Editorial
Front Page - Friday, January 1, 2010
Associate Broker O’Leary finds ‘home’ in her second career
Stephanie Coward
Kim O’Leary, associate broker at Prudential RealtyCenter.com on East Brainerd Road, didn’t set out to work in real estate, but found her way there in 2003.
A graduate of the University of South Carolina, with a major in computer science and double minor in math and statistics, O’Leary spent 20 years working for Lucent Technologies. “It was a great job, I loved it,” she said. “I was a global account manager for the Navy, so I worked on the federal side.”
She was laid off in 2003 when the company cut its staff by more than half. After trying a few different things, O’Leary found her way to real estate. “I really took it (the layoff) as a release of the golden handcuffs,” she said. “It was a great job while I did it but I was ready to do something else.”
O’Leary and her husband, Brian, moved to Chattanooga from New Orleans in 2001 with their two children, Kelsi and Patrick. The family chose Realty Center as their real estate company and that actually served as a catalyst for her future career in real estate.
The people she worked with while purchasing her home encouraged O’Leary to move into a real estate career. Their encouraging words came in handy when she was considering what to do with the next phase of her life.
She began at Realty Center in August 2003 and made several sales her first quarter there. Since 2004, O’Leary has continuously remained in the top one to three percent in regards to dollar amount for closed sales, she said.
“It’s been a great company to work for. I have worked with great people who are legends in this business and who have shared their wisdom,” O’Leary said. “That’s one of the things that I really like about this – there is such a community of sharing.” Which is why O’Leary chose to work at Realty Center even though she lives across town.
It wasn’t a blind decision that led her into real estate; there were several things that greatly appealed to her. “One was that I was an independent contractor, that I was responsible for myself and what I did. After working for such a large corporation for so long that was very appealing to me at that stage in my life,” O’Leary said. “And then also, kind of the way I thought of it was I had worked with marines and machines for so long I was ready to get in and work with people and see how I could affect their lives.
“Again, what I did with Lucent was very rewarding working with the military and providing the telecommunications for them but, you know, I felt like I could touch peoples hearts more doing this.”
Her previous career really helped O’Leary spring board into the real estate business. “You’re running your own business and managing it and all the tools that I had from doing what I did carried over into this,” she said.
Sound advice from one of her trainers has stayed with O’Leary through the past 6 and half years. “One of our trainers told me, ‘To be successful in this job, do what you love and you will find people and it will work,’” she said. “And so that’s what I did, just got out in the world. You know, you don’t sit at your desk to make this job happen – you get out there to get your clients and work with them.”
Working with Business Networking International has helped O’Leary’s business and led to many referrals. She also maintains a current business plan and sets and fulfills new goals every year. “I have goals every year, it’s important to set goals,” she said. She is also a member of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, as well as the state and national associations.
O’Leary refuses to limit herself into niches. “I work with a diverse group of people, a lot of times people will say, ‘Where is your focus?’ and there’s a lot of different ways to run this business and what I say is, ‘I work with anybody anywhere,’” she said. “In doing that, I just think you have a broader range and knowledge of the area to bring to your client.”
For instance, her husband is a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga professor who instructs mainly graduate students. “I love to work with the students there,” she said. She is also able to help corporate people with their relocation moves. Being a corporate transplant herself, O’Leary said she knows what it’s like to come to Chattanooga and just kind of figure things out.
Maintaining balance has been the key to O’Leary’s success. “I work everyday, because that’s what you do,” she said. “This job is just a natural flow of life. You’re just doing it and it doesn’t matter what time it is or where or what.”
When she isn’t working, O’Leary can be found hiking with the Chattanooga Hiking Club, except for the hours she spends weekly with her personal trainer. She is also an avid photographer whose pictures are so beautiful, many have found their way to the walls in the Realty Center offices, matted and framed.
Volunteering is another important factor in her life. Just like in her professional life, O’Leary keeps her volunteering diverse. “It’s more like buck shot instead of a target,” she said. “It’s just when I see a need. I think at this place in my life, that’s where it’s better for me, because there’s just a lot of need out there and when something speaks to my heart, that’s what I do.”
Realty Center has grown to become home to O’Leary and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. “There have been so many great people in this company that have helped me along the way and shared their wisdom and shared their knowledge,” she said. “It’s just a great thing. Here, it’s a family. I mean it really is. They’re there to support you and it’s a really good environment.”
O’Leary can be contacted via her Web site located at, http://www.kimolearyhomes.com.
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