United Country Realty01

Waupaca County Post

Prime Time

September 22, 2005

Realtors Market Waupaca’s Quality of Life

By Angie Landsverk, Post Staff Writer

For several yeas, Joe Udoni urged his brother-in-law Scott Salan to consider a career in real estate.

Real estate had always been a career goal for Udoni himself, although he figured he would save it for later in his own life.

But it’s funny how fate often plays a hand in what happens.

During a family cruise last December to celebrate the 70^th birthday of Salan’s father, Dr. Jerry Salan, Udoni again pressed his brother-in-law about the idea.

Udoni and his wife, Suzanne, along with her brother Scott, sister Samantha and her husband, Jim had already formed Brookside Investment Group in 2003 to invest in real estate in the area.

They purchased Tom Thumb Mini Golf on the Chain o’ Lakes, wanting to preserve a family tradition that they had enjoyed when they were children.

The following year, the investment group decided to buy yet another commercial location and purchased property on Badger Street.

Udoni had been working for Shambeau &Lyons since 2002 and wanted to take things to the next level.

Salan had been working for Badger Liquor Co. in Wisconsin Dells for the past seven years and was ready for a career change as well.

They formed Udoni & Salan Realty Group, with Salan having his broker’s license with a month’s time.

“Having worked together with Scott in the past, I knew we could join forces. There were lots of common threads. We could build something that we think offers a different approach to buying and selling,” Udoni said.

They found that approach with United Country, which began as United Farm Agency in 1925 and had its first marketing catalog in 1928.

It was the perfect fit for Salan and Udoni. With its various catalogs and internet presence, United Country offers a comprehensive marketing program.

“There are 500 offices throughout America,” Udoni said, “and they’re always in small towns.”

Salan said United Country was the first real estate company on the Internet, and as the two researched the company, they knew it was where they wanted to be.

The ribbon-cutting for their United Country office at 120 E. Badger St. was held last March 1.

Both of their backgrounds initiated them into the type of work they are doing today.

“We’re ‘people’ people.” Udoni said, “and that’s what I enjoy.”

The two men talked about what led them to a career in real estate.

Udoni, who was born and raised in Chicago, put himself through college by working at a grocery store. He graduated from De Paul University Business School with marketing and management degrees, and then worked at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

It was on the trading floor that he met his future wife, Suzanne Salan.

When he began visiting Waupaca in 1984, he not only fell in love with Suzanne, but with the Waupaca area as well.

The couple married in 1988 and continued living in Chicago, where they had daughter Shellady in 1993 and daughter Karissa in 1995.

Udoni had also taken his business and marketing experience to the high-tech arena in 1988 as a Strategic Alliance executive developing sales and marketing partnerships among the Fortune 500 companies.

In 1993, they also started a new business, becoming distributors of food products to specialty retailers in the United States and around the world. Their trade show activity continued throughout the next nine years.

After the Udonis started their family, they began talking about raising their daughters in the Waupaca area, especially by the time they were of school age.

And with Udoni traveling extensively – both nationally and internationally – they decided it would be better to live in Waupaca in order to be closer to family while he was traveling. They moved to Waupaca in 1996.

The following year, Suzanne’s mother, Nancy Salan, was diagnosed with cancer.

“It’s hard to imagine how our life would have been if we stayed down there,” Udoni said.

Salan, who had been working in California, returned to Waupaca.

Nancy passed away in October 1997.

In 2000, the Udonis had their third daughter, Isabella, and the following year, he decided to refocus his career on a business that would allow him to work locally and spend more time with his family.

Udoni turned down a relocation opportunity in Dallas, and they sold the gourmet food business.

Facing many changes, he decided to not wait until later for a career in real estate.

It turned out to be the perfect time to make the change.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Udoni found himself in his first day of Real Estate School. With the terrorist attack on the nation that day, he was quickly reminded of how much he had been traveling up until that point.

He realized he was where he needed to be – with his family and pursuing a career that would allow him to be close to home.

He again felt that it was a sign that fate had intervened.

Udoni says he was fortunate to begin his career with Shambeau & Lyons, where he gained a great amount of experience and insight.

He realized that real estate was his passion, and knowing his brother-in-law Scott’s personality, he felt that Salan was a natural for the business.

