Following a Legacy | A New Generation in Real Estate

AN IRRESISTIBLE FORCE Twice, recently, someone
has come up to me at a gathering and said, You guys are
revolutionizing the real estate industry in Boston, said Larry
Rideout, Co-owner of Gibson Sothebys International Realty. He and
his business partner, Paul McGann, are noticed for some recent
market gains and industry-leading recruits. The part I found most
interesting is that they mentioned how much our agents love working
for our company. That is part of what they thought was
revolutionary! I dont think that is revolutionary that is just what
happens when you run a family business.

We are a family business. That
mantra is woven into how Larry and Paul have led Gibson Sothebys
International Realty for over a decade.

Larry was reminded that, for him,
this is a family business in several ways. An enterprising cousin
began mapping the familys genealogy. As he dug through old
newspaper articles, he passed along one that would be of particular
interest to Larry. The Malden News headline read, French Real
Estate New Office Opening. Beneath the headline, a stoic, but
friendly, face bore the kind eyes and quiet strength that are
present in Larrys own face.

The French was Albert H. D.
French, Larrys maternal grandfather. He opened his real estate
office on Main Street in Malden, Massachusetts on June 14, 1922.
More than eight decades later, Frenchs grandson would acquire one
of the largest independent real estate firms in Boston and would
secure the Sothebys International Realty affiliation.

DIVINING A CAREER PATH When I was young, my mother would tell me about
her dad and what a great real estate broker he was, Larry recalled.
Recognizing the entrepreneurial spark in her son, Mrs. Rideout
began a decades-long campaign to encourage him to take up the
mantle.

Somewhere around 1978 my mother
again brought up the real estate idea. Mostly as a defensive
measure, as she was feeding me dinner on a fairly regular basis, I
took the Broker course and passed on the first try. I placed the
license squarely in the back of my wallet and renewed it faithfully
every two years.

But, Larry was already involved
in another sort of family business. He had followed his fathers
footsteps by working at U. S. Gypsum and then Catalano Bros., the
on-site trucking company at U. S. Gypsums facility in Charlestown.
It was a steady job, with benefits and the stability of a large
company. Even though real estate had been a family business, it
felt like the great unknown. He also knew his grandfathers story
had not ended happily (more on that later). The trucking company
provided union pay and a pension. Who could want more?

A FAMILY BUSINESS Larry fell in love with and married Patty
Sullivan. They started a family and bought a three-family home to
supplement their income. While the steady check and benefits from
Larrys job provided stability for a young family, it did not offer
any potential for growth. They wanted to do more for their
daughters.

Around 1983, my lovely wife
decided I needed to find another career and thought that real
estate would be good for me. I hung my license with a local real
estate company and got the first taste of reality, Larry smirked.
Sales were both slow and scarce, as the market faced incredibly
high mortgage rates. Fortunately I was just a part timer, so I
continued safely in my comfort zone in Charlestown.

Then Century 21s Help Wanted ads
started showing up at our breakfast table. As odds would have it,
the office in Woburn was managed by a wonderful guy named Joe
Crowley, Larry said. Joe cautioned the young father about the
ups-and-downs of a real estate career. But Larry was not to be
dissuaded. He decided I was worth the chance and I was hooked. He
left behind the stability of his job and plunged head first into
real estate.

A natural leader, he worked his
way up the chain first as an agent, then manager until he was
recruited by Realogy, the parent company of Century 21, Coldwell
Banker, and ERA. He ran mergers and acquisitions for one third of
the country for more than a decade. It was our job to identify
companies that would benefit from wider brand recognition. It gave
me a national perspective on real estate market trends, said Larry.
He learned the art of real estate brokerage from many different
successful company owners. While building his team, he also hired
the man who would later become his business partner, Paul
McGann.

In 2004, Sothebys auction house
entered into a long term alliance with Realogy to manage the real
estate brokerage portion of their business. Sothebys became the
elite brand. The name alone is synonymous with luxury. But, it was
and is run separately. Our team couldnt sell those franchises.
Larry and Paul kept their eyes on the burgeoning brand as it began
to thrive. They dreamed aloud about what it might be like to grow a
Sothebys International Realty franchise in Boston.

