Donna Cates, a Realtor at Fletcher Bright Realty, is a risk taker. When she decided to leave her job with the federal government and go into real estate full-time in a less than sound market, many people questioned her sanity. One person who didn’t was Cates’ mentor, Judge Collier, who supported her decision and encouraged her to follow her real estate dream.
Cates says she knew it was what she wanted to do, is glad she did it and has never looked back. Cates has lived in the North Georgia area all her life. That is where she was raised, married her high school sweetheart, and raised her children. But she has always worked in Chattanooga. Cates began working for Lawson and Lawson attorneys when she was 20 years old. From there, she went to bankruptcy court as a case manager, did a bit of court reporting, and worked in federal court as a criminal case manager. She also did some jury administration work, which she says she loved for the interaction with people it gave her.
Cates had always tried working with rental houses and property with her husband, and enjoyed bringing the elements together for people. When she told her husband she was thinking about going into real estate, he assured her that she would be great at it. Cates got her license in 2006 and began real estate while still working part-time at the court. After a while, Cates decided to see what she was made of, she says. She left federal service and went full-time into real estate in 2009.
“I knew people thought I was crazy but I really felt like it’s something I could do and that I wanted to do,” she says. Later that year, Cates resumed her federal work with the Transportation Security Administration part-time. She says it couldn’t be a better balance, and with 21 years of federal service, she hopes to continue with both jobs before retiring from the federal government in a few years.
“It took a leap of faith to leave, but I really felt like it was the thing to do and have not been sorry or looked back,” Cates says. “I am doing OK in real estate. My broker tells me ‘you don’t know what a good market is’ ... but if you do well in a bad market, you are going to do terrific in a good market.” Cates says in real estate school, her instructor encouraged her to go to whichever brokerage Cates felt was right for her. Paying sharp attention to her instincts, Cates visited about five or six different places before walking into Fletcher Bright.
At Fletcher Bright, Cates says she felt at home, felt it was where she wanted to be and felt good about the company, just as she still does today. Cates went into the market at a sticky time, but says she thinks, in a way, it may be a good time for some to pick up real estate. If someone needs a slow start to grasp everything, she says it is definitely a good time for that.
“You can see things the way they are now, and when you see improvements along the way, it encourages you,” she says. “If you really have it in your blood, it makes you appreciate when the market does improve. I will tell anybody if that’s what you want to do, just do it like I did.” Potential Realtors should enjoy all kinds of people, and know that advertising is very important to get your name out there, she says. A lot of her advertising has been through word of mouth, and with a large network, word gets around of your skills, she says.
“To me, you have to be courageous and just do it all. I do commercial and I do residential because how do I know if I’m going to like it unless I try it?” Cates says her broker and Fletcher Bright have been very encouraging by saying she could do commercial and residential just fine. “It’s like if the business falls in your lap, what are you going to do with it?” Cates asks. “Are you going to give it to someone else or are you going to do it? I’m going to try it because I’m a risk taker, and if I don’t make it, I’ll go on to something else.”
Cates says talking to people is a good way to get business buzzing, and she recommends chatting up people everywhere, even in the grocery line, which could lead to handing them a business card and helping them with a real estate need. Cates has been an affiliated broker for three years and plans on taking her broker’s exam in the future. She enjoys Fletcher Bright, but says she won’t say no to having her own company one day. It’s a very distinct possibility when she finishes with her federal service work, she says.
Married for 37 years, Cates has two daughters and four grandchildren who keep her busy. When she doesn’t have her hands full, Cates loves to cycle. She started in 2001, and now does fundraising rides for the diabetes association. On one cycle trip, her group rode from Ft. Oglethorpe to Rome, Ga. and back, 150 miles in two days, raising $30,000 for diabetes. With the repeat business that Cates gets, she says she thinks it’s important for her to be honest and up front with her clients. She tries to keep the lines of communication open between her and her clients, because sometimes she hears that communication is not good between other Realtors and their clients.
“You want someone honest who is going to stay with you and stay in touch with you, and that’s what I try to do. That’s what my clients know about me: I really do work hard and try to secure the best deal for you,” she says. Even if she has no news on a property, she will call clients to let them know they are still on her mind and she’s working on their needs.
“Where a lot of Realtors fall short is not staying in touch…When you don’t call them back it makes their mind start thinking that [you] don’t care about [them],” Cates says. “You have to remember where your business comes from and you have to treat people how you want to be treated.” Cates ends by reminding everyone that she’s not afraid to tackle anything.