Jay Combes is currently the owner of Our Home of EXP Realty, in Knoxville, Tennessee. As an agent who has been part of over $280 million of real estate transactions in 3 years, he is the picture of success in the real estate world. He is also a renowned coach, who teaches real estate agents all across the United States how to succeed in their businesses. It’s easy to imagine Jay’s current position as the result of a long, illustrious career, filled with good luck and helping hands. But nothing could be farther from the truth.
Growing up in a construction family, Jay learned what it meant to sweat at a young age. By 16, he was already out on job sites in the Arkansas heat, slinging steel and tying rebar, and continued in this hard, physical occupation until he was 20. Jay was obsessive about everything he did. He worked as hard as he could, learned everything he could, and earned every cent he made, even if it was just enough to get by. When Jay fell into the party crowd and started making poor decisions, he dove into destructive habits with the same dedication that he put into everything else. It didn’t take him long to realize the damage this was going to do to him, and that he couldn’t continue in that lifestyle. Once he knew this wasn’t the place he needed to be, Jay moved, with almost no money, to Knoxville, Tennessee for a fresh start.
Some would say Jay was at rock bottom, but he refused to stay there. He immediately began his journey to the top by seeking waiter and sales jobs, and held down multiple of these at a time in an attempt to get ahead. For the next few years, he gathered knowledge and experience in several different occupations, and focused on personal growth and development. He read any book he could get his hands on about how to level up, and then made the decision to transition into real estate. He got licensed and got to work.
Starting out in his new career, though, Jay found out quickly why 87% of new real estate agents drop out of the business almost immediately after getting their license. Put simply, it’s because no one teaches you how to be a business owner. Selling is easy, but running a business is hard. Jay reached out to every agent he could, but nobody seemed willing to help. Frustration set in quickly, and, if Jay was like most people, he would have quit. But that’s not in Jay’s nature. Instead, he went back to reading and studying and learning everything he possibly could so that he could succeed. He gathered information and advice from everyone that would share it until he had turned himself into a top agent and business owner. Within two years, Jay was selling over 100 homes annually. He worked every day. Saturdays, holidays, it didn’t matter, Jay was on the phone grinding away at building his career in real estate, then building his own brokerage.
But, after years of making hundreds of calls daily, Jay worked himself so hard for so long that the success he had created didn’t even excite him anymore. He wanted something new, even if it meant leaving everything he had built. Instead of taking this drastic step, though, he went back to the drawing board to plot out his next move. He searched for a coach who could guide him past this roadblock. The advice he received?
“Help others.”
This created one of the most significant shifts in perspective that Jay had experienced. He took this advice to heart and began to bring other agents under his wing. Jay had just spent years teaching himself the ins and outs of the business, and he realized that he now had an opportunity to help other, new Realtors skip past the mistakes and difficulties he had experienced, and show them how to build their businesses without ruining relationships, burning themselves out, or simply running up against a wall.
Although Jay is still a successful Realtor and business owner, he now puts much of his energy into coaching and helping agents. He has shown that he can truly be a help to those who may be struggling, and he enjoys the opportunity to change lives.
Jay Combes is living proof that where you start doesn’t decide how you finish. He personally went from rock bottom to a successful entrepreneur. In 2021, Jay Combes and his team were one of the top-producing teams in EXP Realty and sold $114 million of real estate. They’ve grown to include multiple ancillary businesses, and a construction company, just like the one his family built. 2022 is seeing them on track to not only sell more volume than in 2021, but also to building over $10 million worth of luxury cabins. With no plans to slow down, Jay Combes has turned himself into a force to be reckoned with, and loves providing the vehicle that others need to build themselves into winners, through direct training that is practical to anyone.
Contact:
Email: jay@oh865.com
Phone #: (865) 500-4663