In this week’s episode, we are lucky to have a wonderful discussion with Amber Sigg. Amber is the owner of The Pointe Real Estate, LLC and On Pointe Complete. She is a realtor, a business coach, a mom, and a wife. She’s a superwoman!
She believes that establishing a business is hard that’s why she wanted to share her knowledge and experiences to other real estate professionals who are still struggling. Amber believes in the power of networking and deep connections. She calls them business power partners. With excellent networking, you can get referrals that are very good for your business.
Amber’s website: https://opcomplete.com/
The Pointere: https://thepointere.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opcomplete/
Katie Brinkley 0:02
Hi friends. I’m Katie Brinkley, and you’re listening to Rocky Mountain marketing. This podcast is all about helping Colorado based small business owners, entrepreneurs, realtors, and professionals discover the strategies and systems that take their marketing to all new heights. Let’s dive into today’s episode.
Welcome back to Rocky Mountain Marketing. Today, my guest is Amber Sigg. Amber has been in the real estate game for a while now she started in real estate when you still looked up listings and books and personally delivered four copies of contracts to the other agent. So you might think that that dates are just a little bit. And she’s learned a lot over the years, what works, what doesn’t. And she has built a very strong relational business and absolutely loves working with their clients. I know that I have a lot of listeners who are real estate agents. So thank you, Amber, for joining me today. I know this is going to be a great conversation.
Amber Sigg 0:59
Absolutely. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Katie Brinkley 1:01
Well, I like to have my guests loosen up a little bit. And the biggest thing that loosens everyone up is talking about themselves. And this is something that you know all the answers to. So let’s start back at the beginning. Tell us where you grew up and what life was like growing up.
Amber Sigg 1:15
So you know, I grew up in northern Colorado. I was actually born in Coos Bay, Oregon. My dad was in the military at the time. But I grew up in northern Colorado. We moved back here after he got out of active duty service and grew up on the farm with the family with the way my dad went back to farming with the family. And you know, I used to be a huge tomboy, played in the ditches squish the mud and my toes ran around outside all day long. It was great. You know, and then when I was about 15, we moved into town and just started nannying, and thought I was gonna get married and have 10 kids. And that’s what I wanted and graduated from high school and went to work and kind of accidentally found my way into real estate and fell in love with working and fell in love with real estate. And so now we have two kids instead of 10.
Katie Brinkley 2:10
You know, I have a little kids to my minor, a four and seven. And I have to say that well I came from the side of maybe maybe one kid, but then once you have one as well, they need a friend but now I can’t imagine having more than two because then it’s zone defense right now we could play down demand. It’s zone defense once you get to have more kids then then parents it’s a little bit more more stressful. I think so thin kids was very ambitious.
Amber Sigg 2:39
Yes, we got a little lucky on the zone defense. Our daughter was born when I was 27. And she’s 14 now. So there y’all have it. And our son was a surprise and showed up in 2020. So they are 13 years apart.
