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Guest Bio: Julie Busby is the founder of Busby Group at Compass in Chicago, a referral-driven team serving buyers, sellers, relocating professionals, and athletes. She built a successful real estate business in San Diego before relocating to Chicago in 2011, where she partnered her way to a number one ranking before launching her own brokerage.

Episode Summary: Julie Busby traces her path from a one woman San Diego business to a 25 year career leading a high-touch Chicago team built almost entirely on referrals and repeat clients. She explains how a dedicated client concierge, deep vendor relationships, and a collaborative team structure let her deliver white glove service without burning out her brokers or herself.

What's Covered:

• Julie describes shadowing a top-ranked San Diego agent early in her career and later offering free help to a top Chicago broker to rebuild her business from scratch after relocating in 2011
• She explains why she created a dedicated client concierge role to manage vendor relationships, prevent client confusion when multiple team members reach out, and give clients a buffer so agents can set boundaries after hours
• Julie details how she broke into working with relocating professionals and athletes after a chance listing connection, and why being prepared with building relationships ahead of time matters more than chasing that business reactively
• She shares that Busby Group runs on roughly 95 percent referrals and repeat clients with zero paid lead generation, relying instead on drip campaigns, client gifting, and staying in touch for years after closing
• Julie attributes her low team turnover to a collaborative structure where brokers fully back each other up on transactions, allowing team members to take extended vacations without losing commission or client trust
• She outlines a two-pronged approach to AI, using it internally to streamline systems like Dropbox and offer rough contractor estimates, while also investing in SEO and reviews so clients discover her team through AI-driven searches

Timestamps:

01:08 - Julie's early path from selling insurance to real estate in San Diego

02:41 - Rebuilding her business after moving from San Diego to Chicago

06:21 - The moment she realized she needed to build a team

09:12 - Why she created a dedicated client concierge role

13:47 - Building trust with relocating professionals and athlete clients

19:18 - Running a 95 percent referral business with no paid leads

22:28 - The collaborative team structure behind her low agent turnover

25:55 - How Busby Group is integrating AI while protecting client relationships

30:04 - Her top tactical advice for agents who want to double their business