Sallyann had been gone for a couple of years and I had been through 2 more assistants during that time. It was the end of 2019 and without a great assistant, my business was struggling. The manager of my office at the time handed me a few resumes and I showed them to Rebecca. She looked at them and said “This one, she’s the one.” I looked at the resume and back at her and said “no, she doesn’t have any of the things I want in an assistant.” Rebecca insisted, “she’s the one.”
I met with Nicole and admittedly, she was awesome to talk to, was very personable and comfortable. But the fact remained; she did not have a real estate license, had never owned a home and had zero experience in real estate. Plus, she was looking for a full time job and I could not offer one at the time. I actually offered the job to another candidate (who I didn’t like as much as Nicole but she had a better resume) but she had already accepted another position. So I met with Nicole and basically said you are not exactly what I’m looking for and I know I’m not exactly what you are looking for but I need someone to help me while I find the right person. How about if we help each other out while we each continue to look for the “right” fit.
That was 5 years ago and over 100 houses ago! Nicole has gone from temporary assistant to full time licensed assistant, to buyers agent, to production partner. Her commitment to learning and putting in the hours is astonishing. Her willingness to step out of her comfort zone and step into leadership, has set an example for me.
She is completely qualified to handle a real estate transaction from beginning to end without any help from me. She is invaluable to me and to our clients. I would not have the success I have without Nicole. I would not have the freedom I have, without Nicole.
More importantly, I gained a close friend. Nicole is family. I’m frequently in awe of how she carries herself in the face of adversity or pressure. Dealing with me is no picnic and you would think that she spent her whole college career taking “how to manage Rick and his high expectations, long story telling (with lots of “reruns”) and his highly distracted nature, classes! Her sense of humor is unsurpassed. We spend as much time laughing as we do being serious. The list of inside jokes that we have would fill a walk-in closet. We know about each other's personal lives and we hold each other to a high standard of care for ourselves and others.
Somehow Rebecca saw all this on that resume in the Fall of 2019. Rebecca, another angel in my life who had only come into my life only a few months before. There aren’t big enough words to describe how fortunate and grateful I am to have two these powerful women as partners!
