Relationships Beat Algorithms When Markets Shift

If you feel like you are doing solid work but nobody knows it, the problem is not your hustle, it is your visibility and your credibility. Mark Jones sits down with Jason Smith, publisher of San Antonio Real Producers, to talk about what actually moves the needle in real estate and small business growth when social media gets loud and trust gets scarce.

We get into why print marketing is still effective when it is niche, community-driven, and tied to a real person’s reputation. Jason shares lessons from building a neighborhood publication in The Dominion, where purchasing decisions are intentional and relationships matter. Then we zoom out to the San Antonio real estate market and why the pandemic created a surprising gap: top agents stayed productive while professional camaraderie and vendor access fell apart.

Jason explains how Real Producers helps solve that gap by spotlighting top-producing agents, telling real stories, and hosting private events that put the right people in the same room. We also go deeper into the personal side: coaching, closing loops, rebuilding after setbacks, and a four-part framework for growth built on character, clarity, courage, and competence. You will leave with practical ideas for earning referrals, communicating value, and building a business that aligns with the life you actually want.

Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with someone building in real estate, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

Transcript

Daily Mirror Question And Small Steps

SPEAKER_03 0:00

At the end of every day, look at yourself in the mirror and ask, did I get better today? Monday, get better. Tuesday, get better. Wednesday, get better. If you do that for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, how much better will you be? Are you getting better every single day? That's the real question. And it all comes down to taking small steps. You don't have to accomplish everything in one day or even one week. Just focus on getting a little better every single day.

Mark Jones 0:33

And

Welcome And Why Jason Matters

Mark Jones 0:34

welcome back to another episode of Real Estate AF, where the AF stands for and finance, and I'm your host, Mark Jones, and we are powered by Lone Bot, who is getting an upgrade here in the next couple of days to Lone Bot AI. Be on the lookout as we release on June 24th in Las Vegas at Masterminds Event. And for today's episode, I brought along a friend that I've known for quite some time. Matter of fact, he's known the entire family of mine for quite some time. And I think it was appropriate and timing to bring him on to showcase kind of what others are doing out there in the market, how they're getting themselves exposed, becoming the expert in their community. So, real quick, let me read this bio about this gentleman. So today I am sitting with Jason Smith, publisher of San Antonio Real Producers, and one of the people behind some of the most relationship-driven media in San Antonio real estate. Jason's world is where publishing, networking, storytelling, and real estate all collide. He works directly with top agents, local businesses, and community leaders so that we're going to dig into what he sees behind the scenes in his market and uh who really is winning, what agents are doing differently, and why relationships still matter more than ever in today's market. So without further ado, Jason Smith. Jason, how are you? Hey, Mark, thanks for having me on.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Glad to be here, man.

Mark Jones 2:00

Absolutely. It took us a bit to get here, but we are here, Dave. Yes. Yeah. And to start the show, I want to give you some time to tell us about you. There are some folks out there that have heard of the magazine. They've even heard of the magazine that you used to promote before this, but don't know who the man behind the scenes, the man behind the curtain is.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Yeah.

From Ministry Burnout To Publishing

Mark Jones 2:21

Uh so tell us about yourself, Jason.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

Yeah. Well, first and foremost, I would say I'm a man of faith, father to two boys, Jordan and Ethan. And in two days, Mary and the love of my life, Veronica.

Mark Jones 2:34

Yeah, man. Congratulations on that. So, in the industry that you are in, how did you begin this process, this journey? Are you from San Antonio? Tell us a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

Yeah, I grew up in Fort Worth and then went off to college, got my bachelor's degree in theology, master's degree in counseling, then got my MBA in leadership, came back to Texas in various roles, Texas boy through and through. So, you know, got back here as soon as I possibly could, and uh just fell in love with San Antonio. So we actually moved here in 2010 and I helped a small church plant get going and running.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

And then in 2014, I was just really burned out. You know, we had a lot of success, and you know, God really used that time in that chapter. But I also knew that my boys were beginning to get bigger, you know, things were just you know stressful in the personal world. You know, you can't fill other people's cup when yours is empty.

Mark Jones 3:36

Man, that's so true. That is so true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:38

And uh, so I was pouring out, but at that time in my life, I was making the mistake of not filling back up. And, you know, whether you know it's your phone or your car or you know, your body's the same way, you know, you can only run on E for so long. So true. And and so during that time, a friend of mine was running a magazine for the Alamo Ranch community.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

And we I was writing articles in that magazine, and that was our target community out there that we really wanted to reach. And so when I transitioned away from the church world, he reached out to me and said, Hey, I don't know what you're looking for or what your next chapter is going to be, but maybe you should consider my back office, which is called the N2 Company. Okay. Um and the number two. And so I pulled it up and right on the front screen, it said a mission statement build a national company that honors God, strengthens the family, and provides financial freedom for all involved. Wow. Chuck, check, check.

Mark Jones 4:35

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

Yeah. Wow. So yeah, very, very few times in my life have I heard, you know, God say, like, this is it. I'm talking to you right now, by the way. Yeah. Very cool. And so, yeah. So at that time, I I launched my Stroll Dominion magazine. Okay.

Mark Jones 4:53

So that was you originally launching that. Yep. Okay. And how long ago was that? That was 12 years ago. Wow, man. Yeah. Wow. Yes. I can't believe it. Gosh, 12 years. I got in the business in 2012. So that's almost 14 years. So two years after I got into the business, that's when you launched that thing. That's when I launched it. Boy, oh boy, did I see it everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 5:12

Well, it took off. Um, yeah. God chose to really bless it. 12 years in, we're the exclusive publication of the Dominion Homeowners and the Dominion Country Club.

