REALTORS® who’ve never experienced Capitol Conference can now listen to a podcast that explains what to expect and how to make the most of the daylong event.

The 23-minute podcast features REALTOR® Brian Kwilosz, past chair of the Illinois YPN Advisory Board, talking with Chicago REALTOR® Niko Apostal and Joliet-area REALTOR® Gibby Kirby about their first time at REALTOR® Lobby Day.

Key takeaways from this quick 23-minute podcast:

• It’s important to just show up! Numbers matter at the State Capitol.
• It’s OK to be a silent observer your first time out. Enjoy the experience, watch and learn from others.
• Bring your business cards. You’re going to meet a lot of REALTORS® from all across the state.
• Check with your local association to see if it is bringing a bus. It’s a great way to travel up and back in one day, and you’ll have fun along the way.
• When was the last time you visited the State Capitol in Springfield, an eighth grade field trip? Well, it’s time to come back, this time with a mission.
• Take one day out of 365 to make a difference on potential laws that can impact your real estate business.

Download the podcast and discover how your presence at “Lobby Day” can impact legislation and your business. Twenty-three minutes will fly by! 

Transcript:

Kim Buscher: You are now tuned in to the Illinois YPN podcast where our alumni from Illinois REALTORS® Young Professionals Network or YPN, share their tips and resources for your real estate career. Our topic for this episode is the Capitol Conference experience.

Kim Buscher: Welcome everyone. I’m Kim Buscher, the Illinois REALTORS® staff liaison for our state YPN advisory board. Today I’ll be joined by three of our YPN board members who will give you the inside scoop on one of the biggest and most important events of the year for us, the Illinois REALTORS® Capitol Conference. We’re going to hear their experience at Capitol Conference and share some tips for how to navigate the day. So getting right into it. I want to introduce my cohost for this episode, Brian Kwilosz. Welcome Brian.

Brian Kwilosz: Hey Kim. Thanks for having me.

Kim Buscher: Yeah, of course. Brian is our 2019 chair of the Illinois YPN advisory board and has been involved with YPN since 2012, right Brian?

Brian Kwilosz: Yeah, that sounds about right. Doesn’t seem like it’s been that long but 2012, it’s been a run.

Kim Buscher: He also serves as president-elect of the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®. And if that isn’t enough to keep him busy, day to day he is the managing broker and owner of Exit Real Estate Partners located in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. So Brian, tell me, how many years have you been attending Capitol Conference?

Brian Kwilosz: Capitol Conference, four years for Capitol Conference. So this year on April 30th will be my fifth.

Kim Buscher: Cool. Okay. So for our listeners who have not attended before, can you tell us, like big picture, what is Capitol Conference all about?

Brian Kwilosz: Sure. Well it happens every year. We travel down to Springfield, some people would call it, you’ll hear it referred to as REALTOR® Lobby Day. So we literally have hundreds of Illinois REALTORS® flood the Capitol to show our lawmakers that the realtor voice is important and that real estate issues are important. So we’re here to advocate for our homeowners, our home ownership rights.

Kim Buscher: So would you give us a basic rundown for our listeners who have never been there before?

Brian Kwilosz: Sure. So a lot of the local associations will provide buses to go down there, but you could also drive, you could carpool with somebody, you could… some areas, I know in Chicago there’s a train that goes right into downtown Springfield, so that’s super convenient. Recently our state YPN network we’ve been doing some program the day before, so we bring in some great speakers. We do some education. We may have a little bit of a networking opportunity later in the evening. So we take the bus down, we get a briefing, a legislative briefing on the top issues. We’re all given a folder of what we’re going to be discussing with our legislators. Then we actually get on a bus and drive to the Capitol to meet with the representatives from the area. And then after the Capitol visits you have some time to walk around and do some sightseeing. But there’s also a big reception and a lot of the legislators will come to the reception, so you’ll get some one on one time with them there as well.

Kim Buscher: Yeah. Well last year we had a record of almost 700 attendees. So why should someone who has not gone before make this trip to Springfield?

Brian Kwilosz: For me, I had no idea the level of respect and importance that our legislators place upon our REALTOR® members that go down and lobby on the behalf of our homeowners. So I remember one of the earliest years that I went, I think it was the first year that I went and hearing our local legislators say, “I have literally thousands of bills that cross my desk every year. There is no way that I could dive deep into every one of them.” So the information that we bring to them is invaluable. So they really appreciate it.

