Real(ty) Talk
Real(ty) Talk
Cierra Deville's Strategies for Real Estate Triumphs
Ever wondered how a real estate powerhouse is built from the ground up? Cierra DeVille Sloan joins us to share her journey from selling shots at USC games to closing multimillion-dollar deals in the highly competitive world of real estate. Her story is a testament to the resilience and determination needed to navigate a commission-only career, offering insights into the mindset and discipline required for success. Sierra shares the unexpected challenges she faced and how she overcame misconceptions about the industry, revealing the importance of nurturing every opportunity, no matter how small.
Throughout the episode, we explore the emotional depth of real estate transactions, from high-stakes deals to supporting clients through personal crises. Sierra's tales of memorable deals, including an $8 million transaction, underscore the critical role real estate professionals play in guiding clients through both triumphs and tribulations. We also touch on the impact of political and economic conditions on the market, particularly in Southern California, as potential buyers and sellers navigate uncertainties in an election year. The ongoing affordability issue looms large, with discussions on how political outcomes might shape the landscape.
Finally, Sierra's empowering journey in the real estate industry is filled with anecdotes that highlight her confidence and tenacity. From her early sales experiences to her father's influence, Sierra's story is one of seizing opportunities and commanding respect. With a focus on collaboration and shared learning, this episode promises to be a source of inspiration and valuable insights for anyone interested in the intricate dance of real estate transactions. Join us for a compelling conversation filled with personal stories, professional challenges, and the ever-changing dynamics of the real estate market.
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Welcome back Realty Talk Podcast, your favorite podcast on the planet, on the world, in the universe all things real estate. To my right we have the queen of the closing table, suzanne Zini. You know we've done a few podcasts lately.
Speaker 2:We have yeah.
Speaker 1:And I feel like we need somebody like a Bruce Buffer to do our introductions.
Speaker 2:Okay, are you going to be that guy?
Speaker 1:No, I can't do it. Are you trying to channel that right now, is that?
Speaker 2:where we were going, okay.
Speaker 1:I can't do it, but what I'm really excited about today is that we won't have any airplane noise.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yeah, that kind of you know. It ruined the vibe a little, but it kind of also fit the vibe. So I think it's okay. Today it's quiet.
Speaker 1:Yes, and we have a great guest. We're really excited to talk about Get the whole life story. We'll dive into it. Sierra DeVille, but now known as Sierra.
Speaker 3:Sloan.
Speaker 1:DeVille Sloan, deville Sloan, you're right.
Speaker 3:I'm keeping the last name. It's too good to drop.
Speaker 2:You know it is, it is so you have like taglines with it when you say, like, when you're like deville, sierra, sierra, like sierra nevada, deville like cruel, cruella deville, like I just had a doctor's appointment this morning and she's like has anyone told you how great your name is?
Speaker 3:And I had to be like but I'm kind of dropping it, but I'm still keeping it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so married recently.
Speaker 3:Married recently, yeah.
Speaker 1:Hence the name change.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sierra DeLisle, sloan. Yeah, it's weird.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Well, let's dive right in. So where are you at? Who are you, what? What do you do? Tell us about yourself. We already know. Yeah, our listeners would not know.
Speaker 3:I know. Well, I feel like there's a lot more to me than meets the eye one, but I'm in real estate. I have a team of about eight individuals, which is really awesome, because I think real estate can get really lonely and so having a culture and people to depend on and talk to makes it not feel so lonely. Uh, cause, at the end of the day, you're your own boss. So, but I worked at Zillow for five years, which led me to get into real estate. Why is that? Well, you know, I'm I'm very, very thankful for that experience there, cause I think everyone should have some corporate experience.
Speaker 3:I think it's actually lacking in individuals in the real estate industry. Um, cause I think if you run your business like you're working for someone, then you are held accountable and you start getting structure under you, even if you're your own boss. But working at Zillow taught me a lot, um, and it actually made me believe in myself, because I started selling for the first time and seeing results and winning and, you know, climbing the corporate ladder and getting promoted. I'm like, wow, maybe I'm kind of good at this thing. So it made me confident to get into business myself.
Speaker 1:What years were you at Zillow?
Speaker 3:Oh, um 2011 to 2018.
