Episode #45: How to Create a Brand

[00:00:00] Oh, to be honest, I'll bring it in and we can put have Dylan put it up. Yeah. I sketched out like 30 different like logos and stuff. That many? Yeah. Are you serious? Yeah. Whoa. Yeah. It was like pages of loose leaf. Like, wow. Yeah. And you were drawing them out. Yeah. Can you draw? No. Okay. Then I would give them like stick figures. I would give the bed lowercase letters. I would give the bed like logos like here, Brent.

[00:00:30] Go make these like real pictures like a backwards M. I don't know. Yeah. Backwards lowercase. They're all like, you know, all different. It's a look, right? It's like a style.

[00:00:47] Welcome to the podcast dedicated to real estate insurance and building your business. Join us as we take you along our own business building journeys with additional wisdom from our network of local and national experts.

[00:01:03] Welcome to Bricks and Risk. Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Bricks and Risk.

[00:01:14] I'm Timothy M. Garrity. Sean P. Mooney reporting in for duty, sir. Get it going.

[00:01:22] What are we talking about today? I don't know. Dylan, do you know what we're talking about?

[00:01:26] Very rarely. Brand. Okay. Talk about brand. Like starting a brand. Creating a brand. What your brand is. Why you need a brand.

[00:01:42] When brands. When brands hire you to sport their outfits. When Obey pays you half a million dollars a year to model their clothing.

[00:01:53] The announcement will be coming out where I'm stepping down from insurance very shortly.

[00:01:59] You're like, all I need to do now is wear these hats and do this.

[00:02:03] It's like owning an investment property.

[00:02:06] Exactly. You just kick up your feet and grab a coconut.

[00:02:10] Hey, what's wrong with that?

[00:02:12] All right. So let's talk about brand because you and I have both done it.

[00:02:20] I've had to do it quite a few times now, which we'll get into.

[00:02:24] But starting a brand is it's interesting.

[00:02:28] There's lots of different reasons why you would start a brand.

[00:02:31] I'm going to relate the first one to real estate.

[00:02:34] So in real estate, you can be a solo agent and have a personal brand like I did when I started.

[00:02:40] You can be a team and have a team brand that represents your group, what you stand for and what you do.

[00:02:48] And you can be you can be a brokerage.

[00:02:50] You can be a massive brokerage like the big franchise guys and girls.

[00:02:55] Or you can be an independent brokerage just like Copper Hill was.

[00:02:58] And that was a brand.

[00:02:59] So brands in general are.

[00:03:04] They're interesting because when you're doing it, it's a very I would say it's it's kind of more of an emotional experience.

[00:03:12] Because you're this is a reflection of you.

[00:03:16] Yep.

[00:03:17] Like solo agent or a company.

[00:03:19] It doesn't matter.

[00:03:20] Doesn't matter.

[00:03:21] It's a reflection of you.

[00:03:22] Like when you were starting Mooney Insurance Brokers and you were coming up with that brand through Brent Bush Design.

[00:03:29] What's up, man?

[00:03:30] Brent.

[00:03:31] What's his handle?

[00:03:33] At Brent.

[00:03:34] I think it's at Brent Bush.

[00:03:35] At Brent Bush Design.

[00:03:37] You say that three times.

[00:03:38] At Brent Bush Design.

[00:03:39] At Brent Bush Design.

[00:03:40] At Brent Bush Design.

[00:03:41] That's pretty good.

[00:03:42] Yeah.

[00:03:43] What was the question?

[00:03:44] Question was when you were starting Mooney Insurance Brokers.

[00:03:47] With Brent.

[00:03:48] With Brent.

[00:03:49] What was that experience like?

[00:03:50] Like what was how did you get started?

[00:03:51] Um, so I guess I had something in my mind that I.

[00:03:55] Oh, to be honest, I'll bring it in and we can put have Dylan put it up.

[00:03:59] Yeah.

[00:03:59] Yeah.

[00:03:59] I sketched out like 30 different like logos and stuff.

[00:04:04] That many?

[00:04:04] Yeah.

[00:04:07] Serious?

[00:04:07] Yeah.

[00:04:08] Whoa.

[00:04:09] Yeah.

[00:04:10] It was like pages of loose leaf.

[00:04:12] Like.

[00:04:12] Wow.

[00:04:13] Yeah.

[00:04:13] And you were drawing them out.

[00:04:15] Yeah.

[00:04:15] Can you draw?

[00:04:16] No.

[00:04:17] Okay.

[00:04:18] Then I would give them.

[00:04:18] What was it like stick figures?

[00:04:20] I would give the bad.

[00:04:21] Lowercase letters?

[00:04:21] I would give the bad like logos.

[00:04:24] They'd be like here, Brent.

[00:04:25] Go make these like real pictures.

[00:04:28] Like a backwards end?

[00:04:29] I don't know.

[00:04:30] Yeah.

[00:04:31] Backwards, lowercase.

[00:04:32] They're all like, you know, all different.

[00:04:33] It's a look, right?

[00:04:34] It's like.

[00:04:35] Yeah.

[00:04:36] A style.

[00:04:37] Right.

[00:04:38] Right.

[00:04:38] To it.

[00:04:38] Yeah.

[00:04:39] So it was like, do this and then tweak it.

[00:04:42] Like I did a whole thing of like, and then narrowing it down to like, and working with

[00:04:46] Brent, like, oh, how about this?

[00:04:48] Or how would this look like with this?

[00:04:50] And the words below or the words around, like it was a, it was a process.

[00:04:54] Wow.

[00:04:54] So you really put in a lot of thought as to how you wanted your brand.

[00:05:00] Pretty much.

[00:05:00] It's pretty much.

[00:05:01] How do you want your brand to be received?

[00:05:03] Yeah.

[00:05:04] Because when you're creating it, as much as you like it, or it's a reflection of you, the

[00:05:09] purpose of a brand is who's receiving it and identifying with it.

[00:05:14] That's any brand.

[00:05:15] That's a, you know, a service, a product, you know, clothing.

[00:05:19] It's anything.

[00:05:20] Yeah.

[00:05:21] It's really how people receive it.

[00:05:22] So you did all those sketches.

[00:05:24] Then how many treatments did Brent have to do?

[00:05:27] Revisions?

[00:05:27] I don't know.

[00:05:28] We got it nailed down to like, all right, this is the one we want to use.

[00:05:30] So you were doing your logo for about three years before you started the company?

[00:05:33] Yeah.

[00:05:33] This was like back in the eighties.

[00:05:35] Like just revision after revision, three vision.

[00:05:39] The first one was very, very punk rock.

[00:05:42] Yeah.

[00:05:44] I would put my headphones on, listen to Minor Threat and draw.

[00:05:50] That's how it started.

[00:05:51] That's how Mooney Insurance was born.

[00:05:54] I love it.

[00:05:56] So revision, him and I, once we got landed on the thing, it was like, all right, what color,

[00:06:00] what, what like final, like look application of like, you know, the name and then the words.

[00:06:06] Um, so probably another, he'd probably know better than me, but probably another like six

[00:06:13] to 10, like, wow.

[00:06:15] Yeah.

[00:06:15] Redo's.

[00:06:16] Yep.

[00:06:16] Um, once we had it down.

[00:06:18] Tweaks, little font color.

[00:06:19] Yeah.

[00:06:20] Look.

[00:06:20] And then like you land on it and you're like, yep, that's it.

[00:06:23] Yeah.

