We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Ray. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.

Hi Stephanie, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

I have been in real estate for 8 years now. I obtained my broker’s license in January of 2021, and I decided to take the leap of faith to branch out on my own. This was very scary for me, but also simultaneously exhilarating to bring my dreams to fruition to serve more people through my real estate services. Although I would be doing what I have always done, I felt like I had a “safety net’ for some odd reason by working under another broker for 6 years. After much thought, my husband and I brainstormed together and I decided to name my business ” Next Door Realty.” It was such a great fit because I have managed to keep my business steady mainly by referrals and social media marketing only. I love to be very attentive and deeply care for all of my clients as I would my family, best friends or my next-door neighbor. We officially opened and I officially continued my real estate business under my new brand name toward the end of February 2021.

One day soon after that, I was at the bus stop with my son across the street and I struck up a conversation with my next door neighbor. His wife and he were discussing looking at homes in the area and I let him know that I am an active Realtor® and I am always happy to help them any time if they had any questions or wanted to see any houses. Within a week, he reached out and wanted to go look at homes. The very first transaction that I closed under my new company, Next Door Realty, was with my actual next door neighbors. This was never a plan or even a thought of mine when naming the business, but it almost felt like God showed me how perfectly He aligned me with my purpose through being a Realtor®.

I will always cherish that story.

Stephanie, 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?

My name is Stephanie Ray and I am the broker & owner of Next Door Realty – your one-stop shop for all things residential real estate that services Houston & now Austin, Texas, and their surrounding cities. I am also a wife to a tenacious and compassionate entrepreneur and the mother of 3 amazing and wild children and 1 senile but somewhat sweet dog.

I started in the real estate industry on the title side of things back in early 2013 processing escrow files at Shawn P. Black & Associates, LLP. After working there for about one year and gaining a ton of knowledge about real estate in general, I decided to stay at home with our son and daughter after I delivered our second child.

When I processed files at the title company previously, I assisted an amazing and successful real estate broker, Randy Polasek with Impression Realty, and he was impressed with my professionalism, hard work, and efficiency. He reached out to me while I was home caring for my kids. and he told me that he felt that I would make a great real estate agent, and at the very least I could assist him in some way from home to help his workflow without having to give up caring for my children. Before I could assist him, I needed to obtain my real estate license. After a lot of thought and discussion with my husband, I agreed to get my license and assist him. I figured that it never hurts to try out something new.

Well, I got my license, joined the Impression Realty brokerage, and I never even ended up assisting Randy because I started to get my own business and I figured out quickly that I LOVED helping people buy, sell and rent real estate. There is something magical about helping others obtain the dream of homeownership or find their temporary rental paradise. The process of working closely with my clients always leads to lasting friendships and bonds after the deal is done. It just feels that I was made to do this work,….and really I don’t look at it as work. I look at it as an opportunity to educate and serve other people. I truly feel like God placed me in this position for a reason and I will serve at the highest level until I fulfill what God wants me to do in the real estate industry.

Our brand is centered around our clients. The brand isn’t about me or the agents of Next Door Realty, it’s about the client experience. We work hard to personalize our service to our clients’ unique & specific needs and level of comfort. We have patience, truly listen and take in what our client’s desires and pain points are, so that we can give them the highest level of care from the beginning past closing. We want to be their lifetime Realtor® and remain a resource for them always. We are there before, during, and after the sale. Need to protest your taxes after you bought a home? No problem, we will pull recently sold comparable home sales in your neighborhood for you to help you work to bring your taxes down. Did your house flood? We will come and help you demo and be there to help support needs that you may have during your time of hardship. Are you needing a licensed professional recommendation? We got you covered with our preferred provider list.

We are truly here to help and we work every day to continue to up our game so that we can offer our clients more and more benefits at every stage of homeownership.

Our drive to help comes from an authentic place in our hearts and we strongly believe that it shows when you work with our team.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media is wildly important in this day and age, and I truly love social media for how it helps people to stay connected no matter where you are located or how busy your life is. As a business owner, I believe that it is extremely imperative to be active on social media because people now are quick to search online to understand what your business is about. If you are active on social media, your timeline and things that you chose to share with your audience (or future clients) can give them a glimpse into who you are, what you’re about and even if you are trustworthy and knowledgable.

My advice to people that are working to build their social media audience and potentially gain business from social media is to stay authentic and positive online and……drumroll please….ADD VALUE. Ask yourself, “how am I helping my audience with what I am posting?” Help people learn and be there to answer questions whether they are your current clients or not. Your natural positive attitude and willingness to help can translate into business and/or friendships.

Any advice for managing a team?

I would highly advise anyone that is looking to lean into being a better leader to read “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown. I have gained so much insight and knowledge from reading that book.

I learned that creating an encouraging and safe work environment is key. Where people feel supported and safe to come to their group leader/manager and open up to them.

Half the battle is taking time to explore and discuss roadblocks that people are having and working with them to find ways past them. Collaboration and genuine encouragement can really help people have breakthroughs. Although amazing and fulfilling, being a real estate professional can be very taxing mentally, emotionally, and physically. It’s important to understand when members of the team need assistance and inspiration. It’s important to always do your best to be there for them in their times of need.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nextdoorrealtytx.com
  • Instagram: @steph__ray
• Facebook: facebook.com/NextDoorRealtyTX
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/stephanie-ray-2461485b
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9yJk-1KW5zkfpAdA3Gtgow