Rick Gonzalez: Can you get Real Estate Leads From Social Media?

upcoming R E bar camp. One coast here in St. Augustine. He's a team lead with real broker
[00:01:00] LLC out in Freeport, Florida. He has been in the industry for over a decade where
he's consistently been a top producer.
Tracy Hayes: He's a mentor to other agents and believes real estate goes beyond just the
transaction. He leads the charge at the Gonzalez group. Let's welcome Rick Gonzalez to the
show. Rick, welcome.
Rick Gonzalez: Hey, thanks,
Tracy Hayes: Tracy. Appreciate you having me. I appreciate you coming on today and, uh,
get everyone, it's going to be at the RE Bar Camp, get a little bit about you and what, what's
going on, uh, out in your neck of the woods out in the panhandle there.
Tracy Hayes: And uh, you know, your ideology and philosophy and in real estate and you
know, should, uh, I always think there's someone out there listening. That's going to connect
to your story. Maybe they're another veteran, whatever it may be and say, Hey, I got to meet
Rick on the 26th and we're walking in the hallways and so forth.
Tracy Hayes: Let's kick it off with I always like I kick off every show. Where are you from
Rick?
Rick Gonzalez: Oh, well, that's uh, that's a complicated question Yeah, I was an Air Force
brat my dad did 24 years in the Air Force and so I was actually born in [00:02:00] Holland
Um, but then raised mostly in the UK and then I moved here when I was 15.
Rick Gonzalez: Uh, my mom is British. Uh, my dad is from Puerto Rico. So, uh, we used to
say that I was, I'm Anglo Rican, um, and, uh, you know, my father's family is, is Puerto
Rican via New York. So I still have family in New York. So it's kind of a complicated blend
of, of a few different things. Um, But, uh, to say where I'm from, I guess now I've been in
Florida more than any other place.
Rick Gonzalez: So I guess I'm technically a Floridian now. So, but that's, that's kind of
where I, where I hail from all
Tracy Hayes: over. It's an interesting perspective though. Uh, you know, I did, I went over
to Europe at Thanksgiving for a time and we bounced around a couple of different countries
and not living there for 15 years.
Tracy Hayes: how does that give you kind of a different perspective? Because I am a real
believer that a lot of Americans, we take a lot of things for granted And yeah, sometimes you
got to reach out and go to some of these other countries and realize how things are done
elsewhere to kind of appreciate some of the things that we have here.
Tracy Hayes: And growing up [00:03:00] there, what kind of perspective, you know, can
you share with us?

Rick Gonzalez: Well, you know, not only was it a different country, but it was a completely
different time, right? I mean, the freedoms that I had as a kid in England, um, Unfortunately,
I can't afford my kids the same kind of freedom, um, because we were, we live right by the
coast, uh, in the Southeast of England where the, uh, the ferries are.
Rick Gonzalez: And so growing up over there, it was just, it was, um, it was crazy cause it
was small town UK military area. So lots of, of military GI families. Um, but then you're,
there's so much history. You know, like I remember that one of the biggest things I remember
from moving over here at 15 and starting my junior year of high school here was that a lot of
the things that you see in the history books when you grow up in Europe, like you just go
there.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, so we go to Stonehenge or we would go and see the Viking ships. And
so, uh, a lot of that was just, uh, coming over here. I felt almost felt bad for the kids because
the history [00:04:00] here is so new compared to history in Europe. Um, but, um, but I was
very excited to be here. Um, no uniforms, you know, I was used to dressing like Harry Potter,
going to school, shirt, tie, blazer, the whole thing.
Rick Gonzalez: And, uh, coming here, jeans, t shirts, uh, you know, girls by the beach, it
was a different lifestyle, so I was excited.
Tracy Hayes: uh, so you, when you come back to the States, where do you end up
graduating from high school? Here
Rick Gonzalez: in, uh, in the panhandle from Choctaw high
Tracy Hayes: school. Okay, and then you you end up going to JU.
Tracy Hayes: What what brought you there?
Rick Gonzalez: Yeah, well the Navy did so after high school. I went to went straight into the
Navy I was neither prepared nor did I have any desire to go to college. I was done I was like
that's enough schooling for me. I'm just gonna go straight in the military And then when I
was stationed out in California with the Navy I ran into, uh, Lieutenant Commander, uh, I
remember him distinctly because he had such an impression, uh, Lieutenant Commander
Raul Castaneda.
Rick Gonzalez: because of my background, my heritage being, uh, you know, Hispanic, he
was, there was a program back then called [00:05:00] BOOST, which was the Broadened
Opportunity for Officers Selection and Training Program. And the intent of that program was
to get more minorities into the officer ranks. Um, and so he said, Hey, look, you know, you're
a squared away sailor.
Rick Gonzalez: You should probably put him for the program. I never heard of it. Didn't
know what it was about, but he encouraged me. I had just won sailor of the quarter the year,
the quarter before. Submitted my package and got it. I think there was 6, 000 people who

applied and they only selected, I think, 100. Um, and there was actually two of us from the
same base that got selected.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, so that took us out to Newport, Rhode Island for a college prep class.
And then while we were there, um, again, I'd only been in, in Florida for a couple of years.
So even though my family was here, this area of the pain handle is not near any major
colleges that have ROTC programs. So I couldn't come home to go to college.
Rick Gonzalez: And, uh, but I was trying to stay somewhere close by and a buddy of mine
was going to J. U. and, uh, you know, figured out Jacksonville wasn't too far from the
[00:06:00] panhandle. So I said, okay, J. U. it is. Um, so not really by design, just, uh, kind
of luckily ran into somebody that knew more than I did and it was close enough.
Rick Gonzalez: So I, I selected J.
Tracy Hayes: U. Excellent. Um, so I'd say I had in my questions, J. U. and then the Navy
was actually the Navy, then J. U. but how many, how many years did you end up serving?
Um, I imagine this program extended your
Rick Gonzalez: commitment. No, no. I did not. I did not complete the program. Um, and so
I actually only ended up doing, uh, less than six years total.
Rick Gonzalez: If you look at my, uh, my counter, um, and some of that was reserved time
because of, uh, the, the officer program. So yeah, no, did not complete the program. Um, and
then stayed in Jacksonville after J U and, uh, you know, went through some tough times
before, uh, I landed here and back in the panhandle, uh, and got into real estate.
Tracy Hayes: when does real estate come across in front of you? When do you get a sense
that, Hey, I might, might want to do this as
Rick Gonzalez: a career? Uh, never until, yeah. So long story short, so I'm in [00:07:00]
Jacksonville. Uh, my buddy, my best friend, Rob, who was the one who was going to JU and
dragged me to Jacksonville with him, uh, we became best friends, roommates, uh, Rick and
Rob were tight at the hip.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, he, he ended up graduating, went to flight school, was a pilot of a SH
60s and, uh, back in 2005, his helicopter crashed and he was killed off the coast of, uh, uh,
North Carolina. And that was the first of a couple of, um, Just bad events that sent me in a
weird place. So I spent a good amount of time, um, I guess lost, I guess you would say.
Rick Gonzalez: And so I did door to door sales, um, for a company called Cidcor. Um,
found them in Jacksonville. They took me to Atlanta, and then Boston, and then Nashville,
and then back to, um, Atlanta. Uh, it was maybe like a two year stretch and, uh, by then I'd
kind of worked through the, the grieving and the emotional process and, and was kind of
ready to come home.