[00:06:24] That's a lot.

[00:06:25] Yeah.

[00:06:26] Uh, I don't know if I went about it the right way or if I would do that again, but, uh,

[00:06:30] at the time it's like when I was setting up the business and the brokerage is like, you

[00:06:36] have so much invested in getting your business off the ground.

[00:06:41] Right.

[00:06:42] Like, you know, it's, it's like your child, like you say.

[00:06:45] Yeah.

[00:06:45] And you kind of want everything to be perfect in a way.

[00:06:51] Yep.

[00:06:51] And so, you know, probably didn't need to do it.

[00:06:57] Right.

[00:06:58] Didn't, it was kind of like time, not well spent, but you know, you're developing this

[00:07:06] business and you do want it received by your clients and your prospects, um, in a certain

[00:07:14] way.

[00:07:16] And, you know, that's kind of how I just got to that, that final end product.

[00:07:20] Yeah.

[00:07:21] No, it's, it is, it's, it's kind of like a labor of love.

[00:07:24] Like even Copper Hill was, it wasn't as intense as your experience.

[00:07:29] I didn't have 30 sketches on loose leaf.

[00:07:30] I mean, it was not like, you know, like it was 28.

[00:07:36] Yeah.

[00:07:37] It wasn't 30, but it wasn't like these elaborate things.

[00:07:40] It was more just like, I want an arrow here or a circle here and just moving things around.

[00:07:47] And yeah, I mean, it was, you know, you know, our process was like, cause there were three

[00:07:51] of us.

[00:07:51] Yeah.

[00:07:52] So we were coming out with the brand.

[00:07:53] Right.

[00:07:53] And I always, I always go back to the story of how we came up with Copper Hill's name,

[00:07:57] which I think is relevant here.

[00:07:58] And the story is real, real simple.

[00:08:00] We got a 30 pack of Narragansett Lager, Tall Boys.

[00:08:04] Right.

[00:08:05] Went to Ryan Garrity's Roof Deck in Northern Liberties, me, Ryan and Andrew.

[00:08:09] We started smashing beers, like as in drinking them.

[00:08:13] And we just threw out names and concepts for probably like four to five hours.

[00:08:17] Ryan drinks beer?

[00:08:18] Just a little bit.

[00:08:19] Wawa has pizza.

[00:08:21] So weird.

[00:08:22] That's weird.

[00:08:24] Um, so we're throwing out names.

[00:08:26] That's what my son, Matt, the four year old, he must've seen the commercial.

[00:08:30] He's like, but he does it like, he goes, wait, Wawa has pizza?

[00:08:37] Like the way he does it is like amazing.

[00:08:39] Yeah.

[00:08:40] It's like that innocent, like, really?

[00:08:42] Yeah.

[00:08:42] Now I know what I'm getting next time.

[00:08:44] That's great.

[00:08:44] Which we do on the beach.

[00:08:47] Um, so we're throwing out all these names and concepts.

[00:08:52] And Ryan was really the one who said like, why does it have to mean anything?

[00:08:55] Like your business, your brand, your logo is your name.

[00:08:58] Right.

[00:08:58] So it means something.

[00:09:00] With us, we're like, why does it have to mean anything?

[00:09:02] Why don't we just make a really great name?

[00:09:05] We started mashing words together.

[00:09:06] That's how we came up with Copper Hill.

[00:09:08] And how we came up with our logo is we said, um, we want to do kind of like a gas lamp.

[00:09:15] Like we were thinking like copper, almost like the copper tubing up to the flame and a gas lamp.

[00:09:20] And it's Philly.

[00:09:21] It's old school Philly.

[00:09:22] It's like back to the day where, again, they didn't have the electric streetlights.

[00:09:26] They had gas lamps all over the place.

[00:09:28] And, um.

[00:09:29] Gas lamp hotel.

[00:09:30] That's right.

[00:09:31] Yeah.

[00:09:32] What's up?

[00:09:32] Kyle Kelly.

[00:09:32] What's up, Kyle?

[00:09:33] Kyle.

[00:09:33] Um, so that's really how we got started.

[00:09:37] We said we wanted to have a classic font look and we wanted to be a gas lamp.

[00:09:42] I actually think now you say that when you say that is like one of the first things that

[00:09:47] I think of is the copper flashing on, you know, when the homes do that on like a portico

[00:09:53] or something like that.

[00:09:54] Yep.

[00:09:54] And it's a fancy house.

[00:09:55] It's fancy.

[00:09:56] Right.

[00:09:56] Or the gutters, you know, if you see that on gutters or trim work sometimes on roofs,

[00:10:00] like slate roofs and things like, yeah, it's copper's fancy.

[00:10:03] Yeah.

[00:10:03] It's nice.

[00:10:04] Um, so then same kind of thing.

[00:10:06] We gave that to him.

[00:10:07] Might have given us maybe like five or six treatments and said, here are some looks.

[00:10:11] Yeah.

[00:10:12] And I think right away all three of us were like, that's it.

[00:10:15] Yeah.

[00:10:15] We picked one and then we maybe tweaked that another one or two times.

[00:10:20] Yeah.

[00:10:20] And that was, that was the logo.

[00:10:22] The final product for that Copper Hill is really tight.

[00:10:26] Thanks, man.

[00:10:27] Yeah.

[00:10:27] I appreciate that.

[00:10:28] It, it conveys exactly what I think you guys were setting out to do.

[00:10:32] So, oh, appreciate that.

[00:10:33] Yeah.

[00:10:34] Um, well, I should be thanking Brent.

[00:10:37] You should be.

[00:10:37] Yeah.

[00:10:38] Thanks, Brent.

[00:10:39] Thanks, Brent.

[00:10:40] Um, all right.

[00:10:41] So let's talk about creating a brand.

[00:10:42] So I've talked a little bit about your brand.

[00:10:44] We talked about a brand that I was associated with.

[00:10:47] Let's talk about where does someone start?

[00:10:49] So if you're thinking of doing something, let's say you're a solo agent, a team, a brokerage,

[00:10:53] or you're someone in insurance, you're in sales, you know, you're thinking of starting

[00:10:57] an insurance, an independent brokerage like Sean did.

[00:10:59] Um, there's a couple of different things you should consider when doing a brand, because

[00:11:06] I had two other people to bounce things off of.

[00:11:09] So it was probably a little bit easier.

[00:11:11] If it's just one person doing it again, I think it takes longer.

[00:11:15] I think you really have to think things through.

[00:11:17] And one thing, um, I've always done this because I've helped agents create their individual

[00:11:22] brands, team brands is I call it discovery.

[00:11:27] And discovery is a very easy way of saying what makes you different and, or what makes you

[00:11:35] stand out.

[00:11:37] And I think for Copper Hill, like being that we were in Philadelphia, we wanted to have kind

[00:11:44] of like an homage to Philly, which was the gas lamp.

[00:11:47] And when people would ask and say, what is that?

[00:11:50] And I would tell them, they're like, that's cool.

[00:11:52] It's different.

[00:11:53] You know, not a lot of brands looked like that in real estate.

[00:11:58] Um, when you started yours, again, you have competition.

[00:12:01] You got obviously the big box insurance, but you also have the mom and pop shops.

[00:12:06] And around Philly, what, what were those brands?

[00:12:08] Like, what did they kind of look like?

[00:12:10] I mean, when you talk about it and the industry, like they're the insurance people like are not

[00:12:19] marketing people.

[00:12:21] Yeah.

