Life & Work with Tracy Banish

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Banish.

Hi Tracy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
My entire “past life,” as I call it (pre-Real Estate), was all childcare related. At the time, I needed a change. Not knowing which direction I wanted to go, a friend who is in Real Estate asked me what I liked to do. At that time, I answered with photography, interior decorating, and everything on HGTV. She said perfect! Real Estate has all of those things. So, I gave it a chance, which was equally exciting and terrifying. I knew NOTHING about Real Estate at the time but was excited for a change. I worked 4 jobs as Real Estate is commission-based, and I had never worked a commission-based job before and had to find a way to pay bills while learning all the things. I gave it my all, I listened to what others would tell me, I dove in headfirst to the training, and I shadowed everyone who would let me. In my first year, I was named “Rookie of the Year”, which I am still incredibly grateful for. As I started having a steady income, I was able to slowly cut out the other jobs and focus only on Real Estate. 

In the early years, I was running around like a madman. I was a one-woman show. I showed the houses, went to inspections, wrote & negotiated offers, cold called, door knocked, went on listing appointments, listed houses, and coordinated everything in between. I am not sure when I slept, or if I slept yet, somehow, I made it work. I quickly realized that wasn’t the life I wanted to live. I was all work and no play. Which isn’t a maintainable or even enjoyable lifestyle. I quickly learned that I needed help. I couldn’t do it all on my own, nor did I need to. I slowly started to create a team as I saw fit for the roles that I needed the most help with. 

At one point, I grew a team too quickly and with all the wrong people. Learning from that, I decided the best option moving forward was to hire slowly and hire the right people. Hiring quality over quantity. I worked very hard to have a good reputation in the industry and wanted nothing but the best service for my clients. So, I knew I needed to have the right people in place to do so. I also didn’t want my team to have to go through the struggles that I once went through. It’s good to experience some struggle but not to the point where you no longer enjoy what you are doing. I’m grateful to have had the struggle to now appreciate my team even more. 

Now selling over 250+ homes in my career, I have been named multiple years in Detroit’s HOUR Magazine as one of the top 5% of agents in SouthEast Michigan. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha, not even a little bit! Some of the struggles were mentioned in the previous question. When I first got started, I struggled to know where my next paycheck was coming from. So, I was working 4 jobs to survive until I got the hang of things in Real Estate. I was working at Planet Fitness at 5:00 am to clean machines. Then immediately after, I would clean houses with a lady I met at PF. After that, I would go to the Real Estate office to learn all I could about Real Estate. Then, I would babysit on nights & weekends. Looking back, I truly do not know when I would sleep. There would be days I was the first one into the office and the last one to leave. The office secretary had to show me how to turn off the lights and lock up. At one point she asked me if I had a home to go home to… Pretty sure she thought I was homeless and sleeping at the office. 

Another struggle was trying to do everything myself. Teams were fairly new in the industry when I first started. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. So, I did all the things myself. I’ve always been very organized with my paperwork, and the office coordinators knew this. When I was working crazy hours, sometimes I would miss a document or two to turn in, which wasn’t like me, and the office knew this. They would ask if I had been working all weekend, which, of course, I was. And they even told me I needed to take a break. I knew I needed a break, but I also was working with a decent amount of clients who needed my help and were relying on me. I am and will always be forever grateful for this. 

I was working with many buyers at the time who all wanted to see houses at the same time and all over the metro area. There was only one of me and many of them. I had to pay people at my office to help service my clients, as I never wanted anyone to miss out on a home because I wasn’t available. This was just added to the fact that I needed more help or another 3 of me…Which is when I decided I was finally as ready for some help. 

I was heading on vacation one year when I knew there was no phone service or internet. Which was equally exciting and terrifying as I now had this new business I needed to service. Another newer agent, who started at the same time as I did, said he would help out when I was gone. I was incredibly thankful and relieved. We later decided to partner up. Starting with a shared assistant and then a showing assistant. Things were going well until they weren’t. We decided to add new partners to the mix, which was a HUGE mistake. We then grew way too quickly and with all the wrong people. This partnership was no longer a good fit. We dissolved that team, and I went off and created my own. Learning from this, I knew I needed to grow slowly and with the right people. I didn’t want just bodies on my team. I wanted people who were a good fit and would add value to our clients. 

One of the struggles with this is finding the right people. The interview process can be excruciating. From no-shows to a potential great fit, and then those people don’t pass the Real Estate exam and give up. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I always tell myself if I were to go back to school, I would go for marketing. Marketing is in literally every aspect of my life. My husband tells me I am a natural marketer which I am flattered by. I enjoy getting creative in various ways. One thing I like to do is make custom clothing & items. I love wearing my team’s logo and Real Estate-related sayings. They are a great conversation starter. I decided to get my own Cricut machine to make my own custom clothes. Not only do I make them for myself and my team, but I also started making custom closing gifts for our clients when they close on a home. Our team is 44|85 Real Estate Group, which stands for the coordinates of Michigan. I would create their own specific coordinates for their new home and put them on coasters or coffee mugs. Clients always appeared to be thrilled to get these gifts. 

I have since opened my services for custom “swag” up to the public and have had other agents also order custom clothing from me. This new business is “That Swag Lady.” It allows me to channel my inner creative self as well as help others. Two things I truly enjoy doing. 

In addition to this, I started doing my own DIY house projects. I was and still am incredibly inspired by other females who do DIY house projects. I think it’s incredible. This inspired me to take on some projects of my own at my own house. I’ve learned how to use a miter saw a Dremel, and more. My favorite project thus far is my Board & Batten wall in the hallway at my last house. I saw this wall every time I went upstairs and was filled with pride and motivation, telling myself I could do anything I set my mind to. This little hustle is “Sawdust and Champagne”. Maybe someday, as my skill grows, I will either offer my services to our clients or potentially get into flipping houses and being able to do most of the work myself. We shall see what the future has in store. For now, I will continue to work on my own personal home and work out the kinks along the way. 

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Prior to Real Estate, I was quite shy. I HATED having people overhear me when I made phone calls. Even if I was ordering a pizza, I would walk into another room. When I first got into Real Estate, in order to create the business, I wanted to have, I had to get out of my comfort zone. Now today, I will call anyone at any time, and I don’t care who is listening. Back in my cold calling days, I would go through my phone and call everyone in it. I always DREADED when I got to an ex. I still made the call and was also thankful when they didn’t pick up. (haha!) I did, however, call their families and loved chatting with them. By doing so, I listed and sold one of my ex’s grandparents’ home. So, it wasn’t all that bad. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fortyfour85.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortyfour85/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fortyfour85
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracymyersbanish/

Image Credits
Shirley Lessner
Michael Shuster