From Broke to Booked Solid: Building a YouTube Empire in Real Estate with Robyn Cavallaro
Key Takeaways
- Building authority through YouTube can eliminate the need for paid advertising and create inbound demand
- Focusing on buyers first creates faster momentum and long-term referral growth
- Authentic, consistent content beats perfection and expensive equipment every time
United States Real Estate Investor®
The REI Agent with Robyn Cavallaro
https://youtu.be/RoA_GmnMqvA
United States Real Estate Investor®
Value-rich, The REI Agent podcast takes a holistic approach to life through real estate.
Hosted by Mattias Clymer, an agent and investor, alongside his wife Erica Clymer, a licensed therapist, the show features guests who strive to live bold and fulfilled lives through business and real estate investing.
You are personally invited to witness inspiring conversations with agents and investors who share their journeys, strategies, and wisdom.
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A Second Chance Fueled by Fire
Success did not come easily for Robyn Cavallaro.
She lost a restaurant. She lost financial stability. She had to rebuild her life from the ground up in her fifties.
Instead of retreating, she leaned in.
On this episode of The REI Agent, Robyn shares how a devastating setback became the catalyst for a thriving real estate career powered almost entirely by YouTube.
“Real estate is not a hard job, but you must work hard at it.”
Her journey is not about luck. It is about effort, authenticity, and relentless action.
The Power of Going All In
Side Hustle Mentality Versus Full Commitment
Many aspiring agents ask whether they can succeed part-time. Robyn does not hesitate.
“Not if you want to make any kind of money, you can’t.”
She believes real estate demands full commitment. Fifteen-hour days. Early mornings. Late nights. Content creation. Follow up. Constant improvement.
Her success did not begin with million-dollar listings. It began with consistency.
Last year alone, she closed 88 transactions totaling 29 million dollars in sales. Most were not luxury homes. Most were modest properties under 350,000.
Her philosophy is simple. Close more deals. Serve more people. Let referrals compound.
“You’re better off closing a lot of smaller ones because those ones keep buying and they keep referring.”
Buyers First, Listings Later
Offense Wins the Game
Robyn challenges a common industry belief that listings are everything.
She built her business on buyers.
“Buyers are beautiful because they have the money and they’re ready to spend it.”
Instead of chasing listings, she focused on serving ready-to-act clients. As her expertise grew, listings naturally followed.
She compares it to offense and defense in sports. A strong business requires both. But in the beginning, offense creates momentum.
Turning a Phone Into a Television Network
How YouTube Changed Everything
Robyn did not start with a studio. She started with a phone.
No professional lighting. No expensive editing software. Just courage.
She began creating content about The Villages in Florida, explaining taxes, bonds, fees, neighborhoods, and lifestyle details most agents ignored. She provided value.
One week after clearly stating who she worked for in a video, she sold four homes.
That moment changed everything.
“YouTube actually pays me to advertise my own business.”
Today, she generates nearly all her business organically through video. She does not pay for ads. She builds trust at scale.
When prospects finally call her, they already feel connected.
“They treat me like a movie star almost.”
Authenticity Beats Perfection
Getting Over the Fear of the Camera
The biggest hurdle is not technology. It is self-doubt.
Robyn encourages agents to start with what they know. Choose one topic. Master it. Speak naturally.
“Stick the camera in your face and just say what comes natural to you.”
She admits her first videos were far from polished. But she kept going. Growth came through repetition.
Her advice is practical and freeing. Start small. Use your phone. Improve gradually. Progress beats perfection.
Short Form, Long Form, and Staying Relevant
Playing Offense and Defense in Content
Attention spans are shrinking. Robyn embraced short-form video while continuing long-form content.
Short clips attract attention. Long videos build depth and trust. Both matter.
“You need both to have a great team.”
She now repurposes content across platforms, expanding reach without reinventing the wheel.
Her strategy is clear. Meet people where they are. Serve their interests. Stay consistent.
Patience, Persistence, and Perspective
The Long Game Always Wins
Robyn reminds listeners that success rarely comes overnight.
