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

Alright, Sam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I think the biggest risk I’ve taken is not following the typical path after high school. It was the Summer of 2007. I was 18 years old, and my friends were going off to college. I was so close to signing on the dotted line, taking out student loans, and heading off to college like the rest of them. Instead, I made a last minute decision not to go.

Something just didn’t click for me. I knew what I loved to do, but didn’t see a clear degree path in college that would get me there. I loved helping people and I loved design. I liked working with my hands on projects where I could see something evolve right in front of me.

Instead of going off to college, I got a job at a local lumber and hardware store making $10/hour. Growing up around construction, I knew more than your average 18 year girl. I figured this would be a job to hold me over until I figured out what I wanted to do.

All my friends thought I was crazy.

During my first year at the lumber and hardware store, I learned a lot. I learned what worked in small business and what didn’t. I learned how to deal with people and prove my value. I learned that follow up and communication are the most important things. I learned that no job was too small, and to do more than I was asked.

I also learned about what I was selling. I learned about lumber, plumbing, electrical, windows & doors.. I learned more about fasteners and hardware than I ever cared to know. Most importantly, I learned how to work to earn respect and form relationships. I couldn’t see it then, but the knowledge and relationships I made here would forever impact my life.

During that first year, I realized that I better make a plan. I couldn’t work at this store forever. So, I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. One day, in the fastener isle, it clicked. I loved helping people. I had grown to love sales. I still had a passion for all things home and design. Why not real estate?

Well, for starters, I’d grown up around people who kind of hated real estate agents.

I didn’t really want to be one of them, did I? I thought maybe, just maybe, I could figure out a way to do it differently, with my own creative spin. It took some stepping stones to get there. I had to get my license, I had to put in the time working under another brokerage, but ultimately… Finely Crafted Realty was born.

Sam, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Sam. My path to creating Finely Crafted Realty was born out of my desire to be my own boss, work around houses and inject creativity into an industry that is often lacking. We help people buy and sell houses, but our real specialty comes in working alongside our clients to strategically prepare a home for market. We spend a ton of time on the front end coming up with a decluttering & staging plan, as well as make suggestions for smaller scale design changes such as paint, countertops, hardware, etc. We are most proud of the upfront time we spend on each home we prepare, because it makes such a huge difference in not only the client experience, but also the client’s bottom line.

We’re not out there chasing more and more volume, we really want to work with clients we are aligned with and who appreciate the value of the hard work on the front end.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

This is a good one! My business is small, it’s made up of myself and 2 other agents- Jordan and Sheryl. Sheryl got a large commercial listing, which is not our typical listing, and it’s a little outside of our wheelhouse. The building was located in a large business park. Because we didn’t have a huge network of commercial agents and were new to this world, we decided to think outside of the box. We had the idea to host an ‘open house’ style lunch where we invited all other businesses within the business park to come grab a free chic-fil-a lunch and take a tour. Our thought process was that businesses were often looking for more space, less space, or a space to own rather than rent. We designed a post card invitation that we mailed out to the whole business park in advance of the event. Well, a few days prior to the event, all of the post cards got returned to us. Rather than ditch the idea, we decided to pivot and get out there & pound some pavement. The three of us walked the entire business park, popping into each business to drop off an invite & say hello. One of the businesses we stopped into was a HVAC business who happened to be renting. By chance, we personally got to say hello to the owner & get the invitation in his hand. He came to the chic-fil-a lunch and bought the building! Just goes to show you, sometimes the simple things work if you inject a dose of creativity to stand out, and you’re willing to put in the legwork.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

This is another fun question to answer, because I think so often people don’t start the business or go for what they want because they are so afraid of how much it may cost. That may be true for some businesses, but in a service based business you can literally start from nothing and just gradually work your way up. What you don’t have in dollars, you can often invest in time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://finelycraftedrealty.com
• Instagram: @finelycraftedrealty

Image Credits

Photography by Melissa Gowen