Mark Jones 5:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

And forever thankful for the Dominion, not for the way that they embraced the magazine, but for the way they embraced me and my family. I'll be forever grateful to that group of homeowners just because I got a front row seat to learn how they think. And would would you be able to explain on that a little bit? Yeah, go for it.

The Dominion And Earned Money Mindset

SPEAKER_02 5:44

What I love about the Dominion is that it by and large, it's not old money. It's earned money. Oh, I love that. And so you have people that through their education, through their career, through their travel, have gone out and, you know, you know, just if I can say it, you know, done some shit. That's right. And have built incredible lives for themselves. And because of that, they have such wisdom, they have such experience. The thing that makes, I tell people all the time, the reason why you want to do business in the Dominion, if you are a business owner in San Antonio, is because you will not find a better group of people to be connected to.

Mark Jones 6:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

They think differently, they make purchasing decisions differently, they run their lives differently. And, you know, and just getting to hear their experiences and getting to know them and things like that, it's for just ever changed how I think.

Mark Jones 6:36

Yeah, man. And I I love the fact that you opened or led with the old money versus earned money concept, because even George Strait didn't come for money, right? You know, and he worked his way up at every honky tonk until he was the man. And that's one of the people that live in there. And you go, well, okay, what about the other people? And each of the friends that I know, they didn't come for money either that live in there, right? That's a pretty solid testament, and how they are all migrating to that sector of San Antonio, so to speak, is pretty cool. But then at the same time, what is that birds of a feather? They they tend to flock together, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:16

The proximity principle. Absolutely, yeah. And you know, whether that's in the dominion or whether that's in business or, you know, I I I teach my my sons all the time if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. That's right.

Mark Jones 7:27

Get out of that room.

SPEAKER_02 7:27

If you're in the most talented person in the room, you're in the wrong room. And so, you know, you will become like the average of the top five people that you spend the most time with.

Mark Jones 7:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

And that's a biblical principle as well. He that walks with wise men becomes wise.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

And so, you know, friends are like elevators. They take you up or they bring you down.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Oh, that's true.

SPEAKER_02 7:50

So, you know, just being a part of that community and and then helping them, you know, find those businesses that really become their preferred vendors has been everything. And, you know, so big shout out to the Dominion today. Thank you so much. If I've never had a chance to say this publicly, I want to make sure I take a moment to do that. That's awesome. And so, yeah, so it became the top neighborhood magazine in the country. And then what, 2022? Okay, early 2023, and they we began to develop a new product line called Real Producers.

Mark Jones 8:27

So before we get into that, I want to ask a couple of questions about the leading up to this new magazine.

Why Print Still Builds Trust

Mark Jones 8:34

Because many people think magazine is outdated, uh prehistoric, even. But at the same time, this type of demographic, the target audience that's receiving this magazine is not someone that's going to say, I'd rather digitally read that. Right. They want to feel it. They want to see the pictures, they want to be engulfed into that home that's being showcased, that business owner that's telling his story, etc. And I didn't believe that until back in the day I invested in it. And it was like, wait a minute, these people really do love this magazine. What is something that you attribute that to, if that makes sense? I mean, not necessarily the the type of people that they are, but what else do would you attribute that to?

SPEAKER_02 9:25

Well, in coaching, I uh in general, I help business owners understand that just like your spouse has a love language, your clients have a love language. Yeah, and you have to speak the language of your clients. Yeah. Right. Uh good advertising goes to the right people and to the right eyes. Doesn't matter if no one sees it, doesn't matter if the wrong people see it.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

And so you have to understand how your ideal client makes purchasing decisions and how you can connect to them in a way that generates trust and credibility, whether that's the Dominion or whether that's college students or whether that's Gen Xers or whoever that is, you got to figure out how you can connect to your ideal client because if you can, you're not gonna be in business very long. That's right. And so this demographic, you know, to discuss the print piece, it really is a connector. And so general print, spray and pray, that by and large is junk mail. I will, I will say, I get a lot of magazines at my house and don't make it, you know, don't make it in. So I think what separates us is our content. There's because there's a connection to the content and because it's such a niche-driven publication exclusively to the Dominion, that's why it gets read. You know, it was a real eye-opening turning point for me years ago when I was reading about Lamborghini and and now have even talked to the you know to their GM here. And you know, they said we don't advertise on TV because that's not where our customers are. And smart. True, right? Yeah. And I mean, so you know, with Facebook doesn't own their content, right? I mean, we can all complain about social media. Yeah, you're right. This, that, but it's all ours. But right, we generate the content for them. And because of that, you know, millions of people this morning were on Facebook.

Mark Jones 11:19

That's right. I think I made like three dollars last month.

SPEAKER_02 11:22

Right. But yeah, you're right. And and and so it's the same way. I don't own my content. All of my content comes from the Dominion community, their families, kids, pets, homes, events. It's all driven and generated by them. So when they pull it out, it's like Facebook on paper. That's right. And but there's another piece to it. The other piece to it is because that print magazine has credibility to it and it has my name on it, right? People do business with people that they like, know, and trust.

Mark Jones 11:55

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

The Dominion does business with the vendors of my magazine because they like, know, trust me. And so you get to trade on my credibility with them.

Mark Jones 12:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

And so, like I get a text message a week, you know, or sometimes a day. I need this, I need that, I need this. Call him, call her, call them. And and so, you know, I'll never forget Glenn Glass, longtime San Antonio attorney who's lived in the Dominion for years, was at one of my events. So, in addition to the magazine, we also do private events for the Dominion. And we'll get into that. And we'll get into that. Yep. He came up to me and he said, Jason, I love the magazine because I get a chance to see the businesses who are in there. I said, Well, Glenn, I appreciate that. But even I know you don't read my magazine for the ads. But I appreciate it. Yeah. And he said, No, no, Jason, I like it because I know that if they're in that magazine, your magazine, they're supporting the Dominion and they got a little credibility to them.

