HOW I FOUND MY PASSION AND DEVELOPED THE UNIQUE SKILLS I HAVE TO PROVIDE CONCIERGE SERVICE TO HELP YOU SELL YOUR HOME IN NAPLES, FLORIDA

My journey of developing a passion and very unique skill set, including being an expert marketer and negotiator, to provide concierge service to help you sell your property in Naples, Florida quickly, at top dollar and with zero stress, which results in me selling millions and millions and millions and more millions of dollars of real estate annually in Naples and the surrounding areas. 

I am about to be 100% transparent with you.

I feel it is important that I begin with my youth and move to the present.

Understanding that life experiences and pains are truly blessings.

That is extremely important for me to optimize the present.

My past is the strong foundation behind my selling millions and millions and millions of dollars of luxury real estate annually in Naples, Florida.

I was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up with two younger brothers, a loving mother and a father who immigrated to Cleveland from Czechoslovakia when he was 11 years old. 

Mom is 100% Italian and was born in Cleveland.

Mom and Dad went to school together and met in ninth grade.  They married three years after graduating from high school and have been together ever since.  

I came from a very stable and loving home, yet my parents were very strict while I was growing up and had very high expectations of me.

Dad began his career as bagboy at a very small grocery store.  

That single grocery store eventually grew to a very large chain of stores that Dad helped grow as he worked his way up the corporate ladder to become an executive within the company.

Dad’s success led him to eventually being an owner of various large supermarket chains.

He would buy them, improve and grow them and then sell, usually to a publicly traded company.

Dad was an extremely hard-working, dedicated, corporate guy, who is now retired and driving Mom absolutely crazy! She just isn't used to him being around the house.

Mom is a wonderful homemaker and mother.

I was extremely close with Mom’s parents, Nana and Papa.

Nana was also a homemaker and Papa was an entrepreneur who owned various taverns and nightclubs.

From the time I was about five years old until I was 19 or 20, I would go with Papa to work at 5:00 a.m. every Sunday morning to help him clean the tavern, balance the books and take inventory.

When we arrived back to my parents’ home around 12:00 noon, my family and I would gather around the table for a good old Italian lunch and loud conversation.

My father loved talking about his career and Papa loved telling us the week’s stories from his tavern.  They would also discuss the expectations they had for me in the corporate world after college

I worked in various departments at different stores of my father’s while I was in high school.

After graduating high school, I attended a liberal arts college, now called Baldwin Wallace University.

I majored in Accounting, Finance and Economics and graduated with honors.

I worked for a local and then a regional public accounting firm while obtaining my undergraduate degree.  Why Accounting? I have no idea.  I just kind of fell into it.

I intended on going to law school upon graduation from Baldwin Wallace; however, the Chairs’ of the Business and Economics Departments had different aspirations for me. The School’s Office of Career Development and Placement also had different intentions for me.

At the encouragement and guidance from these folks, I agreed to on-campus interviews.

I was offered a position will ALL of the Big Eight public accounting firms, as they were called back then.  

I was also offered positions with several local and regional public accounting firms.

In addition, I was offered several corporate positions.

After much contemplation and discussions with my parents, grandparents and mentors, I accepted a position with Arthur Andersen (“AA”).

AA knew I wanted to go on to law school but was hoping I would postpone law school and instead work through the ranks at the Firm.  

Oh man, did they have lofty plans for me, but I could care less!

I didn't care for my job, the culture and politics at Arthur Andersen and resigned from the Firm after a short while, so I could attend law school.

As if law school wasn’t enough, I decided to also get an M.B.A.

I graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a law degree in Real Estate, Corporate and Securities law.  

My M.B.A. from Case is in Marketing and Finance.

As expected of me, I graduated with honors for both degrees.

Quite a background for a guy who wanted to pursue a career in the corporate world…so not me!

In addition to attending undergraduate and graduate school, I was very conscientious about building an impressive resume.  

Dad continually stressed upon me how important work experience is in addition to degrees and honors.

