Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessamy Pressler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jessamy, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
My vision of success has evolved over time and I’m sure it will continue to do so as life teaches me more. I am a highly driven individual with extremely high expectations; these traits can be both a blessing and a curse as I can be highly productive, but at times it can come at the expense of those around me. My professional life has been a long journey of learning how to balance motherhood, professional goals and most recently my personal health. There have been many times in my life where I have jumped head first into a goal and given everything I have to make it successful. At this point in my life I am learning that blind ambition is not the true measure of success. I am re-learning to take care of myself and this may include taking on less volume to give the jobs I take my utmost attention while simultaneously finding joy in the present and appreciation for what is around me. My children are thriving and growing and I want to be in the moment with them. My oldest is 17, a junior in high school, while my middle son is 15, a freshman, and my daughter is 10, 4th grade. We have long departed the (sometimes) trenches of life with littles and at times I think I transferred the fight or flight mentality of life with young children into my professional mentality – running fast and furious and thriving (so I thought) in chaos. With age and experience, I’m learning this is not the way.
Professionally I am learning how to be more discerning about the tasks and projects I take on. I am learning to focus on working with clients and projects that give me life rather than drain the life out of me. This is difficult as past me would tackle anything and everything to race to the top and get the satisfaction of crossing the finish line no matter the personal toll taken. Experience (and pain) taught me that this method is not sustainable long term and it does not offer me the quality of life that I crave. It robs the true essence of me from myself and those I love.
My evolving definition of success now at 42 is as follows: to be strong mentally and physically through daily work on self. To relearn what brings me true joy and follow the path that leads me there. To be in the moment with my family and soak up the phase we are in now. To work with purpose and tenacity, but limit the volume of what requires my attention (read: no more chasing chaos). To contribute authentic goodness and positivity to this world in my daily interactions personally and professionally. To strive for deep fulfillment professionally and personally.
Jessamy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I graduated college with a Bachelors in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management. I had no idea what I might do with that degree! Upon graduating, I landed a great job with a marketing firm in Glenwood Springs, CO and learned a lot about online marketing, developed some really quality workplace relationships, and was poured into by some amazing mentors along the way. In 2008 my husband and I moved to Montrose, CO and simultaneously launched my husband’s plumbing business. It was terrifying, and the economy was not in a good place at all. I continued to work for the marketing company remotely part-time as we grew our family and was learning the juggle of being a working mom. I eventually transferred jobs to a local marketing company in Montrose and again was mentored by some really special people and grew more in my professional life. Since college, I have always had a whisper in the back of my head that I should get my real estate license and in 2018 I took the leap and dove into the licensing process. In February 2019 my license was official and I dove head first into real estate. I learned very quickly that it is not a career for the faint of heart or for those easily wounded. It is HARD and fulfilling and exciting and frustrating. I have been working full time as a Realtor since and have enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people along the way. This is a special job because you get to help people with some of the largest and most impactful financial and personal decisions they will ever make. You are quite literally in the trenches with them and often your relationships go very deep because of it. Those kind of interactions give me life and I am so grateful for those who trust me to help them through these huge decisions. Real estate has seasons of open flood gates and then some heavy droughts so along the way my husband and I have made a focus on buying into the local real estate market and creating cozy short term rentals for guests to enjoy as another facet of our portfolio. This has been a wonderful addition to my career and I truly enjoy meeting new people and seeing our area through their eyes to renew my gratitude for getting to live in such a beautiful space! I like to stay busy and love to bounce around to different areas of focus and my current career set up enables me to find purpose through relationships and truly make a difference in the lives of those around me. This is the most important thing to me – I don’t want to be just another transactional relationship for my clients. I want to have an impact and help their lives be better.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I have been lucky to be surrounded by many wonderful mentors in my professional life and early in my real estate career I decided to join a team with a few women who were instrumental in getting me started in my career. I learned a lot about how to conduct business as a Realtor from these women and how much is involved in being successful and generating business. I learned how to give and take, and how to take a back seat when needed. I also learned that being on a real estate team in our area is not for me. I have recently moved back to being a solo agent and it feels daunting as a part of me feels like I’m starting all over again in the midst of a terrible real estate market in general. The transition has made me look deep within myself to discover what makes me good at this business on my own. What are my skills that I bring to the table and how do I want to make my client relationships work? It has been trying, but life giving all at once. I am looking at the change as a gift to take all of my lessons learned thus far, and put them into practice for the kind of real estate professional I want to be. I want to be constantly learning, going deep with my clients and providing exceptional service that comes directly from me. With that, the volume of clients I take on has to be limited and I have to learn how to be ok going for depth over volume and quality of life over numbers. This is a stretch for me, but it is a necessary one.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I have had to unlearn hustle culture. I bought into the theory full throttle and paid a price with my health, stability, and my family. Always be busy, always be grinding, always be hustling was the mentality I latched onto when I jumped into real estate. I justified this by telling myself that it was finally my time as my kids were older and it was my turn to make a mark professionally and financially and to do this, I had to be full on work 24/7, 365. This is a lie. It is not sustainable. I rode so many roller coasters and learned that the hustle image will get you business, but you will work so much harder for so much less quality. The change comes for me in being confident in my worth and my value as a professional. I work extremely hard for my clients and will turn over every stone to make the transaction successful, but you can’t operate at that level for your active clients and then be running like a chicken with your head cut off trying to pick up every single scrap in the other minutes. I am still learning how to balance the need to attract new business while still taking care of my existing clients, my family, and myself. I am leaning hard into a business built on referrals as happy clients will sing your praises and this is the kind of business I’m after. I am continually unlearning “always be hustling”, and have to remind myself daily through intentional thinking, breathing etc. that there is a better way than panic spinning and that the universe has my back – I just have to stay the path and enjoy the ride.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.JessamyPresslerRealtor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessamypresslerrealtor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessamypresslerrealtor/
Image Credits
Amanda Nokes Photography for all photos