The glamorous stories of instant million-dollar deals are exceptions, not the rule.
“You have to prove yourself, and you have to work hard at it.”
Her own comeback required humility, discipline, and faith in the process. She rebuilt step by step.
She also credits financial education as a turning point in her earlier struggles.
“Anything Dave Ramsey.”
Learning to manage money helped her escape debt and regain control of her future.
Final Words for the Next Generation
Build Authority, Then Let Opportunity Find You
Robyn’s story is not just about real estate. It is about reinvention.
It is about refusing to let age, failure, or fear dictate the next chapter.
“Be your own authentic self, and the buyers will come to you.”
Her message is bold and clear.
Start. Show up. Serve. Improve. Repeat.
In a world where many agents wait for opportunity, Robyn built her own platform and let opportunity chase her.
For anyone standing on the edge of a new beginning, her example is proof that it is never too late to rebuild, relaunch, and rise.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories on The REI Agent podcast, your go-to source for insights, inspiration, and strategies from top agents and investors who are living their best lives through real estate.
For more content and episodes, visit reiagent.com.
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United States Real Estate Investor®
United States Real Estate Investor®
Contact Robyn Cavallaro
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Mentioned References
- Dave Ramsey
- Gary Vaynerchuk
- Alex Hormozi
- Joe Rogan
- Zillow
- Opus Clips
- Claude
- ChatGPT
- Gemini
- DaVinci Resolve
- Camtasia
- Yeti Microphones
- iPhone 17
- Airbnb
- Amazon
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- iHeart Music
- YouTube
- X
- TikTok
United States Real Estate Investor®
Transcript
Welcome back to the REI Agent. We are here with Robyn Cavallaro. Robyn, thanks so much for joining us.
Thank you for having me. Where are you coming out of, Robyn?
I am in the Villages, Florida, which is in Central Florida, and the community is an active adult community. I've been selling here for about six years.
Okay. Robyn, I recently knew of somebody went to visit there and they said they're going to the Villages, and I was like, is this like a hotel? Is this a resort?
Then I looked it up. It's like, oh, that's an area. So it's an active retirement community.
How large is it?
Well, from one end, the furthest end to the other is probably about 25 miles. There are almost 150,000 residents, 150,000 to 200,000, and it keeps growing.
Sure. Would somebody that sells in that area kind of hyper-focus on that demographic? I know sometimes there's almost unspoken rules about you don't sell over here.
Not that you can't, just that how often do you go outside of that community?
Well, when I began my real estate career here in Florida, I went anywhere. I was advertising actually on Zillow half an hour south of here. But as my business evolved and my YouTube channel grew, I really concentrate on the Villages.
Now, if I have a valued customer that I've done a lot of business with and they're looking outside of the community, I will do that. But if it's anything outside of this immediate area, I'll usually send one of my teammates to take care of that area.
Sure. I mean, there's definitely the truth in the riches is in the niches, right? Yeah.
Well, people buy and sell here like crazy. And it's not uncommon for a buyer, a homeowner to have purchased two to three homes. So it's a virtual goldmine here.
Okay.
Yeah. That's awesome. And I know there's probably a ton of people wanting to move there, I would imagine.
I know a lot of people want to snowbird or just relocate to warmer weather in general.
Yeah. Well, and they're buying into the lifestyle. That's because we have 46 executive golf courses that you can play on any day of the week as part of your amenity fee.
We have almost 300 pickleball courts, swimming pools, tennis courts, recreation centers, 4,000 clubs. So it is really an active place to be.
Wow. That's crazy. All right.
So you have one more client. I'm heading down. Yeah.
Now tell me about how you got into real estate. What got you started?
So my background is food. I had a restaurant, a cater cook, made dessert for restaurants. And then when I moved down here, I had a successful restaurant and made a bad business decision, put me in a whole bunch of debt.
And I had to get out underneath that. And I ended up getting rid of everything. Well, getting rid of everything I had to.
And I moved down here, but I got into the food business again as a sales rep for a food purveyor. But during COVID, things were crazy. So I thought, I'm an entrepreneur, 56 years old at the time.
