None of my Business S5:E2 Nick Schlekeway

This week on the show I have Nick Schlekeway who founded and owns Amherst Madison which is one of the fastest growing real estate brokerages in the country. Nick landed his company on the INC Magazine’s 5000 fastest growing companies in the country at 715.

Nick gives a really solid interview and has a lot to offer. His story, and essentially the first half of his life, was about one thing. Football. His passion for it started when he was 10 and all he wanted to do for the next dozen years, was to get to the NFL. He did everything in his power to get there. He trained, he excelled, he played for winning teams, including being the defensive captain of the 2006 BSU team that beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and put himself in position to fulfill his dream. It ultimately, did not happen.

The next few years were tough for Nick. It took him a long time to make the realization that because he failed, he wasn’t a failure. Tell a competitive, successful young man that the window for his dream is closed and it can really go one of two ways. Nick picked himself up and found his next passion. He worked through a very competitive field using many of the skills that helped him become an elite athlete to become a firefighter which he did for the next 4 years.

About halfway through his tenure as a firefighter, he got his real estate license and started selling homes. Nick came from an entrepreneurial background as his parents ran businesses so running a business was literally in his DNA. Against a lot of advice from a lot of people he trusted telling him to stay, he took the leap of faith and started his own business.

Nick opened his brokerage in 2014. We discuss how he built his team and immediately identified some deficiencies in his field. His priority was excellence. Nick tells us how he staffed up with the right Realtors which is a tough hole to fill. Finding and keeping good salespeople is VERY hard. He also describes some of the standards that people need to adhere to, to work at his brokerage.

Thank you Nick for coming on the show and sharing your story and keep up the good work!