Today we’d like to introduce you to Russell Strong.
Hi Russell, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m Russell Strong, and my story starts in Richland Hills, Texas…a small town of about 8,000 people that a lot of folks drive past without even noticing. People confuse it with North Richland Hills all the time, and I always laugh and correct them: “No, not North Richland Hills… Richland Hills.” It’s blue-collar, humble, and it’s home — and it shaped everything about me. I grew up around hard-working people. My mom worked in education and food service, and my dad worked construction. They weren’t handing me some roadmap to a big career — but they showed me something more valuable: grit, work ethic, and the idea that you earn what you want in life.
One thing that really defined me early on is this: nobody in my family went to college. I wasn’t raised in a bad environment at all — I had a great childhood — but college wasn’t a normal expectation in our world. Still, I wanted more. And honestly, I wanted to prove something — to myself and to the people who wrote me off and assumed I’d always be “just another blue-collar worker.” I decided I was going to get a degree, even if I had to drag myself across the finish line.
The truth is, I didn’t have the money for school, and my family couldn’t pay for it either. We just didn’t have it. So I worked my way through. I worked nights at FedEx Freight, overnight shifts and went to school during the day. I started at TCC and eventually transferred to Tarleton State University. Some semesters I took 15 hours because I wanted to hurry up and reach my goal. It was exhausting, but I was locked in. When I earned my business degree, the feeling was hard to describe. It was accomplishment on a level I’d never felt. It lit a fire in me. It proved to me that I could do something hard — that I could do what I set my mind to…and that where I came from didn’t get to decide where I ended up. I became the first-generation college graduate in my family, and that will always mean something to me.
After graduation, I tried to follow the “normal” path, the one that sounds responsible on paper. I took a sales job with a large company in Fort Worth and quickly realized selling for a big company wasn’t for me. Then I landed a corporate role downtown as a property tax analyst at GM Financial. I’ll be honest: I felt lost. I was good at interviews — I’ve always been able to connect with people — but the day-to-day work and culture didn’t fit me. It took a toll mentally, and I remember feeling like I was living someone else’s life. Eventually, I hit a breaking point. One Friday, I walked into work early and I just *knew* — this was my last day. I emailed HR, dropped my badge, and left. No big plan. No safety net. Just faith and a belief that if I worked hard enough, I could build something better. Real estate wasn’t something I grew up around. Nobody I knew did it. I didn’t have an uncle in the business or a mentor handing me leads. But one night at dinner, my fiancé — my now wife — looked at me and said, “You have a great personality and you can make friends with anyone. You should do real estate.” A few weeks later, my dad said almost the exact same thing: “You should be a REALTOR®. I think you have the personality for it.” Looking back, those weren’t random comments — those were signs.
So I went all in, and I built my business from nothing. I worked every single day that first year …no shortcuts, no magic trick, just consistency, relationships, and doing right by people. Over time, that became The Strong Team, and it’s grown beyond what I could’ve imagined. Heck, the first year of my business I only sold 3 homes..That was very hard. The toughest year of my life for sure because I quit a safe corporate job with great benefits and a solid income to chase being a business owner..something my dad has been his whole life..so I knew what it was like being your own boss and I wanted that. But more importantly, it grew my faith in ways I never thought. Nobody came to save me or help my in my business. But, I prayed and drew closer to God and thats what pushed me through that first year. The next year, which was 2020…I sold 5X that amount of homes. So once that year was done, I knew I could do this.
I’m proud of the awards and recognition, but not for the ego of it — I’m proud because I know what it represents. It represents the grind. The late nights. The faith. The decision to bet on myself when nothing was guaranteed. Today, what drives me is simple: my family. My wife (a teacher and one of the strongest people I know) and our kids. When business gets hard, and it does.. I think about them. I’m building for freedom and for legacy.
To me, success is being able to wake up on a random Tuesday and spend the whole day with your family if you want and not being tied down, not living life on someone else’s schedule. And my mission in real estate is to help good people have a great experience buying or selling a home, with real guidance and real data, not fear-based headlines or social media noise. It’s not just a transaction. It’s where families grow, memories are made, and lives happen. I’m proud of where I come from, and I’m even prouder that I had to work for everything I have. I didn’t start with connections. I didn’t start with money. I started with work ethic, faith, and a decision: I wanted more and I was willing to go get it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
So I went all in, and I built my business from nothing. I worked every single day that first year …no shortcuts, no magic trick, just consistency, relationships, and doing right by people. Over time, that became The Strong Team, and it’s grown beyond what I could’ve imagined. Heck, the first year of my business I only sold 3 homes..That was very hard. The toughest year of my life for sure because I quit a safe corporate job with great benefits and a solid income to chase being a business owner..something my dad has been his whole life..so I knew what it was like being your own boss and I wanted that. But more importantly, it grew my faith in ways I never thought. Nobody came to save me or help my in my business. But, I prayed and drew closer to God and thats what pushed me through that first year. The next year, which was 2020…I sold 5X that amount of homes. So once that year was done, I knew I could do this.
These were the struggles. Early on not having a broker give you business, because they dont and if they do, they take a lot of that money. It was the daily grind of building the business..building your brand and letting people know what you do. Earning peoples trust. The early days were very hard but now so worth it.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a REALTOR and owner of The Strong Team. I sell everything that has to do with residential real estate. Whether that be single family homes, high rise condos in downtown, 3 story townhomes in the suburbs, or raw land…even big ranch properties out west. I do it all. I never say no to an opportunity. This is what has grown my business the most. Most agents focus on one area of real estate, maybe selling regular single family homes, or only being listing agents and not working with buyers. I do it all. There isn’t anything in residential real estate that I havent sold. What sets me apart I think is communication and empathy. You’d be surprised how many people come to me from other agents just because the former agent or broker didn’t communicate well…whether that be about getting them pre approved or more importantly, when under contract, no communicating during that. So that has been a big focus for me because when you over communicate with people during a real estate deal or during the entire process, start to finish, they dont feel as stressed, they enjoy the home buying or selling experience and thats what it should be about. Your BUYING A HOUSE, THAT SHOULD BE FUN! Not one of the worst experience of your life, which Ive ran into those people and feel bad for them. Empathy because Ive ran into many sellers who need to sell, not want too, but need to due to life situations and things like that and I take those deals to heart because your not selling someones car, your selling their home. This is where they live, where they have family and friends over…so you have to treat it with a level of care that most agents dont do. One of the things Im proud of is my social media. Im not a huge social media star or anything but thats where my business comes from. Word of mouth and people sharing my things through social. I dont door knock, I dont cold call..I dont farm neighborhoods…It’s strictly word of mouth and social media.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is my wife and 2 kids. When they are happy..Life is good. Nothing compares to that. I also get happiness from my business. Knowing I have my own real estate business and that affords me that life where I can take a day from work and spend with my family at the zoo or doing anything else. Lastly, being at the beach with my family is one of the greatest joys of life. We love the beach and when we are all there together, it’s an amazing time.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestrongagent
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestrongagent
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russellstrong21
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@thestrongagent
Image Credits
DayDream Photography
