“Success is in the eye of the beholder,” says Lauren Donnelly. Looking back over a period of time, Lauren defines success by acknowledging what she’s accomplished and recognizing who has helped her and what she now has to show for it."
Starting Point of a Career
Lauren got her education at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania before she moved to D.C. She later earned her master’s degree at The George Washington University, taking classes at night. Working so hard for her education made Lauren a “hustler,” perhaps the single most important quality which she says has been instrumental to her success today. Lauren began her working career as a Contract Specialist at the General Services Administration and after grad school she became an Economist at the U.S. Department of Transportation from 2009 to 2014, where she performed regulatory analyses on proposed or passed legislation regarding railroad safety. Despite her commitment to the mission of her job, which she says she always believed deeply in, Lauren found she had little
day-to-day satisfaction at work. She thought it through and began looking around at other opportunities. She dug in, researched, looked and hunted for work that would bring her greater personal satisfaction.
Lauren found a Real Estate Mentor in James Grant, who helped her decide to apply her talents to real estate. She took and enjoyed classes on nights and weekends in preparation for turning an amazing new page of her life by becoming a Realtor®.
Making a Name in the World of Real Estate
Lauren started her career in real estate with Keller Williams Capital Properties in 2013, and, in May, she will have been a Realtor® for five years. Lauren shares that her biggest challenge as a Realtor® has been with consistency. She says that she’s self-aware, though, and recognizes and has focused in on the need to develop systems while pursuing what she calls “organic growth” by harnessing her natural talents to these systems. Lauren is passionate about “growth to business potential,” and “getting her database ramped up and fully functional for a clear path forward.” She focused on a strategy of implementing technology and sphere-based marketing to propel her business and her determination paid dividends.
Lauren was named Rookie of the Year and Agent Entrepreneur of the Month for Keller Williams Capital Properties in September 2015, and she’s achieved a total volume of $13 million in 2016 and roughly $10 million in 2017.
A Glimpse of Lauren’s Life
Lauren enjoys listening to podcasts like The One Thing, Serial, Pat Hiban Real Estate Rockstars, and How I Built This. Aside from podcasts, she also listens to all types of music and reads for pleasure.
Outside of work, Lauren likes to travel – taking day trips as well as travelling domestically and internationally. In her free time in the DMV, she enjoys working out, dining at new restaurants, and entertaining. She has a long list of things she would like to do and places she would like to visit and believes that life must have balance in order to create satisfaction.
The Fruits of Succes
The most rewarding part of her work, she says, is in “realizing how grateful people are for helping them through.” Although she is a self-proclaimed “numbers person,” Lauren says that she genuinely cares about her clients and that while it can be easy to forget because it is what Realtors do every day, “this is an emotional business — it’s about empathy.”
Lauren’s caring extends to charitable giving, as well. Last year, she donated $4,000 to her alma mater, Bucknell University. This year, her goal is to reach $10,000 for Bucknell as well as begin a tradition of donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She also supports other non-profits and loves incorporating such into her business.
Lauren would like to be remembered for showing empathy and genuine care for her clients and others. “Life is altruistic,” she says. “I believe it is important to live in a spirit of kindness, love and generosity. Behind closed doors, especially.“
Above all, though, her success is modeled after her parents. Her mother was a teacher and always had a side hustle to fund family vacations, and her father was a well-respected college football coach“Watching my dad work so hard for his success (and truly successful he was), I always wondered how someone could love a job that much, such that it didn’t actually feel like a job. When I found real estate, I finally understood. His memory inspires me daily in my pursuit to be one of the best Realtors in the DC Metro Region.” She knows her father is proud of her, regardless. And after all, “What does success matter, if you aren’t loving your life?”
This article was written for and published in DC Metro Real Producers magazine, www.realproducersmag.com