Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Allen
Hi Jesse, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I moved to Louisville Kentucky back in 2011 with $500 in our bank account and whatever we could fit in our car. I moved up here to apply for the Louisville Metro Police Department because I had just graduated from police academy roughly 6 months earlier. As I was going through the process I needed to make money to help support my wife and I. I started waiting tables and bartending and as I kept working I realized that I was making better money doing this than I would as an officer so I stepped away from that opportunity. I continued to work in restaurants for the next 6 years and worked my way up through management until my wife at the time and I decided to buy a home in Southern Indiana.
Little did I know that this would be the best decision that we ever made. Not because of the house itself but because of who was our agent in the process. His name was Dave and while we were sitting at the closing table he asked the question that would change my life forever. “Have you ever thought about a career in real estate?” I shrugged it off and laughed a little. I let him know that I was making great money in restaurant management and that I was happy with where I was.
Two things I didn’t know at the time. First, he wasn’t talking to me when he asked that question. He was actually talking to my wife. Secondly, I found out that he asks every client that question when they close! We went our separate ways and over then next few weeks that question lingered in my head because I have always felt like I was meant to do more with my life and I wasn’t actually happy with where I was. I worked long hours and never saw my son or my family. I reached back out to Dave and asked if he was serious about his question. He told me to come shadow him for a couple weeks and see if it was something I enjoyed. I did so and over the next 2 weeks I loved getting to interact with people and learning the business. Most of all, I loved the freedom of it all! I told him that I enjoyed it and he told me to start working on my real estate classes. I spoke to my wife and she and I both agreed that it was worth a shot. I put in my 90 day notice where I worked and passed my real estate exam 4 weeks later. I continued to shadow Dave during this time, taking in everything that I possibly could.
My brother, who has been in sales most of his life, heard that I had gotten my real estate license. He was out of town in Chicago and mailed me a letter that I still have framed on my desk to this day. It says:
“Little Brother,
Congratulations on your new career! Sales will either be the toughest, highest paying job you have ever had or the easiest, lowest paying job you have ever had. Out work everyone!”
I share these words with every new agent I speak to and every class I teach. His small act of kindness and advise still pushes me to be great to this day.
I started selling real estate in June of 2017 and was lucky enough to close 16 transactions in that period. I thought I was on top of the world at this point and this is where I learned my first lesson. Always humble yourself. Dave was quick to let me know that I was doing great but also quick to let me know that I needed to remain humble.
I was working open houses every Saturday and Sunday to find business and a good friend of mine asked if I would like to join her team. The first time we met I declined her offer. I was still new to the business and wanted to be loyal to Dave. After all, he was the one who gave me the opportunity. A couple weeks later she asked to meet again to which I agreed. I loved the energy and enthusiasm she had when we spoke. I went to Dave and asked him if I would be afforded the same opportunities working with him and we decided to go our separate ways. This was the second lesson that I learned in real estate. Loyalty is so important but relationships are everything.
I remember sitting down for my first meeting with my new team leader. She asked me how many homes I wanted to put on my goal to sell in 2018. I told her 70 and she nearly laughed in my face. Looking back now I can see why because selling 70 homes in your first year is nearly unheard of. She told me I should put 36 on the sheet because that would be a really great year. I politely told her to write whatever she wanted on the sheet but I was going to sell 70 homes. I worked nearly everyday and pushed myself harder than I ever had. That year on December 28th I closed my 70th transaction but I no longer worked for her team. I learned my next two lessons about real estate during this time. I learned that money isn’t everything and you better know why you want something because if you don’t, you’re going to lose yourself along the way. I also learned that you shouldn’t underestimate someone because not everyone is ok with being average.
On the outside everyone thought I was amazing and doing so great because of my success in real estate. What they didn’t see is the wreckage I had left behind throughout the year. I was constantly sick to my stomach because of stress. My family had fallen apart because I never saw them and I was going through a divorce. I was so exhausted when I got home that I pushed my family off to the side so I could rest. I remember the doctor came in to see me about my stomach issues and I was telling him all of what I had going on. He came up and put his hand on my shoulder and just said “Everything is going to be alright” at which point I started crying uncontrollably.
A good friend of mine had reached out during all of this and asked me to join Keller Williams. She simply asked what I wanted my business to look like. I told her I wanted to continue to make good money but i wanted my time back. She could see something in me that I couldn’t even explain. Have you ever had a friend that knows exactly what you need before you even know it? This was that friend. My entire time in real estate I was trying to speed up and felt like everyone wanted to push me as well. As she would put it, she was trying to slow down a race horse, not speed up a donkey. She explained that Keller Williams would teach me to run my business the way it should be ran so that I could get my time back. I became the Director of Sales for a large team at Keller Williams that day.
