“You aren’t afraid of the plunge, you are afraid of what people will think of you when you tell them you failed, but don’t look at it as a failure, look at it as a lesson.”

Interview by Hayley Tomazic.

Adam Kruse is a self-described Dynamic Real Estate Broker and Realtor Entrepreneur who began his business endeavors at the youthful age of twenty with an online sales brokerage company.   Today, he is the Broker/Owner of The Hermann London Group, a full-service real estate brokerage in St. Louis, Missouri.  Adam established Hermann London in 2007 as a one man operation working from his kitchen table.  Today, he has 27 employees and a great office located in the heart of downtown Maplewood. Adam’s involvement in real estate doesn’t stop there.  He is on the Board of Directors for MARIS, The Board for the Realtors Young Professionals Network, and on the Grievance Committee at the St. Louis Association of Realtors.

Hermann London prides itself on staying ahead of the curve by remaining extremely web savvy while specializing in residential and commercial real estate.  The Hermann London Group’s mission is to be the preferred and most trusted resource in real estate by providing their clients and Realtors with results through innovation and education.  They have recently been mentioned on MSNBC, Realtor.com, the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and Entrepreneur Magazine.

MO:
The housing market peaked in the summer of 2006 and you began Hermann London in 2007. How did you become successful in a time when so many other real estate companies were struggling?

Adam:
From the beginning, the main thing that brought me success was my reputation.  I had a strong sphere of influence, and I was generally regarded as honest, hardworking, and happy.   After a few of my friends agreed to work with me, I quickly gained the reputation also for being knowledgeable about real estate.

MO:
You have a Masters degree in Accounting from The University of Missouri. How has that helped your business?

Adam:
I believe this has helped in several ways.  One of the big things was some instant credibility. When I looked fairly young and inexperienced,  being able to say I have my masters showed that I was ambitious, hard working and smart.  Also,  for me personally going through the process of getting my masters,  I gained the ability to find the answer to any problem, and the confidence to know that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.

MO:
Where do you see Hermann London heading in the next 5 years? 10 years?

Adam:
I’d like to grow our “offline” presence in terms of opening more offices and expanding our services areas, even to outside of Missouri.   I would also like to greatly grow our online presence, in terms of servicing the community with real estate information and an extremely robust property search functionality.

MO:
What was your proudest day at Hermann London?

Adam:
The day my dad joined.

MO:
What advice do you have for young people that dream of owning their own business, but are afraid to take the plunge?

Adam:
Do it. You aren’t afraid of the plunge, you are afraid of what people will think of you when you tell them you failed, but don’t look at it as a failure, look at it as a lesson.

MO:
Hermann London is focused heavily on the internet and staying ahead of the technology curve. What role do you see technology playing in the future of real estate?

Adam:
I think it will continue to play an incredible role, providing more information to end users than ever before.  Realtors will still provide a strong service to the public, but our role is changing slowly, and we have to embrace it.