Speaker 1:Got it Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, interesting. So it was a good ride. Yeah, it was five six years Post 2009,.
Speaker 1:Values are going up.
Speaker 3:Single family was a good place to be at that time, yeah, and selling advertising for Zillow and networking and traveling the country with real estate agents to top brokerages, top teams, top events. I've seen it all.
Speaker 2:And how did that shape you? Because you had that experience where you spoke with a lot of agents and worked with a lot of agents, saw kind of what they did well, what they didn't do well. How did that shape you in real estate and, you know, potentially lead you to where you are now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think I started wanting more of my own control over my life, where, you know, working for someone else, you don't have that as much. And so, seeing that I was meeting with other agents that you know, in a humble way I thought I was I could do a better job than them in real estate and seeing like the freedom and money they were making, I was like why am I not doing this for myself? Um, but I also was humbled when I got into real estate, when I worked at Zillow. I was like what are these agents doing? Like just answer their phone, just do this, just do that? Like it's so easy. Why aren't they doing it? And then I got into real estate and I realized actually this job is very, very difficult. Being commissioned only requires a strong positive mindset, structure, self-discipline. It requires a whole lot more than I ever thought.
Speaker 2:And I can attest to why agents don't answer their phones. What you don't realize is, once you start closing transactions, it's like every single person in the world starts calling you to sell you like ADP, adp all the time, like secure, I'm like I don't need home security right now. I didn't buy the home Like it is, I mean you get blown up. So I I um feel for some of the agents that I judged that I was like why can't you just answer every single phone call that comes now?
Speaker 3:My job is to put myself out there everywhere right, I need everyone to know that I'm in real estate If you're looking to buy or sell, calls to your developer, cdre group. So now anyone has access to your information, and even people you don't want, cause I've had scam callers oh yeah, call me um one pretending to be a sheriff with a warrant out for my arrest oh yeah, so you know there's there's like weird things that happen did you fall for it?
Speaker 2:I almost did yeah, it was close because in my head.
Speaker 3:I'm like, well, I'll drive to the sheriff's station like I don't have any problem clearing my name and my uncle is a sheriff. And I said you know what, can I call my uncle real quick? And he, you know, made up some spiel. We got disconnected, called my uncle right away. He's like scam, no way, we'd be doing this. I'm like, okay, but yeah, so you know, and that was the one time happening, so yeah, it's really difficult to answer calls yeah, so when?
Speaker 1:when did you get your license?
Speaker 3:2018, so I was still working at Zillow when I got it, because I was preparing an exit yeah um, so I actually started doing transactions while I was at Zillow part-time and getting a feel for it and uh, how?
Speaker 1:how soon after getting your license did you do your first deal, did you close your first deal?
Speaker 3:Pretty quickly. I think I got it December and closed in April the first transaction while I was at Zillow, and then a second one while I was at Zillow, and then I left and then closed at $8 million sale for my third Nice.
Speaker 2:And how did you get that $8 million? The Zillow lead, there you go.
Speaker 3:Everything I was preaching at Zillow. I went and did on my third sale and I was like, okay, this works, that's awesome, very cool.
Speaker 1:So fast forward to where you're at today in your real estate career. I know you mentioned you have a team. You're representing buyers and sellers. Walk us through like a typical day and a typical year for you and your team.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, I think we have a mix of people on the team. You know that they don't have kids or family, so they're, you know they're a lot more in the mix with real estate. Some have to balance being a you know, wife, mother, um, but I think, first and foremost, I like to work out in the morning. I think that sets your mind right for the day and also wakes you up a bit, um, and then my approach is either, I mean, every day is different, it just depends what you're working with, how many escrows you have we actually have five open escrows right now that we're working with and then you know what needs to be done signs made, inspections, meeting, appraisers, appointments, showings, or your office hours, following up with all the leads from open houses, working on marketing material for the coming soon, getting contracts out. So it's just a mix of what your day would look like, but among some of those items, depending on what transactions you're working on at any given time.
Speaker 1:So what in 2024,? How many deals will you or your team I guess both will. They, you know represent buyers or sellers on?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're already paced for 20 that will close out by the end of this or next, yeah, october, by the end of this month. Next, yeah, october by the end of this month. So I think we will be probably around 25 to 30 by end of year, with an average purchase price of about 1.8 million.