[00:12:21] They're not.

[00:12:22] It's a commodity.

[00:12:23] So it's like, okay, let's just, it's called Johnson insurance.

[00:12:27] Right.

[00:12:28] Just write Johnson insurance and we'll start writing people up.

[00:12:30] And if I had to do it, if I had to do it now, the funny thing is I would never do my name.

[00:12:36] Really?

[00:12:37] Yeah.

[00:12:38] What's the experience been with using your name?

[00:12:40] It's been fine.

[00:12:41] It's been, um, totally fine.

[00:12:44] Um, but I think in doing it now, uh, I would prefer it to be a brand that stand on, on its

[00:12:53] own.

[00:12:54] Okay.

[00:12:54] Like a copper hill.

[00:12:55] Correct.

[00:12:56] Like if I were to like create a brand, I would create a brand.

[00:12:59] Not like, yeah.

[00:13:01] Have me as the brand.

[00:13:03] Interesting.

[00:13:04] Yeah.

[00:13:04] I would be like Zoozle, Zoozle insurance.

[00:13:08] Or the backwards Z.

[00:13:09] Yeah.

[00:13:10] Like mirrored Z's.

[00:13:11] Yeah.

[00:13:12] Actually, let's know a podcast about, uh, Echo, uh, Mark Echo.

[00:13:17] The, uh, uh, he does like clothing apparel.

[00:13:22] Oh, echo clothes.

[00:13:23] Yeah.

[00:13:23] Gotcha.

[00:13:24] And he talks about the brand.

[00:13:26] Sorry.

[00:13:26] I didn't know his first name was Mark.

[00:13:28] Yeah.

[00:13:28] Well, we can't all be as talented as Mark, but he, uh, he started Echo and originally

[00:13:33] it was ECHO and he got a cease and desist letter because someone else had the name Echo.

[00:13:42] So then he changed it to ECKO.

[00:13:45] Oh, like Gecko.

[00:13:46] Gecko, Echo.

[00:13:47] Yeah.

[00:13:48] Um, but it's, it was an interesting thing how your, his name, uh, gets attached to a brand.

[00:13:54] And then apparently I didn't know that, but like, if it is your name, you can't, you

[00:14:00] can claim that as your brand without like trademark it pretty much.

[00:14:03] Yeah.

[00:14:04] Yep.

[00:14:04] Interesting.

[00:14:05] And then so he wound up changing his name to Mark Echo, ECKO.

[00:14:10] Interesting enough.

[00:14:11] That is interesting.

[00:14:13] Well, yeah, so I would, if I were to do it, I would do it differently.

[00:14:15] I wouldn't do it, uh, as my name.

[00:14:17] Um, but it's been, you know, I think the, the advantage of having it as my name is like

[00:14:22] people look at you like, oh, you're Sean Mooney, Mooney Insurance.

[00:14:25] And so there's like, kind of like that, oh, this guy's knows what he's doing or this is

[00:14:31] his company or, you know, so you got like one foot in the door where, you know, someone

[00:14:37] else might, you know, if I'm Tim Smith and I work for Sullivan Insurance or something

[00:14:43] like that, it's like, you know, there's not that direct, uh, you know, type of power, you

[00:14:48] know.

[00:14:48] So what's interesting about that, I'll give you the flip side.

[00:14:50] So you did your, your logo, your brand is your name and Copper Hill was not.

[00:14:56] Right.

[00:14:57] I almost think the opposite because you and I are in a similar business where we thrive

[00:15:02] on relationships.

[00:15:03] Yeah.

[00:15:03] And when you thrive on relationships, what I will say is that your name, in my opinion,

[00:15:10] will stand taller than your brand, unless you really want to go big with it.

[00:15:14] Like if you want to go into multi-markets, you know, you want to, you want to be global

[00:15:17] international, whatever you're trying to do, it's probably better to not.

[00:15:21] Yeah.

[00:15:22] But here's why I think using your name locally works.

[00:15:26] And this is, I'll relate to Copper Hill.

[00:15:28] Many times in real estate, we would meet other agents and I'd show a house.

[00:15:35] No one else has it listed.

[00:15:36] I have a buyer client and the old school suburban agents, not to pinpoint people, but the old

[00:15:41] school suburban agents I found unfortunately to be the most like talking down to me when I

[00:15:46] was new in real estate because they'd been doing it for 20, 30, 40 years.

[00:15:50] And I would say, Hey, this is Tim Garrity from Copper Hill.

[00:15:52] They're like, who's Copper Hill?

[00:15:54] I'm like, uh, that's a brokerage that I started and I owned.

[00:15:57] And they're like, Oh, hi Tim.

[00:16:00] So they knew I was professional.

[00:16:02] So your tone was like, yeah.

[00:16:04] Who the heck are you?

[00:16:04] Or who's this company?

[00:16:06] Oh, I'm sorry.

[00:16:07] Oh, Tim.

[00:16:07] And then as we grew with agents, then the agents would go out and they meet people and

[00:16:12] say, I work for Copper Hill.

[00:16:13] And people are like, who's Copper Hill?

[00:16:14] I've never heard of them.

[00:16:15] Clients would say that as well as other agents would say that that would almost make them

[00:16:22] feel say awkward, but it's like, now I have to explain.

[00:16:25] I would use that to your advantage.

[00:16:26] If they said that to me, I would actually be like, Oh, you never heard of them.

[00:16:29] How long have you been doing real estate?

[00:16:31] Like almost like throw it on them.

[00:16:33] Like, Oh my God, who are you?

[00:16:34] Yeah.

[00:16:35] We've been living under a rock.

[00:16:36] Yeah.

[00:16:36] It's actually, I was talking to someone recently about like bad reviews online and the business

[00:16:43] was getting real bad reviews and he's like, but business is really good, you know, blah,

[00:16:47] blah, blah.

[00:16:48] But like, you know, we just get some people that like aren't happy.

[00:16:51] I said, you should actually use that as like a marketing campaign.

[00:16:54] Yeah.

[00:16:54] Because like, like I hate Steven Singer.

[00:16:57] Yeah.

[00:16:57] Yeah.

[00:16:57] Oh my God.

[00:16:58] Yeah.

[00:16:59] I didn't think of that, but yeah, that's a good thing.

[00:17:02] Well, yeah.

[00:17:02] So that, that's like the flip side.

[00:17:04] Again, there's obviously no right or wrong, right?

[00:17:06] Yeah.

[00:17:06] But it's funny when people say, what should I name it?

[00:17:10] Yeah.

[00:17:10] And then I also think with your own name, there's a liability thing that probably crosses your

[00:17:14] mind.

[00:17:14] You're like, Hey, if something goes wrong, which again, something's happened that are no fault

[00:17:18] of your own.

[00:17:18] You're like, you want to kind of keep your name and your family out of it type of thing.

[00:17:22] Yeah.

[00:17:23] But the second thing I want to talk about with building a brand.

[00:17:25] So discovery is the first thing, figure out.

[00:17:27] So when you're talking about discovery, you're figuring out specifically, um, what's

[00:17:34] exactly what we talked about?

[00:17:35] Mooney insurance brokers or Copper Hill.

[00:17:37] Yeah.

[00:17:37] How do you want to name your business and why are you naming it that way?

[00:17:41] So again, there's going to be all sorts of different reasons why.

[00:17:44] Yeah.

[00:17:44] But then once you come up with the name, the next thing you got to do is you have to do

[00:17:47] your logo.

