Michael’s unique perspective on the real estate industry has led to his being featured in numerous online articles, including Forbes, Inman, US News, Investopedia, The Chicago Tribune, and The Chicago Sun-Times. He has also been featured multiple times in Chicago Agent Magazine, both on the cover and as a contributor, and in Chicago Real Producers Magazine.

Waking Up

After graduating from college in 2007, I did what most people do: I found a job in Corporate America. I took a job out east working for a large bank in the partnership tax department. Day after day, I would stare at Excel spreadsheets in my cubicle, counting down the hours until it was time to leave.

Doing this for two years, I saw firsthand how the corporate structure works and how no matter how hard I worked, I would never be destined to live a life on my terms, free to do what I wanted to do. I realized that if I continued down this path, I would end up living a life like most people do. Forever hoping to get ahead one day, while always being just another body in a system that didn’t value me. So in 2009, I quit.

I moved back into my parents' home with no idea what I was going to do with my life. At the time, all I had was the $2,000 I saved and everything I could pack into my 2003 Honda Civic.

After a month of searching for a job, I called my cousin, who was a real estate agent in Chicago, to ask about Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). I had no money to invest, but my curiosity led me to a 30-minute conversation that would change the direction of my life.

Real Estate Agent

I entered the real estate industry at a time when the country was struggling. The Great Recession was in full bloom, and I was beginning a career in the industry that helped cause around 8.7 million people to lose their jobs and 10 million people to lose their homes. 

While I knew in my heart that being a real estate agent was what I had been looking for, the realities of the challenges that lay ahead of me only became clear after my first few months. 

I started on my Cousin’s team, trying to learn as much as I could from her. But my Cousin’s business was designed for her, and I struggled to adapt to her systems. This left me to learn on my own, which was made more challenging since my brokerage did not have any formal education, and I had no one else to guide me. 

Top-Producer

Not having a plan B or any desire to go back to Corporate America, I was determined to figure out how to succeed. For the next few years, I became obsessed with learning as much as possible as fast as possible. I would shadow veteran agents on appointments, ask countless questions, read everything I could, and attend every educational event I could afford. Although my knowledge grew every day, I only managed to help a few people find rentals and did not close my first sale until my third year.  

To survive during this time, I did odd jobs for veteran agents who paid me in cash, and attended brokers’ opens (open houses for agents) on Tuesdays, to eat lunch and collect gift cards to feed myself lunch for the rest of the week.

Remaining focused on my goal, my efforts began showing results, and my colleagues recognized this by electing me to the Chicago Association of Realtors Young Professional Network board for two consecutive terms, serving alongside many of Chicago’s top up-and-coming agents, many of whom have become top producers and brokerage owners.

In 2018, nine years after entering the industry, I finally achieved my sales goal of becoming a recognized top-producing agent (for both total production and total sales). But, as exciting as the moment was, it also left a large void inside me. Winning a top-producer award was all I focused on from day one. After I achieved it, the fire to sell went out, and I knew it was time to turn my attention to a larger flame. 

A Brokerage Without Limitations  

Throughout my sales career, I witnessed many agents go through what I did when I started. I saw agents' confusion as they tried to build their business with no direction, their frustration trying to convince people to work with them, and the struggle to succeed in an industry unintentionally designed for them to fail. Seeing this helped me realize that there is minimal education for new agents, so I decided to do something to change it.

In 2016, I opened a brokerage on the foundation of providing education based on tested and proven methods to help agents build their business quickly. We offered more education for new agents than many other brokerages in our market, including monthly lunch and learns, 1-on-1 coaching (with me and my partner), guest speakers, group video sessions, plus built a private program loaded with everything an agent needs (eBooks, sample presentations, how-to videos and guides, templates, workbooks). But the thing I am most proud of is the custom-built mentorship program we designed to help new agents build their business in a few weeks and start generating sales quickly.

Our mentorship program was a 6-week program that included a two-hour meeting each week with either my partner or me on every topic on everything an agent would need to know. We designed it so that when they finished the program, they gained the knowledge that took my partner and me many years to acquire. 49 agents went through the program, and it helped them produce 2x4 times more sales and income than a typical first-year agent. 

