We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lindsay Hernandez . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lindsay below.
Lindsay , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.
In 2016, our family suffered through the tragic loss of our middle son, Christian. After serving students and families of my community for almost two decades as a special education specialist for the school district, I found a longing to serve in a different way. We founded our non-profit, Christian Michael Hernandez Foundation, and in an effort to pour into our mission (to impact the lives and circumstances of others through the provision of unconditional kindness), I chased the dream of finding a way to do this full time. I have always felt a need to help others in a professional capacity also which led me to consider the idea of entrepreneurship so I could marry my two passions: professional and philanthropic service. I have always had a passion for real estate and participated in personal ventures over the years. The idea of having a flexible work schedule to pour into my family, our non-profit and a career which still allowed me to help families in some way made me so excited for my next chapter. The faith it took to completely change careers and my life’s trajectory after so long was huge! However, the possibility of allowing fear to be greater than what I knew was possible for me was never an option. Years later, I have been able to help MANY families both locally and globally and I couldn’t be more thankful I was brave enough to look past the risk and chase my dreams!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
A longtime resident of Tampa Bay, I have always believed in pouring into my community. After building an accomplished career as a Special Education Specialist within the school district, I eventually turned my efforts in a different direction which has allowed me to continue to serve individuals and families locally and globally, but in a different way! For years, I cultivated my skills which allowed me to then establish a flourishing real estate career as well as our family’s non-profit organization, Christian Michael Hernandez Foundation. I’ve been recently acknowledged as a Top Agent “Area Specialist” by Top Agent Magazine and awarded the recognition of being one of KNOW Women’s “40 over 40.” I pride myself on building meaningful relationships in all that I do, and this remains the focus for me both as an entrepreneur and as a philanthropist. In business, I prioritize being able to provide personalized service and diligent care to every single person or family I am honored enough to serve. I tell my clients that I am “faithfully dedicated” and this rings true from our first conversation until long after they step foot into their new home. Earning the trust of my clients is personal to me and something I will never take for granted. I am as invested in their buying or selling process as they are and will strive to exceed their expectations every time I have the chance. My goal is to make their sale or search feel as stress-free as possible and as fun as it can be! It is truly a very special adventure we get to share together, and I cherish the chance to join all of my clients as they close one chapter and begin another, taking great care to acknowledge even some of the most sensitive circumstances which may have brought us together. Deeply influenced by the loss of my son, Christian, in 2016, I have intertwined my passion for serving my community professionally with the passion I have for serving philanthropically. I work hard to balance my career with my volunteerism and so many times, these two ventures co-mingle so beautifully. In the past, I have been blessed to donate to a client’s favorite charity as a way of thanking them for their business or join a call-to-action which is meaningful in some way. I have also been able to take advantage of creating my own work schedule (to some extent since real estate never sleeps!) which allows me to pour into the needs of my community and dedicate myself to our mission which is to impact the lives and circumstances of others through the provision of unconditional kindness. I stive to help make a local and global change one good deed at a time. I truly value the opportunity to create a life which is spent in service unto others and I’m so thankful for the relationships I get to build and cherish along the way.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
The Tampa Bay real estate market is saturated with agents. Some are new and some are seasoned and finding a way to sustain a successful career as a Realtor means having to build a quality reputation which precedes you. I believe that my approach to offering personalized service and diligent care has allowed me to build a respected reputation as an agent in my area. There is no limit to what I will do to ethically and faithfully care for my clients. I take great care to build meaningful relationships and to earn their trust which is of the utmost importance to me. I pride myself on doing things the “right way” and the honest way as at the end of the day, integrity is what matters the most. I believe that my efforts speak for themselves and every single time I am blessed to earn a new client because of something they have heard about me or a positive review they’ve seen, I am honored to know that I’ve built a reputation around kindness, genuine care, authenticity, tenacity, diligence, professionalism, and follow-through.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One lesson I think we’ve all been exposed to at some point is the idea that we should “never give up.” While I wholeheartedly believe in staying the course, especially when you’re chasing a dream or when times get tough (because they will!), I think it’s completely healthy and appropriate to take a step back and reassess when necessary. Forcing something into existence simply because we equate quitting with failure, in my opinion, can often result in manifesting opportunities or scenarios which may ultimately be worse for us. I believe in the power of fortitude and tenacity, but also, I believe in pouring into our ideas and efforts in ways which will bless us significantly rather than leave us less than satisfied because we may have been too afraid to start over or change the course midway. I have found through my personal and professional life, that what is meant for me will always find its way when and how it’s exactly supposed to. I have worked extremely hard to achieve the level of success I have found as a Realtor and this has come with the belief that I am strong enough and wise enough to know when to press pause and / or pivot. I have leaned on my ability to intuit what I know to be best for my company and for my clients and this has always steered me down the most beautiful roads. So, while the lesson “never give up” is certainly something I would not say to “unlearn” completely, I’d couple this notion with the lesson to give ourselves the grace and space to make decisions in a way that failure or detours are safe and a part of life! The lessons we learned from the things that didn’t work are as much a part of what makes us great as the things, we take from what comes easy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christianmichaelhernandezfoundation.org
- Instagram: @LindsayHernandezRealtor
- Facebook: Lindsay Hernandez, Realtor