One Key At A Time
By Tabitha Ervin,
Editorial Director
Larry White is the proud leader and founder of Liberty Group Realty. I was able to spend time chatting with Larry about his journey and how God has continued to bless him as he has been faithful and prayerful.
From the website: Liberty Group Realty (LGR) is a full service real estate brokerage established in January of 2013. Our current clientele consists primarily of buyers, sellers, & new construction build jobs. We pride ourselves on the time, attention, & care that we give to all of our clients. As a result, over 90% of our business is generated through referrals. We have experienced an ever changing real estate market and LGR has positioned itself to stay on the cutting edge of these changes through the technological advances that we've been able to make to remain current & effective. Our aim is to be high tech and high touch while ensuring our clients' dream of home ownership One Key At A Time!
Ervin: So tell me how you got started in real estate?
White: In 1996 I was home from Ball State and my uncle worked at Slater Steel. He got me connected to a job and I was working and making a great amount of money for a single 20 year old. All of my friends went back to school and I stayed home to work. I didn’t realize that I’d eventually be laid off from that job not once, but twice over the next few years. On the second lay off when they took my time card, I realized that I would not work for them again so I had to push ahead because there was nothing to look back too. At this point I got connected to real estate working for a company just selling homes. Plus I was married and we had our first child so I had to make sure I was establishing my work career. After about 2.5 years I excelled at my work and some of the skills I learned then, I still use now. I spent 11 years working for different builders selling homes. I felt that things were aligned at the time and I was where I was supposed to be, doing what I was supposed to be doing.
Ervin: This is awesome so how did your brokerage company get started?
White: Well eventually in addition to sales, I got my real estate license. So I was still working for the builder doing sales and on my day off I would work with my own clients.
I talked to my wife and said, as soon as my personal work can make me as much as working for the builder, I’ll leave that job. The very next year that happened!! I hesitated at first out of fear but left the sales job and joined a small brokerage firm. They eventually dismantled and at that time I prayed and talked to my wife again and decided to start my own brokerage.Years prior, God had given me the scripture, Galatians 5:13 in the NKJV which says, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another”, so I named it Liberty Group Realty. On January 11, 2013 it was me and my new company with no clients, no realtors and an empty calendar. Every day I would come in and pray over that empty calendar and then it started to fill up.
Ervin: So now you have a group of realtors both in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne so tell me about your philosophy?
White: Well, I initially wanted to just work alone and over a two year span of time I started adding realtors to the group. As we’ve grown we know that interactions with people are our bread and butter. We focus on “serving” not just sales. Service is a core value of ours and we wanted to focus on relationships with our clients. With new realtors, we always want to make sure they fit in with our culture of service. We want to be more than a realtor but a resource. Real estate is what we do but being a resource is who we are. I also make sure that everyone has a “why” and in our “serve” team meetings we work together and support each other in this way.
Ervin: I’ve watched you and your team over the last few years on social media and I must say that I am impressed with your team and the diversity you all present.
White: I started from the ground up and I had no idea what God was doing. I am overwhelmed with gratitude! Out of 1700 realtors locally, people can choose us and we provide 1st class service because we want people to know and feel that they deserve to be served!
Ervin: Thank you so much for this conversation and the way you all are representing the black community! Larry and his team can be reached online at: Libertygrouprealty.net
