Ep. 62: Bonneau Ansley - My Comeback Story [Dyslexia to $440 Million]

Summary

Interesting Humans Podcast — Bonneau Ansley: My Comeback Story

Episode Date: October 9, 2025
Host: Jeff Hopeck
Guest: Bonneau Ansley

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Episode Overview

This episode features Bonneau Ansley, a self-described “class clown” who overcame learning disabilities like dyslexia and ADHD to become one of the most influential real estate entrepreneurs in the Southeast. Bonneau shares his journey from an unconventional student to founding Ansley Real Estate, leading over 500 agents, and eventually selling his business for a reported $440 million. The conversation explores the role of family, mentors, resilience, finding your unique strengths, and the importance of people and leadership in building a world-class company.
Tone: Lively, candid, humorous, and inspiring.

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Table of Contents

1. Early Life and Family Background [01:00–07:30]
2. Education, Dyslexia & Finding His Path [07:31–24:15]
3. Entrepreneurial Beginnings & College Life [14:00–33:00]
4. Learning Disabilities: From Liability to Asset [18:56–25:00]
5. Mentorship and Influential Figures [25:00–27:44]
6. From Student to Real Estate Prodigy [29:00–38:38]
7. Setbacks, Resilience, and “Transitional Intelligence” [42:29–46:35]
8. Building and Scaling Ansley Real Estate [46:36–53:21]
9. Leadership, Team Culture, and Legacy [53:22–61:16]
10. Work-Life Balance, Family, and Values [63:26–66:46]
11. Legacy: Growing the Next Generation [67:14–70:27]
12. Book, Near-Death Experience & Selling the Business [71:05–75:36]

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1. Early Life and Family Background [01:00–07:30]

• Born and Raised in Atlanta: Bonneau is a fifth or sixth generation Atlantan, indicating deep roots in the city.
• Family Dynamic: Youngest of two, with an academically gifted older sister, Faint, who scored a perfect SAT, went to Harvard, and is an artist and writer.
• Host’s Reaction:
  • Jeff, amazed: “True local. Wow.” [01:01]
  • Bonneau: “My sister...was the golden one. I guess I didn’t have the IQ. I had EQ, which I learned later.” [07:05]

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2. Education, Dyslexia & Finding His Path [07:31–24:15]

• School Experience: Describes himself as the class clown, more interested in fun than academics.
• Boarding School: Sent to junior boarding school in Connecticut at 13.
  • “When you have the experiences...you’re learning through a pack of other kids. You gotta fight for yourself, defend yourself, eat, manage your time—life skills right.” [03:45–04:18]
• Learning Disabilities:
  • Diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.
  • “They’d say, oh, this kid’s got a learning disability. He needs to be in the small room next door… All right, big deal. But the things that I’m interested in, man, I’m gonna hyperfoc… I’m gonna lock in.” [19:24–20:08]
• Emotional Intelligence as Superpower:
  • Bonneau: “I wasn’t the IQ kid, I had EQ… emotional intelligence made me feel better about myself.” [07:05–07:16]

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3. Entrepreneurial Beginnings & College Life [14:00–33:00]

• T-Shirt Hustle in High School and College:
  • “I started making T-shirts… and tell them they had to buy a T-shirt for 15, 20 bucks… cash only. Man, I sold a ton of T-shirts in high school.” [14:23–15:18]
• Expanding to Campus Business:
  • Started a legit print business, sold to all Greek houses and events, then mugs and hats. “I had cash money as a college guy... I bought a ski boat, which helped with the ladies.” [15:26–16:22]
• Relationship-Driven: “I love my friends, and I think I have the best friends in the world. We do fishing trips, golf trips… group texts…” [12:44–13:13]
• People Versus Books:
  • “I was studying people...what made people go, what made them tick, what questions could I ask, could you be a good listener, could you be a good friend.” [16:33–16:56]

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4. Learning Disabilities: From Liability to Asset [18:56–25:00]

• Supportive Family:
  • “My parents were fully supportive in that, and that was huge.” [21:52]
• Finding the Right School:
  • Boarding school specialized in alternative learning; “not every kid gets that and it breaks my heart.”
• Turning Perceived Weaknesses Into Strengths:
  • “How do you take your perceived liabilities in life and flip them and turn them into your greatest assets?” [24:00–24:14]
  • Notable Quote:
    • “When I get a call from parents...‘little Johnny just got diagnosed with dyslexia…’ Rejoice! This kid’s going to be great. You just gotta put him in a place to succeed.” [24:31–24:33]
• Advice for Others:
  • “If a kid loses his confidence, you got a problem. I never lost my confidence.” [24:38]

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5. Mentorship and Influential Figures [25:00–27:44]

• Wrestling Coach as Mentor:
  • “An actual mentor, I would say, my wrestling coach, Mr. Glover. High school. That guy changed a lot of lives.” [25:07–25:14]
• Life Structure:
  • “He probably just had me—my day was filled so I wouldn’t get in trouble, frankly… lifting weights… wrestling… then you’re doing schoolwork.” [26:26]
• Habit-Building Approach:
  • “They’re teaching habits using the model of, show me exactly what to do, instead of here’s all the things to not do.” [27:17]

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6. From Student to Real Estate Prodigy [29:00–38:38]

• College Real Estate Beginnings:

  • Struggled with core classes, hired a note-taker as a workaround. [28:33–29:27]
  • Real estate “clicked” in junior year:
    • “Went into first real estate class… this is cool… so many facets that I actually understand… I was sold, man. I want to learn as much about real estate.” [30:32–31:22]
  • Built and sold a house while still in college:
    • “Graduated college, get four roommates… lived in the house for a year… sold it, made $100,000. Pure profit.” [33:14–33:44]

• Breaking Into the Industry in Savannah:

  • Left Atlanta to build his own path.
  • “I wanted a clean path. I’ll work for free. Just give me your hardest leads. And then… four months in, sold a $500,000 lot… and it was on.” [34:04–36:00]

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7. Setbacks, Resilience, and “Transitional Intelligence” [42:29–46:35]

• Lightning Hits Home (Life-Altering Moment):
  • “Jen was nine months pregnant. Lightning hits our house, it burns to the ground. We lost everything… wedding pictures, everything.” [42:29–42:45]
• Resilience:
  • “After a night of crying… we stood up and started life again.” [44:06]
• 2008 Market Crash:
  • Everything collapses: “Music stopped at the townhome development. Music stopped at Palmetto Bluff… I transitioned in 2009 to be a single real estate agent. Like 26,000 others in Atlanta at the time.” [45:57–46:35]
• Lesson:
  • “Transitional intelligence is when shit hits the fan and how you deal with it… That was a big lesson for me.” [~44:06–44:26]

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8. Building and Scaling Ansley Real Estate [46:36–53:21]

• Reinventing Himself as an Agent:
  • “I became obsessed with being the number one real estate agent in Atlanta. Marketing bigger, bolder. I made sure everybody knew I sold real estate. Even the valet guy.” [46:45–47:18]
• Unconventional Guerrilla Tactics:
  • “I would give [the valet] $100 and a stack of brochures—every Porsche and Mercedes you’re parking, put my brochure in the passenger seat.” [47:19–47:44]
• Outworking and Outthinking the Competition:
  • “My first year, I was the #1 agent in Atlanta. Then doubled my business, year over year, for seven years.”
• Growth Mindset:
  • “If it ain’t broke, break it.”
  • “Are your habits on par with your dreams for tomorrow?” [49:45]
• On Starting the Firm:
  • “In 2015, kind of hit a ceiling. I started Ansley Atlanta Real Estate. Brought over my team, started growing, doubling every year.” [50:36]
  • Personal best: “Sold 460 million in 2021.” [51:18–51:41]
• Acquisition Story:
  • “We sold [the business] for a great number to Compass Real Estate… now we’re part of the largest real estate company in the country… but we kept our brands.” [52:19–53:21]

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9. Leadership, Team Culture, and Legacy [53:22–61:16]