Speaker 1:It's awesome yeah it's kind of all over the map, right, like you'll do something that's a small condo and then you'll sell a mid-century and the hollywood hills for three, four million yeah, I mean.
Speaker 3:One thing I also learned when I was coaching agents at Zillow is they would get a Zillow lead and it'd be for a mobile home and they would drop the ball and, um, one time I had an agent that was in like Tennessee or Kentucky and she goes, but I helped that lead and then I ended up closing a $700,000 lead. So in my mind I always knew that was possible and we've had that where we helped, you know, um a mother get into a 55 plus community, elderly community, for 350,000. And the son referred us to his cousin and sister for 2 million a pop. Um, you know, just by helping people. So I do not discriminate on any leads. I mean, everyone wants high-end leads, obviously, but it's all about building relationships and thinking about it from a long-term perspective.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's probably a trap that not just real estate professionals fall into, but just everyone in business. You chase this kind of unicorn deal when in reality, if you focus on your process and work on volume and you provide a really good level of service, then the big deals come. But you've got to build that foundation. It is truly just a relationship business. So if one party has a great experience with you, they're going to tell friends and family about it 100%.
Speaker 3:I always talk about the at-bats with my team You've got to get up to bat. You're never going to hit a home. You've got to get up to bat. Like, if you're never going to hit a home, run if you don't get to bat, and some of those small deals put you in orbit, to those things so much where I've had agents struggling, like sometimes they get so trapped behind their computer and they're like, well, I don't know what to do and I'm like get outside, get in orbit. So, for example, I'm like, if you don't have an open house to host, go to the open houses. And we just had an agent on the team go to an open house this past weekend and run into a neighbor that's looking to sell. And I've done that too. I've actually gone to an open house attending it, running into a neighbor looking at it that is going through a divorce and looked at his home. After the open house he invited us into his home.
Speaker 1:It's awesome.
Speaker 3:So I think it's just like you have to get yourself out there where buyers and sellers are at. Well, where's a better place to find buyers and sellers than an open house? Even if I'm not hosting it, I'm going to go look at it and. I might bump into some opportunities.
Speaker 2:You never know yeah.
Speaker 1:So transitioning.
Speaker 2:I have some questions just about.
Speaker 1:You know kind of your background and what keeps you going. So I know at some point in the conversation we'll ask about some real estate stories. But you know personal stories. But looking back at your career, what's like the craziest transaction you've been a part of or the best transaction, what's a story that you could share with listeners? That would be kind of eye-opening.
Speaker 3:So I mean the best one was definitely like the eight million dollar sale, my third transaction you were the listing agent no, I was representing them to buy it.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, um it happened to be a part of that transaction yeah, and that was building rapport.
Speaker 3:Somehow I found out he knew someone I knew just through motocross and yeah, what?
Speaker 2:you don't know about Sierra is that you give her like one piece of information about yourself and then she somehow knows everything. Like she it's a joke, like she's that person that friends joke about. Like you tell your friends that you're dating a new guy and then this friend, like she's the one that's going to find out all the information about him. Like it is deep dive detective status with Sierra. You can call me a know-it-all.
Speaker 3:I like to know it all in a good way, but I really do. If I don't know something, I really like to find it out. And so, yeah, I had a relationship through motocross and he was like, how do you know I ride? Like how do you know I know write about motorcycles? I got this information because his email was ducati dad and I was like, oh so do you ride, you know motorcycles? And he was like, well, why, I'm like well, your email is ducati and he goes.
Speaker 3:Well, how did you know that's a motor motor? You know motorcycle and I literally opened up into growing up riding dirt bikes and people we knew and somehow made a common ground on our first call, which ended up setting up the tone for closing like six months later. Wow, that's exciting, I know.
Speaker 3:So that's probably the best, but the worst not every real estate transaction is beautiful and sometimes even sad. So the worst one ever that I would say like took a toll on us and my team was um, we had a client that we helped the. They were divorced, um, but they had a few assets together. They were cordial and they uh, we sold one of the assets for them and then about a month later we got a call from the ex-wife saying we might need to sell another one of theirs because so-and-so committed suicide. Yeah, but they mean they were separated got it.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, the ex-spouse yeah, so, ex-spouse.
