Today we’d like to introduce you to Cari Jo Parham.
Hi Cari Jo, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was first introduced to real estate as a career in 2005 while my family was living in Lansing, Michigan, where I had been working as an office manager for a successful broker/investor. He saw I had a knack for certain aspects of the industry and offered to fund my education and licensure in exchange for taking on additional responsibilities within his brokerage and investment properties in addition to the Real Estate opportunities I would be able to pursue on my own as a licensed agent.
Because of the success, I saw in such a short time as an agent in Michigan, when we moved to Belton, Texas in 2006, I sought out similar opportunities. I worked with local agents and brokerages for a time while simultaneously working within the local school district so as to be closely connected with my two school-age sons. After my children had graduated and we had relocated to Houston, I decided to focus my efforts full-time on Real Estate once again.
Within my first two years of a full-time agency, I formed my own team of professionals, closed over 60 deals, and won multiple awards within my brokerage. Over that time span, I saw the impact an Agent can actually have on the lives of other human beings. Almost immediately, my focus ceased being about “closing deals” at all and shifted entirely to positively impacting in as great a degree as possible the lives of other people as it relates to buying or selling a home, one of the most expensive endeavors people pursue in their lives.
I see it as my obligation to benefit every person with whom I come into contact as an Agent, but if I were pressed to identify who I saw as my core clientele, I would certainly have to say it is what has come to be known as the “Hero” segment of society: Military, Law Enforcement, Firefighters, Health Care Workers, and Education Professionals. To that end, I sought out programs that would help me benefit those people. When I encountered Homes for Heroes, it was as if the program was tailor-made for my goals and ideals. Since my husband has a military background, we both have educational backgrounds, and we have healthcare workers as friends and family, working with this program offers me the opportunity to impact for the positive a community of individuals who have had a positive impact on my life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As with any career, the largest obstacle is juggling a successful business and the obligations of home life. This is primarily why I put it on hold for so long while my children were still living at home; my priority has always been family, both for me as an individual as well as for the client as an Agent.
What’s next?
The Big Picture goal is and always will be to help as many people as possible become homeowners. Full Stop. I’ve never really been one to be concerned with the status of a listing big-ticket or high-dollar properties; instead, I find contentment in doing my part to help the average person who works a regular job to care for themselves and their families buy or sell their home.
From a financial perspective, it would be much quicker to reach any monetary goal by earning a commission on a single listing for a $2.5M property, but the feeling of satisfaction and the overall impact that is associated with reaching that same goal by helping 10 people find their dream home, or get their first home purchase, or navigate the legal pitfalls associated with liquidating family assets cannot be surpassed.
Contact Info:
- Website: ParhamRealtyTeam.com CariJoLovesHeroes.com
- Instagram: @ParhamRealtyTeam
- Facebook: Facebook.com/ParhamRealtyTeam
- Twitter: @ParhamRealtyTm