Mark Jones 12:51

I like that. Yeah, you're right. Because you know, at least at minimum, they put their money where their mouth is. You know? So with the magazine, with you getting into this, let's call it another world. And and for you, when you first ventured into this, tackling the Dominion, did you did you already live in the Dominion? I did not. I knew that I mean, give us that perspective of of Mr. Smith walking up in there, like, hey guys, I've got this idea. Yeah, please believe me. Yeah, who the hell are you? Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

Well, thankfully, like I tell my son, don't be so smart. You outthink yourself. Had I thought about that the Dominion was gated and guarded and you know, all these other things, I I I probably would have freaked out.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

So thank God I'm not that smart. And I just believed that it was all gonna somehow work out. And and and so, ironic story, I actually did approach the general manager of the HOA at the time, who was a friend of mine. I said, Hey, I've got this idea. And they actually said they didn't want to be a part of it. And so I was like, Oh, okay.

Mark Jones 14:03

And that had to be what, like 2013, 2014?

SPEAKER_02 14:07

2014, yeah. Okay. It's like, well, this is off to a great start.

unknown 14:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

And but then I was just up at the club one day and I met Lynn and Lynn Hicks. Okay. And Lynn was on the board at the time and for some reason decided that she liked me.

Mark Jones 14:28

And her and Larry It was the smile, man.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Her and Larry are in their 80s. Okay. And they've lived in the Dominion for over 40 years. Wow. And she began to introduce me to other board members, her friends, which was everyone. Wow. And I don't have a magazine if it's not for Lynn and Larry Hicks. How cool. So they they will be unsung heroes and and even set with them in their living room last week. Just I go over a couple of times a month and check on them, make sure they're okay. Sure. And, you know, when I'm in the neighborhood, I always stop by and you know, have coffee and you know, just see how they're doing. You know, they're in their 80s. And and it was really cool. I had a chance to just say, you know, we all at some point in our lives are going to ask ourselves, did any of it matter? Did any of it matter? You know, long after all the titles and all the businesses and all the things are over, I've had a chance to be around a lot of really great people as they get into the fourth quarter of their lives. And I don't care who you are, when you realize that there's more time behind you than in front of you, you begin to look back a little bit. I said, you know, I just want you guys to know that if you've ever asked your question, yourself the question, did any of it matter? For me, it mattered more than you'll ever know.

Mark Jones 16:01

That's that's that's a testament in itself. And it is something that most will never get to. I don't want to say ask themselves because it's a simple question. But you're right, going through the motions of this life. What are you leaving behind? What are you taking with you? What is everyone out there? And sometimes it doesn't even matter whatever, you know what I mean? But yeah, that's that's and and you got that concept from them, huh? Yeah. That's that's very strong. Very how cool of an encounter that led to a lifelong relationship.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Oh, absolutely. They're gonna be at the wedding on Thursday. Oh cool. And you know, the running joke with my both my boys when we're driving through the Dominion is that I know everyone in the Dominion, and I actually know very few people in my own neighborhood.

Mark Jones 16:56

So that's funny. That's funny. Yeah, that's cool. So, okay, so at that point, you had this magazine doing very well, consistent and regular promoters of it, contributors to it, which was the network of the business owners, the realtors, and uh shakers and movers, so to speak, within not just the Dominion, but San Antonio, and for those that got into that magazine, they were now trusted because it came with a a a badge of of Jason Smith. At what point did the transition shift to let me focus on something that there is definitely a I don't want to say a void, but a need that could be filled.

COVID Shift Creates A Real Estate Void

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Really, it was around COVID, okay, during the pandemic. And during that time we began to just like years ago, we began to understand that in the absence of authentic community, we create artificial community, right? Um in the absence of you know, genuinely knowing our neighbors, we created social media to substitute for that.

Mark Jones 18:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:09

You know, we trade at some point as just as a nation, we traded the front porch for the back deck. And wow, yeah, but we're still wired to want that piece. Most definitely. And so we satisfy it online now by and large. And that is really what made, again, my Dominion magazine so influential and so key. Yeah, uh, is it brought that front porch back to the Dominion. Well, during the pandemic, we began to see sort of the same thing with realtors and real estate agents.

Mark Jones 18:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

So before that, if you wanted to meet a realtor, you didn't really need me or anyone else. You'd bring lunch to the office, you'd pop by to a meeting, you knew where they were. Right. But during the pandemic, realtors, much like everyone else, began to transition to working from home.

Mark Jones 19:05

They began to begin to work from the phone and shift, shift all of their practices, shift all of their daily activities from what used to be in the forefront of in-person to now everything virtual, everything behind the scenes, so to speak.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

Right. And and so we saw a real opportunity because we saw agents that were so busy now. Yeah, right. I mean, come on, bring it back. No, no, no.

Mark Jones 19:36

I mean, if you heard there was a new one coming out, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:39

I mean, if you couldn't make money in 2021, you need to go do something else because you couldn't make it. That's true. That's I will attest to that. That's right. And and so you know, they're running 90 miles an hour, and we found that agents who maybe have done deals together really don't know each other. It's very true. And so we saw a professional camaraderie that was lacking. Yeah. But then we also saw a void or a disconnect between realtors and the community because they need the core four to run their businesses, right? They need good LOs, they need good title companies, they need good home builders, they need good inspectors and appraisers, right? And and so those people no longer had a way of accessing and identifying those agents.

Mark Jones 20:26

Yeah. And in addition to the fact that every time you do open up social media, you've got some production specialist that's putting on this front of use me as the realtor when they're uh realistically not really showing you what their value is. Well, because there's a lot of that going on at the moment.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

Well, and if I can just say it, go for it. This there's not a lot of value. There you go.

