Second Year Superstar: Burning Your Backup Plan

Andrew Ricks walked away from a doctorate-level career in physical therapy, sold his clinics, let his license lapse, and went all in on real estate — with a newborn at home and zero safety net. Less than two years later, he's closing four to five deals a month, landing $4 million listings, and building the kind of client relationships that generate referrals for years. This episode is for every agent sitting on the fence, keeping a backup plan "just in case," or wondering if it's too late to build something real. Andrew's story proves it's not about how long you've been in the game — it's about how seriously you take it from day one. In this episode, Andrew and EK dig into: Why removing optionality (burning the bridge on his PT career) was the move that unlocked his full commitment to real estate The early mistakes that taught him you can't outsource lead generation and expect results How he built a relationship-first client system using automations, personal follow-up, and strategic touches that keep clients connected long after closing Why chasing commissions early in your career is the slowest path to building a sustainable business The imposter syndrome that came with transitioning from medicine to real estate and how he pushed through it What it actually looks like to evolve from being a "realtor" to being a full-service advisor clients call for the next 10 years If you've been treating your real estate business like a side hustle or a fallback, this conversation is the gut check you didn't know you needed. Ready to build something that lasts? Learn more about what eXp and the Next Level Agents community can do for your business at nextlevelagents.com/exp. ​​Please leave us a review at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to Second Year Superstar: Burning Your Backup Plan online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Second Year Superstar: Burning Your Backup Plan is an episode from Kevin & Fred's Next Level Agents Podcast: Quick Tips for Realtors and Interviews from the best in the real estate business by Kevin Kauffman and Fred Weaver.

This episode is 32:15 long.

This episode was published on Mar 23, 2026.

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