Defining Why: Tyler Fogarty

Defining Why with Tyler Fogarty- Realty Executives West Hillls 

Welcome to this month's edition of our Defining Why blog, where we peel back the layers of our top agents and learn more about why drives them. This month, we sat down with Tyler Fogarty, team lead of the Fox & Fogarty team and REA top producer.

Both my mom and dad have spent most of their professional careers in Real Estate. However, growing up, my parents didn’t tell me what they did every day. I knew it was Real Estate only because I would call a real estate office to ‘page’ my dad to let him know I was going to spend the night at Jimmy’s house. There was no formal introduction to this business and I was completely in the dark on their work life through childhood, high school, and college. Probably for the better!

 

I had plans to move to Chicago after college. I had job interviews and a roommate lined up. It was summertime 2007 - I still had one semester of school left and my mind was already working towards getting started in the real world. I decided I would get my Real Estate License that summer and work for a few months in a real business environment for some experience before I graduated and made the move to Chicago. (Naïve, young Tyler didn’t know RE can’t provide real business world experience as it’s nothing like any other office environment you could work in!)

 

I was licensed by August and Rusty Ensor helped me sell my first home in September. One deal was enough to pique my interest big time. I felt I was getting a formal introduction to the business, I understood the economics side (I had an Economics Degree), I had a natural local network to tap, the paycheck was nice, and it seemed fun and flexible. I worked part-time that fall while finishing school, then I decided to make this my full-time career.

 

I showed up at the office 9am on January 1^st, 2008 to work my first full day in my new exciting career in Real Estate. The market promptly crashed a few months later and sparked one of the toughest economic environments in a generation. Beautiful. On top of that I had no sales skills, no financial IQ, no savings, no business training, and no real work ethic. I went completely broke in 2009 and wrote the last dollar out of my checking account. I cried in the plumbing section of a Home Depot while looking at prices of new water heaters. While on a client call.

 

I thought several times that year about quitting and becoming a bartender or waiting tables. I’m not exactly sure why I didn’t quit other than survival seemed to be this puzzle that I knew I could figure out if I spent enough time and energy on it. I started putting in the long hours, like the reallllly long hours. I figured out first how to work hard. Even today I keep a couch in my office because I slept at the office many times from 2009-2013. I started digesting business books and finance books and sales books. And I started bothering the older, more experienced agents for their tips. There are several agents at REA right now (and some not with us anymore) I owe a major gratitude of thanks for helping push my career growth curve along.

 

Over time the motivation shifted. At the very beginning it was – solve the survival puzzle. How do I survive in this business and make it to next month or next year even?

 

Then once some momentum got going, the motivation was – solve the growth puzzle. How do you push or pull things in the right way to keep on growing?

 

Then I had kids.

 

Today the motivation is – This is my career. I’m good at it, I’ve built a business. Now how do I manage my career in a way that provides a great life for my kids? I need to be able to spend time with them. I need to be able to save money for them. I want to demonstrate how to be a hard worker, how to be a good leader, how to make smart decisions, how to make tough decisions, how to manage your emotions. I want them to see me getting better every day. I want to curate relationships that enrich our lives and I want them to see the importance of maintaining good relationships.

 

The challenges are everywhere. Obstacles are in every facet of our work life and personal life. There is no shortage of competition internally and externally. The trick, I think, is to focus on only a few areas you want to improve.

 

I do this primarily through written goals and a tracking system. Whether it’s Nutrition, Fitness, Finances, Fun, Friendships, Sales, Marketing – any area I want to push – I make written goals and put together a simple system to track it.

 

Then after putting in some work, I celebrate the progress 1^st and foremost. Focus on the positive and don’t be so hard on yourself for not doing better. Then set a new goal, tweak your system, and track again. Rinse and repeat.

 

Slow progress is fine. My target is to be a little better version of myself than I was last year.

Said best by Naval Ravikant:

 

A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love.

These things cannot be bought - they must be earned.

 

 

Tyler Fogarty | Jan. 2023 | tyler@foxandfogarty.com | 124 N Winston Road Knoxville, TN 37919