Exciting Big News and Updates from 2018... thus far
By Christian Harris | October 6th, 2018
The fact that you are still reading my newsletters means that I owe you a big thank you for being interested in hearing my unfiltered convictions and unconventional views on the real estate industry (yes the delivery has been inconsistency… we’ll do better ;-). In my past newsletters, I haven’t been shy (maybe a little too not shy) in exposing the reality of the industry, which got me fired from a brokerage for warning clients about unethical agents. I’ve also wrote about commiting to “be the change I want to see in the world” by building community giving and service into our business model, in part by donating 25% to local nonprofits. I also wrote about how all these things fueled my fire to create something more dynamic, transparent and honest when I launched my own Indie Brokerage in West Seattle at the beginning of 2017.
In the newsletter linked above, I mentioned how I started off with just myself in a small office and as soon as I added my first agent and his assistant, I quickly realized I needed space grow, so I invested in a 1,400 square foot industrial office. In the last year, we have quadrupled our agent count (up to 12 agents now), we regularly host community events in and outside our office, continue to record the Sea-Town Podcast and continue my involvement on the board of the West Seattle Chamber, so I can learn how to best serve fellow local business owners. We do what we do because we want to see our agents, clients and community flourish and thrive ❤️!
One of the things I’m most excited about is our Community Partnership Program that we launched earlier this year with WestSide Baby, where I interviewed Nancy Woodland, the executive director, on the podcast & created a video for them, telling their story a bit & highlighting the real issues they are helping tackle to provide essential baby items for low-income families. Announcing the launch of this giveback initiative at our Grand Opening got us a little press in a front page feature of the local newspaper, The WestSide Seattle (which was fun and unexpected). We also just had our first Sea-Town Monthly Mixer (Instagram post HERE) in September, which centered around the locally run non-profit, One Hundred for Haiti, where their founder and dynamic speaker, Greg Bennick joined us and educate us on the current situation in Haiti and how we can help. We had a great group of people from all different backgrounds, and unsurprisingly we had Malika and Meghan from West Seattle Vibes to come support, as always.
Additional big thanks to Alair for their artistic work on our chalk board (they do great calligraphy work and you should totally visit them in West Seattle & follow them on Instagram) and to The Nook for hosting our event, providing great drinks and helping us raise money by donating a portion of the drink proceeds from the night to One Hundred for Haiti.
The highlight of the event (other then the free first drink) was being able to hear Greg speak about his story with Haiti and what exactly fueled his fire to start his non-profit organization and having the opportunity to hand over one of those fun oversized checks from funds raised and donated by Sea-Town Real Estate. When hearing about third world countries or anything that is foreign to us, many of us have the tendency to feel that it is out of our hands or there is nothing we can really do to help. The message that was conveyed so powerfully was that any contribution, large or small, makes an impact and creates progress, hope and a sense of community. Collaborating together we can collectively make a difference!
At the mixer, it was really something special to have experienced that so many who participated were genuinely interested in giving back and curious in knowing how they could help. It showed that if you maintain your integrity and want to make a bigger impact, you can draw like minded individuals to yourself and your organization. I have seen this element in my brokerage from the agents I hire to our office culture and the type of clients that are drawn to work with us because they know that when they buy or sell a home with Sea-Town RE, they will not only get the best cutting edge experience but it will also help fund change in the community… and this is what makes it all worth while to me and keeps my hope alive that together we can make a difference and impact not just our community but also inspire and influence others in the real estate space, to also use their business as a vehicle to influence and make an impact for good.
Reply back to this email and let me know what you've have been inspired to do in your life to give back and make a difference!
Thanks for sharing in this journey with us.
Until next time, be well and be excellent to each other!