The Optimized Entrepreneur

Optimizing Entrepreneurs so they can do more

Tag: Entrepreneurship

  • How Much Is Your Real Estate Database Actually Worth?

    How Much Is Your Real Estate Database Actually Worth?

    2–3 minutes

    Most real estate agents say they “have a database.”
    Very few treat it like the six-figure asset it really is.

    A database isn’t just a list of names. It’s not a spreadsheet. It’s not sticky notes. And it’s definitely not a data dump of people who don’t know who you are. A real database is made up of real relationships—people who know you, recognize your name, and trust you enough to raise their hand when real estate comes up.

    What a Database Really Is

    At its core, your database is your data bank—every person you know and every person who knows you. If you have a pulse, you have a database. The problem isn’t whether agents have one. The problem is where it lives and how it’s used.

    A proper database lives inside a CRM that:

    • Reminds you when to follow up
    • Tracks conversations and timing
    • Automates emails, tasks, and reminders
    • Helps you stay consistent

    Excel can crunch numbers. It cannot build relationships. That’s the difference.

    Step One: Assign a Dollar Value

    Here’s where it gets uncomfortable.

    If your database disappeared tomorrow and you had to rebuild it from scratch, what would it cost? Industry data estimates about $26 per lead to acquire a contact. Keller Williams further estimates that a properly run database produces results over a three-year lifecycle.

    So the math looks like this:

    • 250 contacts × $26 = $6,500
    • $6,500 × 3 years = $19,500

    That’s what your database is worth—before a single transaction closes.

    Most agents aren’t treating a $20,000–$30,000 asset with anything close to that level of care.

    Step Two: The Conversion Reality Check

    This is where most agents feel the pain.

    In large national studies, agents often convert their database at around 1–1.5%. That means out of 100 contacts, they close one deal a year.

    That’s the floor—not the goal.

    A healthy, nurtured database should convert at 4–6%. Referral-based agents routinely hit this number by staying consistent, personal, and intentional.

    Let’s look at what that means:

    • 250 contacts at 1.5% → ~4 transactions
    • 250 contacts at 4% → 10 transactions
    • 250 contacts at 6% → 15 transactions

    Same database. Completely different outcomes.

    This Isn’t a Growth Problem

    Most agents think the solution is more leads.

    It’s not.

    If your conversion rate is low, adding more people just multiplies the problem. The opportunity is already sitting in your CRM—untouched, unorganized, and under-communicated.

    Only once you’ve maximized your conversion should you worry about growing your database.

    Most agents don’t have a lead problem—they have a conversion problem.

    Why 12 Deals a Year Is Already There

    Almost every new agent has the same goal:

    • $100,000 income
    • 12 transactions a year

    Here’s the truth most don’t realize: if you’re born and raised locally, you already have the people needed to hit that goal. They’re friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, parents from school, gym acquaintances—already in your life.

    The work isn’t finding them.
    The work is organizing, tagging, and communicating with them consistently.

    The Big Takeaway

    Your database is not a future asset.
    It’s a current one.

    When you stop treating it like a list and start treating it like an investment, everything changes—your confidence, your predictability, and your income.

    The solution isn’t complicated.
    But it does require intention.

    GabrielCruzPerez
  • How to Use AI as a Thought Partner to Build a 1-Page Business Plan

    How to Use AI as a Thought Partner to Build a 1-Page Business Plan

    3–5 minutes

    AI is creating a weird split in business right now.

    Some people see it as “that AI garbage” you can spot from a mile away. Others are quietly using it to write faster, plan smarter, and execute with more consistency—without ever letting AI replace their voice.

    The difference isn’t the tool.

    It’s how they’re using it.

    AI isn’t the final product. It’s scaffolding.

    If you use AI to generate the finished thing you post—your newsletter, your caption, your marketing copy—people will often feel it. It can sound generic, overly polished, or disconnected from your real tone.

    But that’s not what AI is best at.

    AI is best as an internal tool: the scaffolding behind the scenes that helps you build the house faster. You still decide what stays, what goes, and what sounds like you.

    The guiding question that changes everything is simple:

    How can AI help me do this?

    Not “do this for me.”

    Help me do this.

    That framing turns AI into a thought partner instead of a shortcut.

    “AI is scaffolding, not the house.”

    The old “AI fear” is just recycled tech panic

    A lot of resistance to AI sounds familiar. People used to say:

    • “Students will stop learning basic skills.”
    • “It’ll become a crutch.”
    • “What happens when the batteries run out?”

    Those exact arguments were made about calculators.