What do I do? I need a plan B before they give it to me. I got my real estate license and I was doing it as a side hustle.
And then as I was making these YouTube videos, and then all of the sudden I put in one of my videos who I worked for as a realtor up front and I sold four homes that week. So I thought, you know, there's something to this real estate, definitely something with YouTube. So that's how I got into it and how I started my way on a successful path.
Now that's, I think the question people often ask or wrestle with when they get started is, can I do this successfully as a side hustle? And I guess, you know, I would be a testament to that. You would be a testament to that.
It was a fine way to get started. But if you were to go back and start over again, now that you've seen the success you've seen, would you do it again as a side hustle or would you try to find a way to commit and go all in?
I think you need to be all in. I actually had a couple of people have asked me, can I do this on the side? It's like, not if you want to make any kind of money, you can't.
It has to be a full-time job because I say this emphatically, real estate is not a hard job, but you must work hard at it. And, you know, I have people, why are you so successful? How are you so successful?
I put 15 hours a day into this business. I'm up at 6 a.m. I'm on the computer until 10. I don't leave my home until 10, but I'm posting on social media, creating content, following up with customers, working on whatever other things I'm working on.
Because I write books and I'm working on trainings for realtors to do what I do. But all of that to develop your expertise takes time and effort, and you just can't do it playing around as I would call it.
I think also everybody's life situation is different. When we started, our number one goal was to pay off student loans. We wanted to be free of that burden as fast as possible.
Our goal of being debt-free was bigger than being a full-time agent, but I was treating it like a 15-hour-a-day job anyway. I was lasered in and it can take a little bit, depending on the market. This was 2014, so things were not super busy then.
It was a buyer's market, so it might take a couple weeks for you to get a house that somebody likes under contract because they're all just dragging their feet and taking their time. But anyway, it took a little bit of time to build up. At the same time, I was laser-focused.
I was 100% in. I think that might be a gift and a curse of is that ability to just laser in and get hyper-focused. I think probably for the vast majority of people, like you said, you probably need to have that fire of, if I don't produce, I have no income.
I'm starting off with a crash. That's fire.
Well, you know what I think happens is you get into a brokerage. I just did a podcast. I have I say your broker lies to you because they're hammering you.
You need listings, listing, listing, listings. But I think that buyers are where you need to be because the buyers have the money. The buyers are the ones that are ready to buy.
The sellers are sitting there waiting for those buyers to come. Do you want to be offense or do you want to be defense? Now, a good team has a balance of both.
You have to have offense and defense. But in the beginning, my opinion, it's easier to get the buyer. You need to prove your expertise, your knowledge, and your trustworthiness, that no-like trust quality.
You'll get buyers. Eventually, you'll get listings. But if you're tasting listings right up front, you're going to be hungry.
I will swear by that every day. I built my business on buyers. I have listings.
Actually, in my podcast, I showed where from 2021 until today, how many sales I've had based on buyer sales versus listing sales. My listings increased, so obviously, my income increased, but my buyers always outweigh the listings.
Yeah. I think I know that often people will want to specialize in one or the other. I just haven't really found a great way of fully doing that.
Anyway, I can see where you're coming from on that. I do want to dig into this YouTube a little bit with you. How'd that start?
Tell us a little bit more about that story of how you got into YouTube and saw success there.
Sure. When I had my restaurant in Pennsylvania, there was a point in time, there was an accident, and the restaurant was destroyed, and we were building it back. I'm thinking at that point in time, what else should I do with my life?
I started to study social media. I presented, I did a keynote, and I spoke with groups on how to grow your business and your brand using social media. I was used to being on camera, talking in front of people.
I had been on local television as well, cooking, but learning how to craft on being able to speak and get your point across. When I came down here, it was just natural for me to start to talk about real estate, but it's really obviously evolved. When you provide value in your content, your buyers will follow you.
The sellers will come. There are so many things that you can talk about in your community. I find that a lot of realtors just sit there with the camera saying, oh, we're having fun over here, and we're doing this, and we're doing that.
