Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Najem.
Christine was born in war-torn Vietnam.
Growing up in a struggling area, survival was challenging and dreams were for the naive. The future was limited by the economy, opportunity, and social factors. However, when Christine was four years old, her family immigrated to Hawaii only weeks before the Fall of Saigon. This proved to be a life-changing decision with far-reaching impacts.
Christine grew up with hardworking parents who held a vision not just for their own future but for their impressionable, young daughter’s future as well. Christine’s mother and father worked with immigrants for many years, helping them establish a new life in a foreign land; giving them the skills they needed to succeed. Christine saw the impact her parent’s efforts had on the lives of others and this set the course for who she would later become. “I respected how my parents were always willing and ready to help those that couldn’t speak the language. They helped others to translate, find work, and find affordable housing.” At the age of 29, Christine left Hawaii to follow in her parent’s big footsteps, dedicating herself to helping others.
After moving to the mainland and acquiring a master’s degree in clinical social work, Christine was excited to start her career as a therapist, helping mothers and young children. In a meeting with her supervisor a year into the job, Christine was asked, “What are your goals?” Christine could see the future in her mind’s eye. “It consisted of a large building that housed a lot of kids running around with smiles on their faces,” she said.
That vision became her purpose. However, on a social worker’s income, Christine knew that that future could never be a reality unless she found other ways to supplement her income. During that time, Christine found an interest in real estate investments. Her risks turned into rewards that helped her realize and further her potential. It was also during this time that Christine met her husband, Charbel Najem. However, the Najems’ livelihood was jeopardized and their fortitudes tested in the real estate market crash. Between Charbel and Christine, they had four children. Two of the children were under the age of two and the couple was penniless when their investments were lost.
Praying for answers, they were inspired by a course called “Crown Financial.” Their local church offered this course and it focused on biblical principles on how to handle personal, professional, and financial matters. This course taught Christine and Charbel to have faith in a higher power. They also learned to enjoy a new outlook on life, to keep the faith even in the face of disaster. Having faith, and turning everything over to God, Christine and her husband, formed the construction company Capstone General Contracting.
Christine’s legal secretary, social work experience, and marketing savvy helped the pave for Capstone’s business evolution. What started as a small renovation business flourished in the niche market of fire and water insurance restoration and quickly became one of the top insurance restoration businesses in the state, and, eventually, the country. In this way, Christine and Charbel were still helping hardworking people every day; working with them to restore their homes after a major loss.
With hard work and determination as well as new operating principles, the couple built their company from the ground up. Capstone was asked to be a builder on the TV show “Extreme Home Makeover.” Christine gathered more than 100 volunteers to rebuild the home of a woman whose young son had committed suicide due to bullying. In 2013 Capstone was recognized by Remodeling Magazine as one of the top 21 restoration companies in the nation. Recently, Capstone filmed an episode of “Tiny House Nation,” to be aired in July 2015.
Christine was more comfortable in her own skin but her heart ached for real estate and the ability to focus her attention on helping women. While her husband helped men get a second chance through their construction company, Christine was meeting moms with no credentials who wanted to get back into the workforce after their kids had grown up but had no place for them in the construction field. With these women in mind, Christine was inspired to launch Cedar Wood Realty Group. “It was a tool for me to enable women to become their own boss and have a career, not just a job,” she said.
Christine believes in sowing seeds and planting vineyards. “I’ve been where these women have been and can empathize with them on one level or another. It took one person to believe in me enough to leave my comfortable environment and venture out to fulfill my purpose. I want to be that one person for someone else.”
Christine continued, “I also believe that there is a reason and a season for everything. People are put in your life for a reason, and often times for a season.” When Christine feels discouraged because an agent decides to move to a bigger company or into a different field altogether, she reminds herself of the role she played in elevating that life or career path. Christine elaborated by saying, “When I hire, I take a mental picture of that person coming in. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience to see a person’s transformation from rejected and standoffish to outgoing and confident. To know that I was responsible for helping that person evolve personally and professionally is the reason I moved from Hawaii.“
Christine has utilized Cedar Wood as a vessel to give others an opportunity to do something they never thought they were capable of accomplishing. Her career isn’t just about profit and loss or buying and selling; it’s about everything in-between. “When one door closes, another opens. I know that I have done my job and now I have to find others to empower and help grow. That is the season that I’m most interested in: realization, empowerment, and growth.”
