A resume full of previous life and business experience has added significant value to Bobby Johnson’s long, successful, real estate career. This extensive experience is most certainly a part of what has clients gravitating toward him like lumberjacks to a plaid sale. Although Bobby currently runs the Bobby J Team at the Engel Volkers realty company, he most definitely didn’t start there.
Bobby Johnson was raised in Seagrove, Florida, and still resides and works near there today. The long history Bobby shares with this location gives him a unique perspective on the real estate in the area, which, in turn, gives him the ability to advise and assist clients in a way that many others couldn’t. Like most children, he didn’t grow up planning to land in the Million Dollar Guild Club, or be one of the top ten real estate agents in the state of Florida for the past five years in a row. Bobby actually began careers in retail, building, and nursing before he realized that his love for real estate overshadowed his love for poking patients with needles and work-boot blisters.
All of these careers contributed to Bobby’s journey toward the place he is today, but, when looking back, the turning point can be traced to a large piece of furniture. Bobby was running his own art and furniture shop, and was out delivering a client’s recent purchase. There is a law that states, “The heavier the object to be delivered, the higher up the stairs it must go.” This was no exception. After carrying the client’s merchandise up 21 flights of stairs, the client then realized that it didn’t fit, possibly because the space was taken by all the other heavy things that other delivery people were still recovering from. The client, in a display of gratefulness that all clients naturally possess, decided not to take the piece after all. Bobby couldn’t help but think that this was all for a profit of only $50 – hardly enough to pay for a hernia belt – and that there had to be a better way to get ahead in life. At the suggestion of a good friend, he decided to look into the newly opened Arvida Real Estate Company, which was owned by St. Joe, the largest landowner in Florida. He was hired immediately, and he never moved another piece of furniture again…a fact his wife will attest to. Bobby quickly discovered that he loved the attention and care it took to properly manage listings, something he attributes to his time in nursing, and the fact that he’s a caregiver at heart…something that should not be confused with being a care-taker of hearts. He began applying all of the experience he had gained in construction and retail, and immediately became a top producing agent.
Since this beginning, in 1999, Bobby has continually been a top producer, maintaining an average of over 60 transactions per year. Despite dealing with hurricanes, market collapses, and oil spills, he has still managed to run a successful local office, which he recently merged with Engel & Volkers. Engel & Volkers private office advisors are some of the most competent and connected real estate professionals in the world, but this hasn’t stolen Bobby’s focus from being the 30A Local Realtor that loves and invests in the same market as the people he advises. In fact, Bobby is looking forward to closing out one of his best years ever, and has no plans to slow down.
When unfurling the thick scroll labeled The Accomplishments Bobby Johnson, one would think that he, like so many others, has sacrificed every second of his life to build his business in the hopes that he can live later. After noticing all the headstones of those who are trying to live now rather than before, Bobby rejected the philosophy of working himself to death. “This is not a dress rehearsal,” Bobby advises. “This is it.” And he lives like he believes it. Bobby not only has a love for real estate and the 30A area, he has a love for life in general. One of his favourite pastimes is surfing, and this was just one of the things he refused to give up in the pursuit of the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. “When I started this, I decided I would build my life, and business would follow in place. I wrote my first contract on the hood of my jeep in Grayton Beach in a wetsuit. True story.”
Bobby continues to provide exceptional service to all of his clients (even the ones who like heavy furniture), and enjoys the fact that, as he creates his own schedule, he can still slip in the odd “board” meeting at the beach when the moment feels right, and when Mrs. Johnson says it’s ok.
Bobby Johnson can be reached through these social media outlets:
https://www.facebook.com/bobbyj30a
