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

Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Starting my post college life was a little daunting. I graduated with an English degree and didn’t want to be a teacher. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and hadn’t really thought that far. My grandparents were currently living about 5 hours away in a retirement community and I was grasping at straws trying to find some kind of inspiration to figure out what was next for me. They were happy at their community and it was a world I knew almost nothing about but there was something that called to me about looking into senior living and senior healthcare (again, English major here). After a few moments of perfect timing and an executive director taking a chance on me I ended up working as the admissions director, at 22 in a city I had been in for less than 60 days. I worked in that building for about 4 years and decided I wanted to do something else. My mom had been a real estate agent since I was 3 years old and I decided that it would give me more flexibility and the ability to see a direct correlation between how many hours I put into my career and the amount of income I produced. I must admit, I thought it sounded like easy money and that I would just get to show pretty houses all day. Rookie mistake! Both of those are far from an accurate picture of what being a full time, high producing, real estate agent look like. I worked as a novice real estate agent for about 4.5 years and then found myself a single mother and knew I needed to put the pedal to the metal. I started working a couple of days a week as a marketer for a home health company and quickly reconnected with all of my contacts from the geriatric healthcare world. It felt like home. My time with the home health company was brief but it provided clarity, a pathway and an opportunity. I took a risk and decided to go all in and put all my eggs in one basket of specializing in older adults transitioning from their long time homes into retirement living communities around town. Why was this a risk? Most of my contacts prior to this had all been peers in their 20’s and early 30s. I had been helping first time home buyers and young adults, my peers. I was now pulling away from my comfort zone and labeling myself as someone who almost exclusively worked with homeowners in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Would that work as someone still in their 20’s themselves? I took a leap of faith, my seniors felt like home and I had a strong belief in the positive impact community living made in their lives. Sometimes when you narrow your focus and become specialized in just one thing you isolate yourself from all of the “other.” For me it has proven to be the best decision I could have ever made. My business took off and my love for my seniors swelled within me. When you walk on the pathway that you were meant to take life gets sweeter and more colorful. My niche has allowed me to literally and figuratively hold the hands of hundred’s of San Antonio’s older population as they make a move that is truly like no other.

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 am most proud of the relief I see in my client’s faces when they realize I have a plan for them on how to transition from their home and start a new chapter in their life. When we sit down at their kitchen table together and map out how to get from “here” (their current home) to “there” (the amazing retirement community they’ve chosen that feels like freedom) they can finally exhale and take their first steps. Without a doubt, this move is unlike any other move they’ve ever made. Sometimes they have raised their children in the home they are selling. Often they have lost a spouse in recent years and have never had to make all the decisions that come with selling a home and moving on their own. Almost always they are exhausted and aren’t sure how to even think about getting started. By connecting the pieces for them we can get estate sales scheduled, finally get that carpet changed out and make a plan for tackling the craft room or garage. A move like no other requires a real estate agent like no other. These kinds of transitional moves and home sales are what I do every day and my clients don’t have to spend hours on google trying to figure out who to call and what steps to take first. I can pull up a chair alongside them and show them how we can achieve their goal, often in much less time than they were thinking it would take.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

When March of 2020 hit and it felt like the world was going to stop spinning; I was worried my business was doomed. We all saw the stories of nursing homes where Covid was running rampant. Older adults felt paralyzed to even go to the grocery store much less think about communal living. My niche was almost exclusively fed by older adults moving community living. 2020 meant I couldn’t attend events at communities anymore. It meant that the over 65 population kept very small social circles and were often choosing to stay home and isolate. I needed to think outside the box. I created a podcast to reach some of my seniors. I increased my paper mailouts. I also helped dispel some of the myths about community living during the time of Covid. Slowly, many of my clients realized that living in a community was exactly the right move during 2020. It meant they didn’t have to go to the grocery store anymore, it meant that they could stay put and be social and dine with friends and stay indoors. The communities kept unnecessary visitors out to keep their residents safe. This doesn’t mean I didn’t have to close some transactions on folding tables on sidewalks of independent living communities to keep in compliance with guidelines from the communities but it all worked out in the end.

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

That sometimes blue carpet is the right choice.

I remember one time showing a home to a potential buyer and I unlocked the door and as I opened the door I saw miles of blue carpet in the home. I turned around to my client and made a face and said, “yuck there’s lots of blue carpet.” She almost knocked me over rushing past me into the home saying “I LOVE blue carpet.”

Of course this isn’t just about blue carpet. What it is about is not putting your own opinions and assumptions on your clients. You have to ask questions and actually listen if you are in sales. When I meet with someone selling their home an important question to ask is “what made you buy this home” or “what do you think will make someone want to buy your home?” The answer can help you see things you would have missed. It can also help you figure out a strategy to capture a like minded buyer who may think differently than you. One time was visiting a home seller who had a perfect view of In and Out Burger from their back porch. I thought it was a huge eyesore. My client told me that she loved it because she had lived alone for many years after her husband’s passing and it made her feel like she wasn’t alone. She no longer drove and it helped her know that the world was still turning and life was still happening.

You can grow as a salesperson when you admit that there are lots of alternative ways of thinking and that we are all unique beings and our homes are reflections of those unique intricacies.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.redefininghomeSA.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Redefininghome/
• Other: My podcast is called From Here to There, Redefining Home

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