June 10, 2019

Building a True Team

When I set out to start VERY Real Estate, I wanted to create a brokerage with a team environment.

Sure, I think every entrepreneur says that. I mean who doesn’t want to build a team? In fact, building a team is at the core of almost every real estate brokerage model.

But, I wanted to build something different. I didn’t want to just say we had a great team environment, I wanted everyone who walked through our doors to feel that we had a great team environment from the minute they crossed our threshold.

I wanted to build a team where collaboration was key. I wanted to lead by example showing that when one person rises, we all rise. I wanted to build a team who truly like to be together and are invested in one another’s growth.

It took me years to recognize that great teams are built by rallying around great cultures. Like most business owners, I had a lot of missteps along the way when it came to building a team. Each one was a learning experience.

It wasn’t until I defined VERY’s Core Values and literally had them framed on the office wall did I start to hire the people who believed in what I believed in and wanted the things that I wanted from their peers. The standards were high and we held one another to them. We still do.

Now, one of my greatest pleasures is to hear my agents say that they love being at VERY because we all work together to solve problems, grow our businesses and help each other.

Each day, I see an example of our team collaborating and I can’t help but smile.