Conversations with the Inspiring Jamie Douglas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Douglas.

Jamie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Waco, Texas, where the majority of my family still resides. I grew up in a middle-class home but was surrounded by family members that were homeowners and builders. I was too young to realize the full benefits of owning a home but I did think it was pretty cool to have something that was completely yours and knew one day that I wanted to achieve the same goal. I moved to Atlanta when I was 13 with my mother and was blown away by the diversity Atlanta has to offer as well as the opportunities available here. My first love was for fashion design so after graduating high school, I attended the Art Institute of Atlanta where I studied Fashion Marketing and Management. During this time, I had ran into some then up and coming artists in Atlanta and started designing clothing and shoes for them which I then created a business out of it. It was such a great time and it really gave me the opportunity early on to discover and learn how to run a business at just 18 years old.

Due to some unfortunate family issues, I had to drop out of college after only attending a few semesters. This was soo heartbreaking as I was young and really wanted to finish school but just didn’t have all the resources available to me. I took some time off and began working in the retail industry which ended up changing my views on where I wanted my career to go. I always knew I had a love for homes and designing so I decided to enroll myself in real estate school. While working two part-time jobs, I knew it would take A LOT of determination and focus to successfully pass real estate school along with the state exam. How heartbroken I was to learn that I failed the first attempt for my real estate license by one question! A question that I had timed out on. Discouraged but yet still determined, I decided that I was not going to give up after coming this far and paid the money to take the test for a second time. I don’t remember my score but all I remembered is that I passed!

As fellow realtors would know, it is not an easy business to jump into as you have no REAL official training and if you’re lucky enough, will start off with a brokerage that offers compliance review and training opportunities for its agents. I have held my license with Keller Williams ever since the beginning of my career and must say that was the best choice I made as a new agent. Sometimes, I still feel like a new agent as there is always something new to learn about the market and every situation is not the same.

I love to use my social media platform as a way to expand my business and meet new people. I’ve also enrolled myself back into school at the Savannah College of Art and Design for my interior design degree. I plan to one day merge both my real estate career and interior designing knowledge into one business. Throughout it all, it has been a long journey to get here but I am excited to see where my path leads me.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
From growing up in a single parent home, leaving my family at an early age, to being liable for my own career and college expenses, I’ve had many setbacks and challenges but my main focus always remained the same and that was to keep my eye on the target. The only failure in life is when you decide to completely give up on yourself.

My advice for young women just starting their journey would be to find your voice. Unfortunately, women are still looked as inferior to men but I believe if we garnish the confidence to be able to make decisions and hold tight on them, we can overcome any roadblock. I love listening to Oprah’s podcast. She and her guests on the show offers great advice for not only women but anyone in seek of creating and maintaining a healthy and positive lifestyle.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I have been a licensed real estate agent in Georgia for four years now. I specialize in the metro Atlanta areas as well as communities outside of the perimeter. I’m most proud of my career by knowing that I love what I do. I genuinely enjoy helping others and making their dreams manifest. I conduct buyer and seller consultations to gain an in-depth vision of what THEY are looking for and will search high and low until I have found the right fit for them. If they are not quite ready to make the big step into homeownership, I feel it is my duty to provide them with the tools to make this happen in the future. I’ll occasionally conduct follow up conversations to make sure they are on the right path and if my assistance is needed in any way. What sets me apart from others is that I believe in being myself with everyone that I meet. I want my client to feel as if they are working with a friend or family member (while being professional of course) and that we can talk and chat about anything.

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
I’ve always wanted a mentor but have yet to find one, which is on my list of things to accomplish for 2019. I definitely believe it is important to have someone that is an example of what you aspire to be one day guiding you through your life and career. There are some agents that I follow on social media who inspire me and I make sure to tune into all their posts and informative videos as I have gained such knowledge by just watching.

Contact Info:

• Website: jamiedouglas.yourkwagent.com
• Email: jamiedouglas@kw.com
• Instagram: atlrealtorjamie

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