Speaker 3:And so we actually had to go over to the house to take a look at it and saw. You know where it happened and it was. It was an emotional toll, not to mention that, you know, two of his kids were still living in the house. They were in their 30s.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow, um, but sitting and having to hear their experience and how they found him, and yeah and um, yeah, I mean my agent that I was with left crying, you know, it was just such a heavy weight, um and burden, and to try and be there to save the day for something, that's what are you going to do? There's like, at that point, there's nothing I could say, there's nothing I could do that would make this situation good at all, and so that was probably the craziest and saddest situation I've been a part of.
Speaker 2:Well, I think it. You know that's awful that that happened, and I think it brings us to something that we speak about a lot, because I think you know there's the common misconception, especially when you say I sell $1.8 million, my average sales price is $1.8 million.
Speaker 2:There's already kind of this common misconception of what real estate is especially we are here in Orange County, so we get it all the time and I think you know that is not the norm. What you see on TV is not the norm. You know we are like crying with clients we're holding hands. We're their therapist. I mean, we're really, you know very involved in tough, tough situations.
Speaker 3:And I think it's a little biased to say that bad things don't happen in nice homes either, because this home was like a $2 million house. Yeah, you know, just because it's, you know, a nice mansion does not mean that there aren't terrible things that happen in those price points too. I mean, I've definitely seen my fair share of like feces and other things at other homes and hoarder homes In million but in million-dollar homes too. So you know it doesn't discriminate against the rich either. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we recently did a deal in Newport beach that we purchased for 3.3 million in heavy distress. So you think, okay, this is like a marquee property. Uh, the first time we saw it, we walked in, I'm like, oh my gosh. I mean I don't want to share any more details on that, but I mean, yeah, I think real estate as a whole.
Speaker 1:You know, I gave kind of a funny statement on a panel a long time ago but I said you know, I think people are going to live on the earth for at least another hundred years. When they live on the earth they're going to live in houses and they're going to probably want those houses to be nice, and so I think our industry as a whole is pretty safe.
Speaker 1:But that being said, life is really complicated and crazy shit happens to people, and a lot of times that's at the house, right, and so, yeah, I mean one statement you made which I probably disagree with is that you said you couldn't do anything to make it better in that moment, I think what we can do as real estate professionals is do our job really really well, because in that moment of crisis for that family, you're right, we're not psychologists and so we can't cure the actual event from happening, but what we can do is make the real estate transaction so smooth and simple that that's not something they have to worry about or consider and that allows them time to go and hill and move on to the next stage, which, you know, you guys both said in different words but um, yeah, I mean I think that's obviously something that your team does very, very well.
Speaker 3:So I think it was like the impact that we actually were the ones she called after that. I mean to me I'm like Whoa, like they called us after this just happened to their family for us to come in and we sat with her and her kids for like an hour just like talking through it, all options, if this makes sense. I mean she was leaving it up to her kids, like what do?
Speaker 3:you want to do? Do you want to hold on to this or do you want to get rid of it? Like, what do you want to do? And so you're right, like there is something to be there and it's really, I think, being there and showing them the path of their options, yeah, and then making that.
Speaker 2:And guiding them and making that not the problem. Right, you know making it a seamless transaction and as easy for them as possible.
Speaker 3:And that's also why I left Zillow and got into real estate and honestly continued that message that I don't think real estate needs to be this difficult. Honestly continued that message that I don't think real estate needs to be this difficult. So many clients are overwhelmed by the process and even when you open an escrow, you've got the lender, the title, the escrow, the agents all messaging these clients like boom, boom, boom, you need to do this, you need to do that. It's like whoa, let's make it a little easier on them.
Speaker 1:So a few other questions that we want to get to. So we'll keep it moving, but I'm super curious. So we're kind of starting the fourth quarter in 24. Rates have come back down a little bit. Give us your perspective on what you think the next 3, 6, 12 months look like with single family real estate transactions in Southern California tied to the political environment that we're in. So we're in an election year. Yeah, you know we're watching these nasty debates take place. Country feels awfully divided. What's your perspective?
