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Life and Work with Stacy Davis

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy Davis.

Stacy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Well, I didn’t necessarily think I’d be a Realtor. I thought I’d be a lawyer! In fact, I was a lawyer – and still am – in Tennessee. I worked in litigation for the State of Tennessee and later for a national hospital group; managing litigation for their corporate office and their hospitals across the country. While I was studying for the Bar Exam, I remember an old boss saying something like, “I don’t know why you’re even studying for that. Why don’t you take your real estate exam instead?” Even at that time, I was always studying the real estate market to see what new listings were coming on the market and what houses were selling for what price. I was sending co-workers housing searches when they didn’t even know they were in the market for a new house! I found the transactional piece of real estate fascinating and loved finding the perfect property for the perfect person.

In 2009, I decided to get my real estate license and I’ve been a Realtor ever since. For the first few years, I found it was easy enough to provide services to my clients outside of my legal business hours since most of my clients were also working professionals and could really only meet to look at properties at nights and on weekends. As I was able to grow my business and my clients demanded more of my time, the side hustle became a little more difficult. I was at a crossroads: stay in a corporate environment and continue down the legal path or grow my business and see how successful I could make it. I took the leap of faith and I haven’t looked back since! I absolutely love what I do! I work with the most wonderful, supportive people at Ansley Atlanta Real Estate and truly can’t imagine a more fulfilling career with a better team.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Obstacles! Where to start?! I graduated law school in 2008 – meaning I took the Bar Exam and was eligible to be hired on as a lawyer in the fall of 2008… truly the worst time to be a new lawyer with no experience looking for a job! It’s really amazing that a managerial role at Abercrombie & Fitch didn’t get my foot in the door at more law firms! And then, I decided that 2009 is the best time to start a role as a new real estate agent! The economy at the time was so terrible. Looking back at how people ran their businesses then compared to how they run their businesses now (in a great economy) – it’s really unbelievable. In 2009, the lack of cooperation amongst agents and the inability to get people to help you really learn the business was so different because other agents were competing for every little piece of the pie. The market was just so terrible. On top of that, once I did get my business really up and going – my husband’s job moved us from Nashville to Atlanta, so I had to re-learn a completely different market. I essentially had to start all over – new clients from the ground up, new forms, new rules, new everything! In each situation, I know the best thing I’ve done is surround myself with people who are teachers. I am a natural learner. I want to soak up information. Finding people who will let me learn from them has proven invaluable. Some people advise finding a mentor. I think if that works for you, go for it! But I like to have a number of different people I can call, email, and lean on for advice and who will teach me and carry me. I absolutely believe you can’t get to where you’re doing as a party of one. I need all the help I can get and when someone offers you a lifeline – take it!

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’ve been a Realtor for nine years. In 2019, I’ll celebrate a decade selling real estate; that’s really special to me! When I look back on that time, I’m proud of the services I’ve provided to my clients and the integrity I’ve brought to the transactions I’ve been a part of. I have some of the best clients and they’ve trusted me with, arguably, the largest financial decision of their lives. I don’t take that lightly and I appreciate them so much. My favorite transactions are always the ones that involve an emotional component. Those are the ones where, at the closing table you always feel, one way or the other, like you’re truly helping the clients reach a resolution: either someone is moving because they’re growing their family and they need more space, they’re a first-time-homebuyer and they’re excited to be purchasing their first home, or maybe there’s an old family home that needs to be sold to settle an estate. I really do love helping clients in such a special way.

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
Be open to learning from people who have been where you are. I think it’s great advice for everyone – myself included! In fact, it’s my own 2019 objective. I’m planning on taking as many people to lunch, coffee, drinks – whatever they want – to learn as much as I can! I cornered an agent, Amy French, at our Christmas party just last week and she’s my first confirmed lunch of 2019! She’s wonderful! A great agent, wonderful mom! I have twin toddlers and I’m always striving to find a better balance between work life and mom life. I have so much to learn from women like Amy who are further along in their careers and have seemingly struck that balance I’m still searching for. I want to soak up all the information and know all there is to know. I think that’s what women should do when they’re first starting out: find people who will teach you and listen and learn from them. Also, try to repeat as few as their mistakes as possible.

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Image Credit:
Juliana Moscoso-Chiang, Showcase Photographer, Elisabeth Sherwin

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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