Bringing her own experiences as an agent and
marketing specialist to bear in her virtual
business,
Realty Support Plus, VA Melinda Runkle knows
what agents want and need.
MI: Tell us
something about your professional
background, prior to becoming a real estate
VA.
MR: I have
always been involved in marketing in one way
or another. My father has a Ph.D. in
Marketing so I guess it runs in the family.
I began my career in retail management and
from there transitioned to marketing
support/marketing coordination for
industries such as healthcare consulting and
software development. I began to hone my
skills in real estate when I obtained my
real estate license in 2001. I learned that
I have a passion for real estate and
coordinating the myriad details involved in
marketing, lead management, and listing
coordination. However, I quickly discovered
that I am not so passionate about the
“selling” part of real estate. It was at
that point that I decided to pursue a career
as a real estate assistant and eventually as
a real estate virtual assistant.
MI: Which of
those experiences most influenced your
decision to eventually start your own
business?
MR: In some ways
they all did. I believe that every
experience prepares us for something else;
even when we don’t know what that “something
else” is. The most influential is probably
having worked as a real estate agent.
Although people outside of real estate don’t
necessarily think of real estate agents as
business owners, they most certainly are. In
most cases, the agent wears most if not all
of the hats and that is a tremendous
learning experience. For as long as I can
remember, I have wanted to own my own
business; I just always thought it would be
traditional brick and mortar business. In
retrospect, I’m glad that life has taken the
path that it has.
MI: What do
you consider your greatest strength in
business to be and why?
MR: Honestly,
I’m not sure that it is any one thing,
rather a combination. I consider myself to
be of high integrity, detailed, organized,
passionate, honest (sometimes to a fault),
flexible, and caring. I truly care about my
clients and their goals both professional
and personal. One of my primary goals for my
business is to lighten the load for my
clients. I love knowing that I have allowed
them to spend more time with their kids,
take a vacation, or simply work harder at
the things that they enjoy.
MI: How has
living and working in a variety of states
and locations affected your business
decisions? What advantages and/or
disadvantages were associated with these
moves?
MR: Most of the
moves were beyond my control because they
happened before I got to college. However, I
have made a few moves as an adult and as
difficult as they can be, they are a great
learning experience. I believe that living
and working in many different places has
taught me flexibility, tolerance,
adaptability, and strengthened my desire for
knowledge. Any time we have to leave what is
familiar and embark on something new there
are going to be challenges; but, that is one
of the ways in which we grow. When I moved
to Atlanta shortly after college, I did not
know anyone, have a place to live or even a
job. But I am extremely resourceful and I
made it work. Looking back, it was one of
the single best decisions I have ever made.
MI: Tell us
about your past “dream job”---how it came
about, what you gained from it and why you
finally left it?
MR: To be
truthful, I have not had what I would
consider a “dream job” until now but I’ve
had some that came close. There is one job
that comes to mind though. I was working as
a Marketing Administrator for a software
development company. My job entailed event
planning, sales support, marketing
communications, and general marketing
support. Although I was responsible for
these things, and loved doing them, it was
not nearly to the degree that I had hoped.
The bottom line is that there just wasn’t
enough work to have one position dedicated
to these responsibilities. I ended up
leaving in part because I had become
disenchanted and also because my soon-to-be
husband had been offered his “dream job” but
it meant moving out of state.
MI: How did
you learn about becoming a virtual
assistant? Why was it appealing to you?
MR: I can’t
recall exactly how I learned about virtual
assistance. I do remember that when we moved
back to Atlanta I decided to pursue a career
as a real estate assistant to capitalize on
my experience and interests. I believe it
was at that point that I started looking
into becoming a virtual assistant. It just
made sense to use the skills and knowledge I
had gained from working in real estate and
combine that with my love of marketing and
desire to own my own business. It’s funny
how things seem to always fall into place,
just as they should.
MI: What
makes you a better real estate VA than
others who handle similar tasks?
MR: Better – I’m
not sure that any of us are necessarily
better than the other. We all have different
talents and interests. I do believe that my
background and experiences make me a great
REVA. I have learned to concentrate on the
services about which I am passionate –
marketing support, listing coordination, and
lead management and utilize my resources to
find an appropriate match for services that
I do not provide.
MI: What are
you long-term goals and/or business plans?
MR: My list of
goals seems endless at times so I’ll try to
condense it. The overriding theme for my
business is that I want it to be a true
reflection of me – dedicated, trustworthy,
hard-working, passionate, tenacious,
resourceful, and genuine. I strive to build
long-term collaborative relationships with
my clients. I want them to think of me as an
integral part of their team; someone with
whom they can brainstorm ideas or call on
and know that I’ll do whatever I can to
help. I love what I do and want to share
that with others who are equally as
committed to the career path they have
chosen. . After all, when you are free to do
the work you love, you will love the work
you do.
MI: Thank
you, Melinda, for your honest and inspiring
comments about working in the virtual world.
Contact Melinda for information on marketing
collateral, listing coordination and lead
management. You can check out her Web site
at
www.RealtySupportPlus.com or contact her at
888-707-6082 or via e-mail at
Melinda@realtysupportplus.com.
Always remember to do a
thorough due-diligence before hiring any kind of
assistant. This interview is part of an ongoing
series of VA profiles designed to help you find
the perfect VA or VA team to help you get
organized, profitable, and in control of your
business.
