Fifteen years ago, Yun Gravitt asked broker Pat Green for a chance to sell real estate at Coldwell Banker Pryor Realty. A South Korean who had moved to the United States in her early thirties, Gravitt’s English was rough, so Green was unsure.
“Give me an opportunity, and I will do my best,” Gravitt recalls saying.
Green made Gravitt wait a day or two, but eventually called to welcome her to Pryor Realty.
Today, Gravitt is sitting in a conference room with Peggy Pryor, one of the owners of the company. For more than a decade, she’s been a multi-million dollar producer. She’s also an International Sterling Society Award winner, an honor given only to Coldwell Banker’s top sales associates across the globe. And Pryor cannot praise her enough.
“She worked out better than Pat thought she would. She’s always in the upper tier of production,” she says.
Getting to that point wasn’t easy. Gravitt met her now ex-husband while he was serving with the U.S. military in South Korea. They married, returned to the States, and eventually moved to Chattanooga, where his family lived. Although Gravitt had learned some English while in school in Seoul, her first few years in the United States were marked with frustration as she struggled to adjust to the culture differences and improve her language skills.
“I could not express what I was thinking. I tried really hard to make it better, but the language barrier was huge,” she says.
As Gravitt labored to improve her English, she worked at the auction house her husband’s family owned. She’d been a travel agent in Seoul for nearly 13 years, so her people skills came in handy as she handled a variety of responsibilities at Gravitt Auction. In time, Korean people who were moving to the area began seeking her out for help becoming established in the U.S.
Gravitt gladly assisted these people, who were facing the same challenges she’d overcome. But her own struggles were far from over. She and her husband divorced – a topic she discusses openly – making her the primary caregiver for their two children. Gravitt could have moved back to South Korea, and to the culture she knew, but she chose to stay.
“My life was here, with my children,” she says.
Then a door opened. Her ex-husband’s father was impressed with Gravitt’s efforts to help the Asian community in Chattanooga, and suggested she become a real estate agent as a way to expand the services of the auction house. Gravitt saw an opportunity to provide even more assistance to Asians, and agreed.
“When you buy a house, you are also buying a home. Your whole family is going to live there,” she says.
Gravitt did more than handle real estate transactions; she helped her clients in every way she could, even to the point of helping them to turn on their utilities. “Things were hard for them, but I knew what they needed. Sometimes, a phone call would take an hour, but I didn’t mind,” she says.
For Gravitt, adjusting to a new career was like starting over in a new country. Her first few years were lean as she learned the ropes, but she pressed forward, earning her ABR designation, among others, and expanding her clientele beyond the Asian community. As she looks back, she sees the many mountains that once stood before her, and the many peaks she reached.
Gravitt can also say she loves her work. “When people live in an apartment, it is so tiny, and when they move into their first home, then I can see they are happy because of my help,” she says. “I appreciate my customers believing in me and trusting me to handle their needs.”
The trust people have in Gravitt is well placed. She has not only helped many Koreans to start a new life in the U.S., but also has become a leader in the local Korean community. She’s served as a member of its board of directors, taught people how to start and operate a business, and then helped them to launch their enterprise, with no thought of compensation.
Indeed, Gravitt’s energy reserves seem to be boundless. In addition to working full-time as a residential and commercial Realtor, Gravitt also owns VIP Cleaners in Ooltewah – a business she built on her own. She’s also the president of the ladies’ mission group at Yeolin Community Church on Standifer Gap, a local Korean congregation. And Gravitt has accomplished all of this while rearing a son and a daughter, the former of which is about to turn 21-years-old, and the latter of which is a senior in high school.
In person, Gravitt is a lively, dynamic presence whose eyes never leave the person with whom she’s talking, and whose smile never fades. Indeed, when she’s looking at someone, her interest in the person is readily apparent in her expression. And although Gravitt sometimes pauses to search for the right word to say, her English is quite good. “She speaks wonderfully now,” Pryor says.
Once again, Pryor can’t praise Gravitt enough. “In the entire time she’s been with us, no one has brought a complaint against her. Her work ethic is impeccable; she’s intelligent, but also wise; and she’s a compassionate, caring person who’s always giving freely of herself. I admire her a great deal. She’s a beautiful diamond with many facets, all of which shine beautifully.”
Gravitt is also humble. “Maybe I should leave the room,” she says, laughing.
She’s not going anywhere, though. She loves Pryor Realty, and plans on staying with the company for many years to come.
“When I started in this business, I knew nothing about it. Almost every agent here helped me. This is a great company.”
“It’s great because of people like you,” Pryor says.