This month – July 2 to be exact – marks 10 years since I passed my final real estate test to become a licensed Realtor. A full decade of keys exchanged, offers negotiated, tears, champagne, deals saved (and lost!) at the eleventh hour and most importantly—relationships built that I’ll carry with me for a lifetime!
It was the day before Stampede 2015….anxiously I drove to the Testing area with my Passport photos – to prove who I was!
Fun fact – the brand new testing system FAILED that day…we all sat in a dark room for HOURS waiting for it to be fixed – without our phones….only a pencil, paper and nothing else! VERY VERY hard…..
But I PASSED! Excitedly I called John Hripko to tell him – and he basically said: “DON’T COME IN TILL SEPTEMBER!!!!” Did I mention I became an agent during 2015…basically made a HUGE life choice during a recession! 😉
I remember my very first listing like it was yesterday (thanks Cindy Drummond for trusting me!) I was equal parts nervous and excited, determined to prove that I belonged in this business. For those of you who don’t know – I was a STAGER for years before……and Cliff was a home inspector – so I was already “in the industry” so to speak!
Ten years later, I’ve learned that real estate is so much more than contracts and closings.
It’s about TRUST.
It’s about listening more than you speak. It’s about showing up—even when things get tough.
And it’s abut BEING available!!! ALL the time…which I am VERY good at – to the detriment of my family and friends!!!!! 😉 Sorry everyone! xoxox
Over the years, I’ve helped first-time buyers unlock the door to their very first home, growing families find space to breathe and clients say goodbye to homes filled with decades of memories. I’ve seen market highs and lows, navigated changing policies and shifting expectations and learned that no two clients—or transactions—are ever the same.
What has kept me going is the why.
The privilege of being part of people’s lives during some of their most important transitions. The hugs at possession day, the tears of joy, the holiday cards that arrive years later from past clients who are now friends. The texts that come in randomly telling me how much they LOVE their homes……
My office wall is covered with thank you cards and messages from PEOPLE (not just clients!) that have been a part of this journey with me! For me it is not about awards … or number of houses I have sold … or how much “revenue” I have transacted in dollars over the past 10 years …. this job for me can not be defined in QUANTITATIVE data!
If I’ve learned anything in the past ten years, it’s that success in this business comes from hard work, honesty, resilience—and a whole lot of HEART.
To every client who has trusted me, every colleague who has cheered me on…and my amazing supportive family – husband Cliff and my two girls Bailey and Jenna – thank you for believing in me and encouraging me on those tough days…..
Here’s to the next chapter—to all the homes, stories, HUGS and people still to come!
And to sharing this amazing journey with my incredible partner Bailey and watching her SHINE – as she works toward her own 10 year anniversary!!!!!!!