West Virginia. I moved to Georgia in my early 20s, followed by Florida. I went back to college in Florida while raising a three-year-old and a six-month-old. My career in healthcare began there, and I traveled to 200 sites in over 20 states, living in Chicago for a while, as well. I’ve been in Pennsylvania for 20 years now.  

 

My family is my “why.” I have two children and two grandchildren. My daughter lives in New Cumberland and is expecting our next granddaughter. My son and daughter-in-law, stationed at Langley in Virginia, are moving to Germany for three years in June. My boyfriend's 24-year-old daughter and her fiancé live in Indiana, just across the river from Louisville, Kentucky, where she works for a CBS affiliate. When not working, I love to travel with my boyfriend and family.

 

I started as a medical assistant and worked with a physician from New Jersey. He hired me right out of my externship, and I ended up running the internal medicine practice. I eventually left that job and continued my career in long-term care.

 

In essence, I've been selling real estate my whole adult career. I started as the admissions director and was promoted to regional vice president. That's when I was transferred to Pennsylvania and became a district VP, then corporate VP of business development. When you are working on the admissions side for a long-term care company, you are selling clients a little piece of real estate in a facility, or you're selling them an apartment, townhome, or cottage. Or they're buying into a community.

My skills in business development, revenue generation, C-suite relationships, contract negotiation, and market expertise all translated seamlessly into real estate. I've done large acquisition due diligence, and you just become a market expert. One of the very first things I did when I was in a new market was drive around, stop at different locations, and just talk to people. And I always made friends with the bartender. (laughs) They will tell you everything.

 

I have three passions in this business. I love the first-time homebuyers. I don't think that we as a society do a very good job of teaching people how to build generational wealth through real estate. Next, I love the other end of the spectrum, the downsizers. I have a senior real estate specialist designation, and I love working with seniors. And I love my veterans. 85% of my business is veteran.

 

Seniors who are selling their homes are sifting through a lifetime of memories. As a real estate agent, you have to have a lot of empathy and compassion. When you're talking with someone and they are angry, you have to understand that they're not angry at you; they're angry at the situation. This is a process that can't be rushed. And there are just so many people out there who scam the elderly, so they're very wary. My focus is on building relationships and becoming a trusted resource for them.

 

I was transferred 20 years ago for a promotion. My end goal was always real estate, and I had plans to open brokerages in different areas. After a series of personal losses, I moved to be with my mom, ultimately deciding to pursue real estate sooner than planned. I received my license in July of 2019.

 

About six months in, I looked at my boyfriend and said, “I think for the first time in my life, I'm going to fail.” And he said, “I have never worried about you not being successful. Just give it a little more time.” This is an industry rife with rejection, and it's a slow build. It took me some time to gain momentum. Then the floodgates opened.

 

I started focusing on the business development fundamentals I had taught in my previous career. Initially, I didn't have a sphere of influence due to constant travel. Social media played a significant role, and I reached out to those who engaged with my posts. In the beginning, it was a lot of first-time home buyers. And really, first-time home buyers are awesome for new agents because you learn together. Referrals and a partnership with Veterans United are now driving my business.

 

The doomsday folks say real estate agents are a thing of the past, but I really hope people are not that gullible. However, I do think we are headed toward a more tech-enriched environment, with cloud-based scenarios becoming more prevalent. 
 
 And I think we need to get over the hump of the traditional brokerage. Part of the reason I left my last brokerage was that I spent my time working for a company that was privately held, and I was responsible for top-line revenue generation. I eventually went someplace where I could keep the money I earned. When people are more open to different ways of doing business and using technology, it’s refreshing. I think we’re going to see more producers moving in that direction.