00;00;03;25 - 00;00;04;27
Ryan Carter
Kelly, welcome.
00;00;05;00 - 00;00;05;21
Kelly McCallister
Thank you.
00;00;05;23 - 00;00;23;25
Ryan Carter
Super excited to spend some time and chat with you this morning and yeah, learn more about your background, your all your expertise in real estate. Why don't we start there? You know, I'd love to hear a little bit about what you're doing before real estate or kind of what got you here.
00;00;23;27 - 00;00;49;18
Kelly McCallister
Oh, yeah, that's a great question. I. Let's see. I started working in hospital City when I was 15. Okay, so food service mostly, But, you know, just like real estate, it is a very broad spectrum as far as what is available to do in the food service space. So not only did I run restaurants and worked in hospitality, but I started my own gluten free pizza company.
00;00;49;18 - 00;01;14;22
Kelly McCallister
It was one of the first in the country in 2009, and I sold that in 2015. We had 22 states of distribution with Whole Foods. We worked with over 200 restaurants across the country. Wow. So we went all the way to the West Coast. And so that was an interesting adventure. But that came on the heels of being laid off from Crocs.
00;01;14;22 - 00;01;40;15
Kelly McCallister
I ran the global licensing program for Javits, and so so I worked with Disney, Warner Brothers, NFL, NHL. I've managed contracts that were over $20 million, negotiated those and got product to the global market. Yeah, them. So, you know, I took some stints away from food service and hospitality on opportunities like that. Yeah. And that was that was just so great.
00;01;40;15 - 00;02;13;08
Kelly McCallister
I had a great time with that. So it was a long, varied career before I came to real estate. And I think that those components really lend itself well into the real estate business because, you know, hospitality is such an important factor, I feel, with like being able to read people and understand their needs very quickly. Yeah. So I came to real estate after realizing that I was ready to leave hospitality and food service.
00;02;13;08 - 00;02;34;02
Kelly McCallister
I was actually running the Kitchen Restaurant Group's marketing program at the time, and I helped them open up nine restaurants across the country. And so that was a really great opportunity. But I was just finding that it was it was time for something new and exciting. And I've always loved real estate. Yeah.
00;02;34;05 - 00;03;00;14
Ryan Carter
Well, I mean, I think it's understatement to say that your scope and hospitality is broad. I mean, that's a lot. Yeah. No doubt that those skill sets can transfer into all the success you're having in real estate now and for your clients. I mean, so much entrepreneurship in there. Yes. Just pure hospitality and creating the right experience for clients in real estate contract negotiation.
00;03;00;21 - 00;03;03;18
Ryan Carter
I mean, there was a lot in there. Yeah. Really a lot to.
00;03;03;18 - 00;03;05;06
Kelly McCallister
Unpack, right? Yeah.
00;03;05;08 - 00;03;12;10
Ryan Carter
Yeah. Crocs, the kitchen opening restaurants. Wow, that. That's a pretty storied background.
00;03;12;10 - 00;03;13;27
Kelly McCallister
Yes. Yes, for sure.
00;03;13;28 - 00;03;21;14
Ryan Carter
Yeah. Nice. So transferred to in real estate. You got drawn to real estate. You're loving it, I'm assuming.
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Kelly McCallister
Absolutely.
00;03;22;07 - 00;03;28;16
Ryan Carter
Yeah, absolutely. You can tell. Yes. What are some of the sort of favorite pieces of real estate for you?
00;03;28;21 - 00;04;03;09
Kelly McCallister
I so I would say my favorite favorite aspects of real estate is ensuring that the client has a smooth and joyful transaction. Yeah. And I feel like, you know, keeping them at ease and, you know, working with them to let them know, you know, these are just normal things. Every transaction is different. And I feel as though, you know, one of my last transactions was a piece of farm property in Broomfield, two acre land.
