Clay Southworth
Listen to the interview (approx. 49 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2008 with a major in Music Business. Principal Instrument: Bass Guitar
Positions: #1: Real Estate Agent at Willow Bend Real Estate, representing a vacation home community on Cape Cod (Massachusetts).
#2: Entrepreneur/owner of Southworth Home Management. Clay watches and maintains empty homes during the off season, and oversees renovations.
“On Cape Cod, the real estate business is busiest during the summer, and the property management is busiest during the winter, so between the two it’s a full time year-round thing.”
Overview: Partway through Berklee, Clay decided that a music career wasn’t for him. After graduating and spending most of a year in Australia, Clay returned to the United States. A family connection (Clay’s father is a real estate developer.) got him a job selling real estate in New Hampshire, but the market was terrible and business was slow. Clay moved to Bermuda, where he is originally from, and another connection got him a job in operations at a hotel there. Clay worked hard for 3 years, spending little and saving a lot. He wanted to get back to Cape Cod and into the second-home real estate business, so when a job opened up at Willow Bend Country Club, he took it–even though it was just working in the warehouse. He started setting up his business. 8 months later an agent in their real estate agent went on pregnancy leave and he was the natural choice to fill in, and growing business allowed him to keep his job.
You can see his LinkedIn profile here.
Choice Quotes: “Whether you’re selling a home or your management company, you have to know your product from every angle. The more you can prove you know what you’re talking about, the more people will pay you for your services.”
“I enjoy doing something that fits my aptitudes. I like talking to people, socializing, being on my feet & on the move, dealing with new things. The money is pretty good too.”
“Berklee helped teach me to be creative, which helped me shape-shift my way through the business world. Pam Kerensky’s web design class was really helpful., as was the Business Startups class.”
See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.
Clay with his company truck. He has some good advice for would-be entrepreneurs, “”If you want to start a business. Don’t even THINK you’re going to make a bunch of money right away. If possible, save up some $ before you launch it. Keep another job to have income while you build your own thing. Once your new business starts making a profit, now consider going full-time. Also, outsource everything you don’t know! Pay a consultant to look over your business plan, and use a professional accountant and lawyer. Have fun with marketing, but don’t go overboard. You business should grow primarily through word-of-mouth.”
Clay also speaks highly of the book The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz.