Today we’d like to introduce you to Naomi Rae Harmon.
Naomi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I left Chicago at the age of 23 years old to move to Vegas to be the “Real Estate Queen” and to get closer to my father who has always lived there since I was a child. I packed up my 2-door Mitsubishi Eclipse and my brother and I drove 30 hours to Las Vegas. I quickly became independent, got a job, rented a townhouse and purchased a really nice blue Toyota after three months of living with my dad and going crazy, lol. I started out in commercial property management and eventually became a REALTOR after failing the real estate test twice. The “Third time is a charm” saying is seriously true. Nothing could stop me, I was determined to have a career and run my own life at the age of 26 years old. I had soooo many ups and downs with real estate, but I was in love with it and sometimes reaped the benefits and other times suffered the consequences of living on inconsistent commission payments while also living in a town where I barely knew anyone. I kept working hard at it and eventually at the age of 30 years old, I decided to go back to school for project management, and at that time I went back to work in commercial property management, joined my first and last pageant lol, lost 45 lbs on the Keto diet, and changed my full name. 2019 was a life-changing year to say the least. While in school, I got my dream Job in Construction as a construction project manager in training, and then in March 2020, I was laid off of because of the pandemic, and my life had changed dramatically. I was stuck in the house, bored out of my mind and could no longer sit around and wait for the world to change, so I took my career into my own hands.
I signed up for a freelance project-based website called Upwork, perfected my profile and started taking on random projects as a freelance project manager. This new career allowed me to make a Covid impulsive decision to move to Atlanta, with the hopes of getting back into real estate at the same time as freelancing. Freelancing eventually led to my niche in project management consulting and in another area with implementing a well-known project management tool called Asana. I eventually perfected my Upwork profile and got really good at consulting with business owners helping them manage their team, streamline their business processes and implement software such as Asana to manage all of their work and tasks. After two years of consistent hard work and long nights with sometimes just a few hours of sleep, I now own a small project management firm called Madison Rae Consulting. I help clients do all of what’s mentioned above and more and I really love my job. I love helping people find solutions to their frustrations, I love helping teams learn to be more productive in their collaborative work environments and I still very much love Real estate and helping families. I had gotten too busy to utilize my Georgia real estate license but because of my passion for real estate, I will be reactivating it in the next few months and will continue to run my business, get back into real estate and do the things I love to do most.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Moving across the country to Las Vegas was a huge struggle. I had to meet new friends, start a new career that was based on sales, commission and knowing people and just completely start over. Sometimes my commissions were great and other times, I wasn’t sure of how I was going to pay rent, car note and other bills. I went into a small depression while in Vegas for a couple of weeks wondering why and how I was working so hard and diligently for 4 years, but wasn’t getting the results I wanted and or felt I deserved. Bills sometimes piled up over my head, my favorite car had gotten repoed in my mid twenties, and living on a single girl income/unstable commissions had gotten too stressful. I had to figure out a different plan and needed something more stable if I was going to go back to school. I basically had to go back to the drawing board without feeling beat down, unaccomplished and defeated. Starting all over again was a struggle. I was really hard on myself for a while and disappeared from friends because everyone thought I was living a dream life in Las Vegas as a REALTOR and that life was perfect. They didn’t see the struggles I went through on the backend and I wasn’t comfortable sharing that with a lot of people because I motivated so many, so I dealt with my struggles alone with the help of 1 or 2 close friends. I had encouraged so many people and always reminded them to never give up, yet again, I felt like I was kind of giving up by putting a hold on my Real Estate career.
The pandemic brought on the next struggle, as it did for millions of people. I was laid off from my dream job, in the house going crazy and was over Vegas. The next struggle was moving across the country again for the 2nd time but this time to Atlanta in July of 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. I had to find my way around, meet new people and start over again while maintaining my commission based career as a freelance project manager. If I don’t take on projects, I don’t eat. It’s always hard work and always a never ending hustle, but I absolutely love what I do. Each time I go back to the drawing board its a struggle, but I get better and learn more, each time.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Madison Rae Consulting?
I own a small project management firm called Madison Rae Consulting. I help entrepreneurs and small businesses organize and streamline their backend office to eliminate manual work so they can focus on more important tasks such as generating income. I also offer V.I.P services such as strategic planning and time management & planning, helping to increase productivity. I’m an Asana pro and I implement a work/project management tool called Asana which I also train on. With this tool, I Integrate, Streamline and Automate a variety of business software to save them time and increase productivity. I love systems and helping people find solutions to their frustrations, I love helping teams learn to be more productive in their collaborative work environments and I still very much love Real estate and helping families. I had gotten too busy to utilize my Georgia real estate license but because of my passion for real estate, I will be reactivating it in the next few months and will continue to run my business, get back into real estate and do the things I love to do most.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Starting out, if I knew I needed tough, resilient skin to get through the cold snowstorms in business, I would’ve wore my heavy leather coat, lol. My advice is to not be afraid to fail. The more you fail, the more likely your chances are of seeing success down the road. In business, you will get HELLA No’s, but with No’s eventually come yes’s. Also, to be consistent, if you’re not someone who can start and then finish something then your chances of being a successful Entrepreneur will be decreased. Everyone wants to be an Entrepreneur, but no-one wants to be broke, no one wants to fail, no-one wants to be uncomfortable and unsure of when their next dollar is coming. These are some of the struggles that come with entrepreneurship. It’s not for everyone and it isn’t meant to be, but if you can find something you are passionate about and enjoy doing even if you’re not paid for it, then this thing may be your next business venture if there is a need for it in the market. Again, Stay consistent, Stay consistent and Stay consistent lol. Many times you will find yourself working and unsure of where it’s going and or if it will turn out to be something great, helpful to others and profitable. The answer is in doing. Once you’re doing that amazing thing that you love doing, you will find all your answers within it. Last but not least, I will leave you with my favorite quote and last piece of advice “Do or do not… There is no try” -Yoda-
Contact Info:
- Email: Hello@madisonraeconsulting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealnaomirae
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MRCbusiness
- Other: Inquire about my services > https://bit.ly/3EQwYKu
Image Credits
Photographer: Jlavii Photography- Atlanta, GA Hair Stylist: Latoya Morris – A Nu You Hair Studio in Las Vegas
