Leah is a wife, mom, business owner, friend, student of life, worked in banking and retail management combined for 14yrs, then into real estate she went and the rest is HISTORY!
<insert high five here!>
But let’s have some REAL TALK. The entire time spent working for corporate salaried roles that placed so much demand on the 40 hour work week that you were still working 50-60 hours into for half time pay- really is BANANAS! I mean, running on empty after putting in the time, managing people, hiring/firing, schedules, financial variables, little time to myself or for focus of anything else, etc.
At times I thought about how to just make side money but there was no time or energy left AND still felt like there was more MONTH left at the end of the money. Did you catch that? I said--- there was more time in the month left to still pay pay pay out but the income was no more money.
MORE MONTH at the END OF THE MONEY.
Besides-after all that hard work and learning from an executive that if I had not taken a certain move to a new location that they would have laid me off at the ripe age of 23, because they measured locations on profitability and mine was the highest salary?
These realizations spun me into something even crazier! As many were getting out of the market—I decided to dive into the market of the housing crash <insert jaw drop> and I said---I know I can do this Real Estate thing. Lord. Give me $10k in my bank account, I’ll put in my 2 weeks notice, and I’ll go make it back.
Like really? BUT wait- I was one of the top performing in the region- why on earth would a company do such?
Successfully, I did that at age 27. Got my first property under contract to buy/sell and it was a 4 unit apartment building in the neighborhood of Churchill, Richmond Virginia. I also found Jesus at age 27.
Between Jesus and me and my partner at that time, we had our tiny faith magnified when we made our investment double. We made our first seller so happy to get out of a huge problem with his building in complete distress, upside down on his mortgage, & the condition needed high leveI repairs. We found the buyer ourselves. We closed with an attorney who terrified me. As did all the situations I saw happening in that market. It was just all very loomy doomy.
Many people lost their life savings, all they’d worked for, and were starting all over. They lost their health, relationships, bank accounts, possessions, their hope in humanity, and suicide was on the rise like never before.
I got into this business when many were getting out during the last foreclosure boom and I knew if I could swim in it and make it out alive that God would confirm whether I was to remain assigned to this career or not.
Ha! And guess what—I wanted to run away from it! Many lost BIG and many have waited it out for this current cycle we are in for making strides towards some of the greatest financial breakthroughs of their lifetime. For nearly 10 years, people have called or been referred to me or appeared before me ready to receive direction and wisdom concerning real estate and needed vision for what was possible. So guess what? That was my sign. As long as I had someone to serve, I stayed in real estate and learning it from many angles. I knew I was to remain after years later, my husband and I would meet. He and I know HOMES. More on him another time. He’s so funny, cool, and smart- he needs his own special introduction. 10 years now, after this year, of working this crazy industry AND I have grown to love it and be good at it.
There’s also something to be said about you needing to be surrounded by people who will help you see the value of the things you might be overlooking in your life and business. Some of us just need vision. We get into our routine, our grind, our pursuits, and we even do this crazy thing like HOPE we get to meet our own expectations of our lives YET we can’t see past what is our current circumstances. We might even be in a season of being STUCK. Maybe even depression. Please let me be someone you connect with to help you see the light of day. You need someone to help you CATCH a DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE! How about a friend that will be there when stuff hits the fan and you either have no one or want no one to know- yes, I’m the friend in ALL of my circles that they come to for wisdom and heart and encouragement. This is just as much a gift to me to be there for my people as much as they need the right person in their corner.
I have been in the pits of despair before as well as seasons of high tide and increase.
All while growing our business, trying to grow our little family too. Many do not know that we have had 3 pregnancies total, of them our first son was born too early, our second- God gave us our Miracle daughter Presley Joy, and latest pregnancy we lost was early 2018. These blows were not just physical but emotional and took a toll on our health and outlook on life as we knew it. This year is a bit of a rebirth for us, a redesign, and a complete reset to the way we are functioning. It is REVELATION seasons like this that help give you the FULL perspective WITH FIERCE CLARITY on what’s truly important and what the priorities are. This type of REVELATION will line up your passions, purpose, potential, and profits---like no other! The most important lifeline---is the Power from PRAYER and who your people are in that season. Stay charged up!