Rick Gonzalez: So I called my dad and came back here to the panhandle where he lived,
um, got a job working on the beach as a property manager for short term rentals. And this
was, uh, [00:08:00] 2009 ish. 2008, 2009. So, you know, we all know 2008, you know, it was
a weird time. And then, uh, just as things were starting to go well as a short term rental
manager, um, the BP oil spill happened.
Rick Gonzalez: And so even though it didn't directly affect our beaches, it impacted the
business enough where. I was a new enough manager where I was the first one laid off. So
just as I was getting my footing again, I was laid off because of the oil spill. And uh, my
office down here on scenic highway 30A had both rental management and real estate in it.
Rick Gonzalez: And uh, you know, I, I'd seen the real estate guys, but the whole a hundred
percent commission thing, I was like, Nope, not going to do that. That sucks. Um, and so as
I'm walking out with my box. The real estate manager, she gives me a hug. She says, Hey, I
think it's, you know, kind of crappy what's happening to you.
Rick Gonzalez: If you ever want to get into real estate, give me a call. I said, yep, thanks.
Gave her a hug and never thought about it again. Um, six months later, I think [00:09:00]
still looking for a job and burning through the BP money that they gave me. Uh, you know,
my wife. was give me some of those looks like you're going to get a job, right?
Rick Gonzalez: And there was, you know, it was, the market was still struggling and nobody
was really hiring for anything. Um, so I was waiting tables and I said, you know what, screw
it. I'm gonna call Mary Lou and see what I got to do for this real estate thing. so she kind of
became a mentor for me and walked me through how to get my license, what to do.
Rick Gonzalez: I hung my license with her for a little while. uh, and that started me on a
very long track into real estate. It was still four or five years until I really consider myself
successful. The first few years were a real struggle.
Tracy Hayes: So I'm just, just trying to picture that time you have the financial collapse.
Tracy Hayes: Construction stops. Obviously, we know in that area there's a lot of investment
property, the Airbnb type stuff going on, short term rentals. And then you put the oil
[00:10:00] spill on top of it, and everybody just needs to know it's the Gulf of Mexico, so
they're not going to any beach. All along the panhandle, whether it was affected or not.
Tracy Hayes: Yeah. And
Rick Gonzalez: I would go down to the beach and take pictures. Like I would go down there
and take pictures and send them to guests and say, Hey, there's no oil on our beach. We're
fine. And people were still canceling reservations. It was, uh, yeah, it was, I blame the media
a hundred percent on that one. Yeah,
Tracy Hayes: uh, people's perception was reality and, uh, goes on.

Tracy Hayes: So, yeah, I mean, so you, I mean, getting, starting your business right there,
but was there any talk or, you know, I think we, we were going through this experience right
now, not. as drastic as it was in 08, but like, is this going to turn around or how is this ever
going to, you know, go back to appreciating again, you know, that whole fear and, and, uh,
you know, looking at that opportunity, you know, the oil spill scaring people away going,
okay, if I get into real estate now, as soon as his oil stuff is cleared up, you know, it, it's
gonna, [00:11:00] Pandora's box is going to open the gates going to open again and
everyone's gonna be running down here wanting to buy Investment condos and houses on the
beach and so forth was that yeah Was that anything any chat that was being talked about or
you just kind of just stuck with it?
Tracy Hayes: Put your nose to the ground and things just started to happen
Rick Gonzalez: Yeah, well, you know Tracy I kind of consider myself fortunate because I
had nothing to compare it against right like I wasn't I wasn't like the ace. A lot of the agents
now got into real estate in what I call the unicorn market, right? Where you think of listing a
property and it sells for over what you think you might list it for.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, so they got used to that easy market very quickly and then this hit and
they're like, Oh my God, what am I going to do?
Rick Gonzalez: I got in when everyone was like, what are you doing? Like now is not a
good time to get into real estate. So I didn't know how good it could be or how good it was
going to become. I just knew what it was.
Rick Gonzalez: I knew it was a struggle and a grind and I knew I could sell one here and
one there and I could pay some bills. And, um, it's why I waited tables at night and did real
estate in the day for the first [00:12:00] few years. Um, but I thought that was normal. I just
thought that everything I knew about real estate was a bunch of BS.
Rick Gonzalez: And I thought that. Normal realtors had second jobs and struggled and it
wasn't as glamorous as, as I thought. So for me, there was no talk of, you know, Hey, it's
going to be great soon. I just thought as the years went by and I got better that I would sell
more houses and I would get better and then I would sell more houses and progress up like
you do in a normal job because that was my experience before this.
Rick Gonzalez: So, uh, so yeah, I find myself feeling very lucky to go through that because
I think some of the people now are a little spoiled and now they don't know what to do.
Tracy Hayes: So you obviously came in, you're, you're, you were. Working real estate full
time waiting some tables at night to make things connect here But you and your wife had had
the faith or I mean I did because that that's always a balance there And I don't think I've ever
asked this question on on the show But you know, your wife was giving you some [00:13:00]
heat to get a job you get you got the real estate Did she accept that?

Tracy Hayes: Even though stuff wasn't coming in and you like you said you stuck with it for
four or five years before things really started to Happen for you. Yeah. Well,
Rick Gonzalez: you know luckily In my college time in Jacksville, I waited tables and
bartended and so that was always an easy kind of a filler for me. I knew I could go get a job
at a restaurant around here and make 100 bucks a day and pay the bills.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, so I wasn't too worried about the money. fill in the gap on the financial
side was, was easy. The stress for us was I didn't want to be in restaurants like as a job. That's
not what I wanted. And so I needed to know that real estate was eventually going to be a
career that could not only support my portion of the bills, but eventually support the entire
family where my wife would have the option not to work.
Rick Gonzalez: And, um, so, you know, I, I'd like to say it was faith. Um, um, but yeah, you
know, I think the thing was, is, you know, she had a good salary job, uh, at the beach. Um,
she had benefits. So we were lucky in that aspect.[00:14:00] Um, I just had to make enough
to, you know, like I said, to top off the, uh, the accounts. Um, And, you know, the goal was
always to be like back then, I remember like, Oh, if I could make six figures, like everything
would be better.
Rick Gonzalez: and it was just, it was a loose. I remember the first year I made like 60, 000
and I was just barely making more than my wife. And I was like, Oh, okay, now I'm legit.
Like now I'm making more than she is. And then of course she got her, then of course she
had to raise the very next year. Um, but it was, it was one of those things where, you know,
we just.
Rick Gonzalez: Here in the Panhandle, there's not a lot of options. Um, you know, we joke
and say that there's the three R's. There's resorts, there's real estate, and then there's, um, like
retail. Um, and then the military on top of that. But it's, if you're not doing resorts, uh, real
estate or retail, like, there's nothing here.
Rick Gonzalez: There's no big business or industry. You can't go downtown Destin into one
of the high rises and get a corporate job. You know, so there's not much opportunity to make
a six figure [00:15:00] salary. Um, everyone who does make good money is in some kind of
sales, uh, which I didn't have a lot of experience with. So we just knew that there weren't
many other options, so we just kind of stuck with it for lack of options.
Tracy Hayes: In your growth period, there's one thing I, I think is very important and I
think, you know, you, you know, having a team and, and, uh, you know, you've, you've
changed brokerages and you've worked for some of, you've been under some of the biggest
names in real estate out there a little bit. Tell us a little bit, you know, uh, that you've
experienced from the standpoint of finding the right broker for you because, uh, you know,
as I speak to many agents, uh, you know, especially some of the top people, top team leads
and so forth, how it's important to find.

Tracy Hayes: Uh, the broker that you kind of match a business ideology or just the way you,
you kind of do things. And obviously a broker that's continuing to pour value, uh, uh, into
you that you, uh, are growing at that brokerage. And, you [00:16:00] know, some people
walk in, obviously you didn't, you struggle for four or five years before things started to
happen.
Tracy Hayes: So you kind of helped that broker kind of had to probably, you know, sticky a
few times to say, Hey, Let's keep it going. Keep moving forward. Keep encouraging you. So
what are some of the things you've learned of the different brokers, the different leaders that
you've experienced over the last, you know, 12, 13 years in the business?
Rick Gonzalez: That's a great question. Um, and. What I will say is that the first five or six
years I was struggling, I feel like I struggled a lot because there was no broker involvement.
Um, I feel like switching brokerages became another part time job for me. Um, I think now
I'm at, let's say I started at a boutique one that has later sold to Berkshire Hathaway, but they
were boutique when I started.
Rick Gonzalez: Then I went to, Um, another boutique, uh, then that was when I was like,
well, this isn't working and we're getting low on money. I should go to Keller Williams
because that's the [00:17:00] place where everyone goes to get trained on how to actually do
real estate. Right? So I went to Keller Williams. I was there for a year.
Rick Gonzalez: Then I went to REMAX, got on a team there. The team was the first time
that I had any kind of a leadership or a mentor. Uh, in real estate. As you said, poke me, like,
Hey, let's go get on the phone or go do this or that team leader was the first time I had that.
And that was four years in, um, the first few brokers, very little involvement, very little
interaction, hardly ever saw him or heard from him.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, so then I left. Remax and went back to a boutique to be on a team, but
more as a, an office personnel type. Um, I guess he thought I was old. I knew a little bit so I
could maybe wrangle the young kids. Uh, so, and it was an opportunity because again, sales
weren't happening. It was another opportunity for me to earn some salary plus a commission.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, so it gave me that comfort. Um, so I did that for four [00:18:00] years,
and then when I left that position, that's when I, I went to my first hundred percent brokerage
because I thought these guys are taking half of my money. Um, now I know what I'm doing
and now I'm going to go a hundred percent brokerage.
Rick Gonzalez: I'm going to make all of my money and keep it all to myself. Um, and that
was a nightmare. Um, I was there for three months and I was like, yep, nope, this is not for
me. Because it was complete opposite end of the spectrum. You go from having so much
oversight, so much support, so much help, and, and giving up 50 percent for that.
Rick Gonzalez: That I went there and it was just an empty office. There was nobody. It was
like you were completely on an island. Um, Um, so that was when I went to, uh, EXP, which