Kim Buscher: So who will you be talking with today for this YPN podcast on the Capitol Conference experience?

Brian Kwilosz: Sure. So we have two great guests, friends of mine that I’ve known for years and they have really great perspective and insight on the industry and for Capitol Conference. We have Nico Apostal and Gibby Kirby joining us today. They’re both on the Illinois YPN committee with me and they’re both very involved in their local chapter networks for YPN as well. So they’re veterans of Lobby Day experience and they get a ton of information to share with you guys today.

Kim Buscher: Well let’s jump right into it, shall we?

Brian Kwilosz: Sounds good. Let’s do it.

Kim Buscher: We are pleased to introduce Gibby Kirby, who is a broker with Realty Executive Success in Shorewood, Illinois. Gibby is now five years in the business and has hit the ground running. After just two years in, Gibby was awarded the 2016 rising star award by his local association, Three Rivers Association of REALTORS®.

Brian Kwilosz: All right, well first up we have Gibby Kirby. Welcome Gibby, how’s it going today?

Gibby Kirby: Great. How are you doing?

Brian Kwilosz: I’m doing pretty good. I’m doing pretty good. So first of all, I want to say thank you for taking the time to join us on this podcast and talk about Capitol Conference with us.

Gibby Kirby: Absolutely.

Brian Kwilosz: So in addition to… you’re on the young professionals network committee on a state level with me, and you’re also involved in leadership on a local level.

Gibby Kirby: I am. I am on our board of directors at the Three Rivers Association. I’m also the chair of our local YPN.

Brian Kwilosz: Very cool. And you have taken your leadership as well but you’ve also participated in the Capitol conference that’s down in Springfield every year with Illinois REALTORS®. So how many of those have you gone to?

Gibby Kirby: I’ve been to three, so this will be my fourth year coming up.

Brian Kwilosz: Very cool. So let’s take it back a couple of years, right. So you were just getting started in real estate, right? And your first Capitol Conference… was that your first year that you were in real estate or?

Gibby Kirby: Yes.

Brian Kwilosz: Okay. So you jumped in right away off the bat. So this’ll be great because we have a lot of new members that maybe don’t know the value or the benefit of Capitol Conference, which is what we want to kind of talk about with you today. So go back to that first time and talk a little bit about how your first Capitol Conference experience was as a new REALTOR®.

Gibby Kirby: It was slightly intimidating in a way because you don’t know what to expect. You’re going in there. I was newly licensed, I think I’d had my license maybe three weeks. So there was not a whole lot of feeling of that I was that expert that knew what was going to happen. So it was a situation of just going in and just kind of knowing that I was going to almost be that silent observer in a way, not knowing exactly what was going to happen. But it was such a wonderful experience as well.

So for anyone that’s coming in there to do it for their first time, just I think knowing that there is not the expectation that you’re going to need to be the expert, you’re not going to need to be the one that’s actually speaking one on one with any of the legislators. You are there to, in some ways, can be there to observe and engage in as much as you feel comfortable doing. If this is something that is a more of your expertise, more of your cup of tea, you can go with it running or you can kind of be that person that sits back and really just gets to take in the entire experience.

Brian Kwilosz: Okay. So that’s a really good point to make, which you mentioned yourself being a silent observer the first time. But for me, I know one of the reasons I hesitated or I didn’t go early in my career was because of the factor that you mentioned. So it’s a little daunting because you don’t know. You don’t know what you don’t know, right? Especially in the political arena, it can be rather intimidating. So what would you say to those who maybe have that reticence that might feel out of their comfort zone?

Gibby Kirby: That first time, whether you’re three weeks in, whether you’re several years in to get over that hesitancy and just say, “You know what? I’m just going to attend and I’m going to try and take as much away from it as I can and obviously contribute as much as I’m capable of doing.”

Brian Kwilosz: So you’re not necessarily meeting one on one with your state legislator?

Gibby Kirby: For what we did was mostly groups. So obviously people that were constituents of that specific legislator met with them. And there’s usually someone that was more of the designated, I’d say, person that kind of led the discussion. Obviously if you had something to chime in you absolutely feel free to. But it was definitely more of the bodies were what was needed. Obviously stand tall, stand proud and have as many people there to represent us as an industry and what it is that we’re trying to get across to our legislators.

