Krista Clark was the first person in her family to graduate from college. Adding another accomplishment to her growing list, she has earned a spot on REALTOR® Magazine’s “30 Under 30” list.

Krista, 29, was planning to open her own brokerage when a single conversation with a CENTURY 21® broker changed her course. After less than one year with CENTURY 21 Signature Real Estate in Ankeny, IA, Krista did $13.1 million dollars in sales volume in 2013.

We sat down with Krista to learn the secrets to her success.

C21: When did you join the CENTURY 21 System?

KC: I just joined this past summer in July. Joining CENTURY 21 was my way of breaking past the plateau I was on. I was always with a small independent brokerage and I had always worked from home. I didn’t realize all the things I was missing out on.

C21: How did you decide to make the move?

KC: It was a close friend through the Young Professionals Network, Megan Hill. I was about to open my own brokerage. I had my application in, my logo designed – everything. Megan asked me if I would meet with her CENTURY 21 broker. I am not one to turn down meetings. You can always learn from meeting new people and networking. I figured, she asked me, I will take it. I kind of did it as a courtesy to her. I walked out of the meeting with the broker and thought, “Crap! Now what do I do.”

C21: Do you have a specialty area in real estate?

KC: I sell commercial real estate- multi family homes, apartment complexes – investment properties, really. CENTURY 21 is pushing the commercial side of things and wanted to focus on that locally, so they wanted me to come in and help them do that.

At this point, I’m the commercial specialist. We have five offices and I am the only full time commercial person right now. Our team is great about sending me referrals almost every day. Eventually we want to build up our commercial team and have people in every niche area – leasing, land sales, etc.

C21: You did $13 million dollars in sales volume in 2013. How did you achieve that?

KC: First of all, joining CENTURY 21 has given me a lot more motivation to push harder. I see people in my office doing $20 million dollars in residential sales and that just pushes me to rise to the occasion.

I’ve also benefited a lot from the marketing tools available through CENTURY 21. When I used to do my marketing presentations, I was spending hours and hours creating each packet. Now I use 21Online, click on “ad campaign,” input the information and it just generates those materials for me.

I’ve also been able to set up automatic property notifications for my clients. I have a group of about nine core investors that make up about 80% of my business. For them, I can set up these automatic updates, a task that would have taken at least an hour every happen otherwise.

C21: How did you decide to apply for the “30 Under 30” list?

I’ve been involved with the local, state and national Association, so I was very familiar with the honor. Every year I had people calling me, encouraging me to apply. I thought, “Ok, I will try this one time.” It’s a long application process and I am the kind of person who only does things 100 percent, so I knew I would have to really take the time to commit to this.

Finally, this year I did it. Once I completed it, I thought, “Well now that I’ve done it, I really want this!” It’s been amazing. I am so glad I did it.

C21: This month you are featured on the cover of REALTOR Magazine. How does that feel?

KC: I ordered 100 extra copies of the magazine. I handed them out to every person I’ve ever walked by! That’s so not me, but it was just too exciting.

They did such an amazing job selecting people with character, not just people with high production numbers.

C21: You are on the cover with another CENTURY 21 agent, Kel Svoboda of CENTURY 21 Affiliated. Did you two connect?

KC: Kel and I met in person and discovered we had a lot in common. We both got into real estate straight out of high school.

I just completed my Bachelor’s degree. I have eight nieces and nephews and when I got the college diploma I could show them what it means to achieve something great and that was so meaningful. I told each of them that if they get into college, I will pay their tuition. I would be honored to be able to pay for eight people to go to college.

The harder you work and the more dedication you have, the more you can accomplish in life. I want my nieces and nephews to know that.

C21: For people graduating high school or college and thinking about a career in real estate, what advice would you offer them?

This biggest piece of advice I would have for young people is not to apologize for your age. In my experience, people value the forward-thinking and the visionary minds of our generation.

While it seems intimidating to be young in this industry, it helps you stand out. Own it. Let it be your driving force. It will open doors for you.

There is a lack of excitement in our business and when someone comes in with passion, that’s contagious.

I would also tell them not to be afraid to try or reach for something. Like with Associations for example, don’t wait for people to open the door for you. Knock!

Don’t ever feel like you don’t have the opportunity to do new things. You have plenty to offer, no matter your age. Decide to pave your own way. You’ll be glad you did.

C21: Thank you, Krista. You are a true inspiration. Congratulations again on the “30 Under 30” recognition.

To connect with Krista, visit her website.

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