• Empowering People:
  • “I don’t lead with task, I lead with responsibility. Julie Harris, my first hire—she didn’t know her true potential… and what she’s done has taken our company to the moon.” [55:15–56:21]
• Team-Building & Trust:
  • “People are everything. How you hire them, put them in the right roles, and let them grow. I backfill everything that I’m not super good at with people who are.” [59:25]
  • “I only do about 20% of the business, because that’s the 20% that I’m really, really good at. I’m smart enough to know how dumb I am.” [59:25]
• Loyalty and Longevity:
  • Several team members have been with him 10–15 years. “They’re not going anywhere because they know exactly what to do and do it better than I could.” [60:11]
• Advice:
  • “How you do anything is how you do everything. Play the long game, not the short game for commission today.” [57:50–58:08]

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10. Work-Life Balance, Family, and Values [63:26–66:46]

• Definition of Success:
  • “Success is defined a lot of different ways. Some by money. I don’t. Some by family, I do. Some by helping change lives, I do.” [63:58]
• Sacrifice and Trade-offs:
  • “Work-life balance is tough… I wouldn’t say I had it when starting the business. My wife had to make sacrifices, my kids had to make sacrifices.” [64:03]
• Importance of Spousal Support:
  • “You gotta pour your life into your business for a while and then release control…. but you need a spouse who understands, who’s cheering for you.” [66:32–66:46]
• Cherishing Family Time Now:
  • “Now that I’m 50, my time is free. I don’t miss a tennis match, a horse show, a dinner with Jen.” [66:24]

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11. Legacy: Growing the Next Generation [67:14–70:27]

• Children’s Paths:
  • Daughter Blakely, age 20, following in real estate, “going to be the best agent ever.”
  • Son Beau (Bonneau IV), in 10th grade at boarding school by choice, “in a place where he’s creating his own path… phenomenal tennis player, phenomenal student.”
  • “I want him to live his life to his full potential, whatever his passion is. Maybe business, maybe not.” [69:26]
• Boarding School Parallels:
  • “He’s out there without helicoptering parents, learning his own lessons. It’s a gift that we can send him to a place like that.” [69:41]

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12. Book, Near-Death Experience & Selling the Business [71:05–75:44]

A. The Book: "Brokering Billions"

• Origination:
  • “I choked on a piece of meat at Bones… and as I was getting the Heimlich… it felt like eternity… I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t swallow… After that, I said, I’m going to write a book.” [71:05–73:06]
  • Dictated thoughts to his sister (“the writer in the family”) who edited and helped polish the draft.
  • “It’s all about struggles, using your God-given abilities, and how to sell. Just being a dumbass who wound up selling a lot of real estate.”
  • “Surprisingly, we’re Wall Street Journal bestselling book. It’s called Brokering Billions.” [74:29–74:38]

B. Selling the Business

• How It Felt:
  • “It really didn’t feel any different. I’ve never been motivated by the money, just the process… Jen was proud of me, and that’s all that matters.” [74:58–75:36]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “How do you take your perceived liabilities in life and flip them and turn them into your greatest assets?” — Bonneau [24:00]
• “I wasn’t the IQ kid, I had EQ… emotional intelligence made me feel better about myself.” — Bonneau [07:05]
• “If a kid loses his confidence, you got a problem. I never lost my confidence.” — Bonneau [24:38]
• “When you find something you like, you can roll with it and learn. I keep learning today.” — Bonneau [32:08]
• “If it ain’t broke, break it… Are your habits on par with your dreams for tomorrow?” — Bonneau [49:45]
• “I only do about 20% of the business… that I’m really good at. I’m smart enough to know how dumb I am.” — Bonneau [59:25]
• “How you do anything is how you do everything.” — Bonneau [57:50]
• “I don’t lead with task, I lead with responsibility.” — Bonneau [55:15]
• “[Selling the company] didn’t feel any different. I’ve never been motivated by money… Jen was proud of me, and that’s all that matters.” — Bonneau [75:36]

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Key Takeaways & Insights

• Adversity Becomes Advantage: Bonneau’s learning disabilities forced him to develop street smarts, resilience, and social skills that fueled his business success.
• Lead with People, Not Process: He credits much of his growth to empowering others, hiring for strengths, and letting team members reach their full potential.
• Obsessive Focus Pays Off: His mantra is to become obsessed with goals—not just work hard, but work smart, hire right, and constantly change habits to match ambitions.
• Celebrate Unique Paths: Success isn’t about fitting in the “school box” but about discovering and playing to your strengths, no matter how unconventional.
• Legacy through Empowerment: Whether mentoring his children or employees, helping others find and reach their potential is his definition of true success.

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Top 3 Memorable Moments with Timestamps

1. Describing His School Struggles & Turning Liabilities to Strengths

   • “I wasn’t the IQ kid, I had EQ… emotional intelligence made me feel better about myself.” [07:05]
   • “How do you take your perceived liabilities in life and flip them and turn them into your greatest assets?” [24:00]

2. Lightning Destroys House: The Turning Point for Resilience

   • “Lightning hits our house, it burns to the ground. We lost everything we owned. After a night of crying… we stood up and started life again.” [42:29–44:06]

3. The Book, “Brokering Billions,” Inspired by Near-Death Experience

   • “I choked on a piece of meat… felt like eternity… After that, I said, I’m going to write a book.” [71:05–73:06]

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Final Thoughts

This episode is an unvarnished, energetic walk through Bonneau Ansley’s life—from his days as a wild, underestimated kid to building a real estate empire. It’s loaded with hard-won wisdom for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider or doubted themselves, and a testament to seizing opportunity, building great teams, and turning personal quirks into professional gold. The “comeback” isn’t just about Bonneau—it’s a blueprint for building a life and business with heart, hustle, and human connection.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, guys, I'm Jeff Hopeck. Welcome back to another episode here of Interesting Humans Podcast. And boy, do I have one for you here today. Bono Ansley. He's truly an icon in the Atlanta real estate market. Started his company with just one real estate agent. Sold it for unbelievable number. 440,000,500 real estate agents, but did some incredible, incredible stuff along the way. It all goes back to his humble roots. So he was born with dyslexia, adhd, struggled in school and in college. Something happened.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And he's going to walk through that, but you're going to hear his entire life story today. It's worth every single second you invest into this episode. He's not only an incredible entrepreneur, published author, but he's just an awesome, awesome, awesome human being. All right, Bono, where did this all start for you?

[B]

Well, I was born at Piedmont Hospital right here in Atlanta, Georgia.

[A]

True local. Wow.

[B]

True local. Family's been in Atlanta many generations, and we're still here in Atlanta, Georgia.

[A]

And how many generations now is this for you?

[B]

I think we're probably fifth or sixth generation Atlantic.

[A]

Unbelievable. All right, so let's. Let's talk about grade school. What did that look like? Where was it? What did it feel like?

[B]

Grade school was at the Westminster School, which I was one of the few kids that could ride their motorcycle to school, Right. So from my backyard, there was a trail that we cut that went right to the elementary school, and I could ride my motorcycle, my little 50cc motorcycle. Elementary school.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

And it kind of brings me back to what was that movie, the. The Bad News Bears. And that. That dude that drove the motorcycle, that was the picture. So I was kind of that kid. I'd ride into the school. You know, then back then, we didn't wear helmets or anything. And I'd stroll into school and. And that's where the. That's where the party and that's where the fun started. This was. This was an elementary school. I wasn't. I wasn't mature enough to dive into the classes, so I was just there to have a good time. To have a good time. To have a good time. So that lasted till fifth grade.

[A]

Till fifth grade.

[B]

And they said, hey, this guy might need to go somewhere else. So. So I then went to another school in Atlanta.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Tried that on for size six in seventh grade. Yeah, that really didn't take. I couldn't ride my motorcycle to school, but I was still the class clown. And. And then there. There really, at that point, wasn't many other options for me. In Atlanta. So I went to school. I think my dad and some of his buddies made a group discount deal and they sent a about four or five kids from Atlanta to this school in Connecticut. So we all went up there in eighth grade and there's like four or five of us.

