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 without any consideration. As a younger boy, Tommy’s grandfather typically reminded him of one of many high causes he immigrated to the US from South Korea: for the chance to personal his own residence. “He wished to place his stake within the floor,” Tommy mentioned. “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.
Just a few 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 rental the place he lived along with his finest pal, Missouri native Josh Weinberg. Josh was working in gross sales for a nationwide homebuilder, and whereas he preferred the true property business, the 2 typically commiserated about their each day grind. That’s after they began fascinated by 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 write down up a brand new marketing strategy, and by 2007, the chums had change into licensed actual property brokers. Preferring to construct an unbiased 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 bought pushback from family and friends, who thought they have been making an enormous mistake getting into the true property business in the course of a downturn. Nonetheless, the prevailing market situations supplied an sudden 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 individuals, actually constructing relationships – which has been the inspiration from day one,” Josh mentioned.
On the outset, the companions targeted on what they knew finest: They concentrated their efforts on serving to current faculty grads discover residence leases, realizing these renters would finally flip into householders. 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 progress for the companions’ burgeoning enterprise.
Discovering A Recreation-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 mentioned, “Once you begin to generate income as an agent, that’s if you begin to get protecting over it.”
After 4 years, they made their first rent, and later grew to a seven-person workforce. Whereas they have been doing properly, they discovered themselves making hiring choices based mostly on favorable private impressions, reasonably 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 necessary a complete hiring technique could possibly be to their efficiency and progress. They adopted Profession Visioning, KW’s four-step expertise screening course of, and by no means appeared again. Josh mentioned the deep-dive method to hiring has allowed them to set expertise up for achievement by positioning every particular person in a job that not solely makes use of their strengths, however fuels their fireplace to come back to work every day. “Arms down, CV is the primary game-changing factor for our enterprise, which can also be a game-changer for our life,” Josh mentioned. It’s what’s allowed them to scale their workforce to 16 members robust.
Offering for his or her workforce’s success has change into Josh and Tommy’s high precedence. “Our workforce is tremendous necessary 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 mentioned.
Discovering A Clear Cultural Match
Their concentrate on private impression 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 take a seat all the way down to be taught extra in regards to the firm. They have been shocked by the cultural alignment. Tommy recalled, “After we realized extra about it … we realized Weinberg Choi was principally 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 methods and fashions immediately. Josh mentioned, “Earlier than we joined Keller Williams, we had tried out each totally different mannequin with our workforce, and we have been very, very worthwhile. However we realized we actually didn’t have a mannequin – aside from making an attempt each totally different factor.”
By being strategic about their new hires and following a specialist mannequin, Tommy says they added years of information to their workforce with out having to take action in real-time. “And we realized that not solely may we have now an even bigger life, we may create an even bigger alternative for everybody that’s a part of our household at Weinberg Choi,” Josh mentioned.
The distinction was rapid. Earlier than becoming a member of Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Weinberg Choi was averaging $30-35M in gross sales quantity a yr. Of their first yr with KW, they hit $50M, and from 2021-2024, they averaged greater than $100M in gross sales quantity and 150-175 items bought yearly. Since their founding, the workforce has bought greater than $1B in actual property and served greater than 2,000 shoppers. It’s an accomplishment they by no means imagined could be doable for a referral-based enterprise.
Defining the Fashionable Actual Property Skilled
Once they made the choice to affix Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Josh recalled they did so understanding they’d have the ability to run their enterprise in line with their beliefs and values, and construct on the model that they had labored so arduous to ascertain.
As a enterprise, Tommy says their differentiator is serving their shoppers as “fashionable actual property professionals.” To the Weinberg Choi workforce, 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 fame is about creating helpful, well timed posts that construct belief with followers. For Tommy, it’s additionally about letting his character shine by way of and creating real connection. The twin-pronged method to advertising and marketing helps them keep high 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 believe my grandfather could be very happy with not simply what I’ve achieved, however what we’ve achieved as a workforce, collectively,” he mentioned. “Particularly understanding the rationale why I’m within the place I’m in the present day was due to his journey right here.”
Watch the complete KW Actual Property Position Fashions Weinberg Choi profile @kellerwiliams on YouTube.
