Transcript
Returning From Hiatus and Podcast Updates
00:00:00 Jeff Sarris
I should probably be recording this.
You talking to me?
Talking to my cords, man.
Okay.
Welcome back to the podcast. Oh, I don't even know what my feet look like.
No, they look good, I think.
It's a good foot, it's a great foot.
I mean, I did buy it, didn't I?
You did, you bought the whole cow.
Okay, should we start?
Should we start like this?
So you want me to be back there? Okay.
I don't even know how these buttons work anymore, it's been so long.
Welcome back to What Is MAVEN, the show where I'm showing you the bottom of my foot. We need to figure out a tagline. And I'm Amara Andrew.
And welcome back to the show. It has been a hot minute and we are falling apart, and I know I'm going to regret putting my foot up there. It's going to end up on like, I almost said Persian Foot Finder.
I moved you back, but I didn't mean move you that far back.
Yeah, he was like, "you should be a little further away." So I was like, "I'll do one better." Little sassy today.
Well, welcome back to… So I was trying to remember, what episode number is this? Is this 11?
But yeah, probably 11-ish.
Which, shit, it was 90… Can you touch my microphone? But yeah, I was thinking it's 11.
It has been quite a minute. It's actually, I calculated it today from… How long is our intro music?
Anyone listening, and not watching, she was just about to whack me with the microphone, just like a kitty.
You can't prove it.
So anyway, as I was saying, it has been a hot minute since we've recorded last. Well, technically, we did try to record on the way to one of our top bananas, which we'll tell you about who that is in a sec.
We tried recording one of our podcast episodes to come back, but I was driving, so I wasn't really paying attention, so ended up not being great, which is totally fine. One for the archives, two for me. Bird in the bush.
But anyway, I calculated this morning because I was like, "how long has it been since we actually put out an episode?" Which this one might not even go out either.
No, it's definitely going out. We have no choice. So whatever I say…
We are recording, right? Okay, good.
I mean, we do have a choice, I do have to say that.
No, we don't. Nothing's a choice, everything's fate.
Ooh, we should talk about fate today.
Who is pulling our puppet strings?
Master of puppets, which you still think about Metallica also. But as I've been trying to say for the past six minutes, I calculated how long it's been since our last episode. Shut up.
It's been… Well, now it's different. It's been one week…
It's been 195,840 minutes since our last episode.
But who's counting? I guess 195,841 now, or 45. Anyway, it's a lot.
Right? Do you know how many days that is?
40… Wait, no, not 46 days. 136 days, because it was 4 months and 16 days, because today's the 30th.
Yeah, so four months. So when was that? When was the last episode?
That was July, August?
August, because we were visiting my dad, so we recorded on the beach.
Yep. What have you been up to?
It's been a little bit… What have I been up to? What have I been up to?
What am I? What am I? It's good to see you again.
I haven't seen you in so long.
I know, oh my god, you look great!
Now we're back in the house, doing a different angle.
What have I been up to? I've been traveling a lot with my best friend.
Who the fuck is that? I have to know.
My best friend has a new mode of transportation.
My best friend is blonder than she once was.
A she? Hold the fuck up! I'm just teasing, you can be best friends with whoever you want.
You know it's you, you ding-dong.
Oh my god, it's me! Yeah.
Well right now we're recording a podcast. But yeah, we have been very busy. Just super quick update, but then we're going to get into…
Oh, today I want to talk about…
I'm almost out of frame here, I'm just like, "whee!"
I'm like, "I'm taking over." Me and Smark and Labbit.
Let me all scootch over here. Yeah, Smark and Labbit right here.
But I… Well, okay, first. Jesus.
I wanted…
I just realized I'm so far out of frame, I need to be.
Oh, sorry, is this better?
No, you're good. You're good where you are.
Damn right I am. You know this thing we talked about called personal space? I'm just teasing.
But I wanted to talk about… So since it's the end of the year, and this is coming out literally today or tomorrow, so the very end of 2023, I wanted to talk about like New Year's resolutions, not like in a dumb way like everybody does, but just actually… I've seen a lot of people talking about, and like we've talked a lot to a lot of people about wanting to start their social media next year or like really ramp it up, which is awesome.
But so many people start, which I have 100% done this, which is why I want to talk about it, but they start and then they can't keep up with it for a myriad different reasons.
This episode, this podcast hasn't come out in over a thousand minutes.
Exactly, yes. 195,852 minutes. Quick math.
So, just holding ourselves accountable. But I want to talk about that as like the main thing and like what you can actually do, because a lot of people talk about the theory of it and like what you should be doing, but not how are you, like how can you do it, which is something we've been talking about, which we have something for the New Year, too, spoiler alert, that we're very excited about.
Are we talking about it on here?
Maybe. That's up to you. So fuck, where was I going?
Duh. I have to burp. Keep talking.
Excuse me. You're supposed to be talking.
I should have turned your mic up, I don't think I heard that.
I think our listeners did. Excuse me, that was gross. But yeah, so that's what I really want to talk about today.
But before we get to that, what was I going to talk about? Oh yeah, what you been up to?
You're leading the witness! This is why we stopped recording!