[A]

It was a boarding school.

[B]

Yeah, it was a boarding school in Connecticut, a junior boarding school. So we cut our teeth there. And it was young to be in boarding school at that time. I mean, I won a wrestling tournament. So the only reason why I know this is because I've got the little brackets and I won the 75 pound wrestling tournament. That's so cool. So when I look at that, I'm like, did my parents really, when I was £75, send me all the way to Connecticut? And that's the truth.

[A]

That's small.

[B]

I was a little dude. Wow. But I gotta tell you, I mean, when. When you have the experiences and you're off and you're in seventh grade and you're 30, 13 years old or whatever age I was, you're learning through a pack of other kids.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

And you really got to learn how to fight for yourself, defend yourself, eat, you know, figure out, you know, how to manage your time.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Life skills. Right. Oh, my God.

[A]

But imagine.

[B]

But you don't have, you know, what do they call it? Parachuting parents. What's the term? Yeah, you know, helicopter. You don't helicopter parents. You don't have all that in boarding school when you're in seventh and eighth grade.

[A]

Yeah. 900 miles from home.

[B]

So you really got to figure out stuff on your own. And. Wasn't fun, wasn't easy, but it sure did teach me a lot.

[A]

Yeah, I'll bet.

[B]

So when I got to a beautiful school, Woodbury Forest, it was like on 2000 acres. It was like a country club. I thought I died and went to heaven. I was like, whoa, are you kidding me?

[A]

No parents around.

[B]

I can fish in the morning. I got, you know, phenomenal teachers that want to be there. I loved my experience, 9th through 12th at Woodbury Forest. And my relationships, my friends, I had deep relationships because you're, you know, on this campus and you don't leave much and you have to make your own fun and everything else. And that's where I really grew up and really loved just being around other people and playing sports. I loved sports. I was a wrestler, I was a football player till everybody else got a lot bigger than me. And baseball. And I learned how to fish, fly fish in the river there. And Just, I loved my 9th through 12th experience. It was an all boys school. It was an all boys school. So, you know, they would bus the girls in on the weekends for dances and things. And, you know, me and my roommate Sanders, we had some. We had girlfriends in the neighboring little village of Orange, Virginia. So we had it. We had a great time.

[A]

Let's come back a couple years. Tell me what it was like, like growing up. How many siblings? Where were you in the birth order?

[B]

Yeah, I was the youngest kid. My sister, Faint, was very gifted academically. Yeah. I think she scored a perfect score on her sat. She ended up going to Harvard and, you know, has just, you know, she's an artist and a writer. She's a wonderful lady. But she had the IQ of the family. And in. In this world we lived in, she fit in the school box about as good as anybody could fit in the school box. So from a success standpoint and being successful early on, she was the golden. She was the golden one.

[A]

Yeah. Older sister.

[B]

Yeah. Coming up and being Fame's little brother, that I guess I didn't have the iq. I had eq, which I learned later.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

Emotional intelligence made me feel better about myself. Like, oh, there's this thing called eq and. But. Oh, you've got a lot of that. Okay, cool. That's good.

[A]

Right?

[B]

But I didn't fit in that box of success early on.

[A]

Makes sense. Sure. Yeah.

[B]

So.

[A]

So she. She goes to school.

[B]

School.

[A]

She has, sounds like, almost no hiccups. She just goes through the system, comes out, is successful, and continues on that path. And what does that, what did that feel like back in that time? What did that feel like for you, watching that, knowing that you're going a different way?

[B]

Well, I was. I had a lot of friends, and I was just in it for the social, in it for the laughs.

[A]

The party planner.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, the teacher would turn around and. Right on the chalkboard. I was on my. My seat, you know, air surfing, I mean, you know, and throwing things to my buddies and everything else. I mean, I was, I had. I had a lot of fun. I was looking for a lot of laughs.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

But not focused on anything because I didn't. I wasn't interested in much except for history a little bit, you know, starting out. But. But they started a class for me and my really good friends, Sanders included. We couldn't do regular chemistry, and we had to get through that credit. So they figured out a class that they could start called Chemistry in the Community, and there was Me and four or five of my buddies in there, and they developed this class for us, and we. We all got through chemistry.

[A]

Wow. Yeah. What was it all about?

[B]

Well, I don't even know chemistry in the community. Like, you know, what's.

[A]

What's.

[B]

Like, what's in a pool? What's in a. You know, I mean, actually, really cool. Yeah, it was great. I mean, it was. We had a fun teacher, and it was all we could handle at the time.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Back home, then. So you're in Connecticut. Mom and dad are back home.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

What was. What were things like with mom and dad?

[B]

Fantastic. They've been married for over 50 years. They're both 83 years old right now. Loving parents. My dad was a very successful businessman. Home builder.

[A]

Right.

[B]

He sold his company when he was probably 52 years old.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And then did investments, you know, from then on out.

[A]

And that company, I mean, every. I don't think there's anybody in Atlanta that doesn't know the name. Tell us a little bit about it. How did it start? What was it? It was golf courses. It was a bunch of stuff.

[B]

Well, he, you know, our family early on, starting in, like, 1904, you know, was. Was, you know, Ansley park in Atlanta, developed that. Ansley Country Club, you know, and all kinds of different things. That wasn't my dad. That was just part of the family. And then dad came around, started Colony Homes.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

With his friend Tom Bradbury In 1975, the year I was born. And they built a great company up and ended up selling it right when I was finishing up University of Georgia. So. So the nice thing for me is I always thought I was going to go work with my dad, and he ended up selling the company probably my senior year of college. So I never got to really do that. Except we've been able to work over the last 30 years with different deals we've done together and stuff like that. So we've had a great time.

[A]

Special.

[B]

Special time doing different deals together. Together. But the nice thing about that is, is I never had to work in a big company as the. The founder's son. So I got to go out early and try to create my own path.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Which, looking back, was probably a really good thing to do.

[A]

A really good thing. Let's focus on that. That little time timeline between high school and college. Where did you go to college? What was your deciding factor of choosing that school and that whole process, what did it look like?

[B]

Well, I didn't have a lot of options in University of Georgia. Thank gosh that six generations ahead of me went there. So I got into University of Georgia. It was a lot easier to get in in 1995.

[A]

It's brutal now.

[B]

So I got into University of U. Georgia. I. I pledged a fraternity, which I absolutely loved. I ended up being president of that fraternity, SAE my senior year. I was rush chairman my sophomore year. So I got to really develop great relationships with the younger guys from all these different little towns in Georgia. Coming in. And if you're going to work in Georgia, which I have, knowing all these great kids and now friends from every little area of Georgia has been really awesome.

[A]

I'll bet.

[B]

And being rush chairman and really starting to meet all the younger guys coming up and then running the fraternity as a senior. I mean, I was really into it. I knew everybody, and I still keep up. I am very good at keeping up with my friends.

[A]

You are.

[B]

I'm really. I love my friends, and I've got just. I think I've got the best friends in the world.

[A]

So you're a connector.

[B]

I just. We do fishing trips and golf trips, and we. We text. Text. You know, 50, 60, 80 texts a day with friends and group text. And. And they're all from high school or college or new friends that I'm meeting when I sell them a house. I also develop great relation. That's why I love my life.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because I'm around people and I get to meet very interesting people, and it fuels me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, and if there's. If there's somebody that I'm with that, you know, takes energy away, I don't. Right. I don't spend any time with them because I love people that help me gain energy. And I've got a lot of folks that do that.

[A]

Yeah. That's awesome. We. We're working now with the kids. I love this term. They brought it home from school. It's. Are you a bucket filler? So we're teaching them to be bucket fillers. Filling up the bucket really smart instead of pulling out of the. But it's just a cool little term.

[B]

But I love it.

[A]

I'm curious. I have a feeling there was a business or something you were doing in college. You're the president of a fraternity. I don't know how much studying you were doing, but I want to hear from you on that. Was there a business?

