Why I Built a Real Estate Team (And What It Means for Our Clients)

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I never sat down one day and decided to build a real estate team. That is the honest answer. The team happened. It grew out of the business, out of the people who showed up along the way, and out of a decision I made early on to not resist something that was clearly working.

Seven or eight years ago, when I first joined Pinnacle Estate Properties, it was just me. A solo agent in the Conejo Valley, grinding through transactions, building a database, figuring out systems as I went. Then agents started asking to work with me. I said yes. And looking back, that turned out to be one of the biggest gifts in my career.

Here is how it came together, what it has meant for the agents who have been part of it, and more importantly, what it means for the clients we serve across Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Simi Valley, Sherman Oaks, and Encino.

How did the DB Real Estate Group team actually start?

It started by accident, which I think is true for a lot of teams that end up lasting.

I joined Pinnacle as a solo agent. I had already been in the business since 2009, so I had some volume, some systems, and a lot of lead flow that I could not personally service at the level I wanted to. Agents around me noticed. Conversations started. People wanted to plug in.

Sometimes things happen in life and you just follow the path down. I did not fight it. What I found on the other side was something I did not expect. Yes, the business grew. We have now closed more than 500 transactions and over $500 million in career volume, and 2025 was our best year yet with 99 closings and more than $103 million in sales, which put us at number 2 out of more than 1,200 agents at Pinnacle. But the number that actually moves me is harder to measure. It is the number of agents whose lives changed because they joined.

What does being on a real estate team actually do for an agent?

Let me tell you about Simone. She was one of the first agents who ever worked on the team with me, and she is probably watching the video right now.

When Simone started, she was waiting tables at a restaurant here in town and doing real estate part time. That is a tough place to be. You are splitting your energy between a job that pays the bills and a career you are trying to build with whatever hours are left over.

After about a year with us, we got her set up on the lead flow, the technology, the systems, all the stuff we live by every single day. Her business blew up. She had the best year of her career, quit the restaurant job completely, and never looked back. She has since moved to San Diego, started her own business, is crushing it down there, and is now having her second baby.

That is what a team can do when the fit is right. It is not magic. It is leads, technology, accountability, and someone in your corner who has already made the mistakes you are about to make.

As agents, we get to impact people's lives every single day by helping them buy and sell real estate and do things they never thought were possible. But being able to help agents do things they never thought were possible hits differently. I know, because when I got into this business there were years where I set goals I genuinely did not believe I could reach, and then I reached them and blew my own mind. Being able to transmit that to someone else on the team, and then watch the impact they leave behind on their own clients, is something special.

Why do the weekly team meetings and open forum matter so much?

I started my career on a team. I have not always been independent, and I have not always run a team. That background shaped how I lead this one.

Every week we meet, and every meeting includes an open forum. Not a lecture. Not me talking at people for an hour. An actual open floor where agents bring what they are seeing in the marketplace right now.

That matters because the Conejo Valley is not one market. What is happening with a Westlake Village luxury listing is not what is happening with a Simi Valley first time buyer or an Encino investment property. When ten agents are actively touching different price points and different neighborhoods, the information coming back into that room is better than anything I could gather alone.

We mentor each other in a big way. I keep an open mind in those meetings on purpose, because I learn as much from the group as anyone learns from me. We hold each other accountable, we set goals, we do real check ins on those goals, and we stay current on what is changing in the industry. That has been a huge impact on the team, and honestly a huge impact on my own career.

What does a team give a client that a solo agent cannot?

This is the part that matters most if you are reading this as a buyer or seller rather than an agent.

• Bigger reach. As a team we touch more people and see more of what is actually happening in the market. That means off market opportunities, early intel on listings, and a wider buyer pool for our sellers.
• Better fit matching. There have been many instances where I bring another team member onto a deal, or one agent brings in another, simply because it is a better fit for that client. Someone who lives and breathes a specific neighborhood, or who has deep experience with a particular property type, should be the one handling it.
• Coverage and responsiveness. Real estate does not wait. Showings, offers, inspection deadlines, and lender issues do not pause because one person is tied up. A team means someone is always available.
• Collective market knowledge. The open forum is not just an internal exercise. When our team compares notes on pricing, buyer behavior, and days on market across Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Agoura Hills, and Calabasas, that intelligence goes straight into the advice we give clients.

Should an agent join a team or stay independent?

You would think that someone who runs a team would automatically say join a team. That is not my answer, because it is not a yes or no question.

It is so important that people do what is right for them. There are a lot of people in real estate who do not have the ability to work 60 hours a week the way I do, and that is a completely valid life. Depending on where you are in your career, what your goals are, and especially what your life looks like outside of work, the right answer changes.

What I will say is this: if you join our team, you are going to close more transactions. I am confident in that. But there are sacrifices and changes that come with it, and those are real.

So when an agent reaches out who is weighing going independent versus joining a team, I tell them the same thing every time. Let us sit down and talk about it. And if I genuinely think you will do better as a solo agent, and that fits the mold of what you are trying to accomplish, I will encourage you to do exactly that.

Thinking about buying, selling, or joining a team?

Whether you are preparing to sell a home in Westlake Village, searching for the right neighborhood in Thousand Oaks or Newbury Park, or you are an agent trying to figure out your next move, I am happy to have the conversation with no pressure attached.

Reach out at davisbartels.com and let us talk about what makes sense for you.