We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christine Lucian. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christine below.

Christine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

It was a cold day in January, and I had been home for two weeks with my son following his tonsillectomy. I was sitting on the couch scrolling social media when an idea randomly popped into my head! I went into Instagram and decided to see if a username was available, “@TheMichiganAssessor”. It worked! It was an available handle, and now it was mine. I decided to begin recording myself telling my audience about the issues I see every day in my career. These issues were affecting real people, and their wallets. I decided to implement two of my core values into this new venture: Empathy and Education. These have been my standards the last 12 years of my career, and the idea of taking it full scale online to reach more people was beyond exciting. I did not know how people would react, as the usual reputation of a property tax assessor is not a great one. Many people see us as an enemy, rather than an ally, and I had my sights set high on changing this. I was not sure if people would receive my content the way I intended. It was a risk I was willing to take to get my message out there for the masses. My message, to me, was very simple. Take care of your wallet, stay informed, protect yourself, and learn as much as you can about your property taxes. I quickly realized that by targeting other professionals, rather than regular property owners, I would be able to spread my message further, and more quickly. I began making my presence known to real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and title companies. I felt strongly about letting them know how they could improve their process, in order to keep the clients from running into sticky financial situations after their closing. The empath in me could not stand the idea of another first-time homebuyer possibly having to sell once their taxes were reassessed. At this point I was the only assessor that I knew of creating online content like this. It was direct, and sometimes very forward, but I knew it needed to be done. My content was sometimes met with hesitation and push back, but I proceeded to believe that it had to be shared. I have had some professionals get defensive in my efforts to educate them, but this just proves to me that they need it that much more. The risk in putting myself out there in a very confident way, was something I struggled internally with for months. Sometimes I thought of deleting my socials and disappearing, and boy am I glad I never listened to that internal voice! The amount of people I have been able to educate, and help has been so rewarding. I have taken a risk of being the black sheep in my actual industry among my peers. Like I said, I am the only assessor I know of publicly speaking about these things. I am still dealing with that risk today, waiting for someone in my industry to criticize my efforts. This is no longer a concern of mine though. Helping people has always been number one to me, and anyone who finds an issue with this cannot damper my spirit of continuing this rewarding journey. My personal journey this year has proven to me that risks are worth taking, especially when you’re taking a risk on yourself.

Christine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In 2006, I began working as a high school co-op student in my local assessing department. Prior to this position I had never heard of an assessor in my life. I learned a lot while working there for 18 months. I went on to pursue my bachelor’s degree at Oakland University. Upon graduating in 2011, I was offered a job to return to the assessing field and have been with the same employer ever since. Today, I manage the assessing department in multiple municipal offices and this year have started my own business. I began making videos on social media illustrating the many situations I have come across in my career where I believe having other professionals be informed would help their clients avoid headaches and tears in terms of property tax issues! In October 2023, I created The Property Tax Academy. This is a school dedicated to providing real estate agents valuable property tax education for certified continuing education credits. The number of agents excited to learn fueled my fire even more, and I am so excited for what the future holds. Beyond providing education, investors, business owners, and regular taxpayers hire me to complete a tax analysis of their property to screen for issues, maximize savings opportunities, and determine if there are any grounds for reductions. I absolutely love helping people while utilizing the laws. It brings me great pleasure to assist others in saving money if the laws allow it! I look forward to what the future holds as the educational possibilities and my motivation are endless!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building an audience on social media takes patience, consistency, and effort. Without those factors implemented into your mindset and expectations, you will be disappointed. My growth on social media has been 100% organic, and I am very proud of that. I was able to achieve 2,000 followers on Instagram with only 100 posts. When I look at other accounts and how many followers they have, I always look at the number of posts it took them to get there as well. This says a lot to me about their journey, their patience, and their effort. Follower count doesn’t really matter though. Staying loyal to your followers who have seen you grow from the beginning while consistently delivering them value should be your number one priority. The growth to a larger audience will come along with it as time goes on. There is something about organic, genuine growth that feels so much better than anything else. It means that the people following you are there for the right reasons, and for me, that’s all I could ever ask for.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My reputation within my market was built solely on transparency and authenticity. I am known for making content on the fly with very little to no edits. I do not have a fancy recording studio or expensive camera. I use my iPhone and record wherever I am when I come up with an idea, often times in my car! I think people recognize this and appreciate it. We are in a market where so much is fabricated to appear as perfect. I have never felt this to be necessary, because I enjoy living authentically without worrying about what others think. To me, this is the definition of freedom. Once you sell your soul and constantly worry about appearing perfect, you’ve lost your true vision and purpose. I am happy that my audience sees me for who I am, an empath with a lot to teach.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @TheMichiganAssessor & @PropertyTaxAcademy
• Facebook: The Property Tax Academy
• Youtube: @TheMichiganAssessor
• TikTok: @TheMichiganAssessor

Image Credits
Nathan Taib