#684: The Real CEO Blueprint: Build Leverage, Systems, and Freedom in 2025 with Gogo Bethke

Episode Overview

Originally recorded at the top of 2025, this episode marks the sixth year John Kitchens and Gogo Bethke have kicked off the year together and it’s their most powerful conversation yet. What started as a yearly pulse-check on social media has evolved into a masterclass on building a real estate business with true leverage, systems, and freedom. Gogo unpacks how she scaled her life and business by reclaiming her time, hiring before she was ready, and stacking multiple income streams. From tactical hiring moves to automation, marketing, and mindset, this episode is both a strategic blueprint and a call to step fully into the CEO role your business demands in 2025.

Key Topics Covered

Reclaiming Your Time and Knowing Your Worth

• How to calculate your true hourly rate (and why it changes everything).

• The mindset shift from "saving money" to "buying back time."

• How to reallocate low-dollar tasks and focus only on high-leverage activities.

Hiring Before You're Ready

• Why Gogo hired her first personal assistant before she could afford one.

• What to delegate first (hint: start with what you're terrible at).

• The difference between in-person and virtual assistants, and where to find both.

The Power of Leverage Through Team and VA Support

• Building a 14-assistant operation that supports a lifestyle business.

• How to use your first VA to double down on what's already working.

• Why you should hire two VAs for every role to protect your business.

Agent Attraction that Actually Works

• Why Gogo never cold calls and how she built a 1,500+ agent downline.

• Her "button-based" funnel system that handles the heavy lifting.

• How EXP has changed her life and created financial peace and time freedom.

Owning Your Audience: The Email List Strategy

• Why social media isn't enough and what happens if it disappears.

• The numbers behind her 15,000-person list and over 4.7 million emails sent.

• How email marketing ties directly to income and brand longevity.

Simple Systems for Content Distribution

• Gogo's one-platform content strategy: create once, distribute everywhere.

• Why every agent needs to be on Instagram, Facebook Groups, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

• The easiest way to leverage a VA to manage your entire content ecosystem.

Multiple Streams of Income in 2025

• Beyond buyers and sellers: the 6+ income sources Gogo recommends.

• Becoming a licensed loan officer (RE MLO) and how it adds $2,600 per transaction.

• Why every agent should be creating a digital product or course.

• Building long-term wealth through fractional real estate investing with RealBricks.

• Using Robinhood and Bitcoin to start small with stocks and crypto.

Prompts, Tools, and Tech to Scale Smarter

• The exact ChatGPT prompts Gogo uses to build marketing plans, campaigns, and funnels.

• The GoGetter Community as a launchpad for coaching, product building, and scale.

• How to access every resource mentioned using Gogo's Instagram automation keywords.

Resources Mentioned

• ChatGPT Prompts: FREE, PROMPT (for business/marketing plans)

• VA Hiring Guide: Keyword VIRTUAL on Instagram

• Agent Attraction Funnel: Keyword ELEVATE

• Mortgage Licensing Info: Keyword REMLO

• Real Estate Investing with RealBricks: Keyword REALBRICKS

• GoGetter Community Access: Keyword COMMUNITY

• Gogo's Email List Strategy and Podcast: Keyword PODCAST or GOGOPRENEUR

 

"The only reason you should be in real estate is to uncover investment opportunities for wealth." – John Kitchens

 

Connect with Us:

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• LinkedIn: @johnkitchenscoach
• Facebook: @johnkitchenscoach

 

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