Women In Real Estate 2019

www.ChsWomenInBusiness.com | www.ChsWomenInRE.com WIRE C H A R L E S T ON ’ S 2 0 1 9 Women I N R E A L E S TAT E You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll feel new respect for every working mom you know. But that’s not Netflix’s newest binge-worthy show — it’s real life for six women in the Lowcountry. All that opening imagery is their reality, and, yes, those things really happened. There must be something in the water, as they say, at the Carolina One office on Coleman Boulevard, as these six real estate agents — Lara Schellenger, Cheryl Brannan, Christi Fabie, Sarah Yandle, Lauren Newman and Anna Gore — together experience the joys and challenges of balancing first-time motherhood with their careers. “That balance is really hard for any working mom, but the fact that all six of us are going through these things at the same time makes it really special,” said Gore. “I know many new moms experience a sense of loneliness, and we’re lucky to have each other to lean on.” As independent contractors, they do not have maternity leave. “You can’t turn work off because you’re constantly thinking of the schedule, calendar, timeline, dates in a contract that you can’t ignore, inspections — you can’t pretend that’s not happening. Immediately you’re a working mom from day one,” said Yandle. Several of them texted clients and made work calls from their hospital beds, and preplanning helped ease the transition in early postpartum days. “Before I went on maternity leave, I asked Anna Gore if she would cover for me for a few weeks,” said Brannan. “She did, and, by the time Anna was ready to have her baby, I was able to cover for her and help while she took maternity leave. It all worked out very well. The service to our clients really never skipped a beat.” A positive that has blossomed is the collaboration between them when — under normal circumstances — they would be considered competitors. “In theory we should be competing against each other, but we’re not. Now, we cover for each other because we all understand how hard it can be,” Fabie explained. One hurdle many of the moms came across was having Photo by Anne Shuler Toole. Back row: Sarah Yandle and baby Wesley, Lara Schellenger and baby Caroline, Lauren Newman and baby Blake. Front row: Cheryl Brannan and baby Sophia, Anna Gore and baby Milly, Christi Fabie and baby Janie. feature