#ThisIsOurWhy

Many moons ago (haha just kidding, although for some reason I love that saying) when I first started in real estate in 2004, I quickly realized that I may be a bit different from the pack of REALTORS® that were currently in our market place. Not because I did things differently but because I thought differently. I was motivated differently. Maybe I’m wired differently. I fought this feeling for a very long time. I followed the noise and paddled with the current but always feeling the tide within me pulling in a different direction. 

The source of my motivation was just one of the ways I felt conflicted. When you start in real estate, or most likely any sales business, you’re taught to set up your goals. Map out how much you want to make (Gross Commission Income, aka GCI) and then work backwards from that number to determine how many homes you need to sell and at what price range in order to meet that income goal. I tried it. I succeeded... for several years. My first year, I made Rookie of the Year for my company and was a Peninsula award winner every year thereafter... but it just didn’t motivate me. I made those goals in the beginning of the year and really never looked at them again. What I did look at were “my families” (I used to call them that). 

I had a cork board in my office with photos and notes from my families. They were thank you cards they sent me or photos we took during the process, even Christmas cards and birth announcements I had received from them after their house had closed. I looked at them, ALL THE TIME! I read them and remembered our experiences together; all the fun and stress and excitement! I felt those things WITH them. People always said to me, “don’t let your emotions get involved, it’s business, not personal,” and for a while I nodded and tried to hear what they were saying. But what I soon realized was… they were the ones missing the boat. They don’t see what I see. Of course it’s business and of course you have to put your game face on and you have to remain the steady voice in a very stressful time for your clients. But it IS personal! It is very personal when children have to sell a home after their parents have passed away, like The Payne family.  It is personal when a young teacher has saved his money to purchase his first home, like Tim Dragone and Wayne Briggs. It is extremely personal when newlyweds are deciding where to put down roots, like Adria and Jake. And it is very stressful when a young family is trying to get out of the neighborhood they are in and into the best school system to give their children the best chance to succeed like The Edmonsons and The Peters.  Those are just a few of the stories we get to be a part of. 

Their stories are what motivate us and we know they are not alone in their struggles and we hope that by sharing their stories some people out there realize they too can accomplish their goals and alter their own stories. 

If you know me well, you know I would give anything to have mutant powers and be a super hero! Maybe I’m a little dramatic, but I kinda think of us as social super heroes. We have the ability help people in their most challenging life scenarios. So, in the office our goal board looks drastically different than most.  It doesn’t count income or the price of the homes we sell.  It counts our families. A house hangs for every family we help, so that we can see what we do every day is making impact...

Even if it is one family at a time.