[B]

Well, that's really. I. I was learning outside the box. Right. So this started in high school. High school. Probably starting my sophomore year. I started making T shirts, and we would sell Them to the. This was 1992. Okay, 1993.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

And I had an immediate group. So when the freshman came in as a sophomore, junior, I'd come in with a bag of T shirts and tell them they had to buy a t shirt for 15, 20 bucks.

[A]

How's that for sales?

[B]

Well, they had a shirt. Yeah. Here's your shirt, dude. Gas only, cash only. And, man, I sold a ton of T shirts in high school. And then I started selling hats, and then I started cross selling to other schools when we play football games against them. Our main rivalry was Episcopal High School. And I had this hat called the game and, you know, hundredth game. And these kind of, you know, and I sell them to the other. Other schools and create T shirts that both could wear and hats that both could wear. And I learned cross selling, selling, and I learned how to have a partner on the other side at the other school. It was awesome, man. I made a ton of money, cash money.

[A]

That's so cool.

[B]

And that's what kind of fueled me. I mean, I wasn't having success like everybody else, you know, making straight A's, but I was making cash money.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Making T shirts. And that kind of went into college. My freshman year of college, started a legitimate company where we bought silk screen printers. We had interns that worked at the University of Georgia to help design graphically. And the. The slogans and the. And the shirts we were doing, we'd sell them to every fraternity and sorority at Georgia for every party that they would do. Then we'd start making mugs and all kinds of stuff. It was so cool. And that's awesome. And I, you know, I had cash money as a. As a. As a college guy, and I'd buy a four wheeler or put on bigger tires on my car. And then I bought a ski boat, which helped with the ladies. The ladies in a cooler beer. We go, you know, skiing on the lake, and we had a great time.

[A]

That's awesome. So there's no. I love that how you said it. There's learning, like, what's going on out in the, like, books and. But you're learning the world whether you knew it or not.

[B]

I was studying people. Yeah, I was studying people when I was figuring out what made people go and what made them tick and what questions could I ask? Could you be a good listener? You know, could you be a good friend? You know, I learned all those things, and I became really, really good at that kind of stuff.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which, you know, made me a good salesperson. A Natural salesperson where I didn't have to try to be outgoing and to get people's phone numbers and to ask for them, ask for a sale. I didn't have to try for that stuff. It came so naturally for me. And I think that really goes back from my boarding school days. Right. And. But, but, but, but those little businesses in high school and college really framed me to do what I've done over the last 30 years. I'm 50 years old now, right. And I'm a salesman. I'm a connector. And that's. That's all I am. I'm, I'm. I knew that I wasn't going to be a lawyer or nuclear scientist or a doctor. I mean, I. I just knew that wasn't in the cards Right. For me and never tried to pursue things that I knew I wasn't going to be really, really good at or natural at.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And lucky for me, I learned that at an early age. Right. Some people try all these different things and they become 40 years old and they really haven't found what they love to do yet, what their passions are, but make sure that their skill set, what they're good at, morphs into what their passion is. So they've got a natural way to spend their days and have fun that works for their body and their mind. And luckily I was able to find that early on. And it goes back to my boarding school days.

[A]

Yeah. And something. You. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you had support from home doing all this, man. It wasn't like. But I'll stop doing this. You can't own a business. You're too young. Yeah, because that's common talk.

[B]

Well, let's. Let's talk about that for a minute. Well, in that time period, they were just discovering why some kids act the way they do, why some kids think the way they do. And they'd say, oh, this kid's got a learning disability. He needs to be in the small room next door. And you did with the three other kids.

[A]

What did you have?

[B]

Well, I had everything. Look, you can find something wrong, especially these days where, where now everybody's looking for something.

[A]

Everybody look hard enough and you'll find everybody's got something. Right?

[B]

And maybe my. What do they call it? This lobe, the frontal lobe. Maybe my frontal lobe didn't develop, you know, as fast as. Whatever. The thing is, I was immature. I was having fun. But I was also not interested in things that I wasn't interested in and I couldn't. Interested. So they call that add.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

All right, Big deal. But the things that I'm interested in, man, I'm gonna hyperfoc.

[A]

I'm gonna lock in, look out.

[B]

I'm gonna lock in on those things. So they now phrase that, you know, hyper focusing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Okay, that's cool. Whatever.

[A]

It's a string.

[B]

It's a strength. It's a strength today. But when you're in the little, small, little room with the other ADHD kids, like, okay, whatever. Also dyslexic. Okay. Oh, no. What's gonna happen there? All right, well, that just means I learn differently. It means I'm not gonna score well on text. It means that, you know, my. Like, unlike my sister, you know, the wires in my brain aren't all connected.

[A]

The.

[B]

When I say the right way, the way that most kids, lines are connected in their brain.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So being dyslexic, my lines are all messed up. Not messed up, but just curving and doing different things. Yeah. Yeah. So I learn differently.

[A]

Differently.

[B]

I see things differently. I read differently.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Takes me a longer time to read. But maybe I like now to listen to books, listen to podcasts, get the same information. I can. I can remember things maybe better than other people. Sometimes I got a photographic memory, which has been helpful, but because these lines aren't like everybody else's, I see things, I do things differently. Okay, that's not a big deal. But it is early on. So the school I went to in Connecticut, seventh and eighth grade, specialized in kids like me. So they taught me. I had the parents that were able to send me to a school to help me learn. The way my brain is orchestrated, Phenomenal.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Not every kid gets that right, and it breaks my heart. So my passion is, I try to support other schools. There's a school that my buddy's doing called Thrive in Atlanta, which helps kids that might not have the resources to help learning. If you're dyslexic in this and that maybe come from a broken home and don't have the resources to kind of get. This guy's doing amazing things. Like schools in Atlanta, like the speech school or Skank, helps kids, you know, that learn differently. Not they don't learn badly. They just learn differently. And early on, because when I was coming up, they didn't have all those type of school schools. I had this one in Connecticut that I went to, but that helped me understand, hey, man, I'm not a weirdo. I'm gonna be okay. And my parents were fully supportive in that, and that was huge.

[A]

It's huge. So give me. Give me an example. Like when you say you couldn't. You didn't read, or you read differently, like, what'd you see?

[B]

Or the letters are all.

[A]

They're backwards.

[B]

Backwards. And, you know, but. But then you take a step back and you figure out the ways to read differently and stuff like that. And I do all that. It's no big deal. I love to read. It just takes me a longer time to read a book than you probably, and other folks, but I still retain the information and everything else. But it also enhances your communication skills. Right. So you learn how to coexist without some of the easier things that other kids might have. But you're able to communicate and persuade people and be able to talk and communicate to your teachers in a way that they want to help you get the grade and get through. Yeah, yeah. You just. You learn a lot of other skills. Skills with this deficiency that you supposedly have.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, you know, my goal is to. How do you take your perceived liabilities in life and flip them and turn them into your greatest assets? Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

As you know, I wrote a book about that that I'm sure we'll talk about later.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But, you know, when I get a call from parents that know my story and they say, oh, little Johnny just got diagnosed with dyslexia. We're sick about it. We don't know what to do.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's the greatest thing that you've.

[A]

Rejoice.

[B]

Rejoice. This kid's going to be great. You just got to put him in a place to succeed.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In school. So he can keep his confidence. If a kid loses his confidence, you got a problem. And I was never. I never got to a point where I lost my confidence. I always had way too much confidence, frankly, which is a good thing. But. But. But that's because my parents were so supporting and loving with me going through all this special.

[A]

That's incredible. When was the first time you can remember having, like, a mentor in life? Not. Not your parents.

[B]

An actual mentor, I would say my wrestling coach. Mr. Glover.

[A]

High school.

