Meeting with a father-son trio: Équipe Lacroix
On the phone, difficult to distinguish the 3 voices of this dynamic trio made up of the father and his 2 sons. They have the same laughter, the same values, the same vision, but each has their own unique personality. Portrait of the founding members of the Équipe Lacroix, who work with the groupe sutton – immobilier estrie real estate agency.
The passion for real estate from generation to generation
It was José Lacroix, the father of the family, who showed his sons the way to real estate. Entrepreneur at heart, he had and managed a company with 3 branches before deciding to invest body and soul in real estate in 2003. Since that day, he is still as passionate about the field, which has certainly had an influence on the professional career of his children.
Jeremy Lacroix, the younger of the two brothers, who describes himself as the frosty side of Mini-Wheats due to his energetic side and his need for action, has been in real estate since 2011. This entrepreneur who has a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Sherbrooke, had his own company in e-commerce before diving into real estate. He saw his father, a sociable man by nature, working for pleasure, and wanted to join him, while enjoying the status of self-employed.
“Working for someone else wasn’t for me and I knew that pretty quickly during a finance internship,” adds Jeremy. To believe that his father was going to give him everything cooked in the beak when he entered this field would be totally false. Jeremy even admits to having almost given up brokerage after 3 years, having felt the repercussions of the 2008 economic crisis on the real estate market in his early years in the field. Fortunately for his clients and his team, he persevered and now has a thriving business.
For his part, Mikael Lacroix, the eldest with an analytical temperament, is the last to have decided to take his course in real estate and has held the title of real estate broker since 2016. This great traveler has traveled the world and acquired a bachelor's degree in human sciences before deciding to join the team. He already had a strong sales experience and a good network of real estate contacts, he who was the first in Estrie, around 2011, to have an HDR photography company.
Although the father had long considered the possibility of having his two sons by his side in the field, he knew that the idea of a career change had to come on their own and therefore never attempted to influence them towards this avenue. José and his wife always knew how to encourage their sons in what they wanted to do, even when it came "out of the mold". Today, they are a completely complementary trio.
Confidence, the premise for good understanding in the team
When it comes to the benefits of working as a team, there is of course the fact that they can replace each other from time to time that tops the list. “As a real estate broker, you are on the front lines 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It's important to have people you trust around you. Whether it's in the family or not, you need to be able to trust the members of your team.” Jeremy mentions. Mikael can only corroborate this fact.
“We each have our contracts, each our clientele, but we help each other and we replace each other. And we have mutual trust in each other. If I ask Jeremy or Mikael something, I have 200% confidence that it will be done,”added José with great pride in his voice.
The only downside to working as a family, they say, is planning a vacation together. They still manage to do it and have added more members to their team over the years. The family trio mentions being able to separate their professional life from their family life. Jeremy adds: "Still, a Christmas party without talking real estate is impossible!"
Family first
For the trio, family is what matters most and will always come first, long before real estate. “It's important to be clear from the start when thinking about working as a team or as a family, so that there is no ambiguity,” says sage Mikael. His father adds that to work in a team, you must not be stingy with your time. “You have to be generous, respectful and understanding.”
In fact, José mentions that one of the reasons he chose Sutton as his real estate agency in 2003 was because there was no awards gala based on brokerage results. The father does not need to be compared to others in order to advance towards his goals. In this regard, his son Mikael remembers asking his father about his choice of agency when he first entered the real estate world. “He told me that at Sutton, you don't get that feeling of competition between brokers of the same agency and the same banner. Sutton was distinguished by the mutual assistance between the brokers, as in a real family. "
No need to add that this family value fits well with Équipe Lacroix and that we are proud that they are part of the great Sutton family!
