Pierre

My Year in Review By Pierre.

Pierre

Last year at this time, I was hopefully awaiting the coming of the New Year. We were on the cusp of 2020, and we had a feeling there was something about 2020 that was going to be extra special. And I think anyone would agree, this has been a very special year.

I should give you a bit of an introduction for those who don’t know me. I am Pierre, Marketing Guru and resident Real Estate Dog in Edmonton at Realty Unleashed. You may recognize my silhouette from signs around town or from my highly anticipated film debut (more on that later). 

As I said, 2020 began with a lot of optimism and tail wagging. In January the Realty Unleashed team, led by Chris Squires, moved into our brand new office in the Grand on 124 Street. It’s a beautiful building with wonderful neighbours and is only a short walk from home. And I love walks, obviously. There are many people to credit this lovely space coming to fruition, and I’ve linked many of them at the bottom of this article!

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That same month, Realty Unleashed started ATBX, an accelerator program that we were fortunate enough to get into. Chris, along with Jen Armstrong, spent 14 weeks meeting other principals from small businesses who were in a similar phase of growth. They met many talented people, collaborated with other dog enthusiasts, and were mentored by some other really talented dog enthusiasts.

And then! We hired a new, very important member of the Curb Appeal Crew: Nancy. She works super hard alongside our other Crew members, Sybil and Ashley, who together ensure all of the homes we list are looking their very best. Nancy cares deeply about people and pets, and that’s why she fits right in.

Things took a really rough turn after that. Like everyone, our worlds were shaken in March when the first lockdown happened. We didn’t know what was going to transpire, so we shut down our office and layed off our Crew (poor new Nancy!). We all had to find new things to keep busy at home. Like so many others, Jen made sourdough bread. Chris started cutting his own hair. Eve worked on her real estate course and ate sourdough bread. And me, I longed for a new companion. Still, we had a lot of hope for 2020 to be a breakout year for us, even though we weren’t sure what the future would hold.

Things started to look up in May, with the addition of my little brother, Marcel. He has enough energy for the both of us. Sometimes Marcel plays a little rough with me and yanks on my collar, but I know he’s still learning how to be a good boy like me. And truly, he makes me feel like a puppy again. Back to business, Real Estate started getting busier, and it was time to call the Crew and get back to work. 

As summer started clipping along, we saw that the response by the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates low, alleviating the stress test and the First Time Home Buyers program, benefited many Edmontonians in a surprising way that I wouldn’t have paired with a pandemic. It began to get incredibly busy, and the excitement and successes of June filled us with hope, and offered extra head scratches for both me and my young understudy.

Summer also brought an incredible opportunity. We called on Baat Cheet Films from our ATBX cohort to create our first-ever Brand Video, starring me! We cannot speak highly enough of this company and recommend them to anyone without hesitation. It was an incredibly fun project to be a part of and we can’t wait to make another! It’s great to be a dog in real estate in Edmonton.

The fall months continued to pick up steam and we had felt busier than ever. After months and months of studying and dedication, Eve got her real estate license and is our newest REALTOR®. We are very proud of her! But our team needed even more help, so at the end of November we hired the newest addition to our team, Natalie! She is our Content Writer + Creator and has already added tremendous value. She loves dogs so she makes sense. Marcel and I both hope to meet her dog, Bodhi, someday soon.

Early December brought more excitement. Jen fetched herself a new title of Associate Broker and also became an owner of the business. She’s been with Chris since the beginning and works every day to make sure that Realty Unleashed continues to reach its full potential.

It’s almost a wrap on 2020, and looking back it seems like we defied the odds of what the year of a pandemic could have brought us. We are very fortunate to have hit so many milestones, and to be on pace to have a record-breaking year. Sadly, we are settling into lockdown number two and are opting to work from home for the foreseeable future. Still, knowing that we’ve been able to make it through the first one makes us hopeful about this time. And we are planning on entering 2021 with the prospect of good news, the hope of reunion, and eventual celebration.

Construction, “The Circle,” and more. https://www.instagram.com/jbdoes/

Office Planner, https://www.bluegraphite.ca/

Signs, Print, + Graphic Prints, https://www.getthecustomedge.com/

Graphic Design, https://www.pattoncommunications.ca/

Office Furnishings, https://www.allwestfurnishings.com/

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