How a Single Mom Built a Real Estate Empire Through Consistency

0:00There's a lot of people who have done things for a really long time and that's great, but I also think that they can sometimes be a hindrance. Like, okay, even in real estate for 30 years, times have changed a lot. So I think it also can be a great positive that you're like fresh in the industry, right? And you're coming in with all this technology and AI and like, there's so much to look forward to. Harriet Morton is an experienced, strategic and client-focused real estate professional, team lead and top producer with Blair Realty Group, specializing in the Cypress and Houston markets, with 16 years of experience in real estate. How do you kind of make yourself stand out in a crowded market? I say out, our number one is consistency. We're in the neighborhood every single weekend. People are seeing our signs every Saturday, every Sunday. We put out market updates, showcasing the latest businesses on social media, we're in the community, we're at all the events, like we've honed in on our specialist market area, and that is... It spans the globe, like a super high school, Internet Elvis.

1:05Ready? Today, Apple is going to reinvent the bomb. It's not over until our win! The Living Your Legacy Podcast for those who live to leave a legacy. It's extraordinary, and awesome. Oh, that is sensational! Open! She's coming with the way you say it. Fall is the box is not on the planet. You can leave your dream! Hey, welcome back everyone to another episode of Living Your Legacy Podcast, and I'm your host again, Jace Lang, and yeah, we get the privilege to talk to some of the best entrepreneurs from around the country, the disruptors, and the experts from all kinds of events. We have some industries, and today we have a special guest from our mompreneur show, and she's in the real estate game, and yeah, let's get to know her. So, hi, what's your name, and where you coming from and kind of introduce your business? Yeah, sure. Happy to be here.

2:05Thank you so much. My name is Hati Morton. I am the founder of the Hati Morton team in Houston. We specifically in Cyprus, Texas. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so the real estate game. How is the real estate game in Houston? Real estate is good. I can only talk about my market, right? It's very market-driven, but where I live, I'm in a master-plan community called Bridgland. It's one of the fastest growing master-plan communities in the whole of the U.S. Wow. So, yeah, real estate is really good for us. We deal in residential real estate helping people buy and sell, and we do property management. So, yeah, it's good. Yeah. How's the weather out in Houston? It's hot. It's hot, right? Yeah, it's hot, but it's hot too. Yeah. So, we just have the accent, you're from London, right? Yes, originally from London. Do you know us Saturday Night Live, SNF? Yes. You've been here long enough, right? Yeah.

3:05So, there used to be a skit with Eddie Murphy, right? And he did two hot for the hot term, right? Yeah. And so, we always went when we say, hey, how's the weather? It's like it's too hot for the hot term, right? Too hot for the hot term. That's what I was sure. He was doing James Brown. It's so funny. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, I understand that dry heat. It's not like the weather down here in Miami. You got that humidity, right? But it seems like you've kind of tame the humidity. The hair came, you know, it wasn't all puffy like some people. Yeah. But yeah, that dry heat's kind of nice on the hair, though. You know, it keeps it all flat, right? I did Vegas for a bit. So, I kind of understand that. Yeah. You got a bit of volume yourself. Yeah. Yeah, I know. I just can't control it. So, yeah, real estate. America. So, what's, how long, how old were you when you moved to America? I was 27, so I've been here for 10 years now. Hey. 2016. And at the end, I moved right before Harvey.

4:07So I was like, what is happening? Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah, we don't really have any extreme weather in London. So, yeah, it was pretty eye opening. Yeah. I mean, the London winters are pretty extreme, you know? But it's like cold and wet, but there's no snow. That's what it's like. Right. Yes, it's just cold. It's wet. You wake up and it's dark. You go to sleep and it's dark. Yeah. Yeah. I lived in London for a while and I was like, oh, man. This is intense, right? So, yeah. Did you look into the any of the real estate here compared to your real estate at home because like the Miami South Beach real estate or any Miami real estate is just like insane? Yeah. It's so cool. I love whenever I go anywhere. I'm always like driving by the real estate shops and looking in. Very, very different. Yeah. The market, like the apartments and the houses, it's like that's all cool. But the pricing is not cool. Pricing is off the chain. It's off the charts. Yeah. It's insane. So, yeah.

