352: What to Do When Money is Tight in Real Estate

Are you hanging on by a thread but not quite ready to call it quits? This episode is for you.

 

We keep getting messages from agents who are struggling financially but who are not ready to throw in the towel. We get it. Real estate has a way of pulling you in, making you believe the next deal is right around the corner. But when money is actually tight, hope alone is not a business plan.

 

We start with a real story about Erica, a Hustle Humbly Community member who moved from California to Texas knowing absolutely no one. Instead of white-knuckling real estate with zero network and zero income, she humbled herself, went back to restaurant management, built her people, learned the market, and saved money. Then she went back into real estate full time and now has a thriving business in Texas. That is not a failure story. That is a strategy. We also share Alissa's own experience from her early days bartending private events and the moment she ran into a high-budget buyer client while working one of those events. She lost the client. It stung. But the lesson has stuck ever since.

 

This is not the episode where we tell you to quit. This is the one where we give you 15 practical things you can do TODAY to stabilize your business, bring in money, and protect your mindset while you ride out a tough market.

 

Here's what we cover in this episode:

 

• Text 5 people you haven't talked to in a while — your next deal is probably hiding in a name you've been scrolling past

• Audit your business expenses and cancel anything that isn't earning its keep

• Consider a "people job" (restaurant, coffee shop, gym) to bring in income while staying connected

• Pick up gig work without shame — Door Dash, Instacart, TaskRabbit, Uber — whatever fits your schedule

• Sort your database by last contact and reach out to anyone you haven't spoken to in 90 days

• Host a free small event in the next 30 days to get yourself in front of people

• Know your real number — write down your actual monthly expenses and make a plan

• Stop hiding behind content creation and have real conversations with real people

• Ask a past client for a referral directly using our ready-to-use script

• Partner with a local business for cross promotion — lenders, inspectors, movers, boutiques

• Go host or attend an open house this weekend

• Revisit Episode 198 on real estate side hustles to find something that keeps you in the game

• Set a 90-day minimum viable goal and work backward from that number

• Find your people — surround yourself with agents who are positive, motivated, and solution-focused

• Remember: surviving a hard market is a credential

 

Key Quotes & Takeaways:

 

• "Your next deal is probably hiding in a name you've been scrolling past." Katy

• "Action cures anxiety. Any action will do." James Clear via Katy

• "Being in a funk and surrounding yourself with other people in a funk is not going to help you." Alissa

• "This is a business. You have to think of it like a business, run it like a business, and look at your finances." Alissa

• "Surviving a hard market is a credential." Katy

 

Products, People & Previous Episodes Mentioned:

 

• Episode 346: Desperate Agent Behavior (hustlehumblypodcast.com/346)

• Episode 271: Should You Renew Your Real Estate License? (hustlehumblypodcast.com/271)

• Episode 198: Real Estate Side Hustles (hustlehumblypodcast.com/198)

• Episode 40: Bare Necessities (hustlehumblypodcast.com/40)

• Hustle Humbly Community (hustlehumblypodcast.com/membership)

• Atomic Habits by James Clear

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