Orange County Realtor Holly McDonald on Building Wealth, Community, and Confidence Through Real Estate

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This is the Beyond the Story podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Sebastian Rusk Thanks for being here. I'm so glad we got an opportunity to finally connect here. I know, um, I was just on your show. That was awesome. So thanks for that opportunity. And now we're doing a little podcast swap a Rooney here. Um, we had the opportunity to connect to the great Dan Martell's elite coaching group, man. What I've been in it about six months. An incredible six I love it. I love it. Yeah, I had the opportunity to go out to Kelowna last year and spend some time with Dan and the team and put some online faces offline and meet some just incredible people. So really grateful for the community and So, um, I love telling people stories on this podcast and for context purposes, I always like to ask our guests to go back to the beginning of the story. Now the beginning is always different for everybody. So you decide what the beginning is for you, but Holly, take us back for a minute to the beginning of the story. Where did it all start with what brought you to present So the beginning of the story for me was that I knew that I wanted to work in the entertainment industry in some capacity.

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So I went off to Boston University and I studied communications and worked in TV production and had an opportunity my senior year to go to LA for an internship program where we were gonna intern and you don't get to learn the ropes and all of that. So I'm an... I was, I was an East Coast girl. I grew up in New Jersey and thought my days were meant for New York City, like something in that area. But once I got to LA, I did my semester and then I wasn't, hadn't quite finished scratching that itch. You know, I was like, this is a really cool place. The weather's amazing. It was a fun time, you know, early twenties. So I stayed. And then I stayed, and I stayed, and I stayed. And then I never left. So what's crazy about it is that I was working in TV production.

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And as fate would have it, I ended up working on a show called House Hunters, which is home and garden television. I worked on a lot of shows that are all based around houses and improvements and all of that. And I had always loved real estate, but just didn't know that it could really be a career path. It's not like a major at college. I ended up falling in love with what I did so much I decided to completely like transfer paths and become a real estate agent and so. I don't know. I've been doing that for the last 15 years and I, I love it. I feel like it was exactly where I'm meant to be. And then with all of the evolution of social media and being able to do a podcast and create community like online and in person, it's just been this full circle moment of living out the production lifestyle So I got into real estate during the downturn, which was actually an amazing time to get in because I was able to learn the ropes at the hardest time. I got in around 2009. that was a very interesting time to get in the market because everything was crashing. So the cool thing was that I learned the market at a time that was very abnormal and very, very slow and saddening in many ways, but it did help me develop a lot of skills, dealing with people, dealing with the market conditions, knowing that so much of the market is outside of your control, but how you look at things and how you're able to help people and bring service to them is still always gonna be at the forefront. So, I mean, obviously, the market has improved a lot since then. And when COVID hit, like, we all thought it was going to go back to what it was, and it didn't. Like, obviously, COVID, the market boomed, Good. And do you focus on the luxury market? What type of market do you focus on? I mean, Orange County Yeah. I'm in Orange County. I focus on, I'm coastal Orange County, so it is a more luxurious market, but I do help clients with Everything big and small of everything in between i really focus hard on creating community and. Showing everybody in the community like what the area has to offer because when you're somewhere you take for granted so much like you get used to going to the same grocery store the same whatever like everything all you're just in your. your little root. And so I like to highlight what else we have going on here because Costa Mesa is next to Newport Beach, is next to Huntington Beach. There's a lot going on. People don't necessarily think of it as a beach community, but it is. And there's a lot of like diversity here too. It's Yeah. East side Costa Mesa is fantastic. It really, really is. I Well, and at Westside Costa Mesa, I know, you know, back when you were living here was a lot of people weren't talking about it. But now people are because it's really come in its own developed Yeah. I saw that they're getting ready to redo Pelican again. Yes. They were blowing it up when I left. That was my favorite golf course. I swear it's my favorite golf course on the planet. I haven't been back since, but it's still on my list on there. But I love that drive. I lived in Park Newport there on. Oh, yeah. And talk about living in my own little world. My daughter went to East Bluff Elementary. My Ralphs was right there. Fashion Island was right there. But I would take I forget the road now, but to take the one the road where you go, right. Oh, you're on Jamboree. You turn off in front of Park Newport and go and it goes all the way around the coast and you make that turn. Newport Coast Drive. Yeah, there you go. And you'd make that turn. And I had a little Porsche Boxer. I put the top down was like my favorite thing to do to go like clear my head or midday break.