That's great. You need to have that balance, but you need to provide value. Talk about taxes.
Talk about the new construction going on. Talking about the community, where the hospitals are, where the schools are, where the shopping is. You put in there, hey, I was at this great restaurant, but it's right around the corner from this new housing development.
Let's go take a look down there. There are so many things that people are missing the boat. That's what I want to teach in my trainings.
It's very easy to do. The hardest part, though, is getting this thing and sticking it in your face and starting to talk. That is the biggest hurdle.
I want to say I have no humility. I have a little bit of makeup on, but I've come off the pickle part sweaty, no makeup, stick the camera in front of my face and say, hey, you want to live here? This lifestyle is amazing.
Look, I just played pickleball. I had this and this. Come on down.
People love it. You have to be your authentic self. That's no newscaster, no news anchor, scripted.
A lot of times it's just off the cuff. That really brings people to you because they can relate to you.
Yeah. No, I agree. I wanted to get into maybe brainstorming some of the ways to get over having that camera in your face and talking naturally.
Before I do that, I was just curious if you feel a lot of the business comes from people considering or looking to relocate to your area and they're just trying to explore what it's like and get a better idea and your stuff comes up on YouTube because you're doing it. Is that the majority of it or do you have content and other following from people that are actually living in the community and want to relocate to something else?
It starts off with them researching. It is unique, but every community is the same. People are moving into it.
They're researching. They're looking, why should I move there? What are the houses like?
What's the community like? They research the villages and my videos start popping up because I talk about the things that you need to know about buying here. We have something called the bond.
We have something called the CDD districts. We're not a homeowner's association. I talk about that, the tax rates, the different tax areas.
I'll go into talking about the different homes and the styles of homes and what you can find and what the prices are. What it costs to renovate a home. All these things people need to know when they're moving into any community, not just this community.
Once they start watching you, they start binging and they're like, oh wow, she really knows what she's talking about. I'm up to almost 16,000 subscribers, but oddly enough, 85% of the people who watch my content don't subscribe. I'm finding that I do a lot of long form content.
I just bought a program called Opus Clips and I started clipping everything, letting it clip it and pushing it out on Facebook and TikTok. I can't tell you the amount of calls I'm getting from people that are seeing me on Facebook and TikTok. I didn't harness that at all.
If you watch Gary V, he talks about how social media is no more social, it's interest. I can see that transformation from years ago where your friends had to follow you and follow what you did to see the content. Now it doesn't matter.
You put out a piece of content about the villages or Omaha, Nebraska, and anybody that's in those areas are going to see your content and it'll attract them to you. I actually got my Facebook page monetized, which I didn't know you could do to believe it or not. I had over a million views in January on my Facebook page.
Yes, I'm shocked myself, but the video form content gives you the platform to get in there and give people the information that they're looking for to help them make an informed, not emotional buying decision.
Yeah, and that trust building. You probably get this a lot, but people who finally reach out to you and talk to you are going to be like, I feel like I already know you. Do you get that a lot?
Yeah, I get that all the time. They treat me like a movie star almost. They're like, oh my God, you look just like you do on TV.
But I love it because they tell me how informative and how much information I gave them that helped them make a decision. So it is rewarding. I get all of my business from YouTube.
I do not pay to advertise myself anywhere. YouTube actually pays me to advertise my own business. And I get the platform to say whatever I want, however I want, which is also very strong because I can deliver that message.
And I tell you, no matter what, anytime I go on and say, hey, I was in a bunch of homes this week and some are really nice, but let me tell you, some are a bunch of dumps. They love that because there's so many realtors out there that open the door and let you go. They don't guide you.
They don't consult you. They don't tell you, I hate this house. We can find something else better for you in this price range where you don't have to spend $35,000, $40,000 to renovate it.
But you need to know what you're talking about. That does take some experience. So you do have to put the effort in it.
But you're right. They have to know and trust you. And I have developed that.
So I bought a home to rent and I didn't really have to do too much to it. I made it look really nice. But because people see me on YouTube, they rent my home because they know who I am.
