My Journey
SendThroughout my professional life, I’ve played many roles throughout many different industries – but all related to sales and marketing. I’m definitely not the girl who started her career in one field and will stick with it through retirement. In fact, I think in today’s digital world that model is tough to follow – especially when marketing and sales is your bread and butter.
You have to be ready, willing and able to adjust. And I have.
That said, I put my toe into the waters of self-employment when I got into real estate in 2002. Admittedly, I didn’t have the entrepreneur fire inside – not yet. And in 2004 I had an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I spent the next several years at a Corporate Marketing job for a Fortune 150 title company. In my years there, part of my role was to design and teach marketing programs, courses, and major seminars for real estate agents. The other aspect of my career was one on one coaching for agents.
It was amazingly fun, but let’s face it. I had a little taste of entrepreneurial freedom. After a couple of years back in the Corporate World, I was looking for a way to go back out on my own. But you know, times were good and the paychecks were large – and steady! So it was difficult to really push myself back out there.
Until the why became big enough.
I was a single mom, working hard to give my daughters a good life. 10-15 hour work days were the norm. I was providing well financially, but missing out on quality time with them. Then my youngest had her Kindergarten graduation. And I had a corporate event scheduled for that same day – and tried though I might, I couldn’t find anyone to cover for me and I couldn’t cancel.
So I missed it. And I was devastated.
And determined.
Determined that I was going to change my story. Determined to change the story for my two daughters. I didn’t want them growing up with an absentee mom. But I still had to provide.
What’s a girl to do?
She’s to go into business for herself, that’s what.
One of the tools I had begun recommending to my coaching clients was a relationship marketing tool called Send Out Cards. They had an option to become a distributor, and I jumped on board.
In November 2007, I left my Corporate American J-O-B and went out on my own working with small to mid-sized businesses on their marketing and follow up systems. And over the years, I’ve coached thousands of small business owners in their relationship marketing. Throughout that time, I’ve also continued to help clients buy and sell real estate. Ups and downs along the way, to be sure. But ultimately I found success both as a marketing coach and a Realtor.
In 2014, I took my skills as a coach and combined them with my years in the real estate industry and formed Team Three 23. As of right now, I’m blessed to lead a team of amazing real estate agents in the Flagstaff and Scottsdale markets in Arizona.
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve found a way to really have a hand in several businesses and be successful with all of it! I call it a Lifestyle Career. I’m not in an industry, I’ve taken my skills and knowledge in several arenas and combined them into getting paid to live the life I love.
So the Card Everyone Project fits into all of this perfectly.
Because as a Coach, I have the benefit of promoting several different platforms and tools to clients to help them achieve their goals. Relationship management with tools like Send Out Cards or email marketing systems help clients build report and trust with their current customers and new prospects. Reputation management with programs like Real Time Reviews help business owners gain trust from anyone researching their businesses – and their competitors!
Of course, as the Lead Agent of a real estate team, we practice what we preach. I personally use the systems that I promote to run a successful real estate business.
What does ALL of this have in common?
The need to maintain relationships.
And the only way to gain or grow business relationships is through connecting – and reconnecting – with real live people.
So let’s dig into the box. Each of these business cards represents a business relationship. Let’s find out what it takes to reconnect and grow these relationships once again!