Her varied career has included a decade as a rape crisis professional and, more recently, work with elderly people. She holds two masters degrees, one in human resources and one in social work. While Jennie Gosche did not really plan it this way, her two careers of social work and real estate intersect nicely. So when I see some art from the Far East, I like talking with them about it." "I like to experience new things, and I'm basically a nosy person who likes to see beautiful things. and Garfinckel's, I traveled to New York, to Europe and the Far East,' she said. Meeting with clients in their homes or taking other clients to visit houses is not a chore for Bailey, but a treat. "Once I sell to them, I'm either part of the family or a friend for life."Īnother carry-over is the opportunity to see pretty things. Her relationships with her clients and the follow-up, she says, are the same as at Hecht's and Garfinckel's. On March 1, 1992, she began a new career in real estate, writing her first contract that day. Despite long days at the store, she began studying real estate, and in late February 1992, she decided "enough already" and ended her 24-year career in clothing retail. She was spending less time relating to clients, more time overseeing store renovations. And instead of clothing size, I'm asking about square footage and lot size."Īfter Garfinckel's closed, Bailey managed two other stores, but the business was changing. "Instead of the black book, it's the computer. "There's a rollover to real estate," she said. She kept a little black book of customer information, such as the styles, materials and colors people liked, so that when new clothes came in, she could let them know that she had seen something they might want. There, she provided personalized service to clients. "I figured if I could sell a dress, I could sell a house," said Bailey, who works out of Long & Foster's Friendship Heights office.Ī fashion design graduate of Howard University, Bailey worked for years in fashion retail, first as a fashion coordinator and store manager at Hecht's, then as a buyer at Garfinckel's, the local department store chain that folded in 1990. Past sales experience also prepared Dianne M. He could work as a "solo practitioner," and the service he had enjoyed providing at Mayflower Wines would be key. The inventory - houses for sale - was already out there. He knew that he wanted to work for himself, providing a service to clients and selling inventory that he did not have to purchase. But that would involve borrowing money to purchase inventory, and he decided against that, too. He could go to work for someone else, which he did not want to do. And he looked at his options: He could work for a wholesaler, but that would involve travel, which he did not want. When the family business closed, Moore thought about what he had liked - serving clients - and did not like - managing staff. He added: "I learned how to offer quality help and advice. "What kind of occasion is it - a backyard barbecue or a formal dinner? What foods are you serving? Is it a younger or older crowd? Do you prefer California or Italian wine? What's the budget?" "When someone came in to buy wine, I would ask a lot of questions" to suggest the most appropriate wine, he said. What he liked best about his job selling wine, he said, was dealing with clients. When the season ended, he returned to the United States to work for wine wholesalers in New York and Ohio, then joined the local family business, Mayflower Wines. Among the most common previous careers were management, 15 percent, and sales, 14 percent.īefore he joined Long & Foster eight years ago, Moore spent 13 years in the wine business, beginning after college with a season picking grapes and washing wine barrels in Italy. In a survey of its members last year, the National Association of Realtors found that 7 percent said real estate was their first career. It is the rare real estate agent who did not have another job first. "I was well trained in my work in our family wine business," said Harry Moore, who went from vineyard "cellar rat" to a top seller working in Long & Foster Real Estate Inc.'s Chevy Chase office. More often than not, in their previous professions they developed skills such as listening - abilities, they say, that have served them well in real estate. Ask real estate agents what they did before they began selling houses, and the stories stream forth: They taught kindergarten, worked for a congressman, sold wine or traveled the world as a fashion buyer.
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