Happy New Year

In accordance with the tradition of New Year's resolutions, what better day than today to begin this blog. I am by career a real estate agent with The Bailey Team Real Estate whose business for the past two years has been primarily in the commercial market. I am by education and avocation, a writer. My published work can be found on My Personal Webpage. My goal for this blog is to combine my skills and talents.

In upcoming posts, I will highlight some of my clients and their businesses. So it seems appropriate today to relate a little about my road to real estate. As a younger mother with three school-aged children, I decided to return to school to finish up the college degree I hadn't earned in my youth. In succession, I earned three degrees: an Associates Degree in General Studies from Northern Virginia Community College in December 1993; a Bachelor of Arts in English from George Mason University in January 1996; and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Concentration in Fiction, from George Mason University in May 2000.

Prior to finishing my MFA degree, I taught for two-and-a-half years at Northern Virginia Community College as an adjunct professor. As I have often told the story, a classmate called me on a Thursday to tell me the college was hiring, I interviewed on Friday, was hired on Monday, and walked into a classroom on Tuesday never having taught in my life. I love change and challenges. I can also be a terrific procrastinator and work best with deadlines. I had completed all the coursework for my MFA degree, but still needed to complete my thesis, a book-length work. The college would only hire me provisionally for a year without the degree. What better deadline could a procrastinator ask for?

After five semesters of teaching, I was ready for a change (especially from teaching that dreaded Freshman Composition class all students are required to take). I took a semester off and six months later realized I did not want to return to teaching. I answered an ad in the paper for a real estate transaction coordinator and began my new career path. I have thrived personally and professionally in this business.

Over the years, I started to acquire my own clients and found sales rewarding, leading me to move out of my office responsibilities and into sales full-time, which is where I am today. I work with many small business owners. My expertise and experience enables many of them to realize their professional dreams: opening a new store or restaurant in the perfect location; moving their office or warehouse to a better site.