From Side Gig to Real Estate Surge: The Story Behind Galen Walter & Haven Realty Team

0:02Galen Walter:Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of the Epic Entrepreneurs Podcast, where we are all about helping business owners just like you achieve success. So we don't do fancy smancy. We don't do flashing lights. We don't do a lot of things that a lot of podcasts will do. These are just real stories about real people and their entrepreneurial and business experiences. as we go into their wins, their challenges, and their learnings. So we hope you enjoy it. Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.

0:47Today, I'm excited to be joined by Galen Walter, Haven Realty Team. How are you, Galen? Hey, what's up, Cliff? I am good. Thanks for having me today. Yeah, yeah. We're certainly excited to have you. So let's go ahead and jump right in. So for those of you who may not know it yet, who is Galen Walter and what is Haven Realty Team? Oh, wow. So that's a long question, about a 42-year-old question on that one, man. I actually got into real estate kind of by, I don't want to say accident, because you can't just get your real estate license by accident. But I got it almost as just a second form of income and really to be on a referral basis more than anything.

1:34But I mean, I have a history in sales and entrepreneurship. So it kind of took on a life of its own. I got licensed the summer before COVID hit. And I don't know about anybody that had anything to do with real estate, knows what happened when COVID hit, you know, interest rates, all that whole thing. And it really just kind of, you know, I don't want to say right place at the right time, you know, because there's a lot more that goes into, you know, making things work and having success. But a big part of, you know, success for me is, you know, being there at the right time, you know, So that kind of really took off from there.

2:18And yeah, man, I think that was a big part of my success was just showing up. Okay. So take us back to the very beginning. What made you say, yep, I'm doing this. I'm starting this business. So it was kind of, I mean, like I said before, it wasn't necessarily going to be a business at the start of it. But then once I got licensed, I connected with a group of people. And I think that's big for me, right? Like it's none of it is done alone. You know, sometimes like I'll say this, I'll see people that I deem successful and like I'll look at them like, oh, they did that. They made that on their own.

3:04And then, you know, then I realized it was a lot more that went into that. So I got licensed in real estate and I was already successful to a certain degree in other areas of my life. It wasn't, you know, getting into real estate was, you know, a secondary thing for me. So having that success and that foundation beforehand was an advantage, right? Like I'm not going to diminish that at all. but connecting with people that were in real estate that were not even necessarily successful in real estate. They were hungry, like I tend to be. They were hungry for success. They were above average intelligence.

3:48Some of them were absolutely crazy and unhinged, but I think you'll find that in any industry. But they were hungry for success, and I ran with those people. I built You know, I built business with some of those people. I collaborated with those people and I surrounded myself with, you know, people that were trying to do the same thing that I was, which is, you know, be successful, but also be, you know, happy and have fun along the way. Yeah, no, totally understand. So, you know, this is all hypothetical. If you had to start again from absolute scratch, no brand, no clients, no safety net even, what would you do differently the second time?

4:31Oh, man. Hmm. Cliff, I got a question for you. Yeah, go ahead. Can I curse on this podcast? Yeah, yeah, just minor curse words, nothing crazy. All right. All right. I'll try to keep it to nothing, but I just wanted to know the ground rules on that. Man, so starting over from the beginning. Now, so in this scenario, am I completely redoing it of what I would want to do different? Correct. You got it. Okay. Honestly, I would, and this was a tough one because COVID was also kicking into full effects less than a year after I got licensed, right? but network more be more involved with with people and and associations and you know programs in the real estate space i i i have a background in e-commerce sales right so it's easier for me to fall into a virtual space when it comes to any type of business it just that comes you know, second nature, but I wish I would have been able to network more.

5:52And again, COVID kind of took, you know, made that a little bit more complicated in that first year or so. But I also didn't lean into it. And I feel like, you know, that could have been very beneficial, but it all worked out how it's supposed to work out, you know? Yeah, I definitely understand. So what would you say is a lesson you learned the hard way as a business owner that no one really prepares you for? Oh, man. A couple of them of not necessarily having to reinvent the wheel in a lot of these situations. Sometimes I overcomplicate things. I overcomplicate things. I don't use systems that are already in place and are functioning well.

6:49And that's not to say there's some systems that are completely broken, but people just use them, you know, even though they're broken, right? When I say systems, I mean software, you know, I'm sure you've experienced this, you know, just with, you know, the stuff that you're doing in your daily life. So I'm not saying like, just suck it up and, you know, grin and bear it and use whatever systems are in place, but some stuff, you know, it's there for a reason, right? and I don't need to overcomplicate it. The other one, man, I think it's something that almost any entrepreneur falls into, at least the ones that I've talked to and the ones that are successful, is taxes.

