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Enya: Just focus on real estate. Like put yourself in as many rooms as possible. Just have as many conversations with people that are good at what they do. Put yourself in positions where you're constantly learning. Don't be afraid to admit that you have no idea what you're doing a lot of the time because I promise you the people you're having conversations with will also encounter those same things. And then just kind of put the blinders on. Don't focus on other people and what they're doing, but really just focus on building your business and making it the best that it can be.
Justin: Welcome to The Justin Landis Show, your real estate podcast about having conversations, building relationships, and creating freedom. Today, I am here with Enya Absi, a top producing real estate agent at the Justin Landis Group in Bolst. Enya, thanks for being here today.
Enya: Thanks for having me, Justin. I'm super stoked.
Justin: All right. Super stoked. Enya, you had, I call it an unconventional path to becoming a real estate agent. Tell everybody what you did before you got into real estate.
Enya: Gosh. Basically, you can list out things that -- what didn't you do before you came into real estate? Precisely. No, I mean, I guess a quick overview is originally from Montreal, went back to Montreal after I graduated high school down in Peachtree City, went to McGill University for business school, went from there to the University of Edinburgh to study law, and then moved down to London and worked in the music industry as a business and legal affairs administrator at a record label. And from there, I decided around that I wanted to move back to Georgia. That was February of 2020. Didn't intend to stay around here. But then, you know, ended up getting stuck because March of 2020 was obviously COVID and the whole world shut down.
Justin: And you've been stuck here for six years.
Enya: I've been stuck here for six years. Yeah, I did not intend to fall in love with Atlanta as much as I had, but I have, and I'm here, happily stuck. So, yeah, so from there, kind of dabbled around in the entertainment industry as well, worked in film for a bit, worked in music. I am a musician myself, so wanted to kind of take a stab at that. In the meanwhile, was working in the restaurant industry and retail.
Justin: You had a couple jobs when you got into it.
Enya: A couple jobs, a couple jobs.
Justin: This is maybe a trend we're seeing. Ashton Ernst was on here a few weeks ago. She had three jobs when she got her real estate license and started. I think I have her beat there.
Enya: I had five.
Justin: Yeah, way to go. And Ashton hates to be beat. So there you go.
Enya: For sure. For sure. No, it's not a competition whatsoever. I was overwhelmed, but it was fun for sure because I got to wear all the different hats.
Justin: Well, so what did it look like to start a real estate career with five jobs?
Enya: Yeah, absolutely. No, great question. I think I was overwhelmed for sure, but also just -- I had nothing to lose. So at the time, I think I was working in the restaurant industry as a hostess, was working as a legal affairs administrator for a personal injury attorney, was also working -- I mean, Bolst had the front desk open up. And so I was doing that, was doing staging, interior design, et cetera, et cetera.
Justin: So how did you make this untraditional workday, work style, work for you?
Enya: Yeah. I mean, for myself and I think a lot of people in the industry, we just love to have several hats on because any real estate agent will tell you we're all at once a salesperson as well as a counselor and a psychotherapist and all of the things. So I think for myself, just being able to have so much of the day-to-day look so different was something that kept me motivated and kept me excited.
Justin: You broke through this, but I see a lot of people struggle with it. If they have a lot of things going on, which they like, it can be hard to focus enough on real estate to really break through. How did you make that breakthrough? How did you decide you're going to be here at Bolst and JLG and start to make that breakthrough in real estate?
Enya: I think, yeah, absolutely. I mean, Bolst in particular, it just -- everything, all the dominoes started to fall at the same time. So the office position opened up and I decided to take that on and work as a receptionist. That kind of put me in a position where I was having conversations with other real estate agents every single day. Everything was real estate oriented. And so, yeah, I think ultimately just being able to put myself in that position helped me kind of re-pivot and put the focus on that.
Justin: And when you started that first year, if I recall, you had a goal to sell five houses. Is that right?
Enya: Yeah.
Justin: How did you set that goal and how likely did you think it was that you'd be able to do it?
Enya: I think it was the imposter syndrome for sure. I think it was also the fact that coming into it, I knew that I was making X amount with this job, X amount with this job. And so the five additional houses working backwards was just kind of a placeholder for me to know that I could make that much more. And so, obviously, I'm sure we'll get into it. The five houses quickly became -- well, how many houses did you sell in your first year?
Justin: So, my first sale was March of last year, 2025, and I closed out December 31st with 18.
Enya: 18 in 10 months. 18, yeah. I mean, that is amazing.
Justin: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, way beyond my expectations. What were some milestones along the way? I mean, as you think about that journey and just how successful that was, what are some things that stand out?
Enya: Yeah. I mean, I have to say none of it would have been possible without the mentorship that I was given. And we can talk a little bit more about what being on a team meant. But just the fact that I was around so many tenured agents that were so good at what they did really helped kind of bolster that.
