As your Broker, I partner with our team so that we can deliver exceptional service and results while creating a pleasant experience while we support you through this exciting time. My goal is to enable our clients to sleep well at night knowing that their team of Rachel Kendall Team Specialists have every detail taken care of in the sale and purchase of their home. My commitment to our clients is to listen to your needs, to remember your goals, to be available to you, and most of all to facilitate a successful closing of your home. I look forward to being a part of this exciting Real Estate adventure with you.
Outside of Real Estate, you’ll find me at Burn Boot Camp, spending time with my daughter, Sylvie, or at a live music concert after a good dinner out!
Get to know Jessie:
Reach out to The Rachel Kendall Team:
As your Broker, I partner with our team so that we can deliver exceptional service and results while creating a pleasant experience while we support you through this exciting time. My goal is to enable our clients to sleep well at night knowing that their team of Rachel Kendall Team Specialists have every detail taken care of in the sale and purchase of their home. My commitment to our clients is to listen to your needs, to remember your goals, to be available to you, and most of all to facilitate a successful closing of your home. I look forward to being a part of this exciting Real Estate adventure with you.
Outside of Real Estate, you’ll find me at Burn Boot Camp, spending time with my daughter, Sylvie, or at a live music concert after a good dinner out!
Get to know Jessie:
Reach out to The Rachel Kendall Team:
Hey Triangle lovers. Welcome to Making Moves hosted by The Rachel Kendall team, where we will explore together the top restaurants, community hotspots and events in our area. Let's make some moves. Hey, everyone, it's Making Moves! I'm Mahala Landin. And I have Jessie Hrivnak here.
Jessie Hrivnak:Whoop. Remember, a couple years ago when we made the comment of we need a podcast? No. It's like manifestation at its best. Here we are.
Mahala Landin:Jessie is a Broker on The Rachel Kendall Team. We're doing a series of highlights of Brokers on The Rachel Kendall Team. This one's gonna be fun. We're ready for it. We're ready for it. Yeah, actually, that's that actually is the content of today. I mean, Making Moves is about so many things. We talked about the Triangle, we talk about passion and purpose, we talk about just how our lives lead us from one opportunity to the next. And that's exactly what I know today is going to be all about is about the ideas that we have had along the way, right, that have led us to where we are today. And yes, I do. This was an idea. That's really an idea.
Jessie Hrivnak:We were in the car. And I think we were just cracking each other up. As we do. And we're like, man, people should listen to this. Like, you're funny.
Mahala Landin:And you've been hosting a lot of Making Moves.
Jessie Hrivnak:I have!
Mahala Landin:Which I appreciate, of course.
Jessie Hrivnak:I love it. I love finding really cool people in the community that otherwise, people might not hear about, right, that are just doing amazing things, whether it's under the radar or just quietly or you know, or in their little circle, right, like, especially when you do things like the tarot card reader, right? Like, she's going to be known to that community, but maybe not to everybody else. So it's been a lot of fun. bringing to light. Some people.
Mahala Landin:Yeah. And I think it's really neat, because I've had people come up to me and been like, Oh, I heard that last one. It was really good. Yeah, I know what you're listening to. People actually tune in. We've had more than 100 downloads.
Jessie Hrivnak:That's amazing. I didn't Yeah, I didn't. That's awesome.
Mahala Landin:1000!
Jessie Hrivnak:I was gonna say, I mean, I was like, excited about 100. But that's good. Well,
Mahala Landin:I am an account. Alright, let's get to it.
Jessie Hrivnak:Let's get to it.
Mahala Landin:Alright, so let's first talk a little bit about you, because that's why we're here. So real estate, real estate. How did you get here? How did you get to Raleigh?
Jessie Hrivnak:So I grew up in Toronto. And both of my parents were immigrants to Canada. And my dad grew up in Egypt, where the weather is much different than it is in Toronto. And I think he got to some point where he's like, I'm done, and must have spun a globe and pointed a finger on a spot and we ended up in Raleigh. I remember it was the summer of 1994. My first visit here was in April. And I remember that because it was when Kurt Cobain passed away. Yeah, I was in sixth grade. I remember. It was a weird day. I remember that. And there was I remember moving here, there was like an excitement of being somewhere new. And I got to keep it real with you guys. Then I moved here. Now take into consideration. I grew up in Toronto, which is a large city.
Mahala Landin:And this was 1994 9094.
Jessie Hrivnak:Raleigh. Yep. And I said to my mom, one Saturday, I'm like, let's go to downtown Raleigh. So we did. Where are all the people? There's nobody Where where is everybody? Because of course, that was before like Fayetteville Street. reopened as an actual was it a street pedestrian
Mahala Landin:pedestrian? Because the bulks that was there.
Jessie Hrivnak:I mean, there was really not much nothing there. So my initial impression of Raleigh was I'm not gonna say questionable, but it was. It was just a complete culture shock to where I had come from. So that's what brought me here was my family. Yeah. And I grew up in the North Hills area, Sanderson high school graduate state and went to NC State. And then I worked here for a little bit and then I left. Do you I'm gonna keep telling ya, where'd you go? I went to Washington, DC, which was totally my speed, like, had a great time living there. I was like a visitor in the city for three years because I just was an I was exploring everything, working from home and then just bouncing around the city. And then I had our little girl Sylvie. And I said, I'm tired of living in a box. Let's go back to Raleigh. Right.
