This YouTube video (uploaded April 18, 2018) profiles Renee Lossia Acho’s transition from teaching and architectural/design exposure to a leading real estate career. The transcript covers her early informal design training with her uncle Ron Jonah, consulting work with builders, founding and expanding a Keller Williams luxury/kw domain brokerage in Birmingham (growing to ~120+ agents in ~18 months per the narration), recognition as a top 1% national realtor, citations in Wall Street Journal and Crain’s Detroit Business, a 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year honor, and being named Businessperson of the Year by the Calvin American Chamber of Commerce. The piece emphasizes her market knowledge, innovation, leadership, team-building, and work–life balance advice for women.
Questions this video answers
April 18, 2018.
Her uncle, Ron Jonah.
Entrepreneur of the Year (2013).
The Wall Street Journal and Crain's Detroit Business.
Businessperson of the Year for the Calvin American Chamber of Commerce.
Chapters
She is a real estate powerhouse. But that was not always the case. Renee Lacia Acho used to be a teacher. It was an accidental career transition. She and a fellow teacher, both young families, were looking for new homes.
I started designing for her and drawing out kitchen sketches and so forth. And she said to me, how do you know how to do that? And I said, well, I learned growing up from my uncle Ron Jonah. So every summer in between school through high school and college, I worked for Ron in his architectural firm and learned the trade sort of by accident, just he taught me how to read plans and draw to scale. And my family of course is in building and design. So just being around the industry I found a talent or a skill set that I didn't realize I had.
Renee started to do specs in Birmingham which led her to becoming a real estate assistant. As a new mom, she wanted more time at home and started to dabble more in real estate with the intent of going back to teaching, but soon realized she had a skill set missing in the marketplace.
I was able to let builders know from the beginning and help them on a consulting basis to design and develop these homes and then turn around and sell them rather than hiring an agent.
At the end when maybe they'd be.
Missing some of the hot points of the market.
It did not take long for Renee to come out as an industry leader. She's been a top producer for years and often ranked in the top 1% of realtors nationally.
She's unbelievably knowledgeable about the market and that's kind of a prerequisite for any successful real estate agent. But I think what truly sets her apart is the ability to read people, to understand what they want, to make a deal, to salvage a deal, to find a deal. And it is so effective and I've seen it firsthand so many times that I think that is really what sets her apart.
She is a natural innovator. She always says if it's not broken, break it. Meaning she continues to push the envelope with things. She challenges herself no matter what aspect of the business it's in and that's why she's the best.
Renee has also guided the creation of Keller Williams luxury brand to Birmingham and and open kw domain. In a little more than 18 months, the real estate brokerage has expanded to more than 120 agents, becoming one of the largest brokerages in the area.
She's really truly self made. She's built an unbelievable reputation and team and now she's stepped into an ownership role which Was the natural next step for her.
Renee has been acknowledged by the Wall street journal and crain's Detroit business. She's also received honors such as the 2013 Entrepreneur of the year. With an industry as fluid as real estate, Renee prides herself on being able to stay on top of trends in an effort to provide her absolute best to clients.
Renee winning this award as a female, As a woman leader in this community, really is just a culmination of her whole entire path from getting into a good school to leaving teaching when it might have been risky. And so I think that being rewarded for taking those risks is why this award is important.
I hope Renee will slow down and take time to enjoy this acknowledgement because it's big. It is a reflection of everything that she's done. Not just done for her family and done for her team, but how that overflows and impacts her community.
For renee, a big part of her success is creating balance.
I think that is a more unique issue for women Than it is for men, in that we often feel that we're being pulled. If you're not with the family, there's sometimes a sense of guilt, or if you're at the office, There's a sense of being pulled from multiple directions and often feeling like you're a jack of all trades, but perhaps a master of none. And my advice for any women going into any type of business or industry Is to really be mindful of that and understand that you can have it all, but you don't have to do it all.
It is for these successes that Renee has been chosen to be honored as the businessperson of the year for the Calvin american chamber of commerce.