They like to keep us going and on our toes and they adore each other. It’s a nice relationship and a nice spot there. So
Katie Brinkley 3:08
So you said that you kind of stumbled into the whole real estate game. And I think that that’s happens to a lot of entrepreneurs that you just kind of stumble their way into it. Tell us how did you stumble into real estate and what made you decide to make this your career
Amber Sigg 3:23
you know, I am right after high school I took on a temp job actually with a title company. And I ended up being an escrow assistant there and got hired on full time after the temp duration was up and really just liked real estate as a whole. As I was seeing it from that side I had an agent who close to there quite a bit and she really just liked my organization and work style and asked me if I would come run her office for her and she was unique in the fact that she sold new construction and resale but her husband was also a developer and so I ended up working for both of them got a good two two and a half years of just hardcore experience with them. I mean, on the developer side I ended up approving plans and writing Hoa covenants and and understanding plots and plans and I just learned so much about all of that and legal descriptions and and then on the real estate side she had a team of people that helped her sell and I ended up overseeing all of that and all of those files and I helped her with that team and and then I decided in 2000 I wanted to get my license and not just stay in the assistant capacity went and got licensed and decided what was best for me at that time was to join 20th century 21 and get a lot more training under my belt there and we all agreed amicably and I went and did that and it was also a great lesson and then I got my employment broker’s license A few years after that. I ended up jumping into managing a 45 agent office that just kind of came together with another agent I knew and that was a bit much for me. That was, I was 24, you had people in the office that were two times your age, in some cases who were like this 24 year old kid is not going to tell me how to run my real estate business, you know. And so that was a bit of a challenge. We’re learning how to work with people that are quite a bit older, and you’re dealing with the you’re the newbie, you’re young, you don’t know, anything, mindsets, and we just ended up, I ended up deciding, you know, what I really wanted to focus on, was selling. So in 2008, six months before Lehman Brothers crashed, I opened my own boutique brokerage, and I was terrified. It’s, it was very scary, especially once everything crashed, you’re going, what am I doing? But you know, I looked at my husband, and I said, this is either gonna be the best thing I ever did, or the worst? And are you willing to just jump off the ledge with me? And he said, Absolutely, let’s do it. He goes, I have all the faith in the world. And so I had to learn how to create a business from scratch beyond the real estate behind all that as realtors, we still have to have our own systems and processes and procedures, and just, you know, our ideal client, our mission and our vision, and, and all of those things have to happen, and including all of your branding and your storytelling, and you’re marketing. And when Lehman Brothers crashed, I didn’t really have the budget to hire other people to do that any longer. So I had to learn. And I had to learn quick. And so that actually ended up being the biggest blessing in disguise for me was that was something I learned, I enjoyed, I greatly enjoy it to this day, which is kind of how Opie is developing. And I oversaw other agents and coach to them on brand and business and strategies for that, and being effective with it. And they’ve moved on and built companies for themselves. So it’s just an interesting flow and journey of things and how it all came together. And sometimes that door opens wide open, and even though you’re terrified, you just got to walk through it, because it’s going to be worth it in the end. So
Katie Brinkley 7:14
absolutely. And you know, I’m glad that you said, you kind of just getting thrown to the wolves of trying to start your own business actually ends up being a blessing in disguise, because that was very similar for me and my journey. You know, I, I had my dream job. I was I was the marketing manager for the Rockies television station, I had a great boss, I loved my co workers. I mean, I would go and sit, go to the Rockies game for my lunch break, you know, and just sit and watch a day. It was a great job. And I absolutely loved it. And when I was laid off, but well, the DirecTV and at&t team merged, and my position was eliminated. And so when that happened, it was I was devastated. And I looked what’s next for me. And honestly, I think it was such a blessing. Because I don’t know if I ever would have gone ahead and done the social media thing as my full time job. I didn’t even know it wasn’t even really even an option when I was at the TV station. But I had a great boss. And after I was laid off, I still had to work there for an additional month. But my boss was great. And she said to me, you know, Katie, I would love to see, you just do social media and get back into radio some way. It was something I was like, Oh, that’s, that’s really cool. And she’s, again, you’re so good at social media. And I know that you have that passion for radio. And I’d love to see you find a way to make those both happen. And really, you know, looking at what I do now I did, I started my own social media agency. And then I have the podcast here. And this, you know, this is just like having my own marketing radio show where I get to interview some of the best Colorado based business owners and digital marketing experts out there and have these conversations. And so sometimes it’s those those times where it feels like oh, my gosh, what am I being thrown into here. But if I could have had the, you know, I don’t know if I would have ever had the guts to go ahead and try this. If I wasn’t just thrown into it.