They know where they're renting from. And that is miserable.
This is like a short-term rental or a long-term one?
I've done it all short-term. I thought about doing it long-term, but I had someone tell me that it seemed like all their long-term rentants destroyed the house. But in this community, because we have something called the bond, the CDD, the amenity fee, and all these associated fees, buying a house for a long-term rental, you might not make any money on it.
You might be lucky if you break even. So I went that short-term route. But selfishly enough, I did it because I have buyers coming into town.
That's genius.
Yeah. They're probably scoping it out to see what people are probably shopping on Airbnb to scope it out because they want to see what that's all about. That makes a ton of sense.
Yeah. So obviously, you have no problem communicating effectively. You're doing it now.
You haven't come on here and you haven't been shy and trying to figure out the words. But that doesn't come to everybody naturally. That doesn't come to everybody easily.
I am terrible. I feel like I'm overall a terrible communicator. And I've gotten confident.
I've gotten better at it by just doing reps, by doing this, by forcing myself to do this. What do you think are some strategies for people to get past that hurdle, that mental barrier?
Well, I think the first thing is you start off slow with what you know. Don't try to go and make videos about topics and information that you're very sketchy because that's where you'll start to get caught up. Find a topic that you know inside and out, or just pick one thing and keep hammering it for 90 days.
And it could be something like taxes, or it could be new construction, could be how to renovate your home. But know that topic inside and out and then it will become very natural to you to get on camera and speak about it. And I would say, start recording, maybe close your eyes and don't look at yourself and speak and make sure you know what it is that you want to say.
Now, for the most part, I just got a teleprompter because some of the topics that I want to discuss for my podcast are very detailed. And I want to make sure that because I'll start to talk and go off on tangents because I start talking about one thing and I'm trying to get all my points in on the subject. When I talk about the villages, I'm usually all off the cuff.
But there, I want to make sure I'm succinct and I get all my information. And you can put a teleprompter right on your phone and that'll guide you through all the topics that you want to hit. And that might make you a little bit more comfortable.
But just know your subject, speak about one subject that you have knowledge of and don't try to get into everything right away.
You know, I would say that's, I mean, knowing what you're going to say is definitely huge. I mean, that's going to make a big difference, like that you're confident with what you're talking about. You're not struggling to think about what to say.
I wonder if like, if somebody just set a goal for themselves that they'll, they'll make one video and say, I'm not posting this. Like, if that's the fear, like, I'm not going to put it anywhere. I'm going to record a video every day for two weeks for a month.
And just to see how, how like, you know, instead of having to take the 15 takes, you know, I say, I'm not even gonna do, if I screw up what I say, we're just gonna keep going.
Right.
We're not posting this on anything. And then just, you know, do a five minute video or whatever for every day for a month. I bet that wouldn't drastically change their ability to just talk comfortably on in front of the camera.
No, sorry. Good. Well, I was just thinking like, it might feel pointless to like, if they feel like you should do something with it, but you know, maybe after the 30 days, you'll have content that you could actually post then as well.
Well, you know, I think I'm recording a video for the pod, which the podcast is actually on Apple and also on my YouTube channel, but you know, you need to define who you are, define who you serve and what makes you different. And when you can do those three things, it makes it a lot easier to speak because you're coming from a direction and you're talking about a topic and you know who your avatar is, what your avatar is and what your buyer's avatar is. And don't try to be everything to everybody right up front because you'll, your message is all over the place.
Your message has to be succinct.
Yeah, no, that's true. It's very true. It's like starting with the end in mind as well.
You know, I did interview somebody in a similar kind of situation to you. They're out of Montana. Is that where there was that show Yellowstone?
Yellowstone, yeah. Montana, I'm sure.
Yeah. So they got a ton of people wanting to relocate to their area. They dreamed about living out in the wilderness and all this kind of stuff.
And so their videos also were just kind of, you know, informative about this area. And their style was also long form. And they found, and I was curious about if this is true for you or not, if you're noticing anything, is that by posting short form on YouTube specifically, it kind of hurt their long form views.
