We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful CYNTHIA WILLIAMS. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with CYNTHIA below.

CYNTHIA, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

The story behind your mission.

Is there something you do differently from the industry standard?

What’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

What are some of ;the biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

If you were starting over, what would you do differently? How could you get to where you are today faster with less capital?

What;s something you believe that most people in your industry or in general disagree with?

Spending money in lean times.

Thoughts on family businesses.

How did you come up with the name of your firm?

What do you think it takes to be successful?

Do you take vacations?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started my career by working in Corporate America at a large Fortune 500 company. I had success by all traditional measures. But I was miserable. I wasn’t making a difference or adding value to anyone’s life—not even mine. I knew I couldn’t live the rest of my life that way. I resigned without any other plans and walked out of the building and never looked back.

Being a Daddy’s girl, I consulted with my Father—my biggest cheerleader and lifelong ally. He knew I purchased home design and house plan magazines every time I went to the grocery store. He knew I was able to identify the names of floor plans and builders just by driving past a home. I thought it was a hobby. My Dad saw it as my new career.

He was right, of course. 20 years later I am still passionate about this industry. There is nothing better than the look on a client’s face at closing. It is a major life event I get to share. It is a blessing.

Life is about more than making money. It is about service to others and making a positive difference in the lives of the people we represent. We are building something that goes beyond real estate. We are helping to Build a Community. We are problem solvers, advisors, helpers, negoitators who look out for their best interest all along the way from beginning to the end and beyond the closing table. We care and we treat everyone like our own family. Real Estate is not about getting you closed and moving on to the next transaction. We want to build friendships for life. My logo is the Pineapple. It is a southern tradition of friendship and hospitality. That is what we are building not just with our clients but with our agents and staff.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I started my company late in life. I always felt in my heart I was born to be a business owner from the age of 12. I was walking the roads of my country block selling flower seeds door to door from a Farmers Almanac my Father had ordered for me. I made $30 dollars and with that money I purchased my very first real gold ring – a white mother of pearl onyx set in 14 carat gold. My daugther has this ring today.

As I took the road after college going into marriage, and motherhood, I decided to go back to college to get my Bachelors Degree. I worked 40 hours a week while being married and raising to active children who were involved in spots or cheerleading and dancing. I had this crazy desire to get my Bachelors Degree and going part time took me 6.5 years because I went two nights a week and on weekends. That was so hard for me but I pushed through. During this time, I was in a terrible accident and was paralazed for about one month. I missed a semester and due to almost dying, my focus was more on family than going back to work, school, and being the soccor Mom taxir driver (per se). But – I knew what my long term goal was and it was to better myself to be able to bring more money into our home to help our family. I knew my graduating from college with my Bachelors would provide promotions in the corporate environment I was currently building a life. The last two years was extremely hard but I pushed through and graduated from the University of South Carolina – Cum Laude. That experience showed me how much I can push myself to not give up. I don’t think I would be a business owner now if I had not had that experience. It showed me how important it is to not give up on yourself!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After being in a corporate environment for 15 years, I came to a point that I decided to resign. I actually hated my job. I had gotten so depressed that I hated everything – even my self. I felt trapped because of the money. I made a very nice living but the brutal mentality I had to endure was terrible. The stress was awful. I went to the Director of HR and expressed my concerns and was told that is just the way it is going to be and to take a 30 leave of absense to get some rest and come back when I felt better. I laugh at this today. Can’t believe they gave me 30 days off to regroup my head. It just showed me I needed to resign and find where I belonged. I know I didn’t belong there. I thought being in the corporate enviroment was going to be life changing – well it was but not in the way I expected.

When the time came to go back to the office, I decided I couldn’t do it. I told my husband I wanted to resign. He tought I was crazy as I made twice as much money as he did. He asked me to wait and rethink my decision. We went to a financial seminar at our church. The speaker talked about how to life off of one income. After it was over, I went up to the preacher and explained my family’s situation. He looked at me and said, Do you believe in God? I said yes. He said, Do you believe God will take care of you? I said yes. He said – there is your answer. I remember walking to the car telling my husband I had to quit my job because if I didn’t I was saying I didn’t believe God would take care of our needs. Of course, my husband thought I had totally lost my mind. He asked me to wait and pray about it. I did for 9 months and then a week before my 40th birthday, I resigned with no job prospect in sight. HE was terrified, but I had negoitated a pretty sweek deal with the Director of HR that would take care of my family for about six months. – and I knew I had time to “figure it out”.

After about 3 months, my Dad asked me what did I think I would do for work? I had not really given it much time. I had spent the first several weeks de-programming myself from the negative enviroment I had worked in while at corporate. He said, Have you ever thought about real estate? I have not I answered. He said you love people and you love houses. I was one of the Thursday grocery shopping ladies how always bought the house plan books at the grocery check out line. I would sneak my $5 to $6 dollar house plan magazine book in the cart like I was hiding a gentlemans magazine – Ha Ha .

When I heard this suggestion, I thought – Hey – I think you may be right. That sounds like something that would be perfect for me. I loved homes, people, and was a really good negoiator based on what I had obtrained from my past company in my exit package. The only thing I needed was a crash course on how to get my license. I found a class two hours from my home that lasted two weeks and started everyday at 8:00 am. Yes – I attended and made the drive everyday and even received the award for the person who showed up first everyday. This career change – changed my entire life. I love what I do. I never see it as work. 20 years later I am just as excited about it as I was the first day I met my first client. The key to success is do something you love that makes you happy. Money is important but it is only a product of our efforts. You have to have a passion for what you do. You have to love it so it doesn’t feel like work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.LifestyleRealEstateSC.com
• Instagram: LifestyleRealEstateSC.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012165452501
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiawilliamssc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9O2mrMJK9TDpRia2Kgm8JQ
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/BUPwrEgnIDRXLGbLMbgCDg

Image Credits
Mark Staff Photo Catherine Hurt Photography