Life and Work with Terrica Wright

Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrica Wright.

Terrica, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am one of Atlanta’s top producing Realtors. I started out in education in 2010. I graduated from Tuskegee University thinking that I’d teach and eventually become a principal of a high school, but God had different plans. My first job out of college was in sales and from there I started my own tutoring company. I ran that organization for five years. The first two years were great! I really felt as though I was making an impact and perhaps I was even walking in my purpose, but the last 3 years were beyond tough. I had suffered the loss of many customers, my staff was not stable, and the stress of it all was beyond anything I had ever experienced.

2016 was a pivotal year for me. I had made the decision to walk away from the tutoring company, It was one of the most painful decisions I had ever made, but I could have either stayed and struggled or gained the strength necessary to decide to make a change. Well, I chose the latter and it was one of the best decisions of my life to date. My husband, since the day he met me, had always told me that I should be in real estate. Well, when it was time to change from one career to the next, I chose to listen to him and to give it a shot. Taking the class and passing both exams were tough, but after three times of sitting for the state licensure exam, I finally passed and I’ve been running ever since!

In hindsight, I’ve come to recognize that while helping students felt fulfilling and it gave me a sense of purpose, my career in real estate gives me the same feeling! I, not only get to help people buy and sell property in Atlanta, I get to teach people how real estate is truly the cornerstone of gaining and maintaining wealth! Essentially those same students who I loved to help so much- I’m now helping their parents, and their parent’s parents understand the value of real estate and how to sustain their family which might cause an even greater impact in the community than my first venture. Building strong heads of households (parents) helps them, in turn, to build stronger, more confident children and the education of real estate go on and on for generations to come!

God’s plan is greater than anything I could have ever planned for myself. I’m just glad I was open enough to listen to my struggle, hear what it was telling me, and possessed the courage to make the switch when it was necessary.

Has it been a smooth road?
Oh gosh, the road certainly has not been easy! Instagram has everyone fooled about the profession of real estate. Breaking into real estate and being an actual success is one of the hardest things to accomplish. Getting clients is one thing, but getting them to trust you enough to guide them all the way through the process is a whole new ball game. Then, having the boldness to compete with thousands of other real estate agents in this city is a topic in and of itself. Real estate is essentially an independent game. You have to be willing to figure it out all by yourself if you need to. You have to be willing to pay to play, and you have to be willing to place all bets on yourself.

After closing 25 deals in my first year of real estate, I can recall having a conversation with a well-respected agent here in Atlanta. She said to me, after having told her about my first year in, that I needed to stop acting like a rookie. She applauded me for my work and told me that I needed to stop playing small and to start acting like I knew what I was doing because I did! She made me realize that in real estate, years in the game was nothing in comparison to transactions in the game. That conversation was pivotal for me! After that conversation, I took off like a light! I no longer play small and I consider myself a giant in the league of real estate because I AM.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
As a Realtor, there are two sides to a transaction. I pride myself on knowing how to successfully navigate both sides, but my specialty is listing. Those first 25 transactions in my real estate career were all listings and the knowledge gained from that experience is invaluable.

The thing that I am most proud of as a brand is our ability to connect with our clients. Buying and selling real estate is a huge transaction and typically takes 30 to 45 days to complete. In that timeframe, it is paramount that my team and I get to know our clients on a deeper level in order to provide them with a “genuinely refreshing real estate experience” in order to serve them better. That is the thing essentially sets us apart from our competition. Many agents are rushing to the closing table to move on to the next deal and while our numbers are important to us, we understand that our clients are the main cause of this, so as long as the experience is stellar, our numbers will remain high; thusly our clients will always come first.

There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
This topic is a slippery slope for me. While I understand the lane for mentorship, I often see how young professionals get over into self-doubt and insecurity as it pertains to this topic. I know because I’ve been there. While you’re out on a hunt for a “mentor” God has already equipped you with the ideas and the creativity to get started! Many of us don’t simply get started because we are waiting on a mentor or someone to tell us that something we’re doing is correct. Listen, when you first get started, mistakes are okay. What’s most important is that you get started doing something, whether it’s right or wrong! That’s where God is! God shows up in your movement, not in your stagnation. So, my advice is to simply start! GO! MOVE! BE! BECOME! Stop second guessing what’s in your heart. “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” And then, your mentor, if you even still need one, will show up.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2911 Piedmont Road NE
  Atlanta, GA 30305
• Website: terricawright.com
• Phone: 678-575-9418
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @terricawrightrealestate
• Facebook: Terrica Wright

Image Credit:
Holland Ried Photography

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