Like it actually kind of took a dive from where they were. You mentioned Facebook and TikTok. Have you put the short term on YouTube as well?
Yes, I post to all the outlets. And what I do is in the top part over my head, I let them know, this is the topic link to the full the entire episode below. 98% of the people don't read it.
They'll blast me. You didn't say anything. It's like I said the full video is on YouTube.
Um, so you either have to cut them up and post that or just post a 90 second. So here's an example. I do home tours, and they're whatever 5678 minutes.
But what I started to do was just do a 90 second video here. This is a 90 second tour I'm going through real fast through the home. And I post that short and then I link the long term, the long form to it.
But yes, people I now see what and are digesting that short form content over the long form, but you have to let them know there is long form there. Because if you want to grow anything, you really still need to do that long term. It's like the team thing.
Offense, defense, you need both to have a great team. So you need the long form. But I think you really need to drive them now to that short form.
Our attention span is becoming minuscule. And I don't care what you are.
Yeah, no, it's true.
It is 55 plus, and they're still watching all of that short form content.
Yeah, when I think a lot of the platforms like Instagram and stuff, it was really pushing for those those reels to and they would kind of reward you for buying that content. I think YouTube is probably more rewarding long form, if I'm not mistaken. I think they I mean, they have short term, they want that to be a thing.
But I think like they want almost longer content than I typically put out so.
Well, the long form is where they make their money because they can put more advertisements in there. But of course, you can't depend on what you're what you're talking about. It's really hard to get everything into 90 seconds.
Well, actually, 90 seconds more for reels, you can now do short form YouTube three minutes. And that's a long time. You get a lot of information out there in three minutes, but I still do that long form because that's where you're going to get your people.
And that's where you as a content creator will start to make money.
Yeah, I think I heard Alex Hermosi talking about the the the like the hierarchy of like the different content creation. And kind of, I think from a lens of impact, maybe, like how much people are impacted. And I think it went, you know, kind of down from like the short form down to the long form.
But then he actually was saying that the live stream is even higher than that. And that's probably, I would assume he was talking about people that are spending like hours, like playing a video game and connecting with their audience or whatever, which, you know, this is different than what we can do. But I've thought about and I've implemented a little bit of, you know, trying to do a live stream, like maybe have like a Friday happy hour live stream kind of thing where you could feel questions in theory, but also just kind of have a topic to go over.
And then and then that that content becomes, you know, something evergreen, you can then repurpose, you can put you can upload where it will already be on YouTube, or it'd be on Facebook, you can post to a blog. And so that's a another little trick. And I think if you get into a routine like that, it can be easier than trying to come up with, you know, ideas and try to people probably overthink like, what are what's the video going to be?
I'm, you know, probably like trying to make this perfect grand grand thing is going to like probably cost a ton of money to get produced. It sounds like for you, you're mostly just kind of shooting off the cuff and uploading. Are you are you doing much video editing?
Do you have people to help you with that kind of stuff? Or?
I do all my own editing, even I try not to edit short form. But I started to do a little bit more of that, because I've seen the increased engagement with my short form content. But I tell you, there are days will I will spend arguing with Claude chat, GBT and Gemini over topics, but just like this morning, so I came up with this sheet here, I did a I said, all right, I chat GBT, I want you to give me 10 topics to talk about in short.
So it printed out stuff. I'm like, I don't like that. So let's do this and this and this and this and this and it just redid it.
And I have to give me all the points, but I already know the points. So then I go in and change it up. But just you have to break down your topic into the simplest little thing.
What I learned when I went on local television to talk about on the cooking segment, I would watch chefs go with all these intricate dishes, and they're so focused on what they're cooking, that they forget to talk about themself and their establishment. I would bring the littlest thing to do and spent my time talking like I would sear a steak and make a sauce and that was it. But I got all my points across.
Same thing applies with real estate, pick the smallest thing and talk about it. You don't have to try to get into the weeds. In even a long form content, you want to keep the information as easy as possible for people to understand and digest.
So just break that topic down. And then, you know, it could be, let's say, you're talking about relocating the steps you have to take before you relocate. And then just make a list.