00;04;03;09 - 00;04;25;08
Kelly McCallister
And you know, during the transaction, they the sellers came to us and let us know that the septic needs would be fully replaced. So they were behind the eight ball on that. But thankfully, my clients, you know, I worked with them. I was like, the good news is you're going to have a new septic system. And the bad news is it's just going to take 15, 20 days longer, right?
00;04;25;08 - 00;04;34;01
Kelly McCallister
So it's a really win win because that is a big ticket item. So just keeping them at ease and letting them know that everything's going to be okay.
00;04;34;06 - 00;04;35;26
Ryan Carter
Yeah, I mean, that is that is a.
00;04;35;26 - 00;04;36;16
Kelly McCallister
Really.
00;04;36;16 - 00;05;03;23
Ryan Carter
Big piece of your value proposition to clients. You know, people transact is one is one of the least frequent things people do, but one of the most significant financial things people do. Exactly. Hence the real need for a true professional to guide you, whether you're on the buy side, whether you're on the sell side, it's really important. And having people understand, as you say, look, this is par for the course, This is normal.
00;05;03;27 - 00;05;11;24
Ryan Carter
This will result in this better outcome. Yes. Yeah, that's a great piece of it. Yes. So you've been in real estate going on for years. Yeah.
00;05;11;27 - 00;05;17;29
Kelly McCallister
Yes, exactly. I got my license about 20 minutes before shutdown. Okay. So that was pretty exciting.
00;05;17;29 - 00;05;18;29
Ryan Carter
Perfect timing.
00;05;19;06 - 00;05;21;14
Kelly McCallister
I know. It looked exactly like I thought it was going.
00;05;21;14 - 00;05;43;16
Ryan Carter
Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yes. Yeah. I mean, tell me a little more about that. I mean, that's interesting. But quickly, it's interesting, though. I think, you know, COVID, the whole pandemic and going into lockdown, you know, so glad we're on the other side of that. Well, yeah, really remarkable. And such a horrible thing to experience from the other side of that.
00;05;43;21 - 00;06;03;02
Ryan Carter
But from a real estate lens, you know, as initially it was a very alarming. And then the market exploded. Yes, the market opened up. And then so you could really step in and build your skillset, build your professionalism, build your knowledge base through those years. Yes, as well.
00;06;03;02 - 00;06;21;07
Kelly McCallister
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And I think that that's a great point, you know, because I as soon as I onboarded with the Etsy, because this is the only company that I've been with, as soon as I onboarded my first open house, I had to go put a sign up that we were closed due to COVID, right? So I didn't even get to do like my first open house.
00;06;21;07 - 00;06;45;10
Kelly McCallister
And then for that first six weeks, yeah, it was everyone was shut down. And thankfully I had that opportunity to build my systems rather than being thrown in like to the wolves right? So I was able to, you know, build my boom town, build all of this great tools that were given. But they still need backend work from an individual standpoint.
00;06;45;10 - 00;07;09;05
Kelly McCallister
Yeah. So he's able to do that. And then I feel like also having the ability to write so many contracts because it was such a fast paced market. Yeah. And you know, some buyers were needing multiple contracts written during that time period I think was a real advantage to be able to build those skills a lot more quickly.
00;07;09;05 - 00;07;30;25
Ryan Carter
Yes, yes, yes. And at a really sort of high temperature, you really need to needed to get to a knowledge base quickly and really serve clients at a high level and in a sort of heightened level. Yes. Really quickly. So an interesting, almost double edged sword and some positives, too, beginning in building your foundational business during that time.
00;07;30;27 - 00;07;45;29
Ryan Carter
Yeah, exactly. That's super interesting. All right. So, you know, pivoting a bit. Yeah. Tell me a little bit more about sort of what you do, what you enjoy doing outside of real estate or what what are those textures in there of your life?
00;07;46;00 - 00;08;09;22
Kelly McCallister
Kelly Well, I spent a lot of time with family. I come from a large Catholic family in Indiana, so the last time we get to get a guy together, it's, you know, 20 people just for my immediate family. So we have a great time. And so I spent a lot of time with family. In fact, because of my magnetic personality, two of my sisters live here in Colorado.
