Back to Ownership, Built to Last: Three Lessons in Leadership from a Real Estate Veteran

After nearly three decades in real estate – including experience as an agent, team leader, coach, trainer and broker/owner – Aubra Palermo returned to ownership with a different goal: to build a business that develops agents, supports teams and creates long-term opportunity beyond her own production.

When she opened REMAX Unites in Freeport, Illinois, in December, the move marked more than a new office. It marked a shift in how she defines success.

“Before, I was doing most of the production myself,” Palermo said. “Now, the goal is to coach and train and build something that doesn’t rely on me doing everything.”

Palermo has seen nearly every stage of the industry’s evolution. She began as a licensed administrator before moving into full-time sales, then into brokerage ownership and team leadership. Her career spans the pre-internet era of real estate, the rise of MLS technology, the housing crash and recovery, and the pandemic-era housing boom.

That range of experience now shapes how she leads.

“I’ve sat in almost every seat in this business,” Palermo said. “That helps me coach agents differently. I understand the paperwork, the systems, the client pressure, the production goals and the leadership challenges. My goal is to help agents shorten the learning curve.”

Six months into ownership, Palermo says the biggest lessons haven’t been about recruiting or revenue but about structure, leadership, and what it truly means to scale.

For Palermo, affiliating with REMAX offered the balance she was looking for: the independence to build locally, paired with the credibility, systems and network of an established global brand.

Lesson No. 1: Systems come before growth

Like many agents stepping into ownership, Palermo initially thought recruiting would be the top priority.

That idea didn’t last long.

“You come out thinking, ‘I’m going to recruit tomorrow,’” she said. “But as I learned quickly, you have to have systems in place first.”

Palermo spent her first six months building an operational foundation: onboarding processes, training systems, technology and internal workflows. It’s an approach shaped by experience – and by mistakes she made earlier in her career.

She believes, “If it’s not right from the start, it’s going to be harder to make it work.”

Palermo applies the same philosophy to growth. Rather than adding agents and building around them, she created infrastructure that agents and teams can plug into.

“A lot of people start growing by just bringing in agents,” she said. “But they don’t have the systems or admin support in place, and that’s where things break down.”

That deliberate pacing reflects a broader reality for agents-turned-owners: growth without structure often leads to burnout, not scale.

In the next phase of her business, Palermo plans to recruit agents and teams who want to scale within that structure – or who are considering team leadership themselves but may not be ready to take on the full responsibility.

Lesson No. 2: The role is bigger than production

One of the most significant mindset shifts in Palermo’s first six months has been redefining success.

For many top-producing agents, brokerage ownership can feel like a natural next step. Palermo said the reality is more nuanced.

“Most people think opening a brokerage means you’re going to make more money, and it’s going to be easier,” she said. “Typically, you make less money as a broker than you do as a top agent.”

Instead, the role requires a transition from personal performance to leadership – from closing deals to building infrastructure, training agents and creating a long-term business.

For Palermo, that was the appeal.

After decades in production, she is now focused on helping the next generation of agents avoid the same trial-and-error learning curve she experienced.

Lesson No. 3: Scale matters, but so does flexibility

Six months in, Palermo said affiliating with the REMAX brand has reinforced her decision to return to ownership, particularly when it comes to balancing independence with access to resources.

“REMAX gave me a platform, not a script,” Palermo said. “That mattered to me. I wanted the freedom to build REMAX Unites around the agents and communities we serve, while still having access to the tools, brand recognition and network that help us compete.”

That flexibility, combined with the scale of a global network, has emerged in practical ways – from technology and reporting systems to cost efficiencies on services such as marketing and insurance.

“REMAX is leveraging the size of the network to help all of us operate more efficiently,” she said.

For Palermo, that combination has made the early stages of ownership more manageable, without sacrificing autonomy.

From busy to intentional

Now, as she looks ahead to the next six months, growth is back on the table but with a clearer framework in place. Each step is grounded in structure and intention.

At the center of it all is a question that reshaped her path: Are you building a business – or just staying busy?

“It’s something I come back to all the time,” Palermo said. “And it’s what I want the agents I work with to think about, too. At REMAX Unites, the goal is not just to help agents do more business. It’s to help them build better businesses.”

The name REMAX Unites reflects Palermo’s broader vision for the brokerage: bringing together agents, teams, systems, training and community under one roof.

“The name Unites was intentional,” Palermo said. “Real estate can feel very independent, but no one really builds something great alone. I wanted this brokerage to be a place where agents feel supported, where teams can grow, and where we are all moving in the same direction.”