Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to coffee is for closers. As always, I'm your host, Tim Brigham, and today is special. I'm at 369 West grand, and I cannot wait to show you who I've lined up for today's interview. Stephanie Spinner, president of Maven, as well as Liveshy TV on YouTube. An absolute amazing human being, and I can't wait for you to hear what she has to say.
You waiting? You want to come inside? Let's check this place out. Come on in, Stephanie.
This place is awesome.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Welcome.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: How are you?
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Thanks for coming. Let's do this.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Listen, you and I have been friends for a long time, but for our audience, can you please introduce yourself to everybody who you are?
[00:00:47] Speaker B: My name is Stephanie Spenner, and I'm team lead of maven at Compass, and I've been in the real estate game for 15 years. Started when I was 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in residential property management. That's how I got here. I know the ins and outs of everything to do with rentals. Whether you're a renter or a developer, an owner, or whether you're moving to a new city, I got you.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: That's awesome. So, as a realtor, right, we always focus on numbers. What are your numbers? Why are we here today?
[00:01:18] Speaker B: In 2022, my team closed a little over 700 deals, and that equivaleates to about 80 million in sales.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: 80 million?
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: I've seen you coach your team, and you're an incredible leader. Right. And the numbers obviously show that you have an amazing ability to pull things out of people. What do you think the biggest quality that you have has led to your success? I mean, what do you think that has led you there?
[00:01:44] Speaker B: I think, especially when it comes to my team, it's not about me. It's about making sure that my team feels supported and successful and that they have all the tools they need to crush every deal and overcome every obstacle.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: So you got to share some secrets. What do you think any agents that are watching this, what do you think has led to your success? What do you see agents maybe not doing or not considering that has had you kind of step above everybody?
[00:02:11] Speaker B: It really comes down to relationships, I think, and people just kind of forget about that. Like, pick up the phone. If you're trying to make a deal with another agent, even if it's a rental listing, if you pick up the phone and have the conversation with the other agent on the other side, just pick up the damn phone. I guarantee you're going to close that deal more than ahead of the other agents. That are just texting or emailing and thinking that they're going to get the point across.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: So I run into this all the time. Right, where I'll find that loan officers or realtors, they hide behind this automation, right. They send an email, they send a text message, I think, where you're probably succeeding. Maybe there's a tone that's implied with the text message that maybe you didn't pick up on or you thought they were being rude, when really it was just being simplistic. When you pick up the phone, you have the ability to actually tell them, hi, I'm a nice person, I'm willing to work with you. What do we need to do?
[00:03:01] Speaker B: Right.
[00:03:01] Speaker A: And sometimes you can solve problems just by the tone of your voice versus the information.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:03:07] Speaker A: Right?
[00:03:07] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:03:08] Speaker A: So, Stephanie, if an agent was listening to this right now and they wanted to make money off of what you had to say, what would you say to them? What advice would you have?
[00:03:15] Speaker B: I would say follow up, follow up, follow up, follow up. And this is something I learned from Ryan Serhant, reading all of his books, watching all of his YouTube channels.
Every million dollar listing episode he's ever created is follow up, follow through, follow back. You want to follow up on every single client every single time. It's not just once they make an offer, then it's done. It's not just once they submit an application, it's done. You follow up until you make sure that they have successfully moved in and they are happy with their new home and then it doesn't stop there. You continue to follow up and make sure that three months in, six months and nine months in that they're still loving their place. And whether I'm renting to them or I sold to them like, they're my client for life.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: So you started from Wisconsin, right, and made your way to Chicago. What was it like growing up in Wisconsin?
[00:04:17] Speaker B: It's a very fun city. I was born in the city of Milwaukee on the south, you know, went to elementary school there and then eventually went to high school in Waukeshaw, which is a little further west of Milwaukee. And then I graduated from UW Milwaukee on the east side, which is a beautiful campus. And that's where I started real estate. I randomly applied to be a leasing agent when I was 18 on campus at like, a luxury apartment building in downtown Milwaukee. It wasn't on campus, but that developer actually had 1000 properties all over Milwaukee. And so I got lucky to find the one developer that I just wrote out the whole way of college. So for four and a half years I worked for this developer and worked as a leasing agent, property manager all the way up. And I actually was a broker for them. And I didn't know I was a broker because we didn't have to have a license in Wisconsin to do what I was doing there. So the owner of the company said, oh, you want more money here? And gave me a stack of papers. Yes. Like hard documents. Like a stack of them. Like 100 sheets here. I have 1000 properties all over Milwaukee. Go and make some money.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:05:26] Speaker B: That's when I started just slanging apartments in between classes and, I mean, I was 18.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: You're 18 and you're walking into 1000 apartments by yourself?
