The Secret of Scott Brown Group
“Success is made in a crockpot, not a microwave.”
In 2022, the global real estate market was valued at 3.81 trillion USD and is slated to grow nearly 5.2% to 5.85 trillion USD by 2030. In the residential market alone, the state of Texas generates 8% of the global real estate industry, with Denton filing into the top 10 fastest growing cities in Texas real estate. Leading the way in the North Texas sector of this industry expansion is Scott Brown Group.
The award-winning, multi-faceted firm has transformed over the last 30 years to become the real estate and property management pillar that it is today. As owner Scott Brown reflects back on his beginnings, Scott is eternally humbled by the progress his company has seen over the years.
Beginning at age 17, Scott gained an interest in property management from his father, Dale Brown, who owned an auto shop and many rent houses at the time. Scott established a mowing company for these homes and quickly began gaining experience at running a professional business.
Driving Denton ISD school buses throughout his time at the University of North Texas, Scott obtained his very first rent house by the end of his freshman year. Scott still owns and manages this house today.
Throughout college, Scott spent most Friday and Saturday nights meeting with folks interested in selling their homes. He would provide pizza and discuss the opportunities of owner financed rental homes. Scott was determined to show the residents of Denton his commitment to the community and to building his business.
Though Scott’s drive was unwavering, no success story is achieved alone. Enter Shari Parsons, or as she’s known today, Shari Brown. The pair kicked off their lasting relationship after meeting at a country western bar in Fort Worth. Shari fondly remembers the striking questions Scott asked her upon their first conversation, such as “Where did you go to high school?” and “Who was your principal?”, putting together the pieces that Shari’s principal was Scott’s uncle, E. Don Brown. Scott’s persistence to maintain a dialogue paid off despite the unique start, and Shari agreed to a date with him the following week. The two were later married on March 11th, 1989.
Soon after, Scott left his first out-of-college job as the manager of Mervyn’s shoe department to work at Texas Instruments. Scott’s success was skyrocketing, with a new baby on the way, a fantastic position overseeing seven warehouses and a staff of 70 people at a great company, and the whole world seemingly at his fingertips.
Then tragedy struck. Two weeks after his first son was born, Texas Instruments went through a massive lay-off in which Scott was one of the many casualties.
Swearing to never collect unemployment, Scott instead took a major pay cut and accepted a position at Safety Kleen Systems.
For the following two years, Scott carried chemical waste from midnight to 8:00 A.M. to support his growing family, including working a majority of holidays. Though times were tough, Scott was encouraged by his life-long friend, Don Manning, to ensure he was giving back to The Lord, despite his tight monthly budget. After much deliberation with Shari and even more time spent in prayer, Scott and Shari began a 10% tithe to the church each paycheck.
“Tithing is a way to show that we trust God with our lives and our finances.”
- Scott Brown
Scott soon reconnected with his father’s friend, Tony Riley, who was another key player in the growing real estate market and was reminded of his passion toward the industry. He was inspired to obtain his broker’s license and fulfill his youthful desire of opening a property management company starting with his rental homes, his father’s rental homes, and Tony’s rental homes.
He started small, with his first office located in the basement of his mother’s interior design business. From there, he moved quickly into his office at the Texas Building on Denton Square where he worked with the owner Doris Hudspeth to renovate the space, promising to have the building fully leased within a year. Though Doris was initially hesitant about the idea of a $500,000 remodel, the completion of the project resulted in a striking new exterior to the building and an increase in the monthly income from $1,700 to $20,000, thus jump-starting Scott’s start in the real estate industry.
And it’s only grown from there.
Today, Scott heads a talented team of over 85 individuals and seven companies under the Scott Brown Group umbrella, including Scott Brown Properties, Scott Brown Commercial, Real T Team, SB Construction, Allied Solutions, All About Appliances, and Inco Insurance. For over thirty years, Scott’s secret to maintaining his success boils down to five spokes that keep him turning.
God
Family
Health
Work
Hobbies
“He’s a very passionate person, and he truly loves people.”
- Shari Brown
Scott attributes much of his success to his daily quiet time with The Lord and the unyielding support of his family, friends, and team. Even when burdened with tough times, Scott still took action toward what was important to him, such as always giving back to the church. When first starting his business, Scott made a point to tuck his children into bed every night before returning to the office where he continued to work well past midnight most nights.
His connection to the community and to those around him have led countless individuals to fall under Scott’s guidance and eventually transcend into their own companies. “Scott loves going to work because he loves his work family.” - Shari Brown
Scott’s passion and his determination to never give up has transformed his one-house property management business into a titan of the industry. The journey has been long, but is still far from over as Scott continues to take the company to new heights.
