“Ballet taught me many lessons about commitment and discipline,” says broker Krysti Cioch of Platinum Partners REALTORSⓇ in Downers Grove. “It not only taught me to work hard for myself, but also for the people around me. When you commit to things like that it involves everyone around you, and you all have to work toward the same common goal.”

Growing up in Richmond, Illinois, a small town on the border of Wisconsin, Krysti watched closely as her mother, a first grade teacher, and her father, a local business owner, engrained themselves into their community. Her parents became her models for how to interact and engage with people.

“My dad is a natural-born salesman and is the person who showed me how to talk to people,” she says. “To this day I go to my dad for advice about running my business and to brainstorm sales tactics for trickier properties.”

In junior high, Krysti began competitive dance and ballet. Inspired by her own ability and by her studio director, Tina Lendman, Krysti went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in dance performance from Northern Illinois University. Tina was another early influencer in Krysti’s approach to people and business.

“Tina was always great at multitasking; I learned how to tackle multiple problems at once from her,” says Krysti. “As an adult, I can now see how much she was doing behind-the-scenes while still being the most caring and nurturing human to her students. Tina was never too busy for her students.”

After college, Krysti jumped into the hospitality industry. For five years, she served as the sales director and off-site coordinator for Honest Foods Catering. The company primarily catered for the casts and crews of TV shows and commercials, but Krysti helped Honest Foods expand into weddings and other events. The job was physically demanding and time intensive—she worked sixty to ninety hours per week—but she found it rewarding, and it allowed her to develop strong organizational skills. 

Next, she moved to an events role at a prominent Chicago restaurant—another intense position that brought her close to burn out. And when her closest aunt was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it forced Krysti to reflect on her priorities.

“I remember getting on the elevator at work on the first day of her chemo [treatment], and realizing how crazy it was to be so stressed about helping people plan dinners and parties when the people I love had real problems,” says Krysti. “My clients had very high expectations and we frequently lost sight of the purpose: to break bread and spend time with the people who are important to you. I wanted to make a change in my life, but had no idea what to do.”

Around this same time Krysti and her husband, Josh, began talking about starting a family. It was clear the sixty-hour workweeks and late nights were not a long-term option, so Krysti explored many career possibilities, eventually settling on real estate because of its match to her organization and personal connection-building skills. She saw it also would allow her the flexibility to balance her work life and personal life.

“I had a picture in my mind of the kind of mom I wanted to be, and that didn’t include working long hours every week in an office,” says Krysti. “I wanted to be home for bedtime. I wanted to be the classroom helper. I wanted to do all the little things that I knew would slip between the cracks if I didn’t switch careers.”

At the beginning of her journey in real estate, Krysti juggled building her network while also working as a restaurant server in the evenings. When she became pregnant, she took naps in her car between jobs. All told, she’d worked both jobs full-time for two years before the COVID pandemic shut down much of the hospitality industry. While we all faced a nerve-racking and uncertain future at that time, “I was also a scared new mom,” explains Krysti: her son, Jamison, was born in May of 2020.

It was around this time when REALTORⓇ Sabrina Glover first approached Krysti with the idea of joining her team. “I’d spent a good amount of time self-reflecting on what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. Sabrina and I had a very honest conversation and I committed to the Glover Team. It was the best decision I could have made,” affirms Krysti.

She ended up having a successful 2021 on her new team, and she became its Chicago expert. Since then, Krysti has leaned into being a mentee of Sabrina, Diane Coyle, and her other agent colleagues. She’s learned a lot in this very short time, including that she can still depend on her instincts, strong communication skills, and the lessons gleaned from her past experiences.

When not developing herself and her business, Krysti shares a passion for adventure with her husband. The pair have explored many national parks—even getting engaged, married, and honeymooning in different park locations—and are US National Parks enthusiasts. Since Jamison was born, they haven’t been able to get to as many distant destinations—they do more “car camping” these days. However, they stay active in their new community—they recently relocated from Chicago to the suburbs—including getting involved in local toy drives and charity events. 

“My mom has always joked that I’m not happy unless I’m doing twelve things at once,” says Krysti. “Real estate is at the center of everything I do. It’s just great that I get to do that and the other things I want to do, while helping people with such a major life event.”