The company grew to be the largest real estate agency in the Austin area within two years. In 1987, inside the residential company, Keller created a division that would later become Keller Williams Realty International, which became known as KWRI. The commercial company never took off, but Keller's residential side did. In 1983 he partnered with Joe Williams and started two companies – Keller Williams Realtors, which Keller ran, and Keller Williams Commercial, which Williams ran. He found success in Austin, selling five houses his first month and became VP within five years. When Keller moved to Austin in 1979, he worked for a company who would later become a competitor. Following graduation in 1979, Keller moved to Austin where he began his career in real estate. His senior year he was interviewed by various real estate companies who came to Baylor looking for graduates. It was at that time that he became interested in real estate and began to pursue a real estate and insurance degree program that had just started at the university. While at Baylor, Keller spent time shadowing professionals in the fields of law, accounting, banking, and real estate. After visiting the university, Keller decided to attend, following in the footsteps of his sister and father who had previously attended the university. His parents informed him that they had already applied to Baylor University in Waco, Texas where he was accepted.
Mid-summer, he came to his parents and informed them that he wanted to go to college as his music career was not working out.
The summer following his high school graduation he began to pursue a music career. Keller originally had no intention of attending college. The family moved to North Shore, outside of Houston. Both his mother and father were school teachers, until his father was promoted to be a high school administrator.