7:29Taxes, man. That's the big one, especially if you're self-employed, especially for the first time. I've been self-employed to some degree or another for well over a decade. And, you know, I fell into it as well. You know, you got to make sure you're prepared for taxes. Yeah, no, that's a good piece of advice because, you know, you can't really run that business if your taxes are really behind. Right. So definitely understand that. So be honest. I mean, you know, are you naturally more of an entrepreneur or an employee at heart and why? man i mean as of right now i i hate to say this but like i don't know if i could ever be an i don't know if i could ever be a good employee again and i hope like i hope this doesn't come to like haunt me like you know like five years from now like uh you know i just i decide i i want to work for somebody and they're like wait a minute you You said in this podcast in 2026 that you would not be a good employee.

8:36But from a traditional standpoint, I don't think I could ever be. I mean, sometimes I have this, like, man, I have this, I don't want to call it a fantasy because it's more of like a reverse fantasy of this situation where I work at ABC factory and I know exactly what I'm going to make every single two-week pay period. and I have 10 days of vacation days and I don't have to answer emails, you know, and I show up, I do my job and I clock out. And like, I know, I know I'd probably be, I, you know, I don't want to be too dramatic, but I'd probably lose my mind, you know, after, you know, a month of that and, and not want to, but it's almost like something I, I think about when there's so much going on in my life that comes along with self-employment, right?

9:43Because I have the flexibility to do whatever I want, but there's a ton of stuff that needs to get done and I'm the one that needs to do it. But then again, I'm here talking with you on a Tuesday at three o 'clock and I have that availability and flexibility. So short answer is no, I don't think I'd ever be able to work for somebody in a traditional sense uh-oh hey cliff are you there did i lose you gain i think i lost you there you go there you go okay yeah i don't know what happened there i don't know were you able to hear me or no yeah i heard the first part i'm gonna cut out what did we get to because it says it still it says it was still recording locally so i mean okay yeah it says that's what it just popped up yeah so it said it took it took all that in so i think we just keep going yeah yeah no it said it saved it locally so we're good all right nice i just wasn't able to hear it all right perfect so so how would how do you personally handle stepping away from the business like vacations downtime and plugging in the evenings so on and so forth?

10:52That's a good question, man.

11:02I'm in a much better place right now. I've had some rough years on that balance, the work-life balance. I feel like, again, going back to self-employment versus employment, that's almost an unfair comparison, at least in my eyes. Because work-life balance, when you're self-employed, for me, work infiltrates a majority of my life. Having those connections with people, even when I'm in my, if you want to call it free time or downtime or whatever, it's part of it. What's that saying? I work all the time, so I don't have to work at any time. But it's been a challenge, man, especially when there's people that are reaching out to you and essentially, they're not saying this directly, But they're saying, hey, I want to talk with you or get your attention or, you know, or have you do something that in turn is going to make me a significant amount of money.

12:27Right. And I say when I say me, I'm talking about myself. So it's hard to turn that off, especially when there's like a, you know, a social or financial incentive at the end of that. whether it just be a simple connection or that. But I've tried to find a balance like earlier today. I mean, this is probably two hours ago. A buddy of mine texted me and he said, he said, hey, I'm thinking about buying my first investment property. I'm thinking about buying my first investment property. I'm not sure where to start. I've never done this before other than owning my own personal home. And I immediately texted him back.

13:13And I said, you just figured out the cheat code of how to get me to respond to you immediately, right? Tell me that you want to buy a house and I'm going to respond to you immediately, right? But I told him, I was like, but today I'm slammed, man. I have to go pick up my son after this and take him to do a couple activities. And I'm like, I am absolutely slammed, man. Can we talk tomorrow at one o 'clock? One o 'clock, I'm good to talk and can have some time to actually sit down. In the past, I would have tried to book a call with him sometime tonight in between an activity with my son, and I wouldn't be able to pay full attention to him, and I wouldn't be able to pay full attention to my son, and I would just be torn into multiple directions all at once.

14:06So I guess really determining what's a now priority and what's a tomorrow priority. And then also really determining if something is even something I want to be involved in or want to have in my life. And I think that's one of the more important things to have. Am I just doing this to feel busy, to look busy? Or is this actually something that's going to be a benefit to me, but also where I can be a benefit to somebody else? So I hope that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Basically, you're saying work smarter, not harder, right? So work on stuff that's actually really going to progress things rather than just working on everything and everything being kind of a crossfire or a big fire that you have to get into.