at the time was almost brand new. Uh, I think there was less than 2, 000 agents when I
joined. Um, I joined them.
Rick Gonzalez: This is where people may laugh at me. The reason I joined EXP is not for
any of the stuff that people may be joining for now. I joined simply because at the time you
got, uh, Commissions Inc. CRM for free, um, and me being a solo agent just coming from
100 percent brokerage, where I didn't [00:19:00] have a CRM, having a CRM as powerful as
Commissioned Ink for free was enough to get me to switch brokerages and join eXp.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, so I did that for four years, um, until, uh, I no longer felt comfortable
and, uh, and joined Reel three years ago. So I've been at Reel just over three years to circle
back to your initial question as far as the leadership and the broker
Rick Gonzalez: here at Reel. Um, it's the first time that a lot of people that probably listen to
you and follow you are Gary V aware, right?
Rick Gonzalez: Gary V has always said that he doesn't bet on the horse. He bets on the
jockey. Um, and with real, it was the same way. Good friend of mine, Tim Macy, made the
switch from EXP to real. Um, and I knew he was dug in and well invested at EXP. So I knew
it had to be a good move and, and at least me, worth me taking a look at.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, and he introduced me to Tamir, who is the CEO of [00:20:00] real.
And, and Tracy, I can't tell you. He's, he's just a guy that really, truly makes you believe. That
he wakes up every morning trying to come up with ways to help you like that's his only
purpose and and I don't know What it is about him, but every conversation I've had with the
guy I just truly believe that his mission every day is to make realtors lives better uh, and in
the three years that I've poked at him and tested him and seeing how he reacted to different
things, these lawsuits and, uh, other, you know, brokerages having accusations made, like,
Hey, what would you do in this situation?
Rick Gonzalez: Every time he's put, uh, you know, feet to fire and been forced to answer a
question, he's answered it almost perfectly, um, and then followed through with, with what
he said. uh, and that leadership has just made me feel like I'm definitely in the right place.
Tracy Hayes: Someone coming into the business today. I'm sure as all agents, you know, do
[00:21:00] you're at cocktail event or whatever with non real estate agents?
Tracy Hayes: You know, they're at, you know, asking, Hey, how's the real estate market?
You know, uh, you know, should I become a realtor and so forth? What are some of the
things that you think are important? I mean, cause you, you. It sounds like you've been very
aware of your struggles. And I think a lot of people listening to what your story probably
would have quit a long time ago.
Tracy Hayes: They probably would have quit easily in the first five years, but, um, The,
what, what's important, what are something someone hasn't even taken the test yet, or even
started to study for it. What are some of the things that you're telling them up front, hey, you

need to know this about real estate. And you know, here's a couple things that I recommend,
because I really found that really finding that broker or a mentor or something like that really
has changed someone's learning curve and success curve tremendously.
Rick Gonzalez: Yeah, but I think I would start first at at making sure they [00:22:00] have a
really high level of self awareness Because
Rick Gonzalez: the one thing that real estate does for you Or does to you is it affords you?
almost an unlimited Opportunity of different ways to do the business. And for a lot of people
that can cause that paralysis by analysis.
Rick Gonzalez: That's right. You know, like you've got this team over here that's successful
door knocking. You got this team who does cold calls. You got this team who does video and
social and a podcast. And there's so many different ways you can be successful in real estate.
And so the reason why I say they need to have a high level of self awareness is because if
you come in not knowing yourself and what you are comfortable doing, what you're good at,
what you want to do, because remember, we all get into real estate for freedom, flexibility,
and to live our lives the way we want to and make oodles of money.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, and then we join a team and they make you cold call and you hate your
life and you quit. So I think you've got to come in from the beginning [00:23:00] knowing.
Hey, look, I saw this guy, Rick, on, on, uh, social. He does a lot of videos. He does this, he
does that. It seems like he's doing really well. Like I want to do that.
Rick Gonzalez: And so then if you identify that social or video or whatever is your thing,
then what you said is a hundred percent accurate. Then you look for that. That coach or that
mentor, that team lead that is doing business the way you want to do business. And you say,
Hey, can I join your team? I want to do real estate the way you do.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, and then yes, the, having that leader, that, that coach mentor or team
leader, whatever will definitely, you know, shorten your learning curve by at least my five
years. Um, but I think I still see a lot of agents who get into the business. And haven't put
any thought into how they're going to do the business.
Rick Gonzalez: They just get their license and then they flounder for the first couple of
years going from coach to coach to coach or team to team to team and they just look at the
success. They don't look at how they're getting that success. [00:24:00] And if it's not a
match, then you're going to spend six months or a year with that team and you're going to
say, Oh, this sucks.
Rick Gonzalez: It doesn't work. And you're going to go try something else. So self
awareness first. No,
Tracy Hayes: that's excellent. Neil Lotz said, yeah, know thyself. That was actually his, his
quote when I spoke to him the other day. He's a smart guy. And, um, uh, so in new agent
listening to this, or maybe we cut it as a real, really what you're saying, I mean, you know, to

do the due diligence, you know, maybe while you're studying, uh, to really go out and go
grab a cup of coffee with a, with a top.
Tracy Hayes: You know producer a broker whomever whomever you can you can get that
will come because a lot of them will obviously a lot of Brokers know if you know you're
approved to take the test or you know, um when you complete the test You'll you know do it
when you sign up for the state. You're already on somebody's list.
Tracy Hayes: So they're already calling you so Go and have coffee with numerous amount
of people, uh, to find out. Cause I think you're, you're, you hit it spot on. There's so many
ways to do [00:25:00] this business because in the end at the bottom, which is one of the
things that, uh, you know, you, um, Put in there, uh, the, the quote, or your real estate goes
beyond the transaction.
Tracy Hayes: And it is, it's a, it's a relationship. If you want to, uh, continue to grow and
make it, you know, a 20 or 30 year, you know, career, it's building those relationships and
keeping this, how long did it take you to really come to that, um, conclusion with all your
trials and tribulations? Like, dude, the real trick to this thing.
Tracy Hayes: Is, you know, building a relationship with every single person that you talk to
every day.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, it was through trial and error, right? Like, I mean, I tried the cold call
thing, hated that. Um, the bad part for me is, if I don't like something, I can still usually work
hard enough where I'm pretty good at it.
Rick Gonzalez: Like, I've done door to door sales. I did collections at Citibank when I was
in college. So I've done phone work. I've done door to door work. Um, so I can be successful
with it. Part for me was, again, I had this vision of [00:26:00] How I wanted to live my life in
real estate like what being my own Independent contractor was supposed to afford me that
lifestyle and going door to door and cold calling was not it so I think it's it was just trial and
error figuring out the things I Didn't like to do and then it was it was actually I think just
because the technology came along at the right time I started doing video when Facebook
live Um, so if you're bored enough one day, you can go back through my Facebook page and
you can see my Facebook lives.
Rick Gonzalez: And, uh, I don't know, maybe seven, eight years ago was when it started. I
used to do a daily, um, Facebook live show. I called it the Ricky G show because I was a
Gary V fan. I couldn't come up with anything better. Um, I had a couple of buddies, that
were doing coffee chat. Uh, shows, um, one was, uh, Rory Pitts, he's up in, uh, in, um, the
Pacific Northwest.
Rick Gonzalez: He had the caffeinated realtor. He would get [00:27:00] on every morning
and, uh, just drink, yeah, he would just drink coffee and just talk on Facebook live. I've had
another guy down here that had coffee chat. And then I had, uh, there was a guy in South
Florida that was, uh, his name was Joe. And so he had a cup of Joe.

