The Independent Brokers of Northern Colorado
THE INDIES
After Crip formed Erickson Realty in the very beginning of 2017, he realized he missed certain aspects of working in an office environment. The pros certainly outweighed the cons but being able to easily bounce ideas off of others was sadly missing. What he didn't miss were sales meetings that consisted of endless pitching, griping about other agents/offices, and a hard focus on sales. Crip envisioned meeting with a group of like-minded independent brokers with the purpose of staying on top of contract issues, changes in license law, continuing education, and transactional best practices. Over the course of a couple of weeks, he rounded up some of the sharpest independent agents he admired, who in turn invited others they considered complementary to the mission. The first meeting eventually happened on October 2nd of 2018 with eleven agents in attendance at the Fort Collins Board of Realtors' education room. After a few sessions, one member suggested "The Indies" as a nickname in lieu of the much clumsier Independent Brokers of Northern Colorado. It has stuck since.
The Indies have two requirements for entry into the group. First, and most obviously, the brokers must be independent. There are large independent brokerages all across Northern Colorado, and we figure if an office is big enough to hold their own meetings then they likely don't want or need to attend Indies meetings. However, they are always welcome - one of our members has 11 agents at their brokerage. The second requirement is an understanding that there has to be some contribution to the group, either by simply showing up for meetings, answering emailed questions or generally being available and helpful. That's it.
As for rules, there are two:
1. No pitching
2. No bitching
A third rule that's more a function of where we meet than the group itself is that all are members of the Board of REALTORs. If you're an independent broker, or are thinking about getting away from your large franchise office, give Crip a shout. He's guided quite a few agents into the independent side of the biz.
The Indies have two requirements for entry into the group. First, and most obviously, the brokers must be independent. There are large independent brokerages all across Northern Colorado, and we figure if an office is big enough to hold their own meetings then they likely don't want or need to attend Indies meetings. However, they are always welcome - one of our members has 11 agents at their brokerage. The second requirement is an understanding that there has to be some contribution to the group, either by simply showing up for meetings, answering emailed questions or generally being available and helpful. That's it.
As for rules, there are two:
1. No pitching
2. No bitching
A third rule that's more a function of where we meet than the group itself is that all are members of the Board of REALTORs. If you're an independent broker, or are thinking about getting away from your large franchise office, give Crip a shout. He's guided quite a few agents into the independent side of the biz.