Mark Jones 20:51

That's exactly correct.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

There's a lot of posers and impostors on social media. Yeah. And there's a lot of people who, for whatever reason, are trying to say, oh, well, this agent drives this car, or that agent produced that video, or this is how so-and-so does things. And so they take the methodology, they take the they take the function, but they don't know the principle behind it. That's right. And so because of that, there's no power to it. And so Fake Book is, you know, just that. There's a lot of videos. My feed is full of realtors, you know, same here, this morning. Video after video after video after video. Yeah. And they all look the same.

Mark Jones 21:36

And well, they're they're getting even worse. This morning I pulled up what was it, social media, and it was a realtor video that had over 2,000 likes on it, X amount of thousand comments, uh, hundreds of views, hundreds of thousands of views. And it is a video of the realtor setting up a red carpet, balloons, bringing. In a barbecue pit, bringing in a TV brand new, bringing in something, and I'm going, okay, wait a minute. You're doing this for your bar or for your buyer that's closing on a home, getting them all of these things when the thing of value is the home, right? And the fact that they're no longer paying rent. So we're taking away the real value to replace it with some Fugazi.

SPEAKER_02 22:27

Right. It the agents that do well understand how to communicate value authentically. Yeah. And there's a lot of, you know, your average real estate agent in San Antonio, and this is something I didn't know until I lost real producers. 60, over 60% of the realtors in San Antonio last year did zero to one transaction.

Mark Jones 22:52

Zero to one. That's pretty accurate. And so but from those same agents, they probably posted and have a video crew and have uh this and have a that. Why? Right. I mean, we've lost the idea of what we are actually supposed to be doing for these customers in the hunt to try and capture new customers, right?

SPEAKER_02 23:16

So there's a lot of frustration from the business community because you go buy lunch or you take them out for coffee, or you, you know, you get a you stop by the team meeting and the top producers aren't there. That's right.

Mark Jones 23:30

We're working. Right. Right. It's yes. Always has it always has been the case. But you've got new waves of realtors, new waves of lenders that come into the industry. They don't know better. So they go to the networking events, they go to the promoted builder things to where the people showing up, guess what? They're gonna be at the next one too, and the next one and the next one. Why? Because they're not producing, right? Bottom line. So you launched real producers.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Real producers. You know, Steve Jobs says said when he was alive, solve a problem that people don't even know they have.

Real Producers Solves Visibility And Credibility

SPEAKER_02 24:08

And so you had these people that were doing business the way that they'd always done it.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

But the realtors had changed the way they were doing business due to the pandemic, uh, along with everyone else. Right. And so we help business owners solve two problems visibility and credibility. We help you identify who the top agents in San Antonio are because everything we do for real estate agents at Real Producers is absolutely free. Okay. So when you see, you know, Jason Glass or you see Miguel Herrera or or or you see. Sandra Rangel.

Mark Jones 24:41

Matter of fact, Alyssa, if you could throw the reference up real quick, just so you know, folks, you can visit sa RealProducers Magazine.com and find some of the issues there. I believe, I don't think you can actually see the issues. You got to see the paper. Oh, you can actually see them. Look at that. How cool. Okay. So right there, good friend Sandra Rangell and plenty of others in this magazine. And I think the biggest value add is that when I look at this magazine, I don't have to go and look at their numbers. I know who they are. Yep. I know their producers. Right. I talk to these kind of people, if that makes sense. Yeah. And that's it's just very, very strong, especially when it's cover-to-cover value.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Right. We are not a real, we are not a real estate magazine. We're a real estate agent magazine.

Mark Jones 25:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:31

There's a difference. There's a lot of real estate magazines in San Antonio. I don't really know where they go or what they do, but we go to the top 500 agents in San Antonio and to all of the real estate brokerages.

Mark Jones 25:44

Right.

SPEAKER_02 25:45

And we are about people, not properties. Do we showcase homes and properties? Of course we do, but it's because of the agents behind them. And we tell the stories and we share tips and tactics and best practices. And so the magazine is really about building community and camaraderie among the top agents of San Antonio. And that's why the top agents use it and read it because it's not a puff piece or a fluff piece. Right. It's a communication piece. And then our business partners get seen as it becomes, you know, as they're reading the magazine. And then we also, you know, do private events with the top agents.

Mark Jones 26:22

Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Yeah. So it's never about how many, it's about who many.

Mark Jones 26:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

And because we did realize that over 85% of the real estate transactions in the greater San Antonio area are generated. Yeah.

Mark Jones 26:37

Fit.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

And so we are about partnering with FinCon and Jason and Miguel and you know all Robert and Caesar and you know, in the movers and shakers of the industry because rooms matter.

Mark Jones 26:51

Yes, right.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Right? The rooms you're in, whether you're a real estate agent, whether you're an LO, whether you're a title company, whether you're a roofer or a plumber, you know, pool builder, whoever you are, rooms matter. Rooms empower, rooms energize, rooms equip. And so we put you in the right room on a monthly basis so that you get a chance to put a name and a face with your ad. And that's the second problem we solve for business owners credibility.

Mark Jones 27:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:21

So visibility with the top agents, we let you know who they are, what they're doing, who you want to connect with, and then credibility. We help you generate those necessary relationships. That's right. Like, you know, I partnered yesterday on a broker's open in the Canyons. Okay. Great neighborhood.

Mark Jones 27:37

Shout out to Canyons. I hear a lot of great people live there. Yeah, we're all right.

SPEAKER_02 27:43

But it was great. You know, Aaron, Aaron Burroughs was there, and you know, one of my business partners had a chance to exchange numbers with her. And, you know, they're going to lunch next week.

Mark Jones 27:53

How cool. And and what comes of that, who knows? But that's an exchange of value, most definitely. Right. The idea of your magazine, the first, the Dominion, very centric to the Dominions. That's who received that magazine. Matter of fact, I don't think it went anywhere but that, right? Still does. That's right. Yeah. So with this one, it's not going to the Dominions. Who is this magazine going to? Who is its audience?

