Meet Debra Trappen
Debra Trappen is Undisruptable
“Undisruptable to me is someone and something that will not be denied their purpose on this planet.”
Debra Trappen is a moxie-filled maven that is hard to miss. Her fiery red hair sends a clear statement that she is meant for more. She is committed to shining light on women’s empowerment issues and wants more women to step into real estate leadership roles. She wants more for black and brown leaders and is committed to lifting them up and learning how to be the best possible ally.
“If you’re curious and you want to learn about what being undisruptable is, you probably are the ones who slow down to listen. The ones who slow down to learn and improve, to decide and define a life that you’re confident to live out loud, on purpose and on your own terms. That’s undisruptable. Go for it.”
Above all, she is a master community builder and thrives at connecting diverse groups of people together to find shared value and alignment. She embodies the future of business and how we can all be better together. This is what makes her undisruptable.
Read more from our conversation here:
Debra Trappen: Oh my goodness. Okay. Wow. So my name is Debra Trappen and I am the CEO and head of Moxie at my own company. Right now you can find me at debratrappen.com. I’m doing all sorts of things. Wonderful things, wonderful collaborations with wonderful friends and building lioness prides across the globe. Writing a new book, working on Woman Up, helping inspire more women to step into leadership across the board in real estate. So many things. Wife to the most amazing husband, two dogs. Life is good. Friend to many.
Molly McKinley: That’s amazing. So tell me what does undisruptable mean to you?
Debra Trappen: Undisruptable to me is someone and something that will not be denied what their purpose on this planet is, no matter what is being said or what is being thrown, period.
Molly McKinley: That’s amazing. What are some of the things, or tell me a story that doesn’t get told. Everybody else is talking about fear-mongering and we’re talking about those moments where agents are serving and human touch and all of those things. So do you have a story or a moment where you felt undisruptable or where you’ve seen an agent or broker be undisruptable? Share that story.
Debra Trappen: Yes, I’ve seen undisruptability across the industry, really. But to tell you a personal story, so I left brokerage in 2012 to start my own company and I wanted to focus on serving women. I’ll tell you, it was crazy how people just wanted to squash that idea. One of my passions as a coach, as a mentor, as a friend, as a guide to the folks in my world is, have a niche. Know what your purpose is, really understand what your core values are and when you’ve got those together, you know what makes you successful. It doesn’t matter what anyone else. When I went through that process for myself in my own practice, I realized this is where I’m meant to be in this season. So it really didn’t matter when people were telling me, well, you’re going to cut out 50% of the population. I said, niche doesn’t mean only, it means ideal. Anyone can come along for the wild sass, moxie and fire ride if they want.
Molly McKinley: Beautiful. How important is your reputation in this business?
Debra Trappen: Wow. This one kind of makes me sad a little bit because I think people underestimate their reputation. I think that it is one of the biggest things that we can actually control that creates undisruptability and that makes us undisruptable when we are true to who we are, when we’re true to our word, when we do what we say and say what we do, we create a connection with humans around us and they can trust us. They can believe in us and no matter what your niche is or what your purpose is, you can fulfill it because people believe you and they trust what you say.
Molly McKinley: That’s awesome. How does that play into reviews? Do you have a point of view about online reviews?
Debra Trappen: I love reading reviews. I’m not so great at collecting reviews for myself. I try, but I’m not so great at that. I think what’s beautiful about giving a review is that you actually can share with someone and bless them and remind them that the things that they do matter and in their service, in the experience they create, in seeing me as a human and connecting with me on a human level, I think that’s what I look forward reviews. And I think mainly because that’s what I give in reviews. That’s why I think it’s important that we get all sorts of reviews from all sorts of people because at the end of the day, not every review matters to me. I don’t read everyone and think, Oh, I want that experience. But there’s usually one or two in the stream that I’m like, Oh, like I want that waiter, I want that service provider because the experience they created was one for me.
Debra Trappen: A review for me is really being able to bless someone and remind them of what they’ve created, the experience they designed for me was so beautiful that I have to say something. The experience that they provide for me is custom to me and I can feel it. It’s not that hard to do. It’s words that they can use. I use blessed, not lucky. So when they really connect with me on that level, when that speaks to them and they’re speaking to me, leaving a review or reading a review is so, it’s special. It’s special.
Molly McKinley: Beautiful. If you were speaking to an agent, what do you have to say to them about all the fear and all the noise going on right now?
Debra Trappen: What do I have to say about the fear and the noise? I love talking about switching our fear of missing out, our fear of not participating in an event or taking the latest technology and infusing it into what we’re doing. Flip that into the joy of missing out on things. There is so much peace in making a decision with where you’re going to go, who your ideal client is, how you’re going to run your business and the experience you’re going to create, that there will be more than enough business that comes your way that you can release that fear. You can flip the fear into a joy and have more margin for what matters in your life. If you can focus on that, then the fear just slips away.
Molly McKinley: That’s awesome. What are your parting words? What do you want to share too about this whole idea of being undisruptable? What comes to your heart?
Debra Trappen: Yes. I would say to those of you who are taking the time to participate and learn and listen to these messages, you’re on the right path. If you’re curious and you want to learn about what being undisruptable is, you probably are the ones who slow down to listen. The ones who slow down to learn and improve, to decide and define a life that you’re confident to live out loud, on purpose and on your own terms. That’s undisruptable. Go for it.
About RateMyAgent
RateMyAgent is an Australia-based review platform now expanding rapidly in the United States. In Australia, RateMyAgent is used by agents who sell 80% of property across Australia and get reviews for 1 in 3 homes sold nationally. RateMyAgent launched in the United States in 2018 and has partnerships with MLS’s from Florida to California, including CRMLS, the countries largest MLS. They are the first review platform to be included and endorsed by the National Association of Realtors® 2019 NAR’s REACH Accelerator Program. RateMyAgent is listed on the Australian stock exchange. More information about RateMyAgent can be found at www.ratemyagent.com
