Ok... yes, I went there. But not the way you would think.
In the beginning... I began my carreer as a mortgage broker in Palm Beach County, Florida. I worked for a company where it was run by men. The president, the vice president, and 99% of the managers were men. I was trained how to be a business man and how to get the business. Almost all of these business men where New Yorkers. And, their way of business was in your face business, no time for small chat. This is how it is and this is how it is going to be. (Side note... Being a South Floridian, I did not care to much for this approach. We tend to be a little more laid back and want to know who we deal with. This is probably why they did to me what they did... tell you in a minute). I felt like I was swimming with the sharks.
In the middle... So what did they do to me? They promoted to manager of the Orlando, FL office. I increased their sales to out preform the Palm Beach office. They knew I was holding off on buying a house until I knew the future of the position (Average life of a manager at the Orlando office was 3 months). After 3 successful months, they said buy your house. So I did just that. My wife and I bought a cozy little brink house on the Ocala forrest. The city boy moved to the country... "Greenacres is the place for me." Well, we moved away from our family and friends and all that we knew. Not even 30 days after the closing, I get a call from New York. "We have decided to close the Orlando office." You have got to be &!#$* kidding me. What am I going to do? By this time, my wife was 2 months pregant, we had two horses, and a plethra of other 4 legged animals. I went from making 6 figures to nothing.
In the end... well, here I am. I have opened my company and have actually reconnected with several of my previous co-workers to have them work with me again (yes, with me and not for me. They all have a say). And we get to run the company the way we want to (the way where the client is king), not the New York way (where cash is king). But, I am no longer in the city. I have found that in the country everybody knows your business (personal, at least.) Things are done very different here. It is good old boy territory. So, how does one break? Well, I looked to the local Chamber of Commerce, first. I figured since it is still a grassroot community, if I got involved with the community I could get the business. I was partially correct.
The business woman's world... The same week I joined the chamber, another company joined. JUST US WOMEN OF LAKE COUNTY. Business women promoting other business women within the county. I just had to ask. Yes... I am allowed to join this group. Well, wouldn't you know it! I have received more business by networking with local business women, then with the men. Of course, I do have an advantage. They call me, Mr. Mom. The other nice part about the network, I get to know the rest of the community and they get to know me as a person. I am no longer the BIG CITY BUSINESS MAN in the Country, but rather the LOCAL MORTGAGE BROKER for the local business woman and her family. If it wasn't for this group of business women, I would probably have to drive over an hour to get a job in the O-Town.
PS. Thank you to all those of you who educated me on how to blog on this site. Make it a little more social, but still informative. I hope that this helps you all know a little more about me.
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