It was the allure of being in charge of her own career that made Lori Burrows-Warren want to be a real estate agent.
“I came to the conclusion that I would probably be more successful being my own boss, not having to manage other people and getting the job done,” said Burrows-Warren, who has been in real estate for 4 years.
Like other women who’ve made the switch to real estate, Burrows-Warren tried other careers before, dabbling in marketing and tech. Real estate, however, allowed Burrows-Warren to capitalize on her strengths and create a lifestyle she dreamed about.
“After doing marketing and consulting and being with a small tech company I realized that I loved the flexibility, the potential financial upside and that I actually loved this business more than I thought I would,” Burrows-Warren said.
When Burrows-Warren was in high school her mom became a real estate agent. This actually pushed Burrows-Warren away from the industry — she wanted to do something different than her mom. “I put off becoming an agent until I realized that the upsides were so great.”
Those upsides eventually sold Burrows-Warren on trying real estate as a career. It had everything she wanted — it challenged her to use her people skills, let her be the fierce negotiator she always knew she was and was flexible enough for her to prioritize family time.
Free guide: Become the most forward-thinking agent in your market.
After getting into real estate, Burrows-Warren found a deeper motivation in being able to connect with her clients in a genuine way.
“I’m motivated by helping my clients get into the homes they love and sell their homes for the highest possible price. It’s really fulfilling when I see that come to fruition,” said Burrows-Warren, adding, “I become friends with a lot of my clients.”
Those aren’t the only upsides that Burrows-Warren values about her career. She’s a busy mom three children ages 9, 11 and 14. It isn’t easy to balance a full-time career and full-time parenting, but Burrows-Warren says real estate gives her the best chance to do that.
“There are times where I’m not all that balanced and I have to improvise,” Burrows-Warren said. “But the upside is that I can still go to my son’s baseball game tomorrow, turn off my phone for two hours and work around that.”
Making time for everything is challenging, but not as difficult as it was when Burrows-Warren worked in other sectors. “It’s way easier because you’re your own boss. You call the shots. I can volunteer in my son’s class once a month now. It was harder before because I couldn’t take time off in the middle of the day. But now I set my own schedule. I can work until 11 at night after my kids are asleep and then spend an hour with them in the classroom the next day.”
For someone who avoided real estate for so long, Burrows-Warren is happy to have finally found a career that meets all of her priorities and helps her reach her goals.
