Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Ekstrom.
Hi Paul, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I became licensed in Real Estate in 2006. The driving force was to own my own business. I was able to run my business my way. My own branding, marketing, budgeting, processes, systems, etc. Little did I know, what the future would bring in 2007.
Everything started crashing around me. Companies were closing their doors, employees were laid off, homes going into foreclosure, and commercial mortgages were impossible to get. Realtors were exiting the industry faster than they were joining. I had no idea what tomorrow would look like.
My choices were to quit or roll up my sleeves and work my way through it. I had a young family at home, and I was the major breadwinner. I knew no other way. I decided to embrace the chaos and work harder than any of my competing agents. I saw my business increase annually by 300-400%.
I continued to leverage myself and I developed a team that consistently was one of the top-performing Real Estate teams in the north metro. We closed annually 135-175 transactions for $30-45M in volume. I led 12 agents and a staff of 6 utilizing the same principles that were founded and formulated many years earlier in the auto business. I think it was for these production levels that I was approached by Realty ONE Group (ROG).
In the fall of 2017, I was approached by ROG to see if I would be interested in purchasing my own brokerage. I never entertained the thought of owning my own brokerage but after careful consideration, I realized I was the size of a small brokerage with my team. ROG flew me to California to meet the founder, Kuba Jewgieniew, and the leadership team at ROG.
ROG was everything I was looking for in a brokerage. They are built on the 6 C’s: Care, Connect, Commission, Coolture, Community, and Coaching. I applied in December 2017 and was awarded the franchise on 12/23/2017.
We officially opened our doors to our Andover office on May 4th, 2018. We started with a staff of 3 and 6 agents. Today we have 100+ agents at the Andover office and a staff of 6. In September 2022 we opened our 3rd office in Alexandria, MN. My family and I spend most of our summer weekends in Alex so having an office there was convenient for our family on top of bringing our brand to a new market.
My Big Why is to help my agents and staff achieve their dreams. If we are successful in doing this, then my dreams are realized along the way. The word I live by is Kaizen. It is Japanese for “Constant Improvement”. My employees are probably tired of my daily drive for constant improvement but I feel this is the #ONE reason our company has grown to the level we have with the efficiency and productivity level we enjoy today
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The economic crash of 2007 was my biggest hurdle. It was very hard getting your buyers qualified as most conventional loan products were no longer available. You didn’t want a listing as the bank-owned properties were selling for 100’s thousands of dollars cheaper than traditional sales.
COVID in 2020 and then the rise in the prime interest rate in 2022 have put another hurdle in the Real Estate Industry. Overnight buyers no longer qualified for homes that had an accepted offer.
These and many more hurdles are part of our life in Real Estate. I have become very good a “Shifting”. My experience has been a guiding light for my staff and agents transitioning to the ever-changing world of Real Estate.
We’ve been impressed with Realty ONE Group Choice, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Realty ONE Group Choice has offices in Andover and Alexandria, MN. We employ 8 team members and over 100 Realtors are licensed under our brokerage. I feel our agents and staff are the most qualified to work with buyers and sellers because of our training, our commitment to compliance, and our philosophy of constant improvement.
We specialize in residential Real Estate, Property Management, Luxury Home Marketing, and new agent Mentor/Mentee training.
We are a franchise for Realty ONE Group based in Laguna Nigel, CA. ROG is one of the fastest-growing R.E. companies in the US. We are known for our cutting-edge marketing/branding, the best technology in the R.E. Industry, and Coolture. Coolture is our Cool Culture that is natural, constant, and carried through our company by over 20,000 people in the US and 11 countries.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Opening up my own brokerage was the biggest risk I have ever taken.
I felt I was ready for the challenge. Looking back over the past 5 years, I came to realize that I was not prepared for everything I have faced in the last 5 years but my ability to focus, plan and execute with a “shift” mindset gets us through these challenges.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rogchoice.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realtyonegroupchoice/?__coig_restricted=1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealtyOneGroupChoice/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10136838/admin/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ROGChoice
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@realtyonegroupchoice
