I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve been calling myself the Housechick for just about 4 years now. That’s my website, too: www.Housechick.com. I gotta tell ya: when you call yourself the Housechick, you’ve really got to go all out. There’s no halfway for a name like that.
I realize it’s an unusual choice. Most people find it amusing, or at least interesting. At the bare minimum, it’s memorable.
I like giving out my email address over the phone, it’s always the same reaction:
“Okay, here’s my email, it’s Kelley k-e-l-l-E-y” (pause for the person on the other end of the phone to write it down)
“At Housechick (small pause) dot com”
They always ask, “Did you say House… Chick?”
And I assure them, yes, indeed I did, and spell it out for them. There’s always some kind of comment after that: a little giggle, a drawn out oooookkkkaaaaaayyyyyyy, some sort of small remark.
So, you know, I know it’s not typical. In my years as an agent in Tucson, I’ve only had one person object to that moniker, at least to my face - he thought it was unprofessional, although he had known me for about 5 seconds when he said that. Oh well - not a bad track record, all in all.
When I started in real estate, it was only natural for me to build a website immediately, as both my husband and I have degrees in software. We stumbled onto the idea of Housechick while brainstorming for domain names one night, and it was the one idea that stuck. It’s catchy, it’s unique, and it sounded like a lot of fun.
So here I am, 4 years later, as the Housechick, ready to serve. It’s become a nickname for me around the office - you never know when someone is going to yell it out to get my attention. That’s always good for a couple head-turns when an acquaintance yells it out in a crowded place.
And that’s my story. Some folks ask how I got the name. So there you go.
Now, who’s your Housechick, baby?
July 25th, 2007 at 6:30 am
This is one of those names I wish I’d thought of. Absolutely immediately memorable and descriptive and fun all at the same time. And I was wondering about the back story.
July 25th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I think housechick is great branding. I have a similar problem no one can spell teresa, so even my business cards say T, and my domain names are geographical or about real estate. I do own my name as a domain and misspellings of it.
July 25th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I thought it was unique at first, and then we found another agent who worked as THEHousechick.com, but I think we finally own that one too. I found one problem though - what if I hire assistants and I hire a guy? Is he the HouseDude? Not quite the same ring to that one.
No one can spell kellEy either, or koEhler, so using my name as a brand was out of the question, but I do own those domains, as well as the misspellings too! I think we’ve got a couple hundred, all in all.
July 25th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Housechick is amazing branding. Nice to see some of the inner workings.
-Athol
July 25th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
[...] best personal branding I’ve ever see and she raises the veil on the inner workings of it in The Origins of Housechick. Required [...]
July 25th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Great branding Kelly. Hmm, wonder if I should check out housedude? Thanks Athol for the introduction to http://www.housechick.com.
July 26th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Kelley- I love it. It is unique, memorable and shows a sense of humor which is a requirement for anyone I work with. You can have fun, even with the stress of buying a house, if you are working with right person.
July 29th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
[...] Kelley Koehler is one of my favorite people. She has one of the best personal branding I’ve ever see and she raises the veil on the inner workings of it in The Origins of Housechick. [...]
March 30th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Now that’s one heck of a coincidence!
I’m sitting there thinking “hmm…that’s clever!” with a grin on my face and viola here’s the answer to my question.
Now if I could only come up with one just as clever for myself. Hmm…