Stephanie Jezek: Navigating Success, Sales, and Starting a Family After 40

I do really believe 100% from every part of me that everyone has the capacity to be able to do the things that they want and not to be held back by the mental baggage that's in our head that we want to push through.

Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. In each episode, we get down and personal with people who go after the things they want to make all their wildest dreams come true. Join us as we unveil and dissect a formula for what it takes to do the thing. Here is your host, Stacy Lauren.

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. This is your host, Stacy Lauren. Okay, well, I am really excited because our next guest has been someone that has helped me a lot through a lot of different stages of my life as my realtor. And it's amazing when you get to work with someone that you know really cares a lot about you and the success of your. Your home and like, what you want from the home. And she helped me get a lot of different houses over the years, but my last house was the big one. And that's when after I got divorced, it was the first time I got a house on my own. And it was just so wonderful being with someone that you could tell just really cared about you. And I kind of joked her and I think I even did a review on her site that she was not only my realtor, but my psychologist and so many other things during that time. So anyway, I wanted to bring her on and then also I want to talk her to talk about that. And then also she had a kid later on in life and I wanted to also talk about that because I know a lot of people are in their 40s and wondering if they still can have kids and kind of that process. So I was thinking both things were great. Both she does the thing, both with her amazing realtor business and then also with. With having a kid. And I'm sure there's other things we'll uncover during this interview. So I wanted to welcome Stephanie to the show. Hey, Stephanie.

Hi, Stacy. Thank you so much, everyone. Thank you so much for all those kind words too.

I wanted to start off and just have you share with everyone just about you and your background.

Okay, sure, sure. I moved out here in 2001 after college when I was 23, not a care in the world and didn't have a job and just wanted a new beginning out in sunny California. Came from Florida, so another Sunday area. But I love the mountains and the healthy lifestyle and I came out with my best friend that I grew up with and just came out driving our U haul with it swaying the whole way we got here. And we did have a place to stay. We had lined up a rental and I started looking for jobs right away. Walked into a couple staffing firms and because I was a, I had a degree in human resource management so I knew I would be happy doing that or maybe a recruiting position. And somebody hired me pretty much right away walking into the wrong staffing firm. They were looking for a recruiter. So I kind of got into that business back in 2003 and then I started to work a few years later for a staffing firm that did recruiting for real estate companies and mortgage and banks. So I, I actually really loved what I did and enjoyed it so much that it ended up coming to an end actually when they started a new position and then there wasn't enough business to support it because we merged with another company and they cut some jobs. And so that's when I decided to do title rep work back in like 2005 I would say. So I was working hand in hand with realtors and really enjoyed it a lot. And then, and I almost moved back to Florida. I decided to stay and get my real estate license. And I got into it and it was a little scary at first because it was straight commission and wasn't really sure I was going to be able to do that and pay bills and so forth. And so I ended up going back into, actually into advertising, selling advertising and really loved that. And my best friend who I met through selling title insurance got a great job as a realtor for a bank foreclosure agent. He had a ton of foreclosure listings. This was back in 2009 and really, really enjoyed selling advertising. But she, she got me an amazing opportunity. She told me if you really want to move into real estate, now is the time. Because I have, I'm working for this top foreclosure agent in, in San Diego county who has about 150 foreclosures and 150 off market foreclosures. And I'm getting leads from the for sale signs and lots of buyers without realtors and this is the time to, to take it on. So I transitioned over into full time real estate. She got me my position working for Mark Carpenter and he was one of the top agents in 2009 in San Diego. And I, I was there for about five or six years. I got thrown into the business, didn't have really any experience and I was getting like five to six leads a day and I was writing like 30 offers a, a month. And that's when I met you and your, your ex husband. And it's been uphill ever since, working and meeting you and helping you. Stacy, I helped you sell a couple houses and, and purchase a nice home in Coronado. And I know it's a really great place for you. Do you, do you love it?

Yeah, no, it's been amazing, honestly. And I remember how scary it was when I bought it. And then, you know, obviously with how things have changed in this last few years, it's actually been one of my best investments.

I know. Who would have thought after Covid that the real estate go up this much? Everybody thought it was going to go down. So real estate can surprise you sometimes? No.