Speaker 3:So I would say that we've seen this on many election cycles, where a lot of buyers and sellers take pause. That's not everyone, right. I think if you have to buy or sell, you're going to do it if you have the means to do it. But I think even with interest rates going down, there's still a huge pool of buyers that will not be entering the market for a while. I think, with the increase of interest rates for the last two years, plus the economy and the inflation that's occurred, I think it's that families have to make, you know, 12,000 more a year just to live the way they were two years ago, and so that extra 12,000 that they could have saved or put towards you know down payment, they're just more so struggling to get by. So, even though interest rates have gone down, I think there's a big buyer pool that won't be entering back into the market, especially until after the election, to see maybe what kind of economic changes will occur, depending on who gets in office?
Speaker 2:I do feel like the closer we're getting to the election, the more we're hearing, Because I mean we talked about it a few months ago, election year, you know, does it really impact. Stats say no, you know that, that people are still going to move forward and still buy.
Speaker 2:But I do feel like, as you get dangerously close, like five weeks out- or you know that that now it's a little more top of mind and it plays a little bit of a role, but ultimately I think that you know, election or not, I think what you're talking about is what's been happening the past few years and that you know people that the affordability just isn't there for a lot of people.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think we've continued to have increase of values of homes. Like, even though it's slowed down and it's not 30, 40% like we saw during the pandemic, it's still increasing. I just looked up a stat in Santa Monica. It increased 13% in the last year in Santa Monica. So you know it's still increasing. In quality areas, in areas that are in high demand, those are increasing in value even faster. In areas that are in high demand, those are increasing in value even faster. But overall it's just trickled up, I would say in the state of California. And so with that, even though interest rates have gone down, like pricing is still more than it was a year ago and people couldn't afford it a year ago. So I think it's going to cause just, I guess, more normalization of the market, because we're a little jaded in what we've seen the last four or five years and I've had this talk with my team. I'm like 60 days on market, that's kind of normal Like that's.
Speaker 1:It's actually good right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So historically, over 50 years, you would say anything under 90 is still a seller's market. But I mean, I kind of feel like what you're saying is that affordability is the actual problem, not necessarily supply or demand. It's really can somebody afford to get into this house? So if Trump wins, does it get more affordable, if Kamala wins, does it get?
Speaker 3:more affordable, and who?
Speaker 1:Just for clarity. I don't like either candidate.
Speaker 3:That's why I don't know how to pronounce their names. But uh, but you know give us your opinion, Donald Trump the Donald, the Donald. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, hey, he's a. He's a pretty big real estate mogul, so if we're talking real estate here, he wouldn't be the worst for the real estate industry. And I do think that. You know, obviously it's very divided. There's people on both sides and I see why people don't like both candidates and I can see why people like both candidates.
Speaker 3:In my personal opinion, I think if Donaldald trump gets an office, there will be way more confidence in the economy, and you know we've talked about this, but I think anything the government gets hyper involved in they don't do a good job at and an easy way to look at that is the post office and the dmv, and so I think there's something to be said about donald trump wanting to like give it more back to the people the people that actually know what they're doing industry, people that know the market, that know real estate, that know building and development versus some politician in the White House that's just going to issue these red tape on things that really actually don't know the building process well. So, in my opinion, I think that'll turn investors into the market. I think it'll put more money in real estate.
Speaker 1:So the counter argument to that is that if there are investors entering the market faster, I'm an investor right. So if more investors are into the market, hypothetically right. Or the theory would be that there's more volatility with single family pricing which would make it less affordable for an actual end consumer. So what do you think about that? What?
Speaker 3:are your thoughts around that? Well, I think the other end is, if you can bring America to be more energy dependent, then the cost of everything will go down. All of the building supplies, everything the investor's using to build a home, goes down. Plus the economy trickles up with more jobs. So now you have the American citizens making more money to afford the lower cost home that now investors could build.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I think it's an incredibly complicated subject.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm definitely not a pro. This is just my opinion, yeah no, I'm not either.