[00:17:48] Right.

[00:17:48] Because the logo is important part of your brand.

[00:17:50] I mean, it could just be wording.

[00:17:52] It could be text.

[00:17:53] It could be your logo.

[00:17:54] It could be a swoosh.

[00:17:55] Exactly.

[00:17:56] It could be a symbol that stands on its own.

[00:17:58] Yeah.

[00:17:58] Yeah.

[00:17:58] Like that bad boy right there that we talk about why iPhones are superior to droids.

[00:18:03] Sorry.

[00:18:03] Peach.

[00:18:03] Sorry, everyone who owns a droid.

[00:18:05] Yeah.

[00:18:06] Um, but, um, the logo can be lots of different things.

[00:18:11] And when you're looking at your logo, that's going to be like images, different fonts and

[00:18:15] different colors.

[00:18:16] And all those things mean something in some way, shape or form.

[00:18:20] The colors of Mooney insurance brokers, again, colors of like Copper Hill, let's say,

[00:18:25] or even Phil Urban Living or even Tim Garrity team, which we're going to get into in a little

[00:18:29] bit, which is another brand I created.

[00:18:31] That all means something.

[00:18:32] So when you were doing your logo.

[00:18:36] Yeah.

[00:18:37] Was the green more just because you like green or was there something else that went through?

[00:18:41] There was nothing like scientific.

[00:18:42] I know there's people that like want to be like orange because or red or, or serps.

[00:18:49] Yeah.

[00:18:50] Or something things.

[00:18:55] I can feel you're a birds fan.

[00:18:58] Cause I am a birds fan.

[00:18:59] Or curse your Irish.

[00:19:00] Or curse I'm Irish.

[00:19:02] Yeah.

[00:19:02] It could be either or.

[00:19:03] It could be either one.

[00:19:04] Um, but, uh, it just, you know, as I was going through the process, it's just kind of,

[00:19:11] I guess just what I liked in its appearance in terms of, you know, which color, right?

[00:19:16] So you run it through is like a blue or gray, you know, you know, and, and again,

[00:19:22] in my head is like, you have an idea of something, right.

[00:19:25] And then you're just trying to move to get as close as you can to, to that.

[00:19:29] And, and making sure that it's, you know, a professional look, because like I said, in

[00:19:34] my industry is like, there is no marketing.

[00:19:37] Like if you look up a hundred local insurance agents, I would guarantee that 85 don't even

[00:19:48] have a logo.

[00:19:50] It's just the name.

[00:19:50] Yeah.

[00:19:51] The word.

[00:19:51] Bill Bob insurance.

[00:19:53] You know what I mean?

[00:19:54] Yeah.

[00:19:55] They sound reputable.

[00:19:56] Which, but like with me, it's like, this is, um, you know, my logo, I'm going to stand

[00:20:01] behind the logo.

[00:20:02] I'm going to deploy my logo.

[00:20:04] It's a brand.

[00:20:04] It's an actual brand.

[00:20:05] I want it recognizable.

[00:20:07] Yes.

[00:20:07] And wording most of the time, even though wording can be part of your brand, there usually

[00:20:12] is a reason why people create images in their logo.

[00:20:16] They want it to stand on its own.

[00:20:19] You know, it doesn't need to say Mooney insurance brokers after it for you to understand that's

[00:20:24] Mooney insurance brokers, Copper Hill.

[00:20:26] It didn't need to say Copper Hill real estate at the bottom because the way the gas lamp looked

[00:20:31] with the colors, it stood on its own.

[00:20:32] I'll never forget it.

[00:20:34] Uh, someone was wearing a Mooney shirt.

[00:20:36] Yeah.

[00:20:37] Uh, they were over by like the, uh, movie theater in Flower Town.

[00:20:41] In that shopping center.

[00:20:41] No, it was a, it was a client.

[00:20:43] Uh, I think, and, uh, I'll never forget.

[00:20:47] He was telling a story about how he's, you know where the movie theater is in Flower

[00:20:52] Town, the movie tavern.

[00:20:53] Yeah.

[00:20:53] And then like the dollar stores over here.

[00:20:54] Yeah.

[00:20:55] Uh, someone was like, yeah, Mooney insurance.

[00:20:59] Are you serious?

[00:21:00] And, and the person was like, yeah.

[00:21:02] No.

[00:21:03] And they like saw the, uh, the M on the shirt.

[00:21:05] Uh, awesome.

[00:21:06] Which is like a funny story.

[00:21:07] I'm like, oh, well, I guess, you know, they were recognizable.

[00:21:10] Like I am doing something right.

[00:21:11] Yeah.

[00:21:12] Right.

[00:21:12] So I guess that's, you know, one of the stories where a logo, you know, can lead to being recognized.

[00:21:19] Totally.

[00:21:20] Yeah.

[00:21:21] Hey everyone.

[00:21:22] This is Tim, your favorite bricks and risk co-host, but don't tell Sean.

[00:21:27] I hope you're enjoying this episode and I'll get right back to it in a moment.

[00:21:31] Our audience grows through word of mouth.

[00:21:33] So if you would please take a moment of your time and give us a review on the platform you're

[00:21:38] on, that would be fantastic.

[00:21:40] Please also help spread the B and R word by sharing your favorite episode with a friend.

[00:21:46] We greatly appreciate your time and trust.

[00:21:49] Now back to the show.

[00:21:55] So here's the last one.

[00:21:56] So we talked about discovery.

[00:21:57] We talked about the logo itself.

[00:21:59] And I think the last one is, is in authenticity is being authentic.

[00:22:04] So brands in my mind over time will feel authentic for different reasons.

[00:22:10] It's usually like a story to go with it or it's just the history of the brand.

[00:22:15] It's been through this, through that.

[00:22:17] It's a hundred years old.

[00:22:18] You like that.

[00:22:19] It made it through the great depression or blah, blah, blah.

[00:22:21] Like there's lots of reasons why people, they identify with brands and it's usually because

[00:22:26] it has some level of authenticity to them.

[00:22:28] So if you're creating your own brand, here are a few things to consider.

[00:22:32] One is like, who are you?

[00:22:34] Like, why are you doing this?

[00:22:36] Like, what's the purpose?

[00:22:37] Like, if you're going to have a brand and a company, like, why did you decide to do that?

[00:22:42] You could just go work for someone else if you wanted to.

[00:22:45] Another one is, what's your focus?

[00:22:47] So maybe if you're working, let's call it in a more modern progressive environment, like

[00:22:53] an urban environment, you want more of a modern look.

[00:22:57] Hey, if you lived in some rural part of the United States where, hey, it isn't urban at

[00:23:03] all, maybe you want it to feel a little bit more country, a little bit more rural.

[00:23:08] So like there's different reasons why people do what they do.

[00:23:11] And then the last one, I think this is the most important one to authenticity and creating

[00:23:16] a brand is what do you love?

[00:23:19] And I think when people are open and they're able to share, again, why did I get into real

[00:23:28] estate?

[00:23:28] Why do I love it?

[00:23:29] I love helping people.

[00:23:31] Like, that is my main focus.

[00:23:33] There are lots of other reasons why I'm in real estate.

[00:23:36] Hey, to get ahead, to hopefully retire early.

[00:23:39] You know, it's good for my family.

[00:23:41] I get to work with friends.

[00:23:42] There's lots of reasons.

[00:23:43] But the main reason was I want to help people as an agent and as a company.