    And before that? People were convinced automobiles were a dangerous fad.

    AI is different in one big way: you don’t really get to opt out. It’s being embedded into search, email, phones, software, and workflows. So the real question isn’t whether AI exists.

    It’s whether you’ll use it responsibly—before your competitors do it better.

    The best business plan fits on one page

    Most business plans fail for a simple reason: they’re too big to run.

    If it’s 12 pages long, it’s hard to measure. Hard to review. Hard to delegate. Hard to keep visible.

    A one-page business plan forces clarity—and clarity drives execution.

    One of the cleanest formats is the GPS / 135 plan:

    • G = One big Goal
    • P = Three Priorities to achieve the goal
    • S = Five Strategies under each priority

    Example (simplified):

    • Goal: $250,000
    • Priority 1: 60 appointments
    • Strategies: social content, database outreach, geo farming, coffee meetings, referral asks

    Then repeat for priorities 2 and 3.

    The power move: this becomes a scorecard. Weekly check-ins. Monthly reviews. Minimum quarterly adjustments.

    Use AI to build it the right way (one question at a time)

    Here’s where most people mess up: they open AI and type, “Make me a business plan.”

    That’s how you get vague, vanilla output.

    Instead, prompt AI like this:

    “I’m a commercial real estate agent and I want to create a GPS (135) one-page business plan. Act as my thought partner. Ask me questions one at a time until you have enough clarity to build the plan.”

    That one line fixes three problems:

    1. It anchors your identity (what you actually do)
    2. It defines the output (GPS/135)
    3. It controls the process (one question at a time)

    Now AI behaves like a coach, not a vending machine.

    Pressure-test your plan with challenger questions

    Once you have a draft plan, don’t stop. Invite the challenger.

    Ask AI:

    • What blind spots have I not considered?
    • Are there missing KPIs?
    • If you could change one thing, what would it be?
    • If capital/time/team got cut by 30%, what must change?
    • Simplify this plan by removing low-impact work.

    This is where AI becomes genuinely valuable: it can debate with you without ego, without fatigue, and without you worrying you’re “bugging” someone.

    Add your personality profile (and stop fighting yourself)

    If you’ve ever taken DISC (or similar), you probably got a PDF with your style… and then did nothing with it.

    Upload it.

    Then tell AI:
    “Overlay my personality profile onto this business plan. What doesn’t align with how I naturally operate?”

    You’re not giving AI your soul. You’re giving it context so it stops recommending strategies you’ll never stick with.

    The plan shouldn’t just be smart.

    It should be executable by you.

    Find your 20% and time-block it first

    The Pareto Principle shows up everywhere: 20% of actions drive 80% of results.

    Ask AI:
    “Based on this plan and my personality, what’s my highest-impact 20%?”

    Then ask:
    “Help me time-block these tasks. I work Mon–Fri 9–4, lunch at 12, and I have hard-stop constraints.”

    You’ll get a draft schedule in seconds. The key is to revise it with back-and-forth until it matches real life.

    Final reminder: verify everything

    AI can accelerate your thinking. But it’s still a machine.

    Use it to plan faster, write cleaner, and test assumptions—then verify, edit, and own the final output.

    Because the goal isn’t to sound like AI.

    The goal is to move faster than you could alone.

    GabrielCruzPerez

  • How to Identify Your Ideal Client Avatar (So Your Marketing Finally Converts)

    How to Identify Your Ideal Client Avatar (So Your Marketing Finally Converts)

    3–5 minutes

    If you’ve ever stared at your phone wondering what to post, what to say, or who you’re even talking to… it’s not because you’re “bad at marketing.”

    It’s usually because you’re trying to be everything to everybody.

    There’s a quote I heard years ago: “If you want to please everybody, sell ice cream.” Even that probably doesn’t work anymore. The point is simple: the wider you cast your message, the less it lands.

    And when your message doesn’t land, everything gets harder:

    • Your posts get ignored
    • Your engagement drops
    • You attract wrong-fit clients
    • You waste time, energy, and sometimes ad spend
    • You feel constant uncertainty

    That uncertainty is the real pain. Not “I need better content.” Not “I need a new funnel.” It’s the daily stress of not knowing who you’re speaking to.

    The green hat test: why clarity removes stress instantly

    Picture walking into a networking event with 100 people. You don’t know where to start, who to talk to, or how to introduce yourself.

    Now imagine your job is only to talk to people wearing a green hat.

    You walk in, see three green hats immediately, and ignore the other 97 people.

