"There has never been a greater need for professionals who are effective at their business," says Wright, who himself has yet to turn 30. "Clients need help navigating these waters and getting through to the other side."

While many of Franklin Street's partners have left the comfort of larger national brokerages to join the smaller partnership, Wright says they benefit from direct access to company profits. He says Franklin Street grossed $1.8 million in 2009 and is already well on its way to topping that, posting $500,000 in the first quarter.

"The most important thing for us is to have measured growth," he says, noting that any one business line can carry the football for the entire firm under varying conditions (lately, it's insurance). "There is a lot of block and tackle. No one always has to be the quarterback."

As the market improves, Wright would like to be able to expand Franklin Street to other parts of the US where its current clients are, starting with the Southwest and Midwest, then eventually the Northeast and Southern California. In the meantime, he cites Orlando and Charlotte as logical office additions within the Southeast.

The biggest driver for growth, he says, is collaboration—not just between the firm and its clients, but among its own personnel. Sharing of knowledge and information is important to helping solve problems and maintain property values, he says.

"We don't know any other way to get through this without working together," he says. "We don't have to do everything, but let's do something."