We recently connected with Zenja Walter and have shared our conversation below.
Zenja, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my story! I’ll begin by mentioning that the start of 2022 was an arduous and complicated period of time for me. I was in the process of moving out of my apartment and separating from my four year long cohabitation with one of my closest friends. I began to dread my job, especially due to the return-to-office date haunting me and the comfort I’d created in my work from home environment. I had lost the excitement around art, performing and the sole reason I left my hometown to pursue my big dreams in this not so new anymore city.
I remember thinking to myself, “I’ve been winging it for the past thirty years, why is the lack of clarity and direction for my next move suddenly bringing me so much anxiousness and confusion?” I began experiencing physical manifestations of my internal stress – my skin was reacting negatively, my appetite had gone from barely there to nonexistent, I stopped reaching out and taking calls from my loved ones while simultaneously pretending that all was well and suffering in silence. My mental state began to severely decline, and I felt imprisoned by my circumstances. I desperately needed a break to figure everything out and quickly realized that time and life stops for no one.
When there was no wall left for me to back against, I finally decided to confide in my tribe, my friends, my people – who reminded me of what I already knew – that this can’t last forever and while I’m in the thick of it, I certainly don’t need to face it alone. One very good friend in particular gave me some of the best advice I’d ever received, something so simple, so seemingly minute that had such a drastic impact on my life: to yield.
To yield to God, to rest my worries and concerns and burdens in the hands of God and to absolve myself of them. To let the creator know how I was feeling, what I’d been experiencing, to confess that the unknown suddenly terrified me and this lack of direction felt heavy and discomforting. To, by definition, quite literally surrender to God and let go.
“Sometimes your only means of transportation is a leap of faith.” The risk I took in trusting God wholly and completely is one I would take over and over and over again, given the opportunity. Having the faith in and allowing something greater than me to intercede on my behalf and make all crooked paths straight is something I don’t know I even thought possible, but with God all things are. Allowing myself to yield, to trust, led me to peace of mind, positive circumstances, and to a business partnership that has been growing and thriving in abundance and helped me to discover a new passion of mine – real estate!
I felt as though I’ve been restored, like my questions had received answers and my life pivoted for the best. None of it would have happened without the risk I took to trust God.
Zenja, 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’d love to! I consider myself a multi hyphenated being, one of the many hats I wear is that of an artist. I am a creative by nature and there really is no form of art I do not have a deep appreciation for. I myself am a writer, a poet, an illustrator, and an actor. I studied theatre in college and have been a self-proclaimed drama queen all my life, so naturally thrived in performing arts. I moved to Atlanta upon graduation to fulfill my aspirations of being an actor on television and movie screens across the globe.
In the first few years of being here I’d been given opportunities to be in commercials, music videos, an extra on TV shows and movie sets, and featured in an HBO documentary. During the pandemic, I even hosted a self-directed internet cooking show to appease my desire of being in front of a camera.
As the world closed and reopened, experiencing a metamorphosis of kinds, so too did I. My interests began to shift and while I have no doubt that a career in entertainment is still in the cards for me, the path to my destination began to look a little different than what I originally envisioned for myself. Accepting that fact without guilt or shame truly helped me to step into my greatness and my newfound excitement and passion for real estate. I truly stumbled into this industry, rather followed God’s lead in guiding me here.
One of my best friends had been in the property rental industry and I initially reached out for her for guidance and consultation – circumstances led me to transition from a client to a business partner, and we currently own and operate short term rentals within and around the metro Atlanta area. Furthermore, we also offer services as short and long-term property managers and consultants.
The real estate business is one I’ve been curious to venture into for a few years and had never taken the initiative to move forward with. We are communal beings by nature, and we need people – for me this particular person, my very good friend, was the catalyst for me to turn our ideas into our reality. Our company, Atlanta Property Pros, has shown to be a labor of love and within the first few months of our first joint property, we have been able to more than exceed our expectations regarding our financial goals, generating five figure profits monthly and facilitating in recreating this success for our clients.
The short-term rental arena has proven to be a lucrative and growing passive income business that many people are interested in but don’t know where to start or how to succeed – that’s where Atlanta Property Pros steps in with our expertise, proven results, and world class services. Not very many people or companies are offering what APP does – a personalized approach to taking our clients homes from unfurnished to creatively crafted to meet renters needs and handling ongoing maintenance. We give our clients peace of mind that they can trust their properties in our care. Atlanta Property Pros takes the guesswork out of how to successfully launch and operate a short term rental property. Our strategies work, our reviews are stellar, and our profit can attest to the former – numbers don’t lie!
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Absolutely! My business partner and I were divinely guided to one another. I was taking acting classes at a studio that was offering an adult bootcamp for creatives – actors, singers, dancers – that she also joined. The very first day of introductions, I remember my elation around being in the presence of another Brooklyn native – what really caught my attention was her name, Solange. I often refer to myself as Zeyoncé so to meet my sister from another mister in this space was God’s plan. As the camp progressed, I admired her beauty and talent and knew instantly I wanted her in my circle. “We’re going to be friends.” were the exact words I uttered to my peer as we watched Solange effortlessly complete her photoshoot portion of the bootcamp. Before the weekend long extravaganza came to a close, Solange approached me, stating that she wanted us to be friends, where I confessed to her that I didn’t know how it would happen but that I knew it would. We exchanged contact information, went out to celebrate the completion of our showcase performances, and have been inseparable ever since!
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
One of the best sources for acquiring new clients has been real estate networking events. We’ve been able to secure business relationships that have grown from inquiries to partnerships, connected with people in different avenues of the industry that have fostered mutually beneficial rapports, and have been able to enlarge our network. Another great source is definitely our company’s website – www.MyAtlantaPropertyPros.com. The business unit that pertains to search engine optimization (SEO) is an area of expertise that belongs to my business partner and she thrives in her role to ensure optimal website visits and utilization of the information offered on our site – this is truly her niche. Our company’s site is one of the top search results for Atlanta property management on Google and has been a main source of attracting new business and partnering with clients in search of the services we offer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.myatlantapropertypros.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mysuitespot & www.instagram.com/queenzenja
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWsLb0B-7_ocujRCcSvZYvA/