Feel the magic, hear the music, taste the popcorn! One woman's successful career as a Disney blogger is proof that dreams are made of more than just this.
Is that a cheesy way to start a blog post or what? And what does it have to do with real estate? Not much, yet somehow everything.
This story starts with a worn-out real estate agent who decided to change careers after nearly 20 years in the business. She wasn't for sure she would ever make anything out of this new career.
And to be honest, she still isn't sure it will ever replace the kind of money she made in real estate.
But somehow, life drastically changed, and she isn't too worried about it. In fact, she wishes she had taken this leap of faith much sooner.
As you probably guessed, that former worn-out real estate agent is me, and I rarely sell houses anymore.
Only a short five years or so ago, I was an overweight, overworked real estate agent who showed up for long holiday weekends at the Magic Kingdom wearing a t-shirt branded with the name of my firm. People used to stop me on Main Street U.S.A. and ask how real estate was going.
Now I show up with a large camera and all kinds of other fancy video-taking gadgets, and people ask me if I'll take their picture or if I run a blog.
People are people, and the ones curious enough to stop and ask you a question, are also the ones that probably make the best customers. So now I just name-drop my blog and hope they'll remember it long enough to actually save it to their browser or follow me on social media.
Phrases like, "who do you know that needs to buy or sell a house" or "are you working with a Realtor" are no longer on the tip of my tongue. Now I'm counting how many words my competitors wrote in a blog post, hoping I can come up with more words on the same subject.
Additionally, I cringe every time my phone rings. Most of my incoming daily calls and texts are from where Realtor.com sold my information to telemarketers who want to sell me health insurance.
I blocked every number that sent me a message for a long time, but they just keep coming. Every. Single. Day. It's gross, and I hope I never came off that way as a Realtor myself.
This year has been odd. You either have a listing or you don't. And while I'm not a huge believer in backup plans, I thank God that I had a backup plan.
Why would I want to show a buyer 100 houses that will all end up with 20 offers when instead I could be sitting at a desk writing about the best character dining meals at Walt Disney World? I've been to most of them.
And it's not that I don't love helping people find a home. It's that I hate unhappy customers. I can't stand for anyone to have a bad experience, especially when it's out of my control.
As we head toward 2022, I'm uncertain where to place my focus. I could spend the harsh, cold winter strapping on my boots to show houses in the snow. (Okay, it's probably not going to snow where I live.) Or I could spend my winter actually bootstrapping.
Or maybe I'll stay in the most expensive resort at Disney, and spend my afternoons sitting on a balcony, writing a review about staying there? Unfortunately, blogging is not as glamorous as that sounds. It's a lot of work....and a balancing act.
But hey, so is real estate, right?
If you would like to learn more about what I do or about Disney World, here are a few articles:
- The Best Off-Site Hotels Near Disney World
- Planning a Split Stay at Disney World
- The Best Breakfasts at Disney World
What do you do when you're not doing real estate?
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