The Destin Log Features Local Real Estate Company: Newman-Dailey turns 30
By Savannah Vasquez, The Destin Log
Jeanne Dailey’s name has become synonymous with genuine service in the vacation rentals and real estate field. As this year marks the 30thyear of her business, Newman-Dailey Resort Properties Inc., Dailey took some time to meet with The Log and look back on her successes, struggles, and growth over the past three decades.
The Early Days
Born and raised in Ohio,Dailey first came south to Destin’s white sandy shores to visit her college roommate in 1983.
“The weekend I came down here, Delchamps Grocery store opened where Target is now,” Dailey said. “Then when I moved here two months later, I remember it was March 16thbecause I was concerned of where I was going to celebrate Saint Paddy’s Day.”
Dailey had recently graduated with a bachelors of business degree with a focus in marketing from East Carolina University, and her college peer had arranged several job interviews for her before she arrived in Destin.
"She had arranged three interviews, and one of my interviews was with Randy Newman, developer of Woodland Shores Townhomes,” she said. “He was looking for a real estate sales agent and property manager for his property. After being hired, I also became his rental manager, book keeper and did housekeeping; I did it all.”
Reminiscing of the Destin area in the mid-1980’s, Dailey said she remembers when the city had just one traffic light and was a town no one had ever heard of.
"Everybody had the same telephone exchange so we would only trade the last four numbers and I wouldn’t pass even one car on the way out to the property,” she said. “Truthfully, I thought I would work here a couple of years and then go to a bigger city and get a real job.”
However, after only two years of working for Newman, the two real estate entrepreneurs decided to go into business together and launched Newman-Dailey Resort Properties Inc., on April 15, 1985.
"At that point no one had ever heard of Destin, Florida so it was difficult to get customers down here,” said Dailey. “But I was young and all I had was college debt, so what did I know?”
Dailey told The Log that she took a two week crash-course to obtain her broker’s license so that she could legally begin selling units. When the new company began, the partners managed 17 vacation rental units and managed three home owners associations, and much of the surrounding area was still undeveloped.
“Back then, the practice was to build them and then try to sell the units,” Dailey said. “Now you always try to pre-sell them.”
After only three years in joint business, Newman decided to take his business elsewhere and began divesting his interest in the Destin area.
“I bought him out then,” said Dailey. “But being a young female in business, I kept the original name so that others would think there was someone else in the business.”
In 1988, a real estate business owned and operated by a woman was a rarity, but Dailey said that in Destin, she was never met by much resistance.
“As a female in the South, owning a business, I think it was a great opportunity in the area because Destin was such a small, growing community,” she said. “I think because of that, I didn’t have as many obstacles to cross as maybe I would have had in the bigger, more established cities.”
Success and Advocacy
As with the initial business venture with her partner, when Dailey bought the business she dove in headfirst, and never feared the risks involved in the new real estate market.
“I never really thought about it,” Dailey said when asked about potential failure. “I remember when I took the crash-course for my broker’s license, every day the teacher would tell us that it would never work. But I knew I was going to be OK because I had three homeowners associations and I could always clean units; that was my fall-back plan.”
However, Dailey never needed that fall-back plan as every year her numbers continued to rise. “I was having double-digit growth every year,” Dailey said. “Over the years our business has always grown and we always focused on quality over quantity and stayed local to the greater Destin area.”
Dailey told The Log that another way she proved her business-savvy and gained trust as a strong business woman in the local area was through her advocacy for tourism in Destin.
“We were such a young, growing community and we needed all the help we could get,” said Dailey. “In 1989, the South Walton Tourist Development Council was just getting started so I was on that committee. If you look back 30 years at where we’ve come from, it took a lot of work just to get Destin and South Walton on maps. Back then it was just Pensacola and then Tallahassee on the Panhandle.”
In the late ‘90s and early new millennium, Dailey joined not only the South Walton Tourist Development Council but also began working with the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Within the chamber, we wanted Destin to be the Aspen of Florida,” she said. “We wanted to build the name of Destin so that people would want to come here. And we wanted to market it as a high-end, safe, fun and cool place to come and vacation.”
Given her strong voice for the community, in 2003 Dailey became an advocate for an issue that would directly impact the vacation rental industry in Destin. The issue was being brought before the city that a city code loophole could prevent future vacation rentals from selling in the Crystal Beach area.
“I spent a lot of time and energy on that,” said Dailey. “What we fought for were good neighbor policies such as noise ordinances and parking and trash regulations. I went before the council and got one of the original city code writers to explain that the clause was never meant to disallow vacation rentals.”
Eventually the city and the Crystal Beach neighborhood accepted the new ordinances, and rentals went on as before with a few new regulations.
Although her business was not declining, Dailey said that after the dust settled on the Crystal Beach issue, she realized that she needed to once again focus on her business.
“While I was focusing on advocacy, my competitors grew larger,” she said. “So I rebounded by restructuring my team and pulling back a bit on my involvement.”
Pulling back a bit for Dailey is not what others would consider taking a step back, however, as she is still a very active community member and is on the board of several local non-profits, charities and fundraising organizations. Dailey is currently a board member for the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation, Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, and First Florida Bank and will soon be inducted as the first female president for the Rotary Club of Destin. But Dailey told The Log that one of the things she most readily supports are new local businesses.
“I’ve always been an advocate for people starting up their own businesses, especially locals,” she said. “I prefer to eat in local restaurants, and shop in local stores.”
The Future
It’s been a long stretch to make it to the 30 year mark with her business, and looking at it, Dailey said if it were not for her team and her loyal customers she would not be where she is today. As a single mother for most of her career, she said it was truly the support of her employees that have encouraged her along.
“I feel so totally blessed to be able to come to such a beautiful area right out of college, raise my kids and build great relationships,” said Dailey. “Who knew it would become what it’s become, and it’s because of the phenomenal people.”
Two of those people are Dailey’s long-term employees, Karen Poe and Kerbi Ancona. Both women attributed the family-like atmosphere Newman-Dailey, and the tenacious attitude of Dailey as the keys to the success and longevity of the company.
“One thing about Jeanne is how much she cares about you personally,” said Poe, who has worked for Dailey for 24 years. “She takes everything to heart. And professionally, she’s always valued her employee’s opinions. Some people might take you and put you in a box, but not with her. Jeanne creates positions and pushes you to go further and be the best you can possibly be.”
“She sets such a great example for her employees,” said Ancona, who has worked for Dailey for 19 years. “She wouldn’t ask you to do what she herself isn’t willing to do. Jeanne is always right there working side-by-side with us.”
So with a strong team and a great outlook, Dailey told The Log she has no intentions of slowing down any time soon; In fact, she said that all three aspects of her business are ready to expand.
“We’ve got phenomenal people, among the top operations in the industry in all three lines,” said Dailey. “Now we have great product, and we want to grow that product. The future looks really bright for Newman-Dailey, it’s like starting a whole new exciting chapter.”
Article originally appeared in The Destin Log on April 8, 2015.
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