Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassie Brown.
Cassie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2010, I was working as an administrative assistant for this engineering company in Austin. I gave college a go and it wasn’t for me, but I knew being an administrative assistant wasn’t “it” either. That experience helped me understand three things in particular: I wanted autonomy and freedom in my job. I wanted to be my own boss; and that I could create something centered around exceptional service that wouldn’t require me to wear a suit to prove it was good. So, outside of working a regimented 40-hour work week, I studied for my real estate exams, passed them and spent every extra minute I had touring clients. I established Smart Austin Locating in 2010 while I was still with the engineering company, and centered it around the mission of helping my clients find a space to be themselves. For me, it was “grow or die,” so anything I didn’t know, I figured out. I was this crazy locator calling every property to check pricing and availability to ensure my clients had exactly what they needed, and people responded to that!
In 2012, my now wife asked me to move to Dallas with her, so I officially left my position at the engineering company and continued locating under two different branches of “Smart City” in Dallas and Austin. As you can imagine, that became a lot to juggle, so in 2013, I leased an office, hired my first employee, and Smart City Locating was officially born. This was around the time that Instagram became a huge leader in the social media world, so I knew I had to be a part of it. At first, we talked about funny apartment-related things and joked about being 25 years old, which is how old I was at the time. Then, one day, I called a property to check the pricing and they were running this incredible deal; I needed to tell as many people about it as possible, so I posted it to our Instagram account – and it blew up! Since then, we’ve developed this devout following on social media and use that as our main vehicle to show people what really good apartment deals are on the market. We don’t post just any property listing; we post the absolute best deals and our followers know that! Within a year of getting things off the ground in Dallas, Smart City expanded back to Austin in 2014, then expanded again to the Houston market in 2017. Our agents still call every property before sending any lists to clients. We consider the needs of the client over trying to make a quick buck, and I require our people to be accessible at all times so that our clients are getting the best service possible.
I have surrounded myself with the absolute best people and that is how I’ve gotten to where I am today- not a doubt in my mind!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve definitely seen success as a company, but not without a few struggles. One struggle that stands out in my mind was when we had to begin pivoting the company and adding more structure, back in 2017. When I started Smart City, it was important to me to create a space people could come and do work that they love every single day. As we began to grow, I had to manage the balance between maintaining the culture and implementing new processes, which with the growth of any business, is inevitable. As this change started to happen, I saw some turnover in our workforce and because I truly value each and every person who works for me, that was tough. I also understood that in order to continue to grow and evolve our level of service, I needed people who were willing to be agile and active in the process. I think, overall, everyone at Smart City faces adversity with the willingness to come out on top, so sure, we’ve seen struggles, but we definitely don’t sit and dwell on them. We go out and try a solution, and if that doesn’t work, we try another one and another one!
Please tell us about Smart City Locating.
Honestly, Smart City is so much more than an apartment locating company. When I first started Smart City, I was on a mission to disrupt the real estate industry by completely removing the formality of the locating process and replacing it with the individuality that comes with being a human–not an automated list generator. I think that’s what sets us apart from other locators. We’re known for being leaders in the apartment market and providing a hyper-personalized experience based on the needs of our clients! Every one of my agents does their homework before sending options to a client because their “why” is our “why.” As a company, we’re so proud to serve the people we do because, at the end of the day, we’re in this business to help people find a space to be themselves, emphasis on “help people.”
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Success to me is setting hard goals and destroying them. It’s continuously learning, being open to new ideas and staying curious. Success is the fulfillment of the people around me, and most importantly, it’s the idea that I woke up this morning and didn’t have to go to work… but I did anyway because I wanted to. If that’s not a success, I don’t know what is.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1619 N. Hall St., Dallas, TX 75204
- Website: https://www.smartcitylocating.com/
- Phone: 214-586-0519
- Email: https://www.smartcitylocating.com/dallas-apartments/apartment-search/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smartcityapts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartcityapts
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/smartcityapts
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/smart-city-apartment-locating-dallas-dallas
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartcityapartmentlocating/
Image Credit:
Steph Grant
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