August | Amy Michielle Freeman
It’s August, which means it’s time for another installment of Over | Under. Since it’s inception in April we’ve had the pleasure of meeting a musician, an artist, a writer, and a fashion designer. For this month I thought it would be nice to segue over to the business environment. What with so many of us who work ‘nine-to-five’ it’s always a good day when we make a new connection with another working woman. It isn’t easy to make a living no matter what age we are, but what intrigued me about Amy Michielle was the fact she made a major career change when she turned 40. I first met Amy Michielle back in 2009 when I first returned to the workforce after a 26 year hiatus. As many of you might know it isn’t easy to find a job when your resume has a large gap on it. But that’s a story for another day. Thanks to our fab realtor Fritz Kroll, who knew I was keen on returning to work but faced major hurdles, I was hired as a part-time receptionist at Edina Realty. Thanks Fritz. Fun job! Fun people to work with! And this is where my path crossed with Amy Michielle who had just gotten her real estate license and set up shop at Edina Realty. What impressed me with this woman was the fact she showed up every day with a smile on her face, and a can-do attitude. And if you’ve forgotten what the real estate landscape looked like in 2009 let me remind you – dismal. But here was Amy Michielle, a determined go-getter who didn’t let the circumstances surrounding her dictate her future. So little-by-little she carved out a real estate career and now has numerous awards to her name:
2015 Edina Realty President’s Circle
When you first started out in real estate what was your short-term goal? Did you devise a strategy to achieve it?
My short-term goal was to make enough money to eat a meal besides ramen noodles…seriously, I just wanted to be able to pay my bills until I could go back to designing.
Having found success in a field that requires self-motivation what advice would you give to someone just starting out?
Keep watching what the “big players” are doing, offer to be of help…never let em see you sweat.
Ocean, lake, or pool?
Ocean, Pacific Ocean specifically, there’s a boulder in Marina del Rey that has my name on it as my recharging stone. 😉
In your down time what one activity do you look forward to most?
Just hanging and laughing with my friends and my pets.
Do you have a motto?
Dream it so you can be it! I’m big into visualization.
How do you define success?
Personal life, as long as I’m happy and have a roof over my head that’s success…Professionally, I am very recognition driven, so I love sales awards and circle recognition awards.
What do you think of first impressions?
I believe in them…and they are usually right, from my experience.
What is it like running your own business?
I come from a long line of entrepreneurs, so it feels very natural to me…surprisingly less stressful than trying to “do” corporate America. I used to play business as a kid instead of Barbies, so I’ve been running a business a long time. 😉
Everyone has to start somewhere. What was your first job?
I was a babysitter…for an only child I’ve got great child-rearing skills.
What would you tell your 20something self if you could?
Honey! You haven’t seen nothing yet, plan now so you can really play in your 40s when it is way more fun.
What’s next?
Continuing to build my real estate empire…turns out that’s a passion too.
From whom did you get those amazing brows and gorgeous lips?
Haha, I love that you think my brows are amazing…I will give credit to Ebony Davis who keeps those caterpillars in shape. My lips are a perfect blend of my beautiful parents.
What 3 words describe your current life?
Fabulous, Hectic, Fun
A big thank you to Amy Michielle who raced to meet a very short deadline for me. Hugs, sweet friend for sharing your fabulousness with us! Ladies, if you would like to connect with this talented entrepreneur here is the link:
Interesting andf inspiring text. In west Europe it would be almost impossible to start to work after 20+ years of being at home.
it’s been challenging, but i’m thankful for the opportunities that were given to me.
and now, i have this wonderful blog and am able to talk to wonderful people like you!
xxoo beth