In this episode of Real Estate Unscripted™, Darryl Davis sits down with Peter Morris and Kathy Viard, co-owners of Signature Premier Properties, for a candid and deeply personal conversation about leadership, growth, and what it really takes to build a brokerage that lasts.

Founded in 2007 at the height of the housing crisis, Signature Premier didn’t start with a grand plan — it started with resilience, relationships, and a willingness to adapt. Today, the company has grown to over 1,800 agents across 23 offices on Long Island — all while maintaining a boutique, community-driven culture.

Peter shares how his background in construction and navigating one of the toughest markets shaped the foundation of the business, while Kathy opens up about the influence of her mother and the belief that “people need to know you care” — a principle that now defines the company’s culture.

Together, they reveal what most brokerages get wrong about growth, why culture is everything, and how their agents showed up for them in their most difficult moments.

This isn’t a polished success story — it’s the real story behind building something that lasts.

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⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Built in the Worst Market Possible
02:00 – Meet Peter Morris & Kathy Viard
05:00 – Friendship First: Why Their Partnership Works
09:00 – Starting a Brokerage During the 2007 Crash
12:00 – How Signature Actually Started (Not What You Think)
14:30 – Growing to 1,800 Agents (Without a Plan)
17:30 – The Florida Expansion Failure (And What They Learned)
22:00 – The Culture That Drives Everything
27:00 – “People Need to Know You Care”
29:00 – The NAR Settlement & How Agents Showed Up for Them
33:00 – Why Some Agents Leave (And Why Many Come Back)
37:00 – Competing With Big Brands (Without Competing on Splits)
41:00 – Why Agents Don’t Need the Brokerage Brand to Win
45:00 – How They Maintain Culture While Scaling
49:00 – The Power of Giving Back (Signature Cares Stories)
53:00 – Advice for New Brokers & Teams
58:00 – Rapid Fire: Habits, Books, Leadership Lessons
39:30 – Leading through COVID
43:00 – Biggest mistakes brokerages make
45:30 – Advice for new agents
49:00 – The hardest part of the business
53:00 – Simple strategies that work

56:00 – Why most people fail

01:02:00 – Habits and leadership

01:09:00 – Final thoughts