Speaker 1:I mean what I usually consolidate down to, and I know we're running short on time. But is that? You know? I generally feel that people in the market that can buy today are just a little lazy, and they're not. They're not purchasing, not because they don't have the capacity to get it done, it's because they are, you know, kind of, I would say, distracted. They're not out creating value and really focused on the dream of home ownership. Right, and to me, that's why I'm so disenfranchised with both parties Neither one of these people is inspiring to me, you know, and really I feel like to me. You know, to be frank, like you look back at 70 years, there's a really strong argument that real estate shouldn't have volatility. It should just be kind of vanilla, like we should see small ebbs and flows over seven year cycles, um, and the volatility we have experienced has been really bad for the industry government got involved yeah, possibly well, yes, they have ever.
Speaker 3:But I mean think about you know, the last crash, crash um. You know, a lot of people blamed the lenders and there was poor, poor lending out there there was. But yeah, I know there was but a lot of it was because the government agreed to back those loans. And so when it, that's when it came crumbling because the government had to then back all these loans and that's the american people's money.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah, no it was because actually I would see people like take white out on someone's W-2 and like edit it and then put it or like write down on a piece of paper. This client makes $100,000 a year, like it was. I think a lot, a lot has changed, thankfully, but I will say there are regulations now to prevent that. That did come from that. So you know, there's a little bit of that give and take of like you do need some sort of guidelines here, Like it can't be a free for all.
Speaker 3:Well, I think that the lenders were doing that because the government came in and said don't worry, give anyone you want a loan because we'll back it. So you had bad lenders going. I'll give a loan because Mr Soap Getting purchased the next day.
Speaker 2:yeah, I don't know. A lot of those loans didn't come Like there were specific, like the stated income loans. Yeah, that's where the majority of that was happening.
Speaker 3:And that wasn't necessarily coming from removing all regulation. I just think that there's times where the government gets too involved and they don't really know what they're doing, and I think they make it more difficult for business to operate, and if you don't have business operating, then you're not going to have jobs for people.
Speaker 2:That actually reminds me of when. So I met with a bunch of the California legislators and we sat down and it was a similar setup to this, but everyone's talking, we're sharing information about how the red tape is affecting our business and I'm sitting there while there's all of these companies like, pleading with them to pass laws or to get rid of some of these regulations. Where one of them was a, it was like the self-driving but the trucks the big long haul trucks self-driving and they're like.
Speaker 2:We would love to have to be able to operate in California, but you have made it so difficult for us, like we're in Arizona.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know so.
Speaker 2:I think we see it a lot more, you know, even locally here.
Speaker 3:But I think that's like a little too much. At the end of the day, what's amazing about America is everyone hates this two party system, but it actually keeps us relatively balanced because if it swings one way and swings back the other, it actually kind of hopefully allows us to meet in the middle somewhere to keep going strongly.
Speaker 3:I think we're a lot confused, right now but I mean for for for hundreds of years that's kind of how it's been working, where if it goes too far one way for too long, it gets out of hand.
Speaker 2:Except for with the Supreme Court, where they just have to die eventually.
Speaker 3:That's like every politician, that's where.
Speaker 2:I can't get on board with this system.
Speaker 3:I think we could use some term limits and refreshing faces to some of these people that are making decisions. Anyway, and I think for the first time too, you have a lot of young people involved in politics for the first time, which is good, um, and people paying attention. And, and even more so if you go back to like social media. I've had so many young people buy homes and so many people are like where are these young people getting this money from? But these young people can are actually monopolizing social media platforms and then they're also re reeducating people to talk, because if they're getting into home buying and their taxes and having money at a young age, they're actually much more involved in politics.
Speaker 2:Well, and I actually was thinking about that when you were talking about you know the way people are working these days and how they're not as excited. The dream isn't to buy a home anymore. I mean with social media the dream is to travel the world. Right, it's true, but there are some people that are making great money traveling the world. So you know there's that.
Speaker 3:And they're having kids way later, but they don't want to buy a house, so they want to travel. Well, because I feel like a lot of kids don't. Yeah, they want to. And then they think, okay, once I get married and have kids, then the house matters. You know where back in the day it was. Get married, have kids, then you buy your house like right away and then you figure out your career and make money.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah, I agree with everything you guys said, I feel like if I was put into a position of of office, I would eliminate social media the year of an election and uh and give us some peace. Yeah, I would just inspire people to focus on creating value and and you know, things would be okay, but that's an over you would for sure not get elected.