Well, what happens when you relocate? Oh, you got to pack your stuff up. Where are you going to get the packing material?
Oh, you got to hire a mover. Where are you going to find that? How to interview them?
Ask the questions to interview. Now, that's two topics right there on one topic, two videos you can create on one topic. Then you go further.
What happens when you move? Who cleans the house? You know, those types of things.
So you take one topic and start to break it down into the littlest segments and then video that.
Yeah, that's great. That's really good advice. And again, like get started.
Like I think like that's probably the biggest like analysis paralysis. I talked about this with the investing stuff here as well. Just, you know, it's better to just start making movement, start making progress and it will get better.
I mean, you can't expect to be an expert perfect from the very beginning. But if you don't stop and you keep going, you'll you will definitely improve.
Well, I look at my first videos. I'm like, oh, really? But I started on my phone and I edited on the phone.
I started out everything free because, of course, I had nothing. I was rebuilding my whole life because I lost everything. So it's like, how do you do that?
So the phone, you know, everything was free. And now I'm up to the point where I have a whole studio now. I have cameras.
I have self. I've got two different types of webcams, lighting all over the place. But that took years to get to.
But the simplest thing is just the phone.
Yeah.
And just get started. And look, none of us think we look good on camera. You know, we are not.
We don't want to hear ourselves either.
So, yeah, you just have to. It doesn't matter what you look like. It matters what you're saying.
So say things that are impactful and people will listen.
I love it. I would say, like, I was going to talk about gear, too, because that's a natural next thing. A lot of people probably feel like they need way too many things to make this happen.
Like your phone is critical. I would say probably one of the next biggest thing is going to be some sort of microphone. Like, I think having quality audio, people often think they need a camera more.
It's got a built in microphone. I feel like often the audio is the thing that can really differentiate. And that can be fairly inexpensive.
It doesn't have to be this big thing. You can get a lot of different attachments for a phone. There's really, really quality stuff for around $100.
And there's probably very fine stuff for like $12 on Amazon. I think that's one of the things.
But I think the iPhone 17, their audio is good right out of the phone. Now I have a Yeti, but sound and lighting. I mean, natural light.
Like my front door back there, a lot of times I'll just stand in the doorway because the light comes in and I'll look at myself in there and then I'll go into a dark room. It's like, ooh, I look better on the front door when I just woke up with nothing, no makeup on. But even in my room, I still hear like you hear professionals, their audio is really good.
And mine's good in there. The soundproofing isn't as great. But as time goes on, and if the podcast becomes successful, I will invest a little bit more money in putting some soundproofing.
I have curtains there. I figure if it's good enough for Joe Rogan, it's good enough for me. So I have these perfect curtains behind me.
Not that I'm Joe Rogan, but I hear a little bit of the difference in the voice, in the sound, but then also I edit in Camtasia and there is a noise canceling in there. So I can tell it helps, but you're right. Sound, absolutely lighting.
But again, when you first start out, just your phone, that's it.
Yeah, no, I think that's, again, getting started is more important than starting with the perfect, everything. And so yeah, I agree with you completely. I mean, so if you were to relocate to a new area, if you were to start over, et cetera, would social, I mean, would YouTube be the number one thing that you would be focused on?
I mean, has that been the biggest thing for you?
Yes. YouTube now makes you a household name. You now have your own television show where we used to, when we were younger, well, we had three stations, but you would go to TV for your information.
Now people go to YouTube for their information. They're leaving the news and watching their favorite podcasters. So what's the most natural thing for you to do is to get on there and get in front of people again, because the algorithms have changed from social to interest.
So I mean, how many times have you been on, and I don't know, sometimes you're even thinking or talking with somebody, hey, I want to buy this. And the next thing you know, it's showing up in your Facebook page all over the place. Well, YouTube is like that as well.
And if you're researching something, you get all of those videos up again. And I think that absolutely I would use that again. I would have embraced short-term content probably earlier on.
But I still would go the route, like I started with the phone, then I started editing. I got free editing. I used DaVinci Resolve, which was way over my head to use.