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Yes, it absolutely was. I gotta say, I miss Wahoos They've actually moved out of California. I mean, not moved out, but moved into, they're into Texas now too. So we're getting a little closer. So I'm hopeful.

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Yes, exactly. Exactly. I've been trying to get back. If I got to talk to a friend from Orange County, my good friend, Mark Manderson, who I met in the community as well, owns a bunch of rehab centers in Orange County. And he called me this morning and I'm like, man, I'm trying to get back out there because A, I miss Orange County and I got to reconnect with my peeps. But it's usually a gig or opportunity that brings me to San Diego or somewhere near Yeah. I mean, it's a beautiful place to live. And honestly, I loved where I grew up, but it's, it's all perspective. Once you get a taste of this, especially then once you establish roots, I mean, having my business here, having now I have kids here.

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I've got a husband here, you know, like we're kind of planted, but I'm I bet. I bet. So tell me about the podcast. When did you decide to start Yeah, so I have always loved listening to podcasts and so one day I eventually decided I have a lot of things to say and I want to be able to share more with the community so that they get to know me and I'm able to give them valuable information. So I started this about three years ago where I mostly interview businesses, although sometimes I interview individuals in the community too.

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about the different things that they offer, the different events going on, different perspectives. It allows other people to share what they think is great about the area and why we live here, and also to highlight what is happening. We just don't have a really great sense of what's happening all the time. I mean, you can go on Instagram or Facebook and see the different events, but it's not like all in one place. The podcast gives different viewpoints. It's not a sales pitch. It's not like a flyer or a marketing piece that says, this is why you have to come here. This is real people telling the real stories that Yeah, that's important. I always say people say, well, if you were a realtor or real estate professional, what would you do for the podcast? I was like, I would become the area expert, not just in real estate, but in actually here's where you get the best pizza. Here's where the best happy hour is. Did you know that a dive bar on the peninsula has one of the best Kobe burgers on the planet? Cassidy's. Um, and, you know, become that area expert for exactly what it is you do on there and let people absorb that content and see it and be like, Hey, she's got, she's, she's got to figure it out.

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Not only is she real estate professional and area specialist, but she's helping people better understand, especially if you're relocating here or heck you live here, you don't even know what's going on in your own backyard, helping you really understand the power of being able to do that. So hats off to you for, for, Yeah. I mean, I've, I've absorbed a lot of what Gary V has talked about too. And so that, you know, definitely had an influence on Yeah. Gary's the man. He's just one of the most incredible human beings. Yeah. He's just one of the most incredible, humble human beings I've ever met. People take them from, they, they get that wrong. Cause he's like over the top and, you know, and, and says fuck a lot and neither the whole mind, but that's just how he rolls, you know, and that's just how he is. But knowing him as a human is, is, uh, It's just a great opportunity. I haven't seen him in a few years. I saw him last year, actually.

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Oddly enough, he was here for a conference and did a Q&A. And I went up to do, I went up to ask a question and he was like deer in the headlights. He was like, dude, how you been? So it was kind of fun. And it was a room full of brands and agencies. So I asked, hey, where are we at with podcasting for brands and agencies? And he's like, I got great news for you. Like, here's where it's at. So it was kind of fun to be able to, you know, reconnect even just for a minute over a Q&A on there. Well, Holly, it's been so good to get to know you. I love what you're up to. We'll have to connect for a coffee when I come back out to to the OC on here. And I just want to encourage you to keep up the great work. Keep podcasting. Don't stop. You're doing a great job with it. And I believe that podcasting will radically change your life and your business if you let it. So any Yeah, well, please feel free to follow me on Instagram. I'm on there all the time.

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It's realtor Holly McDonald. I put out a ton of content there and also share the podcast. And if anybody wants any information about what they can do to prepare their home for buying or for selling over the next, you know, 2026 is going to be a big year in real estate. I'm sure that you can DM me Sebastian and try to spell that one. But I will send you a little cheat sheet I have to get ready so that you can secure a place in Love it. I will be sure to include that link in the show notes. And so it makes it easy for everyone to Until next time, friends. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story podcast. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. We sure do appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios.