Frazee grad another addition to the growing business sector

By Robert Williams

Editor

When Jena (Rader) Seim’s children started school the mother of two figured it was time for a third occupation. 

Seim currently works for Sanford Health doing medical coding and insurance from home. She is also a Personal Care Assistant for her brother John. 

Last year, her daughter was entering kindergarten and her son was beginning preschool.

“Well, now is the time to take a chance on myself and do something that I want to do,” she said. “I decided I’m going to give it a shot.”

Seim completed the necessary coursework to meet the salesperson prelicensing education requirements, including passing the state and national exams, prior to becoming a licensed agent. 

“It was hard doing it at night when the kids are sleeping, but I made it work,”

She joined The Brandenburg Crew of eXp Realty, based in Fargo. Her hire provided both an opportunity for Seim to work near home and expand the footprint of Brandenburg.

“A lot of them live in the Fargo-Moorhead area and they were wanting to expand to the lakes area, and that’s the area I know and love, so they took me on and I’ve really been enjoying it,” she said.

Seim is part of a wave of popularity in real estate sales since the pandemic.

According to the Harvard Business Review, in the past two years, careers in real estate have become popular. In the U.S. alone, between 2020 and 2021, there was a 60 percent increase in people obtaining their real estate licenses.

Seim’s affinity for the work, however, stretches back to childhood.

“It’s very popular and a lot of people, I feel like, will give it a try, but I was one of those kids that would come out of the restaurant and see the real estate ads, like when I was 10, and I had to look. I’ve always just liked it,” she said.

Combining that with her own nature of serving others it makes for a good match.

“I like everything there is about homes and I like helping people so I feel like it’s a good combination,” said Seim. “It’s fun helping people be creative in those situations or this family needs a bigger home because they want to have more kids and it’s just fun helping them do something that they need and making it a fun experience overall.”

Much of the popularity in people joining the field also has to do with regulations that make purchasing a home without representation a daunting task for those who are unfamiliar with the markets, process and how it all works. Basically, it is difficult to buy without a realtor.

“There were lots of rule changes and things, so now you pretty much need a realtor if you want to be safe,” said Seim.

There are also many customers who are unwilling to give up quality interest rates earned when COVID made profound impacts on the housing market.

“People are always comparing rates,” said Seim. “2020 was a really weird time and I don’t know if we’re ever going to get down like that again.”

Selling houses in the Frazee market has its own challenges, but Seim’s appreciation for her hometown and where she grew up makes accepting those challenges all just part of the job.

“It’s tough everywhere, but it’s hard because I’m biased because I love it around here,” she said. “I’m always encouraging people to come check it out around Frazee. Prices are sometimes a little bit lower than some of the bigger surrounding cities, but we have just as many great things going on.” 

Much of that surrounds the realization of Wannigan Regional Park and the uptick in businesses coming to Frazee, some already leased to open in 2025.

“Now with all these new businesses coming to town I think things are improving and more people are going to be willing to take a chance on Frazee because we do have a lot more happening,” said Seim.

Some of the challenges are limited options.

“With it being smaller, the choices aren’t the choices like there are in bigger towns,” said Seim.

That topic is on the agenda of every Frazee Economic Development Authority meeting and finding ways to convince developers to take a chance on Frazee. A lot of the holdup in that process is that developers also have many opportunities and many of those choices come at the expense of the city. Like the EDA, Seim believes recent changes in Frazee are going to help find a match with a developer that wants to help the town’s housing options expand.

“Somebody needs to just come and make it happen,” she said. “It’s a little trickier selling real estate around here because there are less options, but I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on Perham, DL, and surrounding communities too. Now with all these businesses people are going to be coming to town to check them out and they’ll think ‘oh, this is actually a really nice town, maybe it would be nice to live here.’”

Future plans also involve Seim making her mark on the downtown business front. While the expansion of Frazee’s food options is growing nearly every day, there needs to be some room for other types of businesses as well.

“I feel like I’m one of those people that has big dreams so I can totally see that and I would love to have an office downtown,” she said. “This is where I want to be. This is where I came back so my kids could go to school. This is where I want my business to be one day.”

Seim has been aided by Frazee’s EDA Consultant Karen Pifher and her business Creating Community Consulting.

“She’s been a great help,” said Seim.

Seim has also been influenced by the many women-owned businesses that have been a major part of recent changes in town.

“It’s fun seeing these strong women doing something positive,” she said.

Seim also noted the big difference and increase in housing options that were created in Perham as an example of where Frazee can go.

“They’ve come a long way in the last 10 years, for sure, and I’m excited for Frazee to start,” she said. “A few years back you would come into town on a Saturday and it would be very quiet and it was just sad. Now, it’s fun to see a little more life coming back. I’m excited for five years down the road. Looking back on this progress, which right now feels huge. In five more years, we’ll be like now we have this, this and this, which are bigger and better.”

Seim has mainly used word-of-mouth advertising for her real estate services while she manages motherhood and her other jobs. She knows it can take time to build a clientele list.

“It’s the long game,” she said. “But I’ve known Frazee, Perham and DL my whole life and I feel like I do have a pretty good grasp on what’s going on around here,” she said. 

Seim can be reached at (218) 849-0547 or via email: jena.seim@exprealty.com

More online resources can be found at: jenaseim.exprealty.com