09/13/2021
I bet you didn’t know
I was born a twin in 1967 in Aberdeen Washington at St. Josephs hospital. Each of us weighed in at over 7 lbs and were over 21 inches long.
We moved when I was a child with my 4 siblings Willie (the oldest) Anna (the oldest female) Marilyn ( the middle child) then myself and Bob the twins.
We moved to Spokane when I was 3 years old, I attended Stevens Elementary until 4th grade then moved to the family farm where I attended fourth grade at Garden Springs elementary then went to 5th grade at Windsor before attending middle school and high school at Cheney.
My father had owned the farm since he was a child in the 1940’s and it has since passed to my sister Marilyn who lives their today.
Growing up back then had its challenges, however, was not a bad way to live learning how to milk cows, and process food you raised.
We built our own home using recycled lumber from teardowns and worked the land. We grew up with a strong sense of family and understood that using a little teamwork could get the greatest results.
I remember being a young man when I was on my own and had to fight and struggle like many young men do from poverty, and lack of resources to create my own life.
It’s what we were raised to do, it was expected. We understood that there were not going to be any freebies and if you wanted something, you were going to earn it. No handouts, no first cars, no bikes unless you earned it and bought it yourself.
We were taught skills and knew how to raise a garden, process our own food, fix things and learned from a skilled carpenter how to clean up a job site and a lot of other skills that came in handy later on in life. The most important thing we learned was “How to work”. We learned to question things and never take a person at their word and, knew life was not going to be easy.
I came from a lineage of fine German Immigrants that came to the United States in the 1800’s some staying back east and some immigrating to the west where I am today and beyond. The Seipp’s were know as hardworking people who never shied away from the work for the reward.
“We learned there was tremendous value in hard work.”
While my direct descendants were working to make a place in this world here in Spokane and, in Canada my Cousins were working hard in the East. One created an empire making beer and built a company called the Conrad Seipp Brewing company in Chicago Illinois.
Conrad Seipp, an immigrant from Hessen Germany, started making beer in Chicago in 1854. His brewery was one of the few to survive the Chicago fire. During “The Great Rebuilding,” a period of intense innovation in urban development, business and architecture, Seipp provided Chicago his beer. By the mid-1870s, Seipp was a dominant player in the Chicago and national beer market, producing over 250,000 barrels annually. In his prime, Seipp was a pioneer of modern brewing. His innovations included new techniques in refrigeration, distribution, and marketing. Conrad Seipp died in 1890 and members of his family continued to run the company. Grain and coal shortages during World War I impacted Seipp’s production before the enactment of Prohibition in 1919 devastated the beer industry. Seipp operations shut down in 1933, just before Prohibition was lifted. The brewery was destroyed that year to make room for Michael Reese Hospital.
Seipp’s direct descendant is bringing back the Conrad Seipp Brewing Company and is working in collaboration with Metropolitan Brewing to recraft one of Seipp’s most popular brands: Seipp’s Extra Pale which is a pre-prohibition pilsner. Have a sip of Seipp’s and taste Chicago’s history.
Laurin Mack of Chicago is a distant cousin of mine and direct descendant of Conrad Seipp!!
Hat’s off to Laurin for taking another run at it!!
In my own history, I had many opportunities to achieve, and had a father, uncles and aunts as well other mentors that I relied on to teach me what I didn’t know. How to earn a buck myself.
I remember having a call with my Uncle Vince who was a real estate professional locally and very well known for being the president of Alvin J Wolff and trained Fritz Wolff Sr while Fritz was about to take the next step in his life creating an empire called the Wolff Company. Fritz by the way is an amazing man who raised amazing kids that I have tremendous respect for. The Wolff Company by some estimates is valued at over 8 billion dollars.
Early on in my adult years, I knew that is what I wanted, and let Uncle Vince bend my ear and took his valuable insight, held it tight as he would expect me to do.
I trusted him and knew what he meant when he said you need to learn all about apartments before taking that next step. Start at the bottom with the worst properties and make them communities again, then take each step, learning while you are earning. I did just that.
Now we are at 2021 and I have worked all of my adult life in the apartment industry learning the nuts and bolts from the best in the business to where I am an industry leader and own a few other businesses as well.
Please check out Trovato Interiors at 9919 E. Sprague for instance and while you are there say hi to Susan. (An inspiring visionary herself)
Today I am asked all the time what I am going to do next. After all, I have earned a lot of awards along the way and made some decent money as well. My answer is, I really love what I do. Apartments are the game of choice, and I will at times take bread and butter deals along the way. I will always probably be an apartment guy and will do some development and take on additional challenges.
If you want to learn the business of real estate, Learn and live by a set of standards that sets you apart, makes you clearly unique and exposes the talents you possess and make sure to shoot straight. Always.
Never say, that looks like a good idea. Never give the quick answer to land a deal or take clients from others. Give people the facts only, and then back it up.
Be ethical. Be Kind and, Fly Straight!!
Until Next Time
