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 high causes he immigrated to the USA 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 idea 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 couple of years after graduating from school, 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 nicely sufficient for him to purchase his first property – a apartment the place he lived together with his greatest pal, Missouri native Josh Weinberg. Josh was working in gross sales for a nationwide homebuilder, and whereas he favored the actual property trade, the 2 usually commiserated about their day by day grind. That’s after they began eager about constructing one thing collectively.
Tommy and Josh already knew they made good enterprise companions. Again in school, 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 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 of 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 had been making an enormous mistake coming into the actual property trade in the course of a downturn. Nevertheless, the prevailing market situations supplied an sudden profit. Whereas different firms had been contracting and brokers had been leaving actual property, Tommy and Josh took up the slack, rising and constructing their community and database. “We had been on the market hustling, assembly folks, actually constructing relationships – which has been the muse from day one,” Josh mentioned.
On the outset, the companions targeted on what they knew greatest: They concentrated their efforts on serving to current school grads discover condo leases, realizing these renters would ultimately flip into owners. With persistence, their technique labored, and those self same shoppers known as again after they had been prepared to purchase. The strategy 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 help, however as Tommy mentioned, “Whenever you begin to earn cash 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 staff. Whereas they had been doing nicely, they discovered themselves making hiring selections primarily based on favorable private impressions, quite than on a candidate’s profession potential. They ultimately acknowledged they had been doing a disservice to potential expertise and to their enterprise.
Later, after becoming a member of Keller Williams® ONEChicago, they realized how vital a complete hiring technique might 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 strategy to hiring has allowed them to set expertise up for achievement by positioning every particular person in a task 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 mentioned. It’s what’s allowed them to scale their staff to 16 members robust.
Offering for his or her staff’s success has turn out to be Josh and Tommy’s high precedence. “Our staff is tremendous vital to us. Impacting their lives and [helping] them obtain all the things 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 affect ultimately led Tommy and Josh to Keller Williams. In 2016, a colleague they admired, who had simply joined a KW® market middle, invited them to sit down all the way down to be taught extra in regards to the firm. They had been stunned by the cultural alignment. Tommy recalled, “After we discovered extra about it … we realized Weinberg Choi was principally Keller Williams. We had been dwelling 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 right away. Josh mentioned, “Earlier than we joined Keller Williams, we had tried out each totally different mannequin with our staff, and we had been very, very worthwhile. However we realized we actually didn’t have a mannequin – aside from attempting 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 staff with out having to take action in real-time. “And we realized that not solely might we’ve got 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 quick. 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 could be doable for a referral-based enterprise.
Defining the Trendy Actual Property Skilled
After they made the choice to affix Keller Williams® ONEChicago, Josh recalled they did so understanding they might be capable of run their enterprise in keeping with their beliefs and values, and construct on the model that they had labored so laborious to determine.
As a enterprise, Tommy says their differentiator is serving their shoppers as “trendy actual property professionals.” To the Weinberg Choi staff, which means 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 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 strategy to advertising 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 shopper they serve. “I believe my grandfather could be very pleased with not simply what I’ve achieved, however what we’ve achieved as a staff, collectively,” he mentioned. “Particularly understanding the rationale why I’m within the place I’m at the moment was due to his journey right here.”
Watch the total KW Actual Property Function Fashions Weinberg Choi profile @kellerwiliams on YouTube.
