Mentorship should be your number one driver when you start.
That’s the advice of Jake Prescott, the popular real estate rep with the Tracy Arnett team, one of the most reputable property brokers in the metropolitan Ottawa area. Knowing he had a lot to learn, Prescott strategically targeted a working culture that would expand his professional horizons. “I decided that I would take whatever job I was offered so long as I had the mentor that I wanted,” he explains. Three weeks after embedding the first footprint on his career path, Prescott found himself the assistant to Arnett’s assistant.
“It wasn’t glamorous, but I got to work side by side with an agent that was outperforming the average agent tenfold. She was also the chair of the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s Professional Standards Committee. She would have other agents from all over the city calling her to ask for advice. She was exactly what I needed: well-respected in the community and known as a consummate professional.
After three years, I was given the opportunity to work as a salesperson on her team. I’ve never looked back.”
If Prescott ever does, he’ll find a long history of satisfied clients and a website full of glowing reviews. But that’ll be two or three decades from now, in his laurel years. Right now, he’s too busy still doing what he first fell in love with fresh out of the Linguistics program at Ottawa U, the degree he was urged to earn in case he couldn’t make good on his real estate ambitions. Fat chance. His plan to penetrate that highly competitive industry was up and running while he was a student. Prescott earned his real estate license during his final year and made the rounds with his CV on the day of his final exam.
A native of the Toronto area, Prescott came to Ottawa to attend school. Like a lot of visitors with no plans to stay, he fell in love with the city. Since setting roots in the nation’s capital, he’s had addresses in Sandy Hill, Centretown, and South Keys, areas in which he now sells homes and condos. His continued success is predicated not only on his sound knowledge of both the city and the industry, but a reputation for doggedness, a discipline he acquired as an athlete and coach in competitive gymnastics. Clients who sign with Prescott can rest assured that no stone will remain unturned in the search for an ideal domicile. “I don’t cut corners,” he maintains proudly.
It’s that reputation, along with his personable style, that continues to feed his career. “I’ve built a business that is now predominantly fed by past client recommendation and agent referrals,” beams the smiley, bearded Prescott. “Over the next twenty to thirty years, I’m hoping to continue to grow my business and serve my clients.” Prescott’s other ambition is to give back to the industry he keeps, along with his wife – Arnett’s director of marketing – and his two school-aged children, close to his heart.
“For the past seven years, I’ve been volunteering with the Ottawa Real Estate Board. I started as a committee member on the Professional Standard Committee. In 2020, I accepted a position on the Board of Directors where I continue to serve members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. I am also chair of the OREB Technology Committee, as well as a committee member on the MLS Rules of Cooperation Committee.”
And, of course, he’s more than happy to dispense advice to the next gen of real estate reps, just the way that the industry groomed him. “This business is not for the faint of heart,” he warns. “In my early years, I was regularly working over seventy hours a week. So, expect to work hard. But at the same time, do it right; get yourself set up for success. Make sure you align yourself with the right people: honest, professional, and hard-working.”
In other words, find yourself a Jake Prescott.
jake@tracyarnett.com
www.tracyarnett.com