Rick Gonzalez: And so I was watching these guys every morning on, on Facebook. And I
was like, like, who are these? Two, three, four hundred people that are watching these guys
drink coffee and just ramble on about nothing. And so, Justin Lindsey, who did Coffee Chat,
was here locally in my market. And so I reached out to him, and he actually had me on as a
guest, um, on his Coffee Chat show.
Rick Gonzalez: And I was really amazed at how, kind of like, just like what we're doing
now, um, you know, we were on Facebook, it was split screen. And, you know, he's
interviewing me and people were tuning in like we were on a regular TV show. And then
when people saw it, they were like, Oh, Hey, I saw you on the show. That's so awesome.
Rick Gonzalez: You know, you're really doing big things now. And I [00:28:00] was like,
no, I'm really not. I just, it was just social media. Um, but that was the first time that my
brain started like, wait a minute, like this, this might be something. And, uh, and so I started
doing the video Facebook live. I challenged myself to do my Ricky G show every morning.
Rick Gonzalez: Uh, I used to joke that it was eight 30 ish. Um, and I would just go live and
just talk. And people just started showing up. And then when I missed a show, because I
slept in, I would get messages like, Hey man, and did I already miss the show? What's what
time are you going live today? And I was like, wait, like you're like waiting to watch it.
Rick Gonzalez: Like what's going on here. And so then I started getting, you know,
recognized from video and it just, it kind of just built upon that. And I said, okay, this social
media thing is something. Uh, and while all of the coaches and team leaders here locally
were like. Stop wasting your time on social media. You need to get like, you need to start
doing open houses and cold calling.
Rick Gonzalez: Like that's what works. Um, I just went against the grain and, you know, we
talked briefly before we went live about Dustin [00:29:00] and that's when I met Dustin and
Neil and Chelsea and all those guys from Snapchat and that mastermind in Park City was the
catalyst. Finding that group of people who were also having those same thoughts and
conversations about, Hey, social media is real.
Rick Gonzalez: Like we can build a business online. Having that support group and being
able to have those deeper conversations about it from a positive light rather than me trying to
defend myself here locally against the naysayers, that was the catalyst that gave me the
confidence. to say, this is how I'm going to do the business.
Rick Gonzalez: So those three days in Park City were crucial. And that's why to this day,
even though me and bro, we're not at the same brokerage anymore. If he called me right now
and said, Hey, Rick, I need you. I would be on the first plane now there, because seriously,
him inviting me out there for those three days changed the course of everything afterwards.
Tracy Hayes: Wow, this [00:30:00] is, this is now the conversation's gonna really get
interesting, . 'cause you're in, you're in my lane now. This is, this is what I'm talking about.

Uh, you know, just talking about my podcast. I, you know, uh, I, um, uh, I dunno if you
know Travis Chapel, he's out there in, in Nevada, but he's the one I hired to, to coach me on.
Tracy Hayes: 'cause I didn't even know what a podcast was. And my whole point was, Hey,
I wanna, I'm, I'm in mortgages. I wanted everybody in Jacksonville to know who I am. I
want everyone in Northeast Florida to know who I am. And, uh, and then also I truly enjoy,
uh, having some of these top agents on and picking their brains and, uh, and it puts them.
Tracy Hayes: On, you know, just like you were being seen talking about industry, which you
were probably already doing half the time anyway, to a friend's family or other other people
in the business. Now you're putting it on video and people are listening in. I had a good
friend of mine actually is with cross country.
Tracy Hayes: We do a little thing called mortgage athlete. I just threw it together like, Hey,
all right. Hey, Tom, sit down. You've been doing this 30 years. He's, you know, [00:31:00]
very good with the, uh, lingo. And he was telling me yesterday that the salesperson at
mattress firm they met, right? When he met him the first time, Tom gave him his business
card.
Tracy Hayes: He went on YouTube and found all my YouTube videos and Tom's the only
thing Tom's on is LinkedIn. So he's, he's watching my, our little mortgage athlete, you know,
30 minute show and, uh, picking up all and learned all about Tom, you know, watching all
the different segments that we've done so far. Yeah. Um, it's, it's amazing.
Tracy Hayes: We don't know who's out there watching. Um, and then, uh, the, the spillover
is the amount of content. That creates, we could sit here for an hour, I could easily if I went
through and dissected every statement that you've made could easily pull out a dozen solid
reels that would last the entire month of, you know, of content and so forth.
Tracy Hayes: So one of the, we should do that by the way, which sounds like you were
already doing it, you know, type of thing is I've started. Instead of doing a full blown podcast
like this, where I send it to Apple and Spotify and [00:32:00] everything, I've actually just
started going, hey, uh, you know, um, I've got one, uh, tomorrow, I think, yeah, uh, or
Tuesday and Wednesday next week, where I just get them streaming for 30 minutes and we
do a market update.
Tracy Hayes: Hey, what are you doing for your business? You know, boom, boom, what's
going on? What's the challenges you're having in your little section of northeast Florida and,
and that kind of type of thing. And. People are watching. It's, it's grown because the one
thing I think people forget about social media, and you can probably attest to this when you
do bring on a guest, you now enter their social circle on Facebook and so forth.
Rick Gonzalez: Yep. Yeah, no, the, the collaboration is, uh, is one of the things that I love
about the business. Um, having agents all around the country in Canada that I can, you know,
shoot a DM to text, get on a zoom, have a conversation with, um, I mean, that's invaluable.

Um, again, locally you get that competition, right? You know, the guy down the street doesn't
want to give me his secrets because I'm trying to steal his business.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, but [00:33:00] the guy on the West coast is like, sure, here's my ad.
Here's the copy. Here's what I did. Here's how I did it. Just knock yourself out, take it and use
it for your own. And that's like, that's huge. It's why I love going to these, these bar camps,
right? It's people that are not necessarily in my market who are like minded, you know,
willing to, to share and learn.
Rick Gonzalez: And, uh, and that's where the gold is. You need to just pick up that one
thing. You're like, holy crap. I never thought about that. Like you talking just then, my
wheels are turning. And I'm sitting here thinking like, man, you're right. Like, I don't even
need to do a podcast. Like I could just hop on a little 30 minute Zoom with random people.
Rick Gonzalez: And chop that up and have reels for days, because you never know, it's hard
to script the nugget, but when you get the conversation and you start going down those rabbit
holes, that's when you're like, Oh, that was genius. And so if you're recording, you just cut it
out. Yeah, no. So I'm definitely stealing that.
Rick Gonzalez: That was a, that was a genius. Well,
Tracy Hayes: it's even gotten better now because you, I use [00:34:00] Opus pro. That is,
uh, I'm sure there's other companies out there, but I could take the 30 minute conversation,
upload Pro. And in 10 minutes, it might have anywhere from 25 to 30 reels. Now, not all of
them are where are the quality I want to be, but they'll give you a title and everything.
Tracy Hayes: Where, when you upload it to, uh, Tik Tok or whatever, it'll load that title in
there. It scores it on an SEO, so it always gives you the highest score first and then moves
down. But you can go in there and tweak it and edit it a little bit, cut it off, wherever, what
kind of things that you want to do. If some of them are just so good that I just go, yep,
upload, boom, there it is.
Tracy Hayes: Because Opus Pro is just a, an AI editor.
Rick Gonzalez: And I'll say for the, for the people listening or for the people coming to, to
Bar Camp next week. If you, if you're bored, um, and if you promise to watch all of the, the
whole video, go to my YouTube channel and watch a couple of videos because they're
nothing special.
Rick Gonzalez: Uh, what I've learned quickly [00:35:00] is that it, it does come down to the
content. If you overproduce and worry too much about graphics and, and the flash, and you
don't have enough meat, people will stop watching and your, your videos will not do. Uh, it
doesn't matter if you're paying 500 for some fancy editor.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, they will bomb. Um, and you could do videos like I did where I self
edited an iMovie with my phone. And as long as you're giving good value in the content,

