Send us a text Mike Coyle has been through it. From roofing homes in Chestnut Hill, to partnering with a likeminded business owner, and to running his own appraisal firm: The Coyle Group. While he understands that it takes deals to build a business, he also believes in developing relationships with good people, listening to the stories they tell, and having a passion for what you do. Sean & Tim dive into a boots-on-the-ground discussion with Mike about getting started in business and what...

Send us a text Question of the Day: Where do you want to go, and why? Sounds simple, right? Welp, it isn't. It requires experience, success, failure, and deep inner thought. But, when figured out as early on in your career as possible, you will be in a much better spot to deliver on your own goals, personally and professionally, and not the goals of other people who have nothing to do with your business. Dive into our 95th ep (crazy to say that) with Sean & Tim as they take you down a dee...

Send us a text Tim met Jarrod at the mother of all local real estate events, Triple Play in Atlantic City, NJ. At the time, Jarrod was working at a title company and Tim was running an independent brokerage. Fast forward a few years, and both of their paths have pivoted. In this guest interview, Jarrod believes that life's too short to not enjoy the ride and that leading with empathy allows others to be heard. Dig into this ep with Sean & Tim as they extract life changing advice and persp...

Send us a text Sometimes in business, no matter what field you're in, sales is treated purely as a numbers game. For example, someone may say there are 3 rules in sales: sell, sell, sell. But as much as that's true, and needing to sell is what keeps the lights on, retention is equally (if not more) important than selling. Don't just find another deal, take care of the people you already have. Sean & Tim use an insurance example to break down their own successes and failures in business. T...

Send us a text Although Justin Heath has been at the residential real estate game for just shy of a decade, he has a lifetime worth of real-estate-blood coursing through his veins; through both his Mom & Dad. From pushing through competitiveness as a kid, when he realized he may not be the most athletic, to experiencing a corporate job dead-end while selling in Milwaukee during winter, Justin has amazing perspective for any Realtor or small business entrepreneur on what it takes to succee...

Send us a text The Realtor ... what? Mmm hmm, Tim made that term up; haha. But, for those of you in residential real estate, this is a very real thing. Experiencing the "Realtor Joneses" happens when another real estate agent, leader, or coach starts comparing you to another agent with the intention of making your business bigger, faster, or just more efficient. Dive right into this one as Sean & Tim define the Realtor Joneses and tips on how to avoid falling into this very common compari...

Send us a text If you've ever wanted to invest in real estate, but lack the knowledge or confidence to get started, listen to this episode. Cory Jacobson has cracked the millennial real estate code by house-hacking his first home at a young age with advice from his 9-5 colleague. Through his own trial and error, as well as a solid partnership, he has amassed a portfolio of over 80+ properties since then. Dig into this one as Sean & Tim go mining for nugget after nugget! Our goal with Bri...

Send us a text We took a different route on this B&R ep by focusing on "Year 1" in business for both Sean & Tim. How hard was it to get started in insurance and real estate? What hurdles did we have to clear? What was our mindset in the face of daily doubt? How did we decide to invest in our businesses? Part 2 of a 2 part episode, dive in to learn more about how we both got started! Our goal with Bricks & Risk is that you walk away with 1 or 2 valuable nuggets that can help build...

Send us a text We took a different route on this B&R ep by focusing on "Year 1" in business for both Sean & Tim. How hard was it to get started in insurance and real estate? What hurdles did we have to clear? What was our mindset in the face of daily doubt? How did we decide to invest in our businesses? Part 1 of a 2 part episode, dive in to learn more about how we both got started! Our goal with Bricks & Risk is that you walk away with 1 or 2 valuable nuggets that can help build...

Send us a text Kelly has an unbelievable knack to take something that is fairly complex and provide an easy-to-digest perspective on it. Both Sean & Tim noticed this throughout their conversation with her. As an accomplished entrepreneur and speaker, Kelly's company (Agency Performance Partners) has been inspiring insurance agency owners for more than a decade. In this ep, she gives her own insightful opinion as to why the insurance industry has shifted to a hard market, and how "crispy" ...