Brian Kwilosz: Okay. So essentially the most important thing for our members have to understand is to just show up.

Gibby Kirby: You just have to show up. That’s the hardest part and also in some ways the easiest part, is just being there.

Brian Kwilosz: So what would you suggest, since you’re somewhat of a veteran about those that are coming and attending, what should they bring along or should they wear their REALTOR® pin? What are the things that you would suggest?

Gibby Kirby: I’d say… your REALTOR® pin, you should wear that every opportunity you have. But business cards are definitely a major opportunity because you’re meeting with people all across the state. And these are the people that typically are pretty plugged into not just being top producers but also being very engaged with their local association, with the state, being engaged in political advocacy. So having business cards I think is a big deal. And you know what, maybe even writing on your business card before you hand them out like a little note, just saying, met at Capitol Conference. Because then if someone ever looks at your card again, they may not remember your name, may never remember your face per se, but then say, “Okay, this is where I actually met this person.”

Brian Kwilosz: And that’s a good idea. I like that. I’m going to start doing it. So I when I give you my card in Springfield this year, it’ll say Capitol Conference.

Gibby Kirby: Okay. Yeah. Because that’s the first place I’ve met you. That’s the first place.

Brian Kwilosz: So it sounds like each year you go, it’s a little bit something different, right? So you learn a little bit new, you meet some different people. But you had mentioned to me previously that you had a great conversation one year that you went. You met your representative from Joliet during Capitol Conference one year?

Gibby Kirby: Yes.

Brian Kwilosz: Tell us about that.

Gibby Kirby: We’ve obviously met with her all three of the times that I’ve been there. But every time you meet with any of the legislators it’s a really good experience and you can have a good conversation. But so often a lot of them… I mean this is a really busy time for them. They’re in session, they’re in committee. And so a lot of times you’re kind of chasing them down, trying to get 5, 10 minutes with and in between meetings. But last year it was really nice. We had our representative Natalie Manley, who represents the district up and around the Joliet area come and sit down with us. And it was great because we actually… I mean we got a room and there was probably about 10, 15 of us in the room. She came to us and sat down and she spent a good 20, 25 minutes with us. Going over all the information, all the issues that we had that were important to us.

Quite a few of them, she was already either well versed in or we didn’t have to really fully explain because she understood. We just had to say this is our position. Yep. She absolutely got it. But there’s other issues that she was very engaged and wanted additional information. She would ask questions because she was wanting to be as well informed as possible. Which I thought was really interesting and nice to see from a legislator standpoint. Because I feel like so often we can see legislators in a negative light. That they’re that political body, we don’t always… unless they’re voting in the manner in which we want them to, we don’t always necessarily agree with them. So to know that they’re human beings too and they’re making decisions on every aspect that touches our lives and they’re not always going to be an expert in that. And that is our job as real estate professionals to be that expert, to come to them and say, “This is why we feel this way on this issue. This is why we would like you to vote this way.”

Brian Kwilosz: And you hit exactly on one of main things that I learned when I went down to Capitol Conference was these legislators get thousands of bills crossing their desk every year. There’s no way that they or their staff can dive deep into them to the level that we could provide that information. So I agree 100% with you. So getting to the end here, so bottom line it for me Gibby, let’s reach out there. Tell us why it’s important to attend Capitol Conference.

Gibby Kirby: I think,   it’s definitely important to have the strength in numbers, whether or not you feel that you are that expert, you have something that’ll still contribute. Just being present obviously is a huge contribution. You’ve got a couple people coming up and speaking to a legislator, they’re obviously going to listen to you, but when you get 15, 20 people that makes an impact. And when they see that so many people are taking time out of their day to travel to Springfield to speak with them, they understand that those issues are really important and they pay more attention to that. So the strength in numbers is very important.

Brian Kwilosz: One more thing, I wanted to thank you for coming out here Gibby. You’ve brought really good perspective for me and for our listeners and those especially who’ve never attended before. So I appreciate it Gibby. Thanks again man. Have a great day.

Gibby Kirby: Thank you. Great day.

Kim Buscher: Next we have Niko Apostal joining us. Niko is the team leader of the Apostal Group at Keller Williams, Chicago, Lincoln Park where he’s also an investor/owner. He has 18 years of experience in the real estate business and has served on the Illinois YPN advisory board since 2015 and co-founded a local committee. Niko has continued to stay heavily involved in the Illinois REALTOR® community, serving on the board of directors, global business council, RPAC and as a state legislative contact.

