Growing Together is a blog series featuring people that have joined Peoples Company and their motivation to team up with a national leader in agriculture real estate services to pair experience with data driven decision making and deliver value to landowners. If you would like to learn more about partnering with or joining Peoples Company, please reach out to Molly Zaver, Director of Industry Partnerships, at Molly@PeoplesCompany.com.
What was your background before joining Peoples Company?
I grew up in the small rural agricultural community of Mayville, ND, where the main employers were the area farms, the state university in Mayville, the local grain elevators, or the hospital and nursing home. Most of the Main Street businesses relied on the farmers’ business in order to have profitable years. In 1990, I started working for The Citizens State Bank in Finley, ND, where I worked as a lender and compliance officer for 12 years. After leaving Citizens State Bank, I went to work for Spark, a software company that sold core accounting software and business solutions to banks around the nation. I worked in product development and client training. When my daughter was born, we decided to move to southeast Minnesota where I worked as an ag lender and branch manager for Fortress Bank in Winona, MN, and Security State Bank in Lewiston, MN. In 2008, I started my own consulting business and worked with a former bank president. We did internal credit reviews, loan file compliance and loan workouts. In 2011, I decided to get my real estate license, and I started my real estate career with Pifer’s Auction & Realty in Fargo, ND.
What led you to Peoples Company?
I first heard about Peoples Company when I attended a North Dakota Banker Association trust conference in Fargo, ND. A co-worker and I were setting up our booth to get ready for the bankers and trust officers to come interact with the vendors during their session break. Andrew Zeller and Kyle Walker from Peoples Company came over and introduced themselves. We interacted throughout the conference and had lunch before they left Fargo. From that point on, I started watching and following what Peoples Company was doing. I would occasionally exchange emails with Andrew and Kyle, and then one day Hunter Norland called me to ask questions about an upcoming auction I was leading for a large tract of land in northern Minnesota. Each time Hunter and I talked about the upcoming Minnesota land auction, he would also tell me about Peoples Company, the company’s culture, and the collaboration between agents and divisions within the company. Hunter suggested that I talk with Molly Zaver and she invited me to sit in on the company’s weekly Collaboration Meeting. Molly introduced me to Steve Bruere, Jaxon Goedken and several other team members. Molly also invited me to attend her dinner for the Land Investment Expo in January of 2020, where I met Jeff Post, who had just joined Peoples Company. Jeff and I talked about the pros and cons of joining Peoples Company and the pros far outweighed the cons.
When I started my drive back to Minnesota, I knew I wanted to move to People Company.
How has your business changed since becoming part of Peoples Company?
Since my start at Peoples Company, I have had the opportunity to be part of deals that I never would have had a chance to be a part of otherwise. Having the appraisal, land management and corporate services staff provides additional information and support that help create and generate new business.
What has been the best part of being affiliated with Peoples Company?
The Peoples Company’s culture and the people that work here are amazing. Agents work together to make deals happen. Agents are willing to refer business to each other or work as co-agents on transactions to provide the best and highest quality service to clients. The primary focus is getting the client’s land sold, not who sells it.
Is there a success that you have had that wouldn’t have occurred if you were not part of the company?
Since I’ve been at Peoples Company, I have had the opportunity to work with Steve Bruere’s team on 2 different land auctions and 2 private off-market transactions. That type of opportunity would have never happened with some real estate companies, where agents and divisions do not collaborate, or share information. By allowing me to be involved, it allowed me to better market Peoples Company and myself and provided additional credibility.
What are some advantages of being part of Peoples Company?
The different divisions and the collaborative culture are two major advantages of Peoples Company, in addition to the technology and information that Peoples Company provides to their agents and staff.
What was the most challenging thing about becoming affiliated with Peoples Company?
The most challenging thing I have encountered is getting the Peoples Company name better known in my trade area. But it is easy to promote and talk about a company that you believe in.
What advice would you give to someone that is considering joining Peoples Company?
I have worked for 5 different companies before coming to Peoples Company and I can say that Peoples Company has the best culture and is the best company that I have ever worked for. The people and the company all want to see the agents succeed. People Company has provided the platform to be successful and it’s up to me to use the tools to make things happen.
What else would you like to share about your affiliation with Peoples Company?
It’s a privilege to work for Peoples Company. My only regret is that I didn’t move to Peoples Company sooner.
Reach out to Lindsey Brown at 701.371.5538 or email him at Lindsey@PeoplesCompany.com.