[B]

High school, yes. So this guy, I think he was a Vietnam veteran. He's been coaching wrestling forever. Never had kids of his own. He passed away this year. That guy's changed a lot of lives. You know, our wrestling team won the state and was nationally ranked every year that he was coach, and he was coach decades and decades at Woodbury, and he was a great mentor. And he knew I was a little wild and, you know, needed those extra, you know, bars around me and things like that. But he knew how to, you know, push my levers to get the most out of me in sports and how to stay on track with school and working out and eating right as a wrestler. You got to maintain a weight and things like that.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

All great lifestyles. That was probably my. Outside of my parents, that was probably my first really great mentor.

[A]

Yep. So he latched on to you.

[B]

Yeah, I saw some potential.

[A]

Saw some potential. What's something like, how did he have your life set up? Give me an example. You're wrestling.

[B]

Well, he probably just had me. My day was pretty filled, so I wouldn't get in trouble, frankly. I mean, you know, in the morning you're gonna do this. You gotta eat this way. You're lifting weights, you're, you know, working out till seven, you know. Yeah. Wrestling. And then you're doing schoolwork. Yeah. It Woodbury, we had school on Saturdays, so we had six days of school. So it was hard to get in trouble because you were overly busy, cooked with stuff. And for a kid like me, that was pretty good. And we had a half day of school on Tuesday, a half day of school on Saturday so we could play sports more Tuesdays and Saturdays. Then you had Sunday, where I went. Learned how to, you know, fish and have a good time. We had a, we had a river, you know, at the base of our school at Woodbury where we would all go hang on Sundays and have a great time.

[A]

Yeah. So they're, they're teaching habits using the model of show me exactly what to do instead of the other one, the other approach, which is here's all the things to not do. Yeah, right. They're filling your schedule up.

[B]

Filling your schedule.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. So you said, and you said he just passed away. Did you have a relationship with him?

[B]

Oh, yeah. All the way through.

[A]

Outside, past high school, though.

[B]

Sure, absolutely. Yeah.

[A]

Special.

[B]

And he had relationships like, like that with probably most of the wrestlers that went through.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, it's awesome.

[A]

All right, let's move up to college now. Sir, you're, you're uga. You're crushing it in business.

[B]

I mean, crushing is an understatement, but I was making cash. I was having.

[A]

For that time.

[B]

For that time for a 20 year old, 18 year old dude.

[A]

Yeah, I was, I was doing, Living, Living life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Give me, give me an example. In college and question.

[B]

In college is having the big super subwoofers in your car.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Having the big tires, having a, you know, winch on the front of your car and, you know, maybe a sunroof in a boat, Like. Yeah. I was crushing it, crushing it, crushing it.

[A]

When is it time that it sucked? Give me anything you can remember in college that sucked, whether it was you couldn't get past a class.

[B]

Yeah, well, struggle. Yeah. Class sucked. Right. But I ended up, you know, hiring a note taker.

[A]

Come on.

[B]

Yeah, it was like. It was an exchange student, and I hired him to come to class with me and take notes, unfortunately. This is awesome. Unfortunately, he couldn't take my test for me, but he would take notes in class.

[A]

Like, he was allowed to come and take notes.

[B]

I don't know if he was or not, but he came to class with me and he took notes.

[A]

You're an innovator. And.

[B]

And. And then he. He helped me get ready for the test.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I can't even think of his name, but he was definitely.

[A]

You sold him a house from another country.

[B]

I need to find that. I wish I kept up with him 20 years later. I mean, he'd probably be my CFO or something, but he was. He was great. And, yeah, he came to class with me, and, you know, I introduced him as my note taker. And, like, you know, he's kind of my boy. Sometimes he'd ride on my motorcycle to class with me. So cool.

[A]

It was amazing.

[B]

And also, having a motorcycle in college was great because parking was really hard, and I would just pull right up, walk into class with my helmet on. Sometimes I'd keep my helmet on during class, and my note taker would just rock and roll. But I had a great time. But that. That was until I figured out how to do that. That was kind of part of my program to get through. But I will tell you this. When I got through the core classes, freshman, sophomore year, I got into the Terry Terry College of Business, and I had to pick a major, so I picked real estate because my dad was in it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I went into the first real estate class. I'll never forget. I even know the guy's name. His name was Dr. Downs. That was the professor's name.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we had. And he was talking about, hey, guys, we need to do a case study on this developer who's looking at this piece of property and gave all the criteria of the property, the zoning, what he has to pay for the property, what the highest and best use could be. How do you get that finance, how do you build it? How do you do the cost? And how do you get revenue from the. I was like, man, this is, this is cool. Like so many different facets that I actually understand how all these things piece together. I was sold, man. I was like, I want to learn as much about real estate. This teacher's cool.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He's speaking to me the right way. I can understand him the way that he teaches. And I took every real estate class I could, and I did. I got A's on all of them because I loved it. I got rid of the note taker for those things. Yeah. I didn't bring them in. I was taking my own notes, figuring the stuff out, dialed in, taking extra credit, learning different stuff stuff. Talking to my dad about it, which was really cool. Hey, dad, this is what I learned, you know, that was super cool, man. And. And then from there, I graduated with really good grades.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

From the Terry College of Business. Like all like, legit grades. Like my stuff. Your stuff. Yeah.

[A]

No note take. Yeah, he's gone.

[B]

He's gone.

[A]

But it kind of shows you, man.

[B]

Like, when you find something that you like, like you can roll, you can roll with it and you can learn. And I kept learning. I keep learning today. I mean, I'm doing some new stuff today. Learning about different ways that, that, that people make money in real estate separate from the way that I've done it. I mean, I've been a commercial broker, I've been a residential broker. I've done a series of developments throughout my 30 year career. And there's a lot of ways to do it. I'm. I'm learning every day. But I just, I do love every facet of real estate.

[A]

It sounds like it started there for you. The real estate was right there.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you think it was more the instructor, more the content? A mix of the two?

[B]

Mix of the two.

[A]

Okay, mix of the two.

[B]

Mix the two. Get to my senior year, I buy a hundred thousand dollar lot in Atlanta while I'm living in Athens. Design a house myself, hire a builder, build it. I'm in at $305,000.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Graduate college, get four roommates. One guy couldn't pay, so we made him cut the grass and clean the house.

[A]

That's awesome. That's great.

[B]

Whatever. Yeah, they're all C. And lived in that house for a year. Had the roommates paying the mortgage, got a mortgage, learned all that stuff my senior year, got the house built, sold it after a year, made $100,000.

[A]

Pure profit.

[B]

Pure profit.

[A]

Because you probably weren't paying any of the mortgage.

[B]

No.

[A]

You had them covered. Totally.

[B]

And then moved to Savannah, Georgia and started My real estate career.

[A]

So now you're off to Savannah. What. What brought you there in the first place? Was it a job?

[B]

Well, no, I. I wanted to get out of Atlanta.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Right. I. Everywhere that I went and talked to, it was kind of like, oh, you're, you know, Bono's son.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I just kind of wanted a clear, clean path. So I drove to Savannah, and there was a new development going on called the Ford Plantation. And I called Peter Pollack, who turned out to be a sales mentor for me. And let's pin that for a minute. But you gotta understand, I look like I was probably 16, 17 years old when I finished college. And I said, man, I want to sell for you. Well, you know, you have no experience. These are expensive lots, you know, these are this. These are that. I said, I'll work for free. Can you just give me a list of people that's on the prospect list that you're having trouble reaching? And I will try to get them to the property, then you can sell them. No risk.

[A]

Bird dog.