[00:23:49] And I say that all the time because the dollars and cents follow the reason why I love being

[00:23:55] in real estate, which is helping people.

[00:23:58] When you created the Copperhill brand, right?

[00:24:03] And you had agents on your team that were going out and people saying, oh, like, who's Copperhill?

[00:24:11] Or never heard of them before.

[00:24:15] What?

[00:24:16] Like, I can imagine there would be certain people that might say, oh, yeah, like...

[00:24:22] We're new.

[00:24:23] We're smaller.

[00:24:24] Yeah.

[00:24:24] Like, defending it.

[00:24:26] Yeah.

[00:24:26] But I also imagine that there were people be like, oh, yeah, like, that's who I work for.

[00:24:31] But like, this is my team.

[00:24:32] You know what I mean?

[00:24:33] I guess my question would be like, what was the response from your agents when they would,

[00:24:44] you know...

[00:24:46] Because they're kind of an ambassador, right?

[00:24:48] Of your brand.

[00:24:50] That's a good way to put it.

[00:24:51] And the way that they communicate to their clients or their prospects about your brand

[00:24:56] directly impacts the way that brand grows or is received.

[00:25:02] Like, what kind of conversations did you have with people on your team that were, you know,

[00:25:09] getting that type of feedback?

[00:25:10] Well, you know me by now.

[00:25:12] I'm glass half full of Garrity.

[00:25:14] So I'm always going to take a negative and turn it into a positive.

[00:25:17] You are positive.

[00:25:18] Yes.

[00:25:19] Really?

[00:25:19] Do I take a negative and turn it into a negative and keep going with it?

[00:25:22] So here's some bits of advice I used to give my agents.

[00:25:25] Yeah.

[00:25:27] One really glaring one, if they really wanted to make a point, is I would say...

[00:25:32] All right.

[00:25:33] So someone says, let's say they went on a listing appointment.

[00:25:36] Okay.

[00:25:37] They're going through the house.

[00:25:38] They're building rapport.

[00:25:39] They do their listing presentation.

[00:25:41] And the buyer's asking, Copper Hill is not a recognizable brand.

[00:25:46] So is that going to hurt the sale of my home?

[00:25:51] So freeze right there.

[00:25:52] Yeah.

[00:25:53] I watch all these real estate shows.

[00:25:55] Yep.

[00:25:55] But I can imagine that there's a scenario where there's four offers on the table and Copper Hill agent is number two on the pile.

[00:26:08] And I can imagine that there may have been a time where they would gloss over that or not think that that person's a real...

[00:26:17] Yeah.

[00:26:18] Like a well-known productive agent.

[00:26:20] Yeah.

[00:26:21] Because they don't work for a big name.

[00:26:22] Yeah.

[00:26:23] I mean, that's obviously glass half-empty Mooney.

[00:26:28] But...

[00:26:28] I can give you 11 examples of how I think it might be positive, too.

[00:26:32] I'll give you 10 others the other way.

[00:26:34] So let me get back to it.

[00:26:36] So in that listing presentation, when that person was trying to be negative about it, no one has ever heard of Copper Hill.

[00:26:43] So is that going to hurt the sale of my home?

[00:26:45] One thing I would say, or I would tell the agents to say, I'm like, let's do this.

[00:26:49] If you took two of the big brands out there, I'll just name them.

[00:26:52] Keller Williams and Caldwell Banker.

[00:26:54] And then you took Copper Hill.

[00:26:56] We're going to have a sign in front of your house to try and sell your home for people that are driving by, walking by, whatever, seeing the logo.

[00:27:05] Put all three of those signs on the ground.

[00:27:08] What sign looks the best?

[00:27:10] Like, no, as you had said before, I like the brand.

[00:27:13] I like your brand.

[00:27:14] Okay, if it's attracting people, that's better for your home.

[00:27:20] Don't worry about the numbers of people that work for those two other big competitors.

[00:27:25] Which one's going to catch the eye of the person driving by, walking by, looking online?

[00:27:30] They'll probably like our brand.

[00:27:32] The next point I would say is, like, it's better to be independent than it is to be this monster company.

[00:27:38] Because if the agent has an issue, they got a direct line to me, and I run the company.

[00:27:43] I'm the broker of record.

[00:27:45] And if it's someone locally, sometimes they'd drop my name and be like, oh, I've heard that name before.

[00:27:50] You know, I've lived here my whole life.

[00:27:51] So there was some credibility with that.

[00:27:53] So it's almost like you're taking that negative and saying, it's actually better for you, home seller, to have a sharper brand,

[00:28:01] to have me having a direct line to my broker, because it's about customer service.

[00:28:06] Then even with those, I'd say, you want to throw a cherry on top of that?

[00:28:10] Here's how you throw the cherry on top.

[00:28:12] Here's how you close out that.

[00:28:13] It doesn't matter who I work for.

[00:28:15] You're working with me.

[00:28:18] I'm your agent.

[00:28:19] I'm associated with Copper Hill because they're my support system.

[00:28:22] They're my house, as I called it before.

[00:28:24] They're there to give me cover, give me support when I need it.

[00:28:27] And this whole experience is going to be between you and me.

[00:28:32] So you want to work with me over Bill Bob or Susie Jacobs.

[00:28:40] And because it really is about the agent in real estate.

[00:28:45] It's about the agent because the agent does all the work.

[00:28:47] The agent's going to say what they think your home is worth.

[00:28:50] The agent's going to market it.

[00:28:51] The agent's going to show it.

[00:28:52] The agent's going to write the contract.

[00:28:53] The agent's going to advise you.

[00:28:55] The agent is experienced, not experienced.

[00:28:57] Like those brands don't matter.

[00:28:59] If you get a brand new agent, this is their first deal.

[00:29:01] And they work for the biggest brokerage out there.

[00:29:03] That's not good because that's going to hurt you.

[00:29:06] That agent doesn't know what they're doing.

[00:29:07] Yeah.

[00:29:08] But I was watching Sharon.

[00:29:11] There was a video with Sharon.

[00:29:14] Sharon Srivata from Real.

[00:29:16] He's the president of Real.

[00:29:17] And he was going into, I guess it was a listing presentation or something.

[00:29:20] He's a stud, by the way.

[00:29:22] He's very good.

[00:29:23] Very good on his feet.

[00:29:24] He's like an intellectual processor.

[00:29:28] He knows exactly what to say and when to say it, which is unique, especially for a real estate person.

[00:29:36] As opposed to me.

[00:29:38] As opposed to you.

[00:29:38] Yep.

[00:29:39] He's much better.

[00:29:40] Gotcha.

[00:29:42] But he went into a listing and they were kind of like, well, what about this or what about that?

[00:29:46] And he goes, okay, just stay right there for one second.

[00:29:51] And he goes on the phone and he puts it on speakerphone.

[00:29:54] And he goes, hey, Jim, I know you've been looking for a home.

[00:29:58] I got this home that's sitting here and it's four bedrooms, 3,600 square feet in this neighborhood.

[00:30:04] Would you be interested in seeing it?

[00:30:06] And they'd be like, yeah, when can I get in there?

[00:30:08] Yeah, I'm in the market.

[00:30:09] When can I get in?

[00:30:10] So he already had someone who was like in the market, let's call it.

[00:30:12] Yeah.

[00:30:13] And so the people.

[00:30:15] I did see that.

[00:30:16] That was phenomenal.

[00:30:17] The people were like, excuse me?

