By Marta Rose-Thorpe
Christopher Warren Gough comes from a family of military and criminal justice officers. He is a licensed broker within Florida, Washington, and California, with 27 years of experience in many areas of the real estate industry including training and motivating countless Top Producers. He recently joined the Keller Williams Emerald Coast family on 30A in Seacrest Beach. This Renaissance Man is a serial entrepreneur with limitless energy who has launched multiple businesses, loves engaging in many passions, hobbies and activities, and keeps his life full. Together, with his lovely bride Jess and her mother Toni, Christopher has lived in Bay County for a little more than two years. “I’ve surrounded myself with some of the most brilliantly amazing people on the planet,” he states, “and I am honored to now call Panama City Beach home.” I caught up with Christopher in July to learn a little more about his story.
A natural salesman from as early as he can remember, Christopher was brought up by his mother with the Nevada desert serving as his playground. At seven years old, he remembers helping a neighbor with her garden. “She would pay me with vegetables. I would stop by houses on my way home, my little red wagon full of vegetables, and offer them to folks.” Magically, he says, he would come home with money and have no idea what to spend it on. “I would tell my mom, ‘Let’s use it to start our own garden.’” By ten years old, he loved speaking into others, “offering ideas and input on a better tomorrow.” It is this natural gift of inspiration that Christopher has used his whole life to motivate and educate people on finding extraordinary results from ordinary situations within their lives.
“Fear not of being uncomfortable,” he says, “because those that are outside their comfort zone learn their true character.” He recalls telling his grandfather, George Gough, while they sat amongst a pile of chopped wood they cut that day, “Pappa, I know you’re sad because your chainsaw is not working but look at it this way. It broke for a reason; something made it break so you and I can talk. We can enjoy a Diet Coke, some sun on our faces, and look at all the work we did today! I feel good about it, and so should you.” His grandfather thanked him and agreed.
At 15, Christopher began attending college, studying Criminal Justice and Psychology which he loved because his grandfather had been an officer in Seattle for 28 years and most of his family had followed suit. About a year into it he was asked to stay after class. His instructor, a retired detective who had walked the beat of Seattle with his grandfather back in the 50s, asked him to explain why such an outgoing young man wanted to become a cop, suggesting that he instead would make an incredible businessman. Christopher thought about it overnight before answering, “OK, I’ll try it but if this isn’t for me, may I come back?” His instructor replied, “Not only will I count your credits, but I’ll pay for your entrance into the academy and offer a personal referral.” And with that, Christopher was guided into Business Management, later becoming a Real Estate Broker at the age of 21.
At nearly 19 while he was working on his MBA, he launched his first business, C’s Cleaning Company, during a course called “How to Launch and Succeed in Your Own Business” with the intent of students taking the data learned in class and applying it to real-life scenarios. He hired two people as cleaners for 30% of the total of each job, got a business license, placed an ad, and knew that sales were his next step. On his first Saturday of door-to-door knocking in a nearby neighborhood, he landed eight new accounts in under three hours. Inside a four-month window he grossed over $23,000 and graduated eight months later with honors. Hiring 20 full-time cleaners along the way, his business grew to 254 homes, five stores and 12 businesses within four years.
Christopher met his wife, Jess, a few years ago while wandering the vendor aisles at a home show he attended in Seattle with a friend. “I stopped at one bathroom remodel stand,” he recalls, “I had this weird feeling that I should be there. From behind me I heard the most angelic voice say, ‘That’s my favorite color.’ I spun around and locked eyes with one of the most beautiful women I have ever come face to face with.” After a few minutes of very bad jokes and babbling like a baby boy, he wandered away thinking what was that? He had taken one of her marketing magazines, and by the time he got back to his office he’d done all the research necessary to track down her phone number and sent her a text. To his surprise, minutes later a text came back, and she was elated that he had found her and reached out. One year later they were married on a beautiful ship in the middle of the Mediterranean.
When not traveling between California, Washington State, and Florida bi-weekly, Christopher enjoys a plethora of activities including golfing, boating, fishing, underwater diving, skydiving, flying (he is a private pilot), building projects, starting new businesses, and meeting new people. He is interested in learning current firearms training “with his posse,” and he trains at the gym four to five days a week. He loves drinking wines from around the globe “inside the vineyards they were grown,” and is an avid traveler. “The most memorable places I’ve traveled are the ones with white sands, turquoise waters, beautiful blue skies, and smiles of the locals who hope we never leave,” he says. “But honestly, every place I travel around the globe is like wine in my glass, and at that time, it’s my favorite.” Christopher loves helping raise funds at charitable events, citing his volunteer work with Cystic Fibrosis and children’s hospitals as his favorite passion, by far.
Christopher has numerous sayings he lives by. “The Darker the Dark, the Brighter the Light” is a favorite passage. “Do not fear failure, embrace it, and success will be that much more gratifying.” He also believes in the four F’s: Be Firm, Be Frank, Be Fair, and Be Friendly. “Use this in every situation,” he recommends. “Iron sharpens iron–surround yourself among the people that you most want to emulate.” “A rising tide raises all boats.”
“Do not fear that what you say is a waste of time, because sound travels and so does your inspiration; it will help others if you’ve desired to help yourself first.” “The one who cares the least has the most control.” This saying, he feels, is very powerful and needs to be used with caution, but when used correctly, success is inevitable. Finally, “Learn your why. It is easy to explain the where and the how, but to succeed in your life, dive as deep as you can and understand your WHY.”
I ask Christopher if he could squeeze one extra hour into his busy day, how would he spend it? “Holding my lovely wife while our puppies snuggle among us,” is his reply.
