Ontario Family Thriving with Nation’s Largest Private Sales Network
As the Swanson’s prepare to ring in their fourth year as the franchise owners of PropertyGuys.com Woodstock & Brantford location, they fondly reflect back on where they started and the key ingredients that keep them motivated and moving forward.
Family First & Always
Ask any franchisee from coast to coast what leads them to PropertyGuys.com and the large majority will answer in unison that it’s family. Kim and Brad are no different as they remember a lifestyle in the not-so-distant past where, despite a consistent routine, the family struggled with very little flexibility in their day-to-day. Kim remembers the draw being, “to own a business but specifically needing it to be one where service was a high priority” and would “allow us more time to enjoy our family.”
Fast forward to the present and the Swansons have fulfilled their goal of gaining more freedom and are also able to include their children in their business. Kim advises that she accepts help from all three of her children (now teenagers) for social media support as, “they know what’s hot and what’s not.” Their twin sons Christian and Keegan have been deemed, “The Sign Guys” and their daughter, Sarah, loves learning the tips and tricks of real estate photography and helping to create videos for the business’s social media channels.
Celebrating Their Own Strengths
Owning their own business has also allowed the couple to hone in on their individual strengths so that they each have their own specific roles and responsibilities within the franchise. For example, Kim focuses her sights primarily on the listing aspect of the business and “shines in customer care, creating a trusting space for [their] clients and building community relationships”, while “Brad deals exclusively with licensed services, and his passion for photography/virtual tours for the area, [as well as providing] photography services to other PropertyGuys.com franchisees”. Notably enough, one of Brad’s listing photos (of an executive home in Mount Pleasant, ON) was used by the Toronto Sun newspaper to accompany an article about million-dollar mortgages. The Swansons describe this accomplishment as being one of the most memorable in their business thus far.
Community
Whether it’s supporting their local community of Woodstock/Brantford or mentoring a new franchisee, Kim and Brad make it a priority to support those around them and use this as fuel to push their own business forward. In speaking about their own territory, Kim states that “PropertyGuys.com locally has allowed us a platform [that] I believe has touched many people’s lives. Whether through saving thousands of dollars on their home sale, bringing awareness to mental health issues, or partnering with local organizations.”
In speaking about the PropertyGuys.com internal community specifically, she further states that “the relationships we have built within this franchise system is the key to our success. I genuinely hope that I have made a positive impact on other Zees…as many have done the same for us!”
By Kaitlyn Smith
Guest Writer
