Mo Dadkhah is the Founder of Main Street Real Estate . The DotCom Magazine editorial team has awarded Main Street Real Estate as an Impact Company of 2019, and we are delighted to have Mo join us for our Leader Round Table Interview. The Main Street Real Estate story is very interesting, and we are very excited to not only interview Mo, but also put Mo through our popular speed round as well!
Mo, thank so much for taking the time out of your busy day for this interview, and answering some questions about leadership, your vision, and your passion.
1. Can you describe what the “elevator pitch” for Main Street Real Estate is?
Main Street Real Estate Group is a real estate brokerage that strives to operate on a marketing front on the level of the largest brokerages in Chicago but maintain our small office personal touch. Every agent is family and every agent gets one on one attention from the management and owners.
2. Many of our readers are just starting to build a company. What advice can you give CEO’s just starting out regarding keeping a company moving forward, and please tell us the key to your company’s success?
I opened my law firm, Dadkhah Law Group right out of law school and was terrified of everything from going broke to failing. Ten years later we went through ups, downs, successes and failures but kept working consistently hard while always doing the right thing. When I opened Main Street Real Estate Group, I thought it would be easier because I had been an entrepreneur before. Well I was just as scared, just as worried and still ran into roadblocks but I kept working hard every day to better myself and our team. As one business venture led to another I realized that each time I was still scared, still apprehensive and with each one I have failed and learned. So my advice would be, do not let fear deter you. Every entrepreneur has had some fear. The difference between those who make it and those who dont is the ones that make it push through the fear. They also know that failure is inevitable. No success has ever occurred without failure. If you are not failing you are not moving towards success. Just learn from your failures and “fail forward”.
3. For other entrepreneurs seeking to build a business as successful as Main Street Real Estate, what advice can you give them when times get a little challenging?
Working off what I said above. There will never be a business that doesnt at some point confront challenges. Welcome challenges and know that they are a part of the process. Make sure any business you decide to start you allign yourself with not just a good team but great mentors who have been there before. One thing I learned about entrepreneurs is that they are usually willing to give sound advice. I have looked to so many successful people for advice. Also, be consistent. Motivation goes up and goes down. Motivation is not an endless supply. Think of it as the power bar on a video game. When the power bar is full and you are fully motivated you are effective and productive. As motivation like the power bar drops you slow down and you become less productive. This is natural. No one I know has endless motivation but know that when you motivation levels drop you need systems in place that keeps you consistent.
4. How important is the commitment to client satisfaction at Main Street Real Estate , and how do you make sure your customers will become raving fans of your company?
In our line of work it is crucial or every client to be treated like the most important client we have. Buying or selling a home is likely the largest financial and life decision most people have made in their lifetime. Whether they are spending 100,000 or 5,000,000 for that person or family this is the most important deal so you have to handle every client’s deal with this mindset.
5. What is the one thing Main Street Real Estate does to have great communication with their customers?
We train all of our agents to stay in touch consistently. The transaction does not end when you go under contract or even when the deal closes. We stay in touch and become a part of our client’s lives for years to come.
6. In today’s fast changing business environment, what do you do to keep up with the changes?
What do you read to stay abreast of things? Real Estate is such an incredibly fast evolving industry especially right now. Consumers have so much access to real estate information online with all the new sties. So for us we have to continue to add bigger and better value to our customers. We read endlessly on trends, new technologies and make sure that we implement new marketing and technologies into our office. 10 years ago consumers needed a Realtor to even find properties, now the consumer needs Realtors to give them more than just access so we have to be even more knowledgeable than we ever have been. The lazy Realtor will quickly be extinct in this market.
7. What is your “Why”? Why do you get up in the morning, and how do you keep yourself at peak performance to lead Main Street Real Estate?
I truly want to be able to help impact the lives of those I work with for the better. Whether it is our agents and staff that we help advance their careers or my clients on the real estate side who are buying/selling their homes. I hope that every day when I go to sleep that I have had the opportunity to better people’s lives in some way. I believe in the idea of giver’s gain and I truly believe that the more I can give the more my life is going to become better.
8. Can you recommend a book that has had an influence in your career? How did it influence you?
I love Extreme Ownership. It really is a great book for anyone in a leadership role to understand that you have to be responsible for all things that go wrong even if you sometimes want to pass blame. It is really a book any entrepreneur should read.
9. When communicating with your staff at Main Street Real Estate, can you tell us the most important thing you do so that they are able to carry out the objectives that you set forth at as the leader?
First and foremost lead by example. I will do anything I teach or coach my staff to do. I do not even keep an office for myself. Myself and partners sit among our agents and work as one with them. We want to feel as though we are their equals and also accessible.
10. In one sentence, can you give some advice to fellow entrepreneurs wishing to build a company as exciting as Main Street Real Estate?
Set your goals and then break those down into plans to reach those goals. My favorite quote is “A Goal Without a PLAN is just a wish”. If you are writing your goals down fantastic, you are maybe one small step ahead of the person whodid not write them down, but you are still far from success. All too often we set goals for ourselves, but never really break these goals down into what we actually have to DO on a daily basis to succeed. If someone told you that thewanted to lose 50lbs this year, you would consider that a very large goal (and task). What if the same person told you that they were going to lose only 1lb this week? You would likely think to yourself, “so what, just skip a meal!” Well 52 weeks of losing 1lb a week equals 52lbs lost in a year. Now all you have to do is make sure every single week you are able to hit your smaller 1lb goal which over time will keep adding up to conquer your much bigger, hard to believe goal (of 50lbs). I call this “Winning The Week.”
We would like to have some fun and do a “First Reaction” round with you! We will ask you ten more questions that we want you to answer in just one to three words only.
Here you go!
1. In three words or less, What makes a successful CEO?
Leader, hardworker, resilient
2. Describe Main Street Real Estate in one word?
Family
3. Describe Main Street Real Estate customers in one word?
Family
4. What one attribute do you look for when hiring an employee for Main Street Real Estate?
Integrity
5. What is the one word you want your customers to say about Main Street Real Estate?
Honest
6. In three words or less, describe your passion?
Giver’s Gain + Leadership
7. In three words or less, describe what it takes to be successful?
Hard-Work, Consistency, Resilience
8. In three words or less, describe your first year in business at Main Street Real Estate?
Exciting, Grinding, Learning
9. In three words or less, describe how running a successful company has changed you?
Maturing and Humbling
10. What is the one word that you believe has the most power in the English Language?
Belief
Mo Dadkhah , Thank you so much for sitting down with us at our DotCom Magazine Impact Player Round Table. We very much appreciate the time you spent helping others to learn more about what it takes to be a leader. We know your interview will help our readers, and we wish you, your family, and of course Main Street Real Estate , nothing but the best.
Thanks again!