    That’s what it feels like when you’re crystal clear on your ideal client avatar. The overwhelm drops. The uncertainty disappears. You stop chasing everyone and start connecting with the right people.

    Why specificity creates connection (and precision drives results)

    A generic message is forgettable.

    If you stand up and say, “I help people,” nobody feels pulled to talk to you. It’s too broad to be meaningful.

    But if you say, “I help single fathers who are struggling as small business owners stay consistent with fitness,” someone in that room will think: Holy cow. That’s me.

    Or in real estate: “I help veterans use a VA loan to buy a condo.”
    Or in beauty: “I specialize in curly hair for women.”

    That’s what specificity does. It creates a moment of recognition.

    “When everyone is your audience, no one is your audience.”

    The fear that keeps people generic: “What if I miss out?”

    Here’s the fear: If you pick one person, you might miss someone else.

    “What if I don’t get the buyer who isn’t a veteran?”
    “What if I don’t get the condo buyer who isn’t in my niche?”
    “What if I’m leaving money on the table?”

    The harsh truth: when you widen your message to try to capture everyone, you usually convert almost no one.

    “When everyone is your audience, no one is your audience.”

    The math that makes this real

    Let’s compare two pools of potential clients.

    Pool A: 500 random people (mixed bag)
    If you convert at a typical 2%, that’s:
    500 × 0.02 = 10 clients

    Pool B: 50 ideal people (hyper-specific)
    If you convert at 50% because you’re speaking their exact language:
    50 × 0.50 = 25 clients

    You reduced your pool by 90%… and got more than double the clients.

    And if you go even further—if your message is so dialed in that you convert 75% of that ideal pool:
    50 × 0.75 = 38 clients

    You don’t need a bigger audience. You need the right audience.

    The “one person” filter

    Here’s the filter to use for the next 60 days:
    If I had to choose one person to speak to, who would get the best results from my work?

    Another powerful angle comes from the idea that you’re often best positioned to serve who you were five years ago. You remember the pain. You understand the obstacles. You know what would have helped.

    There are people right now who are struggling with what you already know how to solve. Your job is to identify them clearly.

    Skip demographics. Go deeper.

    This is where most people get it wrong. They list demographics and call it a day:
    Age. Gender. Income. Location.

    That’s surface-level.

    The deeper work is this:

    • What’s their biggest want? (Not the surface want—the deeper desire behind it.)
    • What’s their biggest struggle? (The specific roadblock keeping them stuck.)
    • What’s their core frustration? (What makes them feel defeated or exhausted?)
    • What are they trying to solve daily? (The problem consuming their thoughts.)
    • Who is your message not for?

    When you nail this, your content becomes obvious. You don’t post “tips.” You speak directly to what they’re feeling right now.

    Your final output: the simple framework

    Fill in this:

    • My ideal client is __.
    • They want __.
    • They’re stuck because __.
    • They’re tired of __.
    • They wish they could __.

    Then turn it into one sentence:
    I help __ who struggle with __ so they can __.

    That’s the foundation. And until you have it, few things will be heard.

    This blog was inspired by module #1 of a 3-part course centered around finding and communicating with your ideal avatar. This course can be found in our free coaching community at https://bit.ly/RealtorGrowthLab

    GabrielCruzPerez's avatar

    GabrielCruzPerez

  • The Flat Part of the Graph: Why Your Breakthrough Needs This Season

    The Flat Part of the Graph: Why Your Breakthrough Needs This Season

    2–3 minutes

    The idea of the overnight success is a myth that refuses to die. We see someone suddenly explode onto the scene and assume everything happened in a moment. Yet behind every fast rise is a long stretch of effort that most people never notice. It is the flat part of the graph that makes the spike possible.

    Think of the classic hockey stick chart. The line stays perfectly flat for a long time. Nothing about it feels inspiring. Nothing about it looks like progress. Then suddenly, the curve tilts upward and shoots toward the sky. It appears dramatic and instant. But the truth is that the dramatic moment depends entirely on the slow one.

    The flat part of the graph is where most of life’s meaningful progress happens. It is where you take steps that feel small and repetitive. It is where you show up without much to show for it. It is where your effort rarely gets noticed or celebrated. And it is where people often feel the strongest urge to quit.

    Yet this stage is essential. The early groundwork is not wasted time. It is the hidden compounding that eventually creates momentum. The small things you do, even when they seem pointless, become the building blocks of your future breakthrough. This is the heart of the Matthew Effect, where small advantages accumulate until they become large ones.

    The only way to reach exponential growth is by staying in the flat part long enough.

