Karen Hickman, a top Real Estate Agent in her field, joined us today to discuss how she became one of the most successful real estate agents around. She was nominated to be among America’s top 1,000 agents for 2019 and ranked #26 in San Diego Business Journal’s as an individual real estate agent. Adding to these two accomplishments, she was also awarded the 4-year winner of the SDAR Circle of Excellence Gold Award. We are so excited to discuss her life story, success, and personal development.

Before Karen moved to San Diego, she was a flight attendant in Dallas. During this time, she also began dabbling in the world of real estate. About 31 years ago, she decided to make the move to San Diego, which led her to dive into her career as a real estate agent. Below we have pulled a few talking points from our podcast to highlight our discussion.

 

Q: What makes you so passionate about real estate?

A:  Personality-wise, I am a people person. That’s why working as a real estate agent every day and dealing with different personalities is so much fun for me!

Q: What do you attribute your success to?

A: When it comes to success, I attribute my hard work and dedication. Every day is a new opportunity for learning with every step forward, bringing me one step closer towards achieving the goals set out before me- both personal and professional ones! In just three years at this company, I have made 30M$ worth of deals happen.

Q: What are some things you’ve discovered about being a realtor that you may not have thought about before starting your career in real estate?

A: As a Realtor, it’s essential to know your business inside and out. You need the skills necessary not only for selling homes but also tax preparation–a CPA will make sure you’re doing things right by keeping records of every transaction to meet claim requirements or regulations. Remember, real estate is a multi-faceted business.

Q: What advice do you have for a new realtor or someone coming into the industry?

A: You need to find a mentor or join an experienced leader’s team. There were no teams in place when I started, so this was all on my own! You also need to be self-motivated and have a good work ethic.

Q: What helps you get inspired every day?

A: Morning beach walks, meditation, and gratitude lists. Always acknowledge what you have in life and be thankful for it.

 

Karen is a self-motivating, preserving real estate agent. She takes pride in the work she does, and we are thankful for the tips she shared with us today! If you can take one thing from our discussion, it’s that being motivated comes down to your own choice – don’t wait until someone pushes on behalf of your progress; choose what YOU want to be accomplished now instead.