Bethel Grads Achieving Success Beyond Sales in Real Estate Industry

Sam Steadman ’16 jokes that he didn’t take the normal path of a Bethel accounting and finance major. But today Steadman is part of a group of recent graduates using lessons learned at Bethel to leave a mark in the real estate industry through Team Steady Real Estate.

Through a great Bethel experience, Steadman found himself in a community of strong people driven by faith, and he strove to emulate that in his work. “Everyone on our team and pretty much anyone we work with is based out of those biblical qualities and that’s what we look for primarily in people that we’re going to hire,” says Steadman.

Steadman hired Bethel graduates on his team, and he partners with many more. He strove to implement a servant-fueled approach of helping others as he and his team lead people through the home-buying process. “I don’t care what job, what industry you’re in, it’s all about people—it really is,” Steadman says. “Bethel really taught me how to treat people well, how to love on people, how to do it in a really natural, fun and lighthearted way. It helped give me more meaning to what I do.”

Steadman has found his accounting and finance background helpful as clients ask questions about tax implications, capital gains issues, but more than anything, he says Bethel taught him to value trust, transparency, and communication. “In our business, it’s just all about ethics, all about treating people the right way,” Steadman says. “It’s all about going the extra mile. It’s all about just disclosing what needs to be disclosed and being really good at communication, and I just found so many of those qualities in Bethel people that I couldn’t find in other people in the industry.”

This approach, and hard work, led to early success. Steadman was named Re/Max Results’ Midwest rookie of the year in 2017 for his high volume of sales, and Team Steady Real Estate won top new team.

Lars Anderson ’17, a marketing and finance major, joined Team Steady and loves working with a team of honest and truthful people striving to put the clients before themselves. “Our team differentiates ourselves with just passion and motivation. And just a love for the people that we’re working with,” Anderson says.

Cameron Monson ’19, a business marketing and entrepreneurship major, interned with Team Steady and plans to join the team full time after graduation. “I love working with Team Steady,” he says. “They’re go, go, go, but then they also do things very ethically and how I’d want to run my business.”

Anderson and Monson both praised the mentorship of Steadman and co-lead and co-founder Taylor Doolittle, and they love working a job that’s not a typical nine to five office job. “In my mind, real estate is a platform for Bethel-like students to really thrive in the workforce,” Anderson says.

About 40 to 50 team members often attend a Saturday morning Bible study and a breakfast before going to open houses. “We talk about everything at Team Steady, which is really cool,” Monson says. “We talk about the Bible, we talk about Christian aspects and how to use it in the workplace.

To Steadman, faith is never a selling point. But he says it permeates through their work, and they aim to put their success to good use. Success gives them greater ability to impact ministries of their choosing, and Anderson says they’re dedicated to giving back and supporting ministries. “That’s a core value of our team, we’re very faith-based, and what we’re given is a gift from God,” Anderson says.

Anderson hopes that means he’ll be able to give back to Bethel. “I would love to be able to give back to a school that gave me so much,” he says. 

As they continue working clients through the life-changing endeavor of buying or selling a home, Steadman and his team continue to stress the importance of community. His work with Team Steady has showed Steadman that while Bethel gave him an education and a degree, he also experienced being part of a community with a similar mindset. “Mindset and community, I think, are more important than the degree or the grade average that you got.”

Study Business and Economics at Bethel.

The Department of Business and Economics prepares ethical, inspirational leaders. Students explore the intersection of business and faith, develop their God-given talents, and learn to use the tools of business to make a difference in their communities and the world.

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