[00:30:20] What?

[00:30:21] Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.

[00:30:23] And it was like, he was making the point like, does it matter?

[00:30:28] Like you're working with me.

[00:30:29] I'm going to work to get the deal done.

[00:30:31] And it's like, I have connections.

[00:30:33] I have the means to get this house sold.

[00:30:36] I got a Rolodex in my phone.

[00:30:39] I'm going to work harder than anybody to get your house sold.

[00:30:43] And the people were just like, okay, like, sign me up.

[00:30:47] We're good.

[00:30:48] It was just, it was a great visual way to kind of understand that, you know, he was being

[00:30:55] different and, and in the end it was like, you're working with Sharon rather than, oh,

[00:31:02] well I'm going to sign on with you because you're part of the, the Remax family.

[00:31:06] Like.

[00:31:07] All right.

[00:31:07] So let's, let's go back.

[00:31:09] All right.

[00:31:09] So let's talk about some of the brands we've created.

[00:31:11] Yeah.

[00:31:11] So Mooney insurance brokers.

[00:31:12] Yeah.

[00:31:13] Again, talking about what we just talked about, you're an independent insurance agency.

[00:31:16] Yeah.

[00:31:17] So again, how, how has that been for you with creating your brand and knowing you have competitors

[00:31:23] like State Farm, Allstate, just those monsters.

[00:31:26] Well, isn't that funny that you say that because nobody else that's an independent insurance agent

[00:31:31] has like a brand.

[00:31:34] Right.

[00:31:34] So, so now you've already just said that I'm not competing with those guys.

[00:31:38] I'm competing with these national brands.

[00:31:40] Right.

[00:31:40] Isn't that interesting?

[00:31:41] It is interesting.

[00:31:42] Um, so getting it started and, and putting a focus on our brand.

[00:31:48] I mean, to, to the degree that like, do you know what a favicon is?

[00:31:55] So a favicon is on your website.

[00:31:58] So if you pull up.

[00:31:59] Oh, the one that sits like up there.

[00:32:01] Yeah.

[00:32:02] Yeah.

[00:32:02] So if you pull up like Mooney insurance, like it's my logo.

[00:32:09] Yeah.

[00:32:09] It's got the, that's the little icon.

[00:32:11] And so I make it a point to kind of make sure that like.

[00:32:15] It's got a vibe.

[00:32:16] You're seeing it.

[00:32:17] You're seeing it over and over again.

[00:32:19] The, the kind of the logo leads to the brand.

[00:32:22] The little touches.

[00:32:23] But it's also important too, is like, you have to follow through.

[00:32:28] Like your brand is like, sure.

[00:32:30] It's the appearance of what people, um, see you on a visual level, but it's also more

[00:32:37] so I would say like, how are, what's the impression that you leave?

[00:32:42] Like when that person is dealing with your company.

[00:32:45] Right.

[00:32:46] And so it's kind of marrying the two is like, like when they call on the phone, right?

[00:32:51] Like what is the response and how are they?

[00:32:54] And then, and then the, the logo is just the connection to your brand and your business.

[00:33:01] Right.

[00:33:02] And so we try to get it out as much as possible, uh, in a lot of different ways and a lot of

[00:33:08] like little nuanced ways to, to, because we're competing with those big brands.

[00:33:15] It's like, you have to like almost go over above and beyond.

[00:33:19] It's like a finer touch.

[00:33:22] You need to have a little bit more, not to just rely on the big names or even like you

[00:33:27] said, like Johnson insurance.

[00:33:29] And there is no logo.

[00:33:30] There is no icon.

[00:33:31] Right.

[00:33:31] You know, it's like, you're trying to think what are the little ways anywhere I can put

[00:33:37] this brand where someone just might catch it for a second.

[00:33:40] And every time they catch it and they like it, it's another, it's another, uh, credibility,

[00:33:45] like, like a feather in your cap.

[00:33:46] It takes me back to the original days.

[00:33:48] You'll get a hoot out of this.

[00:33:51] I did, um, you know how real estate people put, uh, yard signs in the gram and the dirt.

[00:33:58] I did, uh, yard signs for my agency.

[00:34:02] Did you?

[00:34:03] Jim Fergus built, uh, fabricated me yard signs.

[00:34:07] What's up, Jim?

[00:34:08] Jim Fergus.

[00:34:09] Hello.

[00:34:09] Studio signs.

[00:34:10] Studio signs.

[00:34:12] So, um, so early on I was like, what's a way?

[00:34:17] Because in, in insurance, like, did you get in trouble for that?

[00:34:20] No.

[00:34:21] Well, maybe once or twice, but more, more.

[00:34:26] So, okay.

[00:34:27] So there were times where it was like guerrilla marketing and like put it on a tree or leave

[00:34:33] it on someone's car or like, you know, uh, dude, I will do a separate episode.

[00:34:39] I want to hear about the guerrilla marketing.

[00:34:41] Yeah.

[00:34:42] Mooney insurance brokers back in the day.

[00:34:44] Like freaking like sure.

[00:34:47] I'm going to leave him bumper sticker on my car.

[00:34:49] Like rolling around like an Irish flag cape.

[00:34:53] With, with a mask on.

[00:34:54] Right.

[00:34:55] Like doom.

[00:34:58] Um, so I had him do signs and what it said was, I probably still have some in my house.

[00:35:04] Oh, we got it.

[00:35:05] We got to bring one in.

[00:35:05] Yeah.

[00:35:06] It was like, what it could, it's neighborhood.

[00:35:09] So I wanted, like, if I wrote Jim, I want his neighbor dog to be like, Oh, I saw that

[00:35:14] sign.

[00:35:15] And that's cool.

[00:35:16] No one's doing that.

[00:35:17] That's right.

[00:35:18] So if no one's doing it, it's going to be like the only thing you see.

[00:35:21] But not as no one doing it.

[00:35:23] Everybody's doing it.

[00:35:24] Cause the plumber's doing it.

[00:35:25] The tree guy's doing it.

[00:35:26] The real estate guy's doing it.

[00:35:28] No one in insurance is doing it.

[00:35:28] Correct.

[00:35:29] So it's another way to get your brand and your logo out there in kind of a lane where

[00:35:35] people are doing it.

[00:35:36] So it is kind of like kosher that like people.

[00:35:40] It's like if who, who comes down on the landscaper or the roofer or the window company.

[00:35:45] Yeah.

[00:35:46] We're putting their sign on and just say, just leave it there for like two weeks.

[00:35:48] So I'm just like stick it out.

[00:35:50] And they're like, I hope they leave it there for months.

[00:35:52] Right.

[00:35:52] And they never talk to you again.

[00:35:53] They're like, it's just going to get thrown out.

[00:35:54] Yeah.

[00:35:55] So literally what I would do is I would, so if I did the insurance for Bob Lindowski,

[00:36:02] right.

[00:36:03] Um,

[00:36:04] Bob a real person.

[00:36:04] You just make that name.

[00:36:05] This came right off.

[00:36:07] That's some creativity right there.

[00:36:08] Okay.

[00:36:09] Um,

[00:36:09] I'll be lens.

[00:36:10] So I'd be like, Bob, we just did your insurance.

[00:36:12] Like, thank you.

[00:36:13] It's been great.

[00:36:13] Hey, by the way, like, would you be opposed to me?

[00:36:17] Like putting one of these, um, signs in your front yard for like a week.

[00:36:21] Yeah.

[00:36:22] Yeah.