Then, in 2006, a 40 year old
Boston real estate company was being sold by its owners. It was
right in Larry and Pauls proverbial back yard. This was the
opportunity they had been looking for but, the timing would prove
to be tough.

OPPORTUNITY AND CRISIS Albert French built a thriving real estate
company in Malden. He became a well-respected local businessman.
But, tragically, his story paralleled that of other entrepreneurs
and businessmen of his time. The Great Depression devastated his
firm and left him penniless.

My mothers family went from a
lifestyle of relative comfort to just barely scraping by. They had
been an upper middle class household until the Depression. I can
only imagine how that weighed on my grandfather. To suddenly be
unable to provide for your family and the people who work for you
it must have been a terrible blow, said Larry. It was one that
French would not survive. He died later from a heart attack. His
widow packed up the children and moved in with one of her
cousins.

Little did Larry know that he and
Paul were about to face a similar set of circumstances. We bought
Gibson in the fall of 2006 and affiliated it with Sothebys
International Realty. We were off to a really strong start. But,
things started to change in the market. Within a year, the banking
and mortgage crisis began and real estate companies were hit
particularly hard. I didnt want what happened to my grandfathers
company to happen to ours. Our employees and agents are our family.
We had to find a way to get through it, said Larry.

While other real estate companies
closed their doors, Larry and Paul kept theirs open. We hunkered
down and relied on each other. Our people are the heart and soul of
this company and each one of them helped us get through the
recession. We believed in our company and in our agents. We used
our creativity and technogy to enhance what we were doing instead
of cutting back. It became a critical part of our
success.

In the midst of the global
economic crisis, they also found opportunity. Larry and Paul had
spent their careers at Realogy orchestrating mergers and
acquisitions. They used that skill-set to grow their own business
and save others through the recession. We talked to other business
owners and developed ways to help each other. They acquired and
rolled-in several firms. This put them in a unique position to
succeed when the market rebounded.

BUILDING ON A LEGACY In the eleven years since they bought Gibson,
Larry and Paul have more than quadrupled its sales volume and
market share. We went from being well below #20 in the state
to #3, and our productivity is off the charts! Today
Gibson Sothebys International Realty has eight offices in Greater
Boston. They achieved more than $1 billion in sales volume
consecutively the last few years and of the top five firms in Massachusetts, Gibson
Sothebys International Realty was the only firm to gain market
share in 2016.

In 2015, they opened a new office
in Cambridge. Looking for parallels, Larry read from the article
about the opening of his grandfathers office. A concert by radio
furnished a very unique entertainment, which many stopped to hear.
To the ladies who called there were presented carnations, while the
men enjoyed cigars. He smiled. I suppose thats not very different
from our party. We had a live jazz trio and flowers but, no cigars.
Patty doesnt let me smoke them, he added with a chuckle.

Two of Larrys four daughters were
in attendance. Kristen is one of the real estate agents in his
company and Nicole is the Director of Relocation and Referrals. We
treat all of our staff and agents like family. But, its a
particular point of pride for me to have my daughters working with
me, Larry said with emotion in his voice.

Nicole shares Larrys piercing
blue eyes and relentless drive. She is often the first one in the
office and the last one to leave. I love what I do, she said. My
mother teases me about being so much like my dad. She calls me Chip
and him Block. Nicole started as a receptionist, then moved up to
Executive Assistant, earned the opportunity to develop the referral
part of the business, and now is the Director of Business
Development. Her own growth within the company is similar to that
of others on the management team. Many of the staff started in
other areas of the firm and have shifted career paths within
it.

That flexibility is there by
design. One of the reasons I left the safety of my full-time job in
Charlestown is because there was no way for me to grow there. I had
reached the highest level I could. I dont want to run my company
that way, said Larry. He prides himself on developing growth
opportunities within the company for his staff and his agents. We
invest in our people and play to their strengths. We help them
develop new skills, change departments, or coach them to achieve
their goals.

When asked whether he or Paul
ever worries that staff will leave after they have been trained,
Larry said, That may happen. But, you know, Richard Branson once
said, Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well
enough so they dont want to. Thats how we try to run our
business.