“I started my real estate career in June of 2017” says Vivian Plein. “Prior to that, I was an insurance agent for 10 years and then on the wholesale commercial insurance side for another 10 years.”

 

Experienced at her job in the insurance industry, Vivian found herself burnt out after two decades.

 

“I didn’t want to do insurance anymore,” she admits. “I needed a change. I was talking to my husband one day and he told me to ‘just quit’.” She was shocked by her husband’s words, as she wasn’t a quitter. After all, she had started working in junior high school and had been working her entire life since that time.

 

“I had to think about it for a long weekend,” she says. Vivian felt trapped in her current role. Taking her husband’s words to heart, she soon put in her notice at her job.

 

After taking some time off, Vivian decided what her next work chapter was. She comments, “I always wanted to do something in real estate.” Vivian got her real estate license and signed on with Berkshire Hathaway in Austin.

 

“I went into their mentorship program,” she recalls. Her mentor, an awesome agent, is still her friend today. Vivian is most grateful to her for teaching her how to excel in the competitive world of real estate. “We met every week for an hour,” she explains. “That was huge for me. I was learning from one of the best.”

 

Vivian notes that the change into real estate was exciting and enjoyable but also a lot of work. “I’ve met so many amazing clients, all with different goals and circumstances. It’s truly wonderful helping them with one of the biggest decisions of their life.”

 

In 2021, as the market shifted, Vivian felt the need to move to a different brokerage. Vivian met Ryan Rodenbeck in 2020, when he taught an Instagram class at the Austin Board of Realtors. She was captivated by his social media skills. As she says, “This guy was good! I felt his energy.” One of her friends moved to Spyglass about six months earlier and she encouraged Vivian to join the brokerage. Vivian joined Spyglass in February 2021 and she believes it was one of her best career decisions.

 

“At the time, I was primarily a buyer’s agent,” she says. With the market shifting, she decided she was going to be a sponge and learn Spyglass Realty sellers’ system. Ryan and his executive team were an inspiration to her, a wealth of knowledge about the market as well as providing her with cutting edge systems. The core values at Spyglass Realty really resonated with Vivian.

 

After moving to Spyglass, taking advantage of the training and technology, Vivian’s production grew substantially. She achieved three production awards for 2022 – Highest Sales Volume Agent, Platinum Level Production and her colleagues awarded her the “All In” award, representing one of Spyglass’s core values. “I’ve never worked with such a collaborative team of agents. We all work together to support each other, be successful, happy, give to the community and most importantly put our clients first.”

 

“It’s an awesome place,” she comments. She loves the systems, technology, innovation, and their weekly sales meetings on Zoom. Each agent gives feedback on the market, including what is going on in the selling and the buying sides. “It makes such a big difference,” she comments.

 

Recently, Vivian added an agent to her team, Joe Coito, who is a phenomenal addition. He has experience with “flips”, is an investor, and has a strong construction background. He picked up his first listing from his circle of friends and family and went under contract. Vivian couldn’t be happier.

 

Last year, Vivian and the other agents put their 2022 goals on a sheet of white butcher paper at a monthly meeting. Her goal was to pay for her daughter’s wedding as she recently put herself through medical school and did not want her to incur any further debt. “Our daughter Amanda got married in July,” she smiles. “That was the best month ever in my year.”

 

Vivian is thrilled to see where her life is today. She’s been married to her husband Bill for 31 years; they met while attending UC Davis in California. Interestingly, Vivian was born in Austin and her mother hails from East Texas. Her father was a professor at UT during her youth.

 

Vivian and her family moved to Texas 11 years ago. They currently reside in Crystal Falls in Leander and are blessed with two daughters. Amanda is a second-year psychiatry resident in Fort Worth. Her youngest daughter, Carolyn is a graduate of UT and lives in Fort Collins, CO. She is pursuing her master’s degree at CSU.  

 

An animal lover, Vivian has three furry friends at her house. She enjoys the constant companionship of her two dogs, Brooklyn (12), and their puppy named Endy. Their senior cat also makes their house a home. Vivian loves to travel with her husband and spend time with family and friends.

 

Vivian found her footing and future in real estate. She is passionate about her second career, helping countless clients in the process!