Amber Sigg 9:13
Yeah. And I get that. And I think that happens for a lot of people. I mean, we’re very comfortable in our bubble. And I think people also have the misconception that there is one perfectly laid out roadmap to success. And they’re always trying to find that map instead of following their own. And there isn’t a perfect roadmap to this. You have your own journey, everybody’s different. And my job now I am still licensed and I’m going to keep my license so I can start referring my clients actively to other agents, but I have consciously made the decision in the last year that really where my heart lies now is is in coaching and strategizing with these professionals so that they can build a business and a brand that they can share and be known for it and be proud of it. I would have never seen that on my journey, I would have never planned for that along the way. And I think people are terrified to just take that chance and just have a little faith in themselves, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to get out of our own way, you know, 100%. So, now this is exciting. I’m having the time of my life probably honest.
Katie Brinkley 10:20
Well, you know, and I think that that’s great. And I was there somebody that you said, you know, that you’re helping strategize and help helping these business owners, you know, get get up and running. But I mean, like, Was there somebody that acted as kind of a mentor for you, when you were, you know, kind of thrown to the wolves and starting a business?
Amber Sigg 10:37
To be honest, not really, I was kind of on my own, because like I said, I started the point, you know, in 2008, on my own as a boutique, and then, you know, you just jumped in with both feet. And so don’t get me wrong, I made a ton of mistakes along the way, I definitely learned what worked, and what didn’t, there was a lot of costly mistakes along the way, because, you know, you don’t have someone guiding you in that case. And so you’re using the best judgment you have in that moment. And so you know, you’re taking the risk of, is this going to be a super costly mistake for me? Or is it gonna work? Just as much as I had costly mistakes, I had things that worked really well, you know, and I’ve learned what those are. And now my goal is to take those things and take what I’ve learned of what works and what doesn’t, and try to help others with that, so that they have a mentor of sorts, so many of us, especially in entrepreneurship, on our own, don’t have that mentor. And that’s one what I look at this, when I’m saying I want to strategize with people, I want to be their mentor, I want to help them with it. And I don’t want them to have to go through all the same mistakes and roadblocks that I went through, I enjoy watching them thrive, I enjoy watching them grow. And so that is truly the heart of it all for me now, and I love my real estate clients don’t get me wrong, this was a conscious decision to make a choice to leave real estate. And some of that was health. I mean, I had my son in 2020, as I said, and I had a lot of complications from that afterwards. And I thought, I’m either gonna have to really work hard at getting back to that chaotic schedule, that real estate is because it is chaotic. Or maybe it’s time that I choose a different path and really take that leap. And to be honest, I was nervous to go to my husband and my family and say, Hey, this is where I think I want to go with it now and not have the fall looked at me like, Are you insane? You’re killing it in real estate? Why would you do that? And you know, and I do, I have a great client following it is completely relational based. And I built it that way intentionally. And that is how I strategize with other people it is because it’s extremely relational based. And so I was very scared of how they were going to react and think that I had lost my mind. And instead, you know, they’re like, well, we’re a little sad, you’re leaving real estate, because you’re so great at it. But we will support you in whatever you think is best. And we know you’re you’re great at this, too. So, you know, if you want to go help other professionals do this, go do it. And we’ll support you. And that was a big thing for me. And I think even over having a mentor, you just need people that support you, no matter who it is,
Katie Brinkley 13:15
yes, a strong support system is extremely important. I know that, you know, my husband is extremely supportive of me and in my business. And that’s why I’ve been doing it for five years now. You know, it’s because I have a strong support system. You know, if someone is listening right now who’s thinking about changing careers, or starting their own business are giving an entrepreneurship a try? What is the single biggest piece of advice that you’d want to give him or her as their journey starts?
