Rob Sibcy faced three major challenges over his 50-year career in real estate. The first was taking over his father's brokerage after his father had a heart attack, which required learning to run the business while dealing with significant debt. The second challenge was high interest rates in 1980 that slowed home sales. The third was the 2008 financial crisis, when home sales slowed and the company depleted its 3-year cash reserve more quickly. Throughout these challenges, Rob's philosophy of earning a 3-year cash reserve helped his company weather downturns. He advises focusing on agents' needs to help them succeed and keep the business fun.

1. Lessons from Legends: Rob Sibcy
President, Sibcy Cline, Realtors
Course Summary
• Rob admired Harry Norman from Harry Norman Real Estate in Atlanta because he was a
southern gentleman who was warm, embraced new people coming into the business
and made Rob feel special every time he was around him.
• Rob has faced three significant challenges in his 50-year career:
o After becoming an agent at the brokerage owned by his father after college,
Rob had to take over the business four years later when his father had a heart
attack and stroke.
 He had to learn how to run the business without experience, especially
after learning the company was significantly in debt. It took him five
years to pay off all of the bills after negotiating payment plans.
o The second challenge came in 1980 when interest rates soared to 18% making it
very difficult for people to buy and sell homes and after he’d acquired another
company that had been losing money.
 After making it through three years a spring market finally arrived in 1983
and Rob’s philosophy became to earn and build a 3-year cash reserve
which stood him well until he encountered his third challenge.
o In 2008, he and his company had to weather a financial crisis during an
environment of historically low interest rates when they couldn’t sell homes,
further exacerbated by a dry hurricane in Cincinnati in that left a lot of damage
and widespread, week-long power outages one month before the stock market
crash in October. There was very little cash flow in the beginning of 2009 and
the company went through its 3 year cushion quickly. He navigated his company
through that and the slowest recovery in history.
o A good friend of Rob’s in the banking business told him that anybody can
operate a business in good times and asked how good he was in bad times.
That’s what separates the people who stick around and those who go by the
wayside. He never forgot that, agrees with that and keeps it in the back of his
mind.
• Rob would like to have his father back and take him to dinner to share how strong the
company he founded is today.
• Rob’s advice to small, young companies who want to grow:
o The most fun he had was listing and selling. Running a company was thrust
upon him along with many responsibilities and he took them on but he never
lost focus of what he felt like as an agent.

2. o As he runs the business and tries to provide different services, he always thinks,
“If I were an agent, what would I want?” – To make my life easier, how would I
want to change, what services would I like the broker to provide? Putting the
agent’s needs and wants at the forefront is key.
o Rob loves listing and selling houses and loves the business. He doesn’t plan to
retire because real estate is his hobby (and clearly his passion).