When we last checked in with Pam Forsberg of J.W. Ready Realty in 2020, she was just a few years into her career as a REALTORⓇ. She had moved into real estate after twenty years of building brands at some of Chicago’s most respected marketing and advertising agencies. 

“[When I was young,] I initially had a hard time picking a career because I liked everything,” Pam recalls. “I liked the people aspect of visual communications—how to market to an audience and transmit information and ideas using symbols and imagery. I’ve noticed that much of what I experience in real estate parallels the work I did in marketing and advertising.” 

Now that she has over six years as a broker under her belt, we circled back with her to uncover the key insights she’s discovered. Unsurprisingly, Pam has been able to combine her expertise as a designer and art director with new lessons from her time as an agent.

Her first big takeaway was the importance of resilience in the mindset of a REALTORⓇ—a quality she’d developed long before her years in marketing and advertising. While trying to find her best career fit early on, Pam explored a number of diverse jobs which included stints at the park district, lifeguarding, babysitting, and working at a drugstore and as messenger at a title company in Chicago. All allowed her to develop grit. Notably though, for many, many years, she was a successful swim instructor and coach on the side. But in 2013, a significant experience became her ultimate challenge: Pam was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. With the support of her family and “the great team of physicians at Rush [hospital],” Pam opted to have a double mastectomy to ensure the best possible outcome. 

“I was determined to fight, face the challenge head-on, beat the odds, and stay positive throughout my journey,” she says. 

All these life situations sowed within Pam a strong work ethic and positive approach to challenging circumstances.

“When you go through difficult things like cancer, you develop more regard for life and a renewed focus on the things that matter most,“ shares Pam. “The ability to bounce back after failure or difficulty could be the most important factor in real estate success.”

Next came the understanding of the importance of becoming an expert in her local area as well as building a strong professional referral network to best serve her clients. Since REALTORSⓇ are selling a community as much as they are a single listing, Pam has established a go-to process for uncovering an area’s vital selling points as well as referral service providers. This knowledge often gives her a leg-up when servicing clients. 

That professional network includes other REALTORS® too. “I’ve seen how enlightening it can be to reach out to other agents who have more experience in a specific local area,” she notes, then adds, “Also, we all deserve to get paid for our work, but helping clients get what is best for them, regardless of your commission, will build trust, and trust leads to more referrals.”

A life-long learner anyway, real estate has given Pam unlimited opportunities to explore new skills and practice fresh techniques. “I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my skills and challenge myself to think differently, innovatively, and tackle problems from different angles,” she explains. 

She’s also sought out mentors and teams with more expertise to grow her capabilities. “Real estate is the prototypical learn-on-the-job career, so it is vital to find someone who can teach you about the industry and inspire you to grow as an agent,” she says. “You can attend all the training sessions and professional development courses you want to, which is helpful, but the classes can’t offer personal insight and experience.”

In her past career at creative agencies, Pam wore many hats including photographer, illustrator, and product and concept designer. Her years’ experience in juggling these many roles allowed her to feel comfortable with jumping in and out of multiple tasks as a REALTORⓇ and having to think on her feet. And importantly, “I apply my skills to deliver results-driven marketing and strategic, successful campaigns that provide integrated design strategies,” she says.

To make it all work, Pam has had to become more disciplined in her day-to-day task management. By making lists, adopting systems, and testing different resources, she has standardized a routine that works. 

“One of the biggest learning curves was when I had to develop a strategy for attracting clients, find a good contact management app, and create a follow-up system,” says Pam.  

“I enjoy making notes of things I need to learn,” she continues. “I find that if I make sure to learn something new every day, I'm able to stay connected, build new relationships, and make progress toward my year-end goals.”

The through-line of all these lessons, Pam highlights, is diligent focus on great customer service. And it has paid off. Her business has continued to grow. In fact, of late she’s found it more difficult to give her ballooning list of clients the individual attention they both deserve and she wants to continue to provide. So recently, Pam had to make a tough choice in order to target her efforts.

“I retired from my side hustle as a swimming coach this year,” she says. “I’ve loved it, and I still volunteer with the team, but it was time to pass the baton.”

Back in 2020, Pam’s goal was to “be a wise advisor, trusted referral, and shoulder to lean on” in the years ahead. Based on her education in these high-performance essentials, it’s clear that her clients are in great hands.