We recently connected with Lynne Andrews and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lynne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

As a career entrepreneur, I’m no stranger to hard work and creative strategies to stay relevant and push myself out of my comfort zone. In 1998, as a way to earn income from home while my children were young, I started a small boutique marketing/PR business out of my home in Atlanta working a few days a week while my children were napping. I soon found that the flexibility this afforded me and increased earning potential running my own business was an ideal work/life balance for my family. When I found myself as a single mother to two young boys, the same drive to succeed and do it on my own terms was even more important. Fast forward 13 years, I found myself at a similar crossroads. However, this time it was caring for my ailing mother as my boys were out of the house and off to college. After my mother’s passing, it was time to reinvent myself again. While I loved marketing/PR and had built a successful firm for over 20 years, I was ready to shift gears. Taking a leap of faith, I not only changed careers in my early 50’s but relocated full-time to the beaches in the Panhandle of FL and embarked on a new career selling luxury real estate. A little over 3 1/2 years later, I just surpassed over $100M in individual sales with my real estate brokerage, Corcoran Reverie on 30A. Innovating in a new market is never easy. But having an innate belief in my own ability to succeed no matter the circumstance and ‘failure is not an option’ mentality is what keeps me motivated and on track.

Lynne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

More than anything, my life mission is to be a brand champion. When I truly believe in a brand, service or product, I can confidently share an authentic experience with that brand. At an early age, I knew I had a heart for writing. I would read and journal voraciously as a child and ultimately earned a journalism degree at the University of Georgia on an academic scholarship. My love of writing and communication led me to an early corporate crisis communications career working for some of metro-Atlanta’s top not-for-profit hospitals and health systems. The ability to think on your feet in the heat of the moment and communicate with strong written and verbal skills to problem solve a situation is paramount in any business. It was mission critical when I worked in corporate settings and now, working with investors (both buyers and sellers) in a rapidly changing real estate market, it’s even more important. While I have always considered myself a brand champion throughout my career as a corporate communicator and business owner, in luxury real estate, I’ve adapted that trait to be more of a vision caster. Through skilled negotiation, strategic marketing and thoroughly understanding my market, I can help my clients envision what it’s like to achieve their real estate goals whether it’s buying, selling or flipping properties. Going above and beyond what a client expects is something that sets my real estate business apart. Luxury is the level of service you provide, not just a price point.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

In public relations, real estate or, frankly, any sales position, your reputation for doing what you say you will do and avoid burning bridges will always help you win in business. Even on days when I didn’t want to – I always showed up, smiled and enthusiastically shared a helpful nugget of advice whenever asked, no matter the circumstance. An early mentor shared with me that in business, if you give away something for free – your time, expertise or a resource – it will always come back to you ten fold. That was the best piece of advice I was given early on in my career and it still rings true today.

Even though I owned a successful marketing/PR business for over 20 years, I never actually marketed that company. It was all word of mouth and referrals that grew my business. And in real estate, it’s the same. While I do more actively market my business, the majority of my luxury real estate clients are referrals from friends and business colleagues I’ve worked with over the past three decades. It’s because of that genuine interest in others and being mindful to remember what it was like when I was starting out in my career that has helped my business and reputation continue to grow even in a new market and completely new career.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Was there a time when I needed to pivot in business and in life? Absolutely. I think we all did a lot of pivots during and post Covid. My current luxury brokerage, Corcoran Reverie, launched right in the middle of Covid. With all the new safety protocols associated with Covid, real estate, like a lot of businesses in a resort town came to a halt except for essential moves. Sellers didn’t want buyers traipsing germs through their homes. Vacation rentals were shut down. Beaches were closed. Buyers didn’t know what or where to look at properties. During lockdown, I pivoted from being just a realtor to being a true boots on the ground helpful source of information in my beach town. I was one of the few full-time residents in a resort community with predominantly short-term vacation rentals. I became the eyes and ears for owners who lived out of state. It gave me a sense of purpose and, ultimately, it afforded me an opportunity to really get to know so many of my neighbors – albeit from afar. When Covid restrictions became more relaxed and things began to open up, many of those neighbors valued the extra acts of kindness I shared with them and when it came time to buy or sell they remembered me and shared my name with others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lynneandrewscollective.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynneandrewscollective/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LynneSells30A/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynneandrews30aluxuryrealtor/

Image Credits
Dave Warren Photography Array Photography Desiree Gardner Photography