Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kayla Gustafson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kayla, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
Being the youngest female land developer in the state means that I spend much of my time being the only one in the room that looks like me. I have had to grow a very thick skin and a very resilient mindset. I don’t have the luxury of being automatically respected or believed. I have to work harder, smarter, and be 10x more prepared and knowledgeable than my peers.
Growing a hard-to-break sense of self has been one of the hardest things I’ve had to do as an entrepreneur. I don’t always feel successful and I don’t always feel like I’m on the right track. However, I can’t stay in those mental spaces too long. I have to bounce back, and I have to move forward otherwise I’ll be run over. The most successful way I have found to do this is to have a very good personal support system. This might be a significant other, a colleague, another entrepreneur, but you have to find someone that will help lift you up when you need it, while also making sure you don’t drink your own cool-aid. Finding these people is though, so don’t be afraid to find many that serve different purposes. And don’t be afraid to find different support when you grow.
After nearly 10 years in business, I still have to work hard to have my voice heard. Being young, I have found that I need to have to pay special attention to my reputation and continue to gather tangible accomplishments to maintain my credibility. To be clear, I don’t think this is a bad thing! I think everyone should be doing this, it’s just required for me. Continuing to seek out opportunities for professional development and learning has helped me access and remain in the right rooms. The rooms where the decisions are made, the ones that house people who know more than you, where there’s power, and visibility.
I don’t have the same ability to be a novice and ask questions as my older peers who already have credibility. I get around this by constantly learning outside my core responsibilities. I am always taking a class, reading a book, or diving deep deep into google to understand some area of business or my work that needs expert understanding. Finding my knowledge gaps and filling them is a trick I’ve always used to stay relevant. Especially if there’s an area of expertise my business needs that I can gather without tanking other responsibilities – I do it! Trading knowledge for trust and political capital is the best thing you can do to stay at the top. It’s a lot of work, but that’s just the way it is. Nothing good in life is ever easy.
I don’t want to say that you just have to push through, but in reality you just do. Keep moving, keep growing, keep finding the right people to work with. Don’t take no for an answer, listen and adapt.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I was working in corporate risk management and compliance when I decided to get my real estate license. I was flipping homes on the side for fun and decided the next step was to get licensed and represent myself. I was really lucky in that the minute I got my license I had tons of people who wanted to work with me right away so I had a full book of business pretty early on. A year or so in, I was offered the position of COO at the independent brokerage I was at. I jumped at the offer and never looked back. Fast forward a few years and I opened satellite offices, coached agents, got my MBA, became a licensed general contractor, and eventually left to start my own brokerage.
In early 2019, after having my daughter, I got an offer to become a partner in a brand new land development firm. I joined and we created High Pointe Land. The firm is now a little over 4 years old. We are a land development company that offers full service real estate sales, marketing, and development services. My main roles are COO, Broker, and Developer II, but at a nimble company I wear all the hats when I need to. The real estate side of the business (Lux High Pointe Realty) helps clients buy and sell property throughout the Twin Cities, regularly winning brokerage awards and ranking high with consumers.
We’ve been successful enough in the last few years that we’ve been able to expand into providing business consulting, and community marketing services for homebuilders, and new construction sales training for agents across the state. I am thrilled to get to speak at events throughout the Twin Cities, helping others learn from our experience.
In my spare time I am a professor at Metropolitan State University teaching undergraduate courses in project management and the US Healthcare system (yes you heard that right – I have a medical background from way back). I also chair the board of a local non-profit: Emerge Mothers Academy.
I am a woman and I am younger than my partners by 30 years. I have worked incredibly hard to get to the place I am now and I’m very proud of it. I’ve bootstrapped and self-funded each business and have worked my butt off building my business, my knowledge, and my strategic partnerships to become the only female developer of my age in the state. I married my high school sweetheart which absolutely made a difference in my trajectory. I’ve had someone in my corner, cheering me on for 18 years now. I feel like I finally have a balance between my desires and needs as an individual, a family member, and as an entrepreneur. I have enough power, voice, respect to command my own schedule and prioritize my work and hours. And I have enough support to still go out and do hard or new things in my professional life. Things are always changing though so ask me again next year 😉
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Grit – You have to be dogged in your pursuits if you’re going to be an entrepreneur. Sometimes you’re the inly one who sees the vision, some times you’re the only one who can do the work. Sometimes you’re the only one you can afford to have do the work. And you have to do the work. Being an entrepreneur is hard, like really hard. Like at any given moment you may not want to get out of bed because you think you’ve messed up your life, hard. It’s also lonely. There are likely few people in your life that have done what you’re trying to do. You have to figure out a way to self-start, self-motivate, self-correct, and self-reflect. With or without partners, you have to find the ability to believe in yourself more than anyone, but not too much that you drink your own cool-aid and convince yourself something’s right when it’s not. Dealing with all of these things requires grit. Getting through is always the answer. Survive, then thrive.
2. Enthusiasm for learning- One thing I learned long ago from a partner of mine is the idea of enthusiastic openness to learning. I mean not only keeping up with society, tech, key opinions or events in your field, but a hunger to learn. Cultivation a mindset that you’re never too good or too old to be a novice. That you seek out learning opportunities as a part of your every day life. This is sometimes as simple as Googling how to do something instead of asking someone else and can be as robust as periodically taking a course on a topic you don’t know anything about. Keeping your brain nimble and your ego flexible enough to accept learning throughout your life takes some rigor but it will set you apart and make you better than those who don’t.
3. Show up – Opportunities only come to those who show up. They don’t just pop into your inbox. I can count on my fingers and toes the number of life-changing opportunities I’ve gotten from just showing up and participating. Everyone’s best self is in person – I don’t care what you say. We make connections, associations, and decisions in person. If you have free time in your schedule, where could you be that would put you in a room with people you want to learn from? Where can you go for support? Where are you trying to get in 5 years? In 10 years? Can you leverage yourself into it earlier by being present, involved, visible, helpful, supportive, etc?
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I want to collaborate with everyone. I know that’s not feasible but philosophically that’s my answer. I believe networks are the most powerful tool you can have as an entrepreneur. I also believe that partnering and having more than one brain working toward a common goal is always superior to one. I am open to anyone that sees value in what I’m doing, that has advice, that sees opportunity for leverage, that wants to share.
More specifically, I want to collaborate with others who want to be the best at their craft – real estate or not. I also want to collaborate with those who are striving and hustling every day to make the real estate industry and client experience better. Real estate is a highly competitive and adversarial industry but it doesn’t have to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kaylagustafson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylagustafson_realtor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaylagusrealtor/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-gustafson-mba-45505030/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@highpointeland
- Other: www.highpointeland.com
