095: Strategies for Successful Business Planning in the New Year: Part 2 with Matthew Rathbun
Center for REALTOR® Development
Release Date: 01/16/2024
Center for REALTOR® Development
Welcome to the Center for REALTOR® Development podcast, the podcast for REALTORS®, all about real estate. I’m Monica Neubauer, your host. Many REALTORS® are hugely engaged in our communities. Others are looking for opportunities to engage. Christine Wendell, our guest, has been teaching us about ways that we can engage in the community and help communities elaborate opportunity, create more beautiful and functional spaces, and expand our education. And if you didn't listen to Episode 1, please go listen to Episode 1, where Christine very eloquently describes these grant programs...
info_outlineCenter for REALTOR® Development
Welcome to the Center for REALTOR® Development podcast. I’m Monica Neubauer, your host. REALTORS® play a powerful role in shaping our communities. Many are deeply involved, while others are just beginning to explore the possibilities. As an industry, we bring tremendous value, not just to buyers and sellers, but to neighborhoods, main streets, and local community development initiatives that make our communities stronger. What many people don’t realize is that the National Association of REALTORS® offers a suite of grants, tools, and resources available only to state and...
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Welcome to NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Development podcast. I’m Monica Neubauer, your host. We welcome back to the show Dr. Rodney Harrell from the AARP. In our last episode, we discussed the AARP Livability Index™ and what is important to our mature buyers and sellers. Dr. Harrell is also a policy specialist, so that’s what we’re going to focus on today. I love a little government and advocacy things going on! Welcome back! Rodney Harrell, PhD, is the Vice President of Family, Home, and Community at AARP, where he leads national work on housing, livable communities, and aging...
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Welcome to NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Development podcast. I’m Monica Neubauer, your host. We are very excited to have Dr. Rodney Harrell from the AARP as our guest today. Rodney Harrell, PhD, is the Vice President of Family, Home, and Community at AARP, where he leads national work on housing, livable communities, and aging in place. He created the AARP Livability Index™, guiding how we evaluate and design neighborhoods that truly work. With a PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Maryland and a deep background in public policy and community development, Dr. Harrell brings...
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Welcome to NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Development podcast. I’m Monica Neubauer, your host. How many of you would like some more good tools to help more buyers buy homes? I say more, because we talked about this in our other episode with Skyler Lemons, and we are here with Kameron Kang from Washington, D.C. Welcome, Kameron! I met Kameron, and he has some great news, so I said, I need you to share this! Kameron has spent the last decade working across the housing world, from construction to real estate sales to community planning. He started his career as a real estate agent and...
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Welcome to NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Development podcast. I’m Monica Neubauer, your host. How many of you would like some more help getting buyers into homes? Um… I think everybody’s hand would be raised right now. Even my guest is saying that, and he’s going to teach us how to do that! Our guest today, Skyler Lemons, is known as Chicago’s Down Payment Grant King. He is one of NAR’s 2025 Class of 30 Under 30 award recipients. Skyler is helping people buy real estate who didn’t think they could buy real estate or didn’t know that they had the money to buy real estate....
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Welcome to the Center for REALTOR® Development podcast. I’m Monica Neubauer, your host. Everyone’s favorite topic these days is AI. In our last episode, Matthew Rathbun and Craig Grant saved you lots of time with their tips for improved productivity and agent and customer experience. Today, they’re going to help you again and show you how they make AI work for them in practical ways. Practical ideas are my favorite takeaways! We’re going to give you a few more apps. We’re still going to stick with the basics of ChatGPT and Google Gemini, but we’re going to get into a few...
info_outlineCenter for REALTOR® Development
Welcome to the Center for REALTOR® Development podcast from the National Association of REALTORS®. I’m Monica Neubauer, your host. Before we start today, I have a favor to ask. We so appreciate you, our faithful listeners, and we are so glad that you’re coming and learning with all of our amazing guests. However, when I travel, I find lots of folks who could benefit from what we are sharing here for free every month. So, please share this podcast with friends and other agents in your brokerage firm. Let’s help everybody be more educated. Thanks for doing that! Today is...
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Welcome, friends, to the Center for REALTOR® Development podcast from the National Association of REALTORS®. We are here in Part 2 with my guest, Dr. Jessica Lautz from NAR. Dr. Lautz is the Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®. We are releasing this interview in two episodes. This is Part 2. Now, each one of these episodes stands alone, but we encourage you to start with Episode 1 or even go back to it for some more context. [1:10] Welcome back, my favorite data researcher! Thank you so much...
info_outlineCenter for REALTOR® Development
Welcome, friends to the Center for REALTOR® Development podcast from the National Association of REALTORS®. I am so glad you are joining me and today’s guest, Dr. Jessica Lautz from NAR. Dr. Lautz is the Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®. I love, love, love my data friends and I always learn things to help me and my clients. These trends are so huge when talking with our clients and preparing ourselves, as well as just getting in the nitty gritty because our clients are looking at that...
info_outlineWe are so glad you joined us to help you start your new year! This episode’s guest is Matthew Rathbun. Matthew discusses business suggestions, strategies, and ideas to help you make your plans for success this year. This is Part 2 of the interview with Matthew on Business Planning. The first part was launched earlier this month. In this part 2 episode, Matthew leads us into a conversation about the people you’re partnering with in your business and gives some great suggestions when you consider the rhythm of work and home life. We would also love to hear your feedback on this new format with two parts and shorter episodes.
