This week on The Off Market Podcast, we sit down with Mike Smallegan, who went from selling 10 phones a month in a tiny Michigan town to leading one of the top 1% real estate teams in the country. Now running a powerhouse Keller Williams group that closed 265 transactions and $60M in volume last year, Mike shares how he built a thriving business from scratch with just $4,000, four kids, and no safety net.

Mike breaks down:

• How one $650K deal changed his entire career trajectory

• The importance of servant leadership and putting your team first

• How he turned a Facebook group into a 125,000-person referral engine

• Why he hires to get time back, not just scale

• His family’s story—including how a youth hockey foundation helped his blind son keep playing the game he loves

Ready? Let’s dive in!

Transcript

[00:00:00] Austin: Hey everybody and welcome back to another episode of the Off Market Podcast. This week we have Mike Smallegan. Mike is in the top 1% of realtors nationwide and oversees a small but mighty real estate group under the Keller Williams brokerage, which ranks among the top 10 teams in the Midwest. In 2023 alone, the Smallegan Team represented homes worth nearly $60 million—and more importantly, 265 families.

Mike’s also built a local Facebook group that’s 125,000 strong and has earned hundreds of five-star reviews from happy buyers and sellers. If you’re looking to buy or sell in Grand Rapids, Mike is your guy. Mike, welcome to the podcast.

Mike: Thanks for having me on, Austin. Excited to be here and share a little bit of my story.

Austin: Take us back to how you got into real estate. I know you owned a Sprint cellular store before this. Then you bounced around a few brokerages before launching your own team.

Mike: It actually goes back further. When I was 22, I saw an ad in the newspaper to get into real estate. I only knew one agent growing up, but he seemed to have a good life, so I went in for an interview. I bought a dress shirt and tie, showed up to meet the broker—and he basically dismissed me. Told me young people rarely make it, that I needed a ton of money saved up, and maybe I should go sell used cars instead.

So I let him talk me out of it. Wish I remembered his name so I could thank him now.

I ended up getting into the wireless phone business instead. Worked for an independent for five years, eventually bought a store. Looking back, I probably should’ve been paid to take that business over. But I grew it—from 10 phones a month to about 150 in a small town.

In 2013, I decided I was done with wireless. Sold everything—eBay, Craigslist. Had about $4,000 in my pocket. Four kids, two house payments, two car payments. And I jumped into real estate.

Austin: With no backup plan?

Mike: Nope. I interviewed a few brokerages, but at the time I didn’t realize I was supposed to be interviewing them. I treated it like I was applying for a job.

Eventually I joined the number one team in Grand Rapids. Learned a ton—what to do, what not to do. They switched from Keller Williams to independent, then sold to another company. When the team disbanded, I had to figure it out on my own.

First year, I did 35 transactions. Hired an assistant, a buyer’s agent. Then a couple more agents joined. It all grew out of necessity, not because I was planning to start a team that early.

Austin: Do you remember your first deal?

Mike: My first sale was actually my brother. He waited to buy until I was licensed.

The second one was wild. It was a $650,000 internet lead—the average back then was $150K. My team thought they weren’t serious and told me to hand it off, but I stuck with it. Answered all their questions, showed the house a bunch of times. We closed on New Year’s Eve. They called me again five years later to help them sell.

Austin: Sometimes one deal changes everything. Let’s talk about scaling. You hit 35 deals fast. Did you go niche—probates, divorces—or cast a wide net?

Mike: I’ve always been good at converting internet leads—Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. I don’t think about the money; I focus on the person. And that builds trust.

I never planned on a big team. Just wanted help to get some weekends back. But great people kept showing up. If they fit our culture and wanted to grow, we made space for them.

Austin: That’s beautiful. And some of your motivation for scaling was time, right? So you could focus on high-leverage activities—or just life outside of work. What does that look like for you?

Mike: Exactly. The why matters. I don’t just want to make money—I want a life. I work directly with clients and agents, and I like backend stuff too—CRM, systems.

Outside work, I’m involved with the Griffins Youth Foundation. We donated enough for 400 helmets last year. My son, who’s blind, plays hockey through their program. They made special accommodations, like using a puck from Canada for blind hockey.

We also support teachers. Every year, we help fulfill Amazon wishlists for local educators. And as a family, we love being out on the boat, tubing, visiting Mackinac, or heading up to our lake cottage.

Austin: That’s incredible. So let’s shift to becoming a top 1% agent. What’s the secret?

Mike: People. Take care of your clients, they’ll refer you. Treat your agents well, they’ll stick around.

We have a sliding commission scale—the more you sell, the more you earn. Our agents get their names listed first, not mine. And when we changed brokerages, I involved the team. We interviewed five offices together, chose Keller Williams. Then recently, we switched to a different KW office—again, as a group. Everyone came with me.

Austin: Last question. You’ve got five minutes with your younger self. What do you say?

Mike: Start sooner. Don’t let anyone talk you out of your dreams. Your age doesn’t matter—your effort does.

Put in the work. Learn the market, the contracts, how to negotiate. Real estate can pay like a doctor, but it requires doctor-level effort and self-education.

Austin: Thanks so much for coming on the podcast, Mike.