Brian Kwilosz: All right. Now we are here with Niko Apostal. Niko, my man what’s going on?

Niko Apostal: Hi, good to be here. Thanks for having me.

Brian Kwilosz: Wouldn’t have it any other way, man. So we’re here talking about Capitol Conference. We are targeting some potential members that may not have been or maybe they’re on the fence about it.

Niko Apostal: Okay.

Brian Kwilosz: You’ve been there a couple of times.

Niko Apostal: Eight now. I think. It’s going ninth time this year.

Brian Kwilosz: So we’d call you a Capitol Conference veteran. You’ve been there-

Niko Apostal: A groupie.

Brian Kwilosz: You’ve pretty much doubled me-

Niko Apostal: Junkie.

Brian Kwilosz: Junkie. You’re a junkie on it. So I want to go back to that first time. What got you to go that first time? Do you remember?

Niko Apostal: To be honest, it was a group of the YPN board. I didn’t know that this sort of went on. I knew that it went on I just didn’t know it was open to everybody to go to. And so when some of us in the board were approached by some members of our local association board and said, “Hey, we’re going to go down. We’re going to charter a bus. Why don’t you guys join us in the bus?” We said, “Sure, why not? It’ll be fun. It’ll be like a road trip.” So we did, we all grabbed a few friends and we hopped in the bus and we went down and it was fascinating. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was really, really fascinating and really fun too.

Brian Kwilosz: Okay. Legislation and fun don’t typically go together, but I think on this trip, I’d agree with you. It certainly does.

Niko Apostal: Sure. Well, YPN makes all kinds of things fun.

Brian Kwilosz: We do, we do. So, again, going back to that very, very first visit.

Niko Apostal: Mm-hmm.

Brian Kwilosz: And even visits since then you’ve had different experiences, right? We’ve learned that each year can be different from the other and you have a little bit of a different experience. So what advice would you have for someone who is maybe attending for the first time?

Niko Apostal: For the first time I’d say don’t stress about it, don’t worry about it, don’t feel overwhelmed. It seems like a lot is going on but really… what I did my first time was I just basically followed along. I found someone who could take me under their wing to meet with one legislative official or another at any given time. And I sort of went with the flow. It was fun. I hadn’t been to the Capitol Building since I was a little kid and it was fun to be there. And you sort of just learn as you go. And the second time I was there, I was purposeful about going to see my representatives.

And they were excited to see me. They actually stepped out of those regular session to come and hear what I had to say and I felt like it was a bigger part of it. But the first time, I don’t think you need to worry about it. It’s really more important that you’re there just to show the numbers that we have. So even if you don’t feel like you’ve had an important meeting per se, the fact that you’re there in the room and you’re there with hundreds of other REALTORS® it makes this a very important impression regardless of who you’ve spoken to.

Brian Kwilosz: Okay. And it sounds like contrary to what common belief might be is when you go down to Springfield for this event, that you’re actually not alone throughout the day, right?

Niko Apostal: Oh my gosh, no. There’s plenty of staff. The Illinois REALTORS® Government Affairs staff plans an incredible day. They get you access to people. People from your local association who come along who also have done this before. But more than anything, there’s a really great coordination with a giant event that kicks everything off. Where they give us our marching orders, they give us the issues we’re going to talk about. And then they send us off in groups to go just descend upon the Capitol. And it’s really fun.

Brian Kwilosz: Very cool. And so those groups, is there a particular leader, someone that you look to, to guide you through?

Niko Apostal: Well, YPN usually puts together a few meetings of their own and sometimes those are with pretty, pretty important people. Last year we had state treasurer, Mike Frerichs. We did a session with him actually the afternoon before. So I’ve started coming down the day before because there’s a lot of great activities, a chance to interact with people outside of just the actual Lobby Day. But he was an incredible person. He’s so tall, it’s amazing. He’s also brilliant. And he showed us how local economics affects policy decisions. And he taught me how to recover $7,000 plus in unclaimed property being held by the state.

Brian Kwilosz: So wait, you went into a YPN event and made $7,000.

Niko Apostal: I did. Exactly.

Brian Kwilosz: Essentially.

Niko Apostal: Essentially, yes. I reclaimed over $7,000 just by attending a YPN event. So if that’s not an incentive right there. You can learn all kinds of great stuff at Lobby Day.

