Adrienne Green hadn’t planned on building and selling a real estate agency.
She was a high school math teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia, when she and her husband bought a home in 2013, she explained on the Wealth Simplified podcast. But a few months after moving in, they realized it was way more house than they needed.
So, they rented out the basement.
Their interest piqued, they continued to invest in real estate, and Green even became a licensed real estate agent.
In November 2020, the family decided to relocate to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where Green had to rebuild her network from scratch. By August 2021, she had more clients than she could personally handle, so she launched the Auburndale Group of Keller Williams Realty and began hiring agents to help her.
But two years later, that initial energy Green poured into her real estate business had waned.
“I felt that I had made the team the best I could based on my skill set, and it was time for someone else to come in and build on that with their skill set,” she told They Got Acquired.
She began looking for a buyer — but she didn’t have to look far.
Building the Auburndale Group with virtual assistants
Green used two big strategies to build and run the Auburndale Group, according to her interview on the Wealth Simplified podcast.
First, she niched down. Instead of serving homebuyers like many real estate agents, she focused on supporting real estate investors; she was knowledgeable about this type of client because she was a real estate investor herself.
That was one of the reasons she and her husband had moved to Chattanooga — because it’s a prime market for real estate investors with its growing population, diverse investment opportunities, strong rental market, and supportive, pro-investor local government, according to another Keller Williams agency.
“It’s so tempting as a real estate agent — and I think for a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners — to be like, ‘Everyone can use my service. I can help anyone,’” she said. “The challenge is then that your clients don’t ever say, ‘Hey, they’re a perfect fit for me.’”
Second, Green hired virtual assistants (VAs) from the Philippines. The idea was that she could outsource the “bottom 80%” of her tasks, like emails and paperwork, so she could focus on generating new leads, speaking with clients and hosting home tours. International VAs were also more affordable than hiring Chattanooga-based assistants.
With these two strategies, Green’s team grew to include six real estate agents and five VAs. In 2022 — the first full year after launch — the agency completed 129 real estate transactions.
Selling her real estate agency: “It doesn’t feel like it’s my thing anymore”
In August 2023, Green attended an industry conference. As she left, she realized she no longer felt passionate about running an agency.
Her husband also had some real estate investment opportunities, and looking at the potential returns, Green realized running the agency was not the most dollar-productive work.
“Once I decided to sell, I was 100% committed to it,” she told They Got Acquired. “No waffling, no ‘for the right price,’ no caveats. I knew I wanted to sell, and I was going to do that.”
With her decision made, she began speaking with trusted people in her network.
“Selling a business is a lot… and not many people do it successfully,” she said. “I don’t think I knew anybody personally who had sold a real estate team, and finding the experts in the field to advise was going to be a challenge. Finding the right buyer was going to be a challenge.”
One of the most helpful conversations she had was with Steve Murray, a partner at RTC Consulting, who values real estate teams and brokerages. Green found Murray through her network, and he helped her understand how much the Auburndale Group was worth.
Green considered taking the agency to market — and even met with a local business broker.
“In that meeting, it was obvious [the broker] didn’t understand the real estate industry or selling a team vs. a brick-and-mortar business,” Green told They Got Acquired. “So then I focused more on finding a buyer within the real estate industry, leveraging my network there.”
She had her team leader at Keller Williams quietly ask other teams if they’d be interested in a growth acquisition. But then she had a well-timed conversation with one of her agents, Gina Shumway, who shared that she wanted to start her own real estate team. Green disclosed, in confidence, that she was looking to sell. Shumway was intrigued.
Because Shumway was still new to real estate, Green also brought in Tevan Holder, a top seller on her team. Green floated the idea of the two partnering to buy the agency, and they were both on board.
“Overall, I think I had a very smooth and easy selling experience,” Green said.
She shared four elements that helped with the valuation and sale of the Auburndale Group:
- Green didn’t name the agency after herself. This meant the business didn’t rely on her personal brand, unlike many real estate teams.
- The agency didn’t exclusively depend on Green. With processes and a team, she intentionally structured the agency so income did not depend on her personally servicing clients. “Get yourself out of the income production as much as possible,” she said. “Make it a machine that runs without you.”
- Green set up systems and procedures for everything. These, in addition to her client list of real estate investors (who tend to make more frequent real estate transactions than residential clients), were considered tangible business assets, which increased the value of the sale.
- Green used VAs from overseas. Again, this kept her out of the day-to-day operations, and it also increased the agency’s net income, since these assistants were more affordable than an in-office crew.
By October 2023, with annual gross revenue at $650,000, the Auburndale Group sold to Shumway and Holder for 6 figures — a 2x EBITDA multiple. The deal included 10% down and seller financing with a three-year repayment period.
This sale multiple is on the low side, but Green was pleased to know her team would be in good hands. The agency has since rebranded to T&G Homes.
After selling, Green began traveling the world full time with her family of five. She took on a larger role at Workergenix, a virtual staffing company she co-owns with her husband. She also now consults for real estate investors, helping them run their investments like a business.