00;08;09;24 - 00;08;13;01
Kelly McCallister
Yeah. So this is that's really great. Yeah.
00;08;13;04 - 00;08;21;04
Ryan Carter
So hard to recruit people to college. I know, right? I've done the same thing. The my family's all here now, but we're fortunate in that it's an easy sell.
00;08;21;05 - 00;08;42;28
Kelly McCallister
It is. Is the best thing. And they're like, Yeah, yes, that. So I spent a lot of time with family. I'm married. I have an 11 year old sixth grader and so, you know, we have a great time. We do lots of family fun days that look like riding our bikes around the boulder rez and then being like, huh, Well, paddle boarding looks fun today.
00;08;42;28 - 00;09;06;24
Kelly McCallister
Yeah. And like, jumping off the bikes and renting paddleboards on the rez for a couple hours and yeah, you know, hitting some great lunch spots, you know, being in the hospitality industry, I know them all in Boulder, so we always get a great opportunity to go and do that. I also cook a lot for my family and so, you know, my my son's favorites are sushi and curry.
00;09;06;26 - 00;09;14;21
Kelly McCallister
So I mean, a very advanced palate. Yes, a very yeah. We went to Mexico recently and he ate grilled octopus every single day.
00;09;14;26 - 00;09;16;23
Ryan Carter
And I love it. I love.
00;09;16;23 - 00;09;32;17
Kelly McCallister
It. So food is a big part of our life for sure. Yeah. Yes. My husband is also been in the industry for a long time and he's an account development specialist for a luxury wine portfolio. So, you know, it runs pretty deep at our house for an elevated palate.
00;09;32;19 - 00;09;37;11
Ryan Carter
Yeah, I'm excited for my invitation dinner out here at House of Amazing. Yes.
00;09;37;11 - 00;09;39;07
Kelly McCallister
You pick the entree I'll make it for.
00;09;39;08 - 00;09;59;07
Ryan Carter
Okay. All right, cool. Yeah. You know, listening to you there, I actually you know, you mentioned about knowing all the spots, the hot spots and great places to eat. But really, I think where that resonates, I mean, I know your business. I watch your I've seen you impact clients. And I think a big piece of that is that deep knowledge that you have.
00;09;59;07 - 00;10;17;19
Ryan Carter
I imagine working with someone coming into a new market or being in where you can sort of expand your value to your clients besides just the real estate trends, I mean, you know, talk to me about that. And imagine that's one of the things that the type of transactional type of buyer that you love to work with.
00;10;17;22 - 00;10;43;18
Kelly McCallister
It's true. It's true. My last two transactions, I was number nine in the company for the month of July, so I had two transactions up in the Boulder area at the end, and both of them were relocation. Yeah. So one family, a family of four from the Chicago area, and then a couple who during the pandemic had lived in 19 states.
00;10;43;24 - 00;11;06;25
Kelly McCallister
They just had their dogs and their car and they would go to Airbnbs and they decided that the boulder in the mountain areas where they wanted to be. So it was really great working with them, giving them the depth of knowledge about not only like specifically the real estate in the area, but what what they can imagine their lifestyle looking for.
00;11;06;25 - 00;11;07;26
Ryan Carter
And using the place.
00;11;07;26 - 00;11;08;10
Kelly McCallister
Yes.
00;11;08;10 - 00;11;09;27
Ryan Carter
What are the layers of that?
00;11;09;27 - 00;11;37;07
Kelly McCallister
Exactly. Yeah, exactly. And I think that night really offers a wonderful, wonderful community, especially for people who are looking for something that has like a quaint downtown but still has like parades or rock on rails or, you know, those walking events that really bring the community together. Yeah. And so being able to shine a light on that. Yeah.
