We recently connected with Kristen Contreras and have shared our conversation below.
Kristen , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today
The main thing I would do differently is start sooner! If I could go back I would have gotten my license at 18 years old, fresh out of high school. I would look for people in the field, interview them and find a mentor to help guide me in the process. I would also read more books about investing and real estate. I also understand that we are all on our own journey and God will bless us with the things we want when he knows we are ready for them.
Kristen , 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?
When I started my career in Real Estate, I was coming out of a dark and depressed season of my life. I had just found a new church called Calvary and loved everything about it! I was feeling myself again and loving my new season. All of my past jobs had been sales and had to do with helping and serving a customer. I knew I wanted a career that would allow me to connect and help people. Real Estate had always interested me. I loved watching HGTV and how they would make ugly homes look nice, and I loved watching MTV Cribs back in the good old days and how they would walk you through the house! I just thought you had to go to college to become a realtor and never pushed for it. I actually dropped out of college! Something so cool I like to look back on is when I was 10 years old, my aunt was looking for a house to rent, and I had spent the whole day looking through the newspaper to help her find one, yes they used to have listings in the newspaper! I had found her house and we went to go tour it, and she moved in days later. I did my first real estate transaction at 10 years old. One day, I reached out to my mentor at church. He is a Calvary member and a Real Estate Investor, and he told me to get my license. I kept hearing get your license on every Youtube video I would watch and on every Real Estate podcast I would listen to. When he said that, I was like okay I need to get this license! It was a sign, and I listened! I signed up and studied all online. I was working full-time as an insurance agent at the time, and I was a single mom of two kids who were actively involved in sports. I would study after work once the kids were asleep and, in the mornings, before they woke up. Sometimes I would fall asleep with my books and laptop open. I knew what I wanted, and that was to become a realtor! I was dedicated and disciplined, so I was willing to do whatever it took. It took me 9 months to complete the courses, and I applied to take my realtor exam and passed! I will never forget walking out of the testing center, seeing my test results, and getting on my knees praying and thanking God for allowing me to get to a new level because I knew I was about to change people’s lives. The test administrator even prayed with me in the lobby! That day was amazing! I am a bilingual realtor in the DFW metroplex on the Casa Real Estate team. I help people buy, sell, rent, and, or invest into real estate. I work with all price points. I love to sit down with my clients to talk about their wants and needs, go down the timeline and steps of what it takes to become a homeowner, and inform them of how the market is currently going. I love to educate my clients because I like to stay ready so we don’t have to get ready! What sets me apart is that I truly serve my clients and go hard for them. I treat all of them as if they were my family. I do my research and use all of my resources to make sure my clients are getting the best deal out there! For my Airbnb, I had always had it on my dream board to start one up. I kept watching videos on Youtube to learn how others did it, I finally said let me just do it! A friend of mine also wanted to do it so we became business partners and took the leap together! We furnished the house, took pictures, and went live on Airbnb. Within 9 minutes we got our first booking and have stayed booked ever since. All thanks to God and our team. Our Airbnb has 4 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, 3 bathrooms, a spacious backyard with a covered patio, and a fire pit. It is located just 10 minutes from the DFW Airport & 20 Min from the AT&T Stadium! We provide an amazing hospitality experience for all of our guest’s and they love it! We became Super Hosts within 3 months!
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best source has been all of my referrals, and social media. I love all of my client’s! They continue to come back to me and send me all of their friends and family so I can help them invest in Real Estate. Social Media has helped a lot as well! I enjoy making reels, and tiktoks for my audience. I have gotten tons of client’s that message me because I was either tagged, or they seen my video.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Yes I love books! My favorite are, Agent You by Nicole Lynn, The Perfect Day to Boss Up by Rick Ross, 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, The four agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, Rich Dad’s guide to investing by Robert Kiyosaki, and The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone. I love more, and can go on and on haha but those are my top favorite that I could read over again and never get tired of!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkristencontreras/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristen.contreras
- Other: link tree: https://linktr.ee/iamkristencontreras airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/645673699987188441?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=9bc5e888-1de6-4b63-bfa4-be429bd6008a
Image Credits
Professional pics : https://www.instagram.com/shuttermafia_/