they'll do well. Um, now if you can find a sweet spot where you've got good content and
some good editing, you can do better. Um, but that's my friction point right now is finding a
good editor that doesn't want to charge me an arm and a leg for a video.
Rick Gonzalez: Right. Right.
Tracy Hayes: Well, the, um, If you are editing yourself, I mean, it's one of those things. It's
like podcasting. You've experienced that you start off and you've got a lot of Ms and Os and
whatever, and you don't, if you're listening to yourself, you're like, but if you gradually do it
enough times and that editor, you use the editor enough times, you go, Oh, I can do this and I
can tweak it a little better.
Tracy Hayes: And then of course, with technology, these guys are constantly. Uh, [00:36:00]
improving those apps too, and it just gradually grows better. You should see a progression,
but you've got to start the journey. I think Mr. Beast, the big YouTuber, you know, says it
goes, go out and commit yourself to shooting a hundred videos and, and.
Tracy Hayes: By the end of the hundred video, you're going to see a difference between one
and a hundred and your quality and what you're, what you're doing, but you've got to start
the journey.
Rick Gonzalez: Yeah. I usually tell people when people approach me and say, Hey, if I want
to start in video, where, where do you suggest I start?
Rick Gonzalez: I always suggest either doing Facebook lives or jumping on stories. Um,
because they're so easy to do. And most of the time, people's biggest friction point is just.
The simple part of seeing and hearing themselves on video. Um, and you can do the lives
and stories right from your phone with nothing. You don't even need a microphone.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, no editing, no nothing. And I think that's an easy way just to build the
muscle of putting your phone out and recording. And I think if you can do, maybe set a
[00:37:00] challenge of, you know, three to five stories a day for 30 days. You're talking 150
stories. By the end of that month. You should be over your fear of being on camera.
Rick Gonzalez: And now you can start, you know, delving into some different projects, but
short form video is so powerful now that I'm not going to say you don't mean long term long
form YouTube. Cause I think it's. The best thing out there, but I think you could be ahead of
the curve doing just short term.
Tracy Hayes: Um, I was talking to George, uh yesterday from miami.
Tracy Hayes: Uh, he's all about video. He's going to be at the At the re bar camp and we
were taught he he he started his business You're all about video. The other his listings, right?
He was going to do. He basically said, I'm going to do a movie on all my listings because he
was, it was cutting edge back in, you know, before 2010, right.

Tracy Hayes: And you know, all the, now all these social media platforms. So, uh, and we
both agreed and I think you would agree. Social media [00:38:00] is not saturated by any
means. There's the amount of content that is absorbed every day. And we see everyone, no
matter where they're at, they're sitting in their doctor's office, they're on the phone, they're
sitting there waiting, whatever.
Tracy Hayes: Every age group, too, right? They're looking at their phone, right? Yeah. So
there's so many people out there absorbing it. So you're not saturating it. But how important
is it? To be in the video at some point even if you're you're showing you're doing a house, uh
walk through to be in front of the camera for for a period of time because You are building a
relationship psychologically with the watchers They're seeing you, they, they see what you
look like.
Tracy Hayes: They see your mannerisms, your facial expressions and so forth. And you
actually, so when you, you know, as I'm sure you've experienced being enough on, so on the
videos and so forth, people walk up to you and it's almost like, like you've known each other
for. A long time because they've watched you so much on video and it might even be the first
time you actually met face to face.
Rick Gonzalez: [00:39:00] Yeah, it actually drives my wife crazy. Um, you know, we're at
the point now where I shared, uh, I think it was last month. Uh, we were at Publix grocery
shopping and guy turns down the cereal aisle and his eyes get all big and he's like, Oh my
God. He's like, my wife's not going to believe this. He's like, you're that guy from YouTube.
Rick Gonzalez: And so we're taking selfies in the cereal aisle in Publix. And my wife is like,
what? What is going on right now? Like this, this is getting out of control. Um, but yeah, it
does. You know, I get, you know, last week I was showing property to a client, a new
construction and the car drives by and the window comes down to like, Hey, you're that guy
from YouTube.
Rick Gonzalez: We love your videos. And so yes, it is 100%. It's not even important. It is an
absolute must do. You have to be in front of the camera. Um, if not, then you're, you're
probably doing a good job of promoting that house, but there's nothing to distinguish your
video from the others. Um, and I think the biggest. Um, example of that is, um, and of
course, as soon as [00:40:00] I go to say his name, I can't think of his name.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, Tyler, my buddy Tyler up in Canada, um, if you, if you see the videos
on TikTok, he's the kid with what I think is like the big Mormon hat on. And anybody on
TikTok that's seen his videos knows exactly who I'm talking about. Even if they don't know
who Tyler is, um, is Tyler Hassman. Um, he's got an incredible story and he's built an
amazing business.
Rick Gonzalez: Just on a tick tock doing short form video tours. But the beginning of his
video is always him in front of the house. Hey, let's go see what you can get for 2. 50 in
Ontario. And then he walks into the house and does a speed ramp, you know, quick 60
second tour. Um, and that's all he does. But now people are paying to fly him to California

and Miami to video their million dollar homes because his, his account gets millions of
views and he did it all with his phone.
Rick Gonzalez: And you can't see it. [00:41:00] No, it's, you did it, he did it all with his
phone and a, you know, a simple DJI Osmo gimbal. And that's it.
Tracy Hayes: Yeah, the, the brand. You are, you are the brand, uh, it's like the gentleman
from California that has the, uh, Realtor. He now wears the hat and he does the, um, uh, the
rap. Uh, you know, I'm talking about, I can't think of, I could picture his face, he's got
glasses, but he hadn't sold any real estate and now he was being brought to, uh, you know,
places that speak, uh, in front of large groups and so because he, cause he created the brand
as the wrapping realtor and that was his brand.
Tracy Hayes: Now, obviously he has an association. skill that not in, you know, if you
probably knew some guys that had some recording and made them sound really good and all
that kind of stuff. But yeah, again, you know, you being in front of the video and that's, that's
a lot of a mistake because they're afraid to, but, but really you are building that relationship
talking about the video and YouTube, cause I'm big in YouTube and I, and obviously when I
have agents on, I go through all their social [00:42:00] media and I find so many of them.
Tracy Hayes: May have done a few videos a year or two, three years ago, and then they just
gave up. And, uh, I, I'm thinking when you were talking about, you know, uh, people you run
into, I had Austin Preck with, he's with the EXP here in Jacksonville and Austin has become
a master of his. Uh, community and he says like, yo, he's walking his dog with his wife in the
community and there'll be a neighbor across the street going, Hey Austin, because Austin
does a video on that neighborhood every month, you know, the market update and he's the
guy and he's like, he telling his wife, like, I have no idea who that is because he's, he's, he's
built that relationship as the guy.
Tracy Hayes: Yeah. We have all these people from outside of Florida looking to move here.
Even at that video, uh, YouTube to me is an endless library. If they just go in and plug in that
neighborhood, I want to live in XYZ neighborhood. You have all these videos, whether you
did them yesterday or three years ago that are going to come up because of
Rick Gonzalez: the [00:43:00] name.
Rick Gonzalez: Yeah. Well, and that's the same thing I did. Um, you know, I live in a big,
plain community out here in Freeport and, uh, You know, I don't know what we're up to, like
maybe 22 neighborhoods within the community. Um, so 85 plus percent of my business is
right here in my own neighborhood. Um, but it's because of that, right?
Rick Gonzalez: It's because, um,
Rick Gonzalez: I have a local Facebook group for my city where, you know, I, I share and,
and, you know, promote local businesses. And, um, I interviewed the mayor and I

interviewed local businesses and I did the whole digital mayor thing that Gary V talked
about. Um. And then on YouTube, I did the same thing.
Rick Gonzalez: I do the typical, nothing fancy, the pros and cons, the top five reasons, you
know, what you should know before you move. I do all the standard titles, um, just R& D,
whatever the guy in the next city is doing, and just put your city in the title and record the
video. Um, it's really not hard. Um, and those videos, again, were ones that I edited myself
with, um, iMovie, um, did a really horrible job with the thumbnail.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, I've gone on to like YouTube channels, like with, um, Christina
Smallhorn [00:44:00] and Malcolm, uh, where they've critiqued my channel and it has not
gone well, but those videos have still gotten three, four or five, 6, 000 views. And I still get
calls today. Right. Um, I still get recognized from those today because when you search.
Rick Gonzalez: Moving to Freeport or living in Hammy Bay. I'm like, I'm five of the top 10
videos. Um, so yeah, it's, it's not hard, but again, this is why the self awareness comes into
play, right? If I'm musical, then maybe the rapping realtor is a way to go. I'm not musical. I'm
also not a theater guy. So I'm not going to go for, you know, these big, overly excited.
Rick Gonzalez: My buddy Brad McCallum in Canada, like he's like, you got to be like, like
Brad times 300, you know, because then on camera you look normal. If you're normal, you're
going to look kind of subdued and lazy and people are not going to be excited. I just don't do
any of that. I'm just me. Because I think it's really important [00:45:00] when people watch
the video and they hear the cadence of how you talk normally, um, and they see your
mannerisms and they see what you wear.
Rick Gonzalez: It's important that if someone's watching this video and then I go to bar
camp, there's a really good chance you may see me in this red work hard be kind shirt. And
they're going to be like, you're exactly how you are on video. Well, yeah, because I'm the
same person. So you have to be cognizant of a few things, but if you want to go fancy, you
can, like I said, you know, you're, you're the guy in California, Brad McCallum does very
cinematic type property tours up there for his million dollar homes.
Rick Gonzalez: You can definitely do that. And it works again. There's. 10, 000 different
things you can do in real estate that will work if you do them
Tracy Hayes: consistently. Would you recommend, I mean, especially, obviously, you know,
the one challenge, the biggest challenge in trying to teach people's social media stuff is, you
know, putting the camera on themselves, right?
Tracy Hayes: That eliminates a lot of your competition. So if you're willing to put the
camera on yourself [00:46:00] and start fumbling, failing forward in the video production. In
in really like like you you've taken over your neighborhood, which sounds pretty large,
which so that's great So 85 of that large neighborhood you're seen as an expert on on on the
video even if it's just a uh, two or three thousand home community to You know, be that
person that's seen as that thing and just start moving forward with it as the first thing you do.

