Why Real Estate?

Do you remember why you started in the real estate industry in the first place?

For me, almost 17 years ago, it was simply to make a living. I was laid off from my project management position in the pharmaceutical industry (not the first time) and I had the choice to move to New Jersey to continue that career, or stay here (where all of my family is) and try something new.

Very quickly this “job” changed from simply a way to pay the bills to a career that offered great financial rewards to my family, and flexibility for me as a mom. Yes, I worked plenty of evenings and weekends, but had I still been working my 9-5 job in pharmaceuticals with the 90+ minute commute each day I wouldn’t have been able to pick up my kids from preschool, or volunteer in their classrooms, or go on field trips on a regular basis. The trade off was worth it to me.

Quite a few years in the switch flipped and I realized that this wasn’t just a job or a career (I started out on a rainmaker team) but that it was a business, it was MY business. I understood that there was a lot more planning and strategy involved than just figuring out where my next transaction was going to come from. If I wanted to be in business for the long haul, and to have a consistent, productive business, I needed to stay focused on the big picture.

Now, much of my why is centered around helping women to empower themselves to design their life on their terms, using real estate as the vehicle to make it happen. Whether I am doing this for my team, or for you here in the group (as I have for the last almost 5 years), it drives me on a daily basis to learn more, try more, do more.

Comment here and tell us how long ago you started, and why!