00;11;37;09 - 00;11;54;12
Kelly McCallister
Or even with Boulder, you know, we have bands on the bricks on Wednesdays, you know, and just sending them little tidbits of, you know, how they can experience the community before they make that purchase so that they make the right purchase. That is a long term decision that will make them the happiest in Colorado.
00;11;54;14 - 00;12;12;25
Ryan Carter
That's right. That's right. That's awesome. I mean, you're bringing a lot to the table for your clients for sure. What is there sort of specific geographic areas that you enjoy focusing on? I know a lot of in Boulder County in general, kind of share anything around geographic areas that you love to work in.
00;12;12;27 - 00;12;41;14
Kelly McCallister
Well, I love I love where I live, which is in Northeast Boulder. And so the northern part of Boulder and central parts of Boulder, I love sharing my knowledge of that area and what how they can experience that part of Boulder and what hikes they can do quickly from their house. And, you know, some of my favorite hikes or cycling rides, you know, I love riding out to Higiene, which is super charming.
00;12;41;15 - 00;13;04;19
Kelly McCallister
And, you know, so I find that, you know, people are drawn to the Boulder community because of their like mindedness. So it usually is very athletic, based, outdoors based. And, you know, a lot of like dining as well. Yeah, it's a great dining community. It has one of the highest restaurants per capita in the country.
00;13;04;20 - 00;13;22;28
Ryan Carter
Wow. That's super. I did not know that. But I can. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah. Yeah. So I have to ask you, I know that you love every client and every real estate transaction that you do, but what's really cool thing about our industry is that there is no one transaction that is the same, Right? Right.
00;13;22;28 - 00;13;38;09
Ryan Carter
Every every deal is different. Different flavors, different context of a personalities, different challenges, different wins. I'm sure you have some interesting stories of some transactions in there. Well, what is one transaction that sort of stands out that you that you could share with us?
00;13;38;15 - 00;14;00;04
Kelly McCallister
Well, it it was more of a showing because I'm a premier agent with Zillow, but I, I found it very interesting. So a lot of people we like to say that they get their high off of hiking up Chautauqua and then they come down and they press that Zillow button to go see something because they want to buy in Boulder because it's so amazing, right?
00;14;00;04 - 00;14;20;24
Kelly McCallister
Yeah. And so somebody reached out to me about a mountain home that was up for Mile Canyon and so I set the showing for them. And of course, I was excited to show them they're from the East Coast. And when I received the showing time notification, it said, Please note that the potbelly pig will still be in the house.
00;14;20;26 - 00;14;23;19
Kelly McCallister
He loves treats and his name is Henry.
00;14;23;22 - 00;14;25;21
Ryan Carter
Wow, that's so cool.
00;14;25;21 - 00;14;30;09
Kelly McCallister
So you know, the mountain communities are a little bit different than Boulder itself, right?
00;14;30;11 - 00;14;32;08
Ryan Carter
Yeah, I love that. And how was Henry?
00;14;32;09 - 00;14;35;12
Kelly McCallister
Henry was sweet, but he was a lot bigger than I thought he was going to be.
00;14;35;18 - 00;14;39;29
Ryan Carter
Okay. Okay. And Henry was a full indoor. Yeah.
00;14;40;02 - 00;14;41;19
Kelly McCallister
He was like, £200.
00;14;41;25 - 00;14;44;23
Ryan Carter
Wow. Wow, wow. Nice.
00;14;44;27 - 00;15;14;12
Kelly McCallister
So on that same note, you know, as you said, all transactions are different. And one of the people that I was helping relocate, she was moving from Virginia. It she had lived there, raised her children there and recently single. And she just loves being near the mountains. Yeah. And so she really wanted to make this life change. And it was a really big change for her because she had an established business as being an art teacher out of her home.
00;15;14;12 - 00;15;26;17
Kelly McCallister
We had two children and so it was a different type of financing. So it was very interesting because, you know, moving a business like that isn't always guaranteed.