Amber Sigg 13:42
that mindset is everything. I call it horse blinders, you obviously need to look at your competition, to say, hey, what am I getting into? Who am I competing with? But the biggest thing that we struggle with, especially when we’re starting is mindset, you see someone else doing really well on social media, you see someone else getting more engagements than you or you’re pitching it to friends and family and other business professionals, you know, and they’re like, Oh, that’s such a great idea. You’re gonna do great at it, but then nobody’s really working with you are signing up. That can become very defeating very quickly, you know, and so I would say, the mindset and as I like to put on your horse blinders, have faith in you have faith in your plan. You know, it’s just like when horses and jockeys are running a race, almost everybody across the board trains the same way is looking to run the best time and the best race they can run. The underlying rules are saying the same across the board. However, that individual jockey and that individual horse have a connection and they have a plan. And the reason they put blinders on a horse, so that horse and that jockey can stay focused on their race and the race they are running. And so if you can just have faith in that and get your mind That tabac you, then you’re gonna go a long way with it. I mean, it’s gonna take work. I’m not saying it’s not, but don’t let the outside influences immediately discourage you keep that mindset of I have faith in this I believe in what I’m trying to go after. And the mindset needs to be I need to run my race. Yes, 1,000%
Katie Brinkley 15:19
Yes, I know someone that works in social media, I totally get it, it can be so hard to not look and see what other people in your industry are doing and do a comparison game. But that is Yeah, the recipe for disaster and mindset issues and for sabotage, honestly, it is a way of self sabotage right there. Because you’re only seeing other people’s highlight reels, you’re not seeing their bloopers, you’re only seeing what’s what’s worked for them, you’re not seeing all the struggle and the sweat and the tears behind things that they’ve tried to have at work. And one of the biggest things that I tell a lot of my clients is, the reason why people want you just put on the blinders on social is because people will find you and they’re going to relate to you and want to do business with you. Otherwise, they could do business with that other person. So you can’t try and be somebody else. You can’t try and show up on social media and doing other things. Because that’s not essentially you.
Amber Sigg 16:13
Exactly. No, I was just gonna say, you know, it is, I agree with that very much, it is a huge struggle to not fall into a comparison, right? And when you fall into that comparison, right, especially on social media, and another right I find that people fall into is they’ll put something up on social media, and then they’re thinking, Okay, I’m gonna get 200 engagements and 500 signups or, or whatever they’re after. And then when that doesn’t happen, they immediately go, Oh, I failed. No, you didn’t fail. You’re just not known yet. And people haven’t gotten to know you yet. And more than ever, people are looking to work with you. And what I mean by that is they’re looking for someone they connect with, they are looking for someone that they can relate to, they want that personal attention again. And that is something that I feel like we very much have gotten back to even more so in the last year and a half ish. And you know, people really want that connection again. And so it’s okay, if you didn’t get 100 engagements on the post, and I say, quit setting that expectation for yourself so that you feel like you failed. Just the fact that you got it up and got it out and you’re following your plan of action. That’s what you should be focused on. I am doing the things that I set out for myself to do. Now, eventually, yes, you do need to look at it and say, is this really working? But don’t immediately defeat yourself because something didn’t hit the expectation that you gave it? So that would be something I would say you want to avoid?
Katie Brinkley 17:48
as well. Now, what do you think that some of the biggest mistakes that business owners make when they’re trying to grow and sustain a successful business? Because, you know, we talked a lot about the comparison and the mindset, what do you think another mistake is that they’re making,
Amber Sigg 18:01
not having a really clear and defined plan. And what I mean by that is, you know, I’ll use real estate as an example, again, you may be incredible with people, you may understand the contracts world class, you may be the best negotiator, this side of the Mississippi. But if you don’t have a core structure, behind all that, to run your business, regarding your business, plan, your brand and your budget, you will not succeed simply for the fact that you didn’t build the foundation first. I mean, if you’re looking at a house, the foundation is the core of it all. And then as you’re building a house, you’ve got electrical and plumbing and things that have to be updated and upgraded. So along the way, you need to monitor those things and maintain them. And that’s what you’re going to do with those same three things, you know, brand business and budget, but you have to have that foundation there first, you can’t just move into the pretty house and expect it all to just work for you without maintaining it or having a strong foundation underneath it. So if that analogy works for Yvonne, little punny being in real estate, but yeah, hell, but really, I mean, we all want the pretty house, we all want it to be ready to go. But if you’re not caring for it, and maintaining things and updating things along the way, then it’s gonna fall into disrepair. And it’s the same with your business. If you don’t have the background working and all the work that needs to be done behind the scenes, the business itself won’t stay strong and, and I think so many of us look at, well, that person’s doing great and we don’t think about what do they have to do behind the scenes to get there. And that’s really where I come in is, I wanna help you build the behind the scenes so that you can succeed a lot of these people are great at selling real estate or being a lender or being an aesthetician or whatever your desire is. But they’re not necessarily great at creating the business plan, the budget plan and the brand strategy behind it all, something to consider.
