We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Peterson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amanda , thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I’ve always been an optimist. From the time I was very small I could always find a silver lining. My mother, as I was growing up, had a no nonsense approach to life and was unrelentingly kind to everyone- no matter who she came across or how they behaved. My Nana, my dad’s mom, was always optimistic. When something came along that was a challenge she never believed she couldn’t, she only believed she’d find a way. And, my Grandma RosaLee; was a force. While she could see all sides of things, she never found a person she couldn’t find something good in or a situation that was unfixable. I was raised among those that adapted ceaselessly to ensure life was a little bit pretty even in the hardest times.
I think optimism is another word for adaptable. It’s not just seeing the bright side of things, it’s adapting to make the bad things brighter and the challenges as a way to improve!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
As a Real Estate Agent, you’d think my top priority would be selling homes.
Whether working with buyers or sellers- I do love selling homes. My experience and tenacity help guide my clients through the process efficiently.
My latest focus, however, is support in many areas of our brokerage.
As a mentor to many new agents on the team, I’ve learned that we all need different types of support in this field. Real estate can be greatly challenging in many ways. Often new agents are starting off with little income.
While our brokerage provides amazing leads and training for all new agents and our mentor program guides them through their first several contracts; still there are areas of support that many need as they start out that has less to do with the actual career.
As the world shifts and changes many working parents are looking for different schooling options and ways to keep their children close while still providing income to their household.
Currently, I’m working along side our brokerage to create a work space for children to grow and learn in while their parents come to the office. Though we don’t provide the educator, we do have a space to dedicate to the children of our agents. While they are in our work center. whether they are studying online schooling, playing, or stopping in to do a craft while their parents print contracts, we are dedicated to helping our agents be successful!
In previous years, I’ve headed a clothing event for agents starting with our brokerage. It’s a clear your closet opportunity for those that have abundance. For newer agent that don’t yet have the income to purchase business attire, it’s the chance to find great clothing for work! This year we’re partnering with two local boutiques to provide a few new outfits as well!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Gosh, I guess the three most impactful pieces on this journey looking back, were being optimistic; as we talked about before, surrounding myself with the best in the business – emulating much of what they did and adjusting to fit my own career and timeline, and putting my own family first.
In my first years, and even still today, I worked a lot for free in exchange for education. If you can find someone doing what you want to do who’s willing to let you learn from them, DO IT!! Just do it. Offer to show homes that you’d never be able to see with your own client base. Do open houses, do paperwork, follow around a contractor or someone that specializes in land sales. Whatever it is that you want to do, find a person that does it and ask to help them in exchange for the opportunity to learn!
This business can be all consuming. I truly love this career, but I had to learn along the way that saying yes to every client every minute of the day means saying no to everything else in your life. I always think what’s the point of doing all of this if you can’t share it with the people you love.
My time, along with my family’s time, and my client’s time are all very important to me. This year I decided to rework my life completely. I take only a certain number of clients and agents to mentor so that they get the best agent and mentor, and my children and soon to be husband 😉 get the best mother and partner. This year I was able to do that because in the years prior I worked ceaselessly to ensure that client’s enjoyed working with me enough to send me referrals and that agents learned from me in a way that made them want to bring more agents to our team. I worked hard to give my kids every opportunity and to help them see that life is exactly what you make it. You can make it really great or you can make it really hard.
My best advise is to work as hard as possible in the beginning; to continue learning and adding value to those around y0u even as you’re learning. Join a team, The Ashton Real Estate Group- if you’re smart -haha and utilize those with more experience. Always look for the pieces of any situation that can make it better. Find people that make you feel good and that challenge you in positive ways and stick to them like glue.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Man, I am very fortunate to be associated with so many people that hold my hand and guide me through any insecurities or questions I may have.
Sandy Miles, assistant managing broker within our brokerage is one that has answered any question I’ve ever had and has encouraged me from the very first time I ever met her (before she even knew my name, we met when I walked in to take my affiliate broker test and she was taking her brokers test) She answers day and night, silly questions and simple ones, complex issues- she’s there no matter what. She knows her stuff and she’s never afraid to give her honest feedback to help me improve.
At the risk of sounding like a fawning future wife – Gary has been the most impactful person in my career. He’s the one that created this team and cultivated a culture that brought me some of my dearest friends and the best education in real estate. Before we were ever together as a couple, he worked to ensure that I and every agent on the team had resources to succeed, from amazing partners to brokers that are always available to social events and unmatched work spaces; he created a business that became a family. Because of him, I’ve been at tables with top real estate coaches, agents, and partners from around the world. To learn from him directly and to be given the opportunity to see this profession from the perspective of so many high level individuals is priceless.
Contact Info:
- Website: amandaPhomes.com
- Instagram: amandapetersonrealtor
Image Credits
Adam Sanner Tom Kerr
