Graden Sol

After 18 years in Real Estate I’ve learned that Success is not about selling, it’s about providing superior service. My career started in 2002 in Calgary Alberta and like most new REALTOR®s, I had a stack of new glossy business cards, the latest cell phone strapped to my waist (I think it was a Blackberry), and a dog-eared copy of ‘Think and Grow Rich’. I was thrown out in to the market with my sales manager’s only advice for survival ringing through my ears: “remember your ABCs, now get out there and sell, sell, sell!”. Over the years I worked hard to build a solid reputation focusing on service, and the referral of past clients helped my business grow substantially. In 2005 I diversified into Commercial Real Estate as well as mentoring of new Residential agents. Calgary experienced its fair share of market turbulence: a red-hot market in 2006 and the subsequent crash in 2008. It was exciting and rewarding but I knew I wanted to do something more than just sell houses in Calgary. Where could I do what I love and still carry on with such a rewarding career? Well, I fell in love with sailing in 2011, so naturally I sold my house in Calgary, hung up the Blackberry and bought a sailboat on the East Coast of the US. The next 2 years was a journey of self discovery sailing solo along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Along the way I realized the two great passions in my life: sailing and helping people. The question I had to answer for myself was: where I can live, do what I love, and still sail year round? There was only one obvious choice. I moved to Victoria in 2013 and quickly became involved in my new community. I strongly believe in giving back to my community and my profession. I’ve sat on the MLS committee at and as a director at the Victoria Real Estate Board for the past 5 years, I’m the current Chair of the the Victoria Real Estate Board, I sit on the Advisory Planning Commission for the Town of Sidney, I’m the Chair of the SNSYC CRASH Regatta, and I volunteer with Junior Achievement in our local schools. Most importantly, I still manage to sail every week of the year! and I look forward to many more rewarding years of island life. I look forward to connecting with you, we can talk about houses on the island or sailing!