Takeaways:
- “The Way of the Entrepreneur” should be useful to smaller brokerages looking to expand.
- Relevant details relate to handling recession and post-recession periods.
- William Raveis Jr.’s brokerage continues to expand.
The head of the largest family-owned real estate brokerage in the Northeast has released a new book focused on lessons learned during the building of a “business empire.”
Dubbed “The Way of the Entrepreneur,” the book chronicles the journey of William Raveis Jr., chairman and CEO of William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance, who grew his brokerage from a single office above a grocery store to an enterprise with 112 offices throughout the Northeast.
“I am hopeful that I can pass on what I’ve learned in building a successful family-owned business,” said Raveis, who founded his multi-billion dollar firm via an initial investment of $2,000.”
Topics of the book include his childhood beginnings in an immigrant community, a disability he overcame, his early career corporate career, the founding of the firm and seeing it through recessions, surviving industry downturns, a near bankruptcy and personal crises.
At the end of each chapter, Raveis summarizes the business and personal lessons he learned, which is intended to offer others an up-close understanding of what it takes to prevail in business and in life.
“Bill Raveis is part of that special club of amazing entrepreneurs who created the real estate profession as we know it today,” commented Pam O’Connor, president and CEO of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
To this day, Raveis continues to grow the firm. In July, the brokerage announced a merger with Windwalker Real Estate, a Nantucket-based brokerage/advisory firm.
According to Real Trends, William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance ranks as the top family-owned real estate company in the Northeast and the number eight such firm in the country.
The brokerage has also been recognized by Inman for its innovation, and by Fox CT, Hearst Connecticut and the Boston Business Journal as a top place to work.
