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

Christina , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you’re open to it, can you talk to us about the best (or worst) investment you’ve made. What’s the backstory and the relevant context behind why you made the investment

The best investment I’ve ever made wasn’t in a business, it was in my mind.

In May of 2024, I sat on a Zoom call with a woman I barely knew. My whiteboard behind me was filled with goals, neat, ambitious, and completely disconnected from how I actually felt. I had jumped into real estate and short-term rentals and was finding success. From the outside, I was thriving: running a growing business, raising two boys, and surrounded by friends and support. By all accounts, I was winning.

But somewhere in the middle of all that good, I felt a quiet pull, a whisper that there was more. Not more in the way the world measures it. More meaning. More purpose. More alignment between who I was and who I was becoming.

That call marked the start of my greatest investment, my own mental growth.
I removed social media for a full year. I changed my nighttime routine from Netflix and noise to reading, journaling, and meditating. I started sitting in silence long enough to hear my own thoughts again. I let go of friendships that drained me and created space for people who felt energetically aligned with where I was going. I stopped hiding and started standing in who I was, the woman I knew I was called to be.

I built her piece by piece. I said no to social gatherings that didn’t fit the vision and yes to early mornings that did. I took chances on business ventures that looked aligned, and when they weren’t, I learned how to release them with peace instead of fear.

It has taught me that growth rarely looks glamorous. Sometimes it looks like sitting alone with your journal while everyone else is out. Sometimes it looks like saying “no” when everything in you wants to please people. Sometimes it looks like walking away from what’s familiar so you can make room for what’s divine.

I learned that we are always being guided, through every win, every loss, every unexpected detour. We’re never really off track; we’re just being redirected toward something greater.

Now, I lead from a completely different place. My decisions aren’t rooted in fear or validation, they’re rooted in faith, peace, and purpose. That internal investment has changed every external outcome since.

If I could leave one takeaway, it would be this:
You don’t build a successful business until you build a secure mind. Because when you know who you are, everything you create from that place multiplies.

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?

I’m Christina Tracy, the founder of The STR Host Company, a boutique short-term rental management and consulting firm operating in Charlotte, North Carolina and Port St. Joe, Florida. I also work with clients nationwide through consulting and coaching.

I started STR Host Co. after seeing a major gap in the short-term rental industry. Most property management companies run homes like transactions, not experiences. And on the flip side, most “Airbnb coaches” teach theory without ever managing real properties. I wanted to bridge that gap.

At STR Host Co., we manage every property like it’s our own, combining design, data, and guest experience to drive results that actually show up on your bottom line. We don’t guess. We use market analytics, performance metrics, and competitive research to set revenue goals and then build systems to hit them. Our focus is luxury-level guest experience and operational excellence, because a home that looks good isn’t always one that performs well.

Beyond full-service property management, I offer consulting for hosts and investors who want to self-manage successfully or are preparing to launch a new property. Those services are always custom because no two homes, markets, or ownership goals are the same. Some clients come to me for a one-time listing optimization. Others want full build-out support, everything from supply lists and tech stack setup to pricing strategy and onboarding systems and 90 days of support. My goal is to meet them where they are and give them the tools to operate like pros.

The results speak for themselves. I’ve helped clients double bookings, transform underperforming homes into five-star listings, and turn burnout into balance by building streamlined systems they actually enjoy running.

What sets STR Host Co. apart is our personal approach. We’re deeply involved, selective with who we work with, and committed to long-term success. Every decision is made with data, integrity, and intention.

I built this business with one mission: to elevate the short-term rental space by helping homeowners create properties that feel good to stay in, perform well financially, and are managed with excellence.

At the end of the day, I’m not just here to manage homes, I’m here to help people build freedom. That’s what I want clients and followers to know about my work: it’s not just about profit. It’s about purpose, peace, and partnership.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was that validation equals worth. For a long time, I measured my success by how it looked to everyone else, the numbers, the growth, the praise. I thought if things looked good on the outside, that meant I was doing it right. But deep down, I was building from a place of pressure, not peace.

When I started STR Host Co., I was still carrying that mindset, saying yes to opportunities because they sounded impressive, not because they aligned. I built what I thought I should build instead of slowing down long enough to ask, “What do I actually want this to look and feel like?”

That unlearning changed everything. I stopped chasing “more” and started chasing “meaning.” I learned how to trust my own instincts, even when they went against the norm. I stopped trying to fit into the industry mold and built my company around my values: integrity, impact, and excellence.

Now, I make decisions based on peace, not pressure. I don’t measure success by followers or vanity metrics, I measure it by the quality of the homes we manage, the freedom our clients feel, and the way my business supports my life, not the other way around.

That mindset shift is what separates growth from alignment. And once I stopped building for approval and started building for purpose, everything began to fall into place.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

A few books have completely reshaped the way I lead myself, my team, and my clients.

The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest helped me understand that most roadblocks in business start internally. It taught me that self-awareness and emotional discipline are real competitive advantages, because you can’t lead others well if you haven’t faced yourself first.

Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and Thomas Troward’s writings reminded me that mindset is the foundation of everything. Both taught me to look at success as a byproduct of belief, clarity, and persistence, not luck.

You² by Price Pritchett shifted how I see growth. It’s about quantum leaps. understanding that big results don’t always come from big effort, but from bold, aligned action. That book made me start trusting intuition and momentum more than over-analysis.

Then there’s The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz — that one reshaped how I run my company. It’s all about focusing your energy on what’s thriving and pruning what’s not. It gave me permission to simplify, refine, and grow stronger instead of just bigger.

And As a Man Thinketh by James Allen — that’s the classic that ties it all together. It reminded me that your outer world is just a reflection of your inner one. That’s why my leadership and management philosophy is built around mindset, clarity, and consistency. I believe when you grow the person, the business follows.

As a woman in leadership, these works helped me lead with faith over fear, to build boldly but peacefully. They taught me that ambition and grace can coexist, and that the strongest leaders are the ones who have done the internal work to lead with conviction, not chaos.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://strhostco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itschristinatracy/