Mahala Landin:Right. And I think that's really important because that story is not an N different than a lot of other people that move here. They either spit ball between Florida and New York because they're trying to be halfbacks. Yeah. Or they're picking something neutral because of family members. They're picking something that they read in a magazine and then they get here and they're there. They're very much surprised by who we are, what we are and how much we're constantly growing. Yeah. So I think I think that's important. And not only that, but you hit on another piece, which is that education system that keeps so many people
Jessie Hrivnak:here. Well, and I did leave that out of the story, because it was more dramatic to say that my dad just spent a map. But the reality was, he was looking for an area that had great opportunity for post high school education. Right, right. Growing up in Canada, you do have a university system, but it's not nearly as large and accessible as it is here. So moving to an area that had good education, a good growing economy. At 14 years old, I was really angry. And now I look back, and I see what an amazing opportunity he provided for our family. And I think the it was one of those situations where you don't really know how good you have it until you leave. And that's what the visit to DC was for me. Right? It was I loved living there. And then I was like, but yeah, I want to go back. So what
Mahala Landin:was that one thing? Because that that is when you have to just say like, oh, I fell in love with where I live? Yeah. Which I've talked to other people. And you know, even my own experience of, you know, being able to go to a lot of different cities and my 20s and experiencing a lot of different places. And like, could I live here? Yeah. And then you go and you're like, No, it's not better than Raleigh. It's not better. So what made it what made that moment happen for you? What made you fall in love with it when you were a little disgruntled teenager? Well,
Jessie Hrivnak:I was so disgruntled. There was, so when Raleigh really started to focus on its growth, you know, and I don't know whether this is reality or not, or this is the story that I came up with. But I think with the development of RTP, being in the middle of nowhere, if you will, right, it wasn't a downtown center. So I feel as if downtown Raleigh and downtown Durham really suffered for a long time as these new businesses were coming in, they were coming in to RTP. And so the downtown areas weren't supporting shops and restaurants and life outside of business. And my first job out of college was at the Capital City Club. That is now they combined with the city club down in the Wells Fargo building. But it was in the PNC building at the time, and there was very few restaurants to go out to eat. And you started to see these businesses slowly but surely coming to downtown. I mean, Red Hat was a red hat was a huge one. And psnc was no progress. Energy was the main one downtown. And as they really started when they did open up Fayetteville Street, this is a long winded answer to what made me fall in love. But it's important is you started to see life. Right. And that is what is important. To me. I grew up around a city that had vibrancy of markets and shops and restaurants and events and life that made you want to go and explore your city where you live. Right. And that is what when I would come back to visit from DC. Raleigh was really taking off and I was like, Well, wait a second. This place is growing. You know, I always say rallies grown up, you know. And that's really what made me fall in love with it again. And, you know, I think age and starting a family and having different
Mahala Landin:attractiveness changes,
Jessie Hrivnak:the attractiveness changes, right. Like DC is fun to live in when you are young and married or single and can have a good time. And then your schlepping. No, no, no, I mean, you know, like her bedroom was literally like a closet. Yeah,
Mahala Landin:yeah. And that is the affordability that we continue to have. And you know that because we're real estate. Yes. So how'd that happen? The real estate so nobody ever wakes up and says, I want to be a real estate agent. No, I think now with the, you know, attractiveness of Million Dollar Listing,
Jessie Hrivnak:maybe more, but that's not real. That's not real. I mean, it is maybe, but it's it's definitely made for TV. So I didn't necessarily want to be a real estate agent. I wanted to work in a certain type of place. And so I had worked with Dan and Rachel, in my previous career, they were clients of the firm that I worked with, and I had immediately struck a great relationship with them both professionally and personally. And we kept in touch lightly when I was in DC, and of course, you know, followed on social media, Rachel success, and when I had decided it was time for us to come home. I did. I had that conversation of what do I want to do with my life? And there were a couple of things that were really important to me. I had been working at a company in DC that I culture was essential. I mean, one of the most amazing work cultures I've ever worked in, I learned so much. And that was really important to me. I wanted to also do something where I could create my own destiny, I could work as hard as I wanted and earn the income and living that I wanted to based off of how I worked, right. So anyway, I called Rachel with my two month old in my arm, and said, Rach, I think I'm gonna move back to Raleigh, do you think I have what it takes to be a real estate agent? And she kind of laughed? Because she knew the answer was yes. But she's, you know, she's like, I'm gonna play game. Right? And she asked me what I wanted to make a year. And yeah, and I'm not even going to say the number because when I said it to her, she's like, you could make that part time. Yeah, come on, right. And it was just very much a really cool opportunity to work with great people that I knew would teach me everything I needed to learn about real estate. In an environment where I knew how to be a professional. I just needed to learn the material. Yeah.
Mahala Landin:So you've you just celebrated eight years
Jessie Hrivnak:I did with the team. I know I unbelievable.
Mahala Landin:It's like a blink of an eye. It is the time go. Yeah. But think back, you know, and this is something I think is is fun to talk about. Because we all get into something with a fear with a risk. I mean, there's a lot of risk. When you're first starting off in real estate there is remind yourself about what that felt like.