14:54I have to do it right now. But it's like, no, I don't have to necessarily do it right now. I can maybe wait till tomorrow, maybe wait till the next day, right? Yeah, or not at all. And that's a tricky one, though, because the way that I've built success is at the beginning when there's not a lot going on, if somebody's just starting off, right? They're not going to say, hey, man, I know you want to buy a house, but can you wait until tomorrow? Like, you know, if I'm sitting there and I have, you know, not as much going on and more time than money and everything else, like, man, I'm going to pick that up.

15:38You know, if this would have been a text I received, you know, six years ago, like, we're talking now, you know? So, yeah. Okay. Okay. So, you know, when you're building a team, you know, of employees, what traits matter more to you than what's on someone's resume? Oh, man. Really, it's going to come down to – so this isn't necessarily like HR hiring advice, right? Like the first thing is I need to like you, right? Yeah. Agreed. And I need to like you because most likely that's going to mean other people are going to like you as well. I don't want you to have all the knowledge and none of the personality.

16:32That would probably be a good trait for an accountant or something of that nature. My accountant friends are going to be upset that I said that. But I want to like you. I want you to be able to understand new concepts and be trainable, right? Not think that you know what you don't know and what you shouldn't know. But I know there's a lot of people out there that are kind of cocky to a certain extent and either self-inflicted, think they know what they don't know. or actually believe that they know stuff that they don't actually know. So yeah, those are adaptability, trainable, and likable, I think, are the big ones for me.

17:26Yeah. Yeah. No, I totally agree with that likable part. That's a little bit more underrated than I feel like it should be because we spend more time at work than we do with our loved ones. so if i don't enjoy being around you i i don't understand what's the point you know what i mean like that does that make sense like i don't if i can't stand you and i'm gonna be around you more than i am with my own family then i don't you know that just doesn't seem like a great environment for me to be in be in all day every day you know what i mean so that's always my thing yeah i've killed very lucrative successful business partnerships over over that man i'm like this This is not bringing – financially, it's a positive, but it's not bringing the value to my day-to-day life that I want.

18:16And I've walked away and severed ties from situations like that. Yeah. No, I definitely agree with that. So what's one thing you do intentionally to keep your workplace positive, motivated, and productive, especially during stressful times? Hmm. So, I mean, my workspace is a little different because it's virtual from a big perspective, right? Like, I have a physical office, but I don't know. It's more just used to have a physical office, get mail and whatnot. You know, some of the agents stop in there from time to time, but I don't, you know, require it. So really, mine is more of a virtual perspective of staying in touch on a, you know, not an overbearing basis, but a almost more of a social connection basis.

19:13So everybody knows what's going on with the other, you know, the other agents and the other team members and fostering that, you know. And for most part, it's self-engaging. Once you set it up and create that environment, the team members will take it on themselves to take care of themselves. But I still try to stay as active as possible. So I don't necessarily know if that answers your question because it's more of a brick and mortar type of question. Yeah, okay, okay. Yeah, no, I like that. So, you know, now we're going to head into what's called the quickfire round. So basically how this works is I'm going to I'm going to say one word and then you just tell me the first thing, the first idea that comes to your mind when you hear about that word when it comes to running your business.

20:06Does that make sense? All right. All right. All right. So the first word is education. Education, man. So hold on. Am I supposed to am I supposed to hit you with one word response? OK. I mean, you can go into it, man. I mean, from a real estate perspective, man, I know, I know a lot of people that are incredibly smart, but not educated from a traditional sense. I, you know, I think education is important, especially continuing education in the field that we're in. But a lot of people go into real estate because they're not good at traditional education. So I think education is great. I think it's a little overrated if you're going to be going into real estate.

21:07That being said, there's a bunch of dummies that got the real estate license, man. Kind of scary if I'm being completely honest. So I don't know if that's the rapid fire answer you wanted, but that's the one I'm giving. Yeah. Oh, did I lose you? All right. There you go. Yeah, man, that's I don't know what's going on. Next word is planning. Planning. Yeah. So I'm going to I'm going to pause here. This is planning. I mean, really i'm gonna counter planning with adaptability right okay i see a lot of people get completely strung up on on what the plan is going to be and what it should be and miss a ton of opportunity not to say that planning isn't important right like there needs to be somewhat of a roadmap but i think in in in real estate and in a lot of life adaptability is equally, if not more important.

22:08I like that. Inspiration. Oh, man. I'll speak personally. If I'm not inspired to do something, I'm not going to do it. I think that it's a big part of the reason I've been successful in real estate is because I'm genuinely inspired by it. It's exciting. It's fun for me. It's not, I mean, there's some stressful times and it's, you know, it is a job. It's a career. But, man, if something isn't inspiring me, why am I doing it? You know? Yeah, totally agree. Commitment. Commitment. Man, I'm drawing a blank on this one. Honestly, I'm drawing a blank. Maybe we can come back to it or scrub it out. okay okay discipline oh man i feel like this is the the opposite of of inspiration right like the inspiration you know can can get me started and sometimes keep me going but the discipline in the middle um especially when it's the the boring stuff right it's not like the fun and exciting and new stuff or the very end where there's the payoff.

