Service In Place
Somewhere in the annals of Jackson Hole Real Estate is a 17 year old Janet Helm’s travel journal. There between sanguine chronicles of family road trips and first hand accounts of adventures in a small Wyoming resort town, positioned adjacent pencil sketches of the Teton range are the words “I’m going to live here someday.”
For each of us there is a calling. Some find it in the resolve of vocation, others discover it in the trials of experience.
Janet Helm has found her own calling in place. To understand The Clear Creek Group is to understand its team. Small, deliberately individual, motivated by an unwavering passion for setting and the relationships forged in the ethos of small town Jackson Hole.
These relationships are personal.
A lifetime ago, Janet left the concrete skyscrapers of corporate America for the granite skyscrapers of Jackson Hole. Relentlessly altruistic, kids in tow, Janet set her bearings on working with people. Whether it be embodying the collaborative lifestyle afforded by Wyoming recreation, or volunteering in schools and local nonprofits, Janet has established a reputation as a purveyor of community.
In many respects it is this trait that makes Janet Helm an exceptional Associate Broker and an irreplaceable member of
The Clear Creek Group Real Estate team.
In her own words: “When the trails feel right under foot, and when the sun reflects the shadows just so on the water you cannot help but smile, you want to share the feeling, and share this special place.”
For Janet its never been about selling properties, its about a passion for community reflected in that travel journal all those years ago.
What is it that brought you to Jackson Hole?
My husband Bill and I left corporate jobs for mountain living. I like to say I left concrete skyscrapers for granite ones. We did not look far… I had vacationed here with my family, and when I was 17 wrote in my travel journal I would live here someday. Jackson Hole reminded my husband of the valley he lived in in Switzerland for 14 years and when he called me from the top of Togwotee Pass that August day in 1992, he said ‘I’m home”. I flew out from Milwaukee to meet him here that Labor Day weekend. He settled in, and I moved the following July after our wedding.
It is a competitive market, what influenced your career in Real Estate?
Bill got his real estate license before I came out, and I was undecided what new profession I wanted to pursue, so attended real estate classes as well. The day I received word I passed the licensing exam (those days, results were mailed a week or two after taking the exam), I also found out I was pregnant. I have a son and daughter born less than two years apart. A career in real estate gave us the flexibility to trade off being with clients or being with kids. It also gave me the flexibility to volunteer in schools and for local nonprofits. I was able to pair real estate sales with working at a local art gallery and later a large retail store on the Square. Admittedly, the chosen real estate profession also gave me the ability to hit the trails several times a week, in the early days with kids in tow. Downhill or nordic skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer continue to be my passions.
What inspires you about your role at TCCG?
What inspires me at TCCG is the team – everyone here works hard, and plays hard. Weekends will find any number of us in the office, yet morning conversation is always about adventures played on days off. There is great respect for employees’ professional and private lives here. Secondly, everyone’s focus is relationship building whether with guests, homeowners, and/or brokerage clients. The theme throughout our company is high touch, high quality. We review our customers experience weekly and assess ways to improve it or transfer what was successful into other divisions of the company. We are always looking for new systems, new ways to improvise, new ideas, and that sparks my motivation – it is a great spiral.
Jackson Hole is not a hard sell, and it is always refreshing and inspiring to share the visitors’ awe, and then to help them become guests or clients…and friendships develop.
TCCG’s unique business model is one main reason I chose to work here: guests become buyers who often become rental and caretaking clients, and then sometimes sellers. As the company grows, our referral business grows. My role also expanded as the business has grown. I came in as a Brokerage Assistant to help organize and grow the real estate division, and now I am also Broker’s Assistant helping with brokerage management, and I am a licensed Associate Broker which puts me in the seller/buyer’s agent role. I get to use my research, management, and sales skills daily. No day is alike and after over four years here, I still look forward to walking in the office, sharing a few laughs, and massaging my goals to perform where they are most needed that day.
You have been described as a constant, the glue, someone to rely on. How would you describe your role at TCCG?
Gosh…I owe someone lunch! I don’t know about being the glue, but I do have longevity in the valley that offers me perspective in the community, and in real estate specifically, that may translate into better understanding of our roles within. My Master’s degree in organizational communication pairs with my business background in sales and management which helps give me an objective view of how we operate internally and with the public. I am happy to be a resource internally, whether to brainstorm in a meeting, or make a suggestion as to who to contact or where to look for answers to questions. I think being a mother also gives me a sensitivity to my co-workers’ personal lives and balancing on the precious work/play life swing.
You have been and remain so active in the Jackson Hole community. How do you devote your free time?
I pride myself on maintaining relationships personally and professionally. My husband is a huge support – the evolving parenting roles as my children grow into young adults is amazing. We are empty nesters so ‘dating’ again – it’s a blast. My extended family is very close and even though we live all over the globe, I make it a goal to visit. And, there are my girlfriends who are my partners in motherhood, hiking, skiing, traveling, book club, professional pursuits, and so much more. I love to travel and am seldom home from one trip before planning another – sometimes just a weekend away. In between, it is all about being outside on the trails. I work hard to be able to do what I love. This matches well with the work hard/play hard/grow relationships theme at TCCG.
How do you think your role at TCCG extends to an active role in the community?
Our real estate team is unique because we are collaborative, not competitive, both within the office and with our peers. Our target market is selling residential properties east of the Tetons priced over $1 million although we have sold properties out of this area under $300,000, and a ranch for over $10 million. Our due diligence for high end buyers is extremely detailed oriented. For example, while most buyers will hire a single general inspector, we encourage our buyers to hire not only a general inspector, but other contractors such as an electrician, a plumber, a HVAC specialist, a roofer, for the most thorough inspections of the investment they are going to make. Our Operations Manager will typically meet the inspectors at the property and see first-hand any issues that may be noted. He can then answer any questions and communicate with our input, to the buyer. Most of our buyers will entrust their home with our caretaking team after purchase because our team already knows the ‘mechanics’ of the house, and because the buyer has established a relationship with our operations staff.
We also want our clients to become part of the community, even if, (perhaps especially if), they are part time residents.
To that end, we introduce them to others. We host cocktail parties periodically for our clients, homeowners, and guests. We suggest contacting the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole to discover nonprofits they may wish to become involved with, offer locals’ insight to favorite spots and events, make introductions to new neighbors…Here is our common theme again: ‘relationship building’.
How has the field of Real Estate evolved?
Technology has changed the field of real estate dramatically since I first got licensed. MLS books were printed monthly, so updates to listings were anything but current. Agents did not share the books with clients, let alone the general public, so we could be in control of listings presented. Now clients do their own searches and will ask about listings they uncovered online. Science has aided us in speed and many channels to communicate with customers. But in any product sale, once contact is made, it is all about ‘touch’ to establish the relationship. For residential sales, I like to believe real estate is more of an art form because the beauty of a property is in the eye of the beholder and it is up to the Realtor to help the seller present it, and the buyer ‘interpret’ it. Technology may help here, but while videos can show the wonders of properties, they cannot replace the feelings of walking onto a property that says ‘home’ through all five senses. Of course, Jackson Hole sells itself – when the trails feel right under foot/ski/board/bike tire, and when the sun reflects the shadows just so on the water/canyons/Aspens that you cannot help but smile, you want to share the feeling, and share this special place.
What is the single most important thing you want each of your clients to know, feel, or experience after working with you & The Clear Creek Group?
With gratitude we got to know you and help you find a piece of peace, and although the transaction is over, our relationship continues.