[B]

And he said, sure. No. No skin off my back. So I started calling, developed skills on the phone to connect, to get trust, and then threw the offer out. Why don't you come down for a discovery weekend and look at the property? Does next weekend or three weekends away work for you? Started booking people. And then there was one client that was coming in, and Peter couldn't meet him. And all the other sales guys were booked.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

So he's like, but no, it's showtime. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Let's go clean my car. They came in immediately, connected immediately, did my thing, got him in the car, sold them a $500,000 lot. Come back in, write it up. They leave. Guy comes and goes, how was the showing? I go, got a contract. What? Sold a contract. So then that put me in the game. That was about four months in, and then it was on. I just started calling, booking, and I. The first year in the business, I was selling more than anybody, and I had a blast. I was like, this is my calling. I was selling the dream because I was just selling lots. So I'd be like, you can build this. You can do this. You can learn how to fly fish. You can learn how to, you know, shoot sporting clays. Your golf game is going to be. I mean, I was selling the dream of what their retirement was going to look like on this lot. I was, like, really good at it. But I had to overcome looking young and. Yeah, because these guys were older and they were coming in like, hey, is your dad going to show us? Is. You know, I'm like, I got you. You know, and, and, and developing that trust immediately. Like, so they didn't think they were passed on to the young guy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But figured out my, my spiel and what I was talking and my pitch and my follow up and how I was going to make deals and ask for the deal. And Peter Pollock taught me, you know, what a special situation was. How do you leverage urgency? How do you have a fear of loss when you leave that this deal that I just gave might not be here when you come back. All these different techniques I really mastered because I had a lot of people to work them on as they were coming in. This was like 1999 and year 2000. And then I started to sell the lot and they said, well, I need to be set up with an architect and a builder. So I developed these other relationships which helped me later in my career where I'd say, okay, Jeff, you just bought a lot. Here's the builder. And the builder takes over and he builds a house. I'm like, that builder just made a bunch of money. Architect made a bunch of money. I sold the lot. Right, Right. So fast forward about two or three years of me being at Ford Plantation. There was a new development coming up called Palmetto Bluff.

[A]

Oh, I know it.

[B]

Where my best friend from Atlanta came down with me to Savannah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

When we decided to leave Atlanta, he was one of the roommates. He was the one cutting the grass. No way. So. So Keen was down in Savannah with me and he started working at Palmetto Bluff on the development side.

[A]

Yeah. Was the golf course there?

[B]

No, nothing was there. It was 20, 000 acres and there was just a design and a plan. And I ended up partnering with the builder from Ford Plantation.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And borrowed some money from SunTrust bank and my father and worked a deal out with the guys, the developers from Palmetto Bluff, where we were going to take down half of the core village. So nothing was built yet, but they needed a heartbeat and they needed product to come up with the hotel and the chapel and the post office and all these other stuffs they were building. So we paid them half the money for the lot. We were going to pay them the other half once we sold the house. So the cost to get into business was fairly achievable.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And we started. We built six houses to start. Nothing sold. But right at the time that they finished one weekend, we got the first one sold, then the second and the third, and we started to build six more, and then six more. We built over 100 houses there, all speculative. This was 2002, all the way up to 2007. We'll get to what 2007, 2008 did, but we did very, very well. And I learned a lot on the construction side then in my career. And also during that time, I was also brokering commercial real estate in Savannah, and I structured some big deals down there, learned the commercial business and how that worked as we were building houses at Palmetto Bluff. I got married in 2001 to my college sweetheart, Shin McDonald. And what a. That's the best deal I've ever made in my life. And it's the most important.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is finding a partner that believes in you and also lets you do what you want to do in this life. We met when we were 18 years old. I'll never forget. We were at a pledge keg where a fraternity and sorority kind of get together. And I saw her. She was the only girl from Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma was what she was, that went to public school and from Atlanta. And she got into school, and I just said, this girl is amazing. And we started dating pretty much the moment we saw each other. We were 18, 19 years old. And we've been together ever since, till today. And I will say that is the most important thing, is finding a partner for life that believes in you, appreciates how hard you work, appreciates the things that come from hard work and don't. Doesn't take anything for granted. I couldn't do anything without her. We've been married almost 25 years. So back to that. So we. She. We got married 2001. Right. Was. I was starting all this stuff in Savannah. Had some success selling houses. She got pregnant with Blakely. Our first. We built our dream house. On the Savannah River. No, on the Wilmington River.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

We had a little dock and a little boat. We built this beautiful house. We were there for one year. Jen was nine months pregnant. Guess what? Everything changed. Nine months pregnant. We were three weeks away from having the baby. Lightning hits our house, it burns all the way to the ground. We lost everything that we owned. All of our wedding pictures, our college pictures, our high school books, all the stuff my parents gave me to furnish the house. We had a nursery built, right? Ready to go for Blakely, literally. We lost everything we owned. And then I learned about transitional intelligence. What's that? Well, that's when shit hits the fan and how you deal with a transition, a major transition. We have nothing that we own except what was in our cars that day. We're about to have a baby in three weeks. How do we do life together? How do we go from living in a beautiful house and having great business and having a great first couple years of marriage to losing everything? And after a night of crying and figuring it out and everything else, we stood up and started life again. And we moved to Atlanta.

[A]

Just like that.

[B]

Yep. So that was. We got married in 2001. This was 2004.

[A]

Okay, four.

[B]

And fire happened. Week or two later, we moved to Atlanta. We rent a house. We have Blakely, who's been. Been such a joy. She's 20 years old right now. She's at TCU. She's been working with me during the summers. She's going to be the best real estate agent ever. Great personality. Amazing. So. So we had Blakely, and we transitioned to a life in Atlanta.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We kept things going at palmetto bluff. We'd go down there, you know, a couple times a month, and we started to build 23 townhomes on Peachtree road and build this great development with Carter, which was. Which still is one of the top firms in Atlanta. And I learned so much from a commercial development. We were building with stick frame, with wood at palmetto bluff. When we started building these townhomes, it was all concrete. Commercial construction, you know, big parking deck. Concrete parking deck below, built on top.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

And I learned so much, and I was kind of helping develop them and also sell them. Everything was going really, really great until 2008, where we probably had most of these things, these townhomes that we were building under contract. And then Lehman brothers crashed, Stock market crashed, the mortgage industry collapsed.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And nobody came to closing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So we had another spot where transitional intelligence took over. And I went from being a developer of sorts, Palmetto bluff also kind of who went down in 2008. All of our lots that we were holding in inventory, that thing. The music stopped there. The music stopped at the townhome development. And I transitioned in 2009 to be a single real estate agent. Like 26, 000 other real estate agents in Atlanta at the time.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

But I knew if I was going to be a real estate agent, that I wanted to do things differently than everybody else.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I became obsessed with the business. I became obsessed with being the number one real estate agent in Atlanta. I became obsessed with marketing my houses. Better, bigger, more bold.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I came obsessed with everybody that I came in contact with that I made sure that they knew that I Sold real estate. I was obnoxious. I just made sure that everybody I came in contact with, even if it was the valet person at the restaurant.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I would give them $100 and a stack of brochures to say, hey, every Porsche and Mercedes that you're parking tonight, make sure that you put my brochure in their passenger seat. Wow. You know the guy that cuts my hair, Tommy, he's been cutting my hair for decades. And my dad's hair. Anytime he's cutting somebody's hair and they're talking about selling their house, make sure they give them my brochure. Not my business card, my brochure with more information.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

With houses that I've got. I became the number one real estate agent in Atlanta my first year in the business.

[A]

That's incredible.

[B]

And from then, I was able to double my business every year up until 2015, seven years in a row. So how do you do that? It's a mindset. It's like when Kirby, the coach for university of Georgia, wins a national championship. How is he going to repeat that next year? Half of his players go to the NFL. A lot of his coaches gets picked off to go coach somewhere else because he's had tremendous success. How is he going to do it again? Well, if it ain't broke, break, break it right. So, so, so, so, so change everything to start the season. Know the goal at the end is to win a national championship or for me to double my business, Double my business.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So January 1st, every single real estate agent starts with zero, zero volume. After having a great year, their best year. How do you do that again and double it? So if I did 50 million and next year I was going to do 100 million January 1st, I'm thinking like a hundred million dollar agent. What does that mean? Well, that probably means hiring for the extra business, hiring an assistant, another assistant, doubling down twice as much on marketing, on phone calls, on going out at night to meet twice as many people. Right. So I consistently did that, and I made sure that my habits were on par with my goals for tomorrow. So if my goals were for tomorrow to double every year, I'd have to change my habits to make sure that they were on par with what I needed to do by the end of the year.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

So there's a lot of different habits changing. If I did the same thing that I did the year before, what would happen?