Send us a text Today's Bricks & Risk Podcast ep was inspired by a recent article/video we saw about California introducing an "insurance contingency" to it's residential real estate contract, amid insurance concerns in recent years. What was more interesting is that Pennsylvania has already had this option in its contract for years. The video helped Sean & Tim bring up some good insurance and real estate points for their listening/watching community: 1) Make sure you are properly prot...

Send us a text Sean & Tim love that not only does the Bricks & Risk Podcast have a niche focus on real estate and insurance, but that it also spills over to sales, small business, and entrepreneurship. Our discussion with Missy Stallings hits on every one of those categories. Not only did she pivot to owning a business after she earned the #1 sales spot as an insurance rep with Liberty Mutual, but she chose to build an independent brokerage from scratch; just like Sean. From growing a...

Send us a text Have you ever planned and booked your own vacation? In today's internet/AI-fueled world, I would say the super-high majority would answer "Yes." But which kind of vacation is right for you? All-inclusive or a la carte? That's the analogy we set up for today's episode. Tim compares "old-school brokerages" to all-inclusive vacations, and "new-school brokerages" to a la carte vacations; examples, knowledge, and experience abound on this one! Sean's basically along for the ride in ...

Send us a text Sometimes in business, rookies ignore veterans who provide simple, sound advice, such as: "If you just keep doing it, you'll get better." It almost sounds too easy, right? It also sounds like there must be an easier way, correct? Sorry to break the bad news, but there isn't. Success in real estate, or business in general, takes hard work, consistency, and a never-say-die attitude. Dustin Brohm delivers nugget after nugget on this one. Sean & Tim have been waiting a while to...

Send us a text It's very easy in business, when creating, curating, and posting content, to focus on yourself and how good you are at what you do. In all honesty, why wouldn't you tell your network and followers how good you are at what you do and how much you enjoy doing it? But, that approach does not always provide value to your viewers. In fact, it can turn them off, if you're not careful. In this ep, Sean & Tim talk about why it's important to think of your audience first when puttin...

Send us a text We have talked shop on mortgages in past B&R episodes, as that's how Tim started his journey in business, but today's ep with Rob Wishnick is sure to educate and inspire on growing a mortgage business from scratch. Not only will you learn more about mortgages in general, but you'll learn what it takes to start as a solo loan officer and then 10x to a mortgage team; all while managing a wife, kids, home, and a love for baseball cards. Rob and Tim have been working together f...

Send us a text The daily life of a small, independent business owner (aka entrepreneur), is not something that is talked about often. Actually, the general topic of daily life is so infrequent, it's hard for us to find other podcast content that focuses solely on it. Yes, there are plenty of business and marketing podcasts that teach you how to market, build, and scale a business, but there are few episodes that talk about the actual lifestyle and how to get through it. Going off and starting...

Send us a text If you're in real estate and from the Greater Philadelphia area, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who has not heard of Skye Michiels. From a super-successful real estate team leader and brokerage owner, to a nationally acclaimed speaker and coach; Skye's done it all in residential real estate. As a leader, Skye is kind, empathetic, and on a mission to change the way real estate agents and business owners think about their work. From thoughtful, spontaneous conversations wi...

Send us a text Sean & Tim sit at the desk this week and talk about a business marketing strategy that has lost some luster over the past 10 years, but has recently been gaining lots of traction once again: Email Marketing. In this one, we talk about 3 reasons why email marketing is such a smart marketing tactic that a lot of people either overlook or do not stay consistent with. If you want to stay top-of-mind, increase brand-loyalty, and keep your marketing expenses down, dig into this B...

Send us a text Sean & Tim were lucky enough this week to sit down with a local, real estate legend: Lisa Murphy. Lisa is a hard worker, loyal advocate, and a complete self-starter. Her story about buying a Shore house, not being thrilled with her agent, and then just going out and getting her license, is enough to motivate you. In this episode, we talk about the importance of reputation, the hardships when scaling a business, and Philadelphia's sweetheart neighborhood: Roxborough. Listen ...