We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ebony Royal a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ebony, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

I was relocated to the Houston area from hurricane Katrina, and didn’t know the area nor did I know too many people. I was lucky enough to have a cousin who worked as a loan officer for a mortgage broker. He would send me unrepresented buyers that he prequalified.

My first client outside of family, was a single female who was a first time homebuyer. We were both new at our roles of Homebuyer and Realtor. I had been an entrepreneur and opened a few business including a cafe and a clothing boutique, so I knew how to learn on the job. We found her home and had many hiccups along the way to closing, but we made it to the closing table and that was my first time feeling like I did something so major to help someone.

Ebony, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always had an entrepreneurial/ creative mindset. As a young girl getting ready to graduate from high school, I researched careers that made over $100,000 a year and I landed on investment banker. I went to LSU and majored in finance but quickly realized that I had a short attention span when it came to taking classes that had nothing to do with the career itself and these were needed to graduate. I started working for a boutique while in school and quickly got promoted to assistant manager even though I worked limited hours. It was then when I realized that I enjoyed hands on learning in a fast paced environment. Real estate has allowed me to check those boxes of being faced paced and on the job learning as well.

Because of my ability to be very patient and understanding, I gravitate to first time homebuyers and am a certified military relocation specialist.

I have been licensed since 2005 and even recently been honored as the Agent of the year and a Top Producer at my Brokerage.

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

Recently we were in a very unorthodox climate with Covid and we weren’t quite sure what would happen in the Real Estate industry after the frenzy of bidding wars and housing shortages. A colleague and friend of mine approached me with a business opportunity to partner with him and buy a Real Estate Photography Company called Snaphouss, which was Canada based but expanded into the US.

We have been in business for 5 months and it’s been a great decision this far. On top of providing a service beneficial to my clients and my industry, it allows us to see homes before they hit the market, therefore adding even more value to my buyer clients.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Providing great service and a comforting support while going through the buying process. People just want to be heard and instead of telling people NO, I have learned to say yes to most things and navigate them to a solution that they are happy with.

Because of this approach, my business is built on 80% referrals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://royalrealestatepro.com/
• Instagram: I’m on Instagram as eroyalrealtor. Install the app to follow my photos and videos. https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=nd0m52bdc22a&utm_content=8omd8p
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ebonyroyalsellsrealestate?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ebonyroyalmovemetohoustont4656

Image Credits
126 Photography