Tracy Hayes: Maybe you don't even choose your neighbor because you're afraid your
neighbors might might say something, choose a neighborhood, maybe a mile away and and
start being the expert of that neighborhood and then bring it to your neighborhood when you
feel comfortable. But. As something just really basic that can really get your business
moving forward, uh, fairly quickly.
Tracy Hayes: I want to say quickly, cause my next question, Lee, you know, this leading
into it, when someone asks you, can you get business from social media? How do you
answer that?
Rick Gonzalez: Um, well, yeah, obviously, yes, you can, because most of my business
comes from social media, but like you said, it's not an [00:47:00] overnight thing. So, but I
think it's, I think you're, I'm not going to say you're silly if you don't, but what I'll tell you is I
have friends who are Zillow agents, right?
Rick Gonzalez: And they pay a ridiculous amount of money every month and they get the
leads and they sell them and they make a lot of money and they're happy. But the problem
that they're running into is, is now Zillow is getting more expensive. And so now they're
looking for an exit strategy from Zillow. And what I told them is like, well, if you would
have been following up properly, like with a forever nurture campaign on all of your closed
deals, you should have enough recurring business now that you shouldn't have to buy leads
from Zillow.
Rick Gonzalez: Because a lot of my business is, is repeat and referral. Um, and then you get
new business from social media. Um, so what I would say is if you want new business, then
you, you know, obviously paid leads or leads from your broker are the way to go. But
Rick Gonzalez: if you start your social media video today, It will start making you business
[00:48:00] sooner than if you wait.
Rick Gonzalez: It's kind of a cop out answer, but you know, it's one of those things that it's
definitely not overnight because you have to saturate the market and it takes time for you to
do enough content and enough videos and be seen as the expert before people will start
sending you business. But again, you can learn from people like me and the others that have
done it over the last six, seven, eight years.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, and take the shortcuts and know that, you know, one post a day is
absolutely not enough. Um, there are plenty of people that I subscribe to and follow that post
15 times a day and I might see one or two. So if you think you're posting too much, you're
going to turn people off. Just stop. You're not that well followed that people are seeing you
constantly.
Rick Gonzalez: They're following all of these celebrities and businesses and all these other
big names that they're going to see way before they see your stuff. So just keep creating. Um,
the amount of content you should be creating is [00:49:00] staggering. Um, if you want to
dominate a market. So

Rick Gonzalez: don't think you're creating too much because I guarantee you're not creating
enough.
Tracy Hayes: Talking about your, you know, if you started with leads and you're building
up, but obviously, you know, I think any, you know, some of these teams, they've got to, you
know, that's that do leads, they've got to help these agents graduate off of that eventually, like
you said, they built up enough past clients, they've got enough, you know, uh, supporters out
there and so forth, but how video, uh, Yeah.
Tracy Hayes: You know, if you could speak to how video keeps your, you know, your
friends, your family, and these past clients keeps you top of mind and keeps reminding them
every day. He's in Rick's in real estate, Rick's in real estate, Rick's in real estate. And so
when they think of real estate, They think of Rick
Rick Gonzalez: what's, you know, so again, you know, I'm in a planned community, right?
Rick Gonzalez: So there's still a lot of new construction that happens here. Um, so the, if
they go directly through the [00:50:00] builder, then when they do sell in two, three, four or
five years, they don't have a realtor, right? So that's a potential lead for me. And then I have
all of these orphan buyers who buy, and then the realtors.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, and so that's why it's just important, you know, I, I dig on the, uh, the
suit wearing Range Rover driving realtor all the time, because I'm not that guy, I'm, I'm a
shirt, a t shirt and shorts guy. I've noticed that in some
Tracy Hayes: of your videos, you
Rick Gonzalez: know, but the thing is, is this is a part of the brand, right? And, and so.
Rick Gonzalez: I have way more Work Hard Be Kind shirts than I probably should have in
my wardrobe, but it just makes me easily identifiable, even from a distance. Um, you know, I
was featured in a magazine this month. I had this same shirt on the cover. Um, you know,
whenever I have an opportunity, I try to wear this same kind of attire because it's part of the
brand.
Rick Gonzalez: It's the Nike swoosh, right? It's like, Oh, there's that guy with the beard and
the work hard, be [00:51:00] kind shirt. That's the guy from YouTube. And even if they don't
know that my name is Rick Gonzalez, they know who I am. And it's enough awareness that
when someone says, Hey, I think we're going to sell our house.
Rick Gonzalez: Like, do you have a realtor you might recommend? Yeah. Call that guy. He
has a page out here. He's With the work hard, be kind thing, uh, and, and there's enough
people who know that they find me pretty easily. So I think, I almost think it's not the teams
and the brokers that should be trying to wean the agents off.

Rick Gonzalez: I think it's the agents that should be trying to wean themselves off of the, the
paid, uh, leads and start to build that database of, of fans. for themselves, right? So that they
can get that repeat and referral business for themselves without having to go back to the
broker or the team lead, um, and pay whatever the extra fee is for the team lead.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, And it's fun. I mean, you know, I've, I've sold 700, 000 houses because
I was in line at the food truck talking to people in line, had my shirt on and six months later,
they're [00:52:00] like, Hey, Rick, you remember us from the food truck? Hey, we're selling.
Could you help us sell our house? That's cool. Yeah, of course I can.
Rick Gonzalez: So it's, it's one of those things that, you know, when Gary V says, you know,
what's the ROI of your mom? Like, it's hard for me to say what the ROI is of my shirt
because nobody says, Hey, I saw you wearing that red shirt and I want you to be my realtor.
But the consistency of showing up the same way, remember Tyler with his big hat and me
with my shirt and you know, whatever your schtick is, you know, you could be the, the
Realtor who sells houses and heels or whatever your gimmick is, whatever, whatever thing
helps you stand out, just have that and then be consistent again.
Rick Gonzalez: The consistency is the key. We've all heard that 100 times, but it's true.
Tracy Hayes: It's that thing like memorizing people's names. Um, you may not even
remember the name, but the, the shirt or, Hey, it's the realtor in heels. And, you know, we've
got, I've got, uh, one here in town, she's the [00:53:00] red heel realtor. And then there's
another Maurice is the bearded realtor.
Tracy Hayes: I almost remember more by that than actually, you know, I have to think about
their name, but they, they say, Oh yes, that's. That's the, you know, I know that's the bearded
realtor and you can call him that and he responds to it. Right. Because it's
Rick Gonzalez: fine. Right. You don't care how they remember you as long as they
remember you a hundred percent.
Rick Gonzalez: And it's, you know, it's, it's just, you know, and, and I don't have it all
figured out. Everything's not perfect. There are plenty of people who still message me
saying, Hey man, like we moved here three years ago and your videos really helped us
decide to live here. And I'm like, Yeah. Yep. Yep. Then how come you didn't call me to be
your Realtor?
Rick Gonzalez: Um, because not everybody does. But then I have to remind myself that the
videos and the social media, them getting to know me before they meet me, works both
ways. You know, maybe they preferred someone older or younger or female or or not
bearded or whatever. But they still got value from the video and I've had [00:54:00] people
who did not choose me who still refer me to other people.
Rick Gonzalez: A hundred percent. So there's, there's no downside to it, but you just have to
be, I think you just have to be the person that says, you know what, this is what I'm gonna

