PROPERTYSPARK INTERVIEWS: TJ Pierce, Founder

TJ and his group are experts that specialize in helping mid-century enthusiasts buy and sell mid-century homes. 

 Boise & ID

Mid-Century Homes by Anthology

  boisemidcenturyhomes |  mid-centuryhomes.com

What inspired you to start in real estate and how did you motivate yourself to keep going?

I saw that people who loved mid-century architecture were being supported by realtors who didn’t understand or appreciate the architecture the way I did. I wanted to bridge that gap and support those folks to the point that we knew what they wanted better than they did. My motivation was fueled by my passion for the architecture.

Comparing your business from back then to now, what has been the main thing that allowed you to expand your business?

Creating a better foundation to support the demand through an increased workforce. When I started the company I knew that I was building something that one person would not be able to support alone. We now have 15 agents on the team that can step in when needed to best meet whatever demand we happen to be managing at any given point in time.

What’s the most profitable aspect of your business, why do you think this is and how can others apply this to what they are doing?

Representing buyers. There is low overhead to bring on new buyer clients. We are very efficient in managing buyers by setting proper expectations and helping them win through the use of our proven and successful strategies. Since we know the inventory and the specific areas so well it allows us to take less time helping buyers understand what areas might be best for them and then focusing all our energy into these specific areas.

When did you realize you were successful/made it and how did you feel/celebrate?

It took me three years to be fully convinced it was only going to keep getting better. Once I had three years’ worth of data it allowed me to settle into the idea that I had made it which then allowed me to better plan for the future and create better long-term business plans. 

Looking back, what could you have done sooner to get to that point quicker?

When I first got into the business I knew that I couldn’t work a bunch of nights and weekends or I would risk becoming too disconnected to my family. Because I was unwavering in my commitment to only work during the day and on weekdays I found myself in a financially compromised position heading into that first winter. I had to take a second job to cover the bills until spring rolled around. I wish I had flexed a little and agreed to work more weekends that first year. If I had done that I probably could have saved myself from that second job.

What should other real estate entrepreneurs reading this be focusing on to expand their own business?

Know who you are. Find something in our industry that you love doing. Build a business thats bigger that you. Quickly find a way that you can create opportunities for others… its more sustainable that way and will actually save your soul!

How has social media and online marketing affected your real estate business? How much more success have you had now after implementing social media and online marketing efforts?

Without Facebook and Instagram we wouldn’t exist! I can attribute almost 95% of our business to people finding us on social media.

How did you build your team?

My biggest benefit was that I was marketing to myself… that’s how I built my team. As a mid-century enthusiast who loves these homes built in the 50’s and 60’s, I was deep diving on all that Boise had to offer someone who loves this era of architecture. In the process of chasing all of that I shared my journey and documented what I found along the way. What I quickly realized was that I attracted others who were into the same thing and a number of them decided they wanted to be part of what we were working on and we’re interested in helping support other mid-century enthusiasts which are the clients we serve.

How did you become a good leader?

I have had three chapters in my career thus far. The first chapter I worked in an industry that taught me how to love people. In my second chapter I worked a sales job in the corporate world and picked up great sales training as well as business knowledge. I learned so much about business from those that I sold our solutions to. In this third chapter I have combined my love of architecture, sales & business, and loving people into the most amazing playground that is the work I get the pleasure of doing.

Did You Experience Failures? If So, What Did You Learn From Them?

I have had many failures. The first failure was being too determined to find success without leveraging some of the proven strategies that worked well for many others in our industry. If I had been more willing to work nights and weekends and was open to conducting more open houses in my first year of business I think I would have been able to keep myself from working a part time job to bridge the gap in my first winter. The second failure was not fully understanding the type of people I wanted on our team. I quickly learned that our core values of loving people and loving mid-century architecture were the most critical ingredients to a person succeeding on our team which allows them to relate well with our target audience.

What do you consider the main differences between those people who have been successful in your industry and those who have failed?

Not knowing what someone wants to do when they get in the business. Something has to drive a person to persist past the stick points and failure. If you don’t have anything driving you to push through those hard times you will likely fail or let something else slowly distract you away from finding success in our industry.

What’s Your Approach To Marketing?

Create content that I like and don’t make it all about real estate. That’s what all of us do on the team. It works for us because we are our own target market. The one additional variable that we have to be conscious of is a high level of quality in our content because a large portion of the people we market to are the creatives of the world. They / we like to experience beauty so we aim to offer that and continually improve in the content that we create. Instagram is our primary channel to market ourselves and that works well for us since we represent a product that is just downright gorgeous! 

Final Thoughts

Creating value is key in our line of work now more than ever before. Technology can replace you if you don’t work hard to find how you can provide something other than market facts, stats on homes, and what’s currently available for purchase. Identify areas where you can enjoy becoming an expert and lean into that. Instead of reducing your commissions because you lack value, wrestle with how you can increase your worth and change the amount of value you offer people. If you need help read David C. Bakers book entitled “The Business of Expertise”.