We all need a break in life, it’s what you do with that break that determines your success.

Why I got into real estate!

This one is a long one ya’ll so hang tight…

My husband and I moved to Mississippi in April of 2016. Ok, I moved here to be with him, the Navy had already taken and placed him here… At the time I had a great job and was moving up within it, but knowing I was leaving I got my Dental Assistant’s Certification. Since I was in dental sales, I figured this would help me to land a better job when I moved.

BOY WAS I WRONG. Many dental assistants here get paid minimum wage. I hadn’t seen that number in a LONG time, no was I going back! So, I started applying for sales positions. I found several car dealerships that were hiring and really was intrigued by this. I met a gentleman at one, Steve at Preston Hood, and he and I got to talking. This job sounded like a perfect fit. I put in my resume, I called to follow up and I finally landed an interview. I thought I nailed it, but still wasn’t hired on. So now that I WANTED this job, I called Steve and mentioned I hadn’t heard back. A few days later, I was starting! Not sure if he really played a role or not, but I like to think so.

I soon was on my way to learning all about Chevrolet and car sales. A couple successful salesman and the management team really helped to teach me the art of the negotiation, how to handle myself and how to really help people who needed cars. I LOVED it. The money was good, the job was fun and the crew of people were pretty great. The potential you can make in car sales is uncapped, so knowing I could grow as I saw fit was amazing. We started paying things off, paid my car off 3 years early, could afford nicer things. It was great.

It was not however a job with hours conducive to having a family. So, when I got pregnant, as I got bigger and more uncomfortable, even crying at work (so unlike me, looking back it’s pretty comical) I knew it was coming time to leave. The long hours and a soon to be deployed husband made for an impossible combination with child care. I finally left in October. I was sad to go, I really loved it and am so grateful for the opportunities. I actually stay in touch with any of the people there to this day, and have purchased (most ) of our vehicles from them.

So where does that get me into real estate!? When I had just started at Preston Hood is when I met my first real estate client. He purchased a used vehicle and needed it brought back to his home. He needed to bring me back to work, so on the way we had a chance to chat. At the end of it he told me I really needed to be in real estate. I sort of laughed it off, that just wasn’t for me…

We kept in touch, as a great salesperson does, and over the time he mentioned real estate investing. This is actually something my family had dabbled in, so while I didn’t know much about it, it was somewhat familiar. He offered to show me a bit of what that was, even potentially helping us break into it. While it wasn’t the right time, we continued to stay in touch.

I ended up in marketing over at Jimmy John’s, where I’d worked for years back in Wisconsin. While I liked it, I knew there was something more for me. Finally, I called my now client and friend, to tell him “I need to be in real estate.” So here we are. He has continued to teach me the art of real estate. He’s watched me start out, to excel. He’s been there at the first company and has come with as I transitioned to having a Property Management company and changed brokerages.

We continue to do deals together, and now we’re learning from one another.

We all need a break in life, it’s what you do with that break that determines your success.