Ken Mong has been a Realtor with Re/Max Real Estate Specialists since 1998.
TEAM CONCEPT
Mong has five personal assistants, four buyers agents, two commercial agents, one executive assistant and an office manager.
SPECIALTY
High-end properties, waterfront, real estate investment and new construction.
WHY HAVE SO MANY ASSISTANTS?
“If there is one concept that I think runs throughout my organization is that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I believe in promoting people’s strengths. I don’t believe there is any one person that is everything to real estate. It is not possible. Therefore, there are many requirements to successfully selling real estate and those requirements require various areas of expertise that no one person has, including myself. So what I have done is hire people and we provide, what I feel is, the very best service that is achievable within the real estate business. My customers love to hear that.”
WHAT DOES HE DO?
“I manage the organization. I am the visionary person, direct the marketing and list properties. I am the main listing agent for our team. I also manage our commercial department.”
WHY HAVE AN ORGANIZATION WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION?
“I’m asked that all the time. There are risks that are involved when you have your own brokerage. I try to keep our risks at a minimum and our profits at a maximum. My unique relationship with Re/Max gives me that opportunity to conduct my business almost as if it were my own brokerage.”
BEFORE RE/MAX
Mong was with Coldwell Banker Walter Williams Realty, Inc. for four years.
BEFORE REAL ESTATE?
Mong was an executive vice president in the water treatment business with his family in Ohio.
WHY LEAVE THAT BUSINESS TO GO INTO REAL ESTATE?
“First of all, I don’t travel well, and that job required me to travel. I’ve always been interested in real estate. Every time I had ever bought and sold real estate, I have always made money. I felt like there was a lot of room for change within the real estate industry. Some experiences my wife and I had had prior to me entering the real estate business were not pleasant and I often wondered what it would be like if I made some changes. I like real estate and I like looking at homes. I enjoy helping people find that perfect home and I like being told that they were represented beyond their wildest imaginations.”
COULD SOMEONE BUY A HOUSE FROM YOU AND NEVER MEET YOU?
“I’m a very hands-on person. I keep my finger on everything and I always want to meet my customers. I may only meet them at the beginning or at closing, but I still meet all my customers, if possible.”
HOW DID YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HELP YOU TODAY?
“It helped me with managing people and building an organization. I think it also helped me approach the real estate business as a business. It’s not a part-time job. We run this like a business and conduct it like a major business.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT REAL ESTATE?
“It’s something different every minute of the day. I have a lot of energy. I work from morning to night. I work seven days a week and I am very active. I get bored very easily and with real estate I am never bored.”
AREA HE CONCENTRATES ON?
Fernandina Beach north to St. Augustine south. “I concentrate most heavily in Duval, St. Johns and Clay County. I’m also very heavy into relocation market.”
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“My wife. She is the support behind me. She comes from a corporate background also, so she brings those strengths to the table.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“A transaction doesn’t close until it closes. I’m not commission driven. I don’t think about the commission. I am driven by pleasing people. I want to be the very best. I won’t accept anything else but that. I want my customers to feel they are dealing with the best. When that is truly where your heart is, it’s amazing how the commissions will follow.”
ADVICE FOR NEW AGENTS?
“Manage your expectations. Understand that you may not make any money your first year. Be prepared for that with a savings or a loan from a family member. It’s not going to happen the first year. Take one customer at a time and give them the very best that you possibly can give.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and National Association of Office and Industrial Properties.
PET PEEVES
“People that don’t call people back and poor follow-up.”
HOMETOWN
Ohio.
MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE?
In 1991.
RESIDES
Switzerland.
FAMILY
Mong has been married to Tamara, his office manager, for 20 years. They have four children, Aaron, 17; Amanda, 15; Alyssa, 14 and Ashley, 10.
CHURCH
Mandarin Christian.
LIKE TO DO WHEN NOT WORKING?
He rides a Harley Davidson motorcycle, goes boating and spending time with family. He also sponsors his son in drag racing events.
FAVORITES
A movie he saw recently and would recommend is “A Perfect Storm.” A book he read recently and would recommend is “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren. He also enjoys reading the Bible. When traveling, he likes Hawaii and the mountains in North Carolina. When dining out, he likes Ruth’s Chris.
- by Michele Newbern Gillis