Why Are We “ROOST™” Real Estate?

I had a pretty good idea of what I thought a real estate company should look like. By 2013 had been in the business for almost 13 years. I had been an agent at a successful local firm in 2001 and 2002 and became a RE/MAX franchisee in 2003. After the downturn in 2008 I associated my team again with the same local firm and in 2012 began researching new opportunities including other franchises.

It became clear to me pretty quickly that none of the companies I met with were the right fit for me. People I trusted urged me to create my own company but the last thing I wanted was just another local ‘Mom and Pop’ brokerage. If I was going to do this I wanted to create a business that was both scalable and sustainable. In other words, I wanted to be able to grow the business and I wanted it to succeed regardless of the inevitable ups and downs of the industry.

In early 2013 I met Andy Hayes who has a local business called Hucklebuck Design. I had seen Andy’s work around town and I really liked his artistic sensibility. Andy and I began a dialogue that spring that resulted in a set of brand ‘guidelines’ that really reflected a company I could get excited about. The colors, the font, the core brand values of smart, passionate, supportive, approachable, and a clear understanding where a company like ours would fit in the industry all fell into place.

What we needed was a name.

Now you might think that would be the easy part. It was not. Andy and I generated literally hundreds of names. At one point I even conducted a naming contest online. For every name we liked however, we had to run through three filters. The first was a simple Google search to see if the name was already in use. The second was trying to figure out if the Ohio Division of Real Estate would allow us to license the name. The third was doing a trademark search to see if the name could be trademarked.

After weeks of deliberation we settled on ROOST Real Estate Co. The selection was a result of a process of elimination. However, I soon got excited about the name because I believe it accurately reflects something just a little bit different in the industry and in my opinion, is a lot more fun.