We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stacie Watts a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stacie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

It seems moving to Austin, TX was just the beginning of my life of taking risks! In 2016, after my divorce, I moved to Austin, TX with no friends and started from scratch at Bonobos (a menswear boutique). I packed up everything I owned in my small SUV and 5’ x 10’ U-haul and made my way half way across the country alone. I found a random person through a friend of a friend on Facebook who was looking for a roommate and we decided to move in together without even meeting each other first. She was a recent college graduate and despite being in very different places of life we made it work. About a year later, I took a leap of faith, leaving Bonobos to join a real estate team, even though I was being ask to be promoted to manager. Things were going good, but I knew they could be better!

Going out on my own and being completely dependent on my commissions was the my scariest leap of faith I’d ever taken. My passion for real estate called, and I knew I had to take the risk of pursuing my real estate career in Texas. I was an agent in Virginia Beach before moving to Austin, however I was married and had the support of someone else which dramatically affects the way you feel about full commission work. It’s much easier to do when you have help from someone else. Now I truly could only rely on myself to get me to where I wanted to be.

The real estate world is challenging and unpredictable, but I’ve dedicated myself to growing and building a network of clients and friends. Over time, my business grew, and I began to see success with clients and deals. Taking that risk has paid off twofolds.

Today, I’m proud of my thriving real estate career in Austin on the Holm Team with my business partner, Kaylee Romantic, by my side. Through the challenges, I discovered my true potential and the importance of embracing uncertainty. My last big risk up to this point was bringing on my best friend to be my business partner. We never want anything to come between our friendship! So far we have remained unwavering friends, reminding each other of the transformative power of taking risks and embracing the unknown.

In Austin, where dreams thrive, I learned that taking a leap of faith leads to extraordinary transformations. So, when faced with change, embrace the unknown, and let the magic unfold.

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?

Stacie is an experienced real estate professional who has made Austin her home since 2016. With a decade of industry expertise, she specializes in residential real estate, relocations, and working with investors. She recently took her experience to the next level and became a broker associate. She is proud to be a part of the Holm Team at Compass, working alongside her partner, Kaylee Romantic, to provide consistent, exciting, and peaceful experiences for their clients. Having two agents to help all of our clients truly gives them the ability to have constant communication and more access than one agent it able to accommodate.

We believe in the power of mindfulness and take the time to listen to our clients, guiding them through the process with care and building lifelong friendships. When Stacie is not immersed in real estate, she enjoys renovating her own home and exploring the natural beauty of Austin. Checking out a new restaurant is also a go-to on her list so that she can provide recommendations to clients for anything Austin!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

This is the fun part! At the core of my business is building relationships with each and every client and that doesn’t stop when the deal is done. Creating a lifelong friendship is what we’re going for, so we reach out to past clients weekly setting up coffees, workout dates, happy hours and dinners. We bring our clients into our lives and that naturally fosters brand loyalty.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Kaylee and I met at the iconic Barton Springs in Austin, TX. We were there with mutual friends and got to talking about real estate. She had just taken her exam and I was gearing up for mine. We exchanged info and she gave me resources to study with! She tells people she forced us to be friends, ha! I was more shy when I moved here and I think more reserved, but I was definitely excited about a new friend prospect. Meeting friends as an adult woman can be hard. Luckily Kaylee makes it easy. Our friendship grew over the years and as my business grew I would continue to try and convince Kaylee to quit her day job and join me full time. Finally one day she did and I am forever grateful!    

Contact Info:

• Website: https://holmteamaustin.com/agent/stacie-watts
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/localaustinliving/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/localaustinliving/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staciewatts/

Image Credits
Amber Perley