–Life as a Realtor | Community Developer–
It’s easy and perhaps even lazy to say that everything we do within the world of business is finance driven.
Yes, of course P&L statements matter. The company’s success, whether that of your own, or someone else’s rests on those numbers. In theory, every undertaking is linked up and purposefully matched to an end goal of creating more business, more revenue and more success.
This approach is the norm.
However, we as humans are not machines. I would suspect that at times at least, other non-profit driven ideologies creep into our consciousness and drive us forward in ways that don’t always make the most complete financial sense.
Our reasons could be sentimental, passion based or humanitarian slanted.
Have I lost you yet? Would an example of this line of thinking help? Well, don’t fret. I have the perfect guest lined up today complete with a story which succinctly captures the essence of what I just described.
Introducing
Phil Smith is a realtor, restauranteur and community developer located in sunny Crystal Beach, Ontario Canada.
Since first becoming a licensed realtor at the age of 18, Phil’s been attacking that line of work with vigour and vision. So much so, that he has been fortunate enough to become a leading Realtor, together with his business partner, Sarah Randall of Phil & Sarah Real Estate Team, who are consistently a top two or three pairing out of 1500 Realtors in the Niagara region.
Small Town Roots
His roots in the area run deep having grown up in the picturesque small township of Fort Erie, Ontario where a small lakeside village named Crystal Beach caught his attention and wonder many years ago. This lakeside community is perhaps best-known for its past, with that being the famous Crystal Beach Amusement Park, which operated on the shores of Lake Erie for 100 years before closing in 1989.
Faded Glory
Once the symbol of the village of Crystal Beach, the park’s closing took with it, it’s hundreds of thousands of tourists from all across the province and south of the border, along with hundreds of jobs. Unfortunately, all of this ushered in significant community transformation one would consider far from desirable.
Businesses in the village of Crystal Beach shuttered. Homes and cottages once full of families and market potential became vacant and sadly decrepit. The vibrancy along with the hustle and bustle steadily vanished.
A Vision of Revitalization
Phil, however, despite witnessing all of this, never doubted that Crystal Beach was an amazing place to live. Resultantly, he has been devoting the better part of his personal and professional efforts towards revitalizing the beach.
Never one to shy away from challenge, Phil began to endeavor in the promoting of the Crystal Beach area and even investing it in himself. In 2008, he opened South Coast Cookhouse, a local restaurant and bar and one of his symbols of a new era.
In doing so and experiencing success with this business, he also arguably and unknowingly cemented his own pathway forward as well as his image as a community developer by reinvigorating the village one business at a time.
Slowly over the years and by way of his own experiences and funding from his own real estate business, he began accumulating long abandoned and derelict commercial buildings. Once acquired, the goal was simple: renovate and revitalize the village.
When the opportunity arose to purchase the largest building in town, a former 38 unit, mixed use, 100 year old building in horrible repair that made absolutely no financial sense, Phil once again, decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it!
Definitive Progress
Five years later, despite a lifetime of setbacks, shortages, a pandemic, and budget shortfalls. Derby Square a once bustling area—near the beach and property of the aforementioned park—is bustling once again with an array of apartments, businesses and soon to be launched boutique 7 unit hotel.
All of this development has truly helped to invigorate the street, village and community by way of bringing new life, energy and in even outside investment from afar.
And it all started with visions of more. More for the community and more for the area. These accomplishments Phil has been part of have been built on determination, hard work and a vision if you will, for what can be, rather than what was.
Reasons to Listen
This talk will be a treat for anyone with a dream to do more and see things through. The conversation overflows with charmed sentiment and inspiration stemming from a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance in seeing a community reborn.
Listeners will get an unvarnished look at this concept of community development done the right way and what philosophical outlooks are truly required to execute on a large scale project such as this.
Phil also shares many lessons he learnt along the way and which helped him realize many of his dreams relating to Crystal Beach.
For fans of Crystal Beach itself, you’ll also hear about what the future holds for the area as noted by the man who has been behind the wheel of it all since the beginning.
Listen in for all this and more!
A Memorable Quote from the Episode:
“It’s not going to be a McDonalds that accentuates a community. It’s going to be a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker. It’s going to be people that are unique. It’s going to be a place with unique shopping experiences with people you want to support, people you want to believe in and people that believe in your community. That’s what makes a community.”
-Phil Smith
Check out the Video Conversation:
For those who desire to view the full video conversation of this discussion, you can do so via Youtube.
Words of Wisdom:
Hear from Phil as he shares advice to those looking to get involved in real estate and community development projects.
Discover More
For those interested in learning more about Phil and his work, you can find and connect with him through his company website Phil & Sarah Real Estate Team. You can also follow him here:
Keep Listening!
I hope you enjoyed the episode. For more, check out additional episodes here!
