We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Misty Briscoe-Garcia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Misty, thanks for joining us today. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience an industry-wide U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.
Bottom line, the best practice is to be a good human, regardless of what you are doing. The world is fast and unforgiving. Living without consideration and consciousness will ultimately likely leave you feeling empty and jaded. Maintaining value in your job and your relationships, nurturing and coveting all the things you have invested in, and always maintaining integrity… even when it is hard (because it never presents as the easy road), those are the foundation to life. Regardless of how rapid life moves, the best practice will always be quality over quantity. The golden rule has manifested itself in many different iterations over the course of time for a reason. Be a good human, and never let another make you a lesser version of yourself. 
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
LIVING THE DREAM!!! I am a Western Colorado native and currently the Broker/Owner at Freehold Mountain Real Estate, LLC. In addition, I am a solo practitioner (lawyer); I focus primarily on Real Estate and Land Use, Transactional and Contract Law, Business/Corporate Law and Estate Planning.
I obtained my Real Estate License in the State of Colorado in July of 2016. I currently focus on residential and commercial real estate on the Western Slope of Colorado. I am passionate about all aspects of Real Estate sales and the transaction process. I obtained my law License in the State of New Mexico in 2008 and Colorado in 2010. I believe combining the disciplines of real estate and law is the perfect blend. I am a licensed attorney and solo practitioner in the state of Colorado, where I have been in practice since 2010. I also have an inactive Law License in New Mexico where I have been licensed since 2008, but my love of Colorado keeps my focus here.
Contracts are “my thing” and I pride myself on attention to detail and the craft of wordsmith. I honed my negotiation skills working as a defendant’s advocate for a high volume of debt settlement clients as a staff attorney for a national firm.
I think that real estate and law make the perfect marriage. I not only feel blessed to possess the skillset for both, but it gives me an edge in both industries. I am able to see things from a macro picture that many others do not.
The greatest accomplishment of my life are my two babies (they are teenagers, but will always be my babies), Elle and Cache. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer since I was very young, but as soon as I became a mother I knew that was my real calling. I have been lucky to do both, with great joy, and on my own terms. Has it been easy… Hell no… but worth it… absolutely. Time is so fleeting and life is worth LIVING… still trying to pack as much in as possible. Chasing the waterfalls, picking wildflowers, hiking mountains and always looking for a beautiful sunset and a hell of a view.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I feel as though life often gives us chances to pivot, however some pivots are bigger than others. All pivots are life changing and a catalyst to the next, but some are more maco than micro.
As an Attorney: Number one struggle… going form top tier high school to top tier college graduate (early) to mediocre law student who then struggles to pass the Colorado Bar Exam. The minutiae of that story is not worth the words, just acknowledgement of the existence with that initial struggle. Number two struggle… I became a mother at almost the exact same time as I got licensed to practice law. I took a high volume job as an attorney, but it allowed me to work from home and practice in two different states. It helped pay the bills while I raised two babies. And being able to raise my babies was the most important part. My entire life I wanted to be a lawyer, but the minute I became a mom, I knew that would be the most amazing accomplishment of my life. I continued providing “unbundled legal services” at a fast pace and volume, until the economy crashed is 2007/2008 and the industry changed dramatically. After that, the job was hard on my soul… and I could no longer sacrifice it at the detriment of my family and metal and emotional well being. So, I became a solo practitioner (officially). I have been solo ever since, it’s not easy, but it is exactly where I know I belong.
