Ed Stulak has a true talent for following his strength. Currently focusing on virtual brokerage, working as a real estate agent and a social media coach for realtors, Ed has always followed the next opportunity for where it takes him, which has taken him through a myriad of different industries. After starting as a hopeful pre-med student and successful hockey player, he suffered a bad shoulder injury that took time away from his medical classes.
“My injury led to a realization that made me think about what I wanted to do in life. After trying a few different things, I learned that social media felt like my niche,” Ed says.
After this discovery, he shifted his focus to social media, and after helping a client with their social media presence, he quickly discovered that he was quite skilled at building an online brand. But just as quickly, he decided he didn’t want to use these skills for someone else – the desire grew to build a brand for himself.
“Right around this time is when I started pursuing real estate – and once again, I had a quick realization that realtors are generally not skilled at branding themselves on social media. I saw a need in the marketplace, so I decided to focus on coaching realtors about online branding, under my own brand, IGRE Coaching,” Ed recalls.
Since taking the leap to establish his own brand, Ed has found worldwide success with IGRE Coaching. The motivation to keep persevering through every challenge derived from the knowledge that he was able to make a real impact & difference on the real estate industry.
Ed was forced to pivot his viewpoint on business when the 2020 COVID pandemic hit. Before lockdown, he believed realtors needed to be in the office to work, and that there was no other way to operate. A silver lining of the pandemic was that Ed quickly learned that not only was it possible to work in real estate from home, but he was able to tackle more business than ever before while working remotely.
Ed was immediately drawn to the flexibility working from home provided him. By being the only one he relies on,
“I asked myself, ‘Why am I still entertaining a brick and mortar concept? Why pay the bills for the office when I can invest that money elsewhere, and generate more sales selling real estate from home?’ By the end of 2020, my wheels were turning and it was time for me to make a pivot,” Ed says.
Soon after coming to this realization, Ed was introduced to Real Broker, a virtual brokerage for which there are no fees or expenses that would be typical of a brick and mortar establishment. Almost immediately, he left the major national real estate company he was working for and joined this new agency, becoming a part of a small, yet steadily growing community of only 1,500 real estate agents nationwide.
“Beyond the intrigue of the virtual concept, this new brokerage allowed me the opportunity to unlock three sources of income by wearing only one hat. First of all, the company takes good financial care of you with their generous commission splits, better than any other company I’ve personally witnessed. Second of all while selling real estate, I’m also encouraged to grow my own team, which unlocks the next source of income: anyone I happen to bring on my team in turn allows for greater earnings. New team members and even your sales will lead to the third source of income in the form of stock (or company equity),” Ed explains.
Ed never worked as a recruiter, but has found a great love for finding a strong, local and even national team. With a heavy portfolio of projects down the road, Ed knows having a strong team is key. He finds joy in being able to train and teach up-and-coming realtors. With his years in the real estate industry, Ed has a wealth of experience surrounding what a new realtor needs and wants, and he delivers this to each new realtor on his team.
IGRE Coaching is online, and Ed can be found on his Instagram.