5:07I mean, how's the market down there? Like it's it's reasonably priced. You got a lot of first time home buyers over there. Yeah. So, my neighborhood, I mean, you can get into the neighborhood at $400,000 for a nice three-bed, two-barth, townhome kind of situation. Sounds fantastic. Yeah. And we go all the way up to, we go to the market. Yeah. And we go all the way up to, we have gated communities with the pools, boat access, boat slips. Nice. So, yeah, multi-million dollar homes. So, there's a real broad range. And so, master plan stuff, do you love living in the master plan areas or is it too planned and there's like too much h.o.way stuff? Yeah. And so, I moved from the Heights, Houston Heights, which is very, you can walk to bars and restaurants, there's bike trails, it's super fun. But there was reasons why I moved to the suburbs.

6:10I had a little girl and they have brand new schools in this master plan community. We have pools, lazy river, the couple of quarts, townships, you know, like everything. That's a super master plan. It feels like a real river. Oh, yeah, seriously. Yeah. It feels like resort style living. And I felt like that was going to be really good for my daughter. Yeah, that sounds. Her childhood. That sounds phenomenal. Yeah. And let's talk about that. Let's talk about your daughter. This is mompreneurs, right? Yeah. So, your single mother, right? And you also grew up in a single mother household in London, right? I did. But, you know, from your stories and from your success, you're like the super mom, right? And so, I mean, tell us kind of the journey of being a single mother. So yeah, I run multiple businesses raising my daughter by myself. It's just her and I at the house. Yeah. And she's not super helpful as far as like doing chores.

7:12Okay. So yeah, I mean, she's seven. All right. Yeah, she's seven. So how is it to juggle a business and be a single mother? Have to be very organized. Yeah. So we have a structure. I'm big on time blocking, time management. I have to protect my piece as soon as I get home and I switch off or I try. Like, I have to be very mindful to spend time with my daughter and not take calls, you know, because my business is 24-7 around the clock. Gotcha. And I have not necessarily set those boundaries with clients where I'm like not available so I'll go in little stints like I'll play with her. Because it's difficult because someone looking for a home, they get home from work and then they're available, right? Yeah. And that's right. Like they're calling you around dinner time or EPM. Yeah. And you're kind of like, well, it's not my work day anymore. Yeah. So it must be really hard to kind of, how do you balance that?

8:14Yeah. Sometimes it's difficult and it's been better since I now have my team, you know, to help. Nice. I go house shopping at the weekends. So that is what I need to be available. And sometimes my daughter will need to come with me. So she's learning a lot. Okay. My clients are a very understanding of the fact that I'm a single mom and I wouldn't take her unless someone was okay with it. Yeah. Now is she getting involved in handing out some pamphlets to the people or is she kind of locked into the iPad? I say a bit of both. A bit of both. Maybe more of the iPad. Yeah. And yeah, there's a lot of bribery. You know, we need to do one of mom's appointments and then I'll take you anywhere you want to go. Gotcha. Gotcha. And that's a cool bribery. Ice cream after. Yeah. Exactly. We need rewards. Yeah. I do too. So I get it. Absolutely. And how do you avoid yourself? Because you got to make time for yourself, right? You got to give yourself time. Take yourself on dates, probably. Yeah.

9:15So what's that look like? So for a long time, I only did business, business, business and I was neglecting going to the gym or going out with friends or, you know, going on dates. So now I just really am very intentional with every hour of the day. So I do, like I said, I time block and I get everything in that needs to be. So time blocking is not just business, but it's also your personal time. Yes. Yes. My body spirit, like everything. So you said you got to be organized. Like you are organized. Your calendar is like, bam, bam. Yes. My calendar, yeah. Yeah. Yes. All right. Yes. And so, yeah, like once again, like when they're calling you at night, how do you not pick up that phone? I just feel like every phone can be a new sale or you kind of know, do you let people know on a website that you're only available from certain time to a certain time? So I actually, I do pick up the phone, you know? I really do. Like, but if I happen to miss it, I'll call them back and I'll just, you know, I'll tell

