Who are you, and what do you do?
I am a licensed Real Estate Broker and Property Manager. I’m a UM graduate, Griz Fan, and Montana Native. I own two different businesses, Millennium Real Estate & Management, LLC and Tri County Mechanical and Electrical, Inc. We have offices in Missoula, Helena, Great Falls, and Butte and provide services across Montana and Wyoming. I have 5 talented children, an amazing husband, 13 beautiful horses, 3 cute Mini Schnauzers, and 90 wonderful employees. Between the two businesses I manage real estate for myself and a portfolio of others, I represent investors in commercial real estate transactions, and I manage the service department and financial side of our construction company. In my “free time,” my husband and I travel the US and Canada showing horses.
What has been one insight or lesson that has been most helpful in your career?
Work smarter, not harder, always maintain your honesty and integrity above all else and always under-promise and over-produce
What has been your favorite mistake? A mistake that in retrospect led to a great lesson and progress.
Taking on a project that I wasn’t really sold on, but the money was “too good to pass up”. It turned out to be far more work than ever expected, it constantly challenged by integrity and business philosophies and proved to me that no amount of money is worth sacrificing what you believe from the start.
Project forward ten years. How will your industry or field be fundamentally different then? What opportunities do you see?
With the increased development of social media platforms, I see the real estate industry becoming less and less dependent on licensed agents. Sellers are able to showcase their own properties via social media platforms and save themselves commission expenses. Buyers are able to search these platforms and coordinate directly with sellers to save themselves some money. Buyers and Sellers overall are educating themselves prior to investing in real estate and choosing to self perform more of the paperwork involved.
What are some bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
Choose an agent in a bigger office, they have more experience and resources. I don’t believe this is always the case, as larger offices can tend to lose the personal touch buyers and sellers are looking for while making the most important decisions of their lives.
In the last two years, what have you become better at saying no to?
Taking on additional projects for others/volunteering my time
What is the one book you recommend most often and why?
The Bible.
It is the One and Only Book that will provide me the Clarity I need when seeking answers, the Peace I need when struggling with life, the Love I need when I doubt my worth, the Perseverance I need to stay the course, and the knowledge I need to understand why I am where I am every day.
What advice would you give a smart and ambitious recent college graduate? What advice should they ignore?
Don’t choose your career/future based on someone else’s success. Decide what fuels your own passions, where your own interests lie. Once you find something you enjoy, you’ll want to do it every day. When you want to do something every day you become good at. When you become good at it, people seek you out. When people start seeking you out, money and success will automatically follow.
Find your own passion and be happy, the money will come once you find that happiness.
What is your favorite quote, one you aim to live by?
You may not remember the words someone said you to, but you will always remember how you made them feel.