Jessie Hrivnak:So I'd moved back into the home that I owned before I moved to DC. I had a four month old baby, no income starting off, right. 100. And, you know, it's like when you know, you can do something, but you haven't done it yet. There sometimes there's a little self doubt, right. And I had to talk myself out of that. Right, I had to remember that I had this leadership team, right? That was believing in me. So that was the belief that I had in myself, but it was terrifying. Right? It was really learning how to do something completely new. presenting myself, let's face it, right? Nobody wants to work with a new agent, right? Nobody wants, it's, it's scary, right? And you have to present yourself in a way that exudes confidence. And I had all the support behind me so that if I didn't know something, I could find the answer. But I needed to make sure that my clients felt secure and confident in what I was doing. And so, you know, I just kind of dove in. I always say this, I dive into the pool headfirst with no water, and I just fixed the head later. Get stitches later. That's what I did, you know? But it was definitely scary.
Mahala Landin:Yeah. When did it when did it click into something that you actually it's kind of the same thing? When did you fall in love with Raleigh? When did you fall in love with real estate?
Jessie Hrivnak:When you this is gonna sound like a cliche answer. And it's cliche. And it's also true. Home is so important. People don't think about the importance of home because it's somewhere they go in and out of every single day. But it really makes an impact on who you are your mood, your happiness, your comfort level. And to be able to be a part of that for family is for people who didn't think that they could do it. And you made that homeownership dream come true for people who didn't know that they could do it like they did. They knew they financially they were secure, right, but they needed your guidance on where to go. Just seeing the impact that you can have on people simply by, you know, when I describe what a real estate agent is, yeah, we find homes, we negotiate. We do contractual paperwork, we advise. We are cheerleaders, we are therapists, we are coaches, we are friends, when you can take that role and really be different than the norm. That's when it clicked.
Mahala Landin:Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, it's so interesting to see those relationships form, you know, and have remained for years. I mean, when you have a client, I see it on your Facebook. Yeah. And you have a client, like, reach out and they're like, Oh, my God, you were a new agent. I didn't even realize that like, I was one of your girl. Yeah.
Jessie Hrivnak:I was just texting with that client, because they're coming to our Derby party. And they're actually, you know, they're thinking about moving and I was like, I had no idea and it was good, right. You shouldn't have felt that but because of that, right team, yeah, I had the right tools and I had the right support, right. And that's where it's okay to work with a new agent who's got the structure around them because it That's what it takes it is to have the team behind. So, yeah, keeping the relationships are the it's fun.
Mahala Landin:Yeah. So you know, and this is something I think, whenever you're starting a new career, and you did you started a new career and in a new phase of your life, there's, there's just that moment where you're like, Oh, my God, I don't really know if I made the right decision. You know, I don't I don't know if this is really gonna work out for me has Has there ever been a moment where there was just like, you know, I just don't know if I can keep doing I mean, they call it burnout? Yeah. I mean, we've all been there, right. I mean, we've been there with our kids. We've been there with a lot of things. But you know, hazard. What was different? What was Was there ever that moment where you're like, ah, you know, so
Jessie Hrivnak:when I hear the word burnout, the flame has gone out. Yeah. It's done. The oxygen is gone, and the fire can't be led. And then I think there is some dimming, right? That happens in any career, right? Because we are, at least I am, right. Like, I'm a creative being, I like constant change. And, you know, a lot of times you have to have tough conversations with people who are going through a really stressful time, and it can take a lot of your energy, right? I don't ever remember feeling burnt out. My oxygen has never left the flame. And I remember so many people saying to me, you're really happy, like how how like real estate's going really well for you. And my comment is, I don't know why I did anything else. Right. There. Are there parts of it that dim a little bit, right, that can get you down? Absolutely. And you are going to find that in any single job that you do. Because that's life. Yeah. I've never felt burnout. Yeah, yeah, that that burnout is it's time to go.
Mahala Landin:Yeah, well, and that that's not a place that we want to live. Um, speaking of where we live. So this team, yeah, this Rachel Kendall team at you started and there were four. Yeah, four buyer's agents. Yeah, you weren't like number four or five. I
Jessie Hrivnak:was number four or five. And I will never forget, you know, and I walked into the office, and it was, here's your desk, here's your login. Right? The support was always there if I needed it, right. But it was really like, go do create, build. Good luck. Call me if you need me. Right. And to be able to sit across and have this conversation with you, because you came, you know, just shortly after me, we should talk about storage. I will never forget that phone call conversation to see what has been built by not only Dan and Rachel. But by the Mahalos and the Jessie's Rebecca's jeans is just so flippin Cool it,
Mahala Landin:I wanted to get there in this conversation, because I think that's a huge misconception about this team is that, you know, Dan, and Rachel's leadership was everything. Yeah, it allowed us to be great leaders, their leadership was go be leaders, right? And I just remember it because yes, three, so you know, I watched you our mutual affliction, affinity, whatever you want to call it is project.
Jessie Hrivnak:Let's just talk about it. It's going to come up at some point, it's probably right, Pearl Jam.