23:34But the discipline in the middle, I think for me, the discipline comes from the repetition, the repetition of doing something multiple times until I become, I don't want to say good at it necessarily, but it becomes second nature. And just showing up even when I don't want to. Even when it's not exciting and it's not necessarily fun. Alright, and then the last word is execution. Man, I'm going straight morbid on that one. Yeah, execution. Can I ask, Cliff, are these the same words you use on every single episode? No, because I actually took a couple out because they don't quite apply. So, yeah.

24:54I don't want to say happy medium, but an above average product that I can actually put out, whatever that product is. If I'm working on a new marketing plan or a new buyer presentation, something along those lines, but executing before the time has passed for it to happen is a big one for me. Not overplanning something to the point where it no longer has a life. Yeah, I feel like that's good words. That's good words. So, and I want you to be as candid as you can on this next answer here. You know, if a business owner and, you know, even specifically a small business owner is listening to the podcast right now today and feel stuck or overwhelmed or, you know, just kind of out of place, what's a big piece of advice you'd want them to hear from you today?

25:59What advice would you give them? Man, this might not be like the advice. Cause like I said, I've been self-employed to some degree or another for well over a decade at this point. And it like, if it, if you're, so I'll speak from my own experience, right? I've started businesses where I've been sometimes multiple years into them, where I've either come to the realization conversation or from a personal standpoint or from the bank account standpoint where I'm like, this isn't either the business that I want to be involved in because I don't have that passion behind it, or this isn't the business that I can be involved in from a cash flow perspective, right?

26:48Like I have the passion, but the business model isn't there. so I mean I don't mean to be defeatist on this one but like learn when to cut your losses you know because I've been in those situations where it hasn't been either the right time the right business or or my I didn't have the right mentality on it and looking back I realize that the next right business was it was right there but I couldn't see it because I was so consumed in trying to make something out of a business that wasn't meant to survive. So I hope that doesn't come across as pessimistic or defeatist. But I guess really in regards to your question, make sure this is a business that you want to be in and that has the legs to survive.

27:47I hope that came across appropriately. Yeah, no, no, I got it. Good, good. So what's next for the Haven Realty team? What should people be excited about? What's coming up next? So, man, this is an interesting time, right? Because we're talking about entrepreneurship on this one. And I've built my team out in North Carolina, right? I've built my business up here in South Florida as well. And can I ask, Cliff, when is this going to be released? It'll actually be the last week of February. Okay, perfect. So I ask that because I'm in a transition right now of joining up with another national group because I was sitting there looking back at the last couple of years and the last six months or so.

28:46And I realized there was a lot of things that I didn't enjoy about my business, but that were completely necessary parts of business just in general. and I know it's ironic based off of what type of podcast this is and what we've been talking about, but I'm aligning myself with a larger national group of agents that can provide a lot of the, I'd say, the support and the education that don't necessarily fill me, right, that don't fulfill me. but that's not actually happening until later this month so that's why I just wanted to make sure that this wasn't going to be coming out before I officially announce that that part of my business world I understand and finally what's the best way for someone to connect with you or contact you in case they want to you can hit me up on Instagram You can go to galenwalter.com.

29:58I'm pretty much on all the socials. I have a pretty unique name, so I'm easy to find for good or for bad, you know? So, yeah, galenwalter underscore Instagram is probably the best way to hit me up. Or I imagine you can drop my phone number in there for me as well. Okay. All right. Perfect. Yeah, Galen, this has been fantastic. Again, thank you so much for sharing your story, your perspective, and the real behind the scenes of building a business. Really appreciate you coming on the podcast today. Yeah, of course, Cliff. It was awesome. Appreciate it, man. Yeah, thank you.

30:36Galen Walter:Hey, thanks for listening to the Epic Entrepreneurs Podcast. Here's three things that you can do. Number one, remember to subscribe to the podcast. It takes very little effort on your part. It's going to help you and your fellow entrepreneurs. yours. Plus, you guys know how it works. The more subscribers we get, the more cool things we can offer to you. Second, to learn more about growing your business, just download my book, The Coach Approach. It's free for you at giftfrombill.com. That's giftfrombill.com. Hey, and if you'd like more info about growing your business and what we can do to help you grow your business, send me an email directly.

31:24Galen Walter:Just send it to williamgilliland at actioncoach.com. That's my personal email that I read. No one else reads it first. It's not screened. It's my real email. Just send it to me. I can't wait to talk to you. Hey, and until then, all the best. Thank you.