The stepping stones
Grigory went to Michigan State University to study veterinary medicine, and therein he realized that he loved animals more than the idea of being a vet. Thus, he shifted to finance and landed a job in real estate outside of Chicago. “This was by sheer luck and chance,” he mentions. The country was facing the worst recession when he started in real estate, which he described as an interesting start to a new job. As he grew as a real estate agent in a firm, his competitors began to get insecure and were envious of his success. “The owner got spooked and tried to get me to sign a new contract to lock me down,” he adds. He was young and naive, but something told him not to sign that contract, which led to his sacking from the company. As a result, he launched Vesta, his own business. The experience taught him to never lose trust in your gut and never lose confidence in your abilities. “You are your best ally or can be your worst enemy. Choose ally,” he adds.
Building your network and earning the trust of people to help them with one of the most significant life decisions, according to Grigory, is the key to success in real estate. That process takes a lot of time, and you have to start on the ground floor and work your way up. So, he started doing exclusively rentals, which then transitioned into home sales and then into upgrade buys. Every level of growth in real estate required re-learning everything he knew and rebuilding. Success in real estate is having a consistent form of execution for activities while constantly trying to reinvent yourself. “Learning the dance of focus and creativity has been one of the greatest challenges of my career and continues to be so,” he mentions. When faced with dilemmas, he takes a step back and reflects, focusing on every aspect he has control over.
His company stands out by offering exceptional service. “When you work with us, you don’t just get an agent; you get a dedicated concierge department, transaction team, marketing department, and executive scheduling assistant, in addition to continued support after,” he elaborates. For agents, the company solely focuses on providing more value to its agents than they bring, which is the opposite of the typical brokerage model.
His idea implies that the company brings together the most driven people in real estate and puts them in a supportive environment to soar to new heights. “We are actively proving this to be true,” he adds. Moreover, the company is developing a Vesta sales academy that we plan to give free access to anyone interested. The goal is to create a vibrant real estate community where agents can learn from one another to become the greatest versions of themselves and raise the bar on professionalism.
The Reality of Real Estate
A major concern Grigory has about the industry is that there are some agents out there that do not have customers’ best interests at heart. Many agents get into this industry with only money on their minds, and that leads to many homebuyers developing a mistrust in all realtors as a whole. Like anything, this industry is volatile and is changing; thus, it’s important to do your research before making a huge life decision. “We need to have a higher barrier of entry to get into this business and an ability to showcase trustworthiness so clients can know who the best agent for them truly is,” he adds.
Personally, he does extensive research and discusses it with his partner, Brad Robbins. Every decision they make is a collaborative effort. He also presents it to his team to inform them of any new methods they are both adding. “You have to analyze the cost-to-benefit ratio and make sure it hits the metric you plan to hit. If it doesn’t, you have to have the discipline to cut it out quickly,” he asserts. Moreover, the culture at Vesta is deeply rooted in supporting and helping each other. Grigory surrounds himself with his agents and draws strength from their optimism.
