If you are wondering how a schoolteacher from New York ended up in Mississippi, just ask Meaghan Murphy. The Binghamton, New York native went to college to be an elementary school teacher. “I moved to Mississippi in 2012 when I got a job at Gary Road Elementary School in Byram and my husband, Govinda Krishna, attended dental school at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.” Little did they know they would both be entrepreneurs and not doing what they had originally moved to Mississippi to do - and in just a few short years!

Meaghan enjoyed her work, teaching second grade for two years before moving to Rankin County Schools where she taught first and second grade, as well as ESL, teaching students English as a second language. “I really enjoyed that,” she says. “I traveled to different schools and worked with a number of students.”

Meaghan and her husband began looking for a home to purchase in 2013. “We lived in a small apartment at the time and I really enjoyed the process of looking for a home.” They purchased their first home in November 2013, and in doing so, Meaghan became interested in real estate.

In 2015, she got her license, thinking she’d do real estate as a side gig. “My husband encouraged me to do it,” she recalls. “He said I was pretty and personable and he thought I would be good at it. I did both teaching and real estate for three years.”

Then her life took a big turn. By 2018, real estate became more than Meaghan had bargained for. She was doing well with it. But it was getting harder to do both jobs. At thirty years old, and despite multiple tries at in vitro fertilization, Meaghan had no children, and she realized she was making big sacrifices to do both jobs.

Meaghan began her real estate career with Keller Williams in Flowood. “I interviewed with three or four brokerages before talking with Ron Ainsworth, the manager of our brokerage. I chose Keller Williams because I wanted a lot of training, which they provide. I guess that comes from my educational background.” She was with the firm until 2016 before going to work with Billy and April McKee at McKee Realty in Flowood. “Their brokerage is a lot smaller -- there were only 15 of us, and it was more of a family kind of feeling. I enjoyed my time there.”

Since 2018 Meaghan has been in the Multi-Million Dollar sales club consistently each year. In 2020 she had her best year yet selling over $9 million dollars of property.

In January 2021, Meaghan took a leap and opened her own brokerage, Home Again Realty, located on Lake Harbor Drive in Ridgeland. Soon after hanging out her shingle, she had a big surprise. Thinking she would never have children, Meaghan got pregnant naturally. Their daughter, Sloan, was born on March 1, 2022.

“She keeps me busy,” says Meaghan, who says she is still actively selling. There are nine agents at Home Again, including Meaghan. “We are growing every couple of months.” Two of her agents are bilingual in Spanish and English, which has been a big help. “Some of our agents are part-time and many are still learning. I only wish I had more time to help the other agents. We have a monthly meeting where we will do training on a specific topic and also have a guest speaker come and talk with us.” Meaghan says the secret to her success is her commitment to being honest, caring and truthful with her clients. “Trust is important in this business.”

Because she is not originally from this area, Meaghan says she had to work hard to learn the names and locations of neighborhoods and price points. “When I got my real estate license, I didn’t realize there would be such a big learning curve. People may think this is easy, but I spend a lot of time on my phone, answering emails, texting, etc.” She says the work is worth it, especially because she likes the freedom her schedule provides her – it is a lot different from the rigid schedule of her teaching days. “But I do miss my students and my co-workers.”

Govinda’s life took a different turn as well. He ended up ditching the idea of being a dentist and instead, he is now the owner of a hamburger franchise in Gluckstadt. “He wanted to work for himself,” says Meaghan. “He opened Wayback Burgers last year. He is very hands-on, and he loves it.” The couple lives in Ashbrooke in Gluckstadt. “We have put down roots here,” Meaghan says.

When she isn’t working, Meaghan says she and Govinda enjoy traveling. “We have been to Miami, Tampa, Washington, DC, Las Vegas, London, and back to New York to visit my family. We are hoping to go visit my husband’s family in Sri Lanka soon.”

Meaghan and Govinda also stay busy with their four Maltese dogs, Reese, Ralph, Rex, and Rose. “We enjoy going on walks with them.” Meaghan says she is so grateful that God brought real estate into her life as a career. “I have met so many interesting and amazing clients, agents, brokers, and vendors in my eight years in this business. During my struggles, they all really helped me stay positive and gave me something positive to focus on. I live to help others and meet new people. I love hearing each person’s story and try to learn something from each person I meet along the way.”