I loved running my brokerage and playing a role in helping agents succeed. I am forever grateful for all of the agents who trusted me with their business. But, as time went on, I began feeling that the value of the knowledge I had acquired over the last 20-plus years could help a lot more people. From building a successful real estate business out of the worst market our country had seen in almost a century, owning a brokerage where new agents were set up for success from day one, used that knowledge to exceed industry standards, and spending thousands of hours learning from history’s most legendary people, I knew I could have a much large impact on this world. So in 2024, I sold my brokerage and its two offices, 66 agents, and an annual sales production of $200 million to focus on educating agents entering the real estate industry.  

Author

I have always enjoyed writing. It is the one place that has allowed me to be myself without outside judgment. So when I decided to chart a different path, there was only one logical choice: to write a book.

I wrote the first draft of my book in early 2023. I asked my partner and a few other people to review it. They politely told me it was terrible. They were right. I was starting to rewrite it when I decided to put it down to help with another business venture I had committed to. 

From the first day of 2023, I felt lost. I wasn’t sure why, but something felt off. As the days went on, this feeling compounded. To figure out what was going on, I began meditating, I reread Tony Robbins’ books, I searched for other life coaches to learn from, and I started seeing a therapist. While each of these methods helped a little, the feeling didn’t go away completely. 

The first weekend of November, my wife was going out of town to visit friends, so I asked my parents if they could watch my twin boys on Friday night to give me a night alone. Instead of having a few drinks and eating junk food while watching a movie, I decided I was going to meditate for as long as I needed to figure out what was going on with me. After dinner, I set up a few pillows to sit on, and around 6 pm, I closed my eyes to dive into my mind with the hopes of finding what I have been looking for.

For what felt like a few minutes, all I saw was darkness when I heard a voice say, “Shut the big guy down.” Like hitting the off switch on an inflatable jump house, I felt my body go limp, and I saw what looked like a tunnel. Without hesitation, I jumped in headfirst, and when I exited, I saw my whole future. Everything was crystal clear to me on what looked like big screen TVs, and in front of everything was the outline of my book.

When I came back to reality, for the first time in over 11 months, I knew exactly what I was meant to do. Two days later, on Sunday night, I opened the Google Document titled Realtor? Get a Real Job! and read the whole thing. As I read, I began to see everything coming together for it. I took notes, wrote down ideas, and stripped out a lot of the content. After looking over everything, I realized why the book was terrible. It’s too much for one book; it needed to be two! A main book and a workbook that complements it. 

I was still committed to helping with my other businesses, so I had to figure out how I could work on the books without taking my attention away from my responsibilities. I decided the best time would be at night after my boys went down and all of my work was finished for the day.

For the next two plus years, working six days a week from 9 pm - 2 am, I finally published my book and workbook in January 2025. The Education of a Real Estate Agent and The Education of a Real Estate Agent Workbook represent everything I have learned over the past two decades, designed to help agents succeed in an industry that is unintentionally designed for them to fail.

Coach

My ultimate goal is to transform the real estate industry from one that is not respected to being a bright spot in consumers’ eyes. I believe that by educating agents when they enter the industry, they will avoid the numerous mistakes that new agents make while trying to navigate this challenging profession. Mistakes that have an enormous impact on the future of the people they are working with. Then, over time, as agents advise consumers properly, our industry will be respected for the value we bring to people.

I understand that a book alone is not going to transform a hundred-year-old industry, though. To make an impact, it is going to take many different strategies. That is why in March 2025, I launched my newsletter, The ONE Newsletter, designed to help agents gain valuable knowledge in less than 60 seconds. A month later, I began hosting Facebook and Instagram Live sessions every Thursday at 1 pm CST, where I share my knowledge on a variety of topics to help agents not only build a successful business but also a beautiful life.

While the book, newsletter, and Live sessions will help, there is always more to give, so don’t be surprised if I launch something else to help agents in the future.

Thank you for reading my story! I look forward to learning yours!

Until then,