Meet Chelsea Steen | Realtor, Investor, Business Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chelsea Steen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chelsea, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
As a life-time entrepreneur, there are a few habits that have helped me to succeed in each business I have run.

1. Dedication to personal and professional growth. A wise man once told me that running a business is like looking in the mirror. Everything that happens in your business boils down to a skill (or lack thereof) you possess or a decision you made. If you can take extreme ownership over the good, bad and ugly results in your business, you’ll be able to quickly identify what you can improve on or do more of. This constant habit of reflection, identifying and improving is arguably one of the most important habits I personally have maintained, because it has acted as a form of self-coaching and a consistent map of where I need to go.
2. Act with integrity. I see this as always doing your best. If your best isn’t good enough, fix it. In my opinion, other people shouldn’t suffer at the result of your learning and growth as a business owner. Taking excellent care of my clients/customers over the years (even when I make mistakes) has led me to run not just successful businesses, but highly profitable businesses. When you do right by others, they refer you out to their friends and family. Suddenly business is coming to you that you have a higher likelihood of landing (referral business), with little to no marketing costs. This habit has been a key ingredient to my success.
3. Run your business like a business. This may seem so simple, but it isn’t natural to most young or new entrepreneurs/business owners. I have always started businesses with a strong business plan, identified how I will market and generate business, created systems that will allow things to run smoothly, figured out a budget and financial plan, etc. One of the key habits within this larger habit is tracking. If you don’t track your activities, you don’t have information to analyze to make great decisions. As an example, if you run a photography business, you should track where each lead is coming from (and when), the cost of those leads, your conversion rate on those leads, your average job size (booking amount), and so forth. You then will have enough information to analyze and conclude something like, “Okay, my lowest cost per lead source is actually my largest source of revenue and most profitable. So let me start doing more of that”.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Currently I run one of the largest real estate businesses in the country (top 1.5% of real estate agents in the United States) and I run a small team of agents. To sum it up, I am a Realtor and Business Coach.

My dedication to educating others to be able to make fully informed decisions in their lives is what sets me apart from other agents. My previous company was in the construction realm, so I know a lot about houses. I also am personally a real estate investor. Both of these experiences have given me the experience to be able to coach clients to make great investments for themselves and their families. I am most proud of being ranked so highly in the country while maintaining a 5 star review status on every platform I am on. Selling a lot of homes is meaningless if you’re doing a bad job along the way! Currently, I am excited to continue expanding the coaching side of my business to help other business owners grow. It has been even more fulfilling than helping people make their largest financial decisions!

I got to where I am today business wise mostly by taking risks when others chose safety and by constantly being introspective so that I can grow as a person and entrepreneur. Both of those statements boil down to being willing to lean into discomfort. If it were easy, literally everyone would do it. Of course it has not been easy! When I started my first profitable business at 19 years old, I quite literally would work 100 hours a week with not a ton to show for it. But, I kept going, improving, refining, and knew that it was a long-term investment into myself. After about 2 years, it really started to payoff.

The most important lessons I’ve learned are: keep looking in the mirror – the answers are there, get support, act with integrity, and become as financially literate as possible. By always looking at mistakes and failures as a means of collecting information about what I can improve upon, I always have had a clear guide on where to put my energy. When I say get support, I mean hire a business coach, hire a therapist, and find some mentors. Leadership is lonely and often times we need people to call us out for our achievements, as well as on our areas of weakness. Acting with integrity has always (and I believe always will) lead to more business, opportunities, and a sense of fulfillment in what I do. Lastly – become as financially literate as possible. Our education system lacks emphasis on personal finances and the basics of life. After working 100+ hour weeks for months on end, I learned that I needed to work smarter, not harder. One of the most important components of doing so was really understanding money, credit, debt, investing and so forth. I realized I can only grow as far as my knowledge will take me.

What do I want the world to know about me and my brand or story? Mostly, that I’m happy to help. I love mentoring and coaching others. I took the hard route through becoming an entrepreneur at a young age and I have learned many painful and expensive lessons along the way. Saving others from those same lessons or giving a helping hand to someone in need is what gets me up in the morning. Reach out if you need something.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Top activities I love to share with others: Concerts at Red Rocks, the Nature and Science Museum, Evergreen or White Ranch Open Space for hikes with visitors, dancing at Tracks / Xbar / Charlie’s or any of our favorite gay bars, Sloans Lake, the Botanic Gardens, or any mountain town

Top food spots we take people to: Mason’s Dumpling Shop, Lakeside Pho, US Thai Cafe, Vinh Xuong Bakery, Sushi Den, Snooze, Cozy Cottage, Barcelona, Citizen Rail, Toro

Tops spots we go for drinks: Death & Co, Call to Arms Brewing, Happy Camper, The Woods, Bigsby Folly

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout Dave LeVeque! Dave was my business coach when I was 19 and 20 years old. He was monumental in my growth as a person and a professional. He has become one of my closest friends, and remains to this day, the best business coach I have worked with.

Website: www.chelseasteen.com

Instagram: @ChelseaSteenRealtor

Image Credits
Kaytlyn Perez Photography