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 idea 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 couple 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 apartment the place he lived together with his finest good friend, Missouri native Josh Weinberg. Josh was working in gross sales for a nationwide homebuilder, and whereas he favored the true property business, the 2 typically commiserated about their day by day grind. That’s after they began desirous 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 put in writing up a brand new marketing strategy, and by 2007, the chums had turn out to be 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 acquired pushback from family and friends, who thought they have been making an enormous mistake coming into the true property business in the midst of a downturn. Nevertheless, the prevailing market circumstances supplied an surprising profit. Whereas different corporations 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 centered on what they knew finest: They concentrated their efforts on serving to current faculty grads discover condominium 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 development 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 stated, “Once you begin to make cash 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 crew. Whereas they have been doing properly, they discovered themselves making hiring choices based mostly on favorable private impressions, slightly 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 may very well be to their efficiency and development. They adopted Profession Visioning, KW’s four-step expertise screening course of, and by no means seemed again. Josh stated 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. “Palms down, CV is the primary game-changing factor for our enterprise, which can also be a game-changer for our life,” Josh stated. It’s what’s allowed them to scale their crew to 16 members sturdy.
Offering for his or her crew’s success has turn out to be Josh and Tommy’s prime precedence. “Our crew is tremendous necessary to us. Impacting their lives and [helping] them obtain the whole lot they ever dreamed of and extra is why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Josh stated.
Discovering A Clear Cultural Match
Their give attention to private affect finally led Tommy and Josh to Keller Williams. In 2016, a colleague they admired, who had simply joined a KW® market heart, invited them to sit down right down to study extra in regards to the firm. They have been shocked by the cultural alignment. Tommy recalled, “After we discovered extra about it … we realized Weinberg Choi was mainly Keller Williams. We have been dwelling the tradition of what KW was.” That’s after they made the choice to hitch Keller Williams® ONEChicago.
They plugged into KW techniques and fashions right away. Josh stated, “Earlier than we joined Keller Williams, we had tried out each completely different mannequin with our crew, and we have been very, very worthwhile. However we realized we actually didn’t have a mannequin – aside from making an attempt 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 crew with out having to take action in real-time. “And we realized that not solely might we’ve a much bigger life, we might create a much 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 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 crew has bought greater than $1B in actual property and served greater than 2,000 shoppers. It’s an accomplishment they by no means imagined can be attainable for a referral-based enterprise.
Defining the Fashionable Actual Property Skilled
After they made the choice to hitch Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Josh recalled they did so understanding they might be capable of run their enterprise in response to their beliefs and values, and construct on the model that they had labored so onerous to determine.
As a enterprise, Tommy says their differentiator is serving their shoppers as “fashionable actual property professionals.” To the Weinberg Choi crew, which means leaning into offline cellphone 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 persona shine by way of 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 believe my grandfather can be very happy with not simply what I’ve achieved, however what we’ve achieved as a crew, collectively,” he stated. “Particularly understanding the explanation why I’m within the place I’m at the moment was due to his journey right here.”
Watch the total KW Actual Property Position Fashions Weinberg Choi profile @kellerwiliams on YouTube.
