By Susan Elise Campbell
Longtime real estate professional Lynn Johnson launched Johnson Capital Realty in Halfmoon this summer to reflect her commitment to the Capital Region and her personal brand of customer service.
“Real estate is in my blood and has always been a passion,” said Johnson, who entered the field in 2003 in a “now or never” moment that set the career she “had always wanted” into motion.
“The drop-out rate for new agents is very high during the first year or two,” she said. “But I worked very hard and never gave up.”
She followed the advice she now gives to her licensed real estate agents: “Work your contacts, the center-of-influence people you know, and be willing to talk about real estate so that when they think about real estate, they think of you.”
Johnson worked with several of the area’s well known realty firms until 2018, when she went out as a sole agent working out of Ballston Lake. Today she is a broker with five agents and three more joining Johnson Capital Realty by the end of the year, she said.
While today’s market is “challenging,” according to Johnson her business plan is “on track,” which includes training more agents and hiring some staff. But she will keep the business “on the small side,” she said. “I would like to double in size in a few years, but it’s quality, not quantity, that I am focusing on.”
Johnson’s philosophy when working with her agents is “individualized attention.” She learned over her 19 years in the industry that “people can become a number and get lost in big firms,” she said.
“Once you get the paper from New York that you are licensed, there is no one helping you learn how to sell real estate,” according to Johnson. “It’s not just about showing nice houses.”
“There are training programs, of course, but agents are different and have different skill sets,” she said. “So I customize training alongside their goals, not mine.”
Success to Johnson is not about “setting quotas” but “mentoring and providing a supportive environment,” she said. “If my agents are a success, I am a success.”
“I had wanted to go out on my own because I enjoy training and coaching,” she said. “I can give back to agents by giving them the tools to succeed.”
Since moving the business in June, Johnson said her overhead has remained low. There are no franchise fees. These factors put her in a position to offer her agents competitive commission rates, she said.
“My agents deserve to keep more of their commissions,” said Johnson. This incentive fosters a “team approach. If someone needs help with a client, we all cover one another,” she said.
Johnson and her team serve the entire Capital region, “from Berne and Guilderland to Saratoga and Warren County, wherever our clients need us,” she said.
Client service to Johnson means offering “a one-stop shop for residential resale and new construction,” she said. The company also offers expertise in investment, flipping and commercial properties.
Johnson has been rooted in the community for 26 years. She grew up in the area and relocated, but wanted to raise her family where she was raised. The Johnsons chose Halfmoon to live in and school their children, she said. So the community was the location of choice for the business that would bear her name.
“The growth in Halfmoon has been fabulous for 25 years,” she said. “This is a great town to work with when starting a business.”
The new location is at 1433 Route 9 in Halfmoon, an old farmhouse Johnson knew was for sale but had not been shown yet.
Johnson said she has a “passion for renovating old houses” and had a vision of how the charm of the building could work to her advantage.
“I have a strong belief that you can fix anything,” she said. The end result has been “a very charming, homey, warm environment” that both staff and clients feel comfortable in.
Contributing to the renovations of the antique farmhouse were Adirondack Home Renovations, Robert Stevens, and the “personal sweat equity of friends and family,” said Johnson.
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