Ben and Kelvin Wong are continuing what their industry-leading father started, taking The Living Group of Companies into the future and setting the stage for long-term success.
Greater Toronto Area (GTA) real estate industry veteran Stephen Wong is the celebrated visionary behind the success of The Living Group of Companies. Headquartered in Markham, it’s one of the largest independent real estate organizations in the GTA.
Founded in 1980, the inspiration for The Living Group came from the heightened immigration of Asians to Canada – in particular, the GTA – in the late 1970s. What was once solely Living Realty Brokerage Inc. has now grown to include a family of real estate companies comprising three other divisions: Skybourne Developments, Living Properties, and Oracle Group Realty. Skybourne Developments is a land development consultancy, Living Properties is a property management company, and Oracle Group Realty specializes in selling and marketing pre-construction homes.
The Living Group’s current employment of some 600 employees and salespersons paired with billions of dollars in annual real estate transactions are testaments to its lasting success. With a vertical diversification strategy front and centre, Ben and Kelvin are paving the way for The Living Group to become the leading one-stop shop for everything real estate-related for the GTA – and beyond.
A Natural Fit
Neither Ben nor Kelvin entered the family business while the ink was still wet on their university degrees. Called to the bar in 2009, Ben launched his career in private practice, joining the commercial real estate group at a prominent Bay Street firm. Today, he remains a member in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario and acts as an in-house counsel for The Living Group of Companies. He also leads Skybourne Developments, Living Properties, and Oracle Group Realty.
Meanwhile, Kelvin began his career as a technical specialist for large financial institutions before moving into the real estate space. “For a while, when I was younger, I actually resisted it,” says Kelvin of entering the family business. “But, it’s funny how life takes you in different directions in ways you don’t expect. It’s shown me that there are many ways to do the same business and still be successful at it. My dad’s style and my style are different but I think we’re able to do what we set out to do, which is achieve success for the company, and to achieve personal success.” Kelvin currently leads Oracle Group Realty, alongside Ben, and he runs the daily operations at Living Realty, where he's the Broker of Record.
From left: Ben Wong, Kelvin Wong
Learning By Example
Not surprisingly, both Ben and Kelvin learned their core business values from their dad. “There’s plenty of business for everyone and there’s no reason your competition can’t be friendly competition – there’s no reason to be adversarial," says Kelvin of his father’s wisest teachings. “You can still have competition, but also work together and be friendly. We have a fractious society that sees anyone on 'the other side of the fence' not just as competitive, but as the literal enemy, and that’s not the way the world should operate.”
Despite having many competitors in the space, Stephen has always been very collaborative, his sons say. “I think this has contributed to his success and image, because he doesn’t have a lot of enemies — if any,” says Kelvin.
Ben adds that it’s important not to worry about what other people are doing -- another key piece of wisdom learned from his father. “This is a distraction that will take you off course, because you’re trying to emulate other people,” he says. “If you have a dream and the work ethic, work on that dream, focus on yourself, and improve yourself. Be aware of your competition but don’t try to copy them.”
Ben also highlights how Stephen stresses the importance of doing the work no one else wants to do when no one is looking. “This means having a strong work ethic and doing things for the right reasons,” he says. “People see your success and want your success, but don’t see the pain that goes into it. If you’re okay with the pain and putting in the hours when nobody is looking, you’ll more likely than not be successful.”
Leading the Future
While they share core values with their father, both Ben and Kelvin have their own unique leadership styles.
“His clients are loyal to him for the work he does, and my clients look to me for different reasons, but for the same type of work,” says Kelvin of his father. “It’s hard to describe, but may stem from our different cultural upbringings. He’s from Hong Kong, but I’m very Canadian and westernized. So, there’s different approaches to how we see servicing clients and doing business, but despite the divisions along cultural lines, they position us for success.”
READ: 'Timing Is Everything’: How The Living Group Is Building A Legacy
Meanwhile, despite wearing many hats in The Living Group, Ben’s leadership style remains consistent. “I like to be deliberate and thoughtful in the way I lead the businesses and plan ahead,” he says. “I like to have 5-,10-, and 15-year goals, and to tie all the company's arms together. My approach, from a business perspective, is the same. I like to have plans, actions, goals, and targets. If I get punched down, I adapt.”
Of course, his role as the company's lawyer requires him to think differently. “I do have to combine business and legal thinking to be more effective,” says Ben. “So, I’m not just thinking about liability, but real-life risk. On the property management side, you’re dealing with a lot of people; it should be called people management," he quips. "If you can solve the problem with the people then you will naturally solve the problem with the property.”
Ben calls his role in Skybourne Developments his favourite. He’s created more than a dozen communities of varying sizes throughout the GTA. “It’s really appealing to me that, when it’s my time to go or retire, I will know that I’ve left a legacy and a hand in creating communities for people to live in,” he says.
A New Era of Growth
Vertical integration allows The Living Group to cover all aspects of real estate. Skybourne Developments can help clients acquire land and navigate the approval process. When they’re ready to sell, Oracle Group Realty is standing by to help. Then, Living Realty, on the other side of the equation, can help bring the product to the buyers themselves, and act as the buyer’s agent to bring them business.
“We try to cover all the major aspects of real estate that someone would require through a one-stop shop,” Kelvin says of this diversification strategy. “Clients may initially just be investors who have commercial real estate for income purposes, and suddenly they see the potential to rezone and intensify and develop. When they ask those questions, we can answer them, give them advice, and can action the items they need.”
Kelvin says that while many of their clients could be serviced by other brokers, The Living Group provides these specialty services that add value for their clients — and encourage repeat business. As an example, Kelvin explains that a commercial owner who redevelops their land into townhouses via Skybourne can then utilize the company’s new-home division to market and sell those townhomes.
Moving forward, the goal is to grow on what Stephen started. The Living Group's competitive advantage is this succession plan. “Our long-term goal is to keep it going strong,” says Ben. “My father has an amazing, real immigrant story. He came here in the 70s with very little money in his pocket, and a dream. We’ve been inspired by that, and want to grow [the dream] by diversification. We’re trying to build out and enter the new home space. We may even get into construction or financing later.”
Ben realizes these things take time. “We were never raised with the mentality that we’re going to be an overnight success,” he says. “The world is our oyster right now. We have an incredible platform that my father has built, and we’re trying to build on that.”
Like Stephen explained to STOREYS, sometimes bigger really is better. “I’d like to see the company as the leading force it was in the 80s and 90s, return to 800-1000 agents, and drive growth of the market in areas that we command — and further out,” says Kelvin. “We are in active discussions to expand across Ontario with some major organizations, so we’ll see how that pans out.”
As for their own children, the company will be there if they choose to jump on board. But it's not required, or expected. “I’d like the company to provide for my family, but they can still go out and explore and do the things they need to do and not feel like they have to join the family business," says Kelvin. "It’s there for them. But they don’t need to do it.”
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This article was produced in partnership with STOREYS Custom Studio.