Brian Kwilosz: But you’re recently were given a position with the state and you mentioned you have legislative connections and things like that. So I believe it’s called SLC, right?

Niko Apostal: Sure.

Brian Kwilosz: So can you tell us what that stands for and how long have you been doing that?

Niko Apostal: The SLC is a State Legislative Contact. And what that means is they assign me to a local representative and I become basically the liaison from a REALTOR® for them. So when they put out information that I should be bringing to them, I’ll just go and I’ll email him and drop by his office and then likewise, if he has any questions, I let them know that I’m there to answer his questions. If there’s some policy issue or something housing related that he needs help with, I’m here for him no matter what.

Brian Kwilosz: Okay. And then you communicate with the REALTOR® members as well. So you’re a resource for us in that area?

Niko Apostal: Exactly.

Brian Kwilosz: Okay. Very cool.

Niko Apostal: From my little corner of the town there I’m the go to contact from the REALTOR® side of things as well as from legislative side of things.

Brian Kwilosz: That’s great. That sounds like a lot of fun.

Niko Apostal: This is my third year doing it now, so…

Brian Kwilosz: So driven down, carpool, taking the train. I know some associations, they schedule buses to go down the day of, possibly, the day before. Have you taken the bus?

Niko Apostal: For sure. Yeah. I mean, the first five, six years I went down, it was always on the bus day of. You get up really early. Our association plans anywhere from one to three buses on a given year, depending on whether there’s a lot of people who are planning to attend. And it just comes out early in the morning and then we get on the bus and head back in the evening. It’s a long day, but it’s a really valuable day. And I actually really enjoy the bus ride as well because you’re on the bus with other people who care enough about the industry and about housing and who are in different corners of the city doing different things. And it’s fun to learn from one another. And that’s a good extended period of time to be all sitting next to one another on a bus.

Brian Kwilosz: So Niko, bottom line it for me, man. What would you say… why is it important for someone to attend this conference?

Niko Apostal: Well, for one thing, again, numbers matter. It’s so important that we have a huge presence down there even if it’s just one day of the year. That just being there, even if you don’t talk to anyone, it makes a huge impact and it’s felt all across the Capitol. Also I feel like making this trip is definitely a worthwhile use of just one day of the year. I always walk away feeling informed, motivated, like an active participant in our government and with great new industry contacts around the state each time. So you don’t want to let policy get crafted to affect your livelihood without you having a say.

Brian Kwilosz: All right, I’m in. You got me.

Niko Apostal: Nice.

Brian Kwilosz: I’m going.

Niko Apostal: All right.

Brian Kwilosz: It’s one day out of 365, let’s get out there and make it work, right? So, hey man, I really appreciate you being here Niko.

Niko Apostal: Anytime.

Brian Kwilosz: This was great info. I learned something, I hope our listeners learned something and looking forward to seeing you down in Springfield.

Niko Apostal: Fantastic see you there.

Brian Kwilosz: All right, thanks man.

Niko Apostal: Bye.

Kim Buscher: We went to give a big thank you to Gibby and Niko for joining us and taking some time out of their busy schedules to share some really great insights on how to conquer Lobby Day.

Brian Kwilosz: Kim, can you share with everybody listening how they go about registering and is there a cost or any other details that they should know?

Kim Buscher: Yeah, absolutely. So registration is open, and I don’t think we mentioned this yet, but the most important detail, Capitol Conference is free for all Illinois REALTOR® members. And you can register by going to www.illinoisREALTORS®.org/capitolconference. And also be sure to check with your local association about coming down on a bus with them, like Brian mentioned earlier.

Brian Kwilosz: You had me a free. If it’s free, it’s for me. And great advice about checking with your local association too. I mean, our association has been very helpful to answer any question about Capitol Conference and we’re very active in putting out education to get more, more people to attend.

Kim Buscher: You can connect with us on Facebook at Illinois YPN, and you can find YPN online at www.illinoisREALTORS®.org/YPN. And before we wrap this up, Brian, I want to just thank you so much for joining me today on the Illinois YPN podcast.

Brian Kwilosz: Oh, absolutely. This is a lot of fun. Thanks for having me.

Kim Buscher: Yes. With that, it’s a wrap. Thank you for tuning in to our Illinois YPN podcast.