NEA C-Suite: Carroll Caldwell
How would you describe your company? I started my career in real estate in construction in 1966 in Cherokee Village, Ark. During high school, I worked there in construction during the summers, was promoted to real estate sales in 1971, and I have never looked back. I started my real estate company, Village Communities, in Jonesboro with my two partners Ray Pierson and Marvin Hinton in 1974. Coldwell Banker Village Communities is a premier and experienced real estate company that has been a leader in our market for more than 50 years. We specialize in the brokerage of all classes of real estate and property development. I started Village Communities Real Estate in 1974, franchised with Coldwell Banker in 2004, and have never had a bad year in business. Our agents have been in the real estate profession for their entire careers, so we have a wide range of expertise and unlimited knowledge in the real estate industry.
What is the best business advice someone has ever given you? Grow or die. Pay attention to change and change with it.
What skills do you think are most important when it comes to leadership? Problem-solving. If you are smart enough to see and understand a problem, you are smart enough to find or figure out the solution.
If you could change one thing about your leadership style, what would it be and why? I try not to micromanage but sometimes I do. I try to recognize when I do that and back off.
How significant to you is developing a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) culture within your organization? My company maintains a diversified inventory of properties, from rentals, to multi- and single-family housing, and mixed-use and large-scale commercial developments. Having a diverse sales force is vital to our company’s success, allowing us to not only better serve clients of all types and all socioeconomic classes, but also internally by increasing our creativity and innovation.
If you had $1 million to give, what would you support? St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and a homeless shelter
Do you think Artificial Intelligence (AI) can take jobs in your industry? AI will never take all jobs in the real estate industry because it is imperative for buyers and sellers to have the expertise of trained real estate professionals to physically view properties in person. AI is currently being used for descriptions of properties and does an excellent job for that purpose.
If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Elon Musk. I would like to experience his knowledge and methods of how he handles one day of his problems and achievements. Wow!
What’s your favorite movie or television show? “Sergeant York” with Gary Cooper. “Sergeant York” is a very old, classic movie — that is also a true story — that I really appreciate. When watching television, I mainly watch and pay attention to the weather and the news.
What are your thoughts on working from home? I could never work from home because with my work I am always on-the-go, either at job sites/developments or looking at properties. I am also hands-on and there are too many distractions at home. However, my wife works from home and is very efficient working from home. Some real estate agents are successful working from home, however, the agents that produce the most volume are always the ones working at the office. I prefer working in the office atmosphere, working and collaborating with our agents.
What is the most used app on your phone? LandGlide, this app provides property data, parcel boundary lines, and ownership information. I also frequently use a loan calculator app that calculates loan payments. Arkansas County Data is also a website that I use daily.