As a Real Estate Broker: I was the managing broker for a brokerage that I was a part of from day one. I started at the bottom as an office assistant (despite my education and background.) Which was completely fine. I had abruptly left a salary job while trying to make a start in real estate, and I was a single mom, so I was happy to have a job, regardless of the position. In addition, I really enjoyed learning every detail of the business from the ground up. I went from being the office assistant to the managing broker, with a law degree. Ironically at the end of my tenure with them, I was grateful for the administerial tasks that did not require the use of my brain. I managed an average of 20-25 brokers under a board run corporate structure for almost 5 years, and it was exhausting. No days off, no real vacations, high stress at the core of the job. But I loved my brokers, and my job. I loved the hustle and fundamentally I loved being at the heart of really making a difference. I know that being a realtor does not sound romantic, and for a lot of people carries a negative connotation, but housing is a huge problem and one of the biggest life investments, especially in our market. We make dreams come true, we help people realize their dreams and advance their dreams. And for those of us who absolutely love our jobs and covet the relationships with our clients, their wins are our wins and their losses are our losses. We truly feel all the feelings. All that to say, I had to make a change for my mental, emotional and physical health. I wanted to be present for my own life and my kids AND I just didn’t see the vision or advantage of building and working for someone else’s company anymore. I valued the knowledge and experience I had gained, and held it with immense gratitude, but I did not feel valued or respected. I felt like I was giving up parts of myself to be an integral part of someone else’s dream. I made a choice, to start my own brokerage. I put the wheels in motion on the slowest moving bus in town. But I wanted to be prepared and ready. And I was also scared. Scared to fail, scared of being the only one accountable for my brand. But I did it. The timing was absolutely terrible given the climate of the real estate industry, but I did it on my own terms. The reality was, I would have been forced out eventually with a restructuring of the company. I was and am still proud of myself for having the confidence to gamble on myself. Interest rates and the political climate, amongst other things, have kept the real estate industry in a downturn for a while, but I will never regret my choice and will celebrate finally getting the conviction to fly solo and put my all into a brand and business that I believed in. To start laying the bricks for the foundation of my own empire. I am still in the thick of it, a year and a half later (because the economy), and the weeds are tall, but that is the part of the beauty… the struggle.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The lesson I had to unlearn is two-fold. The word sorry should be used when apologizing when you have done something to apologize for. I had to learn to stop unnecessarily apologizing and embrace value and worth. I used to say “I’m sorry” for no reason; it became a such a habit and just rolled off of my tongue without context. I would start and end sentences with “I’m sorry” for no particular reason. I apologized when other people should have been apologizing… or, again, for no reason at all. This naturally lead to questioning my worth. Even after spending 7 years in college and graduate school, getting a law degree and passing two bar exams, you would think I would know that I had value and worth. That I was educated, that I had put in the work. That I should be trusted and respected. But I questioned it, because I was made to question it. Made to question my knowledge, and the hourly fee associated with my knowledge. Made to question my reputation and methods of practice. I had to come to realize that we live in a different world than I idealized, a world of the internet and web-law, a world of instant gratification, a world of idealistic litigious people. And none of that made me or my knowledge or skillset less: it just was what is was. I had to stand firm in who I was and what I had to offer. That collecting a retainer was not an insult. That demanding respect was not arrogant. After all, people were not calling me or walking through my door because they lacked faith in me or knew I would not get the job done. They just needed me to assert it and keep affirming it, which is probably one of my weakest traits. People naturally need reassurance, and I am often deficient in providing it. I had to learn that being firm did not mean I was a bitch, despite what people may call you. The same scenario is now playing out in the real estate world as well. We are having to assert our value proposition and reaffirm it, which is just fine, but I am also having to get comfortable with that concept as a norm. The reality is, the reason I am an entrepreneur is because I did not and do not want to report billable hours or move around someone else’s schedule. I want to have freedom and control of my own schedule, which I also understand lands all the weight of responsibility squarely on my back. The trade off has always been worth it to me. Being an entrepreneur and small business is NOT easy. Most days it will make you question your sanity. I have taken a deep dive into myself the last couple of years and despite everything else… I was made for this. I don’t have all the answers but I am certain that this, my life, is God’s plan!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/Imyourhomegirl970/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Imyourhomegirl970/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/misty-briscoe-garcia-aa023a121/
- Twitter: @FreeholdMtnRE
Image Credits
Carson Muneton-Germano