[00:05:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
That's great. I know how to open any door. You just call me if you're locked out.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: But that's probably a testament to why you are here. I mean, that's real grit, as funny as that is. It's not funny. You're a young girl going into random apartments, dealing with adult problems. You admit you didn't even know what they were.
[00:05:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's kind of something my dad taught me is like, if there's a problem, you just solve it. There's no, no. It's just like, how? Love it.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: I always say that there's no such thing as a problem. It's just a solution even figured out yet. Right. That's great.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: And that's actually our job as real estate agents. And I think once that clicks to the professional that our job is never fun and easy like selling sunsets. Our job is being a problem solver. One problem after the next. How hard is this one? Have we done this one before? We can overcome that. We have never done this one.
Who can I call on to help me solve this problem? I know I can call on you.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
So question. You talked about this developer, right? So when you were cutting your teeth. Right? How hard was it?
[00:06:45] Speaker B: Easy.
[00:06:46] Speaker A: Was it hard. I mean, at 1000 units. Tell me about that.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it's interesting because I was 18, I was making so much money and I loved what I did. And I do. I didn't realize that I was getting like shit on that. I've never had a raise in four and a half years. And that wasn't normal that being spoken to the way that I was spoken to at the time. And we don't talk about this a lot.
And I'm not saying poor me or like females in real estate, but I think females in any industry, we are just naturally harassed and expected to take it. And it's. At what level do you speak up? At what level is it crossing the lines?
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's sad that you're right. I do notice that sometimes, especially with the stress and pressure that these deals put on, unfortunately, it's not always equal. I think the industry is changing quite a bit. But I do see sometimes where you're right. Some people should probably make some different decisions. But question for you, though. So you were at this job, and you seemed like you were happy. Is that right? Or how did you leave?
[00:08:02] Speaker B: Why are you not? Yeah, that's what's crazy. I absolutely loved what I did. I mean, this was like one of my first real jobs as an adult. I mean, 18 to 22 years old, I worked for the same company, the same guy. I was making so much money. I felt like I was growing and learning so much, and especially to learn that I found my passion. I think that that's what I was holding on to the most.
And so I was a leasing agent and property manager at their premier property. Then I was also managing one of my own buildings that I lived in and worked in, that I managed of their own. And then I was also a broker for all of their properties all over Milwaukee, like a thousand properties. So I was doing, like, three roles in one, and I was going to school full time, and I loved what I did. And I was paying for my own school. I didn't have scholarships, I didn't have parents helping me.
I just was a hustler. And again, I loved what I did. I found this real estate job that was amazing. And until one day, it was senior year, I was halfway through senior year, almost done with college, fifth year, because again, I paid for myself. So it took me five years, and I worked full time all throughout college.
And then I get a call from the owner of the real estate company, and just immediately, right off the bat, just screaming at me, accusing me of something that I didn't do.
[00:09:28] Speaker A: I mean, how did you bounce back from that?
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Again, we're problem solvers. So it took me just like a month to overcome it, and I realized I didn't do what they're accusing me of doing, and I'm going to prove it to whoever needs to hear it. So I just applied to other jobs, and I applied to other jobs, and I knew that this is my passion, and I'm not stopping with real estate. And if it means I stop in Milwaukee, that's one thing. But also, Milwaukee is a small city. So Milwaukee, like smallwaukee, everyone knows, like, everyone knew me and the small amount of time of my college career in real estate to know that I would never be a part of this debacle that I was being accused of being part.
I just applied to other jobs. I finally got the opportunity to meet with a VP of another amazing property management company that I heard great things about. Actually didn't know that the one before I was working for everyone hated and was despised about Oliver Milwaukee. Did not know that. So I got the opportunity to interview with a VP of another top property management company. And I just couldn't wait. I had this interview. He said, I only have 20 minutes. Next thing you know, it's 40 minutes later, we have an amazing interview. And at the end he says, oh, my God, I don't even know where I'm going to put you. My head's spinning. I'm so excited. Do I put you here? Do I put you at corporate? Do I put you at this building or that building? And he said, oh, I see. You worked for this guy. I know this guy. What would he say about you?