I made the decision that day that I would no longer work after 6:00pm and if a client didn’t want to work with me then I had to be ok with them not doing so. The interesting thing is, I didn’t lose a single client because of this decision. It turns out that people understand that you have a family and want to spend time with them. I continued to work as the Director of Sales for the next 2 years. During this time I learned how to manage my time and also how to invest in real estate. I was working with multiple investors that I had built a relationship with and would always pass off deals to them every chance I had. I would sit at the closing table and see what they made in profit on each one and started wondering to myself “Why am I not investing in these properties?” I had the property itself and I had also built relationships with contractors. I simply didn’t have the funds to move forward. My team leader at the time had access to the funds and we agreed to partner on deals. Things were going great at this point! I was selling plenty of homes, helping run the team, and now investing in real estate. My team leader and I would go out to lunch and I would mention that I wanted to build a legacy for my family. I asked multiple times if there would ever be an opportunity for me to buy into the real estate business. At this point I was recruiting to the team, training the agents, and also managing them all while still in production myself. This conversation continued for about 6 months and his answer was always the same. He wasn’t interested in selling any portion of the business unfortunately. I was on vacation in Asheville with my friend, who is today my wife, and I was being extremely quiet. I looked at her and told her that I was thinking about leaving the team. She didnt say much but was worried about our friendship with our team leader. I wasn’t concerned because we would still partner on the investments and be friends. We got to the room that night and I wrote him an email letting him know that I would like to transition out of my role and I was will to stay until the end of the year to help him find the right person and train them. This is where I learned my next lesson in real estate. In partnerships, plan for the divorce before you get married.
I woke up the next morning to find that everything I had access to had been revoked. My email, phone contacts, CRM, etc. There was also a message from him stating that he would not be funding any of our flips that we had under contract and that I needed to find a new buyer for them. I currently had about 7 flips under contract for us. I was extremely frustrated and thought to myself that I had made a mistake but the more I thought about it I realized that the response that I got let me know I made the right choice. The lost income from the flips we had was roughly $100,000. This was a lesson that I only needed to learn once.
I went back and picked up the pieces and got back to work. I moved into my new office, purchased a CRM, and began doing what I had always done…kept grinding. To my surprise, I had multiple people reach out and wanted to join me on my team but I wasn’t in any place to bring someone on. I would just be doing a disservice to them. Over the next 6 months I started building my business back up and looking for new financial partners on flips. The first one was my accountants mom who had money in a retirement account that was making 5%-6% a year. I offered her 10%-12% if I could use some oof the funds. She is still my lender to this day. The other one was a young kid in his 20’s that had a heloc on his house and we would partner on flips as a 50/50 partner and is still a business partner of mine today.
Around May of 2021 I brought on my first 2 agents and started what is known as AGL Properties. AGL stands for my wife and I’s kids names. We have Ashton, Gauge, and Lennox. We are a blended family of 5 and she is my partner in every business venture we have. I know I haven’t mentioned much about my wife but remember the friend that brought me to Keller Williams? Her name is Ryan and I now have the pleasure of calling her my wife. We continued to grow our real estate team very quickly and I kept all of the great things I loved about the previous companies I worked at and didn’t implement the things I didn’t like. We became the fastest growing real estate team in our area and closed right at 200 transactions our first full year as a team. The one thing I have learned about running a company is that relationships matter and your people have to come first.
We flip roughly 20-25 homes a year and most of those are done using none of our own funds. We started purchasing rentals in November of 2022 and currently own 22 doors. I make a small salary from my team and give 100% of the profits back to the people that make it happen. I teach investors across the country how to start investing in real estate and share my journey every chance I get. My hope is that by sharing some of my darkest moments I can help the next person get out of theirs.
God has blessed my family in more ways than I thought possible or deserve so every chance we get, we give back to our community and those in need. If I could go back would I change anything? I don’t think I would because it brought me right to where I am today. You will always hear me say “Everything happens exactly as it’s supposed to happen”.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Many of the struggles I had along the way were shared in my story from the first question but the primary one was that first year in real estate where I lost everything.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
AGL Properties is a real estate team that is 100% employee owned. We work with buyers and sellers to help them during their transition into a new home. We also educated individuals on how to invest in real estate so that they can make informed decisions.
Impact Investment is a real estate flipping and holding company. Many of the rentals we owe house individuals that are getting back into society after completing a sobriety program.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kentuckianahomesforsale.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AGLpropertiesKW