[2:30] Matthew urges you to choose your sellers and buyers carefully. Allot your time and attention to the right people.
[7:30] Matthew explains that you are alienating your market if you post what a great time it is to buy. It is a very different marketplace today with a different cost of living and a weaker job market than past markets.
[8:27] Whatever you post in a public forum, consider how it impacts your target audience. Tell them you understand their pain points and villains and you have the solutions to their problems.
[12:27] Matthew sits on the board of a housing non-profit. He had a recent conversation with a board member about the challenges people have coming up with the down payment.
[13:40] Matthew recommends apps that can function as your Personal Knowledge Management System.
[16:49] Matthew discusses digital mind mapping and a powerful tool for this.
[18:01] Matthew does his business planning in October and November to get ready for January. Do it when it’s right for you.
[21:43] Do not trade your family for your career. Your career is alluring; everyone’s feeding your ego. It’s an ego-driven industry. What your spouse and kids think of you is eternal.
[30:21] Matthew’s last word: He has a business planning workbook that you can download on this site.
[31:15] Look for things like virtual assistants. Start budgeting; this market is going to create opportunities.
[31:55] The world is changing rapidly. There is going to be a lot of opportunity in the changes with the right mindset and the right plans.
[33:35] We hope you will consider taking the ABR®, the Accredited Buyer’s Representative designation, this year. You can learn more at learning.realtor.
[34:02] We will be continuing with great education to help you work more clearly and more intentionally with buyers. Join us every two weeks for new episodes and review the past episodes if you need help with specific topics. Thanks for joining us! Go out there, improve your system, and sell some property!
Tweetables:
“[Use a] Personal Knowledge Management System. Our brains were designed for creating ideas, not for remembering things.” — Matthew Rathbun
“It is not worth trading your family for this career. I have watched it happen way too many times.” — Matthew Rathbun
“I don’t expect my family to support my career. I think that’s a misalignment.” — Matthew Rathbun
Guest Links:
Matthew Rathbun on Facebook
NARRPR.com REALTOR® Property Resource
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen
NAR Resource Links
NAR.realtor/technology
ABR®
Additional Links:
Microcourses found at Learning.REALTOR. Use the coupon code PODCAST to obtain 15% off the price of any microcourse!
Learning.REALTOR — for NAR Online Education
Training4RE.com — List of Classroom Courses from NAR and its affiliates
CRD.REALTOR — List of all courses offered
Host Information:
Monica Neubauer
Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR®
Monica’s Facebook Page: Facebook.com/Monica.Neubauer
Instagram: Instagram.com/MonicaNeubauerSpeaks
Guest Bio
Matthew Rathbun
I’m unapologetically me. I love learning and sharing what I’ve learned with anyone willing to listen. It’s what I’ve done all of my life. I’m a restless and demanding learner myself, so I focus on people in the audience who want advanced information, a little humor, and actionable information when they leave. If a learner attends one of my sessions, I feel honored to have them there and feel that I have a duty to ensure that the time they have given me will be valuable to them. I believe that every moment with learners should count.
I still work with clients and actually practice the skills and information that I deliver in each class. I’m also a licensed broker in Virginia, DC, and Maryland and a licensed instructor in many states in the U.S. I am the Executive Vice President of a large multi-office firm in Virginia and oversee operations, risk management, and agent development among other things. Before becoming a broker, I was a high-performing agent and received a number of awards and accolades throughout the year including the Virginia Association Instructor of the Year, and was recognized by RISMedia Newsmaker Thought Leader in 2020.
My course offerings are pretty extensive and I’m always happy to create unique content if it’s within my knowledge base. I’m a certified CRS instructor and have contributed to or written various national certification and designation courses for RRC, REBAC, and REBI (all three NAR education institutes). My emphasis is on leadership development, technology, risk management, and advanced practice of real estate. I have a wide range of experience with risk reduction, including serving on the local, state, and national professional standards workgroups, MLS compliance committees, and various other industry opportunities that have given me broad exposure to what should be the best practices in the industry. I am an alumnus of the VAR Leadership Academy. As an author, I have contributed to many real estate industry magazines and online industry news venues.
A few accolades:
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REBI National Distinguished Instructor of the Year 2021
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CRS National Instructor of the Year 2020
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Virginia Association of REALTORS® — Instructor of the Year 2007
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RISMedia Newsmaker — 2020 Influencer
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Virginia REALTORS® Graduate — Leadership Academy — 2007
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Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Realtor of the Year 2020
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Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — President’s Award 2010
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Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Code of Ethics Award 2011
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Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Rookie of the Year 2003
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Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Honor “Role”
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Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Production Awards
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Coldwell Banker Recruiter Award — Virginia