Mahala Landin:So both Pearl Jam junkies and, you know, always the commonality and conversation. And I remember when he moved back from DC, you know, I was in that transitional space of my life. And I saw that you joined Rachel's team, and I, you know, was I needed a change in my career. And so I called Justin, I'm like, Hey, so how's real estate work now?
Jessie Hrivnak:And it must have been like, I don't know, like a month after I started only a month and I was pacing in my kitchen was Sylvian my arms. I'm like, it's like I would say to anybody out because I'm like, I don't know why she's calling right. There's no Pearl Jam tour coming up. So we're not scheduling anything. I mean, we were friends. Yeah. You know, like, I was like, I mean, just you want to buy housing, real estate's great real estate.
Mahala Landin:Totally sold. It. Totally sold it. But um, you know, I, I asked for the interview, and, you know, yeah, I'm gonna put that up there. You know, like, I don't even know how many weeks it went by, I think, like two or three weeks went by before I heard anything. But yeah, I mean, you you definitely took a lot of the things that Rachel teaches us from the beginning. And you're right, it gets attention. Yeah. Right. And I got my attention. I
Jessie Hrivnak:think I think there was a shift right in for a long time. Maybe not a long time. Right. But there was this idea that I think that they had that they wanted agents that had some experience. Yes. Right. And I know that my invitation to the team was because Rachel had had the opportunity to work with me professionally, right. It wasn't not just she knew me. She knew my professional skill. And so when you had called I was like, I don't know that they take newbie agents. Yeah. Right. And but I said, You've got to talk to like, just talk to me. Holla. Right. And when they started to make that decision with you with me and saying, you know, when we can find people that are really great professionals, right, the rest is just subject matter. Yeah,
Mahala Landin:absolutely. Right. And that's, that's the whole fun of this environment that we're in is that it's innovative. And I remember sitting there in that conversation, thinking I will not be successful in real estate if I do not have this team. Yeah. Because I knew I had already been at another market center, that it just felt so foreign from what I was used to is like what you were talking about in your firm in DC. Yeah. And the culture. Yeah. And just the the clear mission and vision. That's what I was used to. So I needed to have that type of not just support not just training in real estate, but I needed to have that Northstar, where am I going where am I going Guiding Light of this is how we're going to do business together. Yeah. And I got that from the beginning. And I think that's cool. But so obviously, we were given so much autonomy to do our own thing, right. And
Jessie Hrivnak:as a blessing and a curse, last name type, right
Mahala Landin:blessing and a curse. And one of the things that I remember was our, you know, our boot camp trip that we took to go did you
Jessie Hrivnak:guys know that there is no Fallon, Missouri and an O'Fallon?
Mahala Landin:No, it's St. Louis St. Louis St. Louis, there's is there's
Jessie Hrivnak:two, I don't know, but we went to the
Mahala Landin:Missouri and in St. Louis. The other place
Jessie Hrivnak:was O'Fallon, either while he went to the wrong one, and they left
Mahala Landin:me in charge of driving and I was like, clearly you guys don't know me. Yeah, cuz I drove the wrong direction. Yeah. But yeah, that was that that was such a, like a game changer. Because one of the things that I just was not that aware of was the national presence that this team had. Yeah, right. It's so much more than just a North Carolina, you know, company. We we were being surrounded by top teams in the nation. Yeah. When we went out to that boot camp, and I mean, I was intimidated, like,
Jessie Hrivnak:I was, Do I, the hat, the hat. Okay, so at these conferences, you can't say try. Now I am the first person to like, raise my hand and talk and all these things. And then when I get embarrassed, I like I almost want to cry. embarrassment to me is my worst fear. It's the worst feeling I want to die. And if you say the word try, the coach that was running this boot camp, who was terrifying,
Mahala Landin:terrifying, on purpose, on purpose, right
Jessie Hrivnak:made me wear this nasty, sweaty hat that had been passed around to everybody else who tried and I sunk in my chair. So fast. And but what's funny is, do we say try on this day? No, do we say hopefully, no, we say any of those words, we manifest real estate lives,
Mahala Landin:right? It's it's all positive energy. And I think, you know, I, I remember, one of my first huddle calls that Rachel would run and you know, I'm literally hearing it. I'm like, is she talking about me? Like, is she talking about me? Like, did I do something wrong? And it's such a mind game, you know, but gosh, that what you learn in terms of how you perform here within this team, and then getting that into your real life? Yeah, is transformational. That's the culture though.
Jessie Hrivnak:Everybody on that call? Should be thinking that they're talking about is talking to you. Yeah. And if you're not, you're gonna fall behind. Yeah. And half the time. Shana, who's talking to everybody? Right? She's just making a point. I mean, I say that in jest, right. But there's not a specific person. Because if there was a specific person, she would say, hey, Jessie, go do this. Right. It is an observation of an area for growth for the whole team. And she wants those people, we all want those people to say, Should I be doing that? Yeah. Because if you don't have the internal question, then you're gonna flatline since that you're gonna burn out.
Mahala Landin:Yeah, that's true. The camaraderie and the collaboration on this team has always been the other component that I think is really hard to replicate anywhere else. And that was probably my favorite part of coming of age with you. Right in real estate was just all the goofy stuff that we used to do.