00;15;26;17 - 00;15;27;04
Ryan Carter
That's right.
00;15;27;04 - 00;15;52;09
Kelly McCallister
And so besides my best efforts to have her go with the mortgage, she decided to go with one of the larger national banks. And it just despite my best efforts to get that clear to close. Yeah. Three days beforehand. And I started actually ten days beforehand and he was like, well, I don't know, I don't know. And I was like, Well, this is the time.
00;15;52;11 - 00;15;54;03
Ryan Carter
Yeah, we know.
00;15;54;03 - 00;15;55;03
Kelly McCallister
This is the time tonight.
00;15;55;03 - 00;15;56;23
Ryan Carter
Need my client under contract.
00;15;56;24 - 00;15;59;23
Kelly McCallister
Yes. Yeah. And we're trying to protect her earnest money.
00;15;59;23 - 00;16;00;09
Ryan Carter
That's right.
00;16;00;15 - 00;16;20;08
Kelly McCallister
And, and then it was post virtual walk through final walk through the day before closing. And I got back to my car and looked at my computer and noticed that he sent me an email saying that they were not going to close a lot. So I called my network.
00;16;20;14 - 00;16;21;17
Ryan Carter
Yeah.
00;16;21;20 - 00;16;27;26
Kelly McCallister
Made it happen. We just put more hard interest money down, bought some time and she still closed.
00;16;27;29 - 00;16;28;18
Ryan Carter
Wow.
00;16;28;18 - 00;16;35;20
Kelly McCallister
She was delighted and grateful. And now her daughter has bought a property with me across the street from her.
00;16;35;21 - 00;16;58;18
Ryan Carter
Oh, that's so great. Yeah. I mean, did stories like that that a make me think about really what we're doing for people and also how the reasons why clients and buyers really need a professional agent who can keep the house together. Yes. And then just the joy of knowing that, you know, now her daughters across the way and you guided her through a really change in her life.
00;16;58;18 - 00;17;17;25
Ryan Carter
Yes. Super cool. Yes. All right. Well, I have one one final sort of question for you. I'd love to just you know, I think I know I'm a bit biased, but, you know, what is your partnership been with eight? How has that partnership been in building your business with Etsy?
00;17;17;29 - 00;17;45;14
Kelly McCallister
I love this question because Etsy was my absolute number one agency that I wanted to be with, and the reasons for that is because it is so tech forward, which I think that meeting the clients where they're at their online, especially when we were in shutdown. Yeah, especially when we weren't meeting in person and we were doing all of the real estate reviews online and Zoom calls and that sort of thing.
00;17;45;21 - 00;18;28;00
Kelly McCallister
But it really made it easy to do that technology piece. Yeah, I love the tools that we're given, you know, as far as the marketing options and the boom town and being able to create those campaigns and really, you know, set a tone while creating efficiencies and automation. And I think that the the support that we're given, you know, with Doug being able to do, you know, he organizes academy and I love that we get the opportunity to show up to that on a quarterly basis and refresh some of those opportunities that we may have not picked up in in the first place.
00;18;28;00 - 00;18;52;06
Kelly McCallister
So I love Academy. And I also think that, you know, the Database Mastery series that's held once a month is really fantastic because there's always more nuggets to pick up along the way. Yeah. And I think that that that continuing effort to be better as agent and meet the clients where they need to be is essential and key to what Etsy offers.
00;18;52;10 - 00;19;06;29
Ryan Carter
Yeah, great. I love that. Thanks for sharing that. It's true and it's and it's so cool to be able to partner with, you know, amazing people like you and amazing professionals like you and just really partnering and building a business that's going to impact people.
00;19;07;04 - 00;19;08;06
Kelly McCallister
Yeah, Yeah. Great.
00;19;08;07 - 00;19;13;08
Ryan Carter
Kelly, thanks for hanging out today. It's been so good to see you and spend some time. Likewise. Yeah.
