For so many years now I have shared what I feel is such an untapped market for real estate agents, the small business owners and service providers in our communities. Almost every agent focuses the majority of their time on P2P ( person to person ) marketing and never seem to tap into the B2B ( business to business ) marketing and build relationships and become their communities real estate professional of choice. Since the pandemic hit the world the need for supporting and serving the small business owner and service provider has gone to a new level. Think about it real estate agents are independent business owners and could do what we can to help them survive and develop relationships that may lead to business in the future and gain new relationship share and save the business community in our trading areas. I am not saying it is about personal gain, I am talking about stepping up and helping fellow business owners in need and let the universal principle of reciprocity take care of the rest. For more than a year now I have been watching social media celebrity and founder of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy. This wild and crazy, outspoken guy does the most hilarious pizza review, sports talk show and political rants that you will ever listen too. I am not sharing this with you to get agents to start watching Dave and his offside content but to share a story that just hit home with me over the holidays and feel it needs to be told.
Dave Portnoy managed to build an empire worth 120 million over the last few years with his social media influences and has been calling out the government and their lack of ability to support the business community all over the N. America. On December 20, 2020 one of Portnoy’s good friends calls him out and says to him “Why doesn’t he put his money where his mouth is?” In true Portnoy competitive fashion he does exactly that and creates a legitimate charitable fund called Barstool Sports Fund with $500,000 of his own money. The fund will assist business owners across the nation. All the business owner needs to do is prove their were a viable business prior to Covid, must still be paying all their employees and why they need the money for assistance and email, video or send a letter to Portnoy to be considered for the assistance. Now the best part of the story is in only three weeks this fund has grown to more than 20 million dollars and climbing from more than 140,000 donors and has already provided more than a 100 businesses with the funds they need to make it in 2021!! Watching the Barstool Sports Facebook page video posts, being updated every day by the way, when Portnoy facetimes the business owners and lets them know they will be receiving the funding is something so inspiring it can’t help but warm your heart and restore your faith in humanity.
I don’t share this story to ask you to dig into your own pockets and start a fund like Portnoy has. I wanted to give you all hope and encouragement to start 2021 and hope that you will find some way to make a difference in your business communities and grow your relationship share in your business in an untouched market for real estate agents and give yourself the greatest gift of making a difference in others lives when they are in the greatest need of their lives.
Strength and courage,
Wade
