Editorial
Front Page - Friday, October 15, 2010
Stinson philosophy: simple life, simple words to live up to
Erica Tuggle
Instead of telling you the awards she has won as a multi-million dollar producer for Prudential Realty, Karen Stinson would rather show you a plaque on her desk made by her daughter Meredith, who is now a senior at Carson Newman College.
The piece is simple and elegant, with a black frame and flowers that frame the words Stinson takes to heart: “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”
These wise words from Pro-verbs 31:29 - 30 from the New American Standard Bible mean a lot to Stinson, she says, not only because it touches her to think her daughter views her mother in such a high regard, but also to think she can live up to such a standard that she strives for.
Stinson likes to keep things simple in her world. She says her bottom line is that she likes to help normal people, she enjoys her work and she hopes it shows. When she treats her customers with care and helps them find a home, not just a house, she says she feels like she is doing part of God’s work.
When Stinson finally reached a position where her children could be on their own after school, she followed her long time interest in real estate and obtained her license in Nashville more than 10 years ago. She had experience living in the Chattanooga area for over 30 years, and after the brief three years in Nashville, her family and she moved back to Chattanooga, she established herself at Prudential Realty and has been there ever since.
Stinson enjoys the flexibility of her work and the ability to meet a lot of different people from all walks of life. She has won a few awards, but she says she doesn’t really focus on that aspect of the business. More important for her is following the proverb to bypass the charm that can be deceitful, skip over the beauty that can be passing and instead fear her Lord and pray for her business and her clients. Getting first time homebuyers into a home they love is part of her mission. Helping a client who wants to downsize is someone she will reach out to. Helping a family relocate to an area by being there to assist them with her experience of being in the same spot of picking up the children, moving to a new city and having to start everything anew is just what she does.
Through all of this, Stinson prays. For her business, her customers and the sale of their home she puts the power of prayer to good use and stays in “positive person” mode.
She says, “I try to do what God would expect me to do for the customer as well as my life. I try to live a Christian life and try to exemplify that with the business transactions I do.”
Staying with Prudential Realty has been an easy choice for Stinson, because she likes the Christian atmosphere of the franchise location, she says. To remain with this company that offers thanks and still looks at things in a Christian manner, and to be in a place that is a family operation, is refreshing for sharing similar values with the place she conducts business, she says.
Stinson’s policy for finding clients is simple. Most of her business comes from referrals.
“Basically, I try to give good service, and therefore, I get the referrals. Nothing I do is different from the average person or agent,” she says. “I just try to give good service so they will feel comfortable about referring me. I’m not out there, outside the box, doing things different from other people. I am just doing what I would expect people to do for me.”
Stinson is simply a Realtor, and has no qualms about saying there are absolutely no designations attached to her name other than that simple title. She says she feels like customers, for the most part, don’t understand those designations, and it is her service that she lives by and shows her results through.
Her focus also extends to her family, on which she says she is very oriented. She enjoys most sports, being with her family and her involvement with her church: Red Bank Baptist. Besides her daughter Meredith, Stinson has a husband named Steve who is retired from TVA; a 25-year-old son, Alexander, who is going into the U.S. Army soon; and a new daughter-in-law, Amanda.
The simplicity of Stinson’s world is something she would like to carry into the future: staying consistent with where she is and never being in a position where she has to “live her job,” she says. She works some every day, but says she doesn’t want to be in a position where she can’t have a life outside of real estate.
Sounds simple enough.
|
|