EPISODE 2: ERIK WRIGHT

This week, Brad and Taylor sat down to chat with Erik Wright, the founder, and CEO of Social House Group.

 

Social House Group is a company that’s changing the real estate game. With 25 agents and counting, Social House Group is throwing the old ways of selling real estate to the side with new and innovative marketing solutions!

 

Erik spent some time telling Brad and Taylor about what piqued his interest in real estate, as well as how he got to where he is today.

 

Keep reading to see a full summary of the chat! Click here to listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or here to watch on YouTube.

The conversation starts off with Brad asking Erik what he wanted to do professionally when he was younger.

 

Erik talks about having no plans of working with real estate, instead, he had plans of playing sports professionally. He reflects on playing sports as a kid, even going as far as to play in college. Unfortunately, an injury during his senior year caused him to rethink his plan.

 

As Erik started thinking about an alternative career, he explains that he wanted to go to school for an MBA. While he was applying, he unexpectedly came across real estate around the age of 24. He explains that real estate was initially a part-time gig, turning full-time around the age of 26.

 

Brad asks Erik if he knew anyone in real estate, to which Erik began talking about a friend of his that was in the field. After noticing his friend doing well for himself in real estate, Erik chose to take the leap and give it a try.

 

Brad then asks Erik about the first listing he ever sold. Erik reflects on his first listing as being an inexpensive house that he took iPhone photos of and threw on the MLS without much preparation. He jokes about not knowing what he was doing initially. He also talks about it being a learning experience, as he now invests in real estate photography and more useful marketing materials.

 

Erik then begins talking about how he scaled his business using Facebook as his primary resource. He started out small, spending only a few dollars on ads until he could begin using profits to create a larger ad budget.

 

He says he’s mostly self-taught when it comes to marketing, particularly Facebook marketing, however, he has looked to motivational speakers for inspiration at times. Brad nods in agreement, adding that audiobooks have been a great resource for him as well.

 

Brad and Erik agree that social media, especially Facebook, is a sort of “cheat code” for scaling your business if you learn how to use it efficiently.

 

After explaining how he got his start in real estate, Erik begins talking about the start of his business, Social House Group.

 

He says that he wanted to create a brand and build a team around his knowledge and love of marketing. He then talks about meeting his business partner, Yesmeen Abdullatif, and joking that she was hesitant to work with him but eventually caved because he was persistent.

He talks about how he and Yesmeen’s personalities worked well together, boasting about how helpful she has been through the process of starting a business and how knowledgeable she is of her job.

 

Switching gears, Brad asks about what new realtors feel they should do, vs what actually works best for growth. Erik begins talking about how new agents are given an old-school strategy that is essentially designed for them to fail.

 

He mentions that the old strategy consists of a lot of cold-callings, while he’s seen the most progress with social media marketing. He also says he feels consistency is essential for making the ads pay off as a new realtor wants to be seen and heard as much as possible.

 

Taylor asks what advice Erik has for new realtors, to which Erik states that if a new realtor wants to grow quickly, they need to work as hard as they can, working nonstop and harder than their competition.

 

Brad then asks Erik what he likes to do in his spare time. Erik expresses a love for music and traveling, before explaining a recent business venture he’s started in Dallas.

 

Brad asks what advice Erik would give to his 18-year-old self, and Erik says that he would tell himself to work harder and explain the importance of building better habits for himself. He says it’s difficult to feel motivated when you’re young, as you don’t understand the value of hard work and discipline. He also explains that he learned more from the habit-building that college requires than he did from the curriculum itself.

 

Next, Brad asks what Erik’s most memorable experience has been while working in real estate. Erik sites being on the cover of a magazine, as well as starting Social House Group as being some of the most memorable moments. He expresses that he’d like to make more memorable moments as he continues to grow professionally.

 

Taylor asks about a fact that people don’t know about Erik. Erik begins to explain the nonprofit organization he’s recently started with a few close friends. He talks about Project Promise, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping underprivileged teachers and families afford school supplies.

 

Lastly, Brad asks the signature question: Is a hot dog a sandwich?

 

After laughing for a minute with Brad and Taylor, Erik says yes, he doesn’t see why not.

 

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