No, I mean, are we talking MAVEN? Because we've been…
Networking at Real Estate Conferences
Yeah, just everything, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.
We've been on the road with the Top Bananas, because now we've re- I don't want to say repackaged. We might have talked about… No, it wasn't, cause definitely last episode we did not call the people who were in MAVEN…
We hadn't even gone to Dallas yet.
Yeah, we hadn't even met all the people who we consider like really tight with right now. So…
I would die for these people.
So we've we've done so much. But going to Dallas, Dallas was Tom Ferry's Summit. We met a ton of amazing real estate agents.
And genuinely amazing people. Like people that we bonded with immediately, and like that is not easy to do, so…
Yeah, not for us. Like we…
So, and I would say, like this doesn't sound bad, but we have high standards. You know?
So, I feel like it was Tom Segura or some comedian who was just like, "Most people suck." Like it was just like a thing. But yeah, like it's hard to connect with people. Like that's why we when we met, we like immediately connected.
Sure. What did I say about personal space? Thank you.
No, but we immediately connected because we hadn't felt, at least for me, I'm I don't want to speak on your behalf because this is our show even though I know we're on the same page. But, I hadn't met anyone who would reflect back the empathy and the actual genuine like caring and interest in me that I would in others. So when we found each other…
So sorry, I let you yawn.
But when we found each other, that was amazing. So that changed everything. And…
Oh yeah, like you could actually hold a conversation, whereas other people just can't. So it's like totally different.
And with friends and with like acquaintances and things, not that we need to have that level of connection…
Yeah, that would be a lot. Just falling in love with everyone. Be like, going a little too hard.
But to have some of it, because it's so hard to meet people who also take an interest.
It's okay. Yeah, I know. Because like we always tell people, don't sit like this because you're going to have a double chin.
I know, now I'm just I'm doing it. What are you doing?
You do not have a double chin.
I see you when you're sleeping. Anyway, so what have you been up to?
But we met some amazing people.
And we've done MAVEN VIP experiences now, which is…
Yeah, do you want to describe what that is?
Oh my god, it's really fun. Basically, we have a select amount of slots that… So, we bring our slots to the studio.
But we have a select amount of slots on a specific day. What we do is we have a private car with a driver, and it's like a really nice car, which is so much fun for me. So, we have the driver, we pick up the person at the like conference center or like hotel, wherever the conference is happening.
Yeah, we schedule these around a conference, around an event where people are already gathering.
Yes, so we have like hour slots that people can book. And then like 30-minute transit times, but you don't need to know that. Hour slots, and then we actually have a studio space also that's like all set up, ready to go.
We have all of our equipment. So we literally travel one backpack each and we bring all of our equipment and all of our stuff. I've been so worried sometimes where like I pull out a tripod and like one of my thongs is going to be attached to it, and be like, "Hi!"
She doesn't pack that way. She just likes to…
I do pack that way! My clothing is packed around my stuff.
Yeah, because I actually I nestle my I save my camera gear using my clothing. I'm taking one for the team.
Specifically, your underwear.
Yeah, I put my thongs all over everything. TMI.
Here, wait. Stand up, let's actually show them.
Oh yeah, here. So this is one that I… Anyway, so we bring all of our gear, we have a studio space, and then we have a driver.
So we pick the person up from the conference center, wherever the conference is being held, bring them to the studio space, record for an hour. I have everything prepped and ready to go, and then we drop them back off. And it is like I would love to have that service.
We've talked about this because I want to have more content going out for us, which is also part of the resolution thing that came up in my mind. But I would love to have that service. So I'm like, "Oh, this is pretty cool." Like you literally don't have to do anything.
Like you just show up and then it's just like, "Okay, bye. I'm going to go party my tits off." So,…
Yeah, and just bring people right back and making it simple. Because that's the whole point of everything we're doing with MAVEN, is making video simple.
So that's what we've been doing with people, and it's been so fun just getting… Like it's funny how much you can bond in an hour, too. Like you don't really think you would, but then it's just, I don't know, they're like new BFFs and like at a conference, too, you really bond with people.
Like I don't know, we've met some really amazing people and I'm just I'm very grateful. It hasn't like quite sunk in yet sometimes, but then sometimes I'm just sitting there like while reading or something and I'm just like, "This is fucking sweet." Like awesome people making awesome things and just like, I don't know. Getting all gushy.
So then, so we've done a few MAVEN VIP experiences. The next one is in Orlando. It's during…
Tom Ferry's Elite. We also haven't announced the following one, which will be at Revve, but that's just a little quiet teaser here.
For our little… For our tiny audience here, we'll we're going to do a proper reveal.
Our last episode had like 60 views on YouTube.
That's cool. Well yeah, but that doesn't count all the audio listens, too, because there are listeners.
A few of them. Hi Mom! Dork.
But yeah, so our next event, our next VIP experience is in Orlando during Tom Ferry's, Elite conference, and you can find all of that at whatismaven.com/VIP. WhatIsMaven?
Expanding Nationwide Video Production Services
But yeah, whatismaven.com/VIP. But what happened? So, VIPs parlayed into a completely new reimagining of working with We called everyone Mavens before, but now we call them Top Bananas because that is so much more fun and on brand for us.
