Like building a sturdy home, success in real estate is about laying a strong foundation. Before creating a livable space, a builder will put down the bricks on which the home will rest. In the same manner, a Realtor might spend a year or more laying the groundwork of his or her business. This can be a lean time, but when the agent finally gets to the point where he or she can start raising the walls - look out.
Two years ago, Stevie Rifenberick held her groundbreaking ceremony. She earned her license, settled in at Crye-Leike on Gunbarrel Road and started putting down brick. A big part of her work during that time was expanding her knowledge of real estate. For example, instead of waiting until the last minute to squeeze in her continuing education credits, she completed them all during her first year.
“From the start, I was determined to do this the right way,” she says.
For Rifenberick, “the right way” including taking advantage of the lean months to learn everything she could - including the mountain of paperwork involved in a real estate transaction. “People told me to just go do it, but I wanted to understand everything before I did it,” she says.
Rifenberick also wanted to do whatever she could to start gaining momentum. Doing her floor time, networking within her social circle and building up her marketing materials were all a part of her early efforts.
While Rifenberick wanted to build a robust foundation for her business, she also had an obstacle to overcome: her youthful looks. Although 26, she looks even younger. One client even joked she looked like she should be in high school. Rifenberick therefore knew she needed to be prepared to overcome concerns about her abilities. “I want my clients to trust me and to understand I know what I’m doing,” she says.
Although Rifenberick battled misperceptions due to her age during her first year, her firm grasp of real estate prevailed in every situation. Even the client who made the high school crack forgot about her looks when they closed a deal one month later.
Despite Rifenberick’s best efforts, year one was lean. She closed two deals: a rental and a foreclosure. But she says she never became discouraged or questioned her decision to pursue a career in real estate. “I got into real estate at a great time. Sure, it would have been nice to have come in when sales were easy, but I had the time to learn what I needed to learn to do my job well,” she says.
Among those lessons was an understanding of what it means to work hard for success. The best part of learning that lesson came midway through this year, when Rifenberick’s business started gaining momentum. Potential clients knew her name, referrals were coming in, and her comfort level was at an all-time high. Things clicked. Today, her picture is on a board in the lobby where she works in recognition of her being a sales leader among several offices in October.
“From the beginning, I knew getting to this point would take time, so I just kept putting the pieces together,” she says.
Real estate was not Rifenberick’s first choice for a career. After graduating from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School, she attended Chattanooga State and earned an Associate of Science degree with an emphasis in chemistry. Her goal: to become a psychiatrist. “The brain, and the things that cause us to act the way we do, fascinate me. I’m an inquisitive person, and I enjoy trying to understand people on a deep level,” she says.
Rifenberick took her degree to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she studied biochemistry. While college satiated Rifenberick’s thirst for knowledge, she was not convinced she was on the right path for her.
“Real estate had always interested me. I’d scroll through homes and look at stats. I thought I’d enjoy real estate because I also like working with people,” she says.
The idea of owning a business also appealed to Rifenberick. She’s worked for others, and says only good things about those experiences, but would rather be in a position in which she can count “on [herself], and only [on herself].” So, Rifenberick put her college education on hold and moved to real estate, where a new field of knowledge awaited her.
While building her business, Rifenberick has stayed busy raising her two children: a boy, Tristan, 7; and a girl, Ryleigh, 2. She takes a moment to stop talking shop and brag on her kids.
“My son has been quick from the beginning. When he wasn’t even three, he and I were talking, and he said, ‘I’m done with this conversation.’ I laughed. I didn’t even know he knew that phrase!”
Tristan even baffled his teachers at Primrose School of East Brainerd with the things he would say and do, and today, he’s making a name for himself in a D1 Sports Indoor Soccer League.
His sister will need more time to get up to his speed, so for now, Ryleigh is content to play games on her mom’s iPhone, go hiking with her mother, and spend time with her grandparents and other family that live in the area.
While Rifenberick clearly takes her work seriously, she’s even more dedicated to her children. She talks openly about becoming pregnant with Tristan in high school, and what attending school and starting her career while shouldering the responsibilities of a single mother has been like.
Although self-reliant, when Rifenberick became pregnant with Tristan, she did seek counseling at AAA Women’s Services, a pregnancy resource center now called Choices. She was 18, frantic, and in need of emotional support. She also loved her unborn child, and wanted to know what she could do to make her situation work.
“They helped me through my pregnancy. They talked with me about my situation, made me feel better, and helped me to understand I would need to work for what I wanted,” she says.
Later, Rifenberick returned to AAA as a volunteer to counsel other young woman who found themselves in a similar situation. “I wanted to give back. I wanted to tell these women they’ll be OK and will make it work. I went through college with an infant. I had people who helped me. And I learned what I needed to know,” she says. Rifenberick volunteered with AAA for two years.
Rifenberick is doing nicely, and her career has momentum. But no matter how much she achieves as a Realtor, she’ll never stop learning, and never stop laying the foundation for even greater things. Her love of learning, her desire to serve her clients well, and her hunger for success will see to that.