SPEAKER_02 28:20

The magazine goes out to the top 500 agents in San Antonio. Okay. Based on production.

Mark Jones 28:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

And to the all the different real estate brokerages of San Antonio.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 28:32

And then there's a digital version that is e-blasted out to the top 1,000.

unknown 28:36

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 28:37

And they're not paying for a subscription to see this magazine. Right. Everything we do for real estate agents is free. When you see real estate agents on the cover of my magazine, they didn't pay for that. They earned that. That's awesome. I'll never forget. I called Monique Slater last year with KW. Big shout out to my girl Monique. And I said, Hey, you've been nominated actually by your broker, Grant, you know, to be on the cover of Real Producers. And I'll never forget Classic Monique. She cuts me off. She says, Oh, Jason, thanks so much. But I don't have time for this. I'm not going to fill out any of your applications. I don't, I'm not going to pay you anything. Yeah. And I said, Well, I'm not trying to charge you anything. And she said, What? And I said, Yeah, I'm listening. I said, You've already earned being on the cover of Real Producers. That's why Grant nominated you through your production last year. That's awesome. And uh, so we wound up doing the cover story on Monique. You can actually go to the website, find her issue, and it's a great issue. Heck yeah, she's a hard worker.

Mark Jones 29:38

I've known her for quite some time now. Back when she started with, I think it was like Hall American Real Estate. Yeah, that was like back with my Kim Howell days. Matter of fact, we had a recent reunion. She had me on her podcast. That was probably one of the funnest experiences I've had on a podcast. Kimberly's great. Absolutely. It could have been like the six tequila shots, but who knows? She's relentless, man. She relentless.

SPEAKER_02 30:02

As good as I ever was once. That's right.

Mark Jones 30:04

That's right. That's right. So

Networking Rooms And Relationship ROI

Mark Jones 30:06

this magazine, both, I should say, has definitely helped the community, has definitely helped those that you're featuring within it. How has it helped you, Jason? It helps me. And and if it the reason why I ask that is you are the man behind the curtain. You know, I don't see you out as much as before, similar to myself. As we get older, we've got our relationships, we know who we need to call, et cetera, et cetera. We're not paving, we're not uh hitting the streets as much. And for those out there, it's like, okay, well, behind the scenes, what what what are you getting out of this other than the money? You know? Right. But I know that there's something. I know that there's probably plenty. What are those?

SPEAKER_02 30:56

Yeah. I've always been connector. And I tell people, I tell my sons all the time, your network is your net worth. And really that's, you know, when a business owner or a real estate agent or a Dominion resident now calls me with their need, their problem, their issue, I no longer say, I can help you. I now say we can help you.

Mark Jones 31:22

That's strong.

SPEAKER_02 31:23

And, you know, really just the relationships. You know, if I can just, you know, shout out, you know, to Bobby Cavender. You know, he bought in early to me and to the Dominion and to what I was doing, and for whatever reason, just really mentored me. And Bobby's a level five leader, man. He is just, he's one of the smartest guys I've ever met. And just having those conversations with him, whether it's about his family or personally, or about his businesses and different things like that, again, much like the Dominion, you learn so much. Yeah. And, you know, I remember shared this with a with a couple of friends of mine over Coffee Friday. I remember when I was 26 years old. I went to a conference in Dallas. I'm at Preston Wood Baptist Church, one of the largest churches in, you know, the country. And I'm in a at this conference, all these business leaders and all these people, and I'm looking around the room, and I'm standing in the back of the room, and you know, Jordan is probably about two and a half years old. Okay. Um, so new dad, just you know, all these dreams, all these visions, all these, you know, looking around, like, wow, watching these people on stage and you know, speaking and, you know, thinking, how do I get from my seat to that stage? Yeah. And not because I wanted everyone to look how great I was or whatever, but again, it goes back to that principle I wanted to matter, right? Like I wanted to do something. And I remember in a moment of great clarity and great humility, I picked up the pad off the table and I wrote down one sentence. And it's the only sentence I wrote down the whole day, and it was I am currently not good enough to make my dreams come true.

Mark Jones 33:21

And and and for you in that state at 26, having that level of self-perspective, self uh uh understanding, were you lying to yourself?

SPEAKER_02 33:34

No, at that time I was not good enough. I figured I figured you know, there was a there was a there was a gap in that moment. I realized that I wasn't it wasn't a matter of I needed more time to go by. That's right, you know, I needed to get older. I need to work on me. I need to work on me. That's right. I am the lid on my life, and that is so sour at first. And it and to anybody that would hear this, you know, you you have to answer to the person in the mirror every freaking morning. Every morning. We're lucky, yes. Yeah, and you know, there's a lot of people that want to blame the market, or you want to blame your spouse, or you want to blame, you know, your boss, or you want to, you know, we can make all kinds of excuses. And and and there's always enough truth in an excuse that it seems so plausible, so believable, so valid. Yeah, right. Like, well, if I had what so-and-so had, or if I had what they had, you know, there's people that look at me and say, well, if I represented the Dominion, I'd I'd be doing that too. And well they only knew where it started, how it started, right? And you know, so we can make all kinds of excuses because it's so sour, yeah, at first to say, I'm the lid on my life. Right. Like, whether it's in my marriage or in my parenting or in my business, I am the person that keeps showing up in all these scenes of my life.

Mark Jones 35:00

Yeah, the common denominator.

SPEAKER_02 35:01

Right? Like I was like, I was coaching a business owner out in Arizona earlier this week, and he's walking me through his week, and we're catching up. And I said, you know what sticks out to me in the documentary of your week, you are surprisingly absent from the whole thing. Like I'm hearing about your clients, I'm hearing about your spouse, I'm hearing about all these other people, but I don't hear about what you're thinking, what you said, what you did. Uh and we can take ourselves out of the documentary of our own life, like it's about all these other people without realizing you are the person that keeps showing up. You're the director, right?

