Many real estate agents are finding that a side gig or an adjacent service can make their core business stronger.
These additional ventures are helping agents build deeper relationships, and in some cases, they create new revenue streams. For others, it’s about embedding themselves more fully in their communities. In every case, the side work becomes a strategic extension of each agent’s real estate business.
Here’s how four agents are doing it.
Building Skills That Compound
Myssie Cardenas-Barajas, a real estate agent with Marcus Phipps Real Estate in Harlingen, Texas, grew up around the business. Many of her family members, from grandparents and parents to aunts, uncles and a sibling, have worked in the real estate business. She paid attention as they navigated the market and learned a valuable lesson.
“Real estate has its ebbs and tides. And if you want longevity in this career, you have to fortify yourself during the slower seasons,” she says. That’s what led her to take on two side opportunities: social media management and working with REO companies doing broker price opinions (BPOs).
At first, getting into these side ventures was a practical decision that offered her a way to supplement her income during slower periods. But over time, the work became something more valuable.
Working in social media gave her a behind-the-scenes understanding of how the platforms and audience behavior works. She started understanding the algorithms and deciphering what kind of content works. She learned what stops someone mid-scroll, how to position a property visually and how to build a brand people recognize.
“That knowledge directly translates into marketing listings more effectively and stands out in a crowded market,” Cardenas-Barajas says.
Meanwhile, her BPO work keeps her consistent in the field. She’s walking properties, analyzing pricing and studying neighborhoods at a level that goes beyond a typical transaction. The work also carries her outside her day-to-day routes and into neighborhoods she might not cover that often.
“Before long, you’re not just familiar with the market—you’re becoming an expert in it,” she says.
And then there’s the human side of it. Being in those homes creates natural opportunities for conversation. Property owners ask questions—about value, about updates, about what buyers are looking for. Those conversations don’t always turn into immediate business, but they often come back around later.
Showing Up in the Community
At first glance, officiating a high school basketball game might seem like it has no correlation to real estate, but Walter Washington, an agent with United Real Estate Central Arkansas, knows otherwise.
“On the court, I officiate alongside a diverse group of professionals,” he says.
Plumbers, handymen, contractors, landscapers and more are his fellow referees. All officiate to earn a little extra money. “In between games and during our downtime, we naturally talk business.”
Those conversations eventually lead to deeper connections. Now, Washington has a reliable list of vetted tradespeople that he can call on when he has a client in need.
“I'm connecting them with someone I’ve stood shoulder-to-shoulder with on the basketball court. This enhances my value as a full-service advocate for my clients.”
At the same time, officiating keeps him visible in the community. Parents, coaches and school staff see him regularly. They gain a sense of who he is by how he shows up on the court, communicates and handles pressure.
That familiarity lowers the barrier when real estate comes up. Conversations happen naturally, often between games, and sometimes those conversations turn into clients. For Washington, that’s the real value. The work keeps him connected, and those connections feed directly back into his business.
Doing the Work Up Front
Andrew and Milla Russo, real estate agents with The Keyes Company, work primarily in the luxury space and sometimes in the mid-tier market in South Florida. After years in the business, they started noticing the same pattern: Sellers often needed help getting their homes ready to list, but that work could slow everything down. So instead of leaving it up to sellers, the Russos stepped in.
“We just do it as part of our listing,” Andrew Russo says. “So, it supplements our real estate business, but it's been very helpful. It helps us get more money for the listings. It helps us get the listings as well.”
They handle the small but important details like painting, minor repairs, staging and decluttering to make the home show well. Andrew says Milla has an eye for design and knows what a home needs before the photographer shows up.
Over the years, the couple has amassed a list of contacts and a collection of staging furniture. “We have a pretty good system that's cost effective for us,” he says.
The Russos coordinate what’s needed, whether it’s painting or decluttering, so that the homeowners don’t have to worry about the details. There’s also the added value of vested interest.
“We’re putting our money where our mouth is,” Russo says, and sellers understand the Russos are taking their jobs seriously.
The results of their efforts are typically a win-win for all parties: Homes show better and often sell faster and for more than they would have. Plus, sellers don’t have to deal with the stress of figuring everything out on their own.
That level of investment builds trust early in the relationship and signals to prospective clients that the Russos are not just advising; they’re actively working to improve the outcome.
And in a competitive market, this kind of care and detail can make all the difference.
Relieving the Pain Points
Pride Grinn, also an agent with the Keyes Company in South Florida, says his side business came out of a problem he kept running into.
During the pandemic housing boom, he was flipping homes and struggling to get small jobs done. Contractors were busy, and the final details were the hardest tasks to schedule.
At the same time, his clients were asking for help with those exact things. So, he built a solution.
“I had a friend who was out of work, and he's very handy,” Grinn said. “So I just approached him and I said, ‘Hey, I'm thinking about starting a handyman company. Any interest?’”
Thus was the beginning of The Handy Buddha. What started as a way to solve his own problem turned into a steady part of his business.
Clients will often call him after the transaction is done. They call when something breaks. They call when they just don’t want to deal with it themselves.
“It's turned into where someone might need their whole house painted, so I can do that. Stucco work, I can do that. I basically can help you with everything that doesn't need to be permitted.”
Every one of those interactions keeps the relationship going and has become a throughline in Grinn’s business.
“I really just want to be someone’s resource for everything that has to do with real estate,” he said.
More Than Extra Income
None of these side gigs look exactly the same. Some bring in additional revenue. Others are more about visibility, skill building or service. But they all point to the same idea: The agents who find ways to expand how they show up for clients are often the ones who build stronger, more resilient businesses.
And sometimes, the things that start on the side end up becoming a core part of how the business works.
