Happy holidays...and welcome back to another episode of Selling the Rock! This episode is EXTRA special...
It's our 2 year anniversary in the business! It took a lot longer than two years in thought and process to build what we've got here, but we've opened our doors for business just at the end of December in 2018!
Reflecting back on the idea of a brokerage, what was important to me at the time was creating, establishing and growing something from scratch. The idea of building something that my kids could point to one day and say, "Look what Dad did"...the idea of legacy played a huge role in the behind the scenes of what I've done.
2019 was an okay year. Our sales were basically flat year over year. We had some highs...and some lows. I remember reflecting on why our team hadn't grown in size and why our sales were the same year over year. Lake City Realty wasn't growing the way I had imagined. I thought that if I built something, people would just start approaching me saying, "Dave, I'm interested in joining your brokerage." Clearly that wasn't happening. As we rounded out 2019, we really dove into creating content. This podcast, Selling the Rock really fired away!
Shortly into 2020, we found ourselves in a big global pandemic. Everything was closing around us, leaving me with the uncertainty of how we would continue to function, grow and survive. I still remember wondering if I'd be able to sell another home in 2020. The government just announced another round of Province wide shut down...sure it's going to be a little bit less in the North, but it's another two week's where nothing can go on. Rounding into 2021...we have some interesting times ahead.
2020 was also a great year for our business - we grew in sales at about 5% and we did about 165 deals this year...which is fantastic! That's an increase of almost 10% year over year. We doubled the size of our team! The idea that if I built something, 'they' would come turned into more than an idea! Lake City Realty started with myself, Mike, Tristan and my Dad! This year we've had Kelly - my sister, Jennifer Brouillette and Chad Moore join our family!
The Content...we had done some content and started this podcast in November of last year, but the contents been on fire this year! One of my goals was to hire someone focused on content development and a media expert and we were able to find the perfect fit!
Circling back, we wanted to build a real estate brand for the future - we know that consumers are looking for something different in 2030. We don't want to be the Kodaks of the world...I read the other day that Kodak developed the first digital camera 25 years before anybody else had developed one but they didn't put it out in the world because they didn't want to cannibalize their traditional sales. I think with me, I always want to push the boundaries and build the business that's going to succeed in 5, 10, 15, 25 years from now.
So that's a little bit of a summary of what's gone on behind the scenes in 2020. We survived a global pandemic - so far. I can't be more blessed for the team I have around me!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to my podcast and for the continued support from the community and from family and friends!
Til' Next Time!
