Ben Ancel (Bold North Real Estate)

If you want the right answers, you have to ask the right questions. Finding the right people to ask means finding great mentors.

Twin Cities entrepreneur Ben Ancel is building Bold North Real Estate using the skills he’s learned from asking the right questions of the right mentors, creating the foundation of the experience his clients now enjoy.

He put down roots in the same town he grew up in – Maple Grove, Minnesota. His background offers a unique perspective on its housing market, all while earning a positive reputation for working hard and a steadfast commitment to his clients’ goals.

Unlike some real estate companies, Ben is motivated by service and growth. He’s been serving his customers and growing his skills since the very beginning of his career. Caring for his family now motivates him to build his business and make an impact in the Maple Grove community, the same city where he grew up.

While attending high school in Maple Grove, Ben started working as a host at Famous Dave’s, a local BBQ restaurant. He ended up doing almost every job there and learning a lot in the process. Working as a host built his knowledge of customer service, and while in the role of cook, he developed his culinary skills. He chose not to become a manager after 5 years there, but still wanted to be involved in the Maple Grove community.

“The customer service is the big thing that I learned at Famous Dave’s – how to interact with people, all kinds of different people, and still make them feel welcome. That’s definitely the most important skill I pulled from that job. I did get some business basics out of it. I was like a pseudo-manager at that point,” Ben says.

Starting Out In Real Estate

To find his next step after Famous Dave’s, he asked around. He asked friends and family for ideas on what he could do with his career. His aunt was a Real Estate agent with decades of experience. She was a mentor to him and encouraged him to go into Real Estate.

“The number one key to success is to find a good mentor. Find people who will be honest with you and help you through those difficult parts. You gotta work hard. You gotta go after it yourself, but have somebody who has your back that’s been there. That’s the easiest way to get going quickly and succeed in real estate,” Ben advises.

He worked at the same brokerage as his aunt for over two years. During that time, he moved from assistant to agent and bought his own home. His customer service skills transferred from his previous career to this one. He hadn’t yet learned business development and struggled to generate enough business to stay afloat.

Building His Skills and Expertise

Fortunately, during his work, he developed a relationship with the largest home-building company in America, D.R. Horton. They offered him a salaried position, so he left the brokerage to work with them. 

He was driven to move forward with his career, and taking on new positions helped him learn new skills and increase his salary over time. After some time at that company, he left to work for Creative Homes. At Creative, he was working as the assistant to the VP of Sales. It gave Ben a better understanding of the details behind home pricing and an overview of the market. He learned skills there that would be invaluable later in his career.

After leaving Creative Homes, he worked for several real estate companies. 

– He worked with a boutique real estate firm. 

– He worked on team courses for Exp Realty. 

– He was the VP of Sales for Summergate, a builder and land developer. 

During this time, he also got his brokerage license, and after so much experience and skill development he felt ready to launch his firm.

Launching Bold North Real Estate

He enjoyed working at Summergate, but he had a long commute and it kept him away from his family too much. So Ben decided to strike out and launch his own brokerage firm. His family was a big motivator in that decision. 

He wanted to spend more time with his wife and two children, and working for himself gave him the flexibility to spend more time with them during the week. For example, he often takes them to the beach or the Minnesota Zoo. He’s also motivated to provide for them, giving him the drive to keep going during challenging days.

Now he runs Bold North Real Estate with his business partners, Eric and Ryan. Ben is a broker and handles servicing clients, while his partners handle other aspects of the business.

Asking The Right Questions

Ben is focused on building relationships with his customers. He learns their unique tastes and desires so they can find a home that suits them perfectly. He asks the right questions to help narrow down their choices to the best options for their particular needs. 

For example, if they want to live on a lake that has high water clarity, and watch the sunset over the lake, he can use that information to know exactly where their home options are. He’ll find the perfect area for them to live. 

He’ll even talk to homeowners in that area to see if they’re interested in selling. He’ll say “Hey, I’ve got a client right now. Ready to go. I think your home is perfect for them. Are you open to selling?” That gives his buyers more options than they would have without his help.

Growth-Driven

What drives Ben to constantly improve his skills and expertise? 

“Growth. I have a fundamental belief that life only moves forward. So if you’re not moving forward you’re gonna get left behind. That means that I’m constantly studying, learning, digging deeper, finding new skills, and developing new skills. Anything I can do to be better today than I was yesterday, and be better tomorrow than I am today,” Ben says.

Unique Expertise

He plans to grow the business by hiring local agents and training them using his expertise. With all the competition among real estate agents, he teaches them to stand out with their unique qualities and skills. They should be known for real estate and the other factors that make them unique.

“What I teach my agents, and this is how I’ve always done it, is – find something that’s uniquely you; something that stands out that nobody else can replicate. Ryan Serhant has a great bit about this where he says you should be known for ‘Real Estate and…’. You want to be known as a real estate professional. But what else what else should people know about you when they think of you?” Ben says.

He’ll teach them how to seize opportunities in the niche that Bold North occupies. Ben’s known for selling new construction housing in the Maple Grove area. Building that expertise and reputation makes his company stand out from the competition. 

You can learn about working with Ben by visiting Bold North Real Estate. Their website has invaluable details on local listings and useful resources for home buyers and sellers. You can also connect with him on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.

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A resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Joel is a ghostwriter specializing in SEO-optimized articles for SaaS companies. He writes about mindfulness and self-development on Twitter as @writeawareness. He’s also passionate about improving in the craft of writing and spending time with his son.

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