Jessie Hrivnak:Why not? Why not? You know, I still we still do it. Right? This selfie. Do you remember the end that was lost at a Pearl Jam concert? Just to be clear. Yeah. So you know, real estate is serious. Yes, people are spending a large amount of money on one of the most important purchases that they'll ever have. It's serious. That does not mean you cannot have fun doing it right? And one of my biggest goals in my social media presence really is showing who I am and who we are. Right? I want people to know that we're fun, you know, like the pic your project. So can we tell the story? Okay, so we decided that we would with our clients do a monthly pick your project. This is when Pinterest was like real hot. Yeah, I'll go ahead and say right now I don't read directions on anything. IKEA is not my friend, I will get like two words passed the instructions. And I throw it out and I just figure it out. And then I have you know, eight pieces left. The furniture doesn't fall apart anyway. So we do this like poll on pick your project for Father's Day.
Mahala Landin:What like what what are the other options? I don't remember it was the cooler and then it was something that was way easier way easier was like a bottle opener
Jessie Hrivnak:magnet or something? Like could you guys have picked a picture frame with a magnet? No. So you pick the cooler? And it was this wood built cooler that you will you put you
Mahala Landin:put a cooler and then you build design around it.
Jessie Hrivnak:And you thought we could do this
Mahala Landin:to call my dad.
Jessie Hrivnak:I mean, like two by fours. And I mean, I don't even I don't even know why we thought we could build anything. I don't either. But we did. And it was a lot of fun. It was so much fun. I mean, we had those hard hats on and hammers and flip flops. Like I don't know how we can break a toe. But stuff like that. Right? Like it's
Mahala Landin:just that was the best. And I think it's been a lot of fun to be able to take some of those small, you know, creative ideas that we had, and then be able to start doing them for the team. Yeah. And you know, now we do things like that every quarter every month, every you know, every every past client gets a little bit of that with us. Yeah. Which I think is really cool.
Jessie Hrivnak:I shared this with you the other day, but I was listening to I can't remember who it was and it was on Instagram and somebody was talking about what are the attributes that people choose when they choose to work with you. All right, and it was trust likability, maybe reputation a couple of other things right? And most people thought that the answer would be trust. The answer was likability. Because likability is what leads to all of these other things, and all these different projects and fun things are, what is putting ourselves out to the world of our clients and our prospective clients in our community saying, Do you like us? Yeah, right. If you do, then you'll want to work with us. Right? Like, yeah, I can sell a house. You know that? Yeah.
Mahala Landin:Well, I'm laughing because I'm remembering like, my first frustration of doing open houses. And then you're like, Well, you they actually have to like you, mahalo. And I'm like, oh, like, I actually have to be
Jessie Hrivnak:like, That was that was a fun.
Mahala Landin:That was a fun conversation. But you know what, you need to have somebody in your corner you need to have, you know, I feel bad for anybody that's in a career, that's as stressful as ours, because it can be it is, right. I mean, like you said, we're managing people's emotions and stress. And if you don't have somebody in your corner that you can have those conversations with, that's gonna feel them to like
Jessie Hrivnak:you. compliment their shirt. Right?
Mahala Landin:Right. Like that's important it is because and, again, if you stay in sales long enough, you do start to really own that sales mentality and so many other areas of your life. But that is something that some people have to learn. I had to learn how to do that. And that reminder of like, they, I'm like, Oh, I have to care. Yeah, yes, I do. I love it now. Like, I can't imagine my life, they have
Jessie Hrivnak:to feel that you were and that's where the difference is because you always cared. Right? And it's it's how do I get the client
Mahala Landin:out? Trouble it it's to be put yourself out there to say, Hey, do you like me? Like, that's uncomfortable? I don't know. It is for me, right?
Jessie Hrivnak:Yeah. I mean, for some people, it totally is. So how do you create those behaviors? I mean, the the the coaching that I give any professional is you hear me say this word around the office all the time. It's curiosity. Yeah. If you are not asking questions about people that you are working with, you are never going to connect with them write people love to share about themselves and they love to know that the person that they're working with cares enough to ask Yeah, so get curious. Right right about and it can be anything Yeah, just well, you them you brought
Mahala Landin:up a good point. So we started this mentorship program and that was that was spearheaded by Rach too because she would ask us to help with onboarding of new agents and you know, we kind of trial and error
Jessie Hrivnak:that was you and I that took it to rage. We were like they keep coming to us with questions. Oh, that's right. Oh, we want to Yeah, idea was our idea. Like they keep coming to our desk with questions. We want to help them but in also like I'm structuring, do I need a time to to focus on that where we're still taking care of these new agents, but we're taking care of our bit business at the same time. Yeah. So, yeah, that was ours.
