A Special Successor: How a Father and Daughter Became Business Partners w/Anna and Bob Kilinski | Ep 51

Real Producers

In any business, replacing a great founder is no easy feat. Birthing something is very different to inheriting it, so there’s pressure on both the founder and successor to make the transition a great one. On one end, you have someone handing over what they built over decades, and on the other, someone with huge shoes to fill.

Sometimes, the best person for the job is the one who was unknowingly groomed for it by osmosis her entire life. That’s how Bob Kilinski appointed his daughter, Anna to take over his successful KW regional center.

What is so special about this transition of power? How do you take over such a successful operation? What’s the process of taking over like?

In this episode, the father-daughter duo share how the decision was made and how to build and maintain a thriving business.

Real estate is less about houses and more about process and people and bringing a solution to the table. -Anna Kilinski

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-Survive, progress, arrive

What can sailing teach us about running real estate businesses in today’s market?

-Real estate isn’t actually about homes

How did Bob Kilinski get into the business of running real estate offices without a background of selling homes?

-Don’t play small by being stingy with your gifts

What made Anna Kilinski go after the opportunity of taking over the regional center her father built?

Guest Bio

Anna Kilinski

Anna Kilinski is a Realtor with over $140M in Sales as the #1 KW Team in Georgia in 2023. She is a fearless leader, barsetter, visionary and coach, who recently and most notably has taken on the role of Regional Operating Partner of the “award-winning” Southeast Region for Keller Williams, the largest and pack leader in the KW franchise. A New Orleans native who was practically born into real estate, she swore she’d never join the family’s favorite industry, but that quickly changed after she bought her first house at 25 (a duplex for that matter) and never looked back. In 2018, Anna’s unrivaled Atlanta reputation and no-nonsense, all-in approach to serving her clients earned her the Realtor-host spot on Bravo® TV’s “Buying It Blind”, in which she bought new homes on her clients’ behalf (and with their savings)—but without them actually seeing the properties. She’s earned the Millionaire Real Estate Agent accolade year over year since 2014, and Anna K Intown is consistently ranked a Top 10 Team by the Atlanta Board of Realtors, and her team #1 in Georgia for KW in 2022 serving over 200 clients and $140M+ in residential sales annually. If you’re in the KW world, you’ll appreciate knowing she runs a TRUE MREA & “profitable” model – and is passionate about others learning to do the same.

Bob Kilinski

Bob has 40+ years of experience in operating, managing and teaching in the real estate brokerage industry. As the Vice President of a prestigious real estate company in New Orleans, Gertrude Gardner Realtors, he headed up both the residential and the commercial divisions, helping to expand the company to 22 offices throughout the city and surrounding areas. Bob opened his own Keller Williams market center in New Orleans in June 1998, which grew to 75 agents in one year. Because of his enthusiasm for the Keller Williams concept, he bought the rights to develop the Southeast Region which includes Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.