Mark Jones 35:43

The whole damn thing.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

But here's where it becomes sweet. Here's where sour transitions to sweet and what it did with me. I also realized I was the only person I can control, and I'm the only thing I can change. Man, these are strong. Wow. Yes, you're right. Yeah, and and so, you know, if you and there's so many people that are praying prayers and and and going to masterminds, and you know, you're doing all these things, and but it if you are wanting to make your business, your life uh bigger, you got to get better.

Mark Jones 36:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

Right. You've what makes some of the goals, some of the things so satisfying is that you became the person capable of accomplishing that.

Mark Jones 36:30

Yeah, most definitely. Now, now question for you. At at age 26, sitting there uh in the pew, writing that one sentence, yeah. It was definitely a realization, a very humble and honest conversation with yourself to come up with that solution or or epiphany or or profound sentence. Was there any immediate action? Yep. What was that?

SPEAKER_02 36:58

So I began to go up to the top leaders in that room, and I began to say, hey, all I can do is all I can afford is to buy you coffee. But if I could have an hour of your time, I'd appreciate it.

Mark Jones 37:13

How strong is that? Now, I talk about this pretty much on every other discussion I have with others like you and myself. And it is the idea of capturing that free information, but is it really free? It shouldn't be. You should at least uh reciprocate in some way, shape, or form. But when it comes to seeking out knowledge from those that have been there done that, they're more than willing to share.

SPEAKER_02 37:39

Yeah. Well, I I mean, what has gotten me where I was, I'll I'll never, you know, I'll never forget, you know, one of my mentors early on told me, you know, Jason, just be a turtle on a fence post. I looked at Don and I was like, I'm not Rush, I don't know what that means. And you know, he was a cowboy and he said, you know, Jason, you know, when you're walking through the pasture and you see a turtle on a fence post, you stop to think he didn't get there all by himself. And you know, as I look back, man, that's a good point.

Mark Jones 38:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:19

Good point. So, you know, as I began to say, Hey, can I have an hour of your time? And and God, you know, when you really become teachable and you you really become humble enough to submit to the process, God begins to put people in your life. And not much longer, you know, Earl Seals came into my life, Jason Heatbrink and Kevin Ryan, Jonathan Price, Bobby Cavender, you know, I mean, just different people. God begins to put these people around you.

SPEAKER_03 38:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:51

And, you know, I think we make an idol out of success sometimes. Yeah. Right. All right. You know, and were there times was were what I was doing, was I doing it for God's glory? Absolutely. Was also doing it for my glory a little bit too. Yeah. And it's when you begin to open your hand and you begin to let go and you begin to really say, okay, what if it's not about me? What if it's not about me? But how can I serve? How can I influence? How can I impact? And and and when you bring value, God has a way of just bringing it all back to you.

Mark Jones 39:33

Yeah. And and and and I do live by the concept of helping enough people get to where they're trying to go, help enough people to accomplishing what they want to accomplish, you'll get to where you want to go. And it has served me well thus far. Now, there's been bumps in the roads, there's been goodness, landmines in many cases. But I'm here today because of the pouring into others' cups while realizing and keeping as much as possible my cup as full as it can be. That's not always easy. I mean, for a top producer, for someone, entrepreneur, business owner, et cetera, and many can relate out there and many can't. But it's not always easy. Um that same person is in the mirror every day, uh, for better or for worse.

SPEAKER_02 40:25

Well,

Character Clarity Courage And Competence

SPEAKER_02 40:26

I I think, you know, the pillars that I learned throughout that process, if you're gonna grow your business, if you're gonna grow your life, there's things that I've taught my son is, you know, it first of all, it comes down to character. Yeah, right. Who are you when no one's looking? Who are you when it's just you? Yeah. Does your personal world match your public image? Character. Talent may open the door for you. Yeah, but character is what keeps you in the room.

Mark Jones 40:56

Yeah. Because eventually the real you comes out, you get discovered, or you get confirmed. Right. You know?

SPEAKER_02 41:03

So from character it becomes clarity. Yeah. Right? Like, what do I want? Who am I? Who am I not? Right. I think figuring out who you're not sometimes is just as important as figuring out who you are.

SPEAKER_01 41:16

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:17

Right. Because I mean, at least with me, early on in my leadership and in my business world, you know, I'm looking, okay. Well, you know, Bobby Cavender does this. Well, Andy Stanley does that. Well, you know, Maxwell wrote that. I'm trying to do all these things because I don't know who I am authentically.

Mark Jones 41:35

Man, I felt like you were talking about me years ago when I started getting into the idea of I need to find someone to mentor me. So I started reading books because I didn't have the funds to hire a coach just yet. Yeah. And yeah, this person says this and this person says that, but then that person that I actually know says this. Well, who am I? What do I want to become? You know?

SPEAKER_02 41:59

Oh, I'm a big believer in coaching. Yeah, same here. Right. I mean, even Tiger Woods had a swing coach. Yeah. You know, MJ had the B. Driving coach. Yeah. He needs to get a driver.

Mark Jones 42:09

You need a driver. What the world are you driving yourself around, man? I mean, your net worth starts with a B. Yeah. Why are you driving yourself? Get off the roads. I agree.

