Stephanie Welter from Keller Williams joins us on this episode of the Real Estate Moguls Podcast. Originally from Jefferson Park, Stephanie first fell in love with real estate when she and her husband were searching for their own house.
During that time, working for a non-profit, Stephanie asked the Real Estate Broker they worked with about switching careers. At that moment, though, it didn’t make sense and the numbers showed that 80% of realtors fail in their first year. She goes on to tell us the winding story riddled with unsuccessful interviews that eventually led her back to real estate.
Overcoming the fear she had based on a statistic of failure wasn’t easy. Stephanie shares how her brother, a Chicago Police Officer with a loan office side hustle, helped her reach an epiphany:
“I'm like, okay, I can't afford to live on a Realtor starting salary. So they say. I also can't afford to live on the loan officer license because my brother said, ‘this is a side gig.’
And so I was like, why don't I do both?”
The first step was to make sure that was legal in Illinois. Could Stephanie be both a Realtor and Loan Officer? The legal answer was yes but it took her some time to find a brokerage that agreed.
Tune in on this episode to hear more about Stephanie’s journey in real estate and learn what it’s like to be both a Loan Officer and Real Estate Broker.
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.
Topics: Real Estate Broker, Lender
