Sisters businessman changes with the times

Phil Arends has been a fixture of the Sisters business community for the past two decades.

For most of that time, he specialized in sending folks on lifetime trips to Africa, Asia and all points in-between, and helping business commuters swing living in Sisters and working elsewhere. He built a strong business at Desert Wings Travel, and he figured he'd retire from a long, successful career as a travel agent.

Then life in the 21st century intervened. The travel industry, which had relied on travel agents for decades, started to change. Cash-strapped airlines cut commissions. Technology, in particular the Internet, made it possible for travelers to be their own travel agent.

Desert Wings Travel actually weathered the changes better than most agencies. Arends had built a solid niche and a loyal clientele who appreciated his services. And many of those clients were of a demographic that doesn't automatically adopt the latest technology - his clients still wanted a travel agent to take care of business for them.

But Arends saw the writing on the wall: The industry he had worked in since college wasn't going to have any place for guys like him. It was the economic downturn that started in 2007 and accelerated at frightening speeding in 2008 that finally forced Arends to look in a new direction.

"It was, I guess, the summer of '09 that I realized that I wasn't going to be able to retire in the business I'd worked in all my life," he said.

With two sons in or headed to college, Arends knew he had to make a change.

"I didn't have somebody to take care of it for me," he told The Nugget with a wide grin. "I have to find a way to make it work. That's a pretty good motivator sometimes."

Looking at the half-century mark just as the nation entered the worst sustained economic downturn since the Great Depression, it wasn't exactly a great time to change careers. But Arends cast about for something that would match his skills and temperament and took the plunge... into real estate.

It wasn't as though he didn't realize it was a terrible time to launch a career as a real estate agent. The Sisters Country market had sunk along with every other market in the country, and people who had gotten in in the boom times were getting out. But for Arends, it just felt right.

As a travel agent, he had developed a critical eye for detail, and he really likes working with people.

"One of the things I loved about travel and being in Sisters is that one-on-one interaction," he said. "I thought real estate would still be like that for a number of years."

And he had prospects. Sisters Broker Dick Howells, who had been a friend and client for many years, encouraged him.

"He invited me to join him when I got my license," Arends said. "He had been in the field for 35 years; I could really learn from someone like that."

Arends found that he really enjoyed learning something new and rising to the challenge of mastering a complex new field. He also greatly enjoys learning from colleagues in the field.

R.A. (Dick) Howells Co. has an exclusive relationship with Black Butte Ranch, and Arends enjoys working in that environment. And work he does. Seven days a week for the past two years.

Any real estate agent will tell you that it's not an easy way to make a living. The market, while showing signs of life, is still challenging.

"The first year was certainly difficult, and it's still difficult," he said. "But I'm overall really happy with the decision."

Arends says that he still occasionally does travel work for a client - and actually enjoys it even more now that it's a sideline. He notes that working in multiple fields is a Sisters tradition.

"You've gotta wear a couple of hats," he said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Arends knows he's far from alone in facing major changes in his life, and he feels grateful for the opportunities he's had. He knows that lots of folks in Sisters are struggling with major financial challenges.

"If I've learned anything in the last few years, it's everybody has a story," he said.

What advice does he have for people facing a vanishing livelihood?

"I wouldn't wait till it gets to the point where it isn't there," he said. "If there's something you always wanted to try, try it while you've still got that going. Don't wait till things burn out."

And be prepared to work harder than you ever planned to be working in the middle or end of your career.

Like many people who have had changes forced on them by the roller-coaster ride of the first decade of a new century, Arends has found unexpected blessings in tough times.

"In a weird way," he said, "this whole cycle I've been through makes me appreciate things so much more."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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