We recently connected with Ryan Praska and have shared our conversation below.

Ryan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the early days of establishing your own firm. What can you share?

I completed real estate school and earned my real estate license in September of 2018. However, it wasn’t until July of 2022 that I made the decision to pursue it full-time.

What prompted this sudden career change, you might wonder?

It was the morning of July, 8, 2022, and my direct manager reached out to schedule an impromptu Zoom Meeting.

I logged in to see 3 expressionless faces staring back at me,: My direct manager, her boss, as well as the new Chief Financial Officer.

My stomach dropped.

They informed me that with the uncertainty we were about to experience with the real estate market (I was the Digital Marketing Manager for a real estate broker), had decided to eliminate 6 positions in their operations department including mine.

They assured me that it was NOT based on performance, and, instead, chose the 6 individuals on the team with the least tenure at the company.

Though it was nice to know that I wasn’t being “fired” per say, it provided little comfort considering I had zero job prospects, zero savings, and a severance that would cover the equivalent of 1 MAYBE 2 month’s rent.

Though we had only been together for less than 2 months at the time, the only thing I could think to do was to seek comfort from my now fiancé to figure out what to do next.

He helped me see that I had 2 options:

1. Seek out and start applying for another job in marketing which would be easy to obtain given my years of experience.

-or-

2. Utilize all the marketing, sales, and technical skills I’d obtained in my 10 years working for other companies, and combine them with my passion for real estate.

There was no wrong decision, but he also encouraged me to take a good amount of time to consider my options before I made a decision because this next move was going to impact my life’s journey.

As I reflected on said options, it became clear that I was never going to be able to create the impact on the world I knew I was destined for by continuing to work to make other people money.

I also knew, by working for a real estate brokerage, that there was a significant need for quality real estate professionals to serve as a guide for people to help build their wealth through real estate.

It only took a day for me to make that decision, and now, a year later, I am proud to say that I’ve been able to positively impact countless individuals by serving as a REALTOR®, and I never once have questioned as to whether I made the right decision.

My biggest learning in this journey over the past year is to focus my energy on being consistent, being reliable and being generous while always maintaining an attitude of gratitude.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a REALTOR®, my primary responsibility is to help individuals who are interested in buying or selling residential real estate.

That’s the short answer.

My actual job, however, often extends far beyond negotiating the best deal for my clients on a house or educating them on current market trends.

My #1 job responsibility is really just to listen.

Listen to not only MY clients’ fears/desires/wants/needs/insecurities, but also those of the opposing parties as well, including the agent representing them.

My #2 job responsibility is to interpret these fears/desires/wants/needs/insecurities so I can best guide them through the process of buying/selling, or sometimes, NOT buying/selling depending on their circumstances.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think the only way to build a solid reputation in real estate is through reliability and consistency. My willingness to go above and beyond for my clients during a transaction has not gone unnoticed and can be measured in the multiple referrals I have received from clients that I’ve helped to close a transaction.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is thinking that someone being negative toward me typically has absolutely NOTHING to do with me. By taking the time to listen to people and come from a place of curiosity to understand their motives, I can often avoid the feeling of defensiveness, maintain high energy, and build positive relationships.

I also have come to understand that I am not a victim of other people’s actions, and the only thing I can control are MY actions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://azrealtea.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azrealtea/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyanPraskaRealtor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanpraska/