Sales have always come naturally to Matthew Shulman, but
real wasn't where he got his start. He grew up in the GTA and attended York
University, where he studied business and philosophy. “I can talk about what
Plato would have to say about the purchase and sale of a home!” In university, he was hired to own a College
Pro Painter franchise, which showed him what a career in business was about.
“That was an MBA, that was real life, and it propelled me forward into my
business life.”
After graduating,
Matthew was handed a plane ticket and told he was going to work in Europe. “So I jumped on a plane, moved to Europe and
lived there for four years, and then an opportunity became available in Asia.”
He was in Asia for a year before moving back to Canada, where he got into what
he calls the pre-cursor to real estate:
door-to-door sales for high end home theatre audio. “I was literally knocking on celebrities
doors, people who had disposable incomes who could afford five-hundred-thousand,
a million on home audio.” He did this successfully
for a year, but soon found that he and the owner were too much alike, and decided
business together wasn't the best idea. After leaving that job, Matthew asked,
“what should I do with my life?” His
friend told him he should get into real estate, that he’d be great at it, so he
decided to give it a try. “My initials are MLS; I was kind of destined to be in
real estate,” he laughs. He’s now been in the business close to eight years.
Matt began his real estate career with Re/Max, where he
worked for three and a half years. While he was there, someone opening a Keller
Williams franchise began recruiting Matt. “He was just pitching me and pitching
me. I had no absolutely no interest in
leaving Re/Max. I was quite confident that the reason I was doing well or not
well was because of the balloon.” Finally, as a recruiting effort, he sent
Matthew to Mega Camp. “What really sold me was one night we went out to dinner,
got to the steak house, and the maitre d’ greeted us and said ‘hey, are you
guys from Keller Williams? How many people do you have in your down line?’ He
started talking all of the Keller Williams lingo.” Matthew was sold. He came back from Mega Camp,
resigned from his old company and has been with Keller Williams ever since.
The best thing about Keller Williams for Matthew is the
culture. “Happy people produce. At my old company, although it was an amazing
company, [there was] a kind of prison mentality where you’re covering your
food, looking over your shoulder to see who’s going to eat it. When I came to
KW I thought I was on Punk’d. The whole idea that agents will actually help
other agents for the greater good of the company – I didn’t really understand
all of that prior to joining and I thought some of it was kind of hokey. Now I
truly live it. My office is kind of a testament to an open door policy. People
come in asking for help and I offer it with a smile.”
The biggest challenge in Matthew’s business is managing
himself and his time. “When you first start in real estate you have to wear all
the hats. As you grow your business there are a whole lot more tasks on any
given day that you can defer to other people. But being a control freak of
sorts, I like to try to keep everything close, juggle all the balls, but it’s almost
impossible. I’d say my biggest obstacle is me being able to let go and realize
the people I’m surrounding myself with are very capable.”
While Matthew is a hard-working agent, he’s been struggling
to figure out what his big “Why” is and what it is that keeps him motivated. After many conversations with Glenn, he’s
beginning to figure it out. “Glenn’s really been helping me try and find my Why. I’m realizing that I can make money doing
anything, I can provide for my family doing pretty much anything, and I can be
happy doing almost anything.” He is beginning to discover that his big Why is
giving back to the people around him. “I had a situation when I lived in Asia where
a little boy pretty much changed my life. Since then I've always been trying to figure out a way I can give back
to people who have changed my life, or how can I change someone else’s life.”
Matthew has opened up a charity account and started putting money away. “When
it hits a certain level I’m just going to write a cheque and just try to change
someone’s life. That is what’s having me wake up before my alarm right now.
That’s what’s getting me excited: knowing that because of this real estate
vehicle, being in the whole Keller Williams system, I can give back and
actually be a good person. I don’t just need to buy and sell houses and drive
nice cars; I can actually make a difference in the world. I know it sounds
hokey, but that’s really what gets me excited right now.”
Prior to getting into real estate and having a family,
Matthew was a travel fanatic. “ I've been to over 40 countries. I’m a travel
buff.” He also loves golf, billiards and all types of sports. “Since I've been
in real estate, and since I now have a family, most of my time is now spent in
front of the television watching The Wiggles, telling jokes to my four-year
old, who repeats the same joke back to me. I don’t have much time for traveling
anymore. Right now it’s more about the family – that’s where the bulk of my
time is spent when I’m not working. My
perfect day would involve sleeping in until eight o’clock, speaking to literally no one, and getting to
play PlayStation in my basement, watching two or three movies, then watching
PVR TV shows…that would be absolute perfection!”
Written by: Crystal Burney
Dave Ramsay 
J.R Martinez