Mahala Landin:Yeah. Right. Well, and it's continued to evolve, yeah, in the past eight years and how we do that. And I think every year, our systems and our processes get more refined. And it's, it's so much easier to just plug in and just get to work with the new agent. But I love the mentorship program now that we have and what you and three other mentors are doing on the team with how we're, you know, not making accountability or mentorship, a one size fits all right situation, because we're not, we all have different strengths and weaknesses. And like you said, this team is about taking great talent, and helping them develop the skills to be a professional in real estate faculty. So I've loved watching the mentorship, what's been one of your favorite things about it? I love
Jessie Hrivnak:how different all the mentors are in terms of what their top skill is, if you will, right, we all have, obviously, to become a mentor, right? You've got to be able to achieve your goals and have proven yourself as a real estate professional. But it's not just that, right? It's how do you connect with other people? What are some of the scripts that you say, and I love being able to watch the mentors rotate right from or excuse me, the mentees rotate from one mentor to another and they're gonna get different pieces from each one, right? If you're going to come and sit down with me and think that you're gonna get good mentorship on compliance and procedures, right? Can I do it? Yeah. Do I want to teach somebody how to do it? No, that's not that's not what sparks me, right? I really want you to do. But if you want to sit down and get coached on how to talk and connect to people, I that's where I light up, right? And so I love being able to see, not only are the mentees getting something out of it, but the mentors are able to showcase what they're passionate about. And to teach somebody something and see that come to fruition is
Mahala Landin:that's the that's the piece. Remember, for me about this team, when I said I don't think I would have stayed in real estate as long as I have if I didn't have an environment like this. Because if I can't professionally grow, yes, I want to, you know, achieve more, you know, more in life, right? Or my goals are higher, or however you want to say it, I want to grow up. But I also want to grow out. Yeah, you know, and I want that professional development. I think that's the side of mentorship that we get to challenge each other on is how can we be a better mentor? Right? And what do we as individuals need to do in order to provide that mentorship? Because it's, it's not a one way street? And there's no ego? No, and there shouldn't be right. And that's the thing. I don't know if I really like capitalized on what I said, when I when I said that. There's a mentality that the team leader of a team is the person that's providing everything to everyone. It's not the case here. And it never has been Rachel has always allowed for us to, you know, step into those roles, so that we can be a more holistic team,
Jessie Hrivnak:Rachel was smart enough to know that she didn't she wasn't going to be a great coach about every, like, Rachel shouldn't be coaching about compliance. Right? Like it, she realized that to be to have longevity. Yeah, you have to have a succession plan. You have to surround yourself with people who none of us can do it. All right, and to surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps of what you're not necessarily passionate about is important. Yeah. Real Estate, in my opinion, can be a very complacent. Yeah, industry, right? Because you're helping people buy and sell homes. On the surface on this, alright, I'm not talking about The Rachel Kendall Team, I'm talking about real estate great. And coming full circle to your burnout question. To me, the biggest way to get burned out is boredom. And if I'm doing the same thing over and over and over again, I'm gonna get bored, right? So to put yourself in an environment where I'm going to continue to help people buy and sell homes, I love doing that. But I get to continue loving doing that because I get to feed the other pieces of my passions, through mentorship, through podcasts, through events through all of these different areas, that it keeps the home buying and selling fresh and exciting.
Mahala Landin:It does. So okay, we've talked a lot about real estate and I think it it makes a difference because of where you want to go. Right? Like where where do you want to go with what you're able to achieve here? And you know, some of the things that I've watched you insert yourself into more within the community, like what do you hope to get in the next, you know, Chapter of relaxed
Jessie Hrivnak:chapter of real estate so I want to attract clients who really want an agent of knowledge, right, not just about homebuyers. I but about the community, I want people to seek me out because of my love for the community and Raleigh in general. Right. I think it is so important as an agent, to not only be knowledgeable about the industry itself, but about where you live. And if I'm not connected to the community, I can't really know about it. Yeah. Right. So I want to be inserting myself more into the community of whether it's events or mentorship programs outside of the team, how can I grow within Raleigh itself, so that people not only feel secure with my real estate capabilities, but with my knowledge of what I'm sharing with them about the area? And then, you know, come back to that coaching piece and that mentorship piece? I love getting people outside of their shell, you know, you see I was terrified eight years ago. Maybe nobody saw it right on rage, thought, culture and tears. And, and to have somebody say, I believe in you. And let me tell you what I see that you don't see, because you can't see past your fear, right. That to me is what drives me every day is where I see a mentee getting frustrated. And I say, let me give you a different perspective and their eyes open up. Right? It's talking to kind of share an experience with a conversation mentor program. So I was talking to a mentee about one of their clients who was just having a hard time figuring out what they wanted. Right? And I drew the correlation to have you ever looked at one of your daughters and said, What do you want for dinner? And they tell you something, and you're like, No? Okay,
Mahala Landin:why did I even ask the question? Why did I even
Jessie Hrivnak:ask the question? You gave them carte blanche, right? Instead of saying, Do you want a for dinner? Or do you want B for dinner? Right? Our job is to lead people to make decisions that allow them to feel comfortable and confident to my favorite words that roll around this office. And to help coach other agents to work with clients to do that is really, it's pretty magical. Yeah. Right. It's not about taking control. It's about guiding it's about advising,
Mahala Landin:right, and letting them and letting them develop their own style within the same framework that you know will be successful. Yeah. Because it's really not telling anybody what to do. It's really guiding people to help them learn how to think
Jessie Hrivnak:and yeah, and when you when you guide somebody to make that decision. And they remember the feeling that they got when they Oh my gosh, I can do this because you gave me the the the the framework of what I need to do to accomplish it. Yeah, you're creating clients for life.
Mahala Landin:Totally, totally agree. Um, what have we not talked about?