Udoni said the type of work he previously did was a good experience for real estate.

“You get the chance to connect with people and impact their lives in a positive way,” he said of working in real estate.

Providing a service to the community and helping people realize their dreams was the catalyst to starting the business with Salan.

Salan, who is the third generation to call Waupaca home, graduated from Waupaca High School in 1985 and worked eight summers at Clear Water Harbor.

He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism and a minor in business management.

He worked for Marriott in Vail, Colo., where he was a food and beverage manager, and in Palm Springs, Calif., where he was a banquet manager with an around-the-clock staff of more than 150 people.

After returning to Wisconsin when his mother was ill, he realized he did not want to leave Waupaca again.

“You never realize how beautiful Waupaca is until you leave it,” Salan said. “The rolling hills, the lakes, the clean air.”

He joined Badger Liquor Co. as a sales rep in Wisconsin Dells, where he lived and worked for more than seven years.

After becoming part of his family’s real estate investment group, he returned to Waupaca on weekends to help out with the business. He enjoyed his time here and often wished he could stay longer. He was ready to call Waupaca home again.

Udoni calls these exciting times because of the growth potential here.

“I realized living here, it’s the perfect place – the quality of life, small-town atmosphere,” he said.

And they soon realized after working together on Tom Thumb Mini Golf how it paid off so well, with people responding positively to the improvements made to the course.

When Salan made the decision to join Udoni in real estate, it was again as if fate had intervened.

They are excited to be in a position where they can create and grow a business in the community that can benefit many people through jobs and enable people to achieve their dreams of home ownership.

What makes United Country so different is its national and international focus toward those who are searching to find what places like Waupaca can offer in country real estate, lifestyle and quality of life.

Real estate can be promoted to people who live in major metropolitan areas throughout the country and to people at the local level as well

Buyers are reached through a multilevel approach, including United Country’s four-color catalog, its Web site and national advertising of listings in newspapers and magazines.

With 75 years of experience in country real estate and offices in rural markets throughout the country, they said it raises the bar in terms of what can be offered to property owners from both a sales and marketing perspective.

Its Web site had more than 750,000 visitors per month and 75 million hits per month.

Udoni and Salan may be reached at (715) 258-8800. They invite people to stop in at their new office for a cup of coffee and free catalog. Their Web site is www.unitedwaupaca.com

Two other agents – Russ Lane and Norene Neuman – have joined them, as well as Robert Spanbauer, who is the office manager.

Udoni said they market Waupaca, helping people decided why they would want to come here.

Salan said that United Country’s catalogs are continually updated, with various publications that specialize in other areas of the market such as farms, business and recreation.

“When you’re talking about a marketing program,” Udoni said, “no one comes close. That’s been a large advantage to us – the ability to offer is for people selling homes or for people wanting to come here.”

Salan said he is glad that he made the career change.

“He’s doing well,” Udoni said of Salan. “He’s great with people. People know him well. He’s service oriented. You have to approach people that way. For one, it goes back to working in a supermarket – putting the customer first. Scott comes from the same mind-set.”

Scott adds, “Think about what I was raised around,” referring to his family and its values.

Udoni said their biggest challenge is helping people understand what makes their real estate business different and what they can bring to the table.

“We do it one at a time,” he said.

They like the comprehensive approach of United Country, saying they can get ads, placed in major newspapers by calling the corporate office.

It is the perfect fit for them because they are marketing a lifestyle and quality of life that they appreciate.

Currently there are 12 United Country offices in the state.

With so many people using the Internet to do searches, that enhances their business, because as people discover heir site, it helps them target buyers in metropolitan areas who are looking to move to an area that offers quality of life.

“Our average visitor spends half an hour on our site,” Udoni said.

He said they are currently covering the entire county, as well as surrounding counties.

“We were the No 1 district office in the state for the month of August, so we’re off to a good start and we’re having a lot of fun,” Udoni said.

He loves variety and used to travel a lot in his work, so he said this type of career is very much like that.

They are looking to expand in the future but want any expansion to be the right size.

“For us, it’s been a perfect fit,” he said. “I’m looking forward, and I know Scott is, to be in this long-term business that we started and can grow with.”