An owner who understands owners
Nick runs multiple companies and still sells, invests and leads, using the same systems he teaches.
Season 5 · The Treadmill
You own the brokerage. Lately it feels like it owns you.
You built something real. But your own deals still keep it profitable, the lease is due in slow months, and your agents want more every year while asking what you have done for them lately. The problem is not you. It is the model.
If you own a brokerage, does any of this sound familiar?
- Your own deals are still what make the company profitable.
- Your agents want more leads, more training and more of your time, and still ask what you have done for them lately.
- You recruit all year just to replace the agents who left.
- The lease, the staff and the software are due whether anyone closes or not.
- You cannot take a real week off without something breaking.
- Walking away feels like admitting it did not work, so you keep carrying it.
Free for Season 5
Broker Reality Check
Your numbers run through both models, plus the independent vs eXp comparison sheet. Private.
Plug in your brokerage. See what your roster actually pays you.
Use last year's real numbers. The defaults are only an example. Nobody sees this but you.
IndependentAt eXp
Your own GCI$300,000$300,000
Company dollar from agents$180,000Revenue share
Overhead-$144,000$0
Replacing agents-$11,250$0
Split paid (capped)$0-$16,000
Post-cap and monthly fees$0-$6,170
Net before taxes$324,750$277,830
What your roster really earns you
$24,750
Per hour you spend managing
$19.80
Owed even in a zero month
$144,000 vs $1,020 at eXp
Your 15 agents add $24,750 a year for about 1,250 hours of management. At eXp you keep $277,830 on your own deals with $1,020 in fixed costs, and still get paid on the organization you build.
Estimates for illustration only, not a guarantee of income. eXp figures use the published 2026 structure: 80/20 split, $16,000 annual cap, $85 monthly fee, $250 post-cap transaction fee dropping to $75 after $5,000 paid. Revenue share and stock awards vary and are not modeled. Per eXp Realty's official U.S. income disclosure, the median revenue share for a typical (Tier 1) agent in the 2025 performance year was $0. eXp Realty Income Disclosure
How many agents do you have to recruit just to stand still?
Every year, just to stay at 20 agents
6
new agents recruited, hired and onboarded
150 hours a year, 3.8 full 40-hour work weeks
Time you are not selling, not leading and not at home.
Keep your people. Lose the overhead.
Be a leader, not a landlord.
You do not have to shut anything down or admit anything failed. You keep leading your people and building your brand. What changes is who carries the lease, the payroll and the compliance. I have sponsored 220+ agents into eXp and built my organization inside it.
No lease, no payroll
Fixed cost is $85 a month, slow month or great month.
Capped at $16,000
An 80/20 split capped at $16,000 a year, then small transaction fees.
Paid on the organization
Revenue share on agents you attract, without owning their overhead. See the income disclosure.
Your brand still leads
Build your team and your name inside a public brokerage with the infrastructure already built.
My story
I have sat on the leadership side of this.
I never owned an independent brokerage, and I will not pretend I did. But for 12 years I ran a team inside a traditional brokerage at Keller Williams. I know the overhead math, the recruiting and the 'what have you done for me lately' conversations from the inside.
At Keller Williams it felt like there was only one path to grow and make an income. And when an agent left, the relationship, and my reason to keep helping them, left with them. Sound familiar?
In July 2019 my team and I moved to eXp Realty and built our organization there. For the first time, an agent leaving did not mean starting over. If they stay at eXp, we stay partners.
“It is refreshing to be in true collaboration with agent partners, rather than feeling like we are all each other’s competition.”
- 2005Started as an unlicensed assistant
- 2009Partnered with my brother Austin and built The Good Home Team
- 12 yearsRan the team at Keller Williams
- July 2019Moved the team to eXp Realty
- 2025162 team sides, RealTrends Verified #1 team in Plano, 220+ agents sponsored
Why agents partner with me at eXp
Stop being the landlord. Start being the leader again.
You built a company because you wanted to build something bigger. Partnering with me gets you back to that, without the lease, the payroll or the treadmill.
Multiple income streams
Production is the starting point. Learn revenue share, investing, recurring income and ownership.*
A bigger community for your agents
Your agents get collaboration, training and networking you no longer have to fund or run alone.
Lead generation, built for you
We build your CRM automations and your ad flow, then help you tweak your ads for performance.
Proven strategies, written down
A clear, written business plan and the guidance to run it. You always know what to do next.
A trusted strategic partner
Leader to leader. A confidential sounding board for every decision about your people and your future.
“I’m not looking for agents who just want a different brokerage. I’m looking for motivated agents who want to build something bigger, and want the right people, systems, training, technology and community around them to do it.”
Picture a year from now: no lease, no payroll, your agents supported by a bigger community, and you paid to lead instead of paying to keep them.
*Revenue share and stock awards vary and are not guaranteed. Per eXp Realty's official U.S. income disclosure, the median revenue share for a typical (Tier 1) agent in the 2025 performance year was $0. eXp Realty Income Disclosure
Thinking about opening one? The honest version nobody gives you at the broker course
Why it is tempting
- Control. Your brand, your rules, your culture.
- Keep the company dollar. No split to a franchise on your own deals.
- Build equity. An asset you can sell one day, if it runs without you.
- Status. Broker-owner is a title recruits notice.
What it actually costs you
- You become a full-time recruiter. Agents leave every year. Replacing them becomes your real job.
- Fixed costs never take a month off. Lease, staff, tech and compliance are due in slow months too.
- The profit usually comes from you. In my experience, most independent broker profit comes from the owner’s own production, not the roster.
- Always one foot out the door. Agents want more splits and more of your time. Your family feels it first.
Questions
Is owning a real estate brokerage profitable?
It can be, but for many independent owners most of the profit comes from their own production. After overhead and replacing agents who leave, the roster often adds far less than expected.
What does it cost to run an independent brokerage?
Office, staff, technology, insurance, compliance and recruiting, due every month whether agents close or not. The calculator above uses your real numbers.
Can a brokerage owner move to eXp Realty?
Yes. Many owners keep leading their people and brand inside eXp, where fixed costs are $85 a month and splits are capped. Revenue share varies and is not guaranteed.
Bring your numbers. I will show you both paths, confidentially.
A private 30-minute broker-to-broker conversation. No pitch deck, no pressure. If your model is working, I will tell you. If it is not, you will see exactly why and what your options are.