Today we’d like to introduce you to Harris Benson.
Harris, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Although I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, my family has strong Louisiana roots, making it an easy choice to attend LSU for school. During my time at LSU, I majored in Business Management and minored in Psychology. Outside of the classroom, I explored my professional interests and in each role one underlying theme came up: I really enjoyed working with people.
Upon graduation, I began my professional career at Pon Holdings B.V., a large multinational company based in the Netherlands. I’m proud to have been one of two college graduates from the United States selected for their management training program that year. With an entrepreneurial spirit, this program focuses on project management and process improvement. While working in Amsterdam for the Pon-Caterpillar dealer network (Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden), I was placed in a supply chain role with the focus on reducing operational costs for their Pon-Equipment division. The reason I point this role out is because it forced me to really dive into data to better understand the issues at hand, which I happened to enjoy. As a realtor, I most certainly take a ‘data approach’ to what I do.
Pon’s North American headquarters is in Houston, so my natural next move was to come on over to Texas where I remained with the company for three more years. Although I am very grateful for the opportunities that Pon presented, I knew that it wasn’t what I wanted to do long term. Thinking about potential next steps, I looked back at what I enjoyed most which ultimately lead me to working in residential real estate. It is a career that is entrepreneurial, has a focus on people and allows me to be in more control of the end result. I believe that everything that I did up to that point leads me to this career and as challenging as it can be, I don’t regret the change for one minute.
Career aside, I’m the youngest of three brothers and am extremely close to my family who all live in New Orleans, but I love living in Houston and feel that it is a very good fit for me. Outside of work, I’m very involved in the Houston Jewish Community as a board member for the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston’s Young Adult Division.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Anyone who works in residential real estate that tells you it’s been a smooth road their whole career is probably exaggerating. I like to equate starting a career in real estate with someone starting a small business. You have to wear every hat possible (finance, marketing, advertising, customer service, etc.). Many people don’t think of real estate agents as entrepreneurs, but that’s exactly what we are. When it comes to obstacles along the way, the most glaring is the fact that I didn’t grow up in Houston so I didn’t have had a large network of people I could connect with right off the bat. However, it forced me to really get to know the city, which has been wonderful.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
On the surface level, as a Realtor, I help clients buy, sell and lease residential real estate in the Greater Houston Area. Simply put, my business is 100% focused on empowering my clients with the tools to make the most informed decisions possible. With my professional background as previously described, I take a more professional and business-oriented approach to what I do. I work extremely hard to understand the Houston real estate market and take pride in knowing the many areas of town. With this knowledge and understanding of how to approach Houston’s extremely unique real estate market, I communicate with full transparency to my clients. Houston is filled with thousands of realtors, with many who also put their client’s interests first; however, it’s this professional approach that I feel sets me apart from others. Don’t just take my word for it, see what some of my clients have said by checking out the testimonials page on my website (www.harrisbenson.com).
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, I know that I’ve been successful when a client refers someone to me. In this business, there is no better validation of a job well done than that.
Contact Info:
- Address: John Daugherty, Realtors
520 Post Oak Blvd Floor 6
Houston, TX 77027 - Website: www.harrisbenson.com
- Phone: (713) 299-3015
- Email: harrisb@johndaugherty.com
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