We recently connected with Mike Cardascia and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Mike thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
A few years ago, I started a free, weekly, local meet up group in St. Petersburg called Life In The 727 with my friend Josue Deslauriers. We would have never imagined that 3 years later, it would become the most popular and thriving community in all of Tampa Bay.
Through Life In The 727, I’ve redefined what it means to be a mortgage advisor in Tampa Bay. By centering my approach around community engagement and genuine connection, I’ve transcended the conventional boundaries of the industry. Every week, we have multiple events with attendance ranging from 30-200+ locals depending on the event!
From hosting yoga sessions to organizing business events and brunches, I’ve created a platform where relationships flourish and often times transpire into referrals & transactions. This innovative idea sets me apart from my competitors, allowing me to build lasting connections and make a real impact in the community.
Life In The 727 isn’t about mortgages; it’s about fostering meaningful interactions and being a catalyst for positive change in Tampa Bay. That’s what makes me stand out! As I impact and enrich my local community, it continues to impact me as well.
Mike, 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?
Coming from a family of Realtors and Mortgage Advisors, I was destined to find my way into this industry. Today, I am now business partners with my mother, who is also my best friend and mentor! We focus 100% of our business efforts in building more relationships in the community while strengthening the ones we already have.
I pride myself on the relationships, reputation, and brand that I have developed within my local community. Nothing excites me more than being able to help our friends and family build wealth through Real Estate the way we have over the years.
When it comes to the home buying process, it is not also so straightforward and can be challenging for many. I can help make the process simple, less stressful, and ultimately fun with the way we connect with our clients & always invite them to the fun things I am hosting around town.
I feel blessed to know that I am pursuing my passion and purpose every day!
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
There are three main sources that we use for new clients. Referral Partners, Database Marketing, and Branding.
In order to do this, I take a multi-channel marketing approach – meaning that I am making phone calls, text messages, email marketing, client events, classes, and social media to build out each funnel.
I have never met anyone that became rich without a plan, and I certainly struggled until I developed a system as well.
The best way to tackle marketing is to have a weekly routine with time blocks dedicated to these money-making activities. Otherwise, the important tasks like prospecting, content creation, and networking will usually go right out the door!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I have an interesting take on this! Rather than my content going viral and building my audience that way, I actually met locals in my community one by one to grow my profiles.
Through my Life In the 727 Meet Up group, other business group’s I am a part of like the Young Entrepreneurs Of America, and networking events around Tampa Bay, I was able to build a strong following of supportive fans.
Doing this helped me build a really engaging audience which has pushed my content out to more people online that I have never met before.
So now I am in a place where my brand is growing consistently every week because I am posting often and having so much positive engagement. It’s a really cool feeling and I am excited to watch my audience grow more with the new content I am releasing about Mortgages and Fun Things To Do In Tampa style videos.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lifeinthe727.com
- Instagram: @MikeCardascia and @LifeInThe727
- Facebook: Mike Cardascia
- Linkedin: Mike Cardascia
- Twitter: @MikeInthe727
- Youtube: Home Lending With Mike C