Top-Producer John Mikesh Almost Left Real Estate Until eXp Solved His Biggest Frustration

John Mikesh has been in real estate since 2005, becoming a top producer on big brokerage teams and eventually owning his own independent in Charlotte, North Carolina. But there was one problem he could never solve: Coaching and training agents to be top producers, only to see them leave and become his competition.

“Aside from the obvious financial impact this had on my company it also affected me emotionally,” said Mikesh. “These were people that I had a massive impact on, friendships created and families brought together only to have that relationship dissolve overnight when they eventually left. I didn’t want to do that anymore.”

Mikesh needed a break. He set up his indie to run without his day-to-day involvement, unplugged as much as he could and traveled the country with his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Jayne, for 14 months to do some soul searching. He was on the verge of leaving real estate forever. 

Toward the end of his trip, there was one person he wanted to talk to: AJ Mida, a friend, a real estate colleague and someone who was with eXp Realty. He stopped to visit him in Michigan.

“AJ had tried to share the eXp model with me before, but I politely said no — it was never for me,” said Mikesh, who was closed to the idea of eXp for many years. “But, I knew his business was growing and I was happy for him. So, AJ and I went for a walk in the park. He told me his numbers and that was it — it flipped a switch for me.”

Mikesh was excited to share the news with his ROOST CEO, Jamie Forte, to finally have an answer to his dilemma of training and coaching and then losing his agents. On Sept. 8, 2020, Mikesh presented the decision to his team that ROOST was moving to eXp. He expected to lose two or three of his 15 agents, but all came over.  

“eXp is the answer to the biggest challenge in the real estate industry right now: How do you bring value without training your competition? Team value provides the value,” said Mikesh. “Everyone is excited about the potential of what it could look like a year from now.

“eXp was the fix and visiting AJ at the end of my cross-country trip was the key. I was finally open to eXp and ready to hear that.” 

These days, Mikesh is fulfilling another dream of his: Living out West in Bozeman, Montana, while running his brokerage in Lake Norman, NC.

“I am absolutely blown away by eXp’s model,” said Mikesh. “As good as my real estate business was, I’d still have sleepless nights by trying to hit numbers, thinking of the competition, people coming and going. But now I have sleepless nights because real estate is fun again. I can’t wait to get started every day.”

Learn More about John Mikesh:

Years in real estate: Since 2005

Gross sales and transactions in 2019: $55 million on 150 sides

Brokerage history:

• eXp Realty (Sept. 2020 – current)
• ROOST Real Estate  (Jan. 2014 – Sept. 2020)
• RE/MAX (2009 – Oct. 2014) 
• Lake Realty (Sept. 2007 – March 2009)
• Keller Williams (Sept. 2006 – March 2007)

Main territory: Charlotte, N.C. (Lake Norman area)

Main focus: Lake Norman waterfront and surrounding area

Accolades, accomplishments & awards:

• RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award (in under 5 years)
• Founder, Prospector Coaching (multiple 6-figure earnings in first year with no advertising)
• Certified High-Performance Coach™ (Brendon Burchard Organization)

When and why did you join eXp?

“I brought my independent real estate company, ROOST Real Estate over to eXp on Sept. 8, 2020.   My specific challenge was retaining the talent that I helped to create by bringing them into the company.  eXp’s revenue-sharing model changed all of that and now I can freely help the people that come into my organization at the highest level. And when they want to move on and have their own teams, I can continue to help coach and train them with eXp.  I’ve never been more excited about the real estate business than I am right now.  eXp has given me back my passion for this industry and solidified my purpose moving forward, to help as many people as I can achieve their dreams and goals through a rewarding career in real estate!”

What makes eXp special to you? 

“The ability to help agents earn a consistent income through my team model and the opportunities we provide AND the ability to help them grow beyond me and have their own teams/companies and still be able to help them.”

Is there a significant experience you can share since you joined eXp?

“My entire team came over, all were excited and I was able to grow my eXp organization to 100 plus in less than 90 days!”

What is one thing about eXp that surprised you?

“How willing the leadership is to roll up their sleeves and help us succeed!”

What kind of collaboration have you experienced at eXp?

“Yes, all of the leaders that I have reached out to, even those not in my organization have been amazing and willing to help in any way.”

Best tip to share with other agents:

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work “hard.  Be willing to do whatever it takes and stay consistent until you get the result.  Stop trying to be perfect because you never will be, just take massive action and you will learn by doing!

“Also, know your numbers and treat people with respect.”

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