And my heart sank, and I probably lost all color in my body. And all I could say was he could not say one thing bad about me because he can't, right? I didn't do anything wrong. All I did was bust my ass for this guy. I know who I am, and I know the real stuff, and I know that ethics is, like, the most important thing, especially in real estate. But in life, like, do the right thing. Just do the right thing, even if it means you taking responsibility for doing the wrong thing. Every now and then, just do the right thing.
And I knew I didn't do anything wrong. So I interviewed this guy. He said, what would this guy say about you? I said, there's no way he can say anything wrong about me. And next thing you know, the deal was off the table. The next day, there was no offer for me.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: And my heart sank again. And I'm like, I'm still here at rock bottom. Stuck. And then 12 hours later, I was like, no, I am getting this job. I know this is the job for me. This guy loves me. I had a great interview. I know I did nothing wrong. I know that I've gone to school, and I have paid for my schooling, and all I've done is bust my ass here. And so I called that VP and I said, look, we had a great time. And if you know this person, then you know there's two sides of every story. Let me tell you the truth. Please give me ten more minutes of your time.
And he did. And he said, meet me at starbucks at this time. And I was there. And what did I do? I came with a list of every single person I've ever worked for already only 20 years old. I've already worked for 25 people. And I said, you can call every single one of these people. Phone number, first name, last name, email, and they don't even know you're calling. There's no chance. They cannot say that they would hire me.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: And I had an offer the next day.
[00:12:46] Speaker A: There's no question in my mind now how you're able to do $80 million in real estate. Because that's what we do for a living, is that sometimes the answer is a no. Now what are you going to do, right?
[00:12:56] Speaker B: There's a loophole. You can find the workaround.
[00:12:58] Speaker A: You can take the no or you can just get back in there and figure it out. Right? There's a solution there.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Well, think that's what it comes down to. It's like, figure it out. Right? And some people just can't figure it out.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: Just can't get over how incredible this place is. We're in downtown Chicago in this penthouse life, baby. So all this luxury, it's a great lifestyle, it's a great career, but tracks a lot of people. Why do you think so many people fail in this industry? Why do you think there's such a high failure rate?
[00:13:38] Speaker B: I think people think it's easy.
They just look at the broader picture and think, I'm just slanging apartments. I'm just showing homes, and that's a wrap. There's just so much more to it. You have to actually know what you're doing. You have to know how to build relationships, how to connect with people, how to get people excited and enthusiastic.
And it's not just about the buyer or the renter. It's about every single person involved in the transaction. And that's where people forget. They think, let me just walk into this building and treat the doorstep like shit. Every single person matters.
[00:14:15] Speaker A: What do you mean? You don't just walk in and say, this is great. You should totally rent this or buy this or whatever it is. Right. You actually have to have a skill.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: Yeah. You have to know how to work with the listing agent and be able to work off each other and bounce and make it look like you guys are doing this together.
[00:14:31] Speaker A: Problem solved, right? Yeah.
What do you think the biggest mistakes you see agents making?
[00:14:39] Speaker B: Not realizing that, not realizing that it's a two way street. And thinking like, oh, I'm just here to close the deal, but we have to close this deal together.
Being on both sides again, of the deal on all sides. Being the renter, being the leasing agent on site at some of these buildings, and then now being the broker. I've seen so many bad examples. I mean, don't show up 15 minutes late to your allotted tour time and then expect me to rush the tour if I'm going to be late. I always make sure to make a courtesy to call that building or to email them and give them a heads up and make sure it's okay that I'm ten or 15 or even five minutes late. Time is money and I know how much I appreciate my time. So if I'm late, and that doesn't just go for apartment buildings, like if I'm on my way to a buyer showing and I'm late and the listing agent is there, she's like, the building is open for you. We're ready. And I'm like, and I know I'm twelve minutes out. Am I texting and saying I'm five minutes away?
Just be real. I'm twelve minutes out. I'm stuck in LSD and I'm not going to be there for twelve minutes. Just being realistic and setting the expectations.
