Written by Bill Kozar
Reading Time: 6 min
A panel of judges reviewed more than 300 applications for REALTOR® Magazine’s national 30 Under 30 program and chose 50 finalists for the class of 2023. Then, following a week of public online voting, Kelly Carlson of Engel & Völkers Chicago gathered the most votes and won the Web Choice Award to solidify her place in the 30 Under 30 class. Judges chose the remaining 29 members from the field of 50.
Q:
What’s the best part about making REALTOR® Magazine’s 30 Under 30 class of 2023?
Caira
The 30 Under 30 community has been incredible. Past 30 Under 30 winners from different states, different cities – people I never connected with before – reached out to say, ‘Congratulations and welcome to the club!’
Since my background is in social media, I feel confident in everything I do in that space. But the 30 Under 30 recognition came as a bit of a shock and honestly made me a little uncomfortable at first. Even though I enjoyed telling clients about the honor, it took me awhile to feel confident in this new space and realize I deserved to be there.
Kelly
The best part of making 30 Under 30, first and foremost, has been getting connected with 29 other people in the class.
For example, Caira and I had never met before the competition, but we learned we only live a block away from each other. We’ve had lunch and are very much looking forward to hanging out at the 30 Under 30 Mastermind conference in Seattle in September.
Also, I think the award gives us a little bit of elevated credibility when it comes to meeting new clients.
Q:
Who have been the most influential people in your real estate career so far?
Caira
The most influential person in my real estate career is my business partner, Stephanie Spenner. She totally changed my life.
We met by chance on social media. I was at a different brokerage, and because my business started in the rental world, I hadn’t learned how to help clients find their future homes.
I felt lost. I told her I didn’t understand real estate, and I wasn’t excited about it. She convinced me to give it another shot.
One thing she taught me is that you have to be yourself – that’s the thing that will set you apart from other agents in this market. Today, we tell this to every agent who joins our team.
I’m so, so grateful we met.
Kelly
While I was in the process of getting my license, I was reaching out to top brokers throughout the city, and understandably, a lot of them said ‘once you get your license, come back and see me.’ But Jennifer Ames, a partner at Engel & Völkers, was willing to meet me before I got my license.
She offered me a ton of helpful advice, and once I had my license, she asked me to join Engel & Völkers and to join a small group of newcomers from other industries who knew nothing about residential sales.
I didn’t get started on a team like many new agents do. But I was in a brokerage that had the support to get started. She taught us things like:
- How do you foster clients for life (instead of thinking of our work as sales)?
- How do you serve your clients’ best interests every day? and
- How do you grow your business organically?
Q:
How does your career compare today with what you once imagined it would be?
Caira
When I was growing up, I didn’t know anyone in real estate. I think the biggest shock has been how much more community-oriented the real estate industry is. It is so much about networking and building long relationships with other agents.
Also, I work more (now) than I could have ever imagined working in my entire life. I didn’t know I had it in me . . . But because I love it so much, it doesn’t feel like I am working 24/7.
Kelly
I think the biggest shock for me was how much free time you have. It is truly ‘What you put into it is what you get out of it, every single day.’
Also, there is definitely a different type of stress that I feel is pretty high stakes. We help people through major financial and life decisions. I don’t take that lightly, and I feel so privileged to help people through that.
I have heard it said about the real estate business – and it is true – that a Monday morning can feel as good as a Friday afternoon.
Q:
What’s the best advice you can give to a less experienced colleague?
Caira
My favorite part about being a REALTOR® needs to be broken into two parts.
One is I love that there is no ceiling above me. I find that drives me so much more than I’ve ever felt driven by anything before. I’ve done the hourly jobs; I’ve done the salaried jobs. There are only so many hours you can work in a day. But doing something like this, knowing that every single minute that I’m putting into it, is building up my business.
Two, I think it is really easy, especially when you are cranking out a lot of transactions and working with a ton of different clients to kind of get lost in it and forget about the impact that you’re actually having on somebody’s life and helping make their dreams come true.
And when I have clients reach out to me and tell me how they didn’t believe that they’d ever be able to move to Chicago, and they watch my videos and I was able to help them find their dream apartment and that their dreams are literally coming true, it’s something that I will never take for granted.
Kelly
The best advice that I could give to a less experienced REALTOR® is to find your niche and develop a style that shows authenticity.
I think when we are living in alignment with our values, our passions, all of those things, it just attracts like-minded people who feel the same, have the same interests and want to work with you.
It is not just us trying to win business. It is a connection on both sides. . . So, whether that’s putting together a robust curriculum for first-time homebuyers, assisting clients interested in high-end luxury properties or working with sellers, there are many different ways to establish yourself and figure out what is best for you.
If I was starting over, that would be the best reminder I could give to myself.
About the writer: Bill Kozar is an Illinois REALTORS® Marketing Content Specialist.
