“One of the skills the Coast Guard Academy gave me was you always take ownership of your decisions. Don’t have an excuse. Excuses get you nowhere.” -Ryan Cook, USCGA ’94
Ryan Cook graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Ryan has worked for numerous defense and private engineering companies in CT, MA and CA, specializing in multi-level secure mobile and on-the-move networks across multiple frequencies and platforms. He was also part of the Redback Networks engineering team that introduced broadband aggregate routing to the market in 1998.
In 2010, after years of working in every facet of engineering, Ryan left his career as an engineer due to exhaustive travel and burnout and entered into real estate. Since then, Ryan has consistently been in the top 10% of all MA agents. He opened his own brokerage in 2013 (First Class Realty Group) and his own construction company in 2016 (On The Level Construction). He specializes in new construction homes and renovation work for seniors and their families.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How to identify a niche in the real estate market to get tons of clients
- How to automate your marketing to attract people you love to serve
- How to get organized and plan your day when you work for yourself
- How to fast track your learning to position yourself as an expert in your field
Resources mentioned in the podcast:
- Gallup’s StrengthsFinder Assessment
- XMind (Mind Mapping Tool)
- Hardcore Closer Podcast
- MFCEO Podcast
- Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work by Steven Pressfield
- Ask by Ryan Levesque
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason
- Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko
- Upwork (Get more done with freelancers)
- Fiverr
- Infusionsoft: Small Business CRM, Sales & Marketing Software
- Leadpages Landing Page Builder & Lead Gen Software
- Go Big Newsletters
Words of Wisdom
Ryan was able to take a financial risk leaving is job as an engineer to pursue a career in real estate because he had a financial cushion to support him. As he mentioned in the interview, he only earned $18,000 in his first year as an agent. Today, he earns much more than that, but he might not have realized his potential if he ran out of money while building his business.
If you’re thinking about starting a business, make sure you have plenty of savings to cover your expenses while you get started. It also might be a good idea to keep your day job until you validate your business idea.
Connect with Ryan Cook & First Class Realty Group
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Special thanks to Ryan for joining me this week. Until next time!
-Scott Mackes, USNA ’01