[00:15:48] Speaker A: I think it's interesting when I see on social media, right? I'll see somebody who posts things like, I got 75 offers on my place or whatnot. And you and I have talked about this before. What are your opinions on basically? Strategy or maybe, what does that tell you when you see those types of things?
[00:16:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, especially when it comes to, like, there's two different types of listings. There's like professionally managed buildings, like the one we're in right now. This penthouse is, this entire building is managed by Ani. They're a professionally managed property management company. Whereas then there's private listings and I might own a unit and then I might rent it out, and then I might hire me as a broker to rent it out for me. And that broker is in charge of listing it, marketing it, pricing it, all of that. And if I'm listing a place and it's a one bedroom for 2400 in river north, and I have 35 applications, what does that tell you?
It's priced too low and you don't know what you're doing. You're not a rental expert. And that's where I feel like my expertise comes in. Like, I handle rentals and I handle sales. I don't care if you rent. I don't care if you buy. I do know both markets intimately, and I can tell you exactly how much this should be listed for. If you want to buy something. I can tell you exactly how much we can rent it out for today if that's going to cover your mortgage today. Awesome. We know that in three to five years, you're going to be making profit minimum, if it's covering your mortgage today. So that's where I think people see the value in working with me is like, I do rentals and sales. I don't care if you rent or you buy. And I can also help you understand what to price things.
[00:17:28] Speaker A: That's really unique. I mean, I've never heard a real estate agent who focuses on both sides. Right. And it sounds like it's completely comfortable for you that you don't care whether they rent or they buy. Whatever's appropriate for the client. Right?
[00:17:39] Speaker B: Exactly. That's why I like to just put it in their ear, like, have you ever thought about buying? Because so many people just don't know what they don't know. And so let's just talk about it. Let's feel it out. Let's set you up with a search, see what's out there. Let's go and look at some places to buy. If after a week or two or after a month, you don't see anything, it's not feeling right for you, like, fuck it, we can find something to rent in a day. I can help you find an apartment to rent in a day. The perfect place.
[00:18:05] Speaker A: So walk me through a day in the life of spinner. Like, how you've got a lot going on, right? How do you stay so organized?
Do you use a calendar? I mean, what do you do to keep your life organized? I kind of know this answer because anything that happens, you send me an email, you're like, change this right now. Which tells me it's probably a pretty tight schedule.
[00:18:25] Speaker B: Yeah, I think organization is definitely key. I think it is actually an attribute that a real estate agent has to have. And I think there's a lot of people out there that want to be agents, and they might have some of the skills that it takes. Organization is really everything.
How are you going to stay organized when you have more than three clients, five clients at a time? What, after one year, you have 79 clients. How do you continue to follow up, follow through, and follow back on those people? How do you make sure that those renters are turning to buyers eventually, you have to have systems in place. You have to be organized.
I love spreadsheets. That's what works for me when it comes to staying organized with my clients. I use my calendars, everything to me. I also love Gmail and the snooze functions. So the second everything is a snooze to me, if I send a client options, I snooze that for the next day or two days later and I follow up with them.
[00:19:17] Speaker A: So hold on, let's pause here. So you're saying that you set reminders for everything. Everything, right.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: Everything.
[00:19:23] Speaker A: The second that you do a task and you want to follow up on it, you just snooze it so it automatically kicks. That's brilliant. I've never heard that before. That's brilliant.
[00:19:30] Speaker B: And then that's what we've taught our whole team to do.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: That combats the outlook thing because outlook.
[00:19:38] Speaker B: You got to go in there and.
[00:19:38] Speaker A: You got to mess with it versus, exactly, just snooze.
[00:19:41] Speaker B: And so that's where it becomes interesting because I'm under compass. We have amazing tools. I love our CRM. We have a CRM where everything goes in there. I'm an assistant now, so anytime I get somebody that rents an apartment, I get their lease. My assistant handles the invoice. She types it all up, sends it out. She immediately puts that client into our CRM and says, move out. Date, September 19, and then puts the name of the building. I get that notification like 120 days before their lease is up.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: That's brilliant.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: Say, hey, reach out. But also not only, I don't even need that, that's great that I have that. And I'm so anal that I have backup systems for everything. And so I do that. But I also just snooze my emails. I send an invoice. My client says, I rented, I applied for this place. I'm like, great. So then I follow up, make sure they get the lease signed. They got the lease signed. Then I send them an email. I say, welcome home. I know you're going to be so excited to live here. Can you please send me a copy of your lease when you get a chance? The second I send that email, I snooze it for like three months out. So then I reach out to them.
