Meet BostonMan Magazine Legacy Club Member Dave Picardy. Along with his wife Tara, Dave owns the super elite (and super fun!) Treehouse Training Center in Danvers. He is also a partner with Liberty Residential Realty.
His passion for people, life, and success are undeniably contagious. Dave Picardy is indeed A Name to Know in Boston!
BMM: Dave, tell us a little bit about yourself. Before we get into real estate, what brought you to the North Shore and what is your background?
DP: I am home grown on the North Shore. I grew up in Beverly during the glory years of the 80’s in a very competitive neighborhood! Every day was spent getting outside, playing sports and building real friendships.
My first real business was in my early 20’s. A friend needed help with his office furniture deliveries for a couple days. Three days later I jumped in and was revamping how that side of his business ran to make it more efficient. Within a year I launched my own company. I had a fleet of trucks, 19 employees and shifted into Furniture Sales where the money was. The company went from $55k year one to over $1m year three.
A couple years I am a young married father of three amazing kids, home owner and business owner.
To most I was considered successful. To me it felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders. I had a very early mid-life crisis. I told my amazing wife I was making some kind of change.
So I got into the gym and training business!
Over the past 19 years I have successfully built three gyms, trained thousands of clients, developed countless trainers and had clients and trainers spin off countless new gyms. I attribute that success to the environment and attention to detail I pride myself on creating.
Despite this, I found myself in a similar position I was in before. This time I was more seasoned in business and was able to identify what was really going on. I finally realized I had no passion for managing people. I also realized I have a strong drive to help people.
So I decided to simplify my life. I decided to put my energy into helping my gym manager and coaches succeed and make an adjustment to how I earned a living.
Gymmin and real estate was born!
The gym, Treehouse School of Fitness in Danvers is hands down the #1 real training center on the North Shore. My vision was to bring world class Olympic caliber training to the general public. We have done just that. We have personal training, group strength and conditioning, youth athletic programs, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing, wrestling, firearms programs and are adding programs as more experts join the team.
My real estate business is booming. I have been full time for six years and came out day one as one of the top agents in the area. On top of working with buyers and sellers, I have found a good niche rehabbing properties, buying investment properties and teaching others how to invest in real estate to build their portfolios.
BMM: Clearly, you have an impressive resume as an entrepreneur, and have taken a lot of calculated risks with your businesses over the years. Was there a moment where it really hit you, that you were meant to be your own boss and in the small business entrepreneurial world versus working a cookie-cutter 9 to 5 job for someone else?
DP: I don’t know how it came about but I knew early on that I am not meant to work for anyone. I am just wired that way. I don’t work 9-5. I am a good multi tasker and work every day all day.
I don’t like getting paid hourly or salary. I want to be in a position where I sink or swim based on my work and expertise and am compensated well for my effort. I eat what I kill.
BMM: You’ve always had an eye for real estate, be it scouting out locations for your gyms or whatever else. What is it that made you ultimately decide to go full on into a career with real estate?
DP: This was a very calculated decision. Coming from the gym business where you are competing for a small percentage of the 5% of the population that actually goes to the gym. I asked myself a simple question: What industry can I apply my life long developed skills to be able to maximize my return and help a lot of people?
It was very easy to figure out. What does every person need that is of high value? Housing. I narrowed it down to real estate or mortgages. I decided I could make the biggest impact faster in real estate based on the competition so I dove in.
BMM: What would you say is one thing that distinguishes you and makes you unique from other real estate professionals?
DP: This is an easy one. Help First! Then lean on my expertise which is building relationships, perfecting process and always putting in whatever work it takes to become top of the food chain as a subject matter expert. I solve problems and I never focus on the money.
BMM: What have you found to be some of the biggest challenges in 2024, both as a small business owner and real estate agent? And how do you set out to overcome these challenges?
DP: The challenge in 2024 is this economy has gotten tight. Interest rates are still high. To overcome this I will sound like a broken record but I can promise you it is the ‘Help First’ approach. I have put myself in a trusted position in so many people’s lives. If I don’t have a solution I will find one quickly.
BMM: If you could offer one piece of advice to the younger generation with the entrepreneurial spirit, what would it be?
DP: Patience! Being an entrepreneur is a crazy ride. The amount of hats you wear and the unexpected turns can seem overwhelming. There are amazing highs and deep lows. It takes many years to truly start to understand that is all a part of it.
Not everything works the first time. It takes a lot of trial and error. Failing and success are both parts of the same learning process. Have patience and learn to enjoy the entire process. After a while it is all just another day at the office!
BMM: What is on the horizon for you in 2024? Are there any big plans or happenings in your professional or personal world you want to share with the readers?
DP: Like most years this one will be my best to date! Professionally I am focused on growing the real estate brokerage Liberty Residential Realty. I am also dedicated to helping my gym reach new success with the next generation of leadership.
Personally, 2024 it is all about family for me. I work much smarter now and have realized there is nothing more important than spending time with those most important to me. Experiences and memories are much more valuable than material things. I will spend this year and the years to come hanging with my partner in crime, my beautiful wife, hanging with my kids helping them achieve success as fellow adults in this amazing world and for sure socializing with my many friends that I consider part of our family!
I put this offer out to all of BostonMan readers. If you need help with anything business, Real estate or fitness just reach out. I would love to talk shop!
BMM: Thank you Dave Picardy, it is always a pleasure
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To connect with Dave, please reach out to him on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook; or email: DavePicardy@gmail.com; text/call: 978-479-2288