And that's why… His advice before, because he's talked about it forever, basically since I've known him, but just action yields experience, yields opportunity, yields… Yeah, I got it right!
I am the hot mess. You're supposed to hold this train together. So, choo-choo!
Recommendation Station! He's going to sue us. But it is true because like we just essentially we went to the Tom Ferry thing to record with one of my clients because she spoke on stage, and we were just like, "Oh, we'll be like your little cheerleaders, too." And then it was like, "Oh, I guess we could like film with people.
Like do you think anybody would have any interest?" And she's like, "Yeah, sure, like why not?" She was way more supportive than that. I'm making it sound like diminutive, but she was like, "Absolutely." So then we started recording with people, but then we didn't even think that now what we would be doing is Top Banana.
So that is now, which is so funny. I love that name. But basically what it is we are traveling around the country, literally coast to coast…
I just made out with the mic. Coast to coast to record with people. So we go to them in their market, we record reels, YouTube content, like all that fun wonderful stuff, and we just get to hang out with the person, too, which is so fun.
I don't know, it's just like it's crazy. I never thought that this is what I would be doing, but it's literally some of my favorite things, getting to hang out with cool people, making like art, it's just like it's social media content, but it is like an art.
Yeah, getting to travel, like just having fun, I don't know. Life's about having fun. I've spent far too much of life not having fun, well, I try to have fun all the time, but just being like sad and stupid.
Well, yeah. Go to school, get a job, sit at the job…
Go back to the job, sit at the job.
Yeah, it's depressing. What I'm doing with this cord.
Let's move that around to the back.
Help me. Thank you. She's just, "Get my booty." Maybe.
That's for the Patreon. But…
So we… So now we travel. The simplicity is the whole thing.
So we were only working with people in Chicago before, flat rate every month. They don't have to worry about anything else. We would show up on a consistent schedule and film together and edit, produce, send it off to them, they're ready to go.
So the whole little the thing holding us up from travel was that, "Okay, so we have our flat price. Now we have to work in travel expenses, and it's like, oh, this is how much that'll be." It was never simple. So now we actually do the same simple flat price and we go to people every third month because that now has travel baked in.
So wherever you are, it's the same price.
And it also for us now makes sense, because we're traveling so much, even if someone's in Chicago, it doesn't change the price because we are likely somewhere else when we'll be filming with them.
We literally will be traveling almost every single week of this year. Like, no joke. Like, we will have a couple like January, we have a few days off, but then we're back on the road after like five days.
I don't even like saying off, but just like a few days back.
Well, I mean, we'll be home.
Well, yeah, and we're filming with people here.
I'd be fine traveling, so if you want to…
Well, yeah, we're going to be all over the place doing Top Banana and also doing VIP sessions, which, it's all fun. I don't know, it's this is what it's about, it's about experiences. We're making friends.
Like, these aren't like clients, they're friends. So we get to travel, we get to go to them, have fun with friends, and give them something that they're excited about at the end.
Yeah, and that like is actually helpful for their business. I don't know, it just like it all works out. So anyway, that's what we've been up to.
And so we're normally flying, but we actually drove to the last one, so that's when we were filming when we were recording the episode we were going to try to release. Do you want to do you want to share about why we drove?
Because I got kicked off an airplane. So again…
She pulled out her tripod, her underwear went everywhere, and then they're like, "you're off the plane."
And they're like, "Britney Spears, get off the plane!" The amount of people that are telling me I look like Britney Spears has been a lot lately, but also I think it's because I'm blonder now.
No. I showed you a side-by- There's certain qualities. You have the like laugh and smile of non- nothing against her now, but non-crazy Britney Spears.
Oh, well, non-current Britney Spears, let's just say.
Yeah, well, like, but people would categorize her as that, maybe.
Buying a Tesla and Electric Vehicle Savings
Well, she just needs help, like we all do. So, yeah, why did we Oh, we drove because Okay, so we went to Westchester, Pennsylvania where one of our Top Bananas lives, and I was so fucking stoked. I kept bringing up Bam Margera every five seconds because that's where he's from.
And everyone's like, "Can you shut the fuck up?" Huge fan. Huge fan. But I really liked Jackass growing up.
So then we got back from Westchester, and then we were going to Ohio to record with our other Top Banana, like the week after, or just a couple days after, actually. But then in that interim, I've been looking for a new car forever because I've been driving a 2002 gold Chevy Cavalier for like 12 years.
With a big dent in the side the size of someone's head, even though it wasn't someone's head, you would say.
I actually have no idea. I just came out from work one day and I was like, "What the fuck?" So I was like, "Whatever."
And she would like to say that she always had to hand crank her windows, which I'm like, there's nothing wrong with hand-cranking windows, but…
'Cause I did. No air conditioning, hand-crank my windows, hand lock, it's like It was such a fucking piece of shit.
And real quick, though. Ooh, your hands are cold.