10:18my daughter, I always got one call to make. And then with the client, I'm managing their expectation. I'm like, texting them like, hey, I will call you back, but I'll only have, you know, 20 minutes to talk. And I think as long as you're setting those expectations and, you know, road mapping as you go, then I think it works. Yeah. Is there some clients want to talk more than 20 minutes? It's like, hey, come look at the house. It's a Saturday, right? I'll answer all your questions, but they just want to chat and chat. They, yes, absolutely. Of course, people do some people, but yeah, you have to get very assertive. Make sure you're getting to the point, learn to be concise with the words and learn to kind of guide the conversation. Because I guess like for them, it's like the most important, you know, purchase that they'll make, right? Yeah. Is their home? I guess get to know the agent and the ins and outs of what you have and the house on Saturday.

11:19Right. Yeah. Well, I pre-schedule ahead of time, right? So I try not to have these calls where they're going to want to be on the phone for longer come in when I'm not expecting it. Yeah. So I'm like, hey, I really want to give this the time. And you know, this is really important to me. So I want to make sure that we have enough time. Like what is better for you Monday afternoon or, you know, we're scheduling out and advance so no one's getting caught. Because I'm not my best self when I'm answering the phone when I'm trying to feed my daughter and get the dog, you know, and doing the house thing. So that you just have to figure that out. And so kind of what's the most, now you have a team, right? And it's different than being that solo real estate person, right? Yes. I guess what are the difficulties of now being in charge of a team? Managing people always comes with challenges. There's different elements added into the mix. Everybody has their own stuff. They're going through it personally.

12:20And then we've got all the different personalities. So managing that. But I just think it's really important to like be very careful with who you hire and kind of get to know them as much as you can. Make sure the dynamic is going to fit your team. Yeah. So if you do it over again, right, what would be the first hire? Would it be another agent or a back end person? And who did you hire for? I hired a transaction coordinator first, because it's really important, like, the paperwork side of things, compliance wise, you need to get a higher out the stuff you don't want to do, right? Sure. I'm a salesperson. So I'm not into the conjure. I'm that's not where I want to spend the time. Yeah, you got to figure out what you're good at. Yeah. And so kind of delegate that those parts. Yeah. Awesome. And then what were the second two hires? The second two hires. Yeah, agents, definitely you want more revenue. You need sales. That's how the business grows. And then you're going to need, when you get to a certain point, you're going to probably

13:20need a team assistant. So that team assistant is going to know the ins and outs of all the deals, help tie everything together, make sure everybody's got everything they need when they're out on the road, just scheduling appointments. Yeah. And again, just taking time, the mundane tasks that someone who doesn't have a real estate license can do, taking those off of the salespeople is very, helps with efficiency. And so how do you kind of make yourself stand out in a crowded market? So there's like, you know, all these residential compounds, right? And I'm sure there's a lot of real estate. It's kind of battling over those same style houses, right? And you got to stand out somehow and you got to reach your market somehow, right? How do you do that? I say out, a number one is consistency. So we're in the neighborhood every single weekend. People are seeing our science every Saturday, every Sunday. We put out market updates.

14:21We are in like showcasing the latest businesses on social media. We're in the community. We're out with the events. And we really, we've honed in on our specialist market area. And that is where, you know, we are working. We live there. We work there. Consistency. Exactly. Putting yourself out there. Yes. Do not be a secret agent. Yeah. No. That's different. Unless you're from London in 007. I mean, you guys are all about the supersede reagents. That's different thing. So yeah, you're also coaching, right? Coaching. Yeah, tell us about that. So when I was going through a difficult time in my life, I found a coaching institute that really helped me help me to flip my mindset. And so I got very into the material. And now I practice it every single day. And I went through the whole coaching certification and got my license. Wow. Very nice. I'm a mindset coach. I can help people to figure out what their goals are,

15:24get real clear on that, and help them kind of make the way to achieving their dreams. Absolutely. And a lot of single mothers, they need that kind of, that spark, right? It can be really sad being a single mother because maybe a lot of single moms, they don't have that career. And they just need to change their mindset, right? So what are the kind of things that moms or single moms or just business women that want to enter entrepreneurship? What can they do to kind of switch their mindset? So first of all, you want to think about what it is that you want to do, right? You need to know where you're steering the ship. Yeah, manifest. And not just manifest a lot of money, right? Yeah. Well, you can, right? But money, if you have a direction and money, right? Yeah. And manifestations will be kind of more focused.