[00:36:23] I don't care.

[00:36:24] Yeah.

[00:36:24] Did you, and would you pick it up after the fact that you just let them throw it out?

[00:36:27] No, I'd pick, I'd pick it.

[00:36:29] I felt obligated to like, yeah.

[00:36:30] Yeah.

[00:36:30] If it's a client of mine, you know, so in like a week or two, I would just go grab it

[00:36:35] and just like reuse them or do whatever.

[00:36:37] But it was, I forget what it said.

[00:36:40] Maybe, uh, well, I'll bring one in.

[00:36:42] We have to do it.

[00:36:43] And I see now we have to do an episode about the small business guerrilla marketing that

[00:36:49] you do, especially in the beginning.

[00:36:51] It's crazy.

[00:36:51] It's crazy.

[00:36:52] It's any idea you have, you try.

[00:36:53] I'm like, this is going to work.

[00:36:54] You're just like, she's going to do it.

[00:36:56] I'm going to get deals.

[00:36:57] So it was like another satisfied customer, Mooney insurance.

[00:37:01] I remember that.

[00:37:03] Yeah.

[00:37:03] I think I remember either like just seeing it or like, you'd probably drove past someone's

[00:37:07] house.

[00:37:08] You know what?

[00:37:08] I was probably in a neighborhood where every other house had one up because you were just

[00:37:12] dominating.

[00:37:13] If it was in Pennsylvania, it's probably a good chance.

[00:37:16] The entire state of Pennsylvania.

[00:37:18] It's like, you know, 40 or 50% of homes will have one.

[00:37:21] Yeah.

[00:37:22] Um, we've, we've hit scale pretty good in Pennsylvania.

[00:37:26] I love it.

[00:37:26] Um, but there's been time.

[00:37:29] I mean, I've done some whacked out weird stuff where you're like, Docker.

[00:37:34] Yeah.

[00:37:35] But it's just to be different.

[00:37:37] Yeah.

[00:37:37] It's like to get your being authentic.

[00:37:40] Yeah.

[00:37:40] It really is.

[00:37:41] It's authenticity.

[00:37:42] It's your work ethic.

[00:37:43] It's like, you're just thinking outside the box.

[00:37:46] Yeah.

[00:37:46] Like you got this business that no one's ever heard of.

[00:37:49] Like you're brand new to the street.

[00:37:50] No one has ever heard of Mooney insurance brokers week one.

[00:37:54] No one knows.

[00:37:56] Even your boys don't know.

[00:37:58] And people are like, wait, then you're like, how do I get this everywhere?

[00:38:01] Yeah.

[00:38:02] How do I do that?

[00:38:02] I think someone actually told me, no, they're like, I can't do that.

[00:38:06] I can't.

[00:38:06] My wife will kill me or something.

[00:38:07] I said, listen, I said, what do you think?

[00:38:10] How are you going to feel when I write your neighbor's insurance and he has a sign up

[00:38:14] and you don't?

[00:38:16] And he's like, he's like, fine.

[00:38:18] I love it.

[00:38:19] I'll give you a week or two.

[00:38:20] Like it's, you know what I mean?

[00:38:22] It's like, dude, you're, you're just, you're, you're clawing, you're scratching, you're swinging

[00:38:27] like you, this is what it takes to build a brand.

[00:38:31] Like, all right.

[00:38:32] So we talked about that.

[00:38:33] I'll go over, dude, I've built many brands.

[00:38:36] So I've had, I've had my personal brand in real estate.

[00:38:39] I've had Philly Urban Living as a solo agent.

[00:38:41] I had the Northwest Philadelphia Network.

[00:38:44] Oh yeah.

[00:38:44] Networking group.

[00:38:45] I created that brand with Brent.

[00:38:48] I've created Copper Hill Real Estate.

[00:38:51] I helped create that brand.

[00:38:52] We should do an NWPN reunion show.

[00:38:55] Should.

[00:38:55] That's a good idea.

[00:38:56] That is a good idea.

[00:38:57] Like a moon.

[00:38:58] What are they called?

[00:38:58] We can't love it.

[00:38:59] Two ideas.

[00:38:59] Just in this episode.

[00:39:00] What do we call them?

[00:39:01] Mooneyism?

[00:39:02] Oh, uh, Munoz.

[00:39:04] Munoz.

[00:39:04] The Mooney Genius.

[00:39:05] Yeah.

[00:39:06] Um, I've created, uh, Stone Abstract, a title company.

[00:39:11] Uh, we had that.

[00:39:13] Um, and then now Tim Garrity team.

[00:39:16] That's the latest brand I had to create.

[00:39:18] And if going through all that, the personal brand had nothing to do with me, the brokerage

[00:39:23] again, I'm a partner, but it's not my name.

[00:39:26] One of the main reasons I called my team, the Tim Garrity team is because that's actually

[00:39:30] the legal way to do it.

[00:39:31] So in the state of Pennsylvania, I heard something like that.

[00:39:34] Yeah.

[00:39:34] In the state of Pennsylvania, if you have a team, it's really the only legal way is the,

[00:39:39] your name and team.

[00:39:41] All these people have all these different names and it's okay because real estate is

[00:39:46] self-policed.

[00:39:47] If no one's going to give you a hard time, then nothing's ever going to happen.

[00:39:50] You treat people right.

[00:39:51] You do business well.

[00:39:52] It's just like, Hey, that's my brand.

[00:39:53] But technically in the eyes of the state, this is the only way it's supposed to read,

[00:39:57] but it just so happens.

[00:39:59] So weird.

[00:40:00] Weird.

[00:40:01] Isn't that funny?

[00:40:02] It's like 99% of teams are not like that.

[00:40:06] So getting back on topic, like going through all that.

[00:40:10] So again, I was in the mortgage business for like almost a decade, real estate for 15 years.

[00:40:16] It's like, I'm from this area.

[00:40:18] I grew up in the burbs.

[00:40:19] I lived in the city for half my life.

[00:40:21] I'm back in the burbs.

[00:40:22] Like my name is really what helped build my career, not only in corporate America, but

[00:40:29] also in real estate.

[00:40:31] When I went back to it and I looked at naming the team and the right way to do it was to

[00:40:38] use my name.

[00:40:39] It actually was like, it was kind of like a full circle moment for me.

[00:40:43] Cause I'm like, you know what?

[00:40:44] There were even times at Copper Hill where like an agent will go out and meet another

[00:40:48] agent.

[00:40:49] Um, with Copper Hill, never heard of them.

[00:40:51] Like that example, someone trying to make you feel bad where you work, which is an awful

[00:40:56] thing, but it happens.

[00:40:57] That's like when we say, Hey, we got this podcast and they say, Oh, I never heard of it.

[00:41:02] And then you're like, really?

[00:41:05] Yeah.

[00:41:05] Really?

[00:41:05] Or are you really listening?

[00:41:08] Exactly.

[00:41:08] Those are the people that say they haven't heard of it.

[00:41:11] Yeah.

[00:41:11] Um, and those agents would say, well, do you know, Tim Garrity?

[00:41:15] Like, Oh, I know Tim.

[00:41:16] They're like, I work for Tim.

[00:41:17] Yeah.

[00:41:18] And that happened many, many, many times.

[00:41:21] Yeah.

[00:41:21] Over the years.

[00:41:22] Cause I kind of led the agent team.

[00:41:24] That was my spot in the brokerage.

[00:41:25] I was the COO.