    If 2025 felt slow or discouraging, it does not mean you are off track. It may mean you are in the most important season of your growth. The danger is not in going slowly. The danger is in stopping too soon. People often quit in the flat part, unaware of how close they are to the curve shifting upward.

    You cannot predict when your spike will happen. But you can be certain that it will never arrive if you abandon the work that builds it. Staying consistent during the quiet season is what unlocks the exponential season.

    If you are in the flat part right now, stay the course. You are building the conditions for your future breakthrough, even if you cannot see them yet. Keep moving. Keep compounding. Your curve is coming.

    GabrielCruzPerez
  • Build Your Big Why, Mission, and Vision (Before You Touch Your Goals)

    Build Your Big Why, Mission, and Vision (Before You Touch Your Goals)

    2–3 minutes

    Most goal setting begins in the wrong place. We rush to numbers—$100,000, one home a month, “learn more”—and then wonder why the energy fades by February. The problem isn’t motivation. It’s sequence. Goals are step four. The first three steps are Big Why, Mission, and Vision.

    Start with your Big Why (the soil).
    Your Why is the emotional foundation. It’s the reason a setback stings and a win matters. “Family” is a beginning, not a destination. What about family? College tuition for your twins? Retiring your parents? Buying the lake cabin where you host every holiday? The more concrete the picture, the more your brain treats it like a commitment instead of a wish.

    Try this: close your eyes and jump five years forward. Where are you? Who’s with you? What changed about your mornings and evenings? Write what you see, hear, and feel. Then refine it into three sentences: (1) What you experience, (2) who benefits, and (3) the defining moment that proves it matters. If your Why doesn’t move you, it’s not specific enough.

    Define your Mission (the building).
    Mission is why you exist—not a task list. It should be big enough to outlive a single quarterly target. Use this formula:
    “The mission for my life is to [do something I’m passionate about] by [method] using my [unique gift/skill].”
    Maybe it sounds like: “To empower families to find belonging by guiding them home using my calm coaching and systems.” Or: “To help entrepreneurs do more than they thought possible by installing clarity and simple processes.” Notice how a Mission isn’t married to a job title; it travels with you as seasons change.

    Picture your Vision (the impact).
    Vision is your mission in motion—the effect on the world when you’re doing the work. If an orphanage’s Mission is providing safe shelter, the Vision is graduates who become thriving adults, perhaps opening orphanages of their own. Your Vision answers, “Whose life is different because I show up, and how will we know?”

    Now earn your numbers.
    Only after Why→Mission→Vision do we set goals. A teacher whose Vision is 100 confident readers can choose a tutoring goal like “25 students per quarter,” a cadence that ladders directly into the impact. When motivation dips, reconnect to the Why and Vision; numbers make sense again.

    Put it together this week:

    1. Write your Why in vivid detail.
    2. Draft your Mission with the formula.
    3. Describe your Vision in outcomes anyone could observe.
    4. Translate Vision into one measurable goal you can celebrate—then design your plan.

    You don’t need more discipline; you need more clarity. Clarity fuels commitment. When your goals stand on the soil of a compelling Why, housed in a sturdy Mission, and aimed at a living Vision, inaction becomes impossible.

    You don’t need more discipline—you need more clarity. Clarity fuels commitment.

    GabrielCruzPerez
  • How Real Estate Agents Can Turn 200 Contacts Into 10 Deals a Year

    How Real Estate Agents Can Turn 200 Contacts Into 10 Deals a Year

    2–3 minutes

    The most overlooked asset in a real estate agent’s business isn’t a fancy CRM or the latest marketing trend—it’s their database.

    If you’ve been working in real estate for any length of time, chances are you already know a few hundred people. But the big question is: are you doing anything intentional with that list?

    Let’s talk about how you can turn your existing database into 10–20 deals per year using a simple, proven system called the 36 Touch Plan.

    Your Database: The Hidden Goldmine

    Most agents fall into one of three categories:

    1. They don’t have a database at all.
    2. They have one, but it’s scattered across different platforms.
    3. They have one, but it’s disorganized and missing contact info.

    If you’re in any of these camps—good news. Fixing it is your fastest path to more business.

    The first step? Consolidate your contacts into one place. Excel sheet, CRM, Google Contacts—it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s clean, centralized, and accessible.

    The ROI of Staying in Touch

    Here’s the math:
    A database of 200 people × 5–10% return = 10–20 opportunities per year.

    “You don’t need thousands of leads—you need to work the list you already have.”

