Thirty days ago, I officially stepped into the role of COO at the company I co-founded with Sandi Lyn Burnett —My Real Estate Company ™.
I’ve been in real estate for over 15 years—and up until now, I’ve served as a buyer agent, managing broker, broker mentor, and master problem solver. I figured I’d seen it all. I thought this would be a cakewalk.
Spoiler alert: it’s not. It’s been fast. Gritty. Humbling. And honestly? The most rewarding stretch of my career.
We’re not just building another brokerage—we’re building a real estate company agents can believe in.
I didn’t just take on a title—I took on the responsibility of building a company that reflects the future of real estate: agent-first, tech-forward, and rooted in business standards.
Before officially stepping in, I had to fully sever ties with my past brokerage. It didn’t feel right to build something new while still hanging onto the old, which meant starting from scratch in many ways. But that’s how you build something real.
From Managing Broker to COO: A Whole Different Ballgame
Real-talk: As a managing broker, I focused on contracts, compliance, and supporting agents, prioritizing agent retention. As COO, I have to think bigger: how do we scale that support across states—without watering it down—while keeping retention, scalability, and profitability front and center?
We hit the ground running a little over a month ago—official title or not—starting with no safety net… and, yep, a lot of unfinished details.
But that’s how real innovation starts.
Our Mission
“To lead by example—running a profitable, scalable brokerage. We fully equip our agents to do the same, with hands-on support and mobile tools to run their entire business from anywhere.”
And in our first month, I’m proud to say—we’re doing it.
Building with Values, Not Just Vision
Every decision we make reflects our core values:
• Handle It
• Agent-First, Always
• Productive Conversations
• Pivot Fast, Play Smart
• Impact Over Influence
• Radical Transparency
• Business Over Buzzwords
These values aren’t wall art. They guide how we build, hire, scale, and show up daily.
And they fuel our long-term vision:
“To redefine real estate nationwide by building the most agent-driven, scalable brokerage in the industry—where agents thrive like true business owners, and clients benefit from sharper, smarter service at every step.”
Early Wins We’re Fired Up About 🔥
Same-Day Commission Deposits Yes, really. It’s nearly unheard of in national brokerages, but we made it happen. Our agents get paid the same day their deal closes.
Agent-Owned CDAs We empower our agents to fill out and sign their CDAs. No more waiting on admins or brokers. It’s clean and efficient and treats agents like the business owners they are.
Strategic Growth We’re now open in Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota—and three more states are onboarding. We’re scaling smart, with strategic intention.
Ai Rollout Meet MyCortex™. Our first Ai tool is live at mycortex.myrealestateco.com. It’s live and learning fast. Our digital broker’s assistant supports agents with compliance, legal questions, marketing strategies, and more. Honestly, he's my baby.
CFO Mark Kearney ensured we were already profitable and had all the projections, graphs, and charts needed. We know our strengths, and this wasn't one of them. So, we hired an expert.
Fast Pivots, No Ego
CRM Upgrade We moved from a stereotypical CRM to a mobile-first platform that helps agents scale on the go. Who wants more canned, spammy drip campaigns? Personal touch wins—automated or not. 😉
Luxury Website We paid top dollar for a fancy website provider. It turns out they couldn’t deliver on our vision. We found a better partner, and while it’s still in progress, it’s going in the right direction. We’re now offering our agents luxury websites, premier comparative market analysis tools, and a marketing suite that balances automation with customization.
Internal Comms We debated communication tools and then chose Slack because we’re not trying to run a group chat—we’re running a business. Notably, 77% of Fortune 100 companies use Slack—proof that real businesses need more than just another group chat. For our mobile-first brokerage, it just works.
The Hardest Lesson
The sexism. It is still rampant at the top levels of this industry. It’s subtle… until it’s not.
I honestly had never really experienced sexism at this level. And it’s not just the easy-to-dismiss stuff. It came from agents we once respected and salespeople who talked to us like we were clueless. Honestly? It’s been flabbergasting—documentary-worthy, even.
My head is sore from all the proverbial head pats I’ve had the last few weeks.
As co-founder of a woman- and veteran-owned brokerage, I see it more clearly now. And it only confirms that our mission matters more than ever:
“When the bar is on the floor, stepping over it isn’t an achievement—it’s a trip hazard. We don’t just raise the bar; we redefine where it should be.”
Where We’re Headed
We’re not racing to be the fastest-growing brokerage—we’re building sustainable, smart growth.
We aren't participating in this race to the bottom, and we’re not promising you passive income. We even charge monthly fees because our agents produce and we provide real value.
We’re offering actual equity ownership (yes, the paperwork is a beast), not stock that may or may not hit one day. It's not a dream—it's something real.
Our agents want to build wealth and equity, walk away one day, and actually retire. No business builder plans. No recruitment quotas. You don’t need to be in the top 1% of recruiters to win here—you must be serious about your business. We’re not here to sell you the dream. We’re here to help you build the damn thing.
At MyRECo™ You can stop chasing the dragon—that endless promise of passive income and "hitting it big if we ever go public" every time a shiny new business model drops. We’re not selling hopes & dreams. We’re building a company that works.
Final Thoughts
This role is stretching me, and I love it—the pivots, the growth, the systems, and the people.
We’re not chasing agents. We’re building something agents want to chase.
And we’re just getting started.
You know how to find me if you want to set up an interview.
