People often ask me how I got into real estate, and so I’d like to share that story with all of you today.
I’m originally from Tulsa and attended the University of Oklahoma just a couple hours away from there (Boomer Sooner!). I spent a lot of those years in school being average and only just barely getting by. I think that’s because, like a lot of college-aged kids, I didn’t know my passion or purpose in life. Finally, I got into classes that I cared about and I realized that I was a good student after all. I went on to get my master’s degree in Human Relations.
During that time, I was still waiting tables at the mall in Norman. I really think that a lot of the best real estate agents are those who have been servers. A friend of mine from high school who had just gotten into real estate reached out to me, asking if I needed to buy a house. At the time, I didn’t have any money, so how was I supposed to buy a house? To that, he responded, “You should get into real estate; a friend in my office just made $100,000 last month.”
The flexibility and lucrative nature of the real estate industry was very appealing to me at that age. After a while, though, I realized that there was a lot more hard work necessary than just selling lots of houses and raking in the money. I realized that my work ethic, which I somehow just had in me, was starting to pay off.
I began working for a small brokerage with just five people in the office. I was learning how to be a property manager and how to be an office manager; I partnered with a broker and got to go on listing appointments and worked with homebuyers.
After four years of working in real estate in Norman I knew that I was getting to the age where I wanted to be able to get back home to my family. I sold the two houses that I had bought in those four years and moved back home to Tulsa.
Once I did, I signed on with a local, traditional real estate company. I was doing well at the time, but I didn’t know how to be anything other than a lead receiver, which means that I would show up to open houses and smile and be nice to people—over time, they would open up and let me help them.
Then, I discovered a company called Keller Williams. That’s when everything changed for me in my business and my personal life. Once I signed on with Keller Williams, I just ate up all of the available training, coaching, and mentoring that I could get my hands on. That really opened my mind; I started to dream big and realized that with Keller Williams, I could achieve those dreams.
However, as a single agent, I was starting to get overwhelmed. I was working all kinds of crazy hours, and when I reached a breaking point, I knew that I needed help. That’s when the idea of building a team entered my mind. I didn’t want to build a team to crush the faces off the Tulsa, Oklahoma real estate market, but rather because I wanted to hold on to my sanity! I wanted to be a good wife, mother, and agent, and building a team allowed me to do that.
What’s fun about growing a team is that you get to help others do the same. It’s such an amazing experience. We’re always looking for more people to come into our world so that we can help more families, have fun, give back to the community, and live large.
If you’ve ever thought about starting a career in real estate, or if you’re currently in the business but you’re not finding the success that you want, reach out to me. I’d love to chat with you about an amazing opportunity to join our team.
