Matt Ryan is a real estate advisor with the Bozeman Real Estate Group and a third-generation real estate professional. In this episode, Matt shares what it was like to move his family back to Bozeman in his late 30s, rebuild a business from scratch, and navigate the financial and emotional weight that comes with providing for a family of five in a growing mountain town.

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Rebuilding From Scratch

After building a successful real estate practice in Minnesota, Matt and his wife made the decision to move back to Bozeman when their twins were born. The move wasn’t impulsive, it followed months of hard conversations about family, values, and the life they wanted to build. Still, starting over meant burning through savings, facing financial uncertainty, and trusting that the risk was worth it.

Matt reflects on how rebuilding didn’t feel harder than other challenges he’s faced, even when money was tight. Instead, the move felt aligned, driven by clarity around priorities rather than fear.

Money, Fear, and Stewardship

A recurring theme throughout the conversation is the mental weight money carries, even during successful seasons. Matt speaks candidly about the fear many business owners live with, the idea that last year’s success was a fluke, or that stability could disappear at any moment.

Drawing from faith and experience, he explains how reframing money as something to steward rather than control has helped shape how his family budgets, gives, and plans. Tools like Profit First and cash-flow-based systems have added structure, but the emotional work remains just as important.

Psychology, Sobriety, and Real Estate

Before real estate, Matt spent a decade working in mental health, including addiction recovery. That background deeply informs how he works with clients today. Rather than focusing purely on transactions, Matt sees real estate as one of the most emotionally charged experiences people go through, involving identity, family, security, and long-term goals.

He shares his own sobriety journey openly, including how addiction shaped his early adulthood and ultimately led him to Minnesota, where he rebuilt his life. Sobriety, he explains, gave him something simple but powerful, the ability to choose.

Asking Better Questions

Matt’s approach to real estate centers on asking better questions. Instead of selling homes based on surface-level features, he focuses on why people are moving, what problems they’re trying to solve, and how a home fits into their broader life plans.

He introduces concepts like his “sequencing triangle,” which helps clients clarify equity, financing, and timing before making big decisions. The goal isn’t urgency for urgency’s sake, it’s clarity that reduces stress and regret.

Life, Change, and Long-Term Perspective

The conversation moves well beyond real estate, touching on marriage, parenting, mentorship, and the inevitability of change. Matt reflects on how people evolve through different seasons of life, early adulthood, parenthood, career shifts, and how growth often requires letting go of old identities.

At the core, the episode is about taking thoughtful risks, asking honest questions, and building a life that aligns with who you are becoming, not just who you were supposed to be.

To learn more about Matt Ryan and his real estate work in Bozeman, you can find him here https://www.instagram.com/mattryan.bozemanrealestate/
To learn more about Mountain Mule Media and Mountain Mule Transportation, visit mountain-mule.com.