Speaker 2:Never, I can't like social media. Zero vote for media is gone.
Speaker 1:Zero interest Vote for me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, as much as I hate it too, because we've talked about me loving being private and I have it because of work and having to let people know who they're working with I love it for the fact that I have control over the information I take in now and it's not controlled by three major companies that have all the control over what information we receive.
Speaker 3:Even to the extent of changing how we educate ourselves. When it comes to college education, I mean. Just having the internet changes the way people can become an entrepreneur and learn about buying real estate or wealth or investment or taxes. Like you have access to information, you don't have to go to the library anymore.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's my point is that you know if you control the use of social media.
Speaker 1:I mean I wouldn't actually delete it. What I would do is change the way that people see comments, because that's where the negativity occurs. I mean, all of us have this little phone, right. That's where the negativity occurs. I mean, all of us have this little phone, right. I argue that this thing is creating the best time to be alive in the history of humanity in the United States, because if you have drive and you have capacity, you can go and do anything. I mean you can learn how to do any of the things we just talked about in 30 minutes on your phone.
Speaker 3:There's no excuses anymore. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:But that is my issue. But that is my issue is that people are more interested in reading the comments and like engaging in arguments versus actually taking in the information and going and doing something about it.
Speaker 3:Right, I agree.
Speaker 1:And that that's just an inspiration issue, like they just don't you know, but anyways.
Speaker 3:Do you think that will always be an issue though?
Speaker 1:No, I mean, I think that, um, you know, there's a lot of statistics we probably don't have time to get into all of it.
Speaker 1:But you know, there's a really good book I think it's the Unintentional Superpower by Peter Zahan, and he talks a lot about you know how GDP is driven and how economics work at a global stage. Generally, the consumers of products and services control a market, and if you look at just our population demographics, the United States as a whole has more consumption with people younger than baby boomers than any other country on the planet, and so, whether we're divided or not, we still consume more than anybody else so much yeah.
Speaker 1:And that consumption is going to drive the economy. We just need some leadership that kind of guides the decisions with all of that consumption.
Speaker 3:Do you think that would be? Because I think that's like a lot of young people, right? Would that be more so like parents?
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah, I mean. I think that's the part that media doesn't do a very good job of during an election year. The reality is, who we select as president doesn't matter.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 2:It's really more your local government.
Speaker 1:So the people that we're putting into position at a local level are the ones that actually make a change in our communities. And when we make a change in the community, younger generations, you know, act differently, they learn differently and it really casts a broader net. This one person that we say is going to make all the decisions for the country is like. We're not talking that way.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah well, I think um jordan peters said it makes a comment where, before you go out and conquer the world, make sure your own bed's made, or make sure your own house is taken care of, and I think there's some.
Speaker 3:It's like focus on what you can actually control on your day to day, like does President Trump have effect of you being a good husband? No, so like you have a lot more control over your life than that president sitting head and make sure your stuff's together before you go out trying to, you know, change the world. I think it's a really good motto.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is a perfect segue into another question I have for you. So, getting away from politics, what is your superpower? What is empowering you to be so successful in your career in real estate? I mean you, you finish college, you go and work in a corporate world. You say I want to take kind of my power back. You know whether that's financially or time. What has allowed you to be so successful in this industry? That has been tumultuous.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think number one is confidence, because I think you have to believe in yourself. Where I don't know everything, there's so much I don't know, but I'm confident that I'll find it out. And once I know it, oh, me too, detective Sierra.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And once I know it, I'll implement it, which then comes my tenacity. So I think that's. You know, I didn't always know I could sell. I did have some natural talents of that, like confidence and tenacity, but I didn't have what's an example of that? I feel like you have something in mind. Yeah, Well, I mean. So my first sales job was working at Zillow, but before that I like hustled selling shots at USC games, so you always knew you could sell, so I just wasn't afraid of asking for business.