[00:41:26] I was operations.

[00:41:27] And that was the operation.

[00:41:28] Like people run around representing our company.

[00:41:31] And when I, uh, when the partnership split at Copper Hill and you know, Ryan and I moved

[00:41:38] on and even have a brother, Ryan, he's in real estate.

[00:41:42] Like we were thinking about calling it like the Garrity team or the Garrity group.

[00:41:45] That's technically not the way you're supposed to do it.

[00:41:47] Even Ryan was like, no, I'm okay with you calling it the Tim Garrity team.

[00:41:51] He's like, cause you like eat, sleep and breathe residential real estate.

[00:41:55] So let's, let's use your name and let's go with that.

[00:41:59] And literally within like a day, I went to Brent.

[00:42:04] This is the name.

[00:42:05] Here are three fonts.

[00:42:06] I like, here are the colors I want.

[00:42:08] And I remember Marie and I were traveling to a wedding in, in Los Angeles and we had a,

[00:42:13] we had a layover in Nashville for like five, six hours.

[00:42:16] So I'm like, like drinking wine in like the Nashville airport, like some fancy dude.

[00:42:21] And, and I'm like doing my, I'm doing my brand stuff.

[00:42:24] You were being fancy in Nashville?

[00:42:26] I was being real fancy.

[00:42:27] I had one finger out.

[00:42:28] I was going like this.

[00:42:29] You were drinking Chardonnay, weren't you?

[00:42:30] No, I drink red.

[00:42:31] I don't drink white.

[00:42:32] Um, so I'm drinking my wine and I'm talking to Brent over email and he like throws out a

[00:42:38] couple of logos.

[00:42:39] I'm like, that's it done.

[00:42:41] Okay.

[00:42:41] And it's like, the reason I tell that story is like, I have done this many times over.

[00:42:46] I've had to, I've had to have different brands in my business career for different reasons.

[00:42:50] And it's all led back to this, which is great.

[00:42:53] So it's like, there is no right or wrong way.

[00:42:56] You can name it after yourself.

[00:42:57] You can name it something that has no meaning.

[00:42:59] You can name it something that has meaning, but it has nothing to do with your name.

[00:43:03] And I think going through all this, we wanted to go through some of our experiences

[00:43:07] and just letting people know, it's like, yo, if we can do it and we can start

[00:43:11] things from scratch and build them into actual local brands in and around Philadelphia.

[00:43:17] I mean, anyone can do it.

[00:43:18] If you listen, listeners, if I did it, if I started a business and brought a brand or

[00:43:25] did a brand and did some grill marketing, you too can do it.

[00:43:29] True story.

[00:43:30] It is.

[00:43:31] I love it.

[00:43:32] What about the bricks and rice brand?

[00:43:34] We didn't even talk about bricks and rice.

[00:43:36] What the hell are we doing?

[00:43:37] Two minutes.

[00:43:38] How much time you got?

[00:43:38] You're on the clock.

[00:43:39] I get home to three kiddos.

[00:43:40] How did we come up with a name?

[00:43:41] Hurry up.

[00:43:41] Go.

[00:43:42] All right.

[00:43:42] Bricks and risk.

[00:43:43] We came up with it because my name was stupid.

[00:43:45] You came up with bricks and risk.

[00:43:46] I loved it.

[00:43:47] You didn't even want to go with it because you couldn't decide.

[00:43:49] And on the spot, we're like, that's the name moving on.

[00:43:54] How did we get it?

[00:43:55] And do we get it right?

[00:43:56] We did.

[00:43:58] What was your name?

[00:43:59] It was brokers building business.

[00:44:01] No, it wasn't.

[00:44:01] It was big.

[00:44:02] Was it?

[00:44:03] I thought it was something like longer than that.

[00:44:06] No, I think it was brokers building businesses, which isn't.

[00:44:09] I was like, that's not going to work.

[00:44:12] You're like, no effing way.

[00:44:13] And I said, what about bricks and risks?

[00:44:15] Like off the tip of my tongue.

[00:44:16] And then, and then if you remember, we're going through the colors for bricks and risk.

[00:44:20] Yeah.

[00:44:21] And we, again, Brent Bush design.

[00:44:23] We're like, we got to, we got to go with the birds.

[00:44:26] Kelly green.

[00:44:26] Not, not the new age bar screen that's been around for like 20.

[00:44:30] Midnight green.

[00:44:31] Yeah.

[00:44:31] Midnight green.

[00:44:32] Whatever the hell they call it.

[00:44:33] 20, 25 years or so.

[00:44:34] So we're like, we want to go old school Kelly green.

[00:44:38] Well, it's just, it's funny.

[00:44:39] We, no, no coincidence.

[00:44:42] We went green.

[00:44:43] And then the Eagles that season last year, last year were like, Hey, let's bring these

[00:44:49] back.

[00:44:49] I'm like, bricks and risk is on us.

[00:44:50] Let's bring it back.

[00:44:52] Why not?

[00:44:53] No.

[00:44:53] Sean and Tim are highly credible human beings.

[00:44:55] Why wouldn't we do that?

[00:44:57] And here we are.

[00:44:58] Here we are.

[00:44:59] All right.

[00:45:00] You want to close this out?

[00:45:01] Yeah.

[00:45:01] So, uh, lots of good feedback on this out partially.

[00:45:05] I'll stop.

[00:45:06] Um, lots of good feedback coming back, um, on the DMS on Instagram at bricks and risk,

[00:45:13] uh, YouTube.

[00:45:14] Uh, we're seeing some comments.

[00:45:16] LinkedIn has been awesome.

[00:45:18] LinkedIn has been amazing.

[00:45:19] Shoot.

[00:45:19] I didn't think we were going to get much traction on LinkedIn.

[00:45:21] We have like over 300 people on our, on our group.

[00:45:24] Well, like constantly people are DMing.

[00:45:27] Is that what I don't even know what you call it on?

[00:45:29] Is it DM and DMing?

[00:45:30] Okay.

[00:45:31] He's DMing on any social.

[00:45:32] Reaching out like, Hey, how about this show?

[00:45:34] Tell me about your show or, you know, can I grab 10 minutes of your time?

[00:45:37] You know, I'd like to hear more about this or collaboration or whatever.

[00:45:40] So it's been really awesome on LinkedIn.

[00:45:43] But, uh, if you want to reach out to us, you can email the show.

[00:45:47] It's bricks and risk at gmail.com.

[00:45:50] And if you're a listener, uh, be sure to subscribe and leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or any other

[00:45:58] channel of your choosing.

[00:45:59] And then Apple, if you leave a review, you can actually write in some words.

[00:46:03] We'll read it on the show.

[00:46:04] Yeah.

[00:46:05] We're going to bring them into the show.

[00:46:06] So if you go on right now in the next five minutes and leave a review, we'll get you on

[00:46:12] the show.

[00:46:13] Awesome.

[00:46:14] Well, that's all we have for this one, folks.

[00:46:16] So thank you for tuning in again to another episode of bricks and risk.

[00:46:20] See you soon.

[00:46:22] Thank you for joining us on another episode of bricks and risk.

[00:46:26] Our goal is that you walk away with one or two valuable nuggets, and we greatly appreciate

[00:46:32] you sharing your time with us today.

[00:46:34] You can find all BNR episodes on Spotify, Apple music, YouTube, and anywhere else you get

[00:46:41] your podcast content until next time.

[00:46:44] Keep learning and keep growing.