Hidden Gems: Meet Keaton Fahnholz of Bow Tie Guy Properties

Today we’d like to introduce you to Keaton Fahnholz. 

Hi Keaton, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Well, I suppose my story starts with a passion. My dad got me into riding dirt bikes at a very young age. It quickly became a very big passion of mine. I knew I wasn’t going to race professionally, but that I wanted to end up in the industry one way or another. 

Fast forward to my college days, where I am going to KU for Marketing, and I reached out to a friend I went to high school with that was doing some social media for a professional motocross team. Long story short, I was able to get an “internship” with the team. It was like a dream come true. During the summer, and a few weekends over the winter, I would travel with the team following the series. My responsibilities were more of the grunt work. I had to set up and tear down our pit setup for all of our riders. Through this experience, I was able to make a really good friend with another guy that was working for the team, which is actually who I am working with currently. 

Unfortunately, this wasn’t sustainable for me to keep traveling while I was still in school, I got a job at FedEx Express as a delivery driver where I stayed for a couple years to finish out school. Once I finished school, I knew I didn’t want to drive a FedEx truck for the rest of my life so I decided to get into real estate. My dad is a custom home builder and has been for my whole life. It was sort of a natural fit for me since I had been around the industry for so long. Furthermore, the market was BOOMING so I thought I couldn’t go wrong. For about the first year of being a realtor, I was still working at FedEx. Real Estate is 100% commission so if you don’t sell anything, you don’t make any money. I needed to build some reliable business before I got rid of my Weekly paycheck that I could count on with FedEx. 

Fast Forward a year and it was time for me to take a leap of faith and dive full into real estate. I knew I couldn’t become a successful agent sticking with FedEx. So, I stepped away from a steady paycheck and full benefits to go out on my own. Right after I decided to make this decision, I got a call from my good friend I met on the Motocross team. He had started his own marketing agency called CONVRG Media and was rapidly taking off and needed someone he could trust to be a social media manager. So here we are today. I run several social accounts for different companies that are in and around the motorsports industry. The good thing about social media is you can do it remotely. I still sell real estate, I specialize in New Construction so I sit out at a new development and sell new homes, which was one of my main goals when I got into real estate. 

So, in conclusion, I am a real estate advisor with Engel and Völkers Kansas City and I am a social media manager with CONVRG Media running accounts that are in the industry I am most passionate about. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It wasn’t the smoothest road. Just like anything worthwhile it takes a tremendous amount of hard work and focus. When I first met my wife. I didn’t have anything. I was between traveling on the road and going to school. I couldn’t even afford to take her out to dinner. Then it was a long couple of years working at FedEx while going to school. I would have class in the morning then work from 3-9 Mon-Fri. Once I graduated and got my real estate license, I would work at FedEx from 6:45 am to about 12. Then throw on the Bow Tie and go into the real estate office. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Well, when you get into real estate it is very important to have your own brand separate from the brokerage you are with. My wife had an idea that I was very skeptical of at first and that was, I should wear a bow tie and call myself “The Bow Tie Guy”. Well, that took off and I have to give her all the credit. It became my brand and Identity as I started this business. As far as real estate goes, I like to pride myself on the customer experience I give my clients. I refer to myself as the “real estate concierge” I will handle all of your real estate needs. Engel and Völkers the brokerage I am with aligns with my personal brand very well. Their tagline is “Luxury at every price” and that is very true to the service I provide my clients with. It doesn’t matter if you are buying a $250k house or a $2,500,000 million dollar house. The service is exceptional! 

The same goes for my clients whose social media accounts I run. We treat them like royalty and make sure they are a number 1 priority. We work really hard and hold ourselves to a very high standard. 

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Being able to wake up every day and know I have the best wife in the whole world, and I get to do work that I am passionate about. On top of that having a line of work that allows me to provide for those, I love without them having to worry. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bowtieguykc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kfrealtor

Image Credits
Sarah Ball
The Bold Americana
Emma Lundberg