So it's funny, I didn't even realize you had, like we've known each other this whole time and I don't, I don't. I never realized you had a staffing background, like with recruiting.

I kind of was recruiting mortgage people, lenders, funders, bank tellers, that sort of thing. Lots of different positions, even high level positions within the industry. And I always saw the title reps coming in with all their basket of goodies and it looked like a great, great job. And I was always like, if this ever comes to an end, I might want to be a title rep. And everybody when I was a title rep said, when I did become one, they said, oh, you'd be great at real estate. I think you should do it. So I did get my license when I was a title rep, just to kind of know the lingo and talk the talk with realtors when walking into their offices because title rep is complete cold calling. And sometimes, you know, they're there, they have closed offices where they don't even let title reps come in and sell them anything. So it's, it was high stress, you know, a little bit of, lots of cold calling. You know, you didn't know if people were going to want to talk to you or not. So that was what was kind of cool with real estate is my girlfriend got this wonderful job and she just got all these leads all at this all, all at one time. So I was super lucky. It's not always that easy to get into real estate. Typically you have to build your database and you have to build around your sphere of influence and, and there's a lot of tests involved and then you always want to take your, your crash course before the real estate exam because they teach you so much. What's on the exam But a lot of the stuff you learn for the exam you don't even use in the real world. So that's something that I, I noticed with real estate. And every transaction is so different. Yeah.

And I'm wondering, because you're a hustler real time. Now I'm just wondering if that came from your recruiting background, like from you having to call people to get them placed on jobs where it started, the hustler mindset that you have.

Yeah, I would say so. I, I do feel that, that, that definitely molded the way I was going to be in real estate. And you just have to have that go getter attitude because it's the buyers and the sellers aren't just going to walk in. And same thing with real, with recruiting. You know, you had to locate the resumes, you had to try to find the positions and, and yeah, it was a sales oriented job for sure. And with, with real estate. Yeah. Now, now that the foreclosures are over and you do have to build on, on staying in contact with your database just with every, any other job too. Just staying in touch with them, giving them little gifts, reaching out to them once a month with newsletters, calling them, checking in. Just staying in touch is key. And asking for the referral is what's sometimes tough to do, but it's, it's key because you just, you gotta keep moving and gotta keep busy. And real estate's just a great profession. I highly recommend people considering it. It's. My dad always told me to get into it and I was always kind of scared cause he was a licensed general contractor. So my whole life he was always telling me to be a realtor. But I was always so nervous because it's commission only and kind of scared, scary. So I know a lot of my friends have tried to get into it but you know, it's hard because you don't want to give up your full time salaried position unless you have like a really good opportunity. And I was lucky enough to, to get in with a foreclosure agent because Most realtors in 2009, a lot of them were getting out of the business. The realtor I work with now is the number one realtor in pretty much San Diego County, Seth o'. Byrne. And he almost got out of the business at the time because it got really slow. But I aligned myself with a, with a strong agent working with banks on bank advisory boards. So he was getting all the, all the listings. And I was able to help cash buyers and any type of buyer really work to get an off market deal, which that was key in those years because everything in San Diego county was pretty much for the most part 250,000 back in 09. A lot of the different areas anyway and those, all those homes are now 900 to a million. So real estate's really the best investment.

Definitely. So would you say there's a lot of people that listen to this podcast and are not ready to make the jump into like their own business or into whatever their side, whatever they're, whatever they're wanting to do and so they're looking for like a side hustle. Could they do real estate as a side hustle until it got going?

Yes, I definitely think that's possible. But you have to align yourself. Once you get your license, you have to find a really great team. You have to go on a team. If you don't go on a team, you're kind of out by yourself hoping that the brokerage firm that you work with will give you the training that you need. But most teams will give you leads or, or help you succeed and, and just going straight to a brokerage with some training, you have to really have strong discipline and work ethic to, to, to make it in real estate. So I've seen many people get into it and then go out quickly. Sometimes there's some false promises with the brokerages and they're, they think that they're going to get all kinds of leads and just know that yeah, you're not going to just jump right into real estate and get a bunch of leads and that, that's key for, for buyer, for, for, I'm sorry, agents wanting to get into it as a side hustle because it's not like where, where you just get tons of leads all sudden. When you get into real estate you actually have to work for it. You have to think about all your sphere of influence and call all your friends and family. But working on a team, you have that, but you also have the Kumar artery and, and the discipline and the structure of a team. So it's key and just make sure you, you find the right team that it's not just going to add another five or six people all at one time. Like you just need to find the right, right team.