[A]

You get the same thing or less.

[B]

You get the same results.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So I became obsessed with that concept and that mindset to do that. Fast forward to 2015. I've been doubling my business, doubling my business, doubling my business. I did the same in 2015, which was a lot, and I kind of hit a ceiling in Atlanta. So at that point, I shifted and I said, well, how am I going to continue to grow? And at that moment, I started Ansley Atlanta Real Estate.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So I started using the same mindset that I had with growing my business with Ansley Atlanta Real Estate, which we started in 2015 with Just Me. Then I brought over my team, and then I brought over some other agents, and I started growing that and doubling that every year, tripling that every year with the same concept, or are your habits on par with your dreams for tomorrow as a company? And we grew, grew, grew. And in the meantime, by doing that, I was still selling real estate. And somehow when I started the business, my production started to grow.

[A]

Your individual.

[B]

My individual production. So I was growing my individual production where I was selling 300 to 460 million. 460 million of volume was my best year ever. 2021. That was a great time to sell real.

[A]

I like how you say 460 million. You say it the way I say $28.

[B]

It was amazing. It was amazing year.

[A]

I mean, incredible.

[B]

But by doing that, also the. The company now we have over 500, 550 real estate agents in Georgia. We had to change the name from Ansley Atlanta to Ansley Real Estate. And then in 2021, I bought, with partners in private equity, Christie's International Real Estate, which is a global firm. They had Christie's Auction and Christie's Real Estate. We bought the real estate side.

[A]

Huh.

[B]

So we ended up putting. Changing the name again from Ansley Real Estate to now Ansley Real Estate, Christie's International, which helped us grow even more and more and have an international flair with also being hyper local.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Grew that, grew that, grew that. And it came to this year, 2025, where we packaged Ansley Real Estate and Christie's, and we sold those with my partner's company in Chicago at properties. Yeah. And we sold that for a great number to Compass Real Estate. And now we're, you know, part of the largest real estate company in the country. And they've got super brands. We kept our brands individual. So we're keeping Ansley or keeping Christie's.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And the names and the way that we operate them, and nothing's changed. We just have a different owner of the brands. Sure. Man. I've learned so much on. On. On how, you know, business Works and you grow it and you, you, you, you, you gain EBITDA and then you sell for multiples, and then you gain stock. And now I have all this stock in Compass, and I'm watching the stock ticker, and it's just been so fun. Just a guy. I'm just a real estate agent and now got all these cool things that I'm watching and learning, and it's been a phenomenal ride. And I pinch myself, Jeff. I pinch myself every day. Like, how did the class clown, you know, be able to be in the right situations to be able to now have this great company which is. And I love all of our agents, and we love watching them succeed. And that's how we get fuel. And the agents that come to us all do better, and they have better tools and better technology, and we have a whole system that, a support system that helps them, and we just do things differently. That's one reason why we've been able to grow so much. I was so naive in 2015 when I said, I'm going to start a company. I'm going to start a real estate company in Atlanta, Georgia. And looking at the landscape, there's like all these other huge companies, giants, you know, that have been in business for a hundred years. I'm just gonna start a company, no problem. But I was so naive just to say I'm gonna jump in with the big guys. And now we're one of the biggest, one of the most successful in Georgia because of my naivety to say I'm betting on myself. Yeah, I don't know what. I don't know.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And I'm just gonna go. And people are everything. How you hire people and the people that are on your team, on the executive team. I don't. The way that I lead, I don't lead with task. I lead with responsibility. Let's take Julie Harris, for example. She's been. She was with another brokerage for 20 years. She was a marketing assistant in the Buckhead office. She didn't know what her true potential was. And I did. And I said, julie, I know you've been with this company for 20 years. Will you trust me to come over with me? I know we're a startup. She was my first hire, and she came over and what she has done, because the potential that she had, she is unbelievable. And she's living to her most potential that she has. And she can do more. She can do more.

[A]

She is more.

[B]

She can even do more than what she's doing now. And the marketing and the branding and everything that she's done has really taken our company to the moon. And then our CEO. I was CEO, and then I said, there's a better way to do this. Yeah. So I hired Lane McCormack, who was a broker, and now she's our CEO, over 500. And however many agents we have, and the way that she leads by example and the way that she does the operations of the company, and, you know, I'm all over the place, so I've got to have these incredible people to run everything. And then I've got. She's been phenomenal, and she's living up to the potential that I saw in her.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then there's countless other agents that were just. Maybe it's a single mom that needed to pay for private school and wasn't making enough money to do that. And we gave her the tools to do the things that she wants to do in her life, and it's just so rewarding. The business that I'm in just fits me to a T. And I'm lucky that I was able to do that. And we tell all of our agents, you know, how you do anything is how you do everything, right? How. How you market, how you are a father or a wife, how you are.

[A]

A parent, how you make your voice message. I remember you saying that, all these.

[B]

Things, but it all translates in how you do your business the right way. Play the long game, not the short game, for commission today. Play the long game for years. Out.

[A]

So cool.

[B]

And that's the way we've done our business, and that's the way our agents do our business and our executive team. We're a family. We talk all. We talk, like, everybody. We talk several times a day to all the executive guys. We were on the same team, and we don't do drama. We just do hard work. And we. And everybody's got their responsibilities, and they're not micromanaged. And the people that we've hired. I mean, I hired a guy named Hill Harper to be my assistant 15 years ago, and I was paying him maybe $30,000. He makes well over a million dollars a year now, and he's living to his way over potential, and he's still got so much more potential to go. He could do anything. And he. And he does. And everybody's so loyal because we're such a good team, and everybody fits in their lane. I only do about 20% of the business, Ansley Real Estate, because that's the 20% that I'm really, really good at. I'm smart enough to know how dumb I am.

[A]

What I mean by that is, is.

[B]

I backfill all the things that I'm not super good at with people that are super good in that field. Me and Hill, who, we just focus on our team that sells real estate, that does the production, the 3,400 million a year. He does things so much better than me and most of the stuff. And I just am really good at a couple things. And we have a really good framework over 15 years that he knows what I do really good, and he knows what he does really good. And then we've got Leslie and Emily and Tucker also on the team. They've all been on the team over 10 years. They're not going anywhere because they know exactly what they do, and they do it better than Hill and I could.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they all fit in their lane. So we have this super team that's able to sell that much real estate because everybody stays in their lane and focuses on what they're exceptional at.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that's been a really great way for me to do as much stuff as I'm doing, have as much production as I am, grow the business as I am, do my private investments, my philanthropy, and also try to be a great husband to Jen and father to my two kids. My other. My. My other kid. We've talked about Blakely. Yeah. Through the Fire, Bo. Ansley. Bono. Ansley iv, we call him Bo.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is also an exceptional kid. He's in 10th grade at McCauley, and he's exceptional tennis player. Really. And he's also a phenomenal student who. He gets that.

[A]

He gets out from.

[B]

He gets that from Mama. But he is really focused on what he wants to do.

[A]

Yeah. And is that tennis?

[B]

It's tennis. It's school tennis. You know, he's on student council. He's doing a lot of cool stuff. He's really going for it in life. Super proud of everything that he's doing. And. Yeah, Jeff, I mean, this. Talking this through with you really makes me feel really grateful to where I am today at 50 years old. Right. I don't have many regrets on pushing business the way that I pushed it. I don't have any regrets on anything. And I just feel that God's given gifts and opportunities have come along, and it's what you make of those opportunities. Some opportunities just slip by people. Others you can grasp on. And I think that when opportunities come, you're able to grasp on them. And I've been able to grasp on different opportunities.

[A]

Yeah. There's so many incredible life lessons here. I mean, you got in the game at an early age. You didn't sit on the sidelines. You got. Got in the game. So you started to learn how life works. And then somewhere you became very curious or competitive or both. And then it's like, man, once you latch on to something, I. I could feel it. I mean, I see it in your expressions. When you. When you start talking about something that's right in your lane, it's like, look out.

