Generation Y, also called the millennials, includes more than 80 million Americans born roughly between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. It’s a resilient group, having toughed it out through Sept. 11, two U.S. wars, the housing boom, the Great Recession and spiraling college costs that left them in history-making debt.

Change of Scene

With hard work, patience and perseverance, CRS agents who relocate to rebuild their business can enjoy a new level of success.

By Regina Ludes

Linda LaFleur, CRS, didn’t plan to uproot her entire life in Sioux City, Iowa, to move to Cleveland in 2005. But when her husband — a successful illustrator — was offered an opportunity to work in a studio there, LaFleur didn’t hesitate to relocate her family and her business. It proved to be a smart career move.

But the rebuilding process came with several hurdles along the way, including time away from the business to help her son during a serious illness and seven weeks caring for her daughter after a spinal fusion surgery. “It can be tough when you don’t know the agents who could help while I was away. It wasn’t until 2008 that I could put in the hours needed to really ramp up my business,” LaFleur says.

REALTORS^® are used to helping clients relocate from one city to another, but what if they are the ones who are moving? CRSs who have successfully rebuilt their careers in a new city say the decision to uproot their entire lives and make a fresh start somewhere else takes courage and a lot of planning. But if agents are prepared to work hard and focus on the business basics, such as networking, marketing and business planning, they can enjoy the same level of productivity and success in their new location.

Planning for Success

Before launching her business in Cleveland, LaFleur took time to familiarize herself with the area.

“I would drive around the different neighborhoods and intentionally get lost so I could find my way back home,” LaFleur recalls.

She was hired at Howard Hanna as a personal assistant, which helped her learn about the local market and develop relationships with other REALTORS^® in the company. “Howard Hanna was a regional powerhouse. They have the top market share in all the communities they serve, and their reputation helped me get a foot in the door with clients,” LaFleur says.

After she got licensed in Ohio, LaFleur did everything she could to get herself known. She hosted open houses to meet buyers, took on overflow business from other agents in the office and she canvassed the neighborhoods on foot to meet local residents. LaFleur also got involved with Kiwanis and Chamber of Commerce, and joined a business networking group where she met plumbers, electricians and contractors.

After 18 months, her hard work paid off. She was so overwhelmed with business that she stopped canvassing the neighborhoods. “You have to stay the course even when things aren’t happening. Just keep networking and it will eventually work out,” LaFleur says.

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Taking a Leap of Faith

From the moment Arlene Kelly, CRS, stepped foot on Hawaii’s sandy beaches in 1995 while working for a cruise company, she dreamed of living there permanently. Several years later, she and her husband were making annual excursions to visit each island. Before one such trip, however, a cancer diagnosis prompted Kelly and her husband to take a leap of faith and move their entire lives from Philadelphia to Oahu. The couple bought a condo there in 2002, but it took two years to tie up loose ends in Philadelphia before they got settled in 2004. “We said, if it doesn’t work out, we can always move back to Philadelphia,” Kelly says.

After passing the state licensing exam in Hawaii, she joined Realty Executives Oahu on Waikiki. The office’s location on a busy street generated a lot of walk-in traffic, mostly from island visitors who wanted to buy investment properties or vacation homes, and some of those individuals became long-term clients. “Working in the hubbub of a larger city will expose you to more clients. It’s an easier approach for those who are new to the area and want to grow their business,” Kelly says.

It took a couple of years for Kelly to build name recognition through referrals, networking, postcard mailings and her volunteer work in the community. She also became involved with the Rotary, Chamber of Commerce and a Hawaii real estate investors group. Eventually, Kelly and her husband opened their own full-service brokerage in Kapolei specializing in investment and vacation properties and providing property management services. “People got to know us through our involvement with these organizations and they appreciated our own experience, as real estate investors,” says Kelly, a broker with Ola Properties.

Learning the Hawaiian culture and language was never an issue, she adds. “You have to respect and appreciate the culture and not try to change it.” But Kelly says there are a few things she still misses about her old life in Philadelphia, including the many friends she left behind “and the Philly Cheesesteaks, great Italian food and Trader Joe’s.”

Social Connections

Darci Gillespie, CRS, began her real estate career in 2004 in Crested Butte, Colorado, a small resort community of 2,500 residents. She was a top-producing agent in 2011 when she decided to move back to her hometown of Seattle for a change of pace and to be closer to her brother and his family. “Leaving a successful business and starting again from ground zero was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” recalls Gillespie, who is with Windermere Real Estate/Northwest.

Gillespie turned over her Colorado clients to several agents whom she trusted, rented a U-Haul and moved into a condo she owns in a Seattle suburb. While the housing market was still depressed in 2011, Gillespie took the time during the downturn to rebuild her network and work on her business plan. She says it took at least one year to get her business off the ground and another year after that before she generated a steady stream of business. 

To build her client base, she reconnected with old friends and colleagues, and developed new relationships through social groups like Meetup.com, which allowed her to indulge her interests and meet people at the same time. “I enjoy skiing and biking and have made many connections, and ultimately clients, through these activities,” Gillespie says. “If I don’t have to be in the office doing paperwork, I’m out meeting clients for coffee or dinner. Real estate is still a personal business, and no matter how great technology is, personal connections are still important,” she says. 

Her CRS connections were also helpful. Not long after moving back to Seattle, a CRS agent gave her a referral after finding her profile in the CRS online directory, and she says she has received at least five referrals from other CRSs since moving back to her hometown.

For agents who are considering relocating, Gillespie advises them to focus on one or two things that they do well. “It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the things you think you should do. Focus on one thing that you excel at, whether it is blogging, networking or video marketing. You can’t do everything.” Gillespie says. 

Re-Educate Yourself

After relocating to Seattle in 2009, Karen Eddinger, CRS, with RE/MAX on the Lake, has completely adjusted to her new lifestyle. After she left her hometown of St. Louis to be closer to her daughter who was starting a family, it took Eddinger nearly a year to close up her business and sell her home, learn the Seattle housing market and get licensed in the state of Washington.

Eddinger began the rebuilding process by immersing herself in real estate education, taking an average of two classes per week.

“I was used to knowing what I was doing because I had been licensed since 1973. When I moved to Seattle, I felt like a new student all over again. There were so many things I did not know, and I had to train myself,” Eddinger recalls.

She got a job as an REO buyer’s agent for a Keller Williams agency and later volunteered with the local CRS chapter as an area rep. “Being involved in professional associations helped me connect with other agents,” says Eddinger.

She also spent hours studying the city’s history, geography, neighborhoods and even the sports teams. “A real estate agent can’t look like they’re new to town. Pay attention, read local newspapers and ask a lot of questions,” Eddinger advises. Despite the challenges, she says relocating to Seattle was an incredible opportunity that reinvigorated her real estate career.

It takes courage, patience and perseverance to uproot your entire life when moving to a new city. But REALTORS^® who are willing to work hard to build their network, market themselves and implement their business plan can find success, no matter where they choose to plant roots. 

 

Regina Ludes is a freelance writer based in Chicago.

 

Learn more about how to build a new business by taking Business Planning and Marketing for the Residential Specialist (CRS 200).