Year 3 of Desiato Homes is now under way, and I wanted to say THANKS!

January 17, 2015 was my first official day of self-employment. Or as I like to call it, the first day of the rest of my life.

That means that today officially marks the beginning of my 3rd year as a licensed real estate professional. That’s right, after over three years of working in real estate as a reluctant investor, I decided to make it official by taking the real estate exam, which I passed on the first try (not too shabby if I do say so myself).

Over the last two years as a full-time real estate agent, I’ve learned more about business than anyone could’ve taught me in business school. I’ve read books, listened to online courses, podcasts -you name it- all from the brightest minds in the business world. Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, James Altucher, Jon Acuff, Ryan Fletcher, Ryan Holiday. The list goes on.

There is something to be said for applying yourself to increasing your knowledge, not just because you want a degree or some credentials, but because your very livelihood depends on it. I know most people (unless they are studying to be a doctor or something) don’t think of it that way when they are heading to class.

I’m thankful that God has instilled in me a curiosity which will not be satisfied until the last stone is overturned. I genuinely want to know everything about everything. My wife gets mad at me because I’ll pull up Wikipedia on my phone while watching a movie and read about the casting process and production history of said movie. But I can’t help it, I NEED TO KNOW!

I think it’s that curiosity that has helped to build my real estate business. I was not content to just sit back and be spoon-fed the latest tips and tricks from the real estate gurus. I wanted to know how business works across all industries. And as a result, things have begun to take shape in a unique way for Desiato Homes.

The experience of working closely with individuals making the biggest financial decision of their lives is something I do not take lightly. These connections are long-lasting, and these people have chosen me to be a trusted partner with them as they walk the booby-trap-laden path of buying/selling their home.

I don’t pretend to have all of the answers but what I do have I use to the best of my ability. Authenticity. Generosity. An unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and a drive to discover how I am uniquely positioned to change the world.

Sometimes my authenticity has probably hindered the growth of my business to a degree, but to those who may prefer working with someone else, to them I say, Godspeed.

My stance on cold-calling, door-knocking, and many of the other tried and true sales techniques has also been off-putting to some, and probably has caused me to make some enemies in the industry. I’m quite certain that business would be even better if I just bit the bullet and stopped trying to “reinvent the wheel.” But where would we be as a society if, once the wheel was invented, we just stopped innovating?

I am a firm believer that pushy sales techniques are not sustainable nor are they scale-able. Instead I have chosen to build a platform, a media company as it were. I want people to know who I am and what I stand for. Not because I want to close a real estate deal, but because I want to attract like-minded individuals to my message. The Real Person | Real Needs message. And I want to fundamentally change the way we think about home-ownership and the American Dream.

Sounds like a massive undertaking, right? But little by little, through relating authentically with my clients, by being generous with the money I earn on each real estate transaction, I believe that we as a community are starting to effect change. People are starting to take notice and I have you to thank. A sincere thanks to everyone who has believed in me and has told a friend or family member about me. I couldn’t have made it this far without all of you.

Here is a snapshot of what folks are saying about my approach to real estate. It is because of clients like this, who understand who I am and what I value first and foremost, that I keep pressing on.

Godspeed,

Geoff