Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Bellamy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think success is individual to every person and what the word success means to them. I think success is often antiquated in society as making a whole bunch of money. I don’t equate money entirely to success. Of course I want my business to be successful and grow beyond my wildest dreams and in turn that will give me money to help create a better life for my family, create community, give back and leave this world a better place for future generations. But it’s the quality of life I create rather than numerical amount of money that determines real success for me. Do I have plenty of time with my children, do I have plenty of time to myself to do the things I love? If my essential bills are paid and I am able to be present with my children and myself that to me is success. Success equals happiness and my children and self care is what makes me happy. As my business grows and my revenue grows, the type of experiences and adventures I get to have with my children will elevate. The amount of time I get to myself will elevate, because I will be able to leverage my work and tasks to others more and focus on my clients. Success in my business is also not a dollar amount but rather what my clients experience. I want my clients to have a smooth and easeful time buying or selling their home. I don’t take my responsibility lightly and truly am in a service industry. My success in my business is solely determined on what my clients experience. I strive to be helpful and friendly through every step of the process. My goal is to connect with the human as soon as possible and determine what is needed for each client. Not what is the best commission for me but what is the best quality of life for my client. Whether that’s leasing their home rather than selling. Buying a home that they love but in turn helps them meet their financial goals. Success to me is loving what I do, being of service and spending my time on this planet with presence and purpose.

Michelle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When speaking about myself I always identify as a mother first. I have twin daughters that are 8 and a 4 year old son. My children will always be my greatest accomplishment and being a parent will always be my full time job and my favorite job. That being said it’s not always easy to be a single mother in the real estate world but with the right mindset, boundaries and help anything is possible. Actually being a mother helps my schedule and business in many ways. My children help me set my calendar and priorities for my client needs.

My clients experience is my number one priority. For me to truly understand what my client desires I take the time to get to the “human” as soon as I possibly can. I love to connect with my clients on a deeper level to understand who they are, their interests, passions and dreams for themselves and their family. Each client has different needs especially in the world of real estate. A home creates security and comfort but can also have limitations depending on size, location and price. I am not a real estate agent that will ever push a client into a deal. I will always seek the deal that is best for all people involved in the transaction and not what is best for my pocket.
I pride myself in integrity and honesty in an industry that unfortunately doesn’t have the best reputation for transparency.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

My clients are a part of my community or become part of my community. I make it a point to reach out to my clients regularly and check on them and their individual needs. I invest myself in a lot of activities in my life and invite my clients to join me. Such as golf, tennis, hiking, walking, pilates, yoga and or simply catching up over tea or lunch. In fact I just hosted a yoga event with my favorite local yoga instructor, Alison Burmeister in Temescal Park in the Palisades. We had about 10 amazing women from the community come together and talk about our lives, real estate, investing in our future and then joined in a wonderful yoga class led by Alison. It was rejuvenating and a great way to connect and get to know one another.

Creating community is where I find joy and purpose in my life. I’ve always gravitated towards it since I was a kid. I organized a street cleanup in my neighborhood where I grew up in Southern Oregon to pick up trash along the side of the road. I was part of Key Club in high school where we painted houses for the less fortunate, did car washes for different non-profits or run food drives for the local food bank. In college as a musician I started a musical fundraiser event called Fam Jam. I would have my local musician friends come together and literally jam out every month to bring awareness and raise funds for a different local non profit that I chose to highlight. It was one of my favorite things I’ve ever created because it brought so many people together and educated the community on what amazing non-profits we had and how to help them. It’s in the works to bring this back here in Southern California so keep your eye out!

That all being said, I keep in touch with my clients by becoming their friends and truly caring about them. Whether I schedule a reminder to reach out or they pop into my head or I run into them on the street or at an event. My clients are always top of mind and how I can help them not only in real estate, but in their day to day lives. I love being of service. Real estate is unique in the fact that as agents we get the honor of helping people invest in themselves, their future and a home that they create lasting memories in. I don’t take this responsibility lightly and do everything I can to make sure my clients quality of life always comes first in my work. I truly love what I do and look forward to all the people I get to help and meet along the way in my journey.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

So many lessons in life we have to learn over and over again and still don’t get it, or we have to unlearn something that no longer serves us or we simply just need a new vantage point. Taking inventory in our lives helps us navigate what lessons we need to truly master and which ones we need to let go of.

For me I had to unlearn how to feel like I have to do it all or feel like I have to prove something. At the end of the day who are we trying to impress or turn our to do lists over to? No one. We create in our heads how we are supposed to live our lives. I am constantly surprised to learn that there are infinite ways to live life. We may not always all agree with one another, but at least we can agree to hear each other out. We don’t need to convince anyone of anything and having the courage to ask for help when you need it is always a humbling and necessary experience. It truly takes a village to raise a child and I’m so grateful I’m part of the Palisades community where I get to grow and learn with my children and other families.

Contact Info:

• Website: michellebellamy.kw.com
• Instagram: @michellebellamyrealty
• Facebook: Facebook.com/michellebellamyrealty
• Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/Michelle-Bellamy-882403150
• Other: New website being built: michellebellamyrealty.com

Image Credits
Trish Alison Phtography Heather DeCamp