We caught up with this year’s Customer Service Excellence of the Year winner to see how the Philadelphia business community has contributed to their success. Check out what Jared Gruber, Managing Partner, JG Real Estate has to say as we highlight one of the excellent small businesses that drives the Greater Philadelphia region. Join us to celebrate the 36th Annual Excellence Award winners on Thursday, November 8.
Customer Service Excellence of the Year Honoree
Where did the idea for your business come from?
Prior to opening JG Real Estate I was a real estate agent at a large Center City firm – I noticed that there was a void in the marketplace with respect to quality property management services. Property management was originally the core focus of the business, although it has grown into much more than that.
Describe the moment that you decided to go into business for yourself.
It dawned on me that if I didn’t take action to go into business for myself, despite whatever obstacles happened to be in my way at that specific point in time, that I never would. There’s always a reason not to do something, and I realized that couldn’t be my rationale for not taking the leap. So I did.
Who has been an inspiration to you as a business owner and why?
It’s hard to name just one – I am an avid reader and I specifically like to read about people who have succeeded massively in business with outside of the box concepts and work habits. Off the top of my head: Ray Dalio – because of his analytical approach to building his business and extracting the best from people. Tony Robbins – because of his ability to teach people how to cut through everything that is unimportant and get to the core of improvement. Richard Branson – because of his calculated risk taking and outside of the box thinking.
What makes your business model special?
Our business model is special because we’re in an industry where customer service is something of a dying art. Real estate consumers more than ever before are working without agents due to the increase in easily accessible online information. To maintain relevancy you really do need to provide them something they can’t just get on their own. Our product is intangible. We don’t own the homes we sell or lease. Our product is the service they receive; our product is the experience they have. Through highly educated and trained agents, we aim to provide both customers and clients with a pleasant and fulfilling experience, even in the face of challenges which test our ability to deliver that experience. Rather than having a single agent working through a deal who has a broad knowledge on various topics, our business model is based on teams. Each team consists of the brightest individuals who are highly skilled and knowledgeable in that specific area. Whether it’s our leasing team, maintenance team, accounts team, sales team or marketing team, they are constantly researching trends and brainstorming areas of improvement for each single piece of a consumer’s experience.
What is your business philosophy?
My general business philosophy is that if I do right by others, and encourage my organization to do right by others, that by and large things will fall into place. We need to make smart business decisions and operate with profitability in mind, but ultimately if we’re acting ethically, responsibly, and for the betterment of our community as a whole I think we are guided in the right direction and will succeed.
What is the most challenging about owning/running a business in the region? How do you deal with the challenges?
Local government regulation is probably the most difficult aspect of ownership. In the recent past the City of Philadelphia has changed how and when it enforces its rental license / certificate of rental suitability requirements and it has implemented a new law with respect to lead based paint. In order to deal with the changing regulatory requirements, we keep abreast of changes, consult with experts, and implement shifts in our processes which are necessary to be compliant and responsible.
How has the Greater Philadelphia business community impacted your success?
The Philadelphia business community is fantastic. Both personally and as a business we have developed a strong network of colleagues & competitors who have fueled our success. Without their support (and competition) there’s no way we’d be where we’re at currently.
Others will be looking to you for advice about starting and/or operating a business here. What are you top 3 tips?
- Don’t wait. If you have a good idea, just figure out how to execute – don’t over analyze, dwell, and research. Take action.
- Philadelphia over taxes its business owners – this is true, and this needs to be change. HOWEVER, do not use that as a crutch or an excuse as to why you should not operate in Philadelphia – there is so much opportunity here that it more than outweighs the negative tax consequences.
- Use the people around you – there are so many experienced, successful, and insightful people located in this City. Seek them out, learn from them, and find a way to add value to them as well and you will be amazed at how quickly you can grow.
What does it mean to you personally and/or to your business to be named an Excellence Award winner?
It is a great honor to win this award – it’s an external validation of what I already knew. For JG Real Estate, this means that we are meeting our goal of exceeding our clients’ expectations and delivering to them what we promise to deliver – the best customer service experience we can. But it doesn’t mean that we’ve met our goal and it ends there. We don’t measure our success against that of similar companies; we have our own internal standards. If we are better than others, we still may not be the best that we can be and so we are going to continue to evaluate our own performance based on direct client feedback and adapt to changes as needed.
What are your strategic growth plans for the next 3-5 years?
We plan to grow the three main lines of business – sales, leasing, and property management in a responsible way, keeping consistent increases in net profitability in mind. Our year over year growth to date has been staggering and we intend to keep up the brisk pace, but not at the risk of sacrificing quality of service, and that’s the most important piece to remember.
What resources or opportunities in the Greater Philadelphia region helped your business succeed?
Our relationships with local banks have been extremely helpful. They have been eager to lend and assist a rapidly growing business with expanding.
What resources do we need more of in the region to help our business community succeed?
Better and increased advocacy for limiting of taxation on business and property owners. There are a number of anti-business taxes in place now and there are some which are being proposed such as the new construction tax which are debilitating to new business growth and entrepreneurship.
What’s something that you think would surprise people about your business?
Our commitment – businesses frequently say how committed to their vision they are and how hardworking their employees are. It’s a cliché, but in our case it’s really true.
Where do you see your business in 10 years?
In 10 years I think there will be much that is the same with respect to our current business, but a lot which is different as well. I believe that our core businesses will still be a central part of our operations, but that we will also expand into different lines which perhaps we’re not even aware of now, or just starting think about. As the business landscape changes we will need to adapt as well.
Be sure to grab your tickets to help celebrate Jared and his team at JG Real Estate as the Customer Service Excellence of the Year honoree at the 36th Annual Excellence Awards on Thursday, November 8.
