There’s no single path to building a successful real estate business. That truth became especially clear in a recent conversation I had with Colby Anderson, an agent serving the highly competitive 30A market in Northwest Florida, whose business has grown to roughly $50 million in annual production in about five years.
For agents looking for a blueprint, Anderson’s story is a reminder that big production usually does not come from waiting on the phone to ring. It comes from identifying a lane, getting intentional, and then staying consistent long enough for momentum to take over.
As we talked, Anderson kept coming back to one theme: The business started changing when he stopped waiting and started building around repeatable opportunities.
Find the lane that fits your gifts
Anderson got into real estate right before the COVID-era boom. While other agents seemed to be riding a wave of easy activity, he was brand new, trying to figure out how to create traction in a market where he had no momentum.
“I had no business when COVID was happening, which was terrible for me because everybody else was making all this money, and I had just started and had no clue what I was really doing,” Anderson said. “What I realized pretty quickly is I didn’t want to have to sit around and wait or hope that the phone would ring.”
That mindset shift mattered. Instead of hoping a lead would appear, Anderson started studying the other agents who were already producing at a high level. He noticed a pattern. “I saw that many of the high-producing agents were dealing with investors and builders. That was huge for me because now I saw the path I knew I needed to go down,” Anderson said.
That doesn’t mean builders and investors are the only path to a successful business. In fact, Anderson was quick to point out that there are many ways to win in real estate. The key is choosing the one that best fits your market, your gifts and your personality.
“There are a lot of ways to make money in the real estate industry,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to figure out what is best for you, what fits your personality and your gifts the best, and then you go down that lane.”
Start by asking better questions
Once Anderson identified the builders, investors and developers were the path he wanted to pursue, he did something a lot of agents skip. He went directly to these individuals and started asking questions.
Not pitching. Not pushing. Just asking.
“I started reaching out to builders and saying, ‘Look, this is who I am. This is what I do. I’d love to take you out to coffee or lunch to learn about your business and how I can help you by finding opportunities for you,’” Anderson said.
The initial meeting is where many agents miss the opportunity. They go into those meetings trying to prove themselves instead of trying to understand the other person’s business. In Anderson’s experience, the breakthrough usually comes when agents ask a question like this: If you could find the ideal property or opportunity for your business, what would it look like?
Builders and investors will tell you.
That approach is smart for a couple reasons. First, it is relational. Second, it gives the other person a chance to tell you what matters most to them.
They may want multiple buildable lots in one place. They may want a certain type of condo development. They may want a long-term rental in a very specific location. Once you know what they are actually looking for, the next step becomes clear. Go find it.
The agents who stand out do more than search the MLS
Anderson made another point that every agent should hear: Your value doesn’t increase just because you send someone what they can already find on Zillow or the MLS. “Builders and investors see the MLS,” Anderson said. “When you actually go out and do legwork, finding opportunities or even creating them by initiating calls with property owners, that’s where you separate yourself.”
That is where his business began to accelerate. Once he knew what different builders wanted, he stopped waiting for the market to deliver it. He went looking for off-market opportunities that fit their exact criteria. And when he found something, he did not just bring it to one person. He put it in front of multiple qualified buyers.
“I found three or four builders/investors that were ready, willing and able to buy,” Anderson said. “Every time I find something, I’m not just sending it to one person. I’m sending it to multiple potential buyers. If it is truly a viable project, one of them will pull the trigger.”
That strategy did more than create a commission on the front end. It created future listing opportunities. “After consistently finding these investment opportunities that were not public knowledge and pitching them to the investor and builder prospects we identified, we’ve now got nearly $200 million dollars worth of new construction and development inventory in process that we will be listing for these builders and developers in the next two years,” Anderson said.
That is the power of building a business around repeat opportunities rather than one-time transactions. But don’t let that huge number overwhelm you. If you can build a relationship with just one or two builders or investors this year, it will fundamentally change the future of your business.