Of course, all while in school, I made sure I had “good” jobs that would position me above others upon graduation.

All while attending graduate school full-time, I had part-time AND/or full-time jobs. 

While in graduate school, I worked for a large bank in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department.

I don’t mean to brag about myself, but again I excelled!

The Chairman and CEO of the Bank kept a close eye on me.  

After working for the Bank for about a year, they took me to lunch, showered me with compliments and gratitude, and offered me a unique position that they created for me.  

They put me in a fast-track management program with the intention of me becoming president of one of the Bank’s subsidiaries upon graduation.  

When I asked them why me, they replied with reference to a famous legal case. They said, “it’s like pornography, you just know it when you see it.”

Sounds impressive, huh?  Well, not so much!

Here I was climbing a corporate ladder, doing something I hated, but afraid to quit.  I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, grandparents, mentors and superiors at the Bank.

Now, get ready for the next part…

I was in my last year of law school and M.B.A. school and finally decided to take a Spring Break trip.  

I went with a few friends from school to my parents’ place in Naples, Florida; which, by the way, is the place where I had written my dissertation and thesis for graduate school.

I went through my mail when I got home from my trip and found a letter from the CEO of the Bank.

As a result of the merger I helped put together at the Bank, there was no room for me!

Here it is April of graduation year and I have no job and still have the bar exam ahead of me!

To say the least, I was FREAKING OUT!

Hiring season was over and I had no clue what I was going to do.

When life takes a turn… TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION.

That is pretty important to understand.

You can cry but you better get your butt moving while the tears are still flowing. 

Alright… Let’s keep moving.

While studying for the bar exam, which I passed on the first try and was in the top 5% of the State of Ohio, I looked for a job to no avail.

The job market was HORRIBLE at the time.

The only option I had was to go into private practice as a lawyer and open a small firm, and that is exactly what I did.

And, what an office I had!

It was designed to the hilt!  It looked just like the offices on L.A. Law!

Practicing law and running the firm was not easy, so I decided to be a paralegal teacher in the evenings to break up the monotony.  

I eventually took a trip to Sedona, Arizona to visit my friend, Tamara. There is something very special about Sedona.  It is a beautiful place in our Country and magical things happen there!

I came home from one of our walks and told Tamara that I wanted to sell the Firm. Of course, she thought I was nuts!

As fate has it, the next morning I received a phone call from an attorney with whom I often co-counseled and he made me an offer to purchase my firm.

I accepted his offer without blinking an eye, but had no clue what I was going to do for work!! He offered me the opportunity to stay on board, but I was not interested.

A graphic designer friend of mine thought I would be a superstar in Investor Relations (“IR”) as it would combine my work and educational backgrounds, interests and talents.

I always had a love for Marketing and Public Relations and spent much of my time at my firm doing just that.

Sounds great, but how the heck am I going to find a job in IR?

With her help, I began networking and eventually landed a position with a boutique IR firm.

What a cool job!  My clients were C-level executives of publicly owned companies and we traveled EVERYDAY around the U.S. promoting the company and its stock to institutional investors.

Naturally, I burned out and resigned after two years.

Here I am again, unemployed and having no idea what’s next!

It was Summer, and I thought some beach time was in order.  

Well, that only lasted a day because I received a phone call from a large Public Relations and Marketing firm offering me a position as Vice President to start an IR practice for them.

This offer was too good to turn down, so I rolled up my beach towel and put it back on the shelf and grabbed a suit and tie.

Off to work I went the next day and stayed for three years.

Once again, I was doing “what was expected of me,” and not thinking about or doing what I wanted or what made me happy and fulfilled.

I was an executive at one of the largest and growing PR and Marketing firms in the U.S. where I was referred to as "The Change Agent" and called many of the shots and was even able to take time each Summer to teach Comparative Economics at an English-speaking university in Rome!

I excelled at the Firm and was in line to become its president; however, I was bored and not loving what I was doing.

To put it bluntly, I felt like a caged wild animal!

