My husband and I are raising our grandson, Jacob, who is now 7.  He has lived with us since he was 18 months old.  Believe it or not, that change in our lives is what brought me into Real Estate.  The thought of having control of my schedule and time off when I needed it was very appealing.  Well, as most of you know it really doesn't work that way and Jacob is with me on showings, closings, listings appointments, and the list goes on.  Even at 7 he can almost read a listing contract without any help.

It is working out well though and he is very well-behaved, receives cards from several of my clients and has become friends with their children.  Funny how one life change brings on another and things just snowball from their.  He probably has been instrumental in a lot of my referrals by telling people that "Grandma is the best real estate agent in the town".  He goes door knocking with me and doesn't say a thing, just stands there and smiles that big smile and bats his long eyelashes at them and I have never had a door slammed in my face yet! 

I have gotten involved in sponsoring his baseball team, all the while asking for referrals and having quite a bit of success with it.  Community involvement has been something that has help my business tremendously and we continue to find new charities and people to help.  He did a fundraiser for The Relay for Life by participating in the Pink Lemonade Brigade.  He sold 120 cans of Crayon Lemonade in 2 hours and 5 minutes in front of our Kroger store and raised $143.68.  Boy I think I may be in the wrong business, that's a pretty good turnover for the time spent.  We both enjoyed ourselves and he even got to visit with some of his friends that he hadn't seen since summer break started.

A lot of people in our community know who I am because of Jacob.  Never underestimate the power of a child, they can be very convincing and at times adults will actually hear what they are saying instead of what the adult is saying.  There are lots of grandparents out there raising their grandchildren for one reason or another and during the school year I have a support group meeting once a month to try and help grandparents navigate the court system and get them in touch with agencies to help them with finances and such.  The resources in the State of KY are very few for these grandparents, so helping them get what they need is very fulfulling for me.

We enjoy the feeling of community that we get when we are out talking to people about real estate and and socializing.  Jacob is a very social child and loves to talk, if he didn't have to sleep he would talk 24/7.  Of course, real estate agents love to talk so he fits right in with the agent profile.  He is part of the Exit Realty Crutcher Team and may someday be a real estate agent for sure, even though I believe he is headed for bigger and better things such as Kentucky Governor or maybe even US President!  Politicians love to talk too and he was a big fan of Governor Ernie Fletcher!

Being a Real Estate agent has been good to us and it has given me some flexibility to be able to attend ballgames and school functions.  If I had been working a traditional job, it may have been difficult to volunteer at school and run him in the summertime to various camps and such.  Having your children involved in your business can be a good thing and will help teach them how to behave in different situations.  He also gets paid for shredding documents for me, marketing, helping wash my truck and taking out my trash at the office.

It is Grand to be Grand, we wouldn't have it any other way!