Make people money, and the relationship deepens
When I asked Anderson what had strengthened those builder and investor relationships the most, his answer was immediate. “You make them money,” Anderson said. “That’s the biggest thing. If they know that we just knocked it out of the park on the previous deal, they want to know what else you’ve got.”
That is such an important point. Relationships in this business deepen when results show up. If you understand what a good deal looks like for a particular investor or builder, and you consistently bring them opportunities they can profit from, you are not just another agent on their phone anymore. You become part of their business model. A team member they trust and rely upon.
Anderson also pointed out that the reputation starts compounding. “When you get known for that in your market, now the other agents start to reach out to you,” Anderson said. “I just had somebody reach out to me the other day about a development parcel and said, ‘Hey, I know this is kind of what y’all do. Do you know anyone that might be interested?’”
That is when momentum starts working for you instead of requiring all of your energy just to maintain it.
Social media became the accelerant
While builders and investors helped build the foundation of Anderson’s business, he knew that if he wanted to consistently double his production, he needed another growth lever. That lever became social media.
“When we started working together a year and a half ago, I wasn’t even on social media,” Anderson said. “You pushed me to get active on social media and to include video in everything I was doing, and that’s made all the difference in the world. Now I’m starting to get a lot of leads that I don’t pay for outside of just the content that I put out.”
That sentence is worth paying attention to. Too many agents still think of social media as optional or secondary. What Anderson has proven is that content can become a true inbound lead source if you stay consistent long enough and get intentional enough with what you are posting.
He said they are now getting different leads from different platforms, including Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. “Right now we’ve got seven or eight folks that we’re working with that will buy property in the next year and a half just from the last two months of social media,” Anderson said.
Start simple, then build
One of the things I appreciated most in our conversation was how honest Anderson was about the early days of his content. He did not start with a polished team, a production crew or a perfect strategy. He started with his phone. “It all started with my iPhone,” Anderson said. “My videos started with selfie-style videos that were mostly me saying, ‘I’m out here at this property and wanted to show you my favorite feature.’”
And that is exactly where so many agents need to hear the message. You do not need everything figured out to begin. You need to begin. “The heaviest weight in the gym is the front door,” Anderson said. “That’s the truth. Everybody is so worried about, ‘Well, I can’t get to where he’s at.’ Of course he’s there. He’s been doing this.”
Most agents are not struggling because they lack opportunity. They are struggling because they are standing still, waiting to feel ready. Readiness rarely comes first. Reps do, and Anderson is a perfect example of this truth.
TikTok proved him wrong
Anderson also shared about his unforeseen success on TikTok. Like a lot of agents, he initially dismissed it. He thought it was mostly for younger users and probably not a serious business platform. Even though he was skeptical, he tried it. And it ended up becoming one of his most surprising sources of business.
“I get more leads from TikTok than any other social platform, and it was the one I assumed I’d get the least from,” Anderson said. He shared one recent example of a random message asking whether there were any good deals on 30A. What started as a conversation he nearly ignored turned into showings and the possibility of a multimillion-dollar purchase.
That should be a wake-up call for a lot of agents who are still ruling out platforms without ever testing them.
The lesson every agent should take from this
As we wrapped up, I asked Anderson what he would say to the agent who feels stuck, the one who knows there has to be more but is not sure where to start. His answer was simple.
“You just have to get started,” Anderson said. “You may not always be able to be in the room with people who are selling real estate at a high level, but you can listen to their content. You can learn from what they’re doing. But you can’t just listen and learn, you’ve got to be ready to implement and try the things you learn.”
That is the real blueprint here.
Find the lane that fits you. Ask better questions of your ideal prospects. Bring value that others are not bringing. Build around repeat business. Start creating content before you think you are ready. Test platforms before you dismiss them. Stay consistent long enough for momentum to show up.
There is absolutely more opportunity in real estate than there has ever been. Anderson’s story is proof that you do not have to wait for that opportunity to find you. You can go build it.
Colby Anderson can be found on Instagram.
Jimmy Burgess is the Chief Coaching Officer for HomeServices of America and President of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.