16:25Right. Like, when you're in a difficult situation, it's easy to, you know, or pour me kind of go into that victim mentality. Easy to play the victim. Easy to play the victim. You just need to flip that. Let's get into the, you know, the survivor, the thriver, mentality, flip the script. And I guess, you know, less judgment. That's not, you know, nothing's good or bad. It just is what it is. And how do we, you know, get on to the next chapter? Yeah. I mean, single moms, they're dealing with a lot, right? Maybe they don't have that career. They're like, oh my God. Am I going to love again? Now I have a son or a daughter also. So no one's going to love me. And I got to find a career and maybe they're playing the victim. And it's all negative, negative, negative, negative, right? And so, but they, if they set goals, right? Kind of, they have to change their mindset. It doesn't come easy. And that's why, that's why they need coaches, right? Correct. They're saying, wait, not easy.

17:26That's why people have trainers, right? Yes, exactly. And I would, for those people who are kind of spiraling and, you know, dwelling on their negativity, just take time to sit in the quiet. Like, meditation is very key. Quite often, you have all the answers within you. It's just unlocking that. So, yeah, quiet time. And sitting in the quiet, it doesn't mean that you're scrolling on mute. No, no, no. It's like, no, it's not sitting in the quiet. That's also take out your phone and kind of just, like, look internally and just kind of figure things out, right? Yeah, yeah. Reflecting and getting going within, exactly. So I always ask everyone on the show, like, what are you most excited about? Maybe in your industry or what do you got some projects to cook in? What's going on? So we are most excited about the development in our neighborhood. I'm excited to grow my team to take on more junior agents

18:30and help them to do well in the industry. I think there's help them to sell. Help them to sell. There's a lot of people who have, you know, done things for a really long time. And that's great. But I also think they can sometimes be a hindrance. Like, okay, even in real estate for 30 years, it's like times of change. Yeah. So I think it also can be a great positive that you're like fresh in the industry, right? And you're coming in with all this technology and AI. And like, yeah, there's so much to look forward to. And I think adapting with the times is very important and utilizing systems and making your business as efficient as possible. And are you utilizing AI at all? I am. Yeah, very much so. How are you using it? Yeah, we use it for like listing descriptions, writing marketing campaigns, social media, things like that. Yeah, it's very helpful. Any specialized real estate AI software that you're using or just the chatbots?

19:32Not necessarily. Yeah, I think mostly the more well-known things, but I'm sure there's tons out there. Yeah. Do you have any kind of prompting kind of advice or ways that you kind of craft your prompt into the system? I think you just have to be very specific and make sure it understands what you're asking. So you're not getting generic information. We need time-specific. We need dollar-specific. What kind of market are we talking about? What kind of buyers are we talking about? We'll sell it. It's just really drilled down as much as possible and then you're going to get the best assets. And how do people find you? So people can find me on our website, which is www.hmtmcypress.com. All right, hmtmcypress.com. Cypress is C-Y-P-R-E-S-S. That's right. Perfect. Perfect. Yeah, we got big Cypress down here in the Everglades, but that's a different one.

20:33That's different. Yeah, we're Cypress, Texas. It's amazing. Check us out hmtmcypress.com. All right, perfect. Well, it's been a pleasure to have you here in the studios and on the podcast. And thank you for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. We appreciate it. Yeah, and if you guys want to check out more information about her story and her journey from London to the States, and yeah, just more about being a single mom, mom pranore, and hustling and winning the real estate game, then yeah, please check out her episode when it airs. But thank you for joining us too. And we'll see you next time. Cheers, everyone.