With greater than $1B in gross sales in 17 years, the co-founders of Weinberg Choi Residential in Chicago constructed their actual property enterprise on relationships.
An Early Lesson in Homeownership
Native Chicagoan Tommy Choi has by no means taken homeownership as a right. As a younger boy, Tommy’s grandfather typically reminded him of one of many prime causes he immigrated to america from South Korea: for the chance to personal his own residence. “He wished to place his stake within the floor,” Tommy stated. “He wished to say that this piece of Chicago, this piece of America, was his.” His grandfather impressed upon Tommy the assumption that homeownership wasn’t a assure, however a privilege. Tommy couldn’t have guessed how this attitude would later issue into his life’s work.
A number of years after graduating from faculty, Tommy was at a profession crossroads. He was making good cash, however he was depressing in his day job. His inside gross sales place with a tech firm paid properly sufficient for him to purchase his first property – a condominium the place he lived together with his greatest good friend, Missouri native Josh Weinberg. Josh was working in gross sales for a nationwide homebuilder, and whereas he favored the actual property business, the 2 typically commiserated about their every day grind. That’s after they began excited about constructing one thing collectively.
Tommy and Josh already knew they made good enterprise companions. Again in faculty, they’d created a worthwhile autograph gross sales enterprise that funded journeys and events. They harnessed the identical entrepreneurial spirit to jot down up a brand new marketing strategy, and by 2007, the chums had change into licensed actual property brokers. Preferring to construct an impartial model, they opened Weinberg Choi Residential as a boutique brokerage and by no means thought-about becoming a member of a bigger group.
Regardless of their enthusiasm and dedication, Tommy and Josh obtained pushback from family and friends, who thought they have been making an enormous mistake coming into the actual property business in the course of a downturn. Nonetheless, the prevailing market circumstances supplied an surprising profit. Whereas different firms have been contracting and brokers have been leaving actual property, Tommy and Josh took up the slack, rising and constructing their community and database. “We have been on the market hustling, assembly folks, actually constructing relationships – which has been the inspiration from day one,” Josh stated.
On the outset, the companions targeted on what they knew greatest: They concentrated their efforts on serving to current faculty grads discover condo leases, realizing these renters would finally flip into owners. With persistence, their technique labored, and those self same shoppers known as again after they have been prepared to purchase. The method resulted in year-over-year development for the companions’ burgeoning enterprise.
Discovering A Sport-Altering Hiring Technique
Because the enterprise grew, Tommy and Josh discovered themselves carrying a number of hats – and approaching burnout. They knew they wanted help, however as Tommy stated, “While you begin to generate income as an agent, that’s whenever you begin to get protecting over it.”
After 4 years, they made their first rent, and later grew to a seven-person staff. Whereas they have been doing properly, they discovered themselves making hiring choices based mostly on favorable private impressions, moderately than on a candidate’s profession potential. They finally acknowledged they have been doing a disservice to potential expertise and to their enterprise.
Later, after becoming a member of Keller Williams® ONEChicago, they realized how vital a complete hiring technique could possibly be to their efficiency and development. They adopted Profession Visioning, KW’s four-step expertise screening course of, and by no means regarded again. Josh stated the deep-dive method to hiring has allowed them to set expertise up for achievement by positioning every individual in a job that not solely makes use of their strengths, however fuels their hearth to return to work every day. “Arms down, CV is the primary game-changing factor for our enterprise, which can be a game-changer for our life,” Josh stated. It’s what’s allowed them to scale their staff to 16 members robust.
Offering for his or her staff’s success has change into Josh and Tommy’s prime precedence. “Our staff is tremendous vital to us. Impacting their lives and [helping] them obtain every part they ever dreamed of and extra is why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Josh stated.
Discovering A Clear Cultural Match
Their concentrate on private influence finally led Tommy and Josh to Keller Williams. In 2016, a colleague they admired, who had simply joined a KW® market middle, invited them to sit down all the way down to be taught extra in regards to the firm. They have been stunned by the cultural alignment. Tommy recalled, “Once we discovered extra about it … we realized Weinberg Choi was mainly Keller Williams. We have been residing the tradition of what KW was.” That’s after they made the choice to affix Keller Williams® ONEChicago.
They plugged into KW programs and fashions immediately. Josh stated, “Earlier than we joined Keller Williams, we had tried out each completely different mannequin with our staff, and we have been very, very worthwhile. However we realized we actually didn’t have a mannequin – apart from attempting each completely different factor.”
By being strategic about their new hires and following a specialist mannequin, Tommy says they added years of information to their staff with out having to take action in real-time. “And we realized that not solely might we’ve got an even bigger life, we might create an even bigger alternative for everybody that’s a part of our household at Weinberg Choi,” Josh stated.
The distinction was instant. Earlier than becoming a member of Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Weinberg Choi was averaging $30-35M in gross sales quantity a 12 months. Of their first 12 months with KW, they hit $50M, and from 2021-2024, they averaged greater than $100M in gross sales quantity and 150-175 models offered yearly. Since their founding, the staff has offered greater than $1B in actual property and served greater than 2,000 shoppers. It’s an accomplishment they by no means imagined can be doable for a referral-based enterprise.
Defining the Trendy Actual Property Skilled
Once they made the choice to affix Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Josh recalled they did so understanding they’d be capable to run their enterprise in line with their beliefs and values, and construct on the model they’d labored so laborious to ascertain.
As a enterprise, Tommy says their differentiator is serving their shoppers as “fashionable actual property professionals.” To the Weinberg Choi staff, meaning leaning into offline telephone calls, lunches, and face-to-face touchpoints, whereas additionally offering digital content material that engages their audiences and will increase their on-line visibility. From explainer movies on rate of interest shifts to mortgage fundamentals and native restaurant suggestions, Tommy says constructing a web-based repute is about creating helpful, well timed posts that construct belief with followers. For Tommy, it’s additionally about letting his persona shine via and creating real connection. The twin-pronged method to advertising and marketing helps them keep prime of thoughts with previous and future shoppers, whereas serving as a throughline to their tradition and mission.
Tommy says he will get to honor his grandfather’s legacy with each consumer they serve. “I assume my grandfather can be very pleased with not simply what I’ve completed, however what we’ve completed as a staff, collectively,” he stated. “Particularly understanding the explanation why I’m within the place I’m at this time was due to his journey right here.”
Watch the total KW Actual Property Function Fashions Weinberg Choi profile @kellerwiliams on YouTube.
