A 15-year friendship with Realtor Toni Schrager convinced Vivian Dimond the pair could make their newly formed Avatar Real Estate Services a success by adding a twist to its mission. The twist: offering its 25 associates a stake in the company's ownership. So far, 45% of Avatar is agent-owned. Thirty percent of all profits will be distributed among producing agents.

The longtime friends decided to open the new business because "we believe there is a tremendous need for a higher level of personal service that is currently available in the local residential real estate market," says Schrager, a 20-year professional who has worked at Stadler Realtors, the Green Cos., Southern Hill Real Estate and Wimbish Riteway Realtors.

The new company also wants to give working professionals a better compensation deal than is generally offered in the industry. "We want to become the top choice for real estate agents seeking a share of the success that they will be building individually and together as part of the Avatar team," says Dimond.