do. Social and video is my thing. Um, and if you are, then shoot me a message. I'm happy to
help.
Tracy Hayes: I, I'd love to periodically, like I said, you know, reach out to you maybe every
few months and do a little 30 minute catch up maybe, uh, with you on a, you know, Hey,
what, what's some latest things that you're seeing, maybe, uh, obviously facts, tell stories,
sell, right.
Tracy Hayes: And, uh, telling some success stories of, uh, you know, individuals, whether
it's you or, you know, you're working with, um, cause I imagine people come up to you all
the time, uh, you know, asking for things. I think one of the simplest things in real estate, a
lot of us have been told whether it's on the mortgage side or the real estate side.
Tracy Hayes: I mean, what does it take for 30 minutes? Um, or not even 30 minutes, take 15
minutes stream live with a business owner in your community. Talk [00:55:00] about what's
going on or hey, maybe there's some celebration going on or event or a new business opening
everybody wants to know the the local jargon or you know, a Watercooler talk and and yeah,
take 15 minutes a few times a week and talk to just different people in the community To of
what's going on.
Tracy Hayes: Everyone wants to promote an event. They'd got going on and some people
are not very good at it So if you reach out to them and help them promote that event By
having them on your page for 15 minutes every, you know, you gain credibility. So, um, what
is the, I'm going to finish with this. What is the message?
Tracy Hayes: Uh, uh, obviously I know you, you're coming in and you're going to have your
notebook to steal some, which all agents should be coming to the re bar camp with. Um, I'm
going to put both of us back on the screen here. Cause my camera seems to be working. It's
my camera on this end. It keeps freezing. Um, Everyone should have their notebook but have
some questions if you've sat here and listened to Rick go on Hopefully you've written down
two or three things They're [00:56:00] like hey I want to meet rick in the hallway and go one
on one with him and ask him a few things that he's doing Or if you are in one of the breakout
sessions and rick's there To, you know, dig into deeper into what we just talked about for the
last hour, uh, of what Rick's doing and where he's seeing success, uh, as far as, you know,
using the S the social media as, as a tool, small or large, you know, some people are going to
take it to a whole nother level, but would you agree?
Tracy Hayes: Don't measure yourself with what someone else is doing?
Rick Gonzalez: Oh, yeah, no, that's, uh, another buddy of mine, Jesse Peters up in, uh, In
Canada again. He tells he, um, there's an event we go to every year, uh, called the real estate
video blueprint in Houston, Texas, um, hosted by Katie day. It's great, fantastic event if
you're thinking about getting into video, but he was a speaker a couple years ago.
Rick Gonzalez: And he said, don't judge your, um, day one to my day, you know, whatever
200. I mean, he's been doing videos for years, um, And, uh, and it just, it was so true because

we do that all the time, right? I'll see Tyler's [00:57:00] video and he's getting 60, 000 views
in the first couple of hours. And in my mind, I'm like, well, I'm lucky if I get 600 views, like
total.
Rick Gonzalez: So that must mean that I'm no good, so I should just stop. And the reality is,
is, you know, I always try to ground myself in. Like, what kind of interaction do I need to
run my business the way I want? Like, I only need 35, 40 deals a year to be making more
than enough money to pay the bills and live comfortably, right?
Rick Gonzalez: So 35, 40 deals a year doesn't mean I need 600, 000 views on each video.
You know, for, for Rick to do his thing, 600 views is plenty. So I guess just have the right
perspective on, on what you're trying to do. uh, and yeah, you know, if you,
Rick Gonzalez: if you want to have fun, like go back and look at Gary V's first video, go
back and look at my first video, go look at Mr.
Rick Gonzalez: Beast's first video. They all were absolutely horrendous. . Um, and so you,
what you have is the opportunity to [00:58:00] learn from everyone that's gone before you.
And your first video may be just a little bit better than mine, but then like I said, your
learning curve is gonna shorten because you can learn from all of our mistakes.
Rick Gonzalez: You can cut that learning curve way down and you can hop, skip and a jump
so you can get better faster. But you're still gonna have to take the swings and the at bats.
You're still gonna have to have the videos that fail. You're still gonna have to deal with the
trolls who, you know, I had been in Freeport for a couple of months when I did my first, I
used to call it the Freeport Insider.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, And the trolls, you know, you're not even from Freeport, who do you
think you are being the Freeport insider? You're always going to have to deal with those
people, but it's engagement. I reply back and I try to keep them talking as long as I can to
juice the algorithm, you know? Um, so yeah, don't judge yourself against where we are now.
Rick Gonzalez: Judge yourself against where we started and where you started. Um, and I
think you'll see quickly how you're probably going to kick all of our butts.
Tracy Hayes: Yeah. I mean, cause I, every, I think, uh, you would agree everyone that's out
there and is doing it. [00:59:00] is so welcome to share their failures with you. Uh, it's part of
their, uh, uh, what's the, I can't think of the phrase I want to use, but, uh, the price they paid,
right?
Tracy Hayes: Yeah. We, we, we walked uphill both ways in the snow, uh, to school and
there are willing to tell you, yeah, I did that and it didn't work or, Hey, this equipment didn't
work or, you know, like I said, but I mean, these, these phones now, you can really do it.
With just your phone and maybe you buy a stick or a stand or something.

Rick Gonzalez: Yeah. I mean, seriously, that, that, uh, Osmo, I think it's the DJI Osmo 6 I
got from Amazon. I think it was like 60 or 80 bucks. Um, and my phone, that's what I, if you
see a video of me out and about, because what we're shooting this on right now is my fancy
camera that I now use just as my webcam. Like I have like a 2, 000 webcam because it's so
complicated when I would take it out into the field to shoot neighborhood videos.
Rick Gonzalez: I couldn't figure the thing out. I mean, I'd come home after a day of shooting
and it was all [01:00:00] the colors. It was all whitewashed out. It was blurry. It was terrible.
It was a day wasted because I couldn't figure it out. So I just went back to using my phone.
So now I have this fancy camera on this fancy tripod sitting in my office that just makes my
Zoom calls look pretty.
Tracy Hayes: In the reality, most of these people are looking on a phone. I was, you know,
just filming my son's basketball game and the camera can do 4K. And I'm talking to the
videographer. He's like, No one, no one's watching in 4k, right? That's not going to help you
cut it down to 1080. These phones, they're watching them on the phones, the cameras on the
phones.
Rick Gonzalez: And the sound is so much more important than the video. I mean, if you just
have decent, you can shoot everything in 1080. Um, and, uh, as long as you have decent
audio. Word, you know, you're not hearing the wind and it's not cut. Now. It's not like you're
in a can And you can do that pretty zoom
Tracy Hayes: type thing to you to actually and they're not that exceed for less than 100 You
can get a decent mic.
Tracy Hayes: I know I'm [01:01:00] using Broadcasters pod mic they actually have these
now with a USB so you can plug them into your computer
Rick Gonzalez: Yeah, sure has if you're doing a zoom sure has a USB mic too and up until I
just got this one Uh, for Christmas, this fancy one that my wife got me is like 400 bucks, but
for ever since I started my pocket years ago, I had this little a hundred dollar blue Yeti mic.
Rick Gonzalez: I mean, I just retired this thing just last month. Right. Um, so that was it.
Nothing fancy. Um,
Tracy Hayes: if you want any, I, you know, right from our, even the, cause I have a,
obviously the processor really makes a sound, at least it makes me sound better on this end
from processing the sound. You can go on eBay. There are so many people have bought mics
or whatever, wanted to do this one to start a podcast, wanted to do that.
Tracy Hayes: And then like, it didn't happen. Go on eBay. You will find occasionally we'll
find a treasure on there, um, uh, that someone's underselling that they've used a few times
and it's still in its box.