SPEAKER_02 42:19

But yeah, you know, just figuring out who you're not and who you are. Don't try to be a mediocre version of someone else. Become the best version of you. That's true. And so character clarity, that leads to courage. I believe that life comes down a lot to these moments when are you willing to believe God and bet on you? Yeah. In 2014, when I was ready to launch this magazine with no readership and no clients and nobody knows me, and I'm walking around my house at 2:30 in the morning, and I'm looking at Jordan asleep in his bed and Ethan asleep in his crib at that time. Uh, you know, that's how young he was. And I'm just, you know, thinking, okay, well, you know, I've got a little bit of money in the bank, but if this probably doesn't work out, I'm gonna be selling my house. I mean, you know, and it comes down to are you willing to believe in God and bet on you? And, you know, and I I keep it, you know, in my office every day, be strong and courageous.

Mark Jones 43:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:28

Right? Absolutely. And then, and then it just comes down to competence, you know, and that's the easy that that that that may be the easiest one. That's just the skills.

Mark Jones 43:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:37

Right. And, you know, the skills you can, you know, you can learn, you can develop, adapt to, you can be coached on.

Mark Jones 43:44

Absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:44

But but that's putting in the reps.

Mark Jones 43:46

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

And you know, it's like I told, you know, you know, my son, we were working on his jump shot the other day. You know, practice doesn't make perfect, it just makes permanent. That's right. And perfect practice makes perfect. That's right. And you know, but you know, putting in the reps. And that's getting a coach and that's investing in yourself and investing in your business. You know, that's that's really when things begin to take off. And so, you know, what do I get out of it? I get a chance to meet some of the coolest people in San Antonio, tell their stories.

SPEAKER_01 44:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

I get a chance to connect people in San Antonio, right? Whether that's in the Dominion community, the real estate community, the business community. And, you know, from that, I get to be in some of the best rooms to where I become a better man, assumed to be better husband, better father, better business owner myself.

Mark Jones 44:34

How freaking cool, man. That that just and that's what it was all supposed to be. So you did it. Yeah. And now have you recently wrote I was good enough?

SPEAKER_02 44:47

Not yet. Um but I did just I did just write What If It All Works Out. And it's it's it it's just about the process. And is this a book? It's something I'm putting together.

Mark Jones 45:00

Dude, okay. Very good.

SPEAKER_02 45:02

Um yeah. So

Setback To Comeback And Starting Over

SPEAKER_02 45:04

2021 began to go through the divorce, yeah, which was the setback. And you know, and really that causes you to stop and think, okay, like who am I really? Right. And how did I, you know, how did I wind up here? And you can just feel so isolated. For sure. Right. Yeah. But the setback has to happen before the comeback. That's right. It's a setup for the comeback, baby. Right. And, you know, so my counselor and my coach at that time really just walked me through some great exercises called closing loops. Okay. And, you know, from that, you know, just really began to shift because I went from, I don't know that I ever want to get married again, to, okay, you know, I think I do want to get married again. And then, you know, you begin to look like, okay, God, bring me the right person. And that doesn't work out. And so in 2025, my and my coach actually shared this for me for my birthday, 2025. I began, I shared with him. I'm praying, you know, Lord, make me the kind of person that the person I'm looking for is looking for.

Mark Jones 46:23

That's awesome. Wow. And sure enough, huh?

SPEAKER_02 46:27

And then, yeah, about six months later, and Ethan and I, my youngest, were walking out of Target. I'll tell this story because it's just such a story. Ethan and I are walking out of Target, and he looks over him and he says, Dad, that girl's checking you out.

Mark Jones 46:41

Good job, bird dog. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:45

And I said, Oh, really? And he was like, Are you gonna go talk to her? And I was like, No. And he's like, Why not? Are you not interested? Right? You know, and I'm like, and I was like, Well, at the right time, God'll bring bring along the right person. And I'll never forget he looks at me and he goes, Well, you better hurry up because right now you're still muscled up and hot, but you're gonna get old and ugly. Good job, dude. Yeah, good job. God help him, he's so much like me in general. Honest. Honest. Absolutely. And was he wrong? No, he's not wrong. And so I'm like, get in the car, kid. And uh, so we drive home that night I'm brushing my teeth and just laughing, thinking about it.

Mark Jones 47:30

Wait, so you didn't talk to her?

SPEAKER_02 47:31

Oh, I didn't talk to her. No, no, no. Okay, okay, keep going. And I'm just laughing and brushing my teeth and just thinking, and uh, and then sure enough, yeah, I get in bed and you know, I pick up my phone and I'm like, well, heck, he's not wrong. Yeah, and so I pull up my phone, Facebook, yep, scrolling, doing my thing before I go to sleep, and it pops up Facebook dating. And I'm like, but much like when that website in 2CO.com popped up 12 years ago, and God said, just here's the path. Here's the path. I just felt a little nudge that just said, give it a shot.

Mark Jones 48:13

And it's like he was showing you at Target. You missed that. He smacked you on the head and said, Here.

SPEAKER_02 48:20

So I had ChatGPT create a uh dating profile. I spent like literally, I spent like 90 seconds, like 11 o'clock at night. I threw it up on Facebook, tossed my phone on the nightstand, rolled over with my German Shepherd, and went to sleep. And I woke up that next day and I pull up my phone and it's like like all these messages. And I'm like, commodity. Well, I don't know about that. Uh scarcity and demand, maybe. And and I'm like, well, holy cow, this is overwhelming. I don't know what to do with this. And so I just shut it and I get the general ready for school. I go run my meetings. I'm at lifetime that afternoon sitting in the sauna. So I'm like, okay, I got 20 minutes. Let me see what this is about. Yep. And so I pull it up, and like some of these people have gotten mad that I haven't messaged back. And I'm like, holy cow, I didn't ask you to message me. Right, right. So I'm like, whatever I gotta do, swiping left, I guess, right? Like, you're gone, you're gone. And so I decided I was gonna do lunch dates. Okay, right. All right, we'll go do a lunch date. That way, if it gets weird or awkward, well, I've got a meeting, I gotta get on a call, I gotta go get the kid, like I got an out.

