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 with no consideration. As a younger boy, Tommy’s grandfather usually reminded him of one of many prime causes he immigrated to america from South Korea: for the chance to personal his own residence. “He needed to place his stake within the floor,” Tommy mentioned. “He needed 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 angle 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 apartment the place he lived along with his finest buddy, Missouri native Josh Weinberg. Josh was working in gross sales for a nationwide homebuilder, and whereas he appreciated the actual property business, the 2 usually commiserated about their each day grind. That’s after they began fascinated 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 turn 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 of becoming a member of a bigger group.
Regardless of their enthusiasm and dedication, Tommy and Josh received pushback from family and friends, who thought they have been making an enormous mistake getting into the actual property business in the course of a downturn. Nevertheless, the prevailing market situations provided 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 individuals, actually constructing relationships – which has been the inspiration from day one,” Josh mentioned.
On the outset, the companions centered on what they knew finest: They concentrated their efforts on serving to current faculty grads discover residence leases, realizing these renters would ultimately flip into householders. With persistence, their technique labored, and those self same shoppers referred to as again after they have been prepared to purchase. The method resulted in year-over-year progress 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 assist, however as Tommy mentioned, “If you begin to earn money as an agent, that’s while 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 selections based mostly on favorable private impressions, somewhat than on a candidate’s profession potential. They ultimately 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 essential 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 regarded 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 hearth to return 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 staff to 16 members sturdy.
Offering for his or her staff’s success has turn into Josh and Tommy’s prime precedence. “Our staff is tremendous essential 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 deal with private impression ultimately led Tommy and Josh to Keller Williams. In 2016, a colleague they admired, who had simply joined a KW® market heart, 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, “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 hitch Keller Williams® ONEChicago.
They plugged into KW programs and fashions right away. Josh mentioned, “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 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 staff with out having to take action in real-time. “And we realized that not solely might we now have a much bigger life, we might create a much bigger alternative for everybody that’s a part of our household at Weinberg Choi,” Josh mentioned.
The distinction was fast. 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 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
After they made the choice to hitch Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Josh recalled they did so figuring out they’d be capable of run their enterprise in response to their beliefs and values, and construct on the model they’d labored so exhausting to ascertain.
As a enterprise, Tommy says their differentiator is serving their shoppers as “trendy actual property professionals.” To the Weinberg Choi staff, meaning 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 repute 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 feel my grandfather can be very happy with not simply what I’ve achieved, however what we’ve achieved as a staff, collectively,” he mentioned. “Particularly figuring out the explanation why I’m within the place I’m right now was due to his journey right here.”
Watch the complete KW Actual Property Position Fashions Weinberg Choi profile @kellerwiliams on YouTube.
