Amy Celeste Wilson has been a Realtor with Lifestyles Realtors for three years. Her office just moved to a new space in Neptune Beach near Shelby’s Coffee Shoppe in September. Before real estate, Wilson lived in Atlanta and worked for Bellsouth as a manager.
WHAT MADE HER GO INTO REAL ESTATE?
After 14 years with BellSouth, Wilson decided she had had enough of the corporate world and went into real estate with a small boutique company, Dwellings Real Estate, in Atlanta.
“I went into real estate because I wanted a flexible schedule where I was my own manager. I liked the idea of having my own business.”
HOW DOES HER PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HELP HER NOW?
While she worked in corporate America, she was able to earn her master’s degree and learned the value of continuing education that she carried with her into her real estate career.
“I enjoy learning and want to get more and more credentials as well as more education about the various subjects,” she said. “It lends to more respect and credibility when you obtain additional accreditations and degrees. That is very important in this business because real estate agents are not always thought of as credible and trustworthy.”
COLLEGE
Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in English and business from Florida State University and a master’s in business administration from Georgia State University.
AREA SHE COVERS
Beaches, Intracoastal West, Ft. Caroline, Arlington and Southside.
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
When Wilson walks into a room, you know it. She has a strong energy about her and has always been upbeat, but since the market turned, she’s had to take it to another level.
When did this happen? “Probably, back in November, when people really started being negative. The year had gone by, it hadn’t gotten any better. Then all of a sudden the mortgage industry crashed and foreclosures ballooned. Everyone else I was working with, clients I was working with and agents in my office were obviously depressed. Everything was negative. The first year I worked here, I got the ‘Most Positive Attitude’ award, which they created just for me. I’ve always been a positive person, but I was finding that I was starting to buy into the negative speak around me. In November 2007, one day I just woke up I said I’m not going to react to this, buy into this and definitely not going to exude this. It has helped me attract more business. I truly feel like what you put out there is what you attract. It’s all about attitude right now.”
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE BEACHES MARKET?
“Buyers are finally making some decisions at the beach. I live in Selva Linkside in Atlantic Beach. In that neighborhood, there were four active listings, one of which was on the market for a year. Within the past three to four weeks, all four have gone under contract. To me that is a fabulous indicator that the market is picking up at the beaches. Just that one snippet can tell me we have some movement going on. That tells me that some of the buyers who were on the fence are finally making some decisions.”
WHAT DOES SHE LIKE ABOUT REAL ESTATE?
“I like the flexible schedule and the personal touch. I also like having what I would consider short term projects. At BellSouth, we had these long-term projects and oftentimes you never saw the completion of them. Whereas with us, when you are working with a buyer or a seller, it could be a month or a six or eight months. You actually get to see it come to fruition and you have that sense of gratification. The personal interactions and relationships I form are invaluable from a personal perspective as well as from a professional one.”
BEST ADVICE?
“Proactively promote yourself.”
PET PEEVES?
Wilson said agents who do not act professionally and who do not communicate effectively or consistently. “For instance, if you call someone and they do not call you back. Or if you email someone and you don’t hear back from them for days.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“Every person is different. You can never assume what their situation is and what their motives are. I used to do that when I was new and I was always wrong.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and its Beaches Council.
- by Michele Newbern Gillis