Yeah, I think that's, I think that's really good. And then how do you, I'd love to hear especially, gosh, you went from being a recruiter to the title rep to then selling advertising and then to real estate. So you've had to handle a lot of Rejection, especially with cold calling and things like that. I'd love to hear your take on, on, on that as well.

Oh yeah. Going into restaurants trying to sell advertising, going into real estate firms trying to sell title insurance. I would always try to bring something of value and do little things like, I'll go the extra mile for you and give them like little extra gum. Just little slogans like that and trying to set myself apart from other people. But most importantly, it's just showing up. Being personable, smiling, just trying to build rapport with, with the other person is, is half the battle. I feel like the same goes with real estate. If I'm given a lead from my team, I set up a buyer consultation. It's just being prepared and getting, getting into some type of structure. Having a buyer consultation form, having a buyer consultation document package that you can give to buyers. That explains the whole entire real estate process from start to finish. When I go on listings, I have a listing package and I go over all the marketing duties that, that I encompass throughout the transaction. So it's just showing up, being proactive, being, showing them that you're a multitasker, you're a strong negotiator, and, you know, showing them the Yelp testimonials in Zillow has really gone a long way too, for me. So, so just building that rapport is one of my, my key attributes I feel in real estate. And, and the same goes for when I go to get my offers accepted. It's very important that you know the realtor or if you don't know the realtor, you, you follow up as soon as you send the offer. And you always want to send offers with pre approval letters, proof of funds, and the offer. Some realtors will piecemeal it and then they won't send it all together. They won't even make a phone call. You definitely want to always CC the lender and have the lender follow up with a phone call just explaining how strong the buyer is. So I'm definitely very good at getting the offers accepted and I think that's key in this business too, because the last couple of years there's been 15, 20 offers on most homes. So. So just being able to set your, set the offer apart, knowing what to put in the offer is important what realtors are looking for.

So yeah, and I think the other thing too, a lot of people have this like, perception of sales being like really cutthroat and you do a really good job of. And I like what you said. The buyer's Consult of being more of a consultant where you really care about the person that you're helping. And I think that's just something I'm really trying to frame better in this podcast too, because I do think sales is such a foundation skilled for people to learn, but because people have this like bad perception of what sales is, they won't even try it. And so I'm just wondering if there's something that you want to speak to that too in terms of how you're able to kind of break down that, that word sales and have it be this genuine interaction that you're having with the people that you're working with.

Yes. Yeah. Well, with that, I would say with the buyer consultation, I always schedule that and it takes about an hour and you just, you start to learn more about the buyer and their, their interests, their specifications for their next home, where they live now, what's most important to them as far as square footage, pool, single story, second story view. Do you want to live near a, a neighborhood coffee shop or always try to make sure people understand that certain houses that they pick out, they back up to main busy roads and they didn't really realize that. So I think just, just learning a little bit more about the, the buyer or the seller and what they're, what they want to achieve and, and try to get them into the, the house that fits them best. I would say so. Yeah. Yeah.

And then when someone tells you no, and let's think about just like all your experience between recruiting and title and advertising and now real estate. So you hear no. How do you frame that?

Well, that's a good question. Well, I typically will follow up maybe a couple weeks just to check in and see how things have changed for them. I always try to just be proactive and check in and see if things have changed with them.

Yeah. And I think it's funny because, so, because you have so much experience with hearing. No. Right. Like you have to. With all the experience you've had anymore.

Yeah, yeah.

I don't even think you're phased by it. So that's what I'm trying to understand is how, how do you take it personally? But I'm hearing what you're saying is you're like, it doesn't even like phase you because you heard it so much.

