A big move
This week marks a move for me – professionally and profoundly personally.
I’m moving to a new company – joining forces with other like-minded (but not too like-minded) Realtors in my market. Following the lead of the perennially-referred-to Kris Berg and Jay Thompson, yet with a twist, I made the decision to leave Century 21 and be part of a new independent firm.
It’s exciting and daunting. Leaving a comfortable situation where I have enjoyed healthy success for a different, somewhat unknown, adventure is equal parts stupid, bold and intimidating.
The trend away from the “big brands” – at least in the social media/blogging space – has been building steam for the past several years.
With this in mind, I have asked the last four or five buyers I have met if they knew the name of my company. One guessed Coldwell Banker, the other four had no idea. And that’s the point.
Fast Company said earlier this year in an article titled The Brand is You:
… being CEO of Me Inc. requires you to act selfishly — to grow yourself, to promote yourself, to get the market to reward yourself. Of course, the other side of the selfish coin is that any company you work for ought to applaud every single one of the efforts you make to develop yourself. After all, everything you do to grow Me Inc. is gravy for them: the projects you lead, the networks you develop, the customers you delight, the braggables you create generate credit for the firm. As long as you’re learning, growing, building relationships, and delivering great results, it’s good for you and it’s great for the company.
…
No matter what you’re doing today, there are four things you’ve got to measure yourself against. First, you’ve got to be a great teammate and a supportive colleague. Second, you’ve got to be an exceptional expert at something that has real value. Third, you’ve got to be a broad-gauged visionary — a leader, a teacher, a farsighted “imagineer.” Fourth, you’ve got to be a businessperson — you’ve got to be obsessed with pragmatic outcomes.
So – it’s time. Onward and upward.
This new opportunity gives us the opportunity to help define an agenda based on our company’s standards –
– No (single-agent) Dual Agency – this is Part 1 of my as-yet-undefined master plan – If we can get the buyers in our community asking other agents to defend Single Agent Dual Agency, then maybe, just maybe we’ll make progress eradicating this vestige of sub-agency.
– No agent with less than three years’ experience
– Must be Brokers within six months of coming onboard
– A focus on technology without losing focus of the fact that people buy houses.
Finally, a tweet from a fellow Charlottesville resident and entrepreneurial business owner –
“The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow.” — Rupert Murdoch
I’m curious though – who else is taking a similar leap right now?
* I almost selected this photo for the heading.