Mark Jones 49:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:39

And and so I went on a few dates that just it just wasn't there. And and then Veronica popped up.

Mark Jones 49:48

That's how y'all met.

SPEAKER_02 49:49

That's how we met. Okay. And we had a mutual friend and uh Grant. And so I texted Grant and I said, So tell me about Veronica. And he said, dude, I'm under an NDA. Sorry. He gave me the lowdown, uh, which I appreciated. He was like, Man, many have tried, none have succeeded, but you won't find anyone better than her. Wow. And I was like, Okay. And so I this is now Thanksgiving. Okay. Going out of town, me and the boys are going to the Cowboy Chiefs game on Thanksgiving Day. And so I just I shot her a text and I said, Hey, you know, this is my number. I'm traveling for the holiday. When I get back, let's connect. And so I didn't think I would hear from her, but as I'm driving up to my parents' house that Tuesday night, literally, as I get in, she shoots me a text. Hey, this is Veronica. This is my number. I was just thinking about you and wondering if you made it safe. Hmm. And I thought, well, that's cool as hell. Yeah.

Mark Jones 50:54

And it's pretty strong for response. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:58

Well, and we would find out later last week, memori or a couple weeks ago, Memorial Day. We're driving to the pool. She pulls this hat out of her closet that says, Good things are coming on it. And I said, Oh, cool hat. I'd never seen it before. And she said, Yeah, my cousin gave it to me last year. And she was like, I was at a few of my favorite things party or something that girls go to, I guess. I have no clue. No clue. And I was like, Oh, okay. And and I tried to get it there. I didn't get it. I went, I was at her house during Thanksgiving, and she gave it to me that night. So we traced it back the night, the Tuesday night that I'm driving up, that she shoots me the text message. Hey, just wondering if you made it safe, was the night that she gave her that hat. Oh, wow. Good things are coming. And so from that text message, we began, because I don't do a whole lot at my parents' house. So we just began to text all week. We began to get to know each other, moved up the first date, went to Capitol Grill, and there was just something different about her immediately. And you know, God just began to, you know, put put it together. And uh that's actually what it says on the side of the hat is, you know, what if it all works out? And so yeah, just journaling that and we wind up getting engaged on my birthday. And uh now we get married on Thursday.

Mark Jones 52:25

That's awesome, Jason. And and and I'm very, very happy for you because you deserve that, man. You deserve happiness, you work your tail off. And it's important that I I view you also as a top producer in what you do, but we have to have something to do it for. And at a certain point, the kids are off and gone. Right. And you've got to have the rest of your life to be shared with someone. And I that's that's I'm I'm proud of that, man. Yeah, thank you.

Alignment Advice And Closing Challenge

Mark Jones 52:53

So as we wrap this thing up, I've man learned so much about you. Plenty I did know already, but I I I did not know how versed you were in the the the world of coaching. Are you are you a coach? Yes, didn't know that. Yep. Okay, very cool. So, folks out there listening, uh you know now. Is there anything, matter of fact, we went through all of the questions that I had just in the the the conversation? Is there anything that you'd like to add before we close this off?

SPEAKER_02 53:23

Man, anything out like that? I would just say, you know, build a life you don't need a vacation from. Build a marriage you don't need an escape from, and build a business that functions as much as a calling as it does a career. I have learned firsthand what it looks like to achieve with out alignment. And it's an expensive way to live. Yeah. And and so you know, really that's what we're about, you know. And if we can help you in Dominion or we can help you in real producers, or you know, you want to, you know, just connect on what it looks like to bring your life into alignment, that's really that's what we do from, you know, because when your personal world and your professional world align, that is really when you become the best version of yourself. And that is when you really begin to live your preferred future. Yeah. And don't miss out on that.

Mark Jones 54:30

That's strong. That's strong. One last closing question. So, Jason, you've you've built a business around highlighting people, connecting people, and helping professionals become known in the right room, like we're talking about, right? For someone listening right now who feels like they're good at what they do, but maybe they're invisible to others, what would you suggest is maybe the first thing that they should do?

SPEAKER_02 54:59

Reach out to me. If you feel like you're flying below the radar, if you feel like you do a good job, run a good business, the thing that I would say to you right now, being referred can be more powerful than being remembered. And you can try to do a lot on social media, you can throw out your, you know, your your offers or your products or different things like that. And you may get some clicks, but it probably won't lead to clients. And but when you begin to really find the right rooms with the right people and the right way of doing things, that's what takes off. And there's a lot of people that I just man, I really hurt for. Like they're working their tails off, they're trying their best, they're they want things for themselves, they want things for their family, for their kids, but there's just this gap. And if you are living in that gap, whether it's me or whether it is someone else, find someone else who can help you close that gap between what you're experiencing and what you expect for yourself.

Mark Jones 56:25

That another strong statement, man. Jason, thank you for joining me today, man. Um I really appreciate it. And I'm glad that uh we didn't put this off any longer. And me too. Thanks for having me on. Absolutely. Congratulations on Thursday. Uh don't run. Yeah, hopefully she won't either. Uh, the only place I'm running is to it. Amen. I love that. For you guys listening out there, I want to say thank you. Thank you for listening, thank you for tuning in, thank you for subscribing. I'd throw it up on the screen, but I think we're at like 58,000 subscriptions. It's continuing to grow. And the reason being is guests like this who are willing to share, be open and honest about their experiences, about their advice, transparency, vulnerable, and share their true journeys. And we will catch you on another episode of Real Estate AF.

SPEAKER_03 57:13

Look at yourself in the mirror and ask, did I get better today? Monday, get better. Tuesday, get better, Wednesday, get better. If you do that for five years, ten years, fifteen years, how much better will you be? Are you getting better every single day? That's the real question. And it all comes down to taking small steps. You don't have to accomplish everything.