What do you do when the rug is pulled out from you without notice and you lose your job? It’s a story we heard frequently during the economic crisis. If you were Lynnea Miller you would dig deep and go all in to build your own business.
Makes sense until you realize her field is real estate, one of the hardest hit industries. But that is exactly what Miller did a year ago and built the real estate office, Bend Premier Real Estate. In the first year the office did $40 million in sales. She began with 12 brokers and currently has 29 brokers. Year-to-date the office sold over $8 million in the housing and farming markets. Miller just celebrated her company’s one year anniversary and she shares her insights into the business and the differences in her business model that she says contribute to her success.
CBN: Weren’t you scared when you lost your position over night?
Lynnea: Yes, my income was supporting our family and we have three kids. With the encouragement of other brokers and my husband I started working on the business the afternoon I was fired.
CBN: How did you get the financing for opening the office?
Lynnea: The irony was that the day I lost my job was the day I had planned on listing a house my husband had built. My husband is Brad Miller of Brad Miller Construction and had been a builder of homes in Broken Top. Then the banks dried up the local economy by pulling all the lines of credit. We scraped barely just enough money to build a small spec entry level home on a piece of land that we had bought in foreclosure.
CBN: So you didn’t have desire prior to being fired to being an entrepreneur with your own real estate agency?
Lynnea: No, I’m not the entrepreneur in the family that’s my husband. I wasn’t an active selling broker in the market. I managed the last agency I was with. I like making things work. I didn’t have a company name or anything so I had to put together a temporary agency under my name which took me two days, then listed the property and the next day I had a full cash offer. Once we had the property sold we started looking for a location, building a website and developing the business. Within the next 30 days we had it all moving forward. Brad designed the space and we use every inch of it.
CBN: It looks beautiful but it looks different than other real estate offices I’ve been in.
Lynnea: We created a different business model to the traditional real estate office. Most have a closed door offices that contain multiple brokers. Due to the property requirements such as the sprinkler system the space required it to be open. I wasn’t sure the core brokers who had encouraged me to do this would be okay with the lack of closing doors and individual offices. I inquired with them first and even those who had been in traditional offices 20 and 30 years were completely open to it. In fact they like it because it created a sense of family. As a result of this open look and feel I’m had to be careful that the people I bring on are a good fit. The location has been wonderful as well. Being downtown with all the events helps us with what we call “drag ins” (laughing). A “drag in” are people who are looking at the advertisements on the sidewalk who may be encouraged to come in and work with us.
CBN: What other changes did you implement?
Lynnea: With the change in technology we have half our brokers being virtual brokers working from their home. The smart phones and internet no longer require you to be at the office, you can be anywhere in the world even signing electronically. I had a broker recently in Belize on vacation who continued working business deals remotely. For a traditional office the most expensive thing is the lease. If I had a traditional office I would need three times the space I have currently. As a result I give the brokers better splits.
CBN: What is a split?
Lynnea: The division of commission between the office and the broker. I have heard of splits in this market as poor as 50/50. That means half going to the office and half to the broker. I have a rolling system of increasing splits as per the increase in their gross. My split is 70 percent to the broker and 30 percent to the brokerage, my office. My minimum split for a virtual agent it 75/25. I don’t have to provide them with a desk or a phone and my costs are less. Another thing I do differently is I’m not a competing broker in the office. I don’t sell or list properties other than for my family. In my opinion if you are a good owner your success is defined by your brokers’ success. Most offices have the owner/broker competing with other brokers in the business. They see the leads first and take for themselves the best.
CBN: That sounds appealing. Do you find this allows you to attract the best brokers in the market?
Lynnea: I have great people, great people. I have had numerous people approach me that I have not chosen to bring on board. They have to have the right fit with my organization. My company is defined by three things; Experience, Integrity and Results. I can’t have the team spirit broken with people stealing clients. Realtors are obliged to a “code of ethics” from the National Association of Realtors. We always operate within those parameters. It’s basically the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We try to embrace that. This is for the culture of the company as well as the client experience.
CBN: Would you encourage someone to get into the business at this time?
Lynnea: I think there are opportunities especially if you have a sphere of influence in the community. If you are involved in the community on many levels and have the passion and desire to do something as an independent contractor you can build your own business. It’s the drive that people have that will make a difference. In the past market it didn’t require that sphere of influence. Those people who didn’t groom a sphere of influence are no longer in the business. You have to understand you get paid completely from commissions and even if you have a quick listing there is time as in months that you may not have income.
CBN: Do most work real estate exclusively?
Most do but we have a few who work other jobs waiting table or tend bar expanding their sphere of influence.
CBN: What is your opinion of the current real estate market?
Lynnea: It’s a great time to be a buyer but you have to be prepared in short sales and REOs. You have to be patient and be willing to wait. The sale is contingent on the bank approving.
Miller is an example of a woman who had to redefine herself in this crazy economy and create her own opportunity. She never desired to be the business owner but she certainly is doing it with grace. She’s a great example of how to reconsider your realities and reinvent yourself using your strengths, grit and determination. There are plenty of businesses booming in Bend, yours can be as well.
Bend Premier Real Estate is located at 550 NW Franklin Avenue Suite 108, Bend, 541-323-2779.
Elizabeth Ueland, International Sourcing Agent, eueland@gmail.com.