Yeah, definitely. I feel like I, I have heard it in the past. It's been recently. I haven't just because now the people that come to me are referrals and they typically want to work with someone that was referred to Them and someone that's had a good experience. So. But in the beginning, yes, you're right. There are some no's or, you know, you find out they bought with someone else or there's definitely some letdowns in the business, but you just can't let that get you down. You can be a little upset at one time, but then you, you got to get over it and you got to move on and call the next, next past client or next person that you've met recently to check in with them or set up a coffee date. You just, you definitely just want to keep, keep at it and don't let yourself get down and into that, into that realm. I would say. Yeah. When you say don't let yourself get.

Down, do you have anything specific you do for mindset to keep yourself motivated?

Oh, gosh, well, exercise, taking the dog for a walk, meeting up with girlfriends for dinners. You know, I don't have a lot of free time now outside of work and my four year old little boy, but just getting out in the sun, getting some fresh air, I would say that's about it.

Yeah, that's great. And okay, perfect. So now you're leading me into the next topic of the do the thing, having a kid. So. Yeah, can you share some, a little bit about that?

Yes, definitely. So as I approached 40, I had a great real estate career going. My first year in the business, I sold about 14 houses being thrown into the business in April of that year. And then for many, many years I sold 20, 30 homes a year and close to 40 years old. You know, I realized, gosh, if I'm going to have a child, I need to either do it now or decide not to. And I was dating someone long distance for many years and that didn't end up working out. But I decided that as I got closer to 40, that I really did want to have a child and I did meet a really nice person and we got engaged and so forth and we now have a beautiful four year old little boy and we decided that we both wanted kids and so we, we dated for about a year and I got pregnant in 2018 and had him in November 26, 2018. So he's coming up on his four year birthday. So that's exciting. And so yeah, being in real estate and, and having a child, it was a little bit challenging, I'm not gonna lie. Oh, it's, it takes a lot in real estate to, to be full time in real estate, so. And then have a child. But it's been the Most amazing experience. If someone's thinking about having a child and not sure and they're approaching 40, definitely recommend doing it because it just opens your eyes to so much in life. I can't even imagine not having a child now because of the holidays and just everything. Just teaching them right from wrong and seeing them grow. And, you know, there's just challenges too, with having a child, not knowing if they're going to talk because it took a little bit for him to talk. And. Yeah, I was just a little nervous, but most parents are and, but it's. It's been amazing. He's talking a mile a minute now and everything's. Everything's wonderful. I mean, it's definitely challenging, though, with, with listening and talking back and. Yeah. Waking up at 5am so it's kind of what I'm dealing with right now, actually. But I know, I know it's the, it's the age and it'll. It'll pass and just have to continue to discipline and go from there. Yeah.

And so what went into that decision? You just pretty much just decided you were ready. Did you have to go through any kind of thought process? I mean, obviously you went through a thought process, but, like, can you walk through what that was like, a little bit more?

Oh, sure. Yeah, we were, we both. You know, I always contemplated having kids or not, you know, because I didn't find the right one. And I was dating on the dating apps and trying to find a nice person here in San Diego, and sometimes it can be tough. And, yeah, I didn't find the right one until I was 40. And, yeah, it's. It was. And he really did want kids, too, and he had never been married. And we went on a lot of little trips together and just kind of got ourselves prepared that we weren't going to be traveling much once we had a child. So. But we did, we did decide when, like December of 2017 that we were going to start trying. And. Yeah, it was just. We both wanted. We did. We did decide. We both wanted kids and we wanted to raise. Raise a child and we could both come from, you know, a family. My, my family's a family of five and his is a family of four. So, yeah, we. We decided it was the right thing and so we tried in the third month. There was the charm. Yeah, it's. It's been an excellent experience. Yeah. Yeah.

No, and I, I love that and I appreciate you sharing the story because I know there's many people that are late 30s, early 40s that are still in that wondering phase. And sometimes when you think, if you still think you want a kid and then you think it's too late for you, I think it helps to, to hear other people that have been doing it for sure.

And I have a couple different friends that had kids at 41, 42. So it's definitely a great experience having other friends with only childs most, most of the time. But one or two are still trying. But, but yeah, I definitely recommend having them. And, and yeah, if you have friends that are doing it at the same time, you guys can go to play dates and it's, it's a lot of fun. It really is.

Did your best friend end up having one too?