    And no, that doesn’t mean 10–20 guaranteed closings. It could include leases, referrals, or warm leads. But over time, this compounds into consistent business you don’t have to chase.

    The 36 Touch Plan, Explained

    Originally popularized in The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Jay Papasan, the 36 Touch Plan is a structured way to stay in front of your contacts year-round.

    Here’s how it breaks down:

    1. Quarterly Calls (4 touches)

    Use the FORD method:

    • Family
    • Occupation
    • Recreation
    • Dreams

    You don’t need to pitch—just check in, stay human, and be present.

    2. Handwritten Notes (4 touches)

    These are rare and powerful. Ideas include:

    • Birthday cards
    • Home anniversary notes
    • Holiday cards
    • “Thinking of you” notes

    Even sending one per quarter makes a big impression.

    3. Monthly Newsletters (12 touches)

    You’re not sending a novel. Two paragraphs will do.

    Include:

    • A market update (what YOU are seeing locally)
    • Any recent closings or client stories
    • Wins, tips, or lessons from the field

    Pro Tip: Use AI tools like ChatGPT to polish your draft. Add royalty-free images from Pexels and hit send.

    Photo by Vidal Balielo Jr. on Pexels.com

    4. Quarterly Events or Giveaways (16 touches)

    Yes—16 touches from just 4 events. Here’s how:

    • Save the Date
    • Reminder Call/Text
    • At the Event
    • Post-event Follow-Up

    “It doesn’t matter if they show up—the magic is in the touches.”

    Low-cost ideas:

    • Ice cream meet-up
    • Local park coffee gathering
    • Giveaway of a Yeti cooler or gift card

    Bonus: The DTD2 System

    Created by a KW agent, this weekly calling system makes the whole plan manageable.

    Each week, you contact people based on the first letter of their last name:

    • Week 1: A & W
    • Week 2: B & X
      …and so on.

    This keeps your outreach steady and removes the guesswork.

    You Don’t Need More Leads—You Need a System

    Let’s recap:

    • Organize your database
    • Work the 36 Touch Plan
    • Stick with it for 12 months

    You’ll see your pipeline fill—not from cold leads or paid ads—but from the people already in your world.

    If you’re ready to start seeing consistent closings from the contacts you already have, the system is waiting. All it takes is structure, consistency, and a bit of follow-through.

    GabrielCruzPerez

  • The Only One Who’ll Remember You Worked Late

    2–3 minutes

    My son is only four, but he already knows to ask me one important question:
    “Daddy, will you be at my game?”

    He never asks my wife that. Not because she loves him any less, but because he already knows she’ll be there. It’s me he’s unsure about. It’s me he’s watching.

    That question hits harder than any sales target or closing deadline.

    We live in a world that praises hustle. More income, more recognition, more everything. But here’s the quiet truth I’ve learned: the only people who will remember you worked late are the ones waiting at home.

    …the only people who will remember you worked late are the ones waiting at home.

    Your boss won’t remember you skipped bedtime stories to answer that last email. Your client won’t remember you missed the game-winning goal to squeeze in another showing. But your children? They remember.

    I’ve spent years building businesses, leading teams, coaching agents, casting vision—and all of that has meaning. But none of it matches the ache I feel when I hear my son’s little voice, wondering if I’ll show up.

    It’s easy to tell ourselves that the hard work is “for the family,” that we’re sacrificing now so they’ll have more later. But sometimes, the best gift we can give isn’t what money buys—it’s presence. It’s being there on the sidelines, in the stands, at the dinner table. It’s showing them that they matter more than the extra commission check.

    The truth is, kids don’t care how much we make; they care how much we’re with them.

    I used to think that dying for the ones you love was the ultimate sign of devotion—that to lay down your life was the greatest test of a man. But as I get older, I realize the real test isn’t whether you’d die for your family, but whether you’ll live for them—day in, day out, in the ordinary and the unseen.

    This isn’t a guilt trip. We all have seasons where we’re stretched, where work pulls us longer and harder. But maybe today, we can pause and ask: What do I want my kids to remember? The size of our house? The brand of our car? Or that I was there—really there?

    Because one day, they’ll stop asking if you’ll come. They’ll stop wondering if you’ll show up. And that’s the day you’ll wish you could go back.

    So here’s a gentle invitation for both of us:
    Let’s not miss the moments that matter most.

    The office will wait. The income can grow slowly. But the hearts of our children—they grow fast.

    And they’re waiting for us.

    “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
    —Deuteronomy 6:6–7

    GabrielCruzPerez