed a top-producing individual agent for over 20 years -The "three choices" parenting trick that transformed how they handle team complaints and pushback

Key quotes from this episode: "You've got to have a servant's heart to be a team leader. It is not about you. It is about your team." - Laura Buck Smith "We reward good behavior, not punish bad." - Laura Buck Smith "You're always putting the horse before the cart. You have to have the leads before you add the person." - Laura Buck Smith "This career can change your life, but you've got to do the work." - Laura Buck Smith "Being my own broker and being a solo agent are two totally different career paths." - Laura Buck Smith

Products, people, and previous episodes mentioned: -Laura Buck Smith and Steven Smith, The Market Real Estate Company, Baton Rouge and Fairhope, Alabama -Bob Brooks, local real estate school and educator -Boomtown and Zillow (lead generation platforms) -Episode on finding your why in gro