Growing up in Naples, Claire Gogan fell in love with riding horses. Riding allowed her the opportunity to get away from the stresses of everyday life and experience the potent energy of connection. Claire became determined to work with horses professionally, so after high school, she lived on a ranch that hosted educational programs for horses. She became an instructor herself, spending the summers in Colorado and the winters in Ocala, Florida.

 

“It was a great lifestyle,” Claire reflects. “I was 18, and I loved it. Between seasons, we’d move a few hundred horses from one ranch to another. People came from all over the world to study with us.”

 

Claire cherished her time working with horses professionally, but after three years, she realized that it wasn’t a great long-term career choice for her. The horse industry would have her on the road often. Claire wanted to start a family, and a profession with so much travel wasn’t what she envisioned for herself. That realization ultimately led her to real estate.

 

Claire began her real estate career as an assistant on a small team in 2012. For two years, she learned the inner workings of the business in preparation for her sales career. When she went out on her own in 2014, she was well-prepared for the challenge of building a business.

 

Over the next few years, Claire achieved success, closing $7 million to $10 million a year as her family grew to include three children. By all external accounts, Claire was succeeding, but she was struggling to keep all the balls in the air.

 

“The kids came, and work started to take over. It’s a common story REALTORS® have. Frankly, I was running myself into the ground,” Claire admits. “There were days when I was working 12 hours, and it was still not enough. Then I'd be with my kids, I'd be on the phone, and they wanted my attention. It wasn’t sustainable. And that pushed me. There had to be another way. I was looking at people doing $20 million, $30 million, $50 million a year, and I knew I couldn't get there this way.”

 

In 2020, Claire hired a coach and began growing a team. Although the path to growth hasn’t always been smooth, she’s much happier with her business and work–life balance three years later.

 

Today, The Gogan Home Selling Team at eXp Realty is a group of 10 agents and four staff members. The team closed 92 transactions for $44 million in 2022 and is pacing to far exceed those numbers in 2023.

 

Perhaps most importantly, Claire has achieved the often-elusive balance she sought.

 

“Now, I run the team, still do listings, and don't work with buyers anymore, and that’s been really cool. For me, it's just the beginning. Our goal is to close 175 units this year and eventually get to 1,000 transactions a year. And I want to help our agents find leverage too,” Claire explains. “I’m passionate about the agents on my team being able to scale themselves, to achieve that balance and leverage in their lives.”

 

When she’s not selling real estate, Claire is usually with her family. She and her husband, Andrew, have three sons, twins Ashton and Bryson (6), and their youngest son, Finn (4). They enjoy adventuring outdoors, going out on the boat, and staying active. After some time away from horses, Claire has returned to riding regularly too.

Like riding a horse, balance isn’t a static state but, rather, something Claire works for every day. Her achievement of balance isn’t perfect, but it’s something she’s continually putting effort toward.

 

“I want people to know that you can have a big business, be really successful, and still be present for your family and kids. It doesn't have to be one or the other,” Claire says. “The biggest piece of advice I could give is understanding that. If you want to achieve balance, surround yourself with great people. That’s what helps you grow. When I first started with the idea of a team, I told someone I didn’t want to start a team because I was in real estate and wanted to be in the business of buying and selling houses, not the managing people business. Today, my whole world has changed. It’s with and through great people that you can grow and scale. When you find great people, you're not in the managing-people business; you're in the changing-lives business.”