Sometimes opportunity comes knocking when you least expect it. It knocked for me near the close of 2018. The timing was right, so I took the opportunity to pass the leadership reins of Village brokerage to the next generation.
Opportunity Knocks
Evolution is the word that best describes the highly competitive and ever-changing residential real estate industry last year. We saw an influx of national and start-up real estate companies enter the marketplace. Brokerages merged. Agents jumped from one firm to another. Housing prices started to stabilize.
At Village, we celebrated two big achievements – 22 years of Village as a company and the Village Fund giving $2.2 million back to the community through grants to social profits. But, I also spent considerable time contemplating what was next, how we could make the real estate company even stronger and how I could best move the company forward while remaining true to our culture and core values.
As the Christmas holiday approached, I had a chance conversation with a local group of business partners and seasoned agents I knew who were ready to start a new real estate company. I suggested they might want to buy Village instead of starting a company from the ground up. They were open to the vision Village offered. All of them had worked at Village or its sister company, Core Development, and they share my passion for using real estate to make a positive difference in the community. Opportunity was knocking.
Swimming to a Decision
I spent the next couple of weeks thinking about the future and the energy this new group could bring to Village. Ironically, part of that time, I was on a boat in the Pacific Ocean and swimming with sharks with members of my Entrepreneurs Organization. My EO friends listened and offered sound advice as I weighed what was best for the company.
With the New Year approaching, I made my decision. Selling a majority ownership in the brokerage was the best way to keep the company local and honor our agents, staff and original shareholders. The new owners would bring passion and energy and put the company in a stronger position for the future. Village Fund will continue to help organizations doing good in our community.
What Next?
This legacy sale was an unexpected opportunity for reunion. It brought the new owners back to our Village family where most of them started their real estate careers. It frees me from the day-to-day management so I can refocus my energies on improving my one-mile radius.
As chair emeritus, I have reinvested in the brokerage and I will continue to lead the CityLiving Group sales team at Village. I will continue building community from the core by investing in Nashville’s emerging neighborhoods and creating urban magnets with Core Development.
My goal list also includes helping make Nashville a more livable and walkable city by expanding our urban greenway system and hosting Urban Land Institute’s Spring Meeting in Nashville this April. These are just a few goals topping my ever-growing list, as I remain open to the opportunities that may come knocking in 2019.
How about you? What opportunities are knocking on your door? What will you do to impact your one-mile radius this year?