I was in misery in corporate and wanted a career outside of corporate that gave me freedom, allowed me to help others and that made me happy and fulfilled, so I resigned without any plans for my future.

Again, I thought I should head to the beach.  But, this time in Naples, not Huntington Beach in Cleveland.

While hanging at the Pelican Bay beach in Naples, I made the life-changing decision to get a Florida real estate license for no apparent reason other than to get it and MAYBE dabble in real estate in Naples a bit.  

Who knew what was to eventually come and that I would have a flourishing real estate career in Naples!

I think I forgot to mention that I already had my Ohio real estate license that I picked up somewhere along my career.

I was involved with real estate on the side in Cleveland for years.

I purchased many rental properties for myself and helped family and friends with their real estate needs as my time permitted because I was still working in corporate.

I was involved with real estate as an outlet.  I found it very fun.  

Now that I have my Florida license, I had to find a broker with whom to place my license.  

I had no clue at the time who the best and most reputable brokers were, so I called some of my contacts, one of whom at the time was President of a large real estate company in Cleveland.

He gave me some names and off I went making calls and knocking on doors looking for a broker.

Sounds crazy…  I left the cushy corporate job with all of the glamourous perks and the steady paycheck, bonuses, dividends, and all of the other bells and whistles TO BE HAPPY!!

I was happy, alright, but wondering about somewhat aimlessly and burning through my savings.

One of the names Tony gave me was John R. Wood Properties.  

Wow did they ever blow me out of the water while interviewing with them!  

Talk about impressive… WOW!!

What an AMAZING company and family of people!

Since its founding in 1958, the Company has thrived, and holds the distinction of being #1 in Southwest Florida for units sold and sales volume. 

The Company is the oldest brokerage in Southwest Florida and has 14 office locations in the two-county area. 

The Company is also the #1 residential brokerage in Florida per agent productivity. 

That ranking places John R. Wood Properties #18 in the U.S. for per agent productivity.

I just knew this was a fit for me and since 2002 have never looked back.  

I am finally at peace and happy.  

I’m following my passion of being an entrepreneur and helping others with their real estate needs in Paradise!!

I am one of the TOP agents in Naples today and absolutely LOVE what I am doing. 

Right from the start, I have been very successful in real estate.  

In fact, one of my first transactions was a buyer of mine purchasing a THIRTEEN MILLION-DOLLAR beachfront condo in Naples!

I was now off and running.  

This buyer was SO satisfied that he referred several other buyers and sellers to me and, combined with my database of contacts, it just snowballed from there to the success I have today of selling millions and millions and millions and more millions of dollars’ worth of real estate each year!

And, of course, with this success came multiple in-company, local, regional and national awards for my EXCEPTIONAL client service and success.

I’m VERY well-respected by my superiors and my colleagues.  

This makes me feel great!  It is SO rewarding and satisfying!!

I just can’t believe how happy I am now and how much I absolutely LOVE what I do!

Now, this business is not without its challenges.  Let’s take this for example.

A homeowner called me to meet with him to discuss listing his home.  

The home was exquisite; HOWEVER, there was one MAJOR problem…

The house was located on a sinkhole!  

Boy, did I have my work cut out for me!

AND, I got the job done and my client was ELATED because, not only did I sell his home quickly that was sitting on a sinkhole; I sold it for a million dollars above the values of the comparables!  

That means almost an extra million dollars in my client’s pocket that he was not expecting!! 

I ALWAYS have my clients' best interest at heart and they ALWAYS come before me!

I now put in more hours working now than I did in the corporate world and could care less.  

I LOVE my work so much that it doesn’t even feel like work to me!

I am living my passion and am known as an expert negotiator and marketer and for my concierge service in helping people sell their property QUICKLY, at TOP DOLLAR and WITHOUT STRESS!

In all honesty and sincerity, my market knowledge, talents, skills, education, successes, experiences, background and service are UNSURPASSED!

So, please message me here on LinkedIn or call me at (239) 595-2221 if I can help you or people you know with real estate in the Naples area and we’ll see if we are a good fit for working together.