Louise McKaig

Santa Barbara Real Estate | Montecito Real Estate | Hope Ranch Real Estate

Excerpt from the Montecito Magazine

“As a kid I had learned so much about business and being an entrepreneur from working with my dad,” says Louise. “My dad taught me that a successful business is created by long-time personal relationships, by always giving a customized experience and by providing a better service to your clients than they can get anywhere else. I think these values have always been at the core of our family’s businesses from my grandfather’s first Italian Store in the 1920s to my real estate business and my children’s businesses” – Montecito real estate agent Louise McKaig interview with The Montecito Magazine

Local

Keeping It Local

My family has lived in Santa Barbara since 1915 and we have owned many well known local businesses over the generations. Before getting into real estate I had run various businesses and am happy to have been able to pass that down to my children. My husband and I were high school sweethearts but have known each other since attending La Colina Jr. High. Over the generations my family has been involved in the formation of many successful Santa Barbara businesses such as Casa Flores Tortillas, Pan American Markets, Enrico’s Italian Deli, The Italian Store, and many local real estate deals.

Business

``A Passion For Business Innovation``

Before starting my own businesses I had the opportunity to work alongside my family at our grocery store chains, “The Pan American Markets”. We had 5 locations in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria with a large number of employees and managers so it helped me understand how to run a large operation at an early age. I also helped my parents run our delis called Enrico’s Delicatessen as well as our tortilla company, Casa Flores Tortillas, which at the time was named one of the fastest growing companies in the Western United States. We had a couple hundred employees, trucking routes, and many distributors. This is where I really learned to love working with people and problem solving while I was running a lot of the internal aspects of the business including administration and human resources. You really get to know the employees and understand what their needs are and how to help them become happier, better workers. During this time I learned all about the operations that go into making a large company run. Later I started an international learning program that hosted all types of international professionals of major companies, professional basketball players from Italy, one of the first female bullet-train conductors in Japan, executives at Johnson & Johnson, and more.

Life

Let's Get Personal

I love my business and my clients. A big part of what I enjoy are the letters or phone calls telling me that I helped their family during a difficult time or I changed their lives for the better. I also love my family very much, spending time with them, mentoring my kids with their own ventures and just enjoying moments with all of my friends, clients, and family.

Real Estate

Why did I get into real estate?

Santa Barbara real estate has been at the center of my family’s life and business since the early 1900s but it wasn’t until my husband and I decided to sell our first home that I witnessed a real need in our community. I know first hand how it feels to lose sleep wondering if my home is being represented properly and I didn’t like that feeling. My goal is that my clients know that I am representing their interests. I keep them informed of possible offers, strategies, and choices on how to respond. I listen to what my clients are saying and work hard to help them be heard and get to where they want to go.

Latest News