This isn't to be like, "Oh, poor me, like I've struggled." You just You didn't find…
I'm very indecisive, and it was like if I'm going to spend that amount of money, I want to make sure I have double that at least. I think it was Jay-Z who said it, where he's like, "Don't buy anything unless you have double that in the bank, like not including investments or anything like that." So I was just like, "That's a really smart idea." but anyway,…
And finding the right thing, that was the big thing. So you've driven this car…
'Cause I really wanted a sporty car. Like, I wanted a Supra so bad, or like the GR86, and we'd always mix them up, or like a Mustang, or like a Mazda Miata. I don't know, I wanted something like little and sporty, and then,…
But yeah, then deciding what it is because just like me, you're like, "Okay, whenever I replace this, this'll be my car basically forever." Like, forever in quotes, like, because everything changes, but this is going to be a car not that I have…
Yeah, not that I have for a year, not that I have for like, "Oh, in 18 months I'll upgrade to the next one."
Yeah, that's just not our thing, which like if it is for your business or whatever, totally fine, I get it, but yeah, we it's just not us. So, we I don't know what the fuck happened, but we were just like, "Let's go test drive a Tesla," which you can see where this is going. It was so much fucking fun and our salesperson was like awesome, also, so that just like sold it even more.
Oh yeah, and like going in…
So fucking cool, and I was like, "There's no way I could get this car or like that I could even afford it."
Yeah, and he's just real quick on the sales guy. It was really nice because just like us, he wasn't trying to sell us, and he literally said that, "I don't try to sell these cars, I just tell people the things I think are cool."
And it's like that's how we do MAVEN, is we don't really we're not trying to sell. Like what, if you're watching or listening to this, thank you, but we're not trying to sell you on anything. We're just here, we like doing things, we like…
Yeah, we like meeting awesome people and then if it so happens that we work together, we get to see them even more wherever they live.
Yeah, so we test drove it and oh my god, I loved it immediately. It was so fucking cool and it was so high-tech, 'cause literally going from and I say the hand-cranking my windows, it's totally fine if your car does that, but just the juxtaposition of literally going from the like most entry level car possible to the most high-tech car possi- Not possible, but very high-tech car.
It was like fucking polar opposites.
It's the future. Like it's a car from the future. Like people, even though Teslas are around, so many people are so interested to ride in her car just to be like, "Oh wow, this is different." 'Cause for us, also, very different.
Yeah, we rode, in one of our We've been in Teslas before, but we were in one for a longer time when we were in San Diego in October, and we couldn't even figure out how to open it or how to get out, and I found that so funny. I did that to my aunt yesterday. I didn't tell her how to get in or out of the car, and that was funny.
I don't know, I find it funny.
Also real quick, do you say "ant" or "awnt"?
Leave a comment below. Type it.
So they would just spell A-U-N-T.
-huh, and then I know I'm right. See, that's how it works.
Awnt! A-W-N-T. I say "ant," she says "awnt," like a I go back and forth, I oscillate.
Yeah, so we test drove it and then I was like, "There's no fucking way I can afford this." And then we saw that there is a $7,500 tax credit that ends today when this comes out.
Yeah, when this episode comes out. So if you want a Tesla, you have like an hour.
Also, you can save money, too, if you actually go pick it up in person instead of getting it delivered to you, you can save $4,000.
Yeah, so that was a huge thing, not even delivered to you, but if you go on This is why the sales guy was awesome. He's like, "You can go on and buy the exact car you want, but if you just look for that same car," because there's only like three options, you can't really get a bunch of options, "if you look for the same car that's on a lot, it's $4,000 cheaper because it's already been delivered to the Tesla dealer," whatever.
They're not even like dealers, they're so different than…
Yeah, but it's already been delivered to the dealer, so it's $4,000 cheaper, which brought the car to a just unbelievably attainable price.
Which is still a chunk of change, but I was looking at a brand new Ford Mustang for like 33, or a Mazda Miata for 35, and I was like, "Why the fuck would I buy those now?" So, or even used cars now are ridiculously expensive. It was like, 'cause other ones, even just like more kind of like practical cars, were like $22,000 or something.
Oh, or we test drove a Hyundai Veloster, 'cause I was always looking at that 'cause I was like, "Oh, that'd be kind of fun," and it's like sporty enough, but you can still fit stuff in there, 'cause like I needed to make sure I could fit all my film gear in the car, also.
Mazda Miata? No. Literally, she'd have to drive by herself and fill the passenger seat 'cause there's zero storage.
None, which I was just like, " yeah, that is pointless." And then he's like, "Well, it could be a fun car." And I was like, "No, like I shouldn't I need to be more practical." so here we are. But yeah, the Tesla…
Oh, 100%. You're like a good bra. Save that for the OnlyFans, Mr.
Sarris.
I think I said Patreon, but now we're escalating.
Can you do that on Patreon?
Patreon? Can you be nude?
Nude? I mean, you can do whatever you want on Patreon.
Because you're delivering the content yourself, basically.
Have some new ideas with nude ideas.
Anyway, yeah, where the fuck was I? Oh yeah, so I got a Tesla. So, it's very fun.
It's white exterior, white interior. I didn't know if I would like it, 'cause I was like, "Oh, white,"
Well, mostly that, but it also made me think of Legally Blonde 2 where Jennifer Coolidge's character, at one point she says something like, "Yeah, something classy, like white leather." And that was all I was thinking and I was like, "Oh, no." But it actually it looks really slick. I like it a lot and it like glows in the dark and the in the night.
