If Susan Worley’s life had gone according to plan, she would not be a Realtor today. Instead, she’d be spending more time hiking through some of the 600,000 acres of national forest that back up against the farm she and her husband own in Trion, Ga., or scuba diving off the shores of Belize, or playing with her grandchildren.
Instead of enjoying the easy life, she’s working hard to establish herself in a business that has not been kind to veterans, let alone newcomers, since the economy turned southward.
And she’s loving every minute of it.
“I met with an older couple last night and ended up listing their home. They’re really neat people. I wouldn’t be running across folks like them if I wasn’t doing this,” she says.
When sitting down with Worley, who grew up in Tucson, Ariz., one might get the sense that she enjoys a good conversation. Her smile seems tailor made for putting people at ease, and while she has the energy and drive people expect from a real estate agent, she’s also friendly and laid back. Even during a first meeting, one might feel as though Worley is already a friend.
“I might have talked with that couple for too long. I sat with them for a couple of hours,” she says, laughing.
Worley says she fell into real estate precisely when she and her husband had planned on retiring. They had plotted their course, and worked hard to achieve their goals, but forces beyond their control forced them to adjust their bearing.
“I’d been a stay-at-home mom for the majority of the time my children were growing up. But when my youngest was about three, I decided to go into daycare so I wouldn’t get empty nest syndrome. I did that line of work for several years, and then decided to open my own place,” she says.
Worley did remarkably well over the course of more than a decade in the daycare business. At the height of her success, she was housing 127 children and employing a professionally trained team. Then her husband, a homebuilder who grew up in Signal Mountain, Tenn., said he was going to retire and travel, and she could either go with him or stay home.
“We’d worked hard. And we’d done well. We’d been diligent about setting goals, too, and had a plan in place to retire when my husband turned 50. Since I wasn’t the kind of person who could leave and let someone else run my business – every one of those 127 children were my babies – I chose to sell it,” she says.
Worley spent two years looking for a buyer and brokering a deal that would protect her employees and clients. As she interviewed corporations and individuals, and searched for a buyer whose philosophies matched hers, she got excited about the real estate process.
“I did everything on my own, not because I had to be in control, but because I wanted to be in the middle of things. And I realized a person in that situation could make a lot of money,” she says.
By the time she’d sold her daycare center, Worley was ready to retire. The economy was doing well, her husband’s business was booming, and all of the goals they’d set over the years were clicking into place.
Then the economy took a nosedive.
Instead of changing gears, Worley and her husband took 2009 off. When it became clear that retirement was no longer an immediate option, Worley’s husband suggested they both get a real estate license and see who could sell the most houses. Worley said, “Game on!”
Although excited about embarking on a new endeavor, by the time she started working as a Realtor in November 2009, pickings were slim.
“It was like going to a food bar late at night. There wasn’t much there,” she says.
Worley, who works out of the Remax branch in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., says she quickly learned how difficult being a Realtor would be, as there was a lot to learn.
“I jumped in with both feet, and the more I learned, the more I realized how much more I had to learn. So this has been a great time for me to get all of my ducks in a row and become skilled at doing business so that when things get better, I’ll be ready,” she says.
Worley is not only licensed to practice real estate in Tennessee and Georgia, she’s also a Certified Distressed Property Expert and an authorized HUD Team Member. In addition, she’s learned to use Twitter and Facebook to promote her business, although she says she tries to keep things casual and not hit people with too many real estate posts. Recent messages on her Twitter page include a link to a listing in Ringgold, thanks to Wells Fargo for hosting a seminar on rural development loans, and a rallying cry for Lauren Alaina on “American Idol.”
Although Worley likes listing and showing homes, she says she’s not a hardcore salesperson, and therefore will probably never make a million dollars in real estate. But business has been picking up, and since November, she’s closed one property per month. The greatest measure of her satisfaction, however, comes from the opportunity to meet new people, like the elderly couple whose home she recently listed.
She also likes that her job allows her to enjoy the hiking, the scuba diving, and the grandkids, including a 4-year-old grandson and a 1-year-old granddaughter. And she’s relishing the opportunity to try new things.
“I tried skydiving not too long ago. It was a blast,” she says.
Worley laughs again and lowers her head, hiding part of her face behind a long, blonde curl. Whether she’s jumping out of airplanes or jumping feet first into real estate, she appreciates new experiences, even when it means she has to deviate from her plan. And while she might be trying to mitigate her business expectations in the current market, her energy, drive and smile should take her far.