In honor of Mother’s Day, we connected with Sin-Yi Lambertson of ERA! Yes Real Estate, mother of fellow ERA real estate professional, Fred Lambertson, about her experience working closely with her family.

ERA: How long have you and your son been involved in real estate?

  • Sin-Yi: I’ve been a real estate professional for more than 30 years. Fred started later after graduating from college and has been in real estate for over 10 years. He teaches full time and helps his loyal real estate clientele on the side.

ERA: In your opinion, what’s the best part of working with your child?

  • Sin-Yi: The inherent sense of trust is unrivaled. The real estate industry can be quite competitive, but I never have to worry about Fred “stealing” my customers. He is always willing to help me with whatever I ask without a complaint, even if it’s not necessarily something that fits into his day’s priorities. I really appreciate his strength, advice and younger perspective as well. Like in our personal lives, Fred has always been a loyal, loving and protective presence in my professional career.

ERA: What’s one piece of advice you would give someone going into business with their child? Fred, how about you? What would you recommend?

  • Sin-Yi: It’s important to make sure you are aligned in your approach and priorities. Fred and I are both very good at what we do, but we do it differently. When we started working together, we set boundaries and rules of the road to help us navigate this new area of our relationship. Those guidelines still help us today! Additionally, we make sure to vocalize if work starts to affect our personal relationship, so that we can stop and course-correct before it permeates that area of our lives. It’s important to separate and balance whenever possible and respect each other!
  • Fred: I completely agree, making sure we have open and honest lines of communication has been imperative to the success of our professional relationships from the beginning. Additionally, setting realistic expectations is important. It’s vital for both parties to remember they won’t always see eye to eye, and that’s ok. Differences are to be expected, and both parent and child need to be flexible and make adjustments as necessary.

What do you think you would like most about working with your parent or child? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!