And I've had a lot of fun with the fart function. I want to make that the lock sound. Anyway, that's enough about my car.
We should get into the episode. Oh, also,
I know! I haven't talked to you in a while.
Well, yeah. These 30-minute episodes, we'll get more snippy snappy on the next one, but this is a recap, we had to catch up.
Setting Social Media Resolutions for 2024
Oh, yeah. So, I guess let's get into resolutions and then I have a fun game for you at the end.
So, social media. Should you do it? No.
What's the deal with social media? So, starting something at the beginning of the year is always super admirable. I love when people want to do something, especially something that pushes you out of your comfort zone, 'cause social media is really difficult and it's really vulnerable, vulnerable, 'cause you're putting all of your You're putting your stuff out there for people to essentially be able to criticize it at any point, and not to go straight for the negative, but like people will be bags of dicks, and that's just what happens.
Or, singular dicks, whatever they feel. So, oh good, my reminder to record our podcast just came up, that's good. Whoop.
Now that we're 700 minutes into the episode. So, how the fuck do I even start this? Well, I guess there are three things I want to touch upon, how you, the loyal listener and watcher, not you, you, not you, how you can better make sure that you stick to your social media resolution, 'cause it is really difficult, especially if you're like by yourself, which I know in real estate there are a fuck ton of different groups and things, and like calls that you can join, which is really cool, but at the end of the day, it's still up to you.
You can be on any amount of calls, but at the end of the day, you still have to do the work, which is really difficult to be like totally honest. So, I think there are like three things that kind of stick out to me. Authenticity, consistency, and I actually thought curiosity.
Using Curiosity To Generate Content Ideas
Boop.
Well yeah, you know that speaks to me because I'm always like…
So I guess let's start with curiosity, 'cause Yeah. That one I was most, as I was like thinking about it, I was like, "Oh yeah, that would actually be really interesting." So, curiosity. What is it, and how do you get it?
Well, just for me, I just wanted to say to have…
Okay. When you're interested, it keeps life interesting, and that's always something that I sort of live by, I guess. Just because there's so many interesting things out there, so many things to pursue and learn and ways to grow.
Like I want to learn how to play the banjo. I've been talking about it incessantly the past couple months.
Yeah, and maybe being a DJ, doing all sorts of different things.
Yes, he got me a turntable for Christmas, and I'm very excited.
But yeah, there's just so many things we can explore and different ways we can grow. Like, just a little sidebar, this wouldn't have happened, MAVEN wouldn't have happened, if you didn't, years ago, decide to start recording TikToks about art history, like, Yeah, just for fun. And doing 1, 2, 3, 10, 50, however many you did.
And you know why I did them?
-huh. Yeah, and if you didn't do that, you don't know where it's going to go. And this goes back to the whole action, experience, opportunity.
Venn diagrams that say that. Jesus. I just knocked myself out.
Just like a big diagram of action, experience, opportunity. -huh.
I feel like you're not talking into the mic.
I feel like you're not talking a lot. So, this is the problem, because she We quote all of my client's stuff. Oh my gosh.
She quotes them more because she's edited over and over, so. Constantly, 'cause I've heard them speaking at me for like 1,000 hours.
Yeah, but yeah, just anyway.
Curiosity, but yes, curiosity will not kill the cat. It will actually benefit your cat and give them 900 more lives. But curiosity is vital.
Like that I think, not to get into like longevity and shit like that, but I really like we've talked about this incessantly also, but curiosity is what can keep You know how I feel about incessantly, but go on. Consistently, which we'll talk about soon. But just being curious about everything, like I think that's what keeps your mind young, also, because like one of our Top Bananas, she's constantly learning new skills, and like she's picked up juggling, and she's picked up all these different things, which I love, 'cause I was just like, "That's so cool." But that's like what can keep you youthful, and keep your mind engaged, and keep you consistently wanting to learn more, 'cause essentially at the end of the day it comes down to learning, which is like one of the most important things ever, not like sitting in school learning, but actually just like learning, like what however you can learn.
So I like saying "growth."
So, growth Learning is growth, but I think growth Ew. But I think growth is a using that word then we don't think school. We think Yeah.
Which I'm not anti-school, obviously. Academia.
No, no, no, I know. But just thinking like learning might be the wrong channel. It might not be the one that we're actually meaning here.
Yeah. Well and I think it's one in the same is all. Anyway, continue.
Oh yeah, 'cause learning can lead to growth, 'cause I think growth is the byproduct of learning.
Exactly. I think, yeah, that's always.
Just be curious, dum-dum. That'll be the next shirt. I didn't wear our Keep Going shirt yet.
We'll reveal that soon. I was going to, but I didn't. We should have both worn it.
It's like, wow, that's aggressive. But yeah, just keeping that curiosity. So, what does this mean for you?
Jesus, this is like a fucking long-winded rambling. But being curious in what you're talking about, and being curious in your subject matter, so like real estate, if you are a real estate professional, being curious about what else can I know about this? What don't I know already?
What do I know that maybe somebody else is curious about? Like, 'cause you all have some little nugget of something that to you is just like, "Oh, that's second nature." Like you fucking do that all the time where I'm just like, "I need to just record you saying these specific things," because like you know This I'd have so much footage.
