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BUSINESS
THE CHANDLER ARIZONAN | WWW.CHANDLERNEWS.COM | NOVEMBER 28, 2021
Mother-daughter team open Chandler brokerage BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Staff Writer
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ew considered starting their own business in October 2020 as the nation reeled from a third wave of COVID-19 infections, businesses were going bankrupt and 7.4 million Americans were unemployed – way above the pre-pandemic rate. Seems like a strange time to set up your own shop, but that’s exactly what the mother and daughter team of Laurie and Chelsea McDonnell did. The women opened their own real estate brokerage in Chandler called Locality Real Estate. “There are some hurdles with it, right, but the real estate market was very strong, and continues to be strong,” Laurie said. “A little hiccup when COVID first happened, where people, you know, a little craziness, with cancellations and a little uncertainty with what the market was going to do. But we were in the
Mother-daughter team Laurie and Chelsea McDonnell started their own real estate brokerage in Chandler, called Locality, during the height of the pandemic. (Ken Sains/Arizona Staff)
real estate market for a long time and we were very confident in our abilities.” Not only did they survive the pandemic, they thrived during it. A year after they opened, they have hired 33 agents with another hire expected soon. “We’re not recruiting, we are organically growing based on attracting people to what we’re doing,” Laurie said. “They’re calling us, which is awesome.” Laurie and Chelsea said they look for agents who share their vision for a real estate company. “We wanted to build a brokerage of agents that were community focused,” Laurie said. “That are in the trenches, full-time real estate agents. Like minded, and have a sense of paying it forward in the community. And having fun while we’re doing it.” Chelsea said their agents support giving back to the communities where they
see REALTORS page 30
EV tutoring chief dedicated to kids’ development ARIZONAN NEWS STAFF
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here’s a reason that Kimberly Selchan gravitated to the Tutor Doctor franchise, serving mainly Gilbert and Chandler, after working in the corporate sector for many years. “I came from a corporate environment where I had mentors and was a mentor to others,” she explained. “I consider our service to be mentorship, far more than just subject tutoring or homework support. The mission statement I use for my region is: Helping today’s youth become tomorrow’s successful adults.” Selchan not only is good at her job – she’s been good for Tutor Doctor, which gave her their Marketing Innovation Award for finding new ways to grow her business year-over-year. The company explained, “In the past year, Kimberly has leveraged social me-
dia, virtual networking platforms and local small business partnerships in organic ways to grow her business, and she has committed to sharing the strategies used with fellow Tutor Doctor franchisees to help facilitate similar results.” She achieved a 30-percent increase in the number of organic referral and lead sources year over year by developing with other local small and large businesses in the community whose focus is on children and family. For example, she joined the board of a larger foster services agency and is now the preferred partner of its careerdevelopment program to helps teens Kimberly Selchan owns the local Tutor Doctor franchise and prefers to mentor students to reach their full potential and not just pass a course.
(Special to SanTan Sun News)
graduate high school and obtain their GED or associates degree. She also developed relationships that helped her service gain preferred-sponsor status at two elementary schools and a recommendation as a tutoring service at three high schools. Selchan also formed a parent and educators group on Facebook and leveraged other social media sites to respond to local families seeking tutoring services without paid ads. Tutor Doctor is a one-on-one private tutoring service but Selchan said her staff goes beyond helping clients master a subject. “Our tutors incorporate studying and planning techniques, accountability and self-advocacy which will all help their students become successful adults,” she said.
see TUTORING page 30