Jessie Hrivnak:Pearl Jam. You know, what can we can we do this like little cross interview here? Sure. I want to talk because you more or less grew up in Raleigh.
Mahala Landin:Raleigh. Yeah. moved to 84. I was too.
Jessie Hrivnak:Let's do like a little favorites. Okay, right. Like what do we what do we love about what are your favorite things about Raleigh? What's your favorite restaurant in Raleigh?
Mahala Landin:Oh, my favorite restaurant in Raleigh is Julie. I absolutely love the intimacy of it. Like I love that. It's not a big place. I love that you actually have to plan ahead to go you have to have a reservation. Like there's not even a place to sit down when you walk in. It's like your tables not ready to go next door. Yeah, I love the one the food is amazing, too. But I love French cuisine.
Jessie Hrivnak:Steak feet.
Mahala Landin:I love anything that makes me feel like I've you know, gone somewhere else. Right. And that is an experience that I feel actually
Jessie Hrivnak:that is something that Raleigh has done such a phenomenal job with in terms of the food scene, right? Yep. What you described to me wasn't necessarily it wasn't just about the food. It's about the foods the experience. Yes. Right when you're going out to eat that look, I can go make a steak with french fries at my house right now. I can't do it like Scott Crawford and his team does, but it also and they are for the experience. Yes. Right. And I think Raleigh has done a really great job.
Mahala Landin:I mean, do you remember that dinner at vidrio where I ordered every thing that they did not have on the menu
Jessie Hrivnak:and they literally went for you like they came
Mahala Landin:they brought they made me a spicy Margarita. Miller Lite. I ordered food off the menu but tea I love
Jessie Hrivnak:that you can go from a spicy Margarita to a miller lite and one meal.
Mahala Landin:But I you know that video actually is a great partner of ours. We do events there a lot but even prior to that, that experience of you know, going above and beyond Yes, I will go back there and I will you know anytime anybody asks me for a recommendation that's always on my list because As the service and the experience, I mean, hands down one of the best.
Jessie Hrivnak:I totally wasn't planning to lead us here. But I think it's a great segue of that is also what makes this team so special. Right? Hundreds everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who has a real estate license, I
Mahala Landin:was actually my biggest fear because I did grew up in this area. I know a ton of real estate agent, right? I was a Pilates instructor, I had clients that were agents. And you know, it, it was very daunting for me to think like, how could I compete? Because it's a weird industry where you're like your colleagues and your competition,
Jessie Hrivnak:and here's the reality, you're not going to compete by finding the home first, like, like, the internet is going to find the home. Yeah. Okay. It's likely it's the experience that you are going to create for your client and the are massively important decision. Yeah, just like when you're going out to eat you want a certain experience? Yeah.
Mahala Landin:But, you know, the other side of, you know, the restaurants and all of that is, I think, every community so I know we talk a lot about Raleigh. You know, I love you know, going to carry I love them all together. I know I shouldn't. It's hard, but like growing up and carry like I love, you know, going to bond brothers and pizza fussily. And just like I there's there's an experience in every little community. I have not been and I really want to go, and I'm gonna mess it up. But it's it's out in Franklinton. It's like owls brewery. Oh, I don't know. It's kind of like when we stumbled over a yacht rock. And not yet, right? Yeah, yeah. It was at the Yacht Club. And yes,
Jessie Hrivnak:for what a great little bar. It wasn't Lewisburg, it was Youngsville, where we we were going to a wedding. And we were early. And we said, Let's go grab a drink. And we're looking around. We're like, where are we? And we just see, like people sitting outside we wrote dinner, and what a great little things that
Mahala Landin:I loved. And that's been my favorite thing about real estate. And I miss that part of it sometimes, of driving through, you know, places that you would never go to lay it out of your can you get out of your community and you realize like, oh my god, the Triangle has so much like I'm dying to go to the Crawford chicken place out and claim. Yeah, I can't remember what the name of that is. That was offered something. Oh, I think Crawford and CO maybe anyway, but that I want like, I could think I can make a day trip to every single one of our suburbs.
Jessie Hrivnak:I know. I'm sitting here planning our weekends for the summer of the different places. We're gonna go. Yeah, I love that. What is your favorite outdoor experience in the Triangle? Not concerts. I'm gonna get there later in terms of where you see live music. Oh, wow. That was where it was gonna. And that's why it's so cute. Like, we're if you're like, I want to get some fresh air, some outdoors. Where are you going?
Mahala Landin:I'm a greenway person. So I've always and anywhere I've lived. I've always loved having Greenway access. And I think the Greenway system that we have in the triangle is hands down the best and actually did you know that was a carry addition? I did. It was a big carry initiative. And growing up, I grew up in Scottish hills in Cary. And we were right on the anti Jones Park Greenway system. And as a kid, I would just get on my bike and I would just go and just explore and so to this day, like if I'm looking for that Zen moment, yeah, I'm gonna put some running shoes on and I'm gonna hit a greenway and sometimes I know where I'm going. And sometimes I'm like, I should totally turn around. You'll make it back. But um, I love the Shelly Lake Trail. And I love just I think I did the one over off of Honeycutt the other day for the first time had never done that one before.
Jessie Hrivnak:There's so many great little pockets of outdoor areas. One of our friends Vicki did, who put it together but she did a full moon paddleboard trip, right, like just look for things that are out doors. There's so much going on. Okay, favorite place is a concert. Coco booth. Yeah, I'm there with you.
