2.5 years ago I met with a team from a small brokerage based out of New York. They were relatively unknown on the West Coast, but starting to make waves within the industry. I was 3 years into the business, had great mentors, and a great partnership with Berkshire Hathaway.
But this meeting was different. This group named Compass spoke about being a large company, with a small feel. High tech and high touch. They laid out a clear vision to an agent centric culture, which would empower the largest group of entrepreneurs in the country, and give them a bigger piece of the pie.
They wanted us to leave our comfort zone, a large, bright corner office in exchange for a closet sized office in a small space they had just built out in La Jolla. Even though they only had 250 agents in San Diego and a small staff, they asked us to buy into a picture that has been painted before; but promised the independent, supportive environment small business owners crave. And I believed it! They empowered most everyone in the building to be their best. Fast forward to this morning, as I watched the Compass founders ring the bell on the New York Stock Exchange, I got chills. Even though my impact has been a speck of sand on a big beach, I felt a sense of accomplishment that you can usually only feel when you buy into something much bigger than yourself, as in team sports. A belief that anything is possible if you have a common goal. When I put on my Compass T- Shirt this morning before the ringing of the bell, I felt like I was proudly putting on my teams jersey before the championship game. Win or lose, I knew I am on the right team guided by inspirational executives, and championship talent that is just getting started. #CompassIPO #Compass #AgentsOfCompass #RealEstate #NYSE