Katie Brinkley 20:08
Yeah, you know, there’s a lot more that goes into business than just opening up the doors for instance, you know, we I always like to hear what marketing works for different business owners here in Colorado, what marketing Have you found, that has helped you grow your business and become successful with your, with your endeavors, like what marketing works well, for you,
Amber Sigg 20:33
you know, well, I use social media as a tool. And I think it is very important to stay in age, I’ve also found that just that one on one relationship, use the sphere, you already have talked to the people you already know, these people know, you trust you. And in some cases love you. And you need to use that. And you don’t do it in a salesy fashion, you just say, this is something that I am doing, for me and myself, and I’m really excited about it. And I’m very motivated about it. And I’m not necessarily asking you to come to me and use my business right away. But I would appreciate if you would help share it with those, you know, because you do know me, you do, trust me. And the biggest compliment you could give me and the biggest help you could give me is just to refer me, that’s not going to cost that person a single thing to refer you and send somebody your way. And the other thing would be to get into some sort of networking platform, get into that face to face get into some kind of efficient networking platform, I would say as well. Some of these networking groups tend to kind of be a coffee club, everybody gets together chat for a while, but nothing really comes out of it. They want to be sure they’re getting into a networking system that has a program behind it and works for people. And even if that means you, you get together with your five closest, you know, sphere, influential business people that you can work with once a week or once every two weeks, you know, even if it’s five of you getting together and sitting down, have a plan behind it, and how that networking is going to build and how it’s going to grow. Relationships are the key to all of this for small business to succeed. leads are great ads, they’re great social media is great. And it is definitely an essential part. But I would say the key to it behind all that is then how are you going to keep that networking and that connection and that relationship going? So
Katie Brinkley 22:27
absolutely, no, I’m sitting here nodding my head, because I know that, for me that networking was when I was back in the corporate world, I was like, cool, it sounds terrible. Why would I want to go talk about work after work. But as a small business owner, as an entrepreneur, it’s essential for you to have that face to face time and talk to other people that you know, and not necessarily, they might not be your ideal client, but having the network of people where as they talk to their clients, or they talk to their groups, you know, they Oh, I know somebody that does social media, I know somebody that that helps, you know, with business strategy, or branding strategy or, or websites, whatever. If you can stay top of mind with these other people as they go out into their world. That’s what really will help you grow I 100% agree and, and networking. And like I said, I never really got it before I became a business owner. But now that I am, it’s essential.
Amber Sigg 23:21
Yeah, it is. And I would also say even use your social media. And I’m actually getting ready to launch some of that for myself, it’s honestly been so busy building the background and starting with some clients that have been collected my social media a little bit, but showcase the other people that you work with, even if they’re not working with you, as far as a client, if they’re just a business power partner, as I like to call them, showcase them, focus on them, share it out on your page, that will ensure not only get them business, but bring it back to you as well. And they may be willing to do the same for you. And this is another way you can network and share and use your social media. And you know, and this is where someone like you is so fabulous. Social media is very time consuming for all of us, as we all know, you know, to do it right and do it effectively. And and people need some real guidance on that. And you know, that’s where I think you’re so fantastic is you come in and you’re really helping a company in that way as far as helping them run that and maintain that and guiding them down that path to make sure it’s being effective for them as well. But there are ways you can merge the two and really make it effective. I think so.
