Ali Reeves was due at work at Chili’s, but she had to take a phone call first. On the other end was Realtor Jay Robinson, calling to discuss a condominium Reeves was selling at Loveman’s. The stress of having to take the call along with being late for her bar-tending job pushed Reeves to make a decision that would change her life: She was going to have to ditch the restaurant gig and commit herself full-time to real estate.
Making that decision wasn’t easy. Reeves had been in the restaurant business nearly all of her adult life. She was also single, so she was responsible for taking care of herself. She did well, earning good money and buying her first home, a foreclosure, when she was 24. The experience of looking at houses and making a purchase sparked a passion for real estate in her. When Reeves purchased a second house a few years later, the spark turned into a full blaze.
Despite being on fire for listing and selling houses, Reeves took a conservative approach to the transition, working the real estate beat during the day and serving drinks at Chili’s at night. She kept her nose above water for a few months. Then came the phone call that changed everything.
“I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I can’t miss a call like this.’ So I went to work and put in my two weeks notice,” she says.
That was just the first of many transitions the now 39-year-old Realtor has experienced, both personally and professionally. With regard to the former, she’s no longer single, nor is her last name Reeves. Rather, she’s married to the man who made that call, and her business card now reads, “Ali Robinson.” Concerning the latter, she’s currently moving from being an agent working for the company her husband owns, Robinson Real Estate, to being his business partner.
While Robinson is looking forward to representing Robinson Real Estate along with Jay, she’s not going to completely give up her favorite part of her job: representing buyers.
“I love putting buyers in my car and showing them our town. I love going in and out of houses with them. And I love keeping up with what’s on the market,” she says.
Robinson’s passion for real estate has matured since she fell in love with the process of buying a home. While she enjoys the fun of “going in and out of houses” with her clients, she takes her work seriously, having experienced firsthand the magnitude of that purchase. To that end, she earned the Accredited Buyer’s Representative designation, which teaches principles that allow Realtors to take their business to a new level. She’s also earned the e-Pro designation – an important step in a market in which most buyers begin their search for a home online.
Robinson has become a savvy listing agent as well. Although she’s listed homes throughout the Chattanooga area, she has a special affinity for the downtown area, especially North Chattanooga, and is pleased to report she’s making inroads on Lookout Mountain. “You can’t just open an office and get listings on Lookout Mountain. It’s difficult. The people there want someone who’s been in real estate for a while,” she says.
A long road brought Robinson to this point in her life. She grew up in Pensacola, Fla., went to boarding school in Mississippi, and moved to Collegedale to attend Southern Adventist University. Instead, she entered the restaurant business, working in Collegedale for several years before migrating downtown after Chili’s opened.
Robinson has worked with only a handful of companies since becoming licensed. From 2004 to 2006, she made her home at Crye-Leike’s downtown office. In 2006, she moved to RE/MAX Renaissance Realtors. Robinson returned to Crye-Leike when the market dipped because she found it to be a more affordable option and she liked the marketing resources the company provided.
When the market was at its worst, Robinson took a part-time job again, but she didn’t walk away.
Robinson switched to Robinson Real Estate in 2009. While she liked listing and selling on her own, the drop in the market gave her an appreciation for being part of a team. “When I worked at Crye-Leike and RE/MAX, I didn’t want to work on a team because you can get lost in the mix. When I came here, I gave up the mentality of needing to stand on my own because the opportunities this team offered meant more to me,” Robinson says.
At Robinson Real Estate, Robinson worked on her own as a buyer’s agent and co-listed properties with Jay, as was his standard business model. She also picked freely of the low hanging fruit Jay’s marketing strategies produced.
“His business model brings in business. We have a huge market share for a small company because of his marketing skills. So when I came here, I knew I was going to have continuous incoming leads; I wouldn’t have to go out there and fight for them,” she says.
While going to work for Jay meant big changes in Robinson’s career, marrying him a year ago brought even bigger changes. Not only was Robinson married for the first time, but she was instantly the stepmother of “four wonderful boys.” The transition wasn’t as jarring as one might think, though. “Jay and I had dated for a while, so I’d been in their lives for some time. Still, going from 38 years of being single to suddenly having a lot of people needing my attention was huge,” she says, laughing. “But one day at a time, I learned to manage it.”
Traveling, which the Robinsons do a lot, helps. “We work hard for three months, and then take a little vacation, then come back and work hard for another three months, and then take another little vacation,” she says.
But even when Robinson is on a faraway island, her thoughts are never far from her work. She’s gained momentum, she’s having “a bang up year,” and new challenges lie ahead. “I’m proud of my accomplishments,” she says. “And I can’t wait for what’s next.”