Top 10 Real Estate Broker, Stephanie Welter, chats with Dan Butterworth, Vice President of Member Experience at First Financial Credit Union, to discuss the neighborhoods they each have a love for on Chicago's Northwest Side.
Stephanie knows Dan from their days of playing pool together in Jefferson Park, but some time had passed and the pandemic didn’t make things any easier. However, it was during that time that Stephanie came across a Facebook group that piqued her interest.
“A few months ago, maybe a year ago, I noticed this amazing new Facebook group called the Northwest Side is Open for Business. And I look at this thing and the admin is Dan Butterworth. I’m like this guy is running the Facebook group, so I wanted to know, what was your motivation behind creating this amazing group.”
Dan who has spent most of his career in banking, primarily supporting small businesses and small business owners, felt compelled to action when he found himself drawn to all the negativity being shared on social media during the pandemic.
“At the onset of the pandemic everybody was sheltered in place, locked up, at home on your phones, and I noticed it was always on social media that the conversations just weren't all that pleasant. And given what was going on at the time, they wouldn't be, but I found myself kind of gravitating and probably most people did towards a lot of that negative kind of scare tactic type content and I said ‘Hey, look, you know, there's a lot of things going around on the Northwest side that are good and we need to spend some time talking about those.”
The two go on to discuss their favorite pizza in the area, amongst several other restaurants that are sure to leave you hungry to try a new spot. Tune in to hear the two share a love for a neighborhood that given them so much.
Stephanie Welter is a Chicago girl through and through. Growing up in Jefferson Park with her siblings and neighborhood friends, everything about her upbringing, according to Stephanie, was pleasant. Her mom had a saying that always seemed to bring everything into perspective: “I know a bad day and this ain’t one.”
“She completely formed my mindset, which I call the deathbed theory. It's everyday I picture if I was on my deathbed, I would look back on today and, I’d just want one more normal day. One more day of my toddler crying and getting syrup on my good couch, you know?”
Stephanie has taken this positive approach she’s learned from her mom and applies it to all aspects of her life. Everyone has challenges, but for Stephanie it’s about maintaining empathy but not letting emotion control her and always coming up with a plan.
She also shares the beautiful story of how her and her husband came together. From growing up together as kids in the Northwestern side of Chicago never thinking they’d ever end up dating, to getting married, having kids and creating a beautiful life together.
As a person who has dealt with anxiety and panic attacks, Stephanie shares her own personal journey of how she’s been able to constantly remind herself in those moments to take a step back and shift her mindset in that moment. She calls her process identifying her three gorillas: black, blue, and pink or as she translates it: worry, guilt, and dopamine.