Christine’s passion for helping others complements her marketing talents and abilities. “We do cause marketing,” she explains. “Rather than spending money to print ads, we find out what the need is in our community, then fund-raise to meet it. It’s a win-win for everybody.” For example, she met a homeless husband and wife couple who had $30 dollars they were using to feed other homeless. Christine put together an event to support the couple’s mission, rallying more than 220 people—including representatives from the governor’s and mayor‘s offices, as well as the lieutenant governor and county sheriff—and raising $12,000 for the couple to feed the homeless.
“My agents thought I was crazy when I first brought this idea to them a few short days before Thanksgiving 2012. I could see the doubt in their eyes but that doubt only fueled my determination to accomplish this goal. Within 3 ½ weeks, we put together a successful, high-end event at Worcester’s famed Mechanics Hall.”
Christine, now a proud, supportive mother of four, wants to do more for her family. One of their favorite things to do each summer is to visit extended family back home in Hawaii for 4-6 weeks at a time. She is finding the perfect balance she sought—taking care of clients, helping women start their careers, and enjoying her family. After years of hard work and steadfast faith, Christine achieved goals many only hope for. With each goal Christine accomplishes, she sets another. She continues to use her businesses to set others up for success. Hopefully, Christine’s children and the many she helped over the years will follow in her footsteps and continue the philanthropic cycle for years to come.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes and No. Are there struggles? Absolutely! We welcome them because we believe that when you are on the right path and living out your purpose, it will not be easy but it will be worth it.
Due to the fact that our mission is so unique and purposeful that it takes the sting out of all the challenges that we face; meaning, through prayer and support, we are able to quickly overcome obstacles that come against us. As I look back and reflect on the struggles… it was those moments that I actually grew as a person and leader. Those are the moments where quitting is not an option because Cedar Wood was not something I thought of and wanted to do… it was a calling with a higher purpose that led me to where I am today and to the success that we have had since 2013.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Cedar Wood Realty Group – what should we know?
Cedar Wood Realty Group (CWRG) of Worcester, Ma is the proverbial little engine that could within the Central Mass real estate market. Since its inception in 2013, CWRG has rocketed into the top 2% of all real estate agencies in Worcester County and to the top 9% of all agencies in Massachusetts. Fueled by a mission and a purpose the question to ask CEO and Founder, Christine Najem, is not “How were you able to grow so fast?’ but rather, “Why were you able to grow so fast?”.
Najem said, “At the start of 2017, one of the goals for the year was to double the number of agents to 25. Instead, we concluded 2017 with 40 agents working full and part-time. The methodology is simple. Stay focused and always put mission over the commission.” For Najem, CWRG is more than a labor of love. It is a labor of mission.
The mission of CWRG is to develop realtors into marketplace leaders who will have a significant impact in their communities by utilizing their God-given talents to reach, teach and add value to the lives of every client they encounter. Having walked away from real estate after losing everything in the past real estate crash, Najem and her husband, Charbel, fought and clawed back from the deep hole they found themselves in. The last thing Najem wanted to do was get involved in real estate again, but a tugging on her heartstrings to start a real estate brokerage persisted to the point that she finally surrendered.
But this time, it was going to be a business with a mission that would serve a higher purpose. Christine and her husband saw that there are many people in the region who have given their lives over to a higher purpose but have struggled for years living month to month off donations from individuals and corporate donations. CWRG would serve as a vehicle for ministry and community service leaders to augment the costs of serving the community through a practice that is known as “tent-making”. Tent-making is the practice of generating a secondary source of revenue that brings some sense of financial stability allowing an individual to fulfill the life work one has been called into.
CWRG is employing missionaries, pastors, youth pastors and individuals who have their own personal missions and ministries they support. Out of the work at CWRG, churches are being built in Haiti, orphans in the Dominican Republic are being helped, disaster relief efforts in Texan, Florida and Puerto Rico are supported while youth and sports ministries are being sustained throughout Worcester County.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Integrity, passion and most important FAITH. We believe that you can teach people skills, but it is very difficult to teach people character and integrity. When people trust you… they will do business with you. When you have a passion or a mission, it makes the down times easier to handle because passion and mission fuels you. But for us… FAITH in God’s calling and His plans for us and our clients is really what helps us to sustain in times of trials. Our success is not dependent on billboards or signage… our success has been based solely on the foundation Cedar Wood was built upon… God.
Contact Info:
- Address: 69 Park Avenue, Worcester, MA 01605
411 Main St., Bldg #1, Second Floor, Unit E, Yarmouthport, MA - Website: www.cedarwoodllc.com
- Phone: 508-283-7979
- Email: christine@cedarwoodllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cedarwoodrealtygroup/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=cedar%20wood%20realty%20group
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