[B]

But if it's not in my lane, I am right.

[A]

Just like the core classes. The core classes in college.

[B]

Yeah. Right on, right on.

[A]

Note taker. Yeah. Where's my note taker? All right, so there's. So. There's so much here. Let's go. Let's go all the way back now. You get back to Atlanta, you just filled up. I mean, the next couple years. Incredible how the business started, how it grew, all that. Let's talk about Bono. So that. That's. The company. Company had a great run and still having a great run. And that's an awesome story. What were you doing at the time? What was life like? What were you reading? Were you exercising? What was your routine? Who. Who were you and who are you?

[B]

I was obsessed. And I will tell folks that want success is defined a lot of different ways. Some define it by money. I don't. Some define it by having a wonderful family that's united and great and connected. I do. Some define it as changing people that work with you lives for the positive. I do.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So having a work life balance is tough. And the kids getting out of school say, I want a work life balance. I wouldn't say that. I had a perfect work life balance. When I was starting the business, my wife had to make sacrifices, my kids had to make. I remember coaching my son's little league team first couple years of starting Ansley Atlanta Real Estate, and I was in the outfield on the phone. That sucked. You know, when we go out to dinner, we always sat at the bar so I could meet people on the right and left. That's probably not awesome for Jen. Why not have a table for two by the window where it's just her and I to connect? We did and still do have one night every. Every week that we dedicated for just her and I. Yeah. And I would tell the young folks that are just starting out with marriage to dedicate one night. Monday night, Wednesday night, whatever it is, where you have a set babysitter and you're going out. No Matter what.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But you've really got to pour your life into your business for a little while to get it to a point and then release control to people that you trust and not micromanage them to be able to have balance with family if you can get wrapped up into business. And I could work 24 hours a day if I wanted to, but I'm able to hire really, really good people and let them run with it and not get in their way, and I've been able to do that, which has helped me with balance with family. And now that the company's sold and I only work with clients that I want to work with now, my time is free to not miss a tennis match that Bo's doing, not miss a horse show that Blakely's riding, not miss a night with Jen for dinner. And that's awesome. But it took a lot to get to that point. Now that I'm 50. You know, we've got the time and the flexibility to do stuff that really works for us at this stage.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But you got to get after it when you're starting a business, for sure. And that's why having a spouse that understands that is so important. And that's cheering for you and is a fan for you and part of the business.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I got. I. I got. I got.

[A]

I got one that you hit the lottery.

[B]

I hit the lottery.

[A]

The wife lottery.

[B]

A. Yeah.

[A]

High school sweetheart story.

[B]

College sweethearts.

[A]

College. College. Yeah. A. Did you. Did you do NBA?

[B]

No, my MBA was done. So starting these businesses in college, I was ready to get after it way.

[A]

More than an mba.

[B]

I was ready to get after it right after college.

[A]

Yeah. Building that house.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The first house as a senior in college. All right. But no, six generations. You're the third, Bono, you. There's a lot here, right? Legacy wise, what does this look like, going from three to four?

[B]

Well, Bono, the fourth beau, is in boarding school, which was his idea, but I loved it. But I loved it. I couldn't push him that way. You know, when you go. I got pushed that way because I didn't have any choices.

[A]

Yeah, you.

[B]

But Bo's there, and I really love that he's there because. Because he's in a place where he's creating his own path.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they've got one of the top tennis teams in the country. So his coaches, you know, are like my mentor, Mr. Glover. He's got three or four of those at McCauley that are phenomenal men that are giving him life lessons. He takes lessons A couple times a week from Coach Mack. I don't know how old Coach Mack is, and if you're listening to this coach, I don't know how old you are, but he's an older guy. Yeah. And he. He gives Bo some phenomenal life lessons. And Coach Voges and Coach Clark do the same. But. But he's. He's out there without helicoptering parents.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Now we go to his matches, we talk to him all the time, but he's out there doing his own thing. He's going to be the fourth Bono. You know, I. He's got it, man. He's got it, and he's going to do something awesome.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know if he's going to be a businessman or if he's going to be a coach or a teacher or what his path is going to be. I just want him to live his life to his full potential with whatever his passion is. And that might not be in the business world. I don't know. Might be.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But he could be a great mentor or coach, too. I don't know what he's going to be. Yeah. But I want him to work hard every day and not take anything for granted. And. And he'll do that.

[A]

Yeah. Wow.

[B]

What.

[A]

What was the feeling the day that he brought to you boarding school?

[B]

I was psyched.

[A]

You were psyched?

[B]

Totally psyched.

[A]

You were like, oh, this is awesome.

[B]

When it's selfish. If my wife and I kept him at home for us, we would love for Beau to be home.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But we know with him going away, the different experiences and lessons and everything that he's going to learn up there is. Is more.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's a gift that we're able to, you know, be able to get him to go to a place like that. And I'm excited for him.

[A]

That's so.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

All right, let's close on. Let's close on two big topics that we didn't get into. One is the book. So let's talk a little bit about the book, because that's incredible.

[B]

And especially because I can barely read.

[A]

I know, right? And then I want to know what it's like. I don't know if it was a digital signing or if it was a closing you went to, but what is it like the morning when you're going to hand over your business in a great way, in a positive way, sell your business, but you. You didn't sell it for T shirt business money? I mean, it's a ridiculous number. So tell me those two Things. The book.

[B]

Yeah, so the book. So I was at Bones, which is a great steakhouse in Atlanta. I was having a great dinner with my family and I choked on a piece of meat. And they started to do the Heimlich maneuver on me and it didn't work. And as I was getting the Heimlich, I was looking at my family with nothing to say, and they were looking at me. And it was like slow motion. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't swallow. It was the weirdest feeling. Feeling. And it felt like an eternity. But the stake was just lodged in my throat. And I went down and there was a nurse there, and they came out. I don't remember any of this, but they got me back upright and dislodged the piece of meat. And to do that, they broke several ribs on the side of my rib cage. And I kind of came out of that and woke up the next day and was like, wow, I was having a great meal. And all of a sudden. And people pass away from choking all the time. They run to the bathroom because they might be embarrassed and there's nobody to fix it.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And they die in the bathroom. And as I have choked. I've heard a lot of stories about other people that have choked and passed away. Look, this was close, man.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And over the next couple days, I kind of said, look, I'm going to write a book. And I just started writing and dictating and writing more. And I'd send them to my sister who went to Harvard, who's a writer.

[A]

I like this tie in.

[B]

Oh, wow. So we became very close throughout. We were always close, but just communicating a lot. And she'd kind of take my scratch and turn it into good writing and wrote this book and sent it to a publisher. And they said, this is amazing. And next thing you know, surprisingly, we're a Wall Street Journal best selling book. You know, there's a 1.4 million real estate agents in America. And this book is all about struggles and how to use your God given abilities and how to sell. And my story, just being a dumbass, you know, that kind of wound up selling a lot of real estate and building a business. And I'm very vulnerable in the book as I am with everybody.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

I mean, and people liked it. People started to read it and it's. It's been a lot of fun. It's called Brokering Billions. It's cool.

[A]

That's so cool.

[B]

And it. And it. People in other industries love to read it too, because not just real estate. It's a lot of different lessons on how to get after it.

[A]

Yeah, I love it. All right, cool. Great. Let's end with the sale. The day, the. What did it feel like?

[B]

You know, it really didn't. Didn't feel any different to me. I mean, I've never been motivated by the money. I'm just motivated by the process, and it hadn't slowed me down any. I'm a little less stressed out, but, you know, but it was a nice kind of acknowledgement for hard work, and, you know, Jen was proud of me, and that's all that really matters.

[A]

Oh, that's so sweet. That's awesome. It's a lot, man.

[B]

This has been awesome.

[A]

This has been incredible. This is your life story, man.

[B]

Well, thank you so much. I loved it.