Carrie King

Get Up, Dress Up and Show Up!

Carrie looking Derby ready in her attire from Pink Tag Boutique.

          For over a decade, Carrie King established an incredibly prosperous business as
a Cosmetologist – styling hair, consulting with make-up and offering overall styling tips.
Later, she pivoted her career and used her intrinsic sense of style to help families
decorate their specially chosen homes – that she helped them find and obtain. Carrie
not only uses her finesse for what looks good in residential, but she has given her
brokerage a style of appearance that communicates something about them, and their
next office (coming soon) will have a different look. “I tell people that our first office is
like the older sister, conforming to conservative impressions and timeless style, but the
second place is the younger sister who is way more in tune with progressive dress.”
          Carrie, though composed and stylish to speak with, has an inner persevering
spirit that shows in her work. Due to life’s circumstances, she was not able to earn her
bachelor’s degree, so she went to the University of Louisville, studied full-time around
the year while working full-time in real estate and earned her degree, Bachelor of
Communications, by the time she reached the age of forty. Who does that?
          Carrie’s tenacious spirit bleeds into her work, her leadership, and her mentorship.
She adds an atmosphere of love and caring to the mix, so much that agents always ask
her if they are her favorites – to which she replies, “You all are my favorites.” For
Carrie, success is really about having pride in what you have accomplished. It is
different for everyone, but she explains that “there is no there, there.” When she
reaches a milestone, her focus is set on the next thing or mountain to climb. It takes grit
to make things happen, so Carrie sets her mind to a goal and then sees it through.
          King is so thankful for meeting up with George and Stephanie Barrett, her
business partners. It was a game-changer for her to work with them on the design of
the brokerage, Homepage, and she says the process changed her life. She also says
that establishing a Media Department within their staff completely changed things and
really help their marketing program too.
          Carrie has seen a lot of approaches while mentoring the 181 agents that work
with her. She notes that the best agents have a collaborative spirit and always lead with
kindness. “The best agents ‘get it,’ she says, and they work very hard and learn to say
‘yes’ to every opportunity.” You have to be unafraid to make social media videos if you
want to be a part of the Homepage team, and lastly, you must just be cool. Homepage
has been recognized in the Top 10 of the city, Top 100 agents and other awards.
          For those who are considering a start to real estate or who are new to the
industry, Carrie challenges them to get up, dress up and show up. Really, that is her
advice for everyone who wants to succeed. She also tells newbies to list their
expectations, and she will help them create a vision board to arrive there. Getting a real
estate license is not the hardest part to the equation; it is creating a strong work ethic
and then following a carefully crafted plan. To give agents a greater start, Homepage
assigns them a mentor who helps them close their first four transactions.
          Carrie is not all work and no play. She loves tennis and has recently joined a fit
body bootcamp. She likes to work out with some of her team, design buildings, keep up
with fashion trends and volunteer in her community. She wisely knows that people
know many agents in the business, so she teaches people how to set themselves apart
– always asking them, “what will you do to be different?”
          Carrie King could be described as hard-working, kind, disciplined, accessible and
a good friend. She wants to visit Italy someday, and if she was forced to choose a job
that she has never had, she would choose to be an ESPN reporter. Most everyone can
create a vision in their minds of her on the sideline and interviewing players. It is clear
that real estate is her life, and Louisville has her heart, so until her big debut on TV, she
will simply get up, dress up and show up!