In today’s economically challenging world, Americans are working longer hours to make ends meet. In addition, homes in which both the husband and the wife have a job are no longer the exception to the rule, but have become the rule. As a result, many couples are spending less time together, which places their unions at risk.
Some twosomes have found ways to work through the time crunch, such as making the most of their few moments together and doing special things to let each other know they’re thinking of one another. Scott and Janet Henninger, however, hit upon a rare formula for marital success that would send cracks through a weak foundation: they started a business together. Not only that, but their business is real estate, which means they spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week in each other’s company. The idea might seem appalling to some couples, but the Henningers shrug like spending all of their time together is a walk in the park, not a day at the office. Scott, who plays the straight man to Janet’s less reserved personality, says they’re not tied at the hip. “If we’re working at home, I might be on the computer doing my thing and she’ll be on the phone doing her thing. It’s not like we’re two inches from each other at all times. We have our personal space,” he says.
The empty seat between him and his wife at the conference table at which they’re sitting illustrates his point. Still, the Henningers share what can be a consuming business, which means they must work together to keep their operation running smoothly. And when the day is done, they’re still in close proximity to each other, with only a grey tabby to provide alternative company, as they have no children. But instead of allowing their circumstance to create tension, Scott and Janet have developed a way of working together that utilizes each of their abilities and enables them to deliver quality service to their clients. With a background in engineering management, Scott contributes his computer skills to the family business. He also remodeled a home he and Janet owned, so he’s familiar with home inspections and the ins and outs of repairs. Janet, on the other hand, is outgoing and expressive, and has learned how to drum up business.
When seeing married clients, the Henningers work together like a well-oiled machine. He might take the husband to the garage, while she might give the wife a tour of the kitchen, the bathrooms and the closets. They believe working together gives them an advantage over Realtors that work solo.
Scott explains: “It’s hard for one person to relate to two people, as each individual will have a unique personality. Our different personalities give us better odds at hitting it off with a couple.” Their approach works. The Henningers have been full-time Realtors for three-and-a-half years, and they broke their sales record in August when they topped one million dollars. Even more impressive are their stories about the clients they’ve helped. Janet takes the lead on one story, then her husband jumps in, and then they go back and forth until the end: “We helped a New Jersey couple that hadn’t even seen the house they bought.” “They had to have a house right away due to a job transfer--” “And they were busy packing, so they couldn’t come down.” “They relied on us to take pictures and videos, and to handle the home inspections and other details. They saw the house for the first time the day they moved in.” “I was more nervous than they were. What if they hadn’t liked the neighborhood?”
“We were a wreck. That was a big responsibility.” Fortunately, the couple and their five children loved the house. And the Henningers love real estate. Janet got the ball rolling in 2006 when she tired of working in retail. She’d always wanted to be a Realtor, so when a friend suggested they go into business together, she jumped at the chance. When the lady didn’t follow through, Scott stepped up. He was ready for a change, as he’d gone as far as he could in his industry without moving. Plus, he reasoned that real estate was an ideal choice for a new business due to the ease of entry and the low overhead. Adding fuel to the fire, Scott and Janet had recently earned MBAs and were itching to put them to use. The Henningers went with Prudential to have the backing of a nationally respected brand. “It’s hard for new agents to attract business without having something backing them up. When we went to our first listing appointment, the client asked us how many listings we’d had. We got the listing, but it wasn’t easy. We didn’t have experience fall back on, so it helped have to Prudential behind us,” Scott says.
While Janet is the most gregarious of the pair, she usually looks at Scott before speaking, and her statements are short and to the point. Asked if she likes real estate as much as she thought she would, she glances at her husband and then says, “Yes.”
Scott offers a more substantive response. “I like being self-employed. And I like figuring out how to run a business, especially now that our hard work is starting to pay off. It’s more rewarding to accomplish something on your own than to work for someone else and be stuck within the parameters of what they want you to do.” The Henningers primarily list and sell residential properties, and especially enjoy working with people who are in the market for a second house or a vacation home. Although they have a lot of listings on Lookout Mountain, near where they live, they have done business in Cleveland, Tenn., and Lafayette, Ga. “In this economy, you have to go where the business is,” Scott says.
Scott’s quip about the market notwithstanding, his perspective on the real estate market is positive. “The market made a big turn in the last three months.
Prices aren’t ready to go in a different direction, but by spring, they will be,” Scott says. Above all, their outlook on working together is best described as nonchalant. Essentially, it’s a non-issue for them. “It was a big adjustment for Janet early on because she was used to me being gone all day, but it got easier for her as time went on,” Scott says. According to Scott, the key that enables him and Janet to work together, even as they approach four years without a vacation, is their drive to succeed. “Once I’d quit my other job, that was it. We had to make this work,” he says. As sure as Scott is about the glue that holds him and Janet together, he doesn’t believe every couple has what it takes to be together around the clock. “Maybe an agent is reading this and wondering, ‘Should my spouse get into this with me?’ It depends on the people. There are couples that could not survive working together,” he says. Janet looks at Scott and nods. “If your marriage can survive working together, it can survive anything.”