On October 30th of 2015, I started my daily weekday routine. I got in my car at 5:30 am and drove an hour and a half to work where I was a Marketing department head for a pharmaceutical company. That morning was like any other morning. It was a Friday and I was glad to see the long week come to an end.
When I arrived at work, it was anything but an ordinary day. I had an 8 am meeting with my business unit head and I was surprised when I showed up that HR was present in the room. I was then told that the organization would no longer be in need of my services and I should pack up my things.
Just like that.. I was SHOCKED!
I packed up my things and proceeded to cry the entire ride home. I knew rationally that this event was the best thing for me. I was tired of the commute and being away from my family for travel. But to end a long successful career on such a sour note was heartbreaking to me. I had given up so much for my career over the years. Time away from my family and my daughter. I arrived home and my husband, always positive said it was “GREAT NEWS.” He even greeted me with Champagne and said..”welcome home.” It was time for me to take my foot off the gas and relax. I had spent 20 years supporting our family it was time for “me.”
For anyone that knows me, I am not one to “relax.” John (my husband) and I had started investing in real estate as a side business so I threw myself into a flip project we had started. It was a cute house on Carmerville Rd. in Wall. So every day I worked on that house and agonized over why this happened and what I should do next. I DID NOT want to go back to the corporate world. I just couldn’t take the travel. I also took a big ego hit. For the majority of my adult life, I was a marketing executive, and now, WHAT AM I?
Everyone encouraged me to get my real estate license. I loved real estate. We were investing in it anyway, so I did. I didn’t think I would be an agent but thought I would just use it for our own investment purposes. So I got my license and attended some classes. I started to try my hand at some transactions to see if I liked it. I actually found that I LOVED it. It was marketing and selling something that I actually LOVED, homes! I knew how to market and sell, I did it for pharmaceuticals for 20 years. But now it was in my own community, and I was meeting people in my own neighborhood. All the things that I LOVE TO DO.
Starting from the ground up at something new is not an easy task. I went from an executive with a large team working for me to a salesperson working for myself. I actually started to get listings very quickly. I did it by Door KNOCKING on homes that had not sold the first time. That is right, knocking on someone’s door that I did not know to introduce myself!! It took guts, but I found that people were so nice. I met so many people that I actually have stayed friends with, (ie..Maria Fontana.)
Over the next year, I came to learn, that layoff, had nothing to do with me personally. The company announced the division shut down and all my colleagues were unfortunately also displaced.
What I also came to understand, was this was something that was best for me. It had to happen the hard way because I would not have had the GUTS to make this change on my own. It came with a big emotional struggle but with that struggle came learning and growth.
Every morning now, I wake up in my own bed and have breakfast with my husband and daughter. That is something I had not done for 13 years. I get to meet people in my own neighborhood as opposed to working over an hour away. And I get to help people buy and sell the biggest investment of their lives. Something I do myself, so I can share my knowledge and experience with people in my community. I work as long and as hard as I did in the corporate world, but it is integrated into my life. It is in my community with the people that matter to me
I actually LOVE doing open houses and did 42 of them last year alone!! I just completed my 4th year as an agent and I sold $19M in real estate in 2019, over 33 transactions. I am the #1 single agent at KW Spring Lake and KW East Monmouth offices. But more importantly, I have made more friends in my community and am living a richer and happier life, close to home, with my family. Sorry for the long message, it has taken me 4 years to have the courage to write this. I see too many people stuck that want to make a change. You can do it!!
Want to make a career change? Give me a call any time. I am happy to help.
You can do it!! (908)720-1877