Real Estate One receives honor
Crystal NelsonReal estate broker and business owner Lori Stephan might not have imagined the succuss she would encounter when she decided to open Real Estate One almost a year ago. Since the doors of Real Estate One’s Alpena location opened May 21, 2007, Stephan’s business was named the best new small business in Northeast Michigan by the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center.
Stephan’s business was one of 12 regions honored in MI-SBTDC’s 2007 Best Small Business Awards at the Lansing Center in April. The 12 businesses were chosen based on their success, employment and business strategy, the company’s economic impact and the involvement of the MI-SBTDC in helping the business become a success.
“It’s been extremely busy. I mean a lot of people were wondering why I would open a real estate office when supposedly it’s a down market, but we’re not finding that at all. All the agents are busy every day, we’re finding that our listings are increasing every month, our sales are up where we would expect them to be. We’ve consistently stayed in the top 10 of all of our franchises in our category that they rate us in,” Stephan said.
Stephan said she decided to open a Michigan location of Real Estate One because it is a Michigan-based corporation and franchises are only in Michigan. She also liked Real Estate One’s Web presence and the company is family operated, which makes the business more personable.
“I had been in contact with Real Estate One over the past couple years and they have been encouraging to me. They have not had an office in Alpena for quite some time so they were really looking forward to a new office here,” Stephan said.
Since its opening last year, the business has created opportunities for one full-time office assistant and five full-time real estate agents. Stephan said she chose to have her office renovated by local businesses. Her branch of Real Estate One also won the corporation’s rookie of the year award at their annual banquet dinner.
When starting her business, Stephan utilized the help of Carl Bourdelais, regional director of the SBTDC at Alpena Community College.
“He was there for advice and I took all of the classes he taught at the college, there were several different classes,” Stephan said. “We still talk and e-mail each other back and forth if I should have any questions on anything.”
Bourdelais said Stephan came to him when she wanted help finding out if the market was right for real estate. Bourdelais then helped her develop her business plan to check the feasibility of starting a new business.
Stephan said her favorite part of the business is helping first-time buyers find their first home and when Stephan isn’t working, she is active in the community.
Bourdelais is responsible for SBTDC’s region three, which is hosted by Alpena Community College. Bourdelais helps business owners in the Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Presque Isle and Roscommon counties.
Crystal Nelson can be reached via e-mail at cnelson@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5693.
