Let’s Talk About Carlos Vargas…

Carlos Vargas of Vargas & Vargas Insurance is a “man about town”. Malcolm Gladwell would describe him as a connector.

“These people who link us up with the world… ….who introduce us to our social circles – these people on whom we rely on more heavily than we realize – are connectors, people with a very special gift of bringing people together.”

Read The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell to learn more. It’s a great book!

I’ve known Carlos, casually, for years through my real estate business in Dorchester, Hyde Park and Mattapan. I tried to get him into the Viridian business a couple of years ago, which is a natural fit for him, but he rightfully declined. Let me tell you about today…

Carlos and I had plans to meet at Stoughton House of Brews so that I could bounce my thoughts on the concept and culture of the future Hub Edge Realty. I’m excited about recruiting agents again, it’s been many years since I’ve had agents working with me, and I wanted to bounce ideas off of Carlos. He’s involved with lots of real estate agents across Greater Boston but he’s just far enough away from the business to make him an excellent sounding board.

I checked Facebook this morning, as one does, and I noticed that he had posted some photos of his training meeting at his insurance office in Dorchester. I knew at this point that he was focused on his business and I also knew that he’d have to drive to Stoughton in order to meet me. I was looking forward to our meeting but it was too late for me to drive into Dorchester, I would’ve been glad to do so, by the time I had realized his situation. This made me feel bad because Carlos’ time is valuable. He didn’t have to meet me today but he did because he does his best to keep his obligations.

We ordered some coffee and some breakfast sandwiches and got started. My concept and culture for the future of Hub Realty revolves around team building so there are a lot of nuances to consider. Team building has been an extremely tough thing for real estate brokerages to get right. It’s been tried and tried again without success. I’ve watched many brokerages try and fail. I’ve tried in the past and I’ve failed. I’m a different person now. Carlos listened and he listened more. Many industry insiders joke that getting real estate agents together is like herding cats and that’s a hurdle that I’ve got to overcome. I think I can do it successfully.

I’m sure Carlos thought that we’d have done the typical one hour meeting. I got into some deep stuff. Specific nuances. Complicated reasoning. I talked about third-party sites like Trulia and Zillow and why they’re bad for real estate agents and how they can be fought together. Carlos listened. I showed him what I’ve done with this site and where it’ll be going in the future. It was immersive. I think we started at about 9:45 AM and we didn’t get out of there until 11:45 AM.

Carlos definitely didn’t leave empty-handed because I did a little “show and tell” with him. I’ve got a lot of new marketing tools in my belt, I feel like Batman, that are going to be unleashed onto my unsuspecting clients so make sure to have me in to your home when you think about selling so that I can showcase them to you. He’s got a new gadget to buy, a new subscription to consider and a new app to download.

Here’s the point. I like and respect Carlos. I have to root for guys like Carlos to do well because guys like Carlos are guys like me. We’re out there hustling. The future isn’t guaranteed for any of us but writing pieces like this for people I like and respect will hopefully help the Carlos’ of the world continue to succeed. You can support Carlos, he’s running for Mayor of Dorchester, by donating to Carlos Vargas for Mayor of Dorchester on GoFundMe if you’d like.

Are you a real estate agent who’s interested in sitting down for come coffee? I can map out the future of Hub Edge Realty for you. Maybe you’ll decide to come along for the ride?

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