Katie Brinkley 24:30
Absolutely. And that’s one of the things is with social media. I think that a lot of you know, I don’t want to take this down the social media tangent, but that is where social proof is a very real thing. You know, it’s just like having a website now you have to have some sort of online, whether it’s instagram or LinkedIn or Facebook or or tik tok or YouTube. I mean, there’s so many different social media platforms out there and I’m not by any means saying that you need to be on all of them. No, but you need to have some sort of social media. Media Presence just for the social proof. And like you were saying before, it’s a great spot to show testimonials and to showcase the behind the scenes to show the social side of your business and give your business a face. so others can feel like when they walk into your store, the first time that they do a zoom call with your sit down to a coffee with you, they already know you it’s like meeting a friend, but they just haven’t seen them for a couple weeks or a couple months, but you already know like and trust them. And you can do that through social media. So yeah, definitely, like without me getting on my social media horse too much Oh,
Amber Sigg 25:32
no, it’s actually a big part of what I preach, I guess you could say, practice what you preach. But it is a huge, intricate part of building an effective business anymore. And, and you’re right, I very much like that you said you don’t have to be on all of them. You know, you really do need to be strategic and methodical. And what platforms are you using? How are you using them, for example, I use LinkedIn a little different than I use Facebook, right, you see quite a bit amazing. Instagram, you know, so like, and then of course, there’s blogging and all the other things that you could be doing, but you need to have a plan behind it, don’t just be like, Oh, I need all these platforms know, you need to know why you’re on that platform and how you’re going to be using that platform. So and it’s the same with your business plan and setting habits and setting goals, working those goals backwards into daily habits so that they become effective. And I could go on about that for quite a while. You know, it’s the same with every part of your business plan brandings plan and your budgeting plan. And that’s why I call it brand new business strategy. Because there truly has to be a strategy behind this for you to be effective. You don’t just want to throw money at it like I was doing when I was younger, I was like, Well, I’m going to give this a try. See if it works. You know, I want to help people avoid that. I want to help people to truly strategize and get themselves to where they need to be and where they want to be. So Absolutely.
Katie Brinkley 26:59
Well, Amber, this this time has gone by so fast. I bet I’d have it up. I know. I need to have you back on here to talk a little bit more, because it’s been a great episode. If people want to find more about you and your business online, where should they find you,
Amber Sigg 27:14
you know, they can go to Opie completes. That is actually my social media handles and my website. It’s Opie complete calm. I also have landing page going on now called tips and tools dot o p complete.com. And we have a workshop coming up on October 6, if people want to hear more about this, and I also have my newsletter sign up on there so they can start getting monthly tips and tools, though if they are interested in any of that they can feel free to find me on social media or through those website platforms. And I would love to just talk with them and see if I can help them out in any way or some people just need a little bit of advice along the way too. And I’m also happy to do that. So
Katie Brinkley 27:56
awesome. Well Amber, thank you again so much for coming on the show today. It was a pleasure speaking with you,
Amber Sigg 28:02
you as well. I really appreciate you having me. And thank you so much for your time.
Katie Brinkley 28:06
I enjoyed it a huge thank you to amber for coming on the show today and talking all things business and mindset and networking at like I said before the importance of the blinders, when you are creating that your business is everything. And with social media, constantly in our face, it can be really hard. I know that I struggled with it. I was looking at all these different accounts and Oh man, well, I need to do a real like that. Or I need to do an igtv like that or but it really was not until I just it was hard guys. I had to unfollow some people that had become friends, I had to just put the blinders on and focus in on the content that I can provide the content that I can create the people that I’m growing my community with all over on Instagram and on LinkedIn, on Facebook. And once I did that, everything changed. It was because I was saying things in my own voice. I wasn’t trying to copy what other people out there were doing. And again, when you see too many other people in your industry, you’re only seeing their highlights. You’re not seeing the struggles, the different landing pages or lead magnets or giveaways that they’ve tried to do that have flopped. And I think that focus in on your own journey, put the blinders on. And that is what’s really going to help you grow your confidence on social media, but grow your business as well.
Thanks so much for listening to this episode of Rocky Mountain marketing. As always, I’d love to hear from you. You can visit my website at www.nextstepsocialcommunications.com connect with me on LinkedIn or check me out on Instagram. Let’s keep taking your marketing to new heights