I started a new project with a real estate friend, Virginia, and we are so excited about bringing it to life. One of the things we shared was how we each got started in real estate. I thought I'd share the transcript from a video we created - so you can read my story. Note that I did some light editing and removed some "ummms".
...So I grew up in Bakersfield, California, AKA the armpit of California. I actually had a really beautiful childhood and teenage experience there, but when I graduated, I headed to the beach because I did not want to be in the valley any longer. I went to school at the beach in California (Cal Poly, SLO - BS in Business Administration), and when I graduated, we were in a recession and there were no jobs to be had. Note: I was supposed to go into real estate - but the firms at that time did not feel like my vibe - I was interested in a more creative path.
So I took a little journey to Europe--a little backpacking journey. And while I was there, I met this woman who worked for a company that did marketing all over the United States. The travel bug had bit me (I never really traveled much growing up). And I knew I wanted to travel more; I wanted to explore. And she said, "Oh, you should work for my company. It's a marketing travel job, basically".
And so I got a job at that company (Super Marketing, Inc) and I roamed all around the United States flying from here to there and there to here. And they would just send me a plane ticket and I'd pick up a pager and a car and off I'd go. It was really fun. But then ultimately I ended up in Southern California and then I moved to San Francisco, which had always been a dream of mine: to live in a big city and be in the marketing, advertising, branding world. And so I worked as a Project Manager for about a decade (give or take), and I got laid off during the dot bomb, and I thought, ...it's time for a career shift! And I'd always loved fashion and style and shopping, so I decided to open up a women's clothing boutique (ooma) and it was the most fun thing in San Francisco.
All my friends would come visit me. I got to shop for a living. It was amazing. But then I got married and got pregnant and we visited some friends who lived here in Portland. And we just fell in love with it. One of the things I always loved about San Francisco was the little micro neighborhoods and all the little cute restaurants and shops that I enjoyed.
And then I came to Portland and realized they also had that here. You know, these little cute neighborhoods with their local businesses (and I'm a huge local business person as a small business owner throughout most of my life). And so we decided to move here and then I was a SAHM for a little bit and then I opened up another boutique called Troolie (stationary/gift shop) and that just didn't work out as I had hoped.
I had a chat with one of my girlfriends while traveling in Mexico. I was at a crossroads and wondering "What should I do next?" And she said, I don't know why you don't get into real estate. And I thought, well, duh....I mean my whole family's in real estate. My dad sold real estate most of my life. And I always admired his profession and the flexibility he had and the way he truly helped people.
And so I decided to get my license and started here at Think Real Estate, and this is definitely my favorite career so far. I love it so much. There are so many facets about it that I could go on forever, but suffice it to say, I love it.