By Broker/Owner Leonora Prince talks about opening the first Intero office in Hawaii
Intero Real Estate Services Hawaii
Leonora Prince
PB ABR GRI CCIM
Leonora Prince has been operating her real estate office in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii for five years. In May of 2006, she decided to re-brand as Intero Real Estate Services and became the first Intero office to open on the Islands. This presented some unique challenges for her team. One of the biggest was that many locals were unfamiliar with the Intero brand and perceived it as a mainland corporate entity. We talked to Leonora about overcoming these perceptions and integrating Intero into the Island community.
What have been the biggest challenges for you as a business owner on the Islands?
Intero is a great company, but many individuals (and REALTORS®) here had not heard of it and didn’t understand what the name represented, and several wanted to leave it that way. We had to overcome that. More individuals are recognizing the Intero name today, from exposure on the mainland, and that has been big plus for us. We regularly get calls from agents on other islands who love the Intero brand. It has also opened other doors for us. The support from Gino and the gang is invaluable.
What is the most important thing you learned from owning a real estate company in such a unique (and sometimes isolated) place?
It may be different in other localities, but from the perspective of Hawaii, you need a lot of patience. You have to get to know people, and often, the only way to do that is to be watchful from afar. You have to approach the market quietly and respectfully and know it’s going to take time to get where you want to go. There will still be plenty of disappointments as in any business. Everything is greatly magnified here. But if you’re creative and persistent, you will make headway.
My husband is a perfect example of this. Today, he’s well known and respected in Hawaiian construction as a construction manager for the mega homes. It took him three years to get there, though. Prior to moving to the islands, he led some of the largest and most sophisticated high–tech construction projects in Silicon Valley (in the billion dollar range), but this meant nothing on the Islands. He initially got into the industry here by starting out as a consultant in Honolulu and then easing his way into the market by partnering with local companies and earning their respect. He now has a recognizable reputation representing mainland owners building homes in excess of $10 million. It just took time, patience and creative thinking on his part.
What’s been your biggest challenge?
It has been really challenging finding people who have a mainland work ethic along with the Aloha spirit. You either get Aloha Spirit but no show when the surf is up or a mainland mentality and a "me, I, my" attitude.
It is hard to find an individual with an Aloha respect for others, uncompromising integrity, humility and ethics. For us, the dollar is not the focus, relationships are. Part of the reason it’s been challenging is that the population is quite small, and the industry even smaller.
How many agents do you have?
We have about a dozen. We do not want be what I lovingly call a “MLM office”
(a revolving door). What we have is a very nice place to come to work. We also have a great image—the Intero image—a great location, and people who genuinely respect one another. That’s what we’ve been striving to accomplish: a superior brand image, a nice working environment/location and good people.
All of these things are important to me because we are not in the business to just make money. It’s far more important to us that we keep the bigger picture in mind and stand out in the community because of our work ethic and reputation.
How has your business strategy changed in the last 5 years?
In terms of growth, we initially talked about opening a second location on the Kohala Coast, but we’ve decided against that. My absolute favorite saying is Wayne Gretzkys’ "Some of the people skate to where the puck is. I skate to where the puck will be." There are still a lot of real estate offices opening up there, despite the fact the market has turned. Ultimately many are going to be closing down as well. That’s happening all over the islands, just as it is on the mainland. Agents that were in this to make a quick buck are now back to waiting tables, as is typical anywhere in this type of market.
We’ve also been able to gradually develop a solid policy and procedures manual. We want to treat everyone fairly, without having to make exceptions just for one person, just one time. The manual does away with, "I don’t understand." Additionally, if someone has a complaint, we ask that they email us a description of the issues along with three solutions. The complaints stopped. It also helped to have a "No Whining" sign above my desk (and I have had occasion to nonchalantly point to it while listening to someone go on and on). It’s all in good fun, though. These things just make it easier for us to avoid conflict, or at least minimize it.
What’s your next step?
We’ve been working on the Kai Maluna project, a high-end luxury condo development on the Kona Coast. We got an exclusive on that listing about a year ago and have been doing pre–sales We also are working on expanding other divisions of our company that are not Intero-specific but help us to be a full service real estate office for our clients—a truly one–stop shop for all our mainland owners needs. The needs that our clients have are slightly different because of the nature of real estate on the Island. We have to take that into consideration.
For me personally, I am looking for an individual with the right chemistry to take over the management of the Real Estate Division, as I am working on other aspects of growth as mentioned. It would allow me to focus more of my efforts on top-level strategy, recruiting, teaching, and other things that will help this business grow. I’m a creative, futurist, out–of–the–box individual. That’s my gift. With the right person to manage the day-to-day real estate affairs, I could find more time to push us forward to the next level.
Any last suggestion a broker who’s entering a new market?
I think everyone is different, but for me, it comes down to this: put your head down, keep your mouth shut and do the right thing the first time. The rest, including the money, will follow.
