A career in real estate wasn't on the radar when Gleg Gleaves went to college. Dreaming of becoming a music producer, he would mow lawns and pick up other odd jobs to save money for recording equipment. But to pacify his parents, he ended up studying management and entrepreneurship when he attended The University of Toledo.

"I graduated college in 2009, but it was a tough time to get a job," Greg explains. "I decided to stick around and get my master's degree in sales. As much as I wanted to be a music producer, I knew I would do better, in the long run, going into sales. My mom was in medical device sales, so I planned to follow in her footsteps to some extent."

While finishing up his master’s, Greg ended up purchasing a home in Columbus thanks to a tax credit being given at the time for homebuyers. It was then that Greg took an interest in real estate.

"I enjoyed that process and fixed up that home with my parents," Greg says. "At the same time, I took a job selling payroll but realized I did not enjoy it. I did love being around a lot of entrepreneurs and got to see the vision people had for building their businesses. It made me realize I did have the entrepreneurial bug."

Inspired, Greg quit his job in payroll and took on two retail jobs while getting his real estate license. Greg, age 23 at the time, remembers being a younger person in the real estate business.

"It was honestly kind of scary," Greg says. "I wasn't sure I could gain the trust. It took me about a year to gain my footing."

To do so, Greg branded himself as the High Five agent. He did fun YouTube videos at a time when social media marketing was just starting. Several of his videos even went viral in real estate circles.

Eventually growing out of the High Five branding, Greg's career took another turn. After five years, he took a break from real estate.

"I realized everyone has the opportunity to change paths and there's no negative connotation to it," he says. "I left real estate sales and went into an exploratory time. I was a mortgage lender for a while, and I also did software sales."

But he made his way back. Greg became a team leader and manager for a Keller Williams office in Grove City. After spending time learning the management ropes, he rediscovered his true passion.

"When my wife became pregnant with our first child, there was a huge shift in me," Greg says. "I appreciated what I was learning in real estate management, but I was working with a coach at the time who helped me do some self-discovery. I missed real estate sales, and that was my ultimate best purpose and place. I went back into real estate sales a couple months before my daughter was born. She's 5 years old now, and I've had increasingly better years ever since.”

Along with his daughter Marley, Greg and his wife Meggie have a 2-year-old son, Mason. Meggie, who spent time in title and lending, recently got her real estate license and joined Greg to form a husband and wife team. Family is important to Greg, and he shares that being a dad is his highest priority.

"When I had kids, that helped me know my purpose," Greg explains. “The highest and best use of my time is to focus on what is directly in front of me: my family and my business."

Over the years, Greg has dabbled in renovating and flipping homes, and he recently started a cosmetic remodel business as a supplement to his job as a REALTOR®. He cites his exploratory time in lending as an asset to his clients, too, as he has a good grasp on both the buyer's and the seller's experience.

"As I move further down the road, I am more service-oriented versus award and accomplishment-oriented," Greg says. "I started in the business young, and there was no obvious or tested game plan for being a young person in real estate and navigating both personal and professional life. Twelve years later, it's not unusual for a younger person to be doing this. The benefit of exploring other options was finding out it was pointing me back to where I was, but with greater comfort and understanding."