Meet Andy Brown of Locate Team at Compass Realty, Casa Del Lago, Hiatus Tequila sales rep and Pharma marketer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Brown

Hi Andy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I was in elementary school, I would make flyers and put them in mailboxes around my neighborhood – my tagline was “Reliable Andy Brown.” I mowed lawns, shoveled snow, pet and house sat, washed cars – anything to make some money as a kid. I think I’ve definitely brought that Reliable Andy Brown into everything I’ve done through growing up, now as an adult.

After graduating from the University of Kansas with my bachelor’s degree in Business (with an emphasis in marketing), I joined a small marketing agency in 2008. My biggest clients at the time were Shawnee Mission Medical Center and Malley Surgical. While I never wanted to go into medicine like my brother and my dad, I was drawn to the business side of the medical industry. After being at my first marketing agency for about 2.5 years, I bought my first house and worked on doing my own renovations with friends (painting, new appliances, refinishing floors) and that’s where my love for real estate began. At the same time, I also moved marketing agencies over to Intouch Solutions where I learned all about digital pharmaceutical marketing. While I was there for 8 years, in 2015, I got my real estate license going to classes in the evening. I ended up moving out of my house, renting it to friends and moved into my partner’s house. I started selling real estate in 2015, all while working in pharma marketing. I hopped to a couple different pharma marketing agencies, and at the same time my passion for real estate began blossoming. I was living with my partner and we remodeled our first home together (full kitchen renovations, all new bathrooms and a backyard). We worked with a contractor for those projects, and while we were working on those and after renting my house for a couple years, it was time to sell it. After I sold that I had the money needed to invest in what I loved – real estate. I purchased my first short term rental property at the Lake of the Ozarks in 2019 (Casa Del Lago: www.cdlozark.com). I’ve been running Casa Del Lago (my best friend helped me name it!) for over 5 years and it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made. I love when people who have stayed return year after year and make amazing memories at the lake with their friends and family.

At the same time, I was still busy helping buy and sell real estate for my clients, my partner and I felt like we needed a new project – so we bought a house 5 houses down from where we used to live, and sold the house we had just renovated. Our new house was a full gut – it had carpeted bathrooms, a kitchen from the 90’s – it was in need of a lot of work. So we moved into an apartment downtown and worked with our contractors on renovating this house that was built in 1997 (which doesn’t come around a lot in the south plaza/Brookside area!) and completed the project in about 9 months – it was our version of having our first baby 🙂

Since then, I’m back where I started (Intouch Solutions was acquired and is now Eversana Intouch), and am working there part time. I’m also still selling real estate on the Locate team at Compass Realty (www.locatekc.com and www.locateloto.com), running Casa Del Lago, and now…selling Hiatus Tequila (www.hiatustequila.com)! Why tequila? My partner’s father and brother invested in the tequila, and it’s a very delicious, smooth, additive free, gluten free and kosher tequila that comes in blanco, reposado and añejo expressions. It’s an easy sell for me as I’m always meeting new people, and it’s been great meeting restaurant, bar and liquor store owners.

Some may think I’m crazy for having four jobs at a time – but I wouldn’t change it for the world. And for anyone who doubts that I can do it all – ask my friends, my family, my clients. I have a regular routine where I wake up, I read through MLS to understand the KC and Ozark markets, I read through my emails to ensure I know how to align my day, and then I do my thing – all with a focus on my clients and customers. Reliable Andy Brown doesn’t let you down!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In the beginning, it felt like it was going to take forever to be able to buy a house, and then it felt like I was living paycheck to paycheck after I bought my first house (and I was!). So I got a roommate to help with that. Once I started renting my house, I felt like I had some more freedom, and once I sold it and then purchased my short term vacation rental it started over again. I had to buy furniture, put in a new HVAC, make sure that not only was it livable, but it was up to my standards (I’m a marketer after all – my vacation rental is part of my brand – Reliable Andy Brown)!

To this day, there are still some days where I struggle (I have a lot going on), but I try not to let that get me down and focus on the outcomes – what I’m doing for my clients, my customers, and in the end, myself.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
In marketing: My best boss ever (who was also my best mentor) was Nick Rambke out of our Chicago office. He always taught me to go with my gut, never give up, and do what I thought was right and didn’t get in the way. He truly helped me get to where I am today.

In real estate: My Locate team, mainly Kevin Bryant and Tom Suther. Kevin was the first agent I had worked with when I both bought and sold my first house. They’re always there to answer questions, share the latest in the real estate world, or just be there to gossip and have a good time!

In sales: I’d have to say my dad. He’s probably my biggest advocate – always telling me he knows if I’m doing it, it’ll get done right because “You’re Reliable Andy Brown”! While he doesn’t always gives me advice, he does always push me to do what I know I want to do. And so far, it’s worked out for me.

In my personal life: My partner Kurt. He’s helped me go from a ton of debt out of college to putting together a budget spreadsheet (that I still use to this day) to get completely out of debt (minus our mortgages). We’re also polar opposites – so we both even each other out….we’re each other’s yin and yang.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cdlozark.com, www.locatekc.com, www.locateloto.com, and www.hiatustequila.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/locatewithandybrown
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/locatewithandybrown