You never shut up. I'm just teasing. But just which this is what is helpful about MAVEN, not to like plug our own shit the whole time, but like I am very curious I mean, but to plug it, too, this is what we do, so.
I guess, but like not for this. This is for to be like motivational. But like I am very curious about anything and everything, and like just people themselves, which is why I can get like so into the personal questions and stuff, because I'm just so curious, like I just I want to know everything about everybody all at once.
So, having that own curiosity in you, too, is really helpful, because then as soon as you think about, "Oh yeah, like what do I know that people would be curious about, or what do I want to learn," even non-real estate related, that you can share with people, that's fucking sweet. Then it's like building your personal brand and then you are also teaching people about something else, so then it's like, "Oh yeah, Sally Bob really liked I know you hate when I say Sally Bob.
I don't hate it, but that's her favorite fictional name.
It really is. If we have a puppy or something. Sally Bob.
Sally Bob. You love me.
Sometimes. Just making sure like you're staying curious, because then as soon as you're thinking about all these things, you have so much content that you can make about whatever it is that really gets you excited. Like I love coffee, I'm very curious about it.
I need to start making more coffee. I need! I need.
Stop! I forgot what I was saying in the middle of it. I'm going on all these tangents.
But the web, the web that you create from curiosity is immense. And our brain is a web of connections.
So, the more the more that we're sparking in there, the more connections we make, and you just You don't know where it's going to take you. And that's the big thing about action. Like why you start, why you stay curious, why you focus on growth.
Like I mean, mentioning the person with juggling, like I mean, I feel like we'll start just referencing them by name, but for now, like we're keeping them out.
Yeah, I like to keep anonymity, just in case they're like, "Ew, I didn't want everybody knowing about that," or whatever.
Well yeah, we don't really talk about private things, but I hear you. But she has built an amazing business.
Like on her like as the lead driver with a team, but Oh yeah. She's done so well. And like we know personally, she attributes that to her growth, to focusing on personal growth, personal development, and focusing on these things that matter, where she's like, "I don't watch TV.
I don't watch movies. Like I reach for the things that speak to me and then also make me better."
But it's totally fine if you do, also, if that's a hobby, that is awesome. Like, but then make content about it.
But yeah, so the So, anyway, what you're saying, stay curious, share about it, because when you're sharing about the things that you're learning, you're in the spot where people will connect with you most 100%, which brings me then to the next point, which is authenticity. That is huge! Like that to me is one of the most important things on how you can actually stay consistent, which we're going to talk about last.
Can I just one more little note on that? Like when you're learning, you're the closest to the person who also wants to learn that in that moment. When you're doing something for a decade, you have a distance.
You don't You don't have the beginner's mindset anymore. But when you have that beginner's mindset, you're able to connect in a much more rich manner, which inherently we have this like, "No, I need to be the expert," which in real estate, you are. But what about the things where you're not the expert, where people will connect with you, and like we all like everyone knows it, like you want to be You want people to know, like, and trust you, and like that's talked about sort of ad nauseam, but that's how we get to know people, how we get to like people and trust them, because it's like, "Oh, they're like me in this area," and staying just a step ahead and being a step ahead on this journey, whatever it is, like if it's juggling, if it's caricature drawing, like it could be like anything, anything.
Well, and it's the whole psychology of it, where it's like, "Oh, blah, blah, blah loves coffee, also. Like we could talk about coffee or at least like bond over it and go grab a coffee, and then talk about whatever." Like it's those little things where it's like, "Oh, I know we have similarities," so then it's like, "Oh, I feel a stronger sense of bonding or connection with this person." So, that's also part of it, which obviously makes sense.
I forgot where I was going with that, too. Whatever.
Building Trust Through Authentic Content Creation
Well no, so you're going with authenticity. That was the next step.
Yes. So, as I'm sitting like this, being authentic. But so many people try to put on a persona or like some sort of something, which is totally fine if you want to like try it out or whatever, like you do you.
But being authentically yourself, obviously so many people talk about it, I feel like that's been like the word of the year, authenticity for 2023.
I think it literally was.
Let me look it up while you're talking.
Oh shit. Well, there you go, right on brand. But just being authentically yourself and being true to you and not trying to be somebody else.
Like it's hard, because if you see some figure, I'm not going to name names, but if you see somebody who's has 1/2 a million followers or something on TikTok and they're huge in the real estate field, then it's just like, "Oh cool, I'm going to do exactly what blah, blah, blah's doing." But then that's already been done.
Like you cannot do that successfully. It's just not going to work out, because blah, blah, blah's already doing it and that's what they want to do and that's what their brand is. But then you need to do what you should be doing.
That didn't make any sense. Do, do, do. Is it?
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2023 is "authentic." A term for something we're thinking about, writing about, aspiring to, and judging more than ever.
Well, goddamn! Well, I'm far behind. This is for 2023, congratulations, happy New Year!
Well, now we're going to talk about "rizz."
So, that's a that's a couple generations after us, but there's a lot of a lot of language A couple? Us?
That's not Gen Z, that's Gen Alpha.
It's two generations after us.
Whatever. So authenticity. So just, at the end of the day, be yourself, because obviously everyone else is taken.
