Today we’d like to introduce you to Jean Rivaldi.
Jean, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I first became a real estate agent thinking I would get to see a lot of cool homes and quickly realized that this business is about helping people. People buying or selling houses are almost always going through a life change of some sort and that’s what this business is about – helping people meet their goals when life changes.
I came from a non-profit, higher education background (in Chicago worked at DePaul University), worked briefly in a corporate setting managing email marketing (Intuit) and more recently working with my husband running a board game business (Wiggity Bang Games) and a promotional products business (Promo Deli). When the board game industry took a downturn as mid-level retailers went out of business (think Borders), I was ready for a career change and when I became an agent, learning the ins and outs of real estate afforded me the new challenges that I needed to keep my brain active, I just wasn’t learning anything new in my old career path!
Just 2.5 short years after becoming an agent I had the opportunity to become a real estate broker with other agents working for me. I always knew that I wanted to develop a local brand that was well-respected for neighborhood knowledge and involvement and also be a brand that was known for its honesty and transparency. That’s really how Community Realty Co. was ‘born’ and I have enjoyed thus far building it and staying true to those ideals.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth? Ha! No. It’s always a challenge to run your own business, there are always obstacles and panic in the way of doing what needs to be done, but that’s part of what makes it interesting.
Not knowing when your next paycheck is coming or how big (or rather small) it will be is a constant challenge that you get used to over time.
There are employee challenges, partner challenges, client challenges and in general the challenges of trying to wear all hats at a business, when you really need to focus on your core thing (real estate), but you still have to figure out how to pay taxes or do your books, or…. anything else you have to do keep your business running.
Another challenge is finding other business owners who are willing to talk about the mistakes they’ve made. Everyone wants to put up a front like they’re good and nothing bad happens, but of course, it does and when you find someone who is willing to share war/horror stories in business, it’s always a good thing to learn from.
Community Realty Co. – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Community Realty Co. is a real estate brokerage that is small and local. We’re not a national franchise, we’re not looking to do mass volumes of work, rather we’re interested in doing quality work for all of our clients. We really believe in doing the right thing even when no one is looking. That’s called integrity and sometimes it’s hard to come by in the real estate industry. We pride ourselves on having integrity even when it means making a decision that is not to our own advantage. Our first priority is to always do what is right for our clients.
We also take great pride in being different from other brokerages. Much of real estate is a lot of cheesy signage and sales pitches and we’re about as opposite as you can get from any of that. Even our office is set up to be a comfy/hip, living room/dining room type space, in the mix with retail and salons and real people who often pop in just chat.
We’re committed to supporting public education and much of our sponsorship and volunteer hours go to supporting community efforts that build good public school and strengthen educational programs for public school students. And we’re actively engaged and involved in our community of South and North Park. Some of the events/organizations we are involved with include McKinley Elementary PTC, RooFriends (Roosevelt Middle Schoo), Jefferson Elementary (Friends of Jefferson), Home Brew Fest, SoNoFest & Chili Cook-Off, Old House Fair, and South Park Business Group (I’m the president) and North Park Fast Pitch (Shari David, one of our agents is president), North Park Little League to name a few.
We believe in giving people good information in a no pressure environment. We realize that we’re not a fit for everyone, but we are a fit for those who value honesty, professionalism and having a guide through a real estate transaction that is personally engaged throughout the entire process.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success when I uphold my own personal standards and my clients are informed and excited about the decisions and outcomes after a transaction. Basically, when someone has had an experience that leads them to refer us to someone they care about — that is a success.
I also define success as doing what I know is right, even when it only makes what seems to be a small impact. It is in doing small things consistently that we can make real change.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2225 30th Street San Diego CA 92104
- Website: communityrealtycosd.com
- Phone: 619.916.7247
- Email: hello@communityrealtycosd.com
- Instagram: /communityrealtyco
- Facebook: /communityrealtyco
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