Speaker 3:Like my dad taught me at a young age like go ask someone, and so a few girlfriends of mine. We'd make these pre-made shots and we'd go tailgating at the usc games and we'd sell them for like five bucks a pop. Walk away with 300 bucks for the day, have a blast doing it, go into the game after, and like that was. I think honestly my dad was very proud of that moment yeah, because I wasn't even old enough to drink at the time when I was doing it but, yeah, it was very illegal.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, my first legal sales job is Zillow. That's amazing. And even going into that, it's like I grew up dirt bike riding and you know I always be with a bunch of guys and only girl dirt bike riding and there was a pro rider, a trailer or two over from us and all everyone's like, oh, you know David Villeman's next door and my dad's's like, go ask for his goggles. To everyone. And all the guys were like, oh no, no, we don't want to bother him. I'm like I'll go do it. And so I went and knocked on his trailer and asked for his goggles and ended up getting a signed jersey from him.
Speaker 2:So also your door knocking skills started pretty young as well, at a young age so I don't.
Speaker 2:I just never was afraid to just go after what I wanted, and if someone said no, I didn't take it personal and I moved along you know, I can say I mean, I've met a lot of real estate agents in my career and you know what I do, I talk to them every day and I do feel that tenacity is one of the most important characteristics of a real estate agent. I like if you do not have that and if you're, you know, not really going after it, it's you. It's going to be really difficult for you to be successful in this type of an industry.
Speaker 3:And I would say a lot of that, you know, I learned at Zillow. When I first started in sales I was like hello, this is Sierra, do you want to click? Like I was so nice almost and I had to demand a little bit of attention and respect. And I think that is tenacity, like really going after it and wanting it so much that people can hear the conviction from you. I always say like no one wants it as much that people can hear the conviction from you. I always say like no one wants it as much as you anyways. So like you have to be the one that really, really wants it. If you want it, you have to go after it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean I think you know you, you mentioned it too, but you know, tenacity focused in the right area right. You had a vision of what you wanted to create and you know there is always no if you don't ask.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Right. So I mean, there's a lot to learn from a.
Speaker 3:no, you know, and you implement that, and you know, you just kind of keep scaling oh there's been times where I've flopped on my face on things that I've said or I'm like, well, that didn't come out Right, but then you just move on you know, like you could and I do kick myself.
Speaker 3:I, I I'm over processor, I will process that situation too much, Like Suzanne knows she goes. You're going to be talking about this for a while, um, you know, but that's how I learn and then I better myself the next time, you know. So it's not about being perfect, but I also genuinely believe and I talk to people about this on my team If you truly believe you're the best at the job and you are good and you lead with great character and moral ethics and you really believe that you are providing that great service. Like you should be confident in that. Like I genuinely believe that when people work with me, I mean so well, like I want the best for them, so why would that be a bad thing? Why would I be not telling everyone about it? Like working with me, I am genuine, I am caring, I you know I do care about their lives and their business. So that should be. You know you should be confident in that in itself, Okay, we're coming up on time.
Speaker 1:Uh, the last question I have is for viewers, listeners, people that are ingesting all this information. Is there anything else that you want to share with them about you that they may not already know?
Speaker 3:Who Well, I grew up in a really unique family, for growing up in Los Angeles, my dad is a bow hunter.
Speaker 1:All right so.
Speaker 3:I grew up with like very, you know, outdoorsy lifestyle, hence why I'm named Sierra after the Sierra Nevada mountains. So I think that's something that a lot of people don't know about me. Is I, you know, I like girly things, but I also kind of have a tough side to me.
Speaker 1:Well, what I can say that I've learned about you is that you're very focused. You know I think tenacity is an understatement Like if you have something you want to go and create, you know you're going to go and do that. But I would say to our listeners and viewers, if you're in Southern California or really anywhere and you're interested in real estate you are going to be buying or selling real estate I would absolutely be contacting you and your team. You know we'll handle. We'll put all of your information how to contact you at the bottom of you know, of our channel and everything. But thank you so much for coming on. We obviously get the opportunity to work together on a lot of deals and it's always great. In fact, we're working on a deal now and we can't wait to get that one closed.
Speaker 2:There's a whole episode coming on that. Yes, a lot to learn. Real estate isn't always pretty.
Speaker 3:You know you've got to use a lot of minds to figure out how to navigate some transactions. Absolutely, but thank you so much, it was great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll see you next time. Thanks for having me.