[00:20:42] Speaker A: The actual email.
[00:20:43] Speaker B: Yeah, brilliant. And then I send me, or my assistant sends the invoice to the side note, sends the invoice to the property. We snooze that for 30 days. 30 days hits, we follow up and say, where's my payment?
And that's like the easiest thing you don't need.
HubSpot or you don't need compass.
[00:21:06] Speaker A: That drives me crazy. Sometimes you feel like there's an everything.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: You're going to make an excuse and you're going to make an excuse and say, I'm at this brokerage because I don't have this tool or that, but it's as simple as snoozing gmails and can I show you my phone? Do you know how many timers I have set on my phone at all times?
[00:21:21] Speaker A: I love it.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: You actually probably know you've been with me where it's like three timers go off every 510 minutes because I'm like, I know I have to get back to this person today. Other things that work for me is if you didn't know this, the new iPhone iOS system, you can unread messages so a text message comes through. They're like, I need this right now. I read it. I'm like, do you need this right now or can I get it to you before the end of the day? Unread it so I get it to them before the end of the day. And then I pin all my buyers. So you can have nine pins at the top of your iMessage. You can have nine people pinned up there. Usually people are like, oh, these are my best friends. It's my family. Those are all my buyers that I'm actively working with or like, whether we're under contract, we're actively looking. And so those are up there at all times. Just forefront.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: I had no idea. I had no idea and I didn't hear anything special. I heard you use what's already in your phone correctly. It's the most effective thing. When you've got all these different applications, all these things, and everybody wants a subscription, you end up using too much. You've got too many things coming at you. Use one system, simplify it, and even the easiest thing, like an alarm. Brilliant. I love everything about it.
[00:22:33] Speaker B: You hear that? That's an alarm going off.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: We're using that. That's great.
So, Stephanie, something we haven't talked about. Right. That's kind of the hidden gem or the hidden secret. With your team, you started a channel called Live Shy. It's quite impressive. Could you mind telling us about it?
[00:23:00] Speaker B: So live Shy TV is a YouTube series that highlights one luxury property per episode. And it's a luxury rental property that highlights what it's really like to live in that building and what it's the lifestyle around it, where you're going to walk your dog, where you're going to go to your favorite coffee shop.
When you look at an apartment building's website, or even if you look at other apartment tours, it's just simply like a vacant unit or it's a model unit with no life. What is the story? What is my story going to be like living in that building?
[00:23:32] Speaker A: How do you envision yourself?
[00:23:33] Speaker B: So that's the point of live shy.
[00:23:35] Speaker A: So tell me about it. So do you attribute any of your success to it? Is it just on videos? Why do you do it?
[00:23:42] Speaker B: So I started live shy tv with my partner. It was his idea, but I went with it because I saw the value and how I could expand and actually define my brand as the rental queen. Liveshy TV and a way to generate leads. So ultimately, Liveshy TV is not only to show anyone who's in or not in Chicago what it's really like to live in these properties, but it also helps me generate leads for myself and for my team. Because in other markets, like I'm from Wisconsin, we don't have apartment brokers, we don't have people that help you find apartments to rent and you don't pay know. But live shy is a way to show people, hey, everyone, I'm the one to call. Me and my team are the ones to call if you're looking for the perfect place to rent in Chicago.
[00:24:31] Speaker A: I think branding is everything, right? When somebody thinks real estate, you want them to think of you, right? And that lifestyle piece is so important.
[00:24:38] Speaker B: When I'm interviewing new agents and when I have new agents start on my team, I tell every real estate person, you have to remember, you are your own business.
You're joining my team because you're under this umbrella of Maven. We align with the same values and visions, but you still are your own business. And once that clicks to the real estate professional that they have to treat themselves as a business that changes everything and they realize, oh shit, I have to come up with these systems, these things, and it really defines a good agent versus just any other person out there. Just trying to close a couple of.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: Deals with a team with $80 million under its belt in a year. I mean, you're obviously a great agent, right? How long did it take you to get there? And somebody watching this, how easy is it to start a channel and do you pull out your phone and just start shooting or what's your suggestions? And expand on that for us?
