Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Canby.
Hi Travis, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey into real estate began in Los Angeles with just $3.01 in my bank account, no industry connections, and absolutely no experience. My wife, Judy, and I started from the ground up. we door knocked on over 26,000 doors my first year, determined to build something extraordinary. Door knocking was the only free form of marketing and our only option to create awareness. We struck gold after roughly 14,000 knocks of No’s before landing a seller who gave us a chance to sell his home. I remember when I door knocked him, he answered and said, ‘Yes, you can be my Realtor but my mom drowned in the pool, my wife is dying in the backroom and the house is considered a hoarder house…..do you still want to sell it?’ We were so hungry for success, I couldn’t have said YES! and faster. We never stopped knocking and we became a force.
That persistence eventually led to representing celebrities, prominent business leaders, and global brands, selling eight-figure estates, breaking neighborhood sales records, and establishing The Canby Group as one of Beverly Hills’ leading real estate teams.
After building our reputation in Los Angeles, we expanded into Nashville and have boots on the ground in Georgia, bringing the same level of luxury service, marketing expertise, and relentless work ethic to Middle Tennessee.
Today, Judy and I are proud to serve clients on both coasts while raising our son, Crosby, in Franklin. My journey has taught me that success isn’t about where you start. It’s about how hard you’re willing to work, how consistently you show up, and refusing to quit when things get difficult.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing about my journey has been smooth, and frankly, I wouldn’t change that. I started with no money, no connections, and no guarantees. I faced rejection thousands of times, knocked on doors until my feet literally bled, and experienced plenty of moments when walking away would’ve been easier than pushing forward. For a moment there, Judy and I lived in and out of car and hotels, juggling night time gigs just to put food on the table. We were on fire but we were alive! We journaled daily (still do), leaned into our faith with God and worked on manifesting but most of all, carried one another when the other was falling apart. It’s not easy fighting through the rejection, it takes a toll on you mentally but as we always say, ‘your why has to be bigger than your excuses’. If you can find a powerful why, you will find a route to success.
One of the biggest challenges was breaking into the ultra-competitive Los Angeles luxury real estate market, where relationships, reputation, and experience are everything. I had to earn every opportunity and prove myself long before anyone knew my name.
Expanding into Nashville presented a new challenge: establishing ourselves in a market where we were essentially starting over.
What I’ve learned is that adversity isn’t something you avoid. It’s something you embrace. The struggles taught me discipline, resilience, humility, and the importance of treating people right. Success is rarely a straight line, and the setbacks often become the most valuable parts of the journey.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My wife, Judy, is the co-owner of The Canby Group, and together we’ve built a luxury real estate business serving Los Angeles, Nashville, and Franklin and now Georgia. We specialize in helping service all price points, creative marketing, strategic negotiations, and delivering an exceptional experience for every client.
Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of representing celebrities, prominent business leaders, and global brands, selling eight-figure estates and setting neighborhood sales records. But what truly sets us apart isn’t just our accomplishments. It’s the journey that got us here.
We built our business from absolutely nothing. The struggles, rejection, sacrifices, and painful lessons along the way created the discipline, resilience, and determination we carry into our work every single day. Those experiences taught us to never take an opportunity for granted, to outwork the competition, and to always put our clients first.
We’ve also developed a tremendous passion for Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood, where we’ve been selling a significant number of homes. We absolutely love the historic charm, beautiful architecture, walkability, incredible restaurants, and vibrant sense of community. There’s something special about a neighborhood that blends so much history and character with the energy of a growing city. We genuinely believe Germantown is one of Nashville’s most exciting places to live.
On a personal level, I’m finding tremendous joy in writing my first e-book, which I plan to complete by the end of December. It’s a real estate playbook built around the lessons, mistakes, struggles, and strategies that helped take me from $3.01 in my bank account to selling multimillion-dollar estates. My hope is to give aspiring agents the practical, unfiltered advice I wish someone had given me when I started.
Perhaps the most meaningful part of our journey is what we now get to pass down to our son, Crosby. Every difficult season has given Judy and me something invaluable to teach him. We want him to understand that nothing worthwhile in life comes easily, that character is built through adversity, and that discipline, integrity, hard work, and faith will take him further than any shortcut ever could.
I’ve also learned that life becomes infinitely more rewarding when you’ve had to fight for the things you once only dreamed about. There’s something incredibly fulfilling about waking up every day, enduring the discomfort, scratching and clawing your way through the setbacks, and refusing to give up until those dreams finally become your reality. The pain makes the accomplishment that much sweeter. When you’ve experienced the struggle firsthand, you develop a level of gratitude and appreciation for life that success alone could never teach you.
What I’m most proud of isn’t the homes we’ve sold or the records we’ve broken. It’s that Judy and I have turned our struggles into a meaningful life, a business we’re proud of, and a foundation of lessons we can pass on to our son.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My advice is simple: surround yourself with people who have already accomplished what you’re trying to achieve. Be curious, ask questions, listen more than you speak, and never let your ego get in the way of learning. Someone once said to me, Your Ego is not your Amigo’, I never forgot that.
But here’s something I’ve learned over the years: don’t expect successful people to hand you their time or knowledge. Earn it. Show initiative, demonstrate your work ethic, and bring something of value to the relationship. The best mentorships are built on mutual respect, not just asking someone for favors.
When it comes to networking, I’ve always believed that genuine relationships outperform business cards and social media connections. Some of our greatest opportunities have come from simply showing up, starting conversations, following through (the most important), and treating people well, regardless of their status or net worth.
And don’t overlook the value of rejection. I(we) knocked on over 26,000 doors my first year in real estate. That experience taught me more about human connection, discipline, communication, and perseverance than any classroom/mentor ever could.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thecanbygroup.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/traviscanby
