I was (and still am) a communications professional for the State of Oregon, helping public employees all across the state navigate the complex world of health insurance, compare their options, make the best decisions for their families, and get the quality care they need and deserve.

I was drawn to that work for the same reasons I was drawn to create this unique version of a real estate business -- I like to go to bed at night feeling like I truly helped someone sort through something complex and important, and knowing I helped improve their lives in a personal and meaningful way. As my work with the state became more computerized and remote, I got fewer one-on-one conversations with individuals. Although I still feel good knowing my work is helping people, I don't experience that personal connection first-hand as often as I used to. I don't get to see the grateful smiles or hear the sighs of relief. I don't get as many stories from people saying, "Thank you. This is how it all turned out and this is the impact you had on my life today." So I thought, "The world is my oyster. I can create any business I want, so how could I create the most good in the world? How can I really help people when they feel the most vulnerable and need someone on their side to explain it and guide them through?" That led me to, "What if I could create a mission-driven business that turns charity on its head ... use a for-profit model to generate funds for charities? What if I could start a company that eventually led to the end of homelessness?" From there, real estate just seemed like the obvious industry to fit the need. Not only is there a good amount of money to be made, but it seems fitting that the housing industry be at the core of solving our housing crisis.

My first iteration of the idea was to focus on flipping distressed properties and creating affordable housing, donating 10% to charity and churning the rest of the revenue to renovate more properties. Some of the inherent challenges with that model were 1) it requires a significant amount of cash in the bank, which I didn't have, and the interest charged on borrowing that kind of cash made it difficult to compete with other investors who had cash on hand; and 2) those type of projects take a lot of time, incur a lot of risk, and there often isn't enough profit margin to make it impactful, particularly in our current market. I needed to bring in more revenue, more quickly, and from more reliable sources if I hoped to see any tangible impact on homelessness in my lifetime. That's when the lightbulb turned on and I shifted the primary focus to real estate referrals. There's definitely an unmet need in understanding and compatibility when the average person is seeking real estate services, so it's an opportunity for me to provide a needed service, help more people more often, and then use the revenue generated from referral fees to fund the charitable contributions and affordable housing development.

I got lucky, I found a good one first and have stuck with them. They've also stood by me and supported my efforts every step of the way. The #1 most important "pro" is my principal broker (the owner) is a good guy down to his core -- he cares about people, both his brokers and the community. The brokerage fees are reasonable and he's been super helpful and supportive. There's no pressure to meet quotas, no requirement to answer phones a certain number of hours or make a certain number of outbound cold calls. We are welcome to work in whatever way works best for us, and produce as much or as little as we want. If we want help to grow our business, it's available, but it's not required. The only real "con" to this model is that it's really up to each broker to forge their own path and build their own business. This is a blessing and a "pro" for people who do well with self-management -- those who already gained their training and experience elsewhere and had a solid client base before they switched to this brokerage, or like me, those who have another "day job" to pay the bills so they don't need to grow quickly, and who are good at self-study and forging their own path. It was a great fit for me, but I could see where a new agent just starting out who didn't have another job might struggle at first, especially those who need more formal structure.

* PSA - Pricing Strategy Advisor Certification by the National Association of Realtors * SRS - Seller Representative Specialist Designation by the National Association of Realtors * SFR - Short Sales and Foreclosures Resource Designation by the National Association of Realtors * IPS - Investment Property Specialist Certification by the Oregon Association of Realtors * ADU Specialist - Accessory Dwelling Unit Specialist National Accreditation by Earth Advantage * Serve on the Board of Directors for ShelterCare, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization providing permanent supported housing and medical recuperation for those experiencing homelessness and needing mental or physical health care * Serve on the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce "Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness" including active service on the Communications Committee and Workforce Development Committee * National Association of Realtors, Member * Oregon Association of Realtors, Member * Eugene Association of Realtors, Member * Mid-Oregon Real Estate Investors Association, Member * Lane County Rental Owners Association, Member * BiggerPockets Publishing, Audiobook Producer (volunteer) - BiggerPockets Publishing is one of the top independent publishers in the U.S. producing best-selling books on real estate investing

I am currently spearheading an original fundraising idea called "Agents for Change" where I am recruiting 100 real estate agents (we have over 1400 in our area) to each donate $1000 to ShelterCare and my company Here to Help Housing will purchase a 4-page centerfold spread to feature their photos in our local Weekly newspaper as well as hosting their photos on the ShelterCare website, individual social media promotions, and other PR opportunities throughout the upcoming year. This effort will raise $100,000 to provide permanent supported housing and medical recuperation services to our most vulnerable population, while simultaneously shining positive light on the "good guys" in our industry -- the agents who are stepping up to help those experiencing homelessness in our community. I'm very proud of the idea and to be implementing it as we speak. My proudest moment thus far was presenting to a group of 20-25 brokers at a competing brokerage recently and receiving 3 donations within the hour. I'm not an experienced fundraiser, just a passionate advocate for the cause, so it was a big accomplishment for me to get an immediate 12-15% response rate from a group of total strangers. It felt like reassurance that I am on the right path and encourages me to keep going.

I use my website, online forms and email to help my customers explore my services and start to understand the process at any time that is convenient for them, and with no obligation to move forward unless they feel comfortable and initiate the next step. I'm still pretty "old school" and using basic programs, but will be exploring more sophisticated tools as my business grows and volume increases. I will also be introducing educational videos and PDF resources as educational tools and content marketing in the near future.

I use my website, online forms and email to help my customers explore my services and start to understand the process at any time that is convenient for them, and with no obligation to move forward unless they feel comfortable and initiate the next step. I'm still pretty "old school" and using basic programs, but will be exploring more sophisticated tools as my business grows and volume increases. I will also be introducing educational videos and PDF resources as educational tools and content marketing in the near future.

I feel like good "social proof" is important to make customers trust you and feel confident contacting you and choosing to work with you, but I'm not so sure about the typical "online reviews" anymore. I feel these are so easily manipulated, people often pay review writers to "stack the deck" in their favor and many times the ratings can't be trusted. I'm also notoriously shy about asking my customers for reviews, and even more shy about following up if they say they will but then don't.

It suits my personality better to just provide enough quality information and value on my site and in my content marketing that I gain their confidence without needing traditional reviews with star ratings, etc. I prefer featuring testimonials and photos of actual satisfied customers.

Many real estate agents prefer to work with upper-income clients, buying and selling homes at higher price points, because they're paid a percentage of the sales price. It takes the same amount of work to sell a $100,000 house as it does to sell a million dollar house, so it makes sense that most are motivated to focus on the higher priced properties -- work less, make more. But that's not what motivates me. I'm out to protect the innocent, help those who feel intimidated, and carve out a place in our industry where good guys finish first. We treat our customers with dignity, take the time to learn about their unique needs and concerns, and connect them to providers who will treat them as well as we do. We don't just dish out referrals to anyone who pays us -- we take the match-making process personally and stake our reputation and our bottom line on our customers' satisfaction. We don't get paid unless a successful transaction is completed, so we take our referrals very seriously. Another thing that sets us apart is we donate 10% of all proceeds to charities helping the homeless, and use the remaining funds to develop affordable housing locally, so customers can feel good that they are helping the community just by doing business with us. They don't pay any more than they would otherwise, but they can feel more confident in the service they will receive, and create positive change so they can truly "love where they live."