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He started with a dead-end factory job, grabbed a phone book at lunch, and called the Marine Corps. Years later, he’s sleeping outside a developer’s office to secure lots, flipping an option with relentless builder calls, and discovering the kind of opportunity that hooks you for life. We talk with Mike Coke, founder of Terra Firma and a former Marine, about what it really takes to build a durable real estate career when the market is moving and your confidence is not.

Mike walks us through the full arc: early land sales, scaling into leadership, then the gut punch of the 2008 housing and mortgage crisis when banks stop renewing development notes and a booming business gets forced to shut down. Instead of quitting, he pivots into managing and liquidating distressed developments, running HOAs, and rebuilding into a brokerage that he runs like a “teamridge” to keep leverage high and liability low. He also shares why he ultimately aligned with EXP to create a bigger world for his people and reclaim time from compliance.

We go deep on the fundamentals that still win: discipline, consistent prospecting, and measuring the right leading indicator: real conversations. Mike breaks down the trap of “flexibility” without structure, why hiring and culture are often the hardest lessons, and why splits are a distraction if you cannot point to real receipts like training, support, and proven agent growth. If you want more closings, more freedom, and a stronger pipeline, press play, then subscribe, share this with an agent who needs it, and leave us a five-star review.

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

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📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

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52 closings in your first year sounds like a highlight reel, but the real story is what happens after the adrenaline fades.

We sit down with Andrea Kugler, a Cincinnati and Hamilton, Ohio real estate agent who’s now a brokerage co-owner and newly building a team, to talk about what it really takes to grow a sustainable real estate career from the ground up.

Her journey starts nowhere near real estate: nutrition school, personal training, multiple jobs, and a moment of honesty where she admits there’s no longevity in what she’s doing.

Andrea shares how a mentor (who later becomes her father-in-law) kept pushing her to give real estate a shot, why she finally went all-in, and how she handled the steep learning curve that comes with high volume production.

We dig into the difference between hustle and structure, including the turning point many agents hit: business dips, follow-up gets messy, and you realise “work harder” is not a system.

We talk CRMs, lead nurture, relationship building, and why you can’t live on 16-hour days forever.

We also go deeper than transactions.

Andrea opens up about loss, taking time away when her mom battled breast cancer, and returning to a pipeline that felt like starting over.

The conversation lands on grit, rejection, social media criticism, and a wild metaphor for business growth: training for a triathlon even though she can’t swim yet.

If you’re a new real estate agent, a solo agent trying to scale, or someone thinking about building a real estate team, there’s a lot here to steal.

Subscribe, share this with an agent who needs a push, and leave a five-star review so more people can find the show.

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

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A single home search can change the way you see the world. When Martha Melendez tried to buy a house as a young woman, she wasn’t met with guidance or respect, she was pushed toward where someone else thought she “fit.” That moment didn’t just sting, it became the reason she got her real estate license and built a service-first career in Orlando, Florida focused on protecting clients, explaining the process, and treating people like family.

We dig into Martha’s backstory as an immigrant from Colombia who had to learn English fast and grow up even faster to help her mother navigate life in the US. That foundation shows up in her business today: she listens harder, teaches more clearly, and stays calm when buyers and sellers feel overwhelmed. If you care about client experience, referral-based real estate, and building trust that lasts beyond the closing table, you’ll hear exactly how she does it and why it works.

We also get real about leadership and systems. Martha shares a recent mistake she owned as a team leader, what it taught her about leading from the front, and why modern distractions demand more repetition and clarity than ever. Her most practical advice is simple and painful if you’ve learned it late: use a CRM now, because the best CRM is the one you actually use.

If you got value from this, subscribe, share it with an agent who needs a reset, and leave a five-star review so more people can find the show. What part of Martha’s story hit you most?

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

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