I would imagine the people in this photo would be pretty proud of our company. It just so happens this is my Great Great Grandfather and Grandmother, Nils and Kristie Lien, and Great Grandfather Trygve Lien pictured in front of their home that still stands today in Stanwood, WA.
Nils and Kristie immigrated from Norway to Stanwood in 1889. It is hard to imagine those times, but when I look at this photograph, I see family, community, hard work, dedication, and the beginnings of our small town we call Stanwood.
We are still that small town. Times may have changed, but Stanwood and Camano Island are special.
When I made the decision to open up a new real estate firm, it was very important to me to remember my roots. Remember community first, take care of your brokers and clients, and all the rest falls in to place. Keep our dollars local. Most people do not realize bigger corporate companies charge their brokers a percentage of their wages, and those dollars go out of state most the time. My focus was to make my company affordable for our brokers, and in turn their hard earned money saved will be spent locally.
Now, more than ever, it is so important to support our local businesses. It is really exciting to be in the hub of Stanwood and to see all the great new businesses thriving. Our little town can do great things! If you have a great story about your small business or your family history in this area, we would LOVE to hear about it!