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December 1, 2006
Integrity, competence and passion are three characteristics a prospective business owner should to instill into future endeavors.
According to long-time realtor and business guru Ron Brooks, those three ingredients carried Patterson Real Estate, Inc., through economic hardship and created one of Houma’s foremost home buying and selling agencies.
“To make it in this business you need a burning desire to be an entrepreneur. It’s not an easy business,” said Brooks. “We have seen the ups and downs of this business.”
Turning 50 years this coming June, Patterson is one of the areas oldest agencies; withstanding the oil crunch of the ’80s, effects of 9-11 and the winds and flooding of past hurricanes. Although, flood and home insurance has greatly affected the industry after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, technology continues to influence Patterson’s daily operations.
“As far as I know, we were the first ones out of the box that had a Web site,” said Brooks. “The Internet has changed a lot of things like educating the sellers and the buyers, but having the financial weather-all to support those things is another consideration because seldom are they cheap.”
All Patterson agents are provided with a personal site and encouraged to keep pages up-to-date with critical buyer information, including digital photos. Laptops, cell phones and latest technological gadgets, like the Blackberry, can keep a buyer connected with an agent n something virtually impossible 10 years ago.
When Clifton O. Wilson and wife Jerrie first opened the agency, Brooks explained Patterson was more of a “mom and pop” operation. Brooks joined the group in 1978 after a 10-year career working as a pharmaceutical representative with Eli Lilly.
“I found real estate provided an opportunity to be rewarded for hard work, be your own boss and be in the service business,” he said.
Brooks became partners with his now father-in-law in the early ’90s and took over the business when Wilson retired.
The economic crash and oil crisis of the mid-1980s consolidated the industry and shutdown Patterson. Being one of the few survivors, Brooks compared the dissimilar struggle of today with past issues.
“We’ve got real estate agents everywhere, were overrun with agents, but it’s the time and energy we spend on education and training that sets us apart,” he said.
The 20 agents with Patterson completed a 90 hours of in-house training direct from Brooks, an approved state licensed instructor, and maintain 30-40 hours of yearly continued education mandated by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission.
“We have fewer realtors than some of our competitors but that’s OK. We don’t need a whole lot n it’s about the right mix of people,” Brooks said.
Many industries took a hit in hiring, an aftershock of the storms, including real estate. The home market broke open when people moved or were transferring to the tri-parishes for work, but Brooks said that finding help has been difficult.
“Finding people with a responsible work ethic is a challenge, even though associates can make a lot of money if they are a self-starter, highly disciplined and want a career,” he said.
Continuing to always be recognized as a company of integrity and one of competency is Brooks’ five-year plan.
“That’s it. I just want to be able to work and develop a good product in the marketplace and not have to apologize for the job that we do,” he said.