Yeah, I have two girlfriends that have kids right around the same age, three and four. Oh, my friend right now that's, that's pregnant but she's 39. She's. Yeah, she's not as late as we were, but all of us are 45, 46. I'm 45 now and yeah, I have almost 4 year old. So it can be challenging, you know, with your age. But I wouldn't give it away for the world. So happy I did. It's, it's a wonderful experience. Everything's heightened. All the holidays, everything is just so heightened and it's so much fun. Decorating for Halloween and Christmas and all the special holidays and seeing their faces light up, it's just really, really rewarding.

That's so good. Well, what do you think has been the hardest thing for you? Just if you look at the course of your career and anything else you want to think about in terms of you doing the, like to be able to do the thing.

The most challenging I would say is as a work life balance because I always wanted a child, but I was such a workaholic. So that's probably been the most challenging for me for the last four years balancing that. My fiance, he helps quite a bit too, but he's got a full time corporate job and so he's able to help me for the most part. But you know, I was able to run out during naps and now our son's not napping anymore. So it's been a little bit more challenging balancing work and work life balance. So. But I'm definitely managing but I'm just a little more tired these days.

Yeah, I can imagine.

Especially with the 5am Wake up calls and then all of a sudden he's not napping. So that's been a little bit challenging. Just trying to learn how to, how to discipline and Also work, you know, full time and he is in school now, so that's really good. He's getting lots of good socialization discipline there.

Yeah, that's good. And let's say you had one piece of advice for the listeners on doing the thing. What would it be?

Oh, just, just stick to what you want to do and go for it and just have a strong work ethic and try to align yourself with, with, with a team or someone that's in the industry that, that you want to get into and just learn from them and, and, and strategize with them and, and just see it through and, and try to just stick to it and, and give, give 100% and yeah, keep that strong work ethic and just try to educate yourself as much as you can on, on that, on that goal or that job that you want to get into and just don't give up.

And how do you, how do you handle goals when you're, when you're approaching something new? Do you have a specific way that you work through goals?

You know, I do have short term goals and, and long term goals and, and yeah, I mean it's hard to stick to it sometimes with, with having a child obviously. Like it's kind of tough with work goals is what I'm relating to. So yeah, you just have to try to, you know, make time and have structure and set aside, set aside time for to, to achieve those goals with the work life balance with a child. So because we don't have a nanny per se, we kind of just balance everything between me and my fiance. So yeah, definitely.

Yeah, I know how everything changes, that's for sure. Oh, I'd love you to share where people can learn more about you or especially if they're in San Diego and they want to refer you to anyone that's looking for a home or maybe they're looking for a home or a rental home.

Oh yeah, definitely. Reach out to me via phone. That's the best with text or phone call. That's 858-243-3495. You can also email me at Steph S T E P H at step S T dash E P H and then the word cells and then s d.com so steph@stephsellssd.com and yeah, that's the best. An email to reach, reach out and you can look me up on Yelp or Zillow. I have wonderful 5 star reviews on both of those as well as Google. And yeah, I'll take very good care of you. I'M definitely passionate and strong negotiator on your behalf and know how to get offers accepted and know how to build rapport with the other agent to get your offer accepted and just knows I know a lot of the ins and outs of how to write an offer what will look great to a seller but also protect you as the buyer with your contingencies and so forth. So I have great trusted contractors and lenders as well.

And if someone was interested in getting into real estate, would they be able to reach out to anyone at your company or what would you recommend them doing?

They definitely could. I know Compass typically hires realtors that are kind of already in the business that have business going, but I know that that there's a lot of brokerages out there that they could reach go into and get lots of great training and they could also reach out to me and I could kind of guide them and give them little pointers and maybe guide them to the right team as well. I love that.

That's so great. And is there anything I did not ask you that you wish I asked you?

Oh no, no. I think I shared everything that I wanted to share and I really appreciate the opportunity. Stacy, thank you so much for coming on. Definitely. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it. It's been wonderful.

Thanks for listening to the do the Thing podcast. We hope you enjoyed the show. But even more, we hope you'll be inspired to do the Thing. Do you have a burning question on Doing the Thing that you'd like answered? How about an inspiring do the Thing story of your own that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear all about it. Just leave us a voice message at dothething callcast co or email us at hello, do the Thing podcast dot com.