Ha. But then it just Did you just make that up?
Yeah. Put it on a shirt. Wow.
Why do you think people should be authentic?
That was very accusatory. "Hey you, why do you think people should be authentic?" Yeah, well no, because you have to That's the only way to relate with people. Like what you, the viewer, the listener, whatever, what you see and hear right now is how we are all the time, minus her baby talk.
She does that just for me. But, other than that, She's really pleased that I just said She just turned down her own microphone. She doesn't know which one it goes because Okay, so anyway, now I have the floor and I can No!
Fine.
But yeah, what was I saying? Oh yeah, but this is who we are all the time, and I think that's actually rare, and that's why we connect with the people we do, because they're we connect with them when they're themselves. And then we find they also are themselves.
They don't They're not putting on a mask. They're not trying to be something they're not, because they don't need to. And you don't need to, either.
Like, none of us have to. We're carving out our own path, and the only way to do that is by being true to ourselves. So, like maybe authentic, maybe it's overused this year, but being true to yourself and who you are.
Like, you swear a lot more than you realize, which we found out recently when she looked at a video. She's like, "I guess I do swear a lot." But there's nothing wrong with that. Like, that's true to who you are.
That's just No fucking way. Natural. You're not trying to cover that up.
You're not trying to I literally don't realize it, and then I'm like, "Whoa, that was that was a bit much." But you could see other people who would be too in their head. You know the person, you see them at a conference, and they're like this.
Well yeah, I do that too, 'cause like All the time adjusting, tweaking, like worried about what other people think. And you are worried about how you present yourself, sure, but you're not worried. You're You're making sure like, "Hey, is there anything hanging out of my nose?
Is there like, oh, is this No. Okay. But you're doing the things that like we all naturally do, but there's another level where you lose And I try to not swear too much just because I know, like, certain people don't appreciate it, but also then we can't work together.
Yeah, you're still true to you though. That's the important part. Like so, being true to yourself is so important.
That's what people will connect with. So, people connect with Amara because she's authentic, and she'll swear, and she's just real. And has shit hanging out of my nose.
Yeah, always. That's sort of the That's the number one. That's how we meet.
But Like a dog. So yeah, authenticity. Do it.
Next on the list, consistency. I didn't have a good segue for that. So, consistency, I think, is What would you say is more important, authenticity or consistency?
Balancing Authenticity and Consistency in Social Media
I feel like they're two different categories. It's hard to It's hard to give one more importance. Like Yeah, 'cause authenticity is inward, consistency is outward.
Yeah, consistency is an action that you're or maybe not an action, but putting the stuff out consistently. See, I if I have to rank them, I think I would have to rank authenticity, because in theory, if you only did a few videos a year, but they were so authentic that the few people who see them fall in love with you in like a "I want to connect with this person deeper," it doesn't matter how many you're doing.
But the consistency matters to find those people. That's the problem. Exactly.
So, it's almost like if you have two different things that you're trying to do, which is what we've talked about where some people are like, "How did this person get 700 million followers?" And it's like, well, they're doing memes or they're doing shareable content, which is totally fine. Like And faceless channels, faceless Instagram, YouTube, those do really well.
Totally fine, but that is a totally different channel that they're taking, and at the end of the day, they are not the star of that account. So like, you'll have no idea that Sally Bob is behind the account, and then when they try to launch something else, then it's like, "Well, who the fuck is this person?" so that's what's difficult.
But then the other channel is making you the star of your channel, and maybe star feels like too much, like not to not to make you feel yeah, feel anything negative 'cause maybe that's like, "I don't want to be like on stage." But, but just for people to connect with you as the person, and that's the difference. Like when you're going for volume, what?
You aren't necessarily getting the people who you want. The people. You were going to let that one slide, and I was like, "Well, I need to call it out then." Just made me think of when I was trying to tell the story and I was laughing so hard in the laundry room.
But, getting the people who matter is a it's not a numbers game. She's cracking herself up over here again. All the time.
But, when you're going for pure numbers, if you want to get that play button, the silver play button from YouTube for like 100,000 subscribers, that's totally valid. That's a thing. You can like emails, it's a thing.
You can go for that to then maybe get sponsors and ad revenue and this and that. But are you in a Are you a content creator as a business? Or are you a real estate agent?
A real estate agent doesn't need 100,000 subscribers. If they have that, arguably they're doing it wrong, quote unquote, because you don't need to have everyone know who you are. You need to have just a few of the right people know who you are and that takes you far.
Well, yeah, it's like do you want to have other realtors as your audience or do you actually want to have clients as your audience? 'Cause That's what we've found. Yes, like those are the two main things in the real estate profession, and either one is totally fine, but like you need to figure out which one you want more and which one's going to help you get to whatever goal it is for you, which most of the time it's like financial, obviously, that's like for most of us.
So if you want to make money, then appealing to clients who can actually help you with that, that's where you should be focusing your attention, so then you need to showcase you, yourself, and your brand, like who you are. So, authenticity. I keep losing my train of thought.
Choo-choo. I mean, we are at 45 minutes, this'll be the longest episode in MAVEN history. Sorry.