Justin: Tell people a little bit more about that. Because you're the type of person, you would probably be successful in almost any environment. Yet you picked to be on a team. What was it like to make the decision to be on a team? And now that you've done it, what would you say about it for other people who are in that situation?
Enya: For sure. I've had multiple conversations. And even when I was interviewing with different agencies, I mean, I had other brokers and leads just tell me you would do totally fine as an individual agent. I had a lot of comparisons of the pros and cons. And ultimately, decided that being on a team, despite all the things that come as cons, like the pay cuts, et cetera, was incomparable to just starting off as a solo agent and not really having the mentorship and the opportunity that you would get on a team.
Justin: What's been, from a mentorship standpoint, what's been the most helpful for you this year?
Enya: From a mentorship standpoint, I mean, being on a team in particular, you have these benefits of some of these tenured agents holding your hand and walking you through the entire process and learning different standards and processes that other agents have, kind of making them your own. And Bolst has an amazing program called Elevate and Advance and that was definitely one of the big factors of me jumping into the brokerage. That taught you how to be an agent, how to sell a home. And so through that, the mentors that I got from there and the fact that they sat down with me through the first couple of sales, went through inspection reports, basically drafted my emails for me and told me, yeah, so many late night phone calls of being like, hey, please help me, I have no idea what I'm doing -- just made the whole approach so worth it in the end. I would definitely recommend that people consider joining a team at the very least. And it doesn't have to be a forever thing, right? We talk about that often, but especially for the first six to twelve months, it's so worth it.
Justin: One of the things that I also know is a challenge the first year, and you mentioned imposter syndrome. There's a lot of mindset challenges to go through. There's ups and downs. It can be a good day. It can be a challenging day. Talk a little bit about how you've worked through the mindset piece over this first year.
Enya: Totally. So I think being around the pros of the industry also has pros and cons to an extent. For example, I came into a year where everybody knew or was having conversations about how difficult it was to be a real estate agent. And I kind of put that to the back of my mind because I was like, okay, this is good to note. I hear what these people are saying, but I'm not going to let it scare me. Right. And I kind of came in with this attitude of if I can make it work this year, when I'm hearing all of these things about how difficult it is to be an agent, then sky's the limit for the years where things kind of open up.
Justin: Yeah, and it was a year where we've had some of the lowest transaction volume in a long time. Totally. And you did crush it. So as you think about what kind of drove you this last year, what do you think drove your success?
Enya: Yeah, goodness. I mean, obviously, that's the first thing. I always give it up to God because it would not have been possible without that. But I do have to say, we talk about systems and processes on the team all the time, and I kind of don't have any. I don't have any answers this year. I know, it's really bad, and I'm super embarrassed to say it. I have my standard processes where I get a lead and this is how I carry them through the journey, but that being said, I think so much of this job is being able to stay on your toes and being able to kind of answer to the whims of the client and their schedule, their availability. And so that being said, I think so much of that was my willingness to be amenable to them. And to really put my ego aside and put their priorities first. And so, yeah, I think a big part of that is people knowing that they could trust me, knowing that I was going to bat for them. And then also knowing that throughout the process and afterward, I was as authentic as a person as I could be.
Justin: I appreciate you using that word. I was actually going to describe from my observation your authenticity with people, I think does provide a lot of trust. And that's the number one thing. The people want in their real estate agent is they want someone they can trust. And I think they can trust you and you give that off. And then on the flexibility piece, I mean, especially for newer agents, to be flexible and roll with it. Because sometimes people no-show you and it ends up being a waste of time. Sometimes you show up and you're like, this person is amazing and they're buying a really expensive house. It can go absolutely either way. But you, from my observation, have just rolled with it, taken the opportunities. And the more opportunities you get, the better chance it's going to work out.
Enya: Yeah, absolutely. I think just being able to be open to that. And then also putting the priority of the client over your own. So, for example, if the client tells me they can afford a $1.3 million house, but they walk into a house at a significantly lower price point, my initial thought is not, oh shoot, I'm going to make so much less money on this. If you found the house that works for you and your family, let's get it done. And I'm going to negotiate just as I would for a house that's at the higher price point.
Justin: What do you think is the long-term impact of doing that kind of thing?
Enya: Yeah, absolutely. I think in terms of the referral business and the authenticity piece of people knowing that this is a person that's not just trying to squeeze you for everything that you're worth, but rather someone who you can actually place your trust in, have fun with through the shopping process, but also know that during the negotiation process, she has your best interest in mind. I've had lots of clients -- it's an emotional process. Their emotions definitely rise throughout the journey. But I've had a lot of them kind of have sobering moments where they were just like, okay, sorry I had the tantrum, but at the same time, I know you're on my side. So don't worry, I super appreciate you. So yeah, I think it's a genuine way to build a sustainable brand and business for sure.
