When I remember how and why I got into real estate back in 1994, there are several points that remain very prevalent to me. However, my success as a realtor I will attribute to God, first and foremost, but there are several persons that were so influential to my career and to my future.
One of these persons was my broker in Miami, Al Puig. Al was, by far, one of the most amazing people I have ever met. I was wet behind the ears and somehow I was successful but I was terrified.
Al was not used to having agents that were wet behind the ears as he prided himself in recruiting only seasoned agents yet he had sought me.
He kept sending me letters while I was at a different brokerage that stated simply, "Do you have the GUTS?" Yikes, that certainly tested my manhood... At the time 100% offices were not common place and the prospect of paying for an office bill monthly terrified me...DO I HAVE THE GUTS? Needless to say, I accepted his offer,eventually, but it was really not the company or what they offered that convinced me. It was Al and his beautiful wife, Janet as well as a terrific team in his office.
My wife and I had planned a broker's open house, and we later found out, that Al had created a voice blast and asked all the agents in hos office to attend as he was trying to convince us to come on over. We had approximately 45 agents attend our open house from there and even sold it from the open house! The wonderful thing was that the support continued even later.
Al and Janet were successful but not only as realtors, but as a couple, as parents and as friends. They were what I wanted to be. After an elegant and memorable dinner with them and my wife, Debra, we became realtors at their firm.
That was the beginning of so much more than just a career. Al became, even though he was not much older than me, my father figure, my role model,my mentor.
Al picked me up when I was down, he supported me when I needed support and he was my friend when I needed a friend.
In this business, where we often take things personally, having brokers like Al and Janet and team members like so many others we encountered there such as Barbara Sangetti,Lenore Kerner, Peter Dean, Anthony Askowitz,Ed and Terri Kolaska, Debra Rosmarin and the list goes on and on..... is so important. Whenever any team member needed anything, we could count on each other, there were no doubts regarding trust or honesty amongst all of us.
I know I can attribute my solid real estate skills on many people and these are only a few of them. However, I wanted to recognize Al and Janet because they certainly impacted me and my career.
Al has since passed away but not a day in my real estate career goes by where I don't think of him and Janet and what they contributed to me. I am a better person and better realtor because of him. I only wish I had been able to share with him some more before he passed away how grateful I will always be to him and Janet.
Being a team leader, a broker or for that matter, a parent, a friend and a realtor, comraderie is important. We need each other to succeed. Active Rain enables just one more venue for that comraderie to grow and I am ever grateful for that.
You may visit me at http://www.topusrealtor.com
Comments (5)Subscribe to CommentsComment