GRIT: The Real Estate Growth Mindset
Business
Although Vija Williams was doing well financially running her own real estate team, she realized that she was miserable. She felt she had to do 17 different things to run a good team, but she wasn’t good at any of them. And her profit margin wasn’t high enough to support the number of staff she needed. So at 48 years old, despite having doubts about whether people would still hire her because of her age, the mom of three took a leap of faith and took on a role that she believes she’d be really good at, a leadership position in a corporate setting.
In 2018, Vija Williams became the Director of Growth with Ben Kinney Companies. For the last three and a half years, she has helped walk them through two acquisitions and grow the company from 1200 to 1700 agents. Today, Vija is the Head of Industry for PLACE, a tech and business services platform for real estate agents. Goldman Sachs, along with 3L, recently invested 100 million dollars into PLACE at over a Billion dollar valuation.
Brian Charlesworth joins Vija Williams as they talk about her journey from being a solo agent to being a successful leader, her insights on the value of leverage, what makes PLACE a very unique model, and why she thinks women from all industries become stronger when they come together.
Top Takeaways:
Connect with Vija Williams
Email: Vija@place.com
Website: https://place.com/
Website: https://www.herbestlife.com/
Podcast: Empire Building Podcast
About the guest:
Vija Williams always knew she would go into real estate but her path to it wasn’t as straightforward. She graduated college, sold radio advertising, and worked for some builders and developers prior to becoming a real estate agent. She was 30 years and had her first child at that time, had her second child at 32, and her third at 39 years old.
She was making good money juggling her role as a mother and a real estate agent. But when the market crashed, it fried her and her husband to the point where they almost lost their house. Luckily they still had assets to sell to survive. When the markets turned, she switched brokerages and went from being a solo agent to building a team.
In 2012, Vija met Ben Kinney and he started coaching her. Her volume increased from 25 million to 70 million in just four years. Although she was extremely successful, Vijya felt unhappy. She wanted to try a leadership position in a corporate setting but she wasn’t sure if anyone would accept her since she was already 48 years old.
But with people supporting her, she was able to achieve her goal and became the Director of Growth for The Ben Kinney Companies. Today, Vija Williams is the Head of Industry for PLACE, President of the Brokerages Division at Ben Kinney Companies, Co-Founder of Her Best Life - a national women’s group, and co-host of the Empire Building podcast.
Episode 136: How Speedy Offers Leverages Sisu for Streamlined Real Estate Operations
Episode 135: Why Quitting After a Market Crash Isn’t the Answer - With Ieasha Larkpor
EPISODE 134: Scaling Up With Beth Matthews: Four Offices, 40 Agents, and Countless Lessons
Episode 133: Automate and Achieve: Melanie Meier on Streamlining Real Estate Processes
Episode 132: Unlocking Success in Canadian Real Estate: Insights and Strategies with Kory Prince
Episode 131: Structuring Success: Systematic Approaches in Real Estate with Josh and Dani Hampton
Episode 130: Micheal St. Jean Shares The Key to Real Estate Success: Recruiting, Training, and Technology
Episode 129: Scaling Success in Real Estate: The Path to a Billion with Brett Jennings and Beth Lazar
Episode 128: Revolutionizing Real Estate: Unleashing the Power of Mindset and Client Experience with Zac Muir
Episode 127: How Leveraging Your Systems Can Double Your Business Every Year with Erin Catron and Heather Lens
Episode 126: The Next Evolution of the Traditional Brokerage with Winston Murray
Episode 125: Revolutionizing Rental Investing Through Technology with Johnny Wolff
Episode 124: Powerful Lessons From Surviving Cancer to Becoming an Elite Entrepreneur with Josh Cantwell
Episode 123: Building a Successful Team By Pouring Into People with Jake Rockwell
Episode 122: Using Technology to Get Back to the Human Side of Business with Justin Benson
Episode 121: Powering the Real Estate Industry Through Building Wealth with Brett Tanner
Episode 120: What it Takes to Become a Million-Dollar Listing Agent with James Harris
Episode 119: What it Means to be a Team-Centric Brokerage with Ron Rocz
Episode 118: Maximizing Your Potential And Gearing Up To Excel In Real Estate With Ryan O’Neill
Episode 117: From an Agent’s Assistant to a Successful Team Leader with Trey Willard
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