Mahala Landin:I mean, it's just the trees and the lighting. That's very intimate. It's so intimate. And I did the Chinese lantern festival there this past year. And that was outstanding for the kids and but I just love Coco booth. I remember the first concert I saw there was Ben Harper and Jack Johnson. And it was just like, oh my god, this place is amazing. Yeah, it's just it's just the mood and I don't think there's a better and they do so many great event they do. They do and in fact, we were going to be doing a giveaway for the Rachael Kendall team for a beer bourbon and barbecue so stay tuned.
Jessie Hrivnak:See I didn't even mean to plug that either. Favorite local shop it doesn't like it could be clothing it could be plants. It could be anything but it has to be specifically local to Raleigh. Don't you love how it just yeah, this over? I
Mahala Landin:mean, I feel like I have to say it because I spend so much money there is Solah oh my god, you know, I mean, I absolutely love the staff. They know me by name. You know and it's it's it's special, right? Like I live in that gray stone area. So it's easy for me to frequent it. But there are days where I'd like crave it. And I'm just like, I have to go there. It's not even about the coffee. No, I love that. I love the experience. I love the cheers mentality where everybody knows your name. And yeah, they're just, they're just super personal.
Jessie Hrivnak:They I love that you said that. So recently, as you know, and as many of us know, sola last, Genie, who is one of the CO owners and I grew up in that area. I live in that area. And Greystone shopping center was a dying shopping center. Yeah. And they took I mean, like, I'm about to tear up, because they're just like, they're just when you think about the people of Raleigh, right, and the power that you have to bring a community together. That's what they did. Right? They took an empty building, they had a vision for not a coffee shop, they had a vision for a gathering place for community, and they just happen to serve coffee. Right? And I don't know, did you read the story that the two roosters owner shared about them, and how they basically helped him start his business that's now also in Greystone and brought so much life to that shopping center, that when you see businesses start up, and you think about the intention behind it's not just a business, right, it's about how am I going to bring something different to the community that I live in? That is what sola does, and that is what makes Raleigh and surrounding areas such as special places, there are so many of them.
Mahala Landin:Yeah, no, I, I completely agree. And the community aspect is, as I've gotten deeper into my real estate career is so incredibly important is that sense of community. And that was what we used to have so much fun doing with our mutual past client. Yeah, was, you know, introducing them to each other and kind of creating that community and I'm excited about no more COVID Well, it still exists, but you know what I mean? Like, the mob is down, no more locked down, the ability to go out there and actually put things together to bring people together. That is truly what I'm the most passionate about, as I think about where the Rachael Kendall team is going. Yeah. And that's that collaboration again, how
Jessie Hrivnak:do we become a part of our clients lives? Yeah, we make the comment of we do everything moving. And you know, it's funny, but also, you know, like, I was sending Rachel a picture today of the new puppy that I'm going to be getting and I shared with her I'm like, and one of my clients just got a new Westie, same breeder, right, like, and it's, it's silly, and it's simple. But to know that because of my presence in their life, I got them connected to it, you know, like it, whatever it is, it's the connections that we make with our clients is what brings our team community together and what I feel we really help enhance in the area, the
Mahala Landin:passion and the purpose, I'm telling you. I mean, we could do this all day, we could do this all day. It's amazing that we're friends, Pearl
Jessie Hrivnak:Jam is on tour for 2022. It's back on.
Mahala Landin:We're heading to Toronto, we're headed to Toronto, I
Jessie Hrivnak:am taking my holla to my hometown. I am so excited to share it with you and show you where I grew up. Number two. Number two, yeah, we could do this all day.
Mahala Landin:Well just wrap us up. What what do we what do we need to I always ask people like, what's the one thing that is in your head right now in terms of how you're living what you're thinking about. We're not necessarily Words To Live By. But it's just that thing that's resonating with you. Yeah. And that one moment,
Jessie Hrivnak:I I've said these two words, a couple of times, they go really well together. And it is about curiosity and connection. To me, I want to live a life where I don't just meet people, but I connect with them. And it doesn't mean I need to be in touch with them for the rest of my life. It means that I needed to make a difference to them that something that they remember there's a connection. And I do that by by being curious. And so if there's one thing I can leave everybody with is how can you incorporate just being curious about what you don't see in another human being? And how can you learn about them? And how can you forge a connection that just trickles on and will impact probably more than you know?
Mahala Landin:Yeah, yeah, it's that impact thing it we are so lucky to be able to impact lives every day.
Jessie Hrivnak:So if I meet you, and I asked you a lot of questions, it's because I'm genuinely I want to know, I want to know. Warning. I talk a lot.
Mahala Landin:We got to do this again. Can't wait for all the fun adventures.
Jessie Hrivnak:It was it was fun to revisit the story of how I got here how you got here and just to remember how far this team has come and let me tell you
Mahala Landin:Thanks, everybody for tuning in. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Making Moves. We want to deliver the highlights of the Triangle that you want to hear. Let us know your feedback, comment on our social media, like and of course subscribe to continue and discover why we love where we live. Until next time with Making Moves hosted by The Rachel Kendall Team.