[00:25:39] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, obviously it doesn't just happen overnight. People are just like, oh, that's easy. Let's just go get my real estate license. And close a bunch of deals. I think it's really important to find the team and the brokerage that you align with. Know your niche, number one. Know your niche. There's so many things you can do in real estate. What do you see yourself aligning with, really?
Do you want to sell real estate? Do you want to do rentals? Do you want to do commercial industrial? Do you want to do the city or the like? My team specializes in luxury rentals in the city from uptown to south Loop Streeterville to Logan Square. And then we help our renters turn into first time homeowners and investors whenever that time comes, that is what we do. If you are looking to rent or buy in Schaumburg or neighborville, I don't know that market, but I have an expert that I can connect you to in that area. But it doesn't just happen overnight. I've been doing this, I just said, since I was 18 years old in residential property management, but I got my broker's license about five years ago, and I've been with compass for almost four years. And I started my own brokerage before I came to compass, just a small brokerage. We worked out of Wework offices, had five agents, and we did specialize in rentals. And then it really just blew up and took off when it came over to compass, and I had so many resources, tangible and not, that I could call on at any time. And that's when I really realized the power of collaborating. And that's when I. I mean, I was always a leader. I was always in a leadership role, since I can remember.
And I understand what it takes to be a good leader and how that trickles down to having a successful team. And that's where I really aligned with Compass. When I had my other brokerage before, that was just me and my partner at the time, and I realized I needed something bigger to skyrocket me to the next level. And that's when I saw Compass, and I just aligned with every one of their visions, like, move fast, dream big, collaborate without ego. And that collaborate without ego is something that resonates with me and my team. And everybody knows that we're not afraid to ask for help. We're not afraid to call on other people if we don't know what we're doing.
And I think that's huge.
[00:27:54] Speaker A: And also having the right team, like having the right resources around you. Right. I love what you're saying because so many agents think that they need to be the end all, end all for everything. But if you're not an expert at something, right. You have to be surrounded by people that maybe somebody knows something you don't and they help you with. That's. That's what true leadership is.
Stephanie, I want to say thank you, because this was an incredible episode. I learned so much just listening to you, but would love to hear anything else before we leave you.
[00:28:29] Speaker B: I will just say to any fellow real estate agents that a lot of times, you're just, like, in your head. And fear, it's just all about the fear factor. And once you just get out of your own head and let the fear go, it's really just you judging your own self. And if you jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions, you'll see your life.
[00:28:51] Speaker A: That's so good. That's so good.
I love the fact that you're all about attacking fear. What have you dealt with with fear wise? What have you been afraid of?
[00:29:01] Speaker B: I mean, I'll say that what brought me to Chicago truly was me seeing a building when I was visiting from Wisconsin, like, we'd go annual trips. I saw marquee at block 37 in the loop, and it was not even finished being built. I didn't even know what it was, if it was residential or not. And I looked up and I said, I have to have this building. This is mine. And the whole train ride home, I researched that one name on the building that I could find, and I sent the head of hr my resume, and I said, this is my building. I have to have this. And they called me in for an interview the next day, and they basically gave me a verbal offer on the spot, and I moved to Chicago ten days later.
I lived with a random roommate for six months.
[00:29:47] Speaker A: That's incredible.
[00:29:48] Speaker B: A guy? Yeah, the packer shirt on. I was like, oh, you're a packer fan? This is the one for mean. I did everything it took just to get me here. And we joke about this in another interview of me living off beans for six months because I would just deferred all my loans. I would bike to work, and I just did everything I hustled to make it in this city and make sure that I lasted longer than a year. And seven years later, this is what I've built.
[00:30:26] Speaker A: Stephanie, that was so good. Can you help me? Say goodbye to the audience, and let's send them off. You're going to help me. So I want to say thank you so much for joining us today. Stephanie, you've been great, and I hope you learned something. I hope you actually wrote down some notes and got some value out of today's episode. There were some huge nuggets in there, number one being don't be afraid. But, Stephanie, thank you for the coffee appointment, as always. And this is coffee foreclosers. Thanks for tuning in.
