It takes a tremendous amount of faith and effort to take the risk of changing jobs. We are stuck to our habits and daily routines and even when facing unhappiness in some aspect of life, many lack the courage to make a change.
Realty Executives Premier's Angie Shirley took the fear and doubt that comes with change and pushed it aside to go from one career to an ultimately more successful one in real estate. Her journey began when she and her husband owned seven rental properties and wished to purchase a new home. Through the advice of her friend, she was told to rent out her current home and purchase a new one.
"We ended up buying a home from my friend and it was my husband who at the time, casually suggested that I enter the real estate business," says Shirley. "I didn't really know anything about real estate at the time, but my friend told me that through my renting experience that I already knew everything that I needed to know, the rest could be learned."
At the time, Shirley managed her father's business, Lake Station Pet Clinic. Despite spending several years working there alongside her father, she could not deny the unhappiness that she had with her job.
"My dad was really passionate about his job and he always told us that we should have a job that we have a passion for," says Shirley. "However after spending time working there, I never found the calling for the job that he had."
This began Shirley's path to becoming certified in selling real estate. She quit her job and dedicated her days to taking online classes to earn her license.
"It was a full-time job for me," says Shirley. "I would take classes from 7 am to 3 pm, help the kids with their homework, go to bed and repeat the same thing again the next day."
Shirley kept up this frantic pace in an attempt to quickly earn her license and begin working. She was able to finish her classes in only two and a half weeks and on April 1, 2013, she passed her classes and earned her license.
"I initially planned on working with my friend who started me on this path but due to her experiencing family emergencies with three separate family members, that could not happen," says Shirley. "She gave me her blessing and told me to start interviewing with other brokers."
Shirley went to several brokers who gave her less than encouraging advice on how to succeed in the industry, telling her that it was a sink or swim business and she would be left on her own to work and attempt to find success.
Feeling discouraged, Shirley contacted her friend again who pointed her in the direction of Realty Executives Premier based on positive word of mouth.
"I went to interview with Mike and was told that I was going to be a superstar," says Shirley. "Mike was very encouraging, he told me that I had what it took and that they would not let me fail. It was black compared to white from the other brokers I interviewed with."
Shirley was immediately suggested by Mike that she should be put on a team rather than working solo. She was then matched with one of the top producers of Realty Execs, Karl Wehle.
"It wasn't necessarily the smoothest of introductions," says Shirley. " Our personalities differed and were about as far as you could get on the personality spectrum," says Shirley. "Now that I know him, I understand what he is looking for. He started out on his own and overcame hard times to succeed so he looked at me as a mirror of himself 10 years ago. We have a much better rapport now and both have learned to work together and stick it out to gain mutual benefit."
For Shirley, working with Realty Execs has been the fulfilling experience that she has always looked for. For her, the success found in Realty Executives and its agents comes from Owner Mike Tezak's ability to recruit strong willed and like-minded individuals.
"Mike does a great job choosing the right people for this job from the get-go," says Shirley. "You have to be motivated, self-disciplined and not rely on step by step walkthroughs as much as being the kind of person to take it and go. You have to be a good student, you have to be inquisitive and ready to learn."