I use Camtasia now because it's pretty idiot proof. I say it's drag and drop. I'm really easy with that.
But just do it as a progression and become the expert. Because that's what people are looking for. They want the expert.
They want to know that, especially with anything you buy, you buy a car dealer, you want an expert, you go, someone do your hair, you want the expert. With a realtor, you want to know that person knows the area, the house, the price. And if you have to look everything up and you don't know, they might not trust you.
They may move on to the next person.
Yeah. Yeah. Getting yourself out there.
Definitely. People are going to find you right? I had a follow-up point I was going to make.
A lot of people use iPhones. It doesn't have to be iPhones. But if you are looking to also get a computer then to work with as well, definitely.
If you want to get into any of this stuff, Macs have super simple editing stuff. That can definitely work really well too. There's way more stuff out there, but it would come in free.
You could just use stuff out of the box and it works pretty well. Yeah.
I think that's a great way to start.
Yeah. You're making me want to go back to my YouTube, my local stuff. Obviously, we're posting this stuff on YouTube all the time.
But for my local real estate market, you're making me want to go back and get that rolling again. But Robyn, do you have some golden nuggets for the listeners here?
If you are looking to get into real estate, remember, it's not something where they're going to open up their checkbook and start handing you money. You have to prove yourself and you have to work hard at it. That's the best advice I could give you.
Also, just have patience. You start to talk to people, I have this million dollar listing here, million dollar listing there, million dollar buy. Those things don't come right away.
Last year, I sold $29 million worth of real estate. I had 88 transactions and I was the queen of $350,000 home and under. I think I had one sale that was $865,000.
So it doesn't have to be big sales. You're better off closing a lot of smaller ones because those ones keep buying and they keep referring. So you want to keep your sphere open and you want to make sure that you stay in touch with them, but you're constantly cultivating the new.
Again, just remember, start slow, get recording, stick the camera in your face and just say what comes natural to you. Be your own authentic self and the buyers will come to you. Start with buyers.
Please don't start with listings. Listings will come, but buyers are beautiful because they have the money and they're ready to spend it.
I love it. What about a book? Do you have a fundamental one you think everybody should read or maybe one that you're currently really enjoying?
Well, I'd have to say I think anything Dave Ramsey. He's very inspirational and he's informative. He actually, I read one of his books and he helped me get out of debt a long time ago.
But yeah, I have written some books if you want to get into real estate as a change of career or can I show you them?
Yeah. Yeah. I was going to ask for your socials and your plug.
This one is on Amazon. It's for people who are looking to get back into real estate and there may be change of career, everything you need to know. And then this is if you're a millennial and you want to get into real estate, because I think a lot of young people don't think about real estate as a career.
It's as they get older, but I think if you get into real estate at a young age, that is a great growth opportunity for you. Now you may have to start a little bit as a side hustle because you need income, but definitely think about real estate as a career. And I do have another book coming out probably in a month.
It's your first 12 deals, how to successfully get them. Awesome. And one other thing, I do have a podcast.
I'm always selling. So I have a podcast called Stop Chasing, Start Attracting. It's new.
I have a couple of episodes out. It's on Spotify, on Apple, iHeart Music, and it's also on my Stop Chasing, Start Attracting YouTube channel and video form.
Okay. And what about your other YouTube and social media, other social media like Instagram? Yeah.
So I have Robyn Cavallaro is my real estate channel with all the information about living in The Villages, Florida. And I'm on Facebook. I'm on everything, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, which was really weird for me.
I didn't think that my customers, my avatar were on TikTok, but they are. I was shocked. So don't discount any social platform for your business because you never know where your next buyer is coming from.
I love it. Robyn, thank you so much for being on the show. It's been very informative and entertaining.
So thanks again. Go check out her podcast, go check out her books and YouTube channels. Thanks Robyn.
Thank you very much for having me. It was a pleasure.
Thanks for listening to the REI Agent. If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe to catch new shows every week. Visit REIAgent.com for more content. Until next time, keep building the life you want. All content in the show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.
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