Justin: And speaking of that brand, you are building a great brand. What advice would you give to people if they're thinking, I want to be authentic, I want to build a brand, but I'm not sure how to do that?
Enya: I'm just myself. I really am. And I think that's the biggest piece. We can talk about DISC profiles and personalities all we want and compare ourselves to these other super high performing agents and wish that we were those people, but ultimately the beauty of being a real estate agent is that your business is you. Right? And so you need to be as authentic and as much yourself as anything else. And I think the systems and the processes and all of those things will work themselves out over time. So I think one of the things that I tell agents that are kind of starting off is you're never going to know exactly what needs to be done until you're in that moment. Whether you're one year in or 20 years in, the beauty of real estate is you'll always have questions of like, oh wait, I've never come across this before. And so you're always in that problem solving mentality.
Justin: I think there's so much wisdom in what you said about not comparing yourself to others. I think this is an industry where a lot of times people are promoting themselves and we're advertising and we're marketing and we're trying to get more business. And in the real estate agent world, we see other real estate agents doing it. And it's really hard not to look at the other real estate agents. How do you protect yourself from that comparison trap with other people?
Enya: Absolutely. Because comparison really, truly is the thief of joy. So for me, it's just putting blinders on and focusing on what I have in front because I think it's not fair to my clients as well and my future clients if I'm constantly thinking about, well, I want to be more like this person. So yeah, I think just having those blinders on, focusing on making your business the best thing that it can possibly be and not focusing on trying to emulate someone else's success -- because it's so counterintuitive. You think, oh, this person's successful, I need to be like that. Yeah. But then you're not yourself, you're not authentic, which actually makes people want to be with you.
Justin: I remember joining the team and being around all these other super successful agents and having a chat with one of my cohort buddies and I was saying I might not like being on a team because I'll probably be jealous of these people throughout the process and feel like I'm not doing everything that I need to do. But that was a mindset shift that shifted very quickly. Because I realized very quickly that if I was constantly comparing myself to other people's business, I wouldn't really get anywhere. And then once you get to know a lot of the people -- and it's hard to do if you're watching their marketing or their social media -- once you get to know Ashton and Lauren and Amy and Casey and you realize, oh, they're really helpful. They're like normal people. They want to share. Come on an appointment with me. I'll help you with this. But until you actually get to know people, it's hard to know that because that's not the social media or marketing persona.
Enya: Absolutely. And I think so much of our business is caught up in that social media persona, especially for people that are kind of more in the millennial and younger age groups. So really focusing on removing yourself from those things and focusing on the day to day and how you can show up for people as best as possible.
Justin: And I am so proud of you this last year. I mean, this is one of the best years anybody's had in their first year. If you were going to give advice to somebody who's listening right now, who is either about to get their license, thinking about getting their license, just got their license, they want to have a great first year -- give them some advice from the success you just had.
Enya: Gosh, yeah, just focus on real estate. Like, put yourself in as many rooms as possible. Just have as many conversations with people that are good at what they do. Put yourself in positions where you're constantly learning. Don't be afraid to admit that you have no idea what you're doing a lot of the time because I promise you the people you're having conversations with will also encounter those same things. And then just kind of put the blinders on. Don't focus on other people and what they're doing, but really just focus on building your business and making it the best that it can be.
Justin: It's such great advice. And I was actually thinking as you were saying that -- you worked at the front desk at Bolst, and we have this program called Office Ambassadors. With those positions, having someone who is their full-time job to sit at the front desk, we have agents fill that role at our two offices. And when we first started, we weren't sure how it was going to go, but it has been a massive success. All of the agents who have done it have grown their business. Would you agree with that?
Enya: I would 100% agree. I think so much of the agents that I know will constantly say, oh, I'm plagued with ADD. But I honestly think ADD is a superpower as an agent because it does allow you to focus on so many different things at so many different times. But the fact that I had these designated days during the week where I was just sitting at a desk from nine to five, of course, having conversations, picking up the phone, et cetera, but there's also time, there's plenty of downtime that you're working on in your business. It's purely administrative. And I think anyone could come into the office. You don't have to have this job to do it. So anyone could replicate that.
Justin: And so much of what Bolst and so much of what is important to me about Bolst is that it is such a collaborative environment. And so you can go sit down across from an agent that you've never spoken to and start speaking about a transaction you're having. And they can have advice or can just be a venting buddy, et cetera, where you don't necessarily have that same environment at other brokerages. Awesome. I love it. Thanks so much for being here today. Your story is super inspiring. I'm glad you got to share it.
Enya: Thanks, Justin. Thanks for having me. I'm stoked.