We'll wrap it up, but essentially, those are just some of the things, I guess, going into the New Year for your resolution, if making more content is what you want to do, figure out who you want your audience to be, which if you want to be making more money, then like no shame in that game, like by all means, just do that.
But then figure out, "Okay, well, I need to appeal to my clients, so how do I do that? Blah, blah, blah."
Well, I mean, arguably the more money thing, that's just a given. We're just assuming we're all here trying to get more customers, yes.
Sorry, there's something fuzzy on my mic, I was like, " what is that?" Laundry room. That was so funny. So at the end of the day, just make sure you're being yourself first and foremost, authenticity.
Be curious about your area, your region, your market, your consumer, your customer, your whatever.
And just curious beyond that.
Just in general, yeah. Curious about whatever it is. If you want to learn the banjo, let me know because we can join together, because that would be really fucking fun.
Going through a bluegrass phase, but I like it. And then just also, be consistent. Consistency over everything, just consistency.
Well, not over everything, but as one of the thing, that's what's tough. It is sort of I would say authenticity first and foremost, but then curiosity also. Oh, all three.
So, all three are the same. It is the triangle of triad of mananomanas.
Oh, I have triad of mananomanas.
Yeah. See? Connection.
But anyway, to round this out,
Just in terms of the practical, because again, we're like you're talking theory, a lot of people talk theory and how to do it, but if you have any questions, like That's where I was trying to get to. Yeah, if you're filming, if you film something, put it out there, record it, post it, whatever, tag us, share it with us.
Like, let us know and if you have questions, if you want feedback, this is something that we're we're moving toward a more attainable service through MAVEN, where it's all practical, where we're not doing it's not theory, it's not "this is why you should be posting, this is why you should do it this way." It's like, no, no, no.
This is how you do it, because not that many people talk about the how, unfortunately. Like, I've seen this for 15 years like sort of in the entrepreneurial space. So many great books for inspiration and the theory behind starting a minimalist business, and all these things.
But it's like, no, wait, how do you do it? Like, what does it take?
Yeah, that's cool, but how do I apply that shit?
Yeah, you get through the book and you're pumped, and there is no next step. So, we want to be that next step for all of the motivation that's out there. So, if you have any questions at all, like if you make a video, tag us or DM it to @whatismaven on Instagram.
Yeah, we'll take a look, we'll give our feedback. We'll be like, "Okay, this is where maybe you can take it up a notch." And we're going to start doing this regularly.
Yeah, there's going to be a whole new product, yeah, new product that's coming out.
AI Podcast Taglines and New Year Jokes
We've talked about this before, how we don't have a tagline for our show. Today, I met with a friend named ChatGPT to figure out a new tagline. I have five, and they are awful.
So, this is what I put in 'cause this show, obviously, is about helping real estate professionals, so this is what I put into ChatGPT. I mean, I found it funny. You'll probably be like, "This is fucking stupid," which I don't blame you.
You can skip ahead to the joke at the end, but this is what I put into ChatGPT, this is my prompt. "A guy and a girl, both with long blonde hair, have a podcast called What Is MAVEN to help real estate professionals with their social media presence. In the podcast, they act silly, give social media advice, and just have a good time.
I need five example introductions they can use to intro their show each week. Thanks."
I mean, first, I actually like that as our bio for the podcast.
Sweet. Well, two birds with one stone. You may You may have written your Written the bio.
Here's what I've got, the first one. "Welcome back, social media Mavens. Grab your coffee, fluff up that fabulous blonde hair, because today's episode is all about turning your real estate game into an Insta-worthy success story." Not too bad.
And we're picking one of these, also, so just FYI.
Okay. Yeah, so we'll say this forever.
Yes. The second one. "Hi there, real estate rockstars!
We're here again, your favorite dynamic duo with the golden locks, bringing you the latest scoop on social media strategies that'll make you shine brighter than our blonde hair." I think I found these way funnier than you do.
"Hey there, real estate wizards–" No, is that wheel estate wizards? Real estate wizards. Real estate rockstars, wheel estate wizards.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. "Hey there, real estate wizards. It's that time again, where two blondes with more social media knowledge than common sense gather to spill the beans on how to make your online presence more fabulous than our hair dos." I definitely think "less social media knowledge than common sense." Just saying.
That one I think was my favorite. Okay, fourth one. "Welcome back, social media Explorers and real estate enthusiasts.
Get ready to laugh, learn, and probably witness some questionable dance moves from your favorite podcast hosts. Yep, the ones with hair as golden as our advice." I just love that you put the blonde hair in there. I wanted to see what they would do.
And final one, "Well, well, well, look who's back for another episode of What Is MAVEN," which, that's fucking aggressive. "Get ready for a rollercoaster ride through the land of social media, where blonde ambition meets your real estate dreams." Okay, so which one are we picking?
Cool. You'll hear it next time.
"Well, well, well, we'll see you in next episode." That's edgy. Okay, and then I just I have a joke for you.
To close out. Yeah, I bought it for you.
Why do you need a jeweler on New Year's Eve?
Why do you need a jeweler on New Year's Eve?
That's pretty good. I got it. Bye.
Very nice. Yeah, Happy New Year. If you need help, call a professional, that's us.
Bye.