Rick Gonzalez: Yeah, I have, now I have this, you probably can't [01:02:00] see, I have this
little vocaster 2. Yep. That's, that's the only, that and this mic are what I just recently added
this year for Christmas presents for myself.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, but prior to this year, everything I did was. That Blue Yeti and, and just
whatever Zoom had my entire podcast that I had running for three years, um, was all done
just recorded on Zoom with that Blue Yeti mic. There was no fancy nothing. So there's,
there's really no excuses not to do it. Yep. Um, but just make sure that it's, like I said,
self-awareness to know that you're the kind of type of person that would do it and do it
consistently.
Rick Gonzalez: Otherwise it's not gonna work for you.
Tracy Hayes: I'm going to, I'm going to, this is cause I just make me think, I don't know if,
you know, Krista Mashour, she, yeah, yeah,
Rick Gonzalez: yeah, she, I interviewed her on my podcast and she had me on her
Tracy Hayes: podcast. Yeah. So she wakes up in the morning and goes live on Instagram
and she's sitting there in her bathrobe with no makeup on [01:03:00] and she's putting her
makeup on while she's talking.
Tracy Hayes: And, uh, there's another lady, she's not in real estate, but Jen Gottlieb, she's a,
a keynote speaker. She does the same thing. And it's that realization that they are, uh, letting
their guard down. They're not looking their best at the moment, or at least what you see in all
these fancy photos or videos.
Tracy Hayes: They're sitting there literally in their bathrooms. putting their makeup on and
talking to you in the morning, uh, doing that little thing. Be real. And I, I, Sean said the same
thing you said, Sean Carpenter. Uh, so the same thing that you said, be the same guy online
that you are offline. Cause you might take that relationship from online to offline meeting
them in the grocery store, or you meet somebody offline and then they go to watch your
videos and they're like, yeah, that's the guy I met.
Rick Gonzalez: Yeah. Yeah. No, it's, that's, that's super important. Um, and, and it's why, so
if, if anyone wants to, you know, [01:04:00] find me on, on Instagram, it's easy. It's just my
name, Rick A. Gonzalez. But my stories every day are done the same time, um, same way
every day. It's right after I dropped my son off at school and it's during my drive home.
Rick Gonzalez: And so it's literally just me holding my phone as I'm doing my drive home
talking about whatever I've got going on that day. you're driving though. Yeah, I am. I know.
I know. The, the, the safety police are going to come get me. I get asked all the time, what
kind of a phone holder do you have? It's, it's just my hand resting on my, my leg and it just
works for me.
Rick Gonzalez: Um. So what do you like to cover

Tracy Hayes: in that? What do you, when you do that, so you're prepping in your mind
while you're dropping your kid off. No, no, no
Rick Gonzalez: prep. What's going through your mind? No prep. It's very much like what
my old Ricky G show used to be. It's just now it's stories. Um, it's literally like he gets out, I
close the door.
Rick Gonzalez: I wait until I get out of the parking lot. And as soon as I get on the main
road, um, I start recording and it's just whatever pops into my head. Usually it's something to
do with what I have planned for that day. So I might, if I have a [01:05:00] listing
appointment, I might mention what neighborhood it's in. Um, I might do an update on any
new builds, um, any kind of, uh, local information.
Rick Gonzalez: Hey, we're going to get a new traffic light over here or, you know, hey,
there's a new business coming to town. Right. Just kind of, you know. Like little highlights of
whatever is happening in business and personal life of mine And if I don't have anything like
that, sometimes I'll just go on a tangent and start talking about I don't know Sometimes I get
a little too deep even for myself and I have to stop You know, it's really just me just
jabbering on but to kind of our whole point of this is that people watch it almost religiously,
um, which is a little creepy for me.
Rick Gonzalez: It's, I don't know how to process some of that stuff, but I've had buyers from
New Jersey who ended up calling me to be their realtor, and they were like, Every morning
when we're getting ready for work, like we have, we, we watch your [01:06:00] stories on
the TV so we know what's going on in Freeport. And I was like, I'm sorry, on the T.
Rick Gonzalez: So you have me on the big screen in your bedroom while you're getting
ready in the morning
Tracy Hayes: from your lap while your phone's looking up at you. And I'm like,
Rick Gonzalez: what? It's just so weird. But the thing is, is just like every other habit we
have, right? If you're used to watching a certain show in the morning or you're used to
having your coffee a certain way.
Rick Gonzalez: If you're consistent and, and they get used to seeing you and they like it and
they just, you know, just like we do with the Kardashians and all these other people, right?
We feel like we know them because we see them every day. People start to feel like they
know you. And so they tune in. Oh, let's see what Rick's doing today.
Rick Gonzalez: And, uh, And that it's free, it's Instagram, it's free
Tracy Hayes: and it takes me. What kind of time do you keep that to? Do you kind of like
two or three minutes or what do

Rick Gonzalez: you do? Uh, well, because I'm doing stories, it's, I go as long as the little
thing will let me go. Cause stories isn't, it's not like it used to be before where you could just
record 15 minutes and it would chop [01:07:00] it up on its own.
Rick Gonzalez: Like now it just ends. So I do, you'll see me looking down at the phone so
that I don't run over. Um, But yeah, I just, as long as the thought lasts and then if it's a longer
thought, then I'll do more. So I usually, I'll shoot five to 10 stories on the trip home. Um, I try
to do the, the captions at the stoplights, um, if I can.
Rick Gonzalez: Um, but, uh, but yeah, again, you're not overly thought through. It's just
raw, unfiltered Ricky G first thing in the morning and I get, I get other realtors, I get. You
know, the mayor, I get local business owners, um, you know, following and tuning in and
DMing me all the time, you know, with, with questions and inputs.
Rick Gonzalez: So educate
Tracy Hayes: me a little bit on, on that. Cause I've never actually done a video on story and
I've transferred, you know, short things into, into stories and actually to go live. Now, are, are
you putting in, you know, how do they know, or is it just because it's you? Um, it's popping
up on [01:08:00] everybody that's, uh, you know, you know, on your friends list, basically,
that, hey, Ricky's going live.
Tracy Hayes: Yeah,
Rick Gonzalez: so stories on the top. The only people who see your stories are people who
follow you. So it's only going to be people who follow me. And then obviously if, you know,
if, um, I mean, that's my wife as the first one on here, but let's say my wife watches it and
then she shares it with a friend, you know, you can get, I don't, I'm not gonna say you get any
kind of virality, but you can't expand your.
Rick Gonzalez: Network, if you say something that someone's like, Ooh, you know, and
they share it off. Yeah. But, um, but yeah, so it's, I, I sh what I should do is I should take, I
should do a reel and then share it to the stories also. There's lots of tactics that I should do
that. I don't. I
Tracy Hayes: did hear that one the other day, taking your, your reels and sharing them to
your story.
Tracy Hayes: Someone was saying that, I don't know where I heard that. It was just in the
last couple of days. I started, I did a couple [01:09:00] of them myself.
Rick Gonzalez: Well, cause you know, the, the, the upside of reels is, is they last forever,
like a YouTube video, right? Whereas stories are gone in 24 hours. So, you know, I do, when
I shoot the stories, I do, I have the setting on where it saves the video to my phone too.

Rick Gonzalez: So what I can do later is I can go back and I can make a reel out of my
stories. I don't do that. I should, but I don't. Um, but that's probably what I should do. And
then make like today's stories are real and where people can go back and watch it if they
missed it today. But I'm just, I'm not that organized right now.
Rick Gonzalez: YouTube has all of my attention. I just got a new editor. That I started
working with. I'm waiting on my first video and I'm really trying to get super consistent with
YouTube this year. So that's kind of taken up all of my attention and focus. So maybe once
the editor is on board and set up, maybe I'll start doing more real stuff.
Rick Gonzalez: But right now. Yeah, I just try to make myself consistent with at least a
couple of things and so it's gonna be YouTube in stories for now [01:10:00] And in the
Tracy Hayes: bottom line, I think you'd agree with just do it You don't have to do it all just if
you could just do reels do reels if you could do just three minute Stream or 15 minute stream
to a business owner another real estate agent, you know talking about real estate start just
being active and start And then, you know, every week or something, you can add a new
trick to the thing or whatever.
Tracy Hayes: Somebody's going to tell you a new thing. Hey, you can take, take your reels
to stories. I just heard that this week. So that's what I, you know, so I did it a couple of times
and see where that goes and just, but you got to do it. You just got to do it.
Rick Gonzalez: And that's why I do my stories in the car coming home from school because
I needed to build it into my day where I, it would build, it would be that habit.
Rick Gonzalez: You know, if you haven't read Atomic Habits, fantastic book. Everyone
should read it multiple times. But so I just trained myself that when I drop my kid off, I'm
going to pick up my phone and I'm gonna start recording stories. It's a, an uninterrupted time
of my day where there's, you know, my wife's not here, the dogs aren't barking, there's
nobody in the house.
Rick Gonzalez: It's just me in the car. And you know, it's, it's kind of like [01:11:00] when
you're in the shower, you have all those great ideas. Like when I'm alone in the car, it's like
the brain is just free to, you know, have that free thought time. And so it's, you know, you
don't have to risk your life driving, you could, if you have, you know, 15 minutes and go to
the park or go sit outside, whatever it is you're comfortable, but build it into your day where
you have time to do it, um, and, and that will help you with your consistency, or at least that's
what's helped me with mine.
Rick Gonzalez: Yeah.
Tracy Hayes: No, I, I, I love that tip right there in the, in the morning, of course. So how
many times are we in the car line, right? If you're dropping your kids off in a car line