| Debi Benoit, Amy Mizner and Sheryl Simon have been familiar names to anyone working in the Weston and Wellesley markets for many years. But over the past year and a half or so, the three women have been working turning their familiar names into a familiar brand.
The former Coldwell Banker agents launched Benoit, Mizner, Simon & Co. in the depth of one of the worst real estate markets in decades – and have so far managed to book more than $140 million in sales.
Debi Benoit, Amy Mizner, and Sheryl Simon
Titles: Co-brokers/owners, Benoit, Mizner, Simon & Co.
Ages: 58, 56, 58 respectively
Years of Experience: 20, 16, 18 respectively
Q: So how did you guys meet?
SS: Amy and I were already partners in the [Coldwell Banker] Weston office. We had formed a partnership shortly after Amy started. We actually created little niche in that Coldwell Banker office, being a team. And Debi was sort of our counterpart in Wellesley, doing it on her own. There’s a lot of overlap between the two markets. And we thought, “Oooh, wouldn’t it be nice…”
So what was the tipping point that inspired you to go out on your own?
DB: Amy and I were having a conversation – she had called me on business – and I just said, “Amy, have you ever thought about opening up your own firm?” And she said yes. And I said, “Well, I’ll share with you – I’m already looking into it.” And she said, “Debi, we have to talk.” We had a meeting within 48 hours, and we never looked back.
AM: We had the same vision. We were all veterans, working with a big corporate entity, and we had the same vision moving forward of creating a new entity in the Weston-Wellesley market.
DB: We had been the number one brokers in Weston and Wellesley for years.
SS: We were already almost running our own business – we had a lot of the staff that you see right now already.
AM: Because we knew our [high-end] clients needed to be serviced in a certain way.
DB: Ten years ago, I hired my first assistant, because it gets to the point where you can’t get to that next level in sales if you don’t have that extra help – because the company can’t give you what you really need – and a few years after that I hired my second full-time assistant. I’ve been able to maintain the number one market share in Wellesley for a few years now, including through us starting this new business.
Q: How has the first year been, launching a new company in this market?
DB: Well, it’s been interesting. The last few years, it seemed like the big companies were cutting back. We’re all top listing brokers. And we didn’t want to take away from our clients what we felt they needed. At some point, the numbers make sense. I think we were confident in our sales and our expectations, and I think we really exceeded our expectations.
AM: It’s also about understanding this particular market, and being able to customize a marketing program [to this market] in a way that companies that were already established couldn’t emulate. There was need for a niche, target-market… [Weston-Wellesley] was ready for that. It was ready for an alternative. And that’s what we recognized. You couldn’t have accomplished what the three of us accomplished if you weren’t out in the trenches, with that experience.
SS: With the big company, if you had a listing in Weston, it stayed in the Weston Town Cryer. We were getting feedback from our clients, and we knew what they were saying, what complaints they had.
DB: A corporate umbrella often says no to creativity and we were able to say yes.
Q: What were looking for when you created your brand and had a chance to exercise that creativity?
AM: We’re bringing a more urban edge. A stronger business background, a younger vibe. As if we’re working in the hub of Boston, not the suburbs of Boston.
DB: Several of our agents have their MBAs. And today our 40th agent is coming to work for us.
SS: We’re also seeing an oversees buyer, so we’ve added three agents that speak Mandarin.
AM: Our buyer is an extremely educated, in-touch buyer. They do their homework. You have to bring a lot of value to a buyer that already has a lot of information at their fingertips.
Q: What’s been most gratifying about launching your own firm?
AM: Not only have we created a brand that’s financially successful, but we’re turning heads, [even among] well-established brands that have been around for years. We’re actually seeing those brands reacting to the forces that we have created … just taking and making custom websites for each listing – it’s not a unique idea, but the way were using it was unique in our marketplace. We were using it in all our print ads [and making it the center of the campaign]. And now we see other people emulating that.
SS: When we left the company, clients had a choice about whether they would stay with us. And in both offices, we ended up taking about 98 percent. That was a very anxious time, because you felt like you spent the past 18 years selling somebody else’s brand – and it was like, was it the brand, or was it us? And that for me was one of the most thrilling things to see, that no it really was us.
DL: We’ve really become the creative leaders of Weston and Wellesley real estate. We see people following us. Which is exciting!
SS: If we have any regrets, it is that in hindsight, we should have done this 10 years ago.
Top Five Steps to Starting Your Own Business:
- Do the necessary prep work: Assess needs like personnel, office location, equipment. The more realistic you are about the financial piece of the equation, the better off you’ll be.
- Independence is great: Think about what qualifies you personally to lead your own firm. Don’t be afraid to take the leap and step out of your comfort zone.
- Surround yourself with experts.
- Set Goals: It’s just as important to think 5 years down the road as it is to think 6 months ahead.
- Have a mission statement: You will come back to it time and time again.
