Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Harms.
Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve called Dakota County home for most of my life. I grew up here, graduated from Rosemount High School in 1986, married my high school sweetheart in her parents’ backyard, and raised our two sons here. Over the years, we’ve built a life rooted in family, community, and hard work.
My career started in technology—software development, database engineering, and leading high-performing teams in the corporate world. I loved problem-solving and building systems that made people’s work easier. But outside of work, I was also the one in my family who lived closest to my mom, so I naturally became the one to help with her needs as she aged. Over the last four years, I’ve been her guardian, navigating everything from assisted living moves to Alzheimer’s care. I’ve also helped my wife’s parents through their own transitions. Those experiences taught me just how overwhelming, emotional, and unplanned these life changes can be—and how valuable it is to have someone you trust guide you through them.
By late 2024, I realized I wanted to build something of my own—something that would let me take my problem-solving skills, leadership experience, and personal understanding of life transitions. I put them to work helping people in my own community. That’s when I came across Grasons, a national estate and business liquidation franchise. The model made sense to me—strong national support and proven systems, paired with the ability to run it locally and personally. After a lot of research and conversations with other franchise owners, I knew it was the right fit.
Today, as the owner of Grasons of Dakota County, MN, I help families navigate downsizing, clearing an estate, or closing a business. Our team organizes, prices, and sells items with the goal of making the process as smooth as possible—always with integrity, empathy, and respect. It’s not just about selling things; it’s about helping people move forward during one of life’s most challenging transitions.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest challenges in this work is that estate sales are deeply personal for the families we serve. Most of our clients aren’t just selling “things”—they’re letting go of pieces of their history or a loved one’s history. That means emotions can run high, and sometimes expectations don’t match reality. Balancing compassion with the practical realities of pricing, labor, and what the market will bear is something I’m always working on.
Another hurdle was starting a business in an industry I had no prior experience in. I came from a technology background, so while I knew how to build teams and systems, I had to learn the nuances of the resale market—what sells, what doesn’t, and how location, timing, and even the weather can affect a sale. My very first sale was during an extreme heatwave, in a rural area, and attendance was far lower than we’d hoped. That taught me to look at sales as part of a bigger service. Sometimes the value isn’t just in the dollars made at the sale—it’s in how much we can clear out and prepare a home for its next chapter.
And then there’s a challenge that’s been with me most of my life—setting expectations so high for myself that they can be almost impossible to meet. When something feels harder than I expected, my instinct in the past has been to hesitate or pull back. As a kid, I would pick up instruments—the xylophone, guitar, piano—but never stick with them long enough to see progress. It wasn’t until junior high, when I had a great teacher who helped me focus, that I stuck with the viola and discovered how rewarding it is to push through the hard parts.
That lesson has carried into my career and now into running this business. I’ve had to learn to ignore that inner voice that says, “This might not work,” and instead push forward through the messy, exhausting, and unpredictable moments. That ability to stay with something past the hard part has been one of the keys to making this business work.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Grasons of Dakota County, MN?
Grasons of Dakota County, MN is a local estate sale and business liquidation company, and we specialize in helping people through some of life’s most challenging transitions—downsizing, moving into assisted living, or settling the estate of a loved one. Our job is to make that process as smooth as possible. We come in, organize, stage, and price items, then run a professional sale over two or three days. When it’s done, our clients can choose to have the home cleared so it’s ready for whatever comes next.
I’m proud to say we’re not just part of a nationally ranked franchise—we’re deeply local. I employ five regular part-time staff and, this past summer, brought on three local high school students. That allowed me to scratch an itch I’ve always had: building strong, capable teams and giving young people a chance to develop real work experience.
What really sets us apart is our focus on integrity, empathy, and re-use. We don’t see estate sales as “just selling stuff”—we see them as an opportunity to rehome cherished items, keep them out of the landfill, and respect the stories attached to them. That’s why I’m currently in the process of founding a nonprofit in my mother’s name. The goal is to take select unsold items, sell them to a wider audience, and use the proceeds to help local residents facing similar transitions—especially those struggling with the costs. We’ll also partner with other organizations to promote re-use and repurposing in and around Dakota County.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that our name stands for trust. Clients know that when they work with us, they’re not just getting a sale—they’re getting a partner who cares about their situation, treats their home and belongings with respect, and helps them move forward with confidence.
How do you think about luck?
I’ve always believed that luck is what you make of the opportunities that show up in front of you. For me, luck isn’t a winning lottery ticket—it’s the moment when something crosses your path and you decide to act on it.
That philosophy has shaped my career more than once. I’ve had opportunities come up that, on paper, I wasn’t looking for, but I chose to lean in and see where they went. Most recently, that’s how I found my way to owning a Grasons franchise. I wasn’t actively seeking this exact business, but when the idea landed in front of me, I took the time to explore it fully—and that decision has brought me to work that’s both meaningful and deeply connected to my community.
To me, luck is just the spark. What you choose to do with it is what makes the difference.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.grasons.com/dakota-county-mn/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grasonsdakotacounty/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grasonsdakotacounty
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mharms/
