Today we’d like to introduce you to Ginny Adkins.
Ginny, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I worked in a church off and on for almost 20 years while raising my daughters to have flexibility of being available to them. Once they were in high school I felt I needed a change. In 2015 I started looking to design and stage homes (my college degree is in merchandising and design) but realized there was a greater desire to do renovations so I took a real estate course to learn how to flip houses. It took 10 months to find one, got into it with a partner, made all the mistakes a newbie would make (over paid, underestimated budget, hired wrong contractors, city permitting issues) took a year to finish and sell and lost a lot of money (and a friend). I had already quit my job of 10yrs in management at a local church so I found myself helping my husband in our side business doing pools for a few months until a friend of mine asked me to help him in the office of his real estate investment company.
That started the journey of getting me where I am today. His partner owned a self directed IRA company in Longwood so we worked out of that building and also shared an office with a land trust company and his property management company. I learned about each of those companies in great detail and how they are used in investment real estate. I got my real estate license and we started a turnkey RE company selling through affiliates around the country to out of state investors. Then we decided to add other RE agents hoping to partner with them if they could bring in opportunities. I did weekly trainings on finding, marketing and evaluating deals for about two years and we had around 30 agents. In 2019 I decided to take my knowledge and go solo. I got my brokers license and joined a retail brokerage to sell to the general public as well as investors as I was buying, renovating and selling my own deals. I started keeping a few and now have short term, mid term and long term rentals, flipped about 45 houses. I also lead a monthly meetup specifically for women who want to learn investing. I’ve been doing that for four years. I now lead a team of agents in multiple states with the InvestHER Group at EXP Realty with hopes to add agents in every market around the US so we can help women have “boots on the ground” in areas they want to invest. We have a large InvestHER community of over 16,000 members and 50+ meetups around the US and Canada.
I have tons of stories about deals I’ve done, partnerships I’ve had and the learning of starting, running and keeping a business going.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest challenges have been learning how to run a business without a “toolkit” just figuring it out as I went along. How to market, how to do book keeping, picking the wrong partner, wrong vendor, etc. I struggled with not trusting myself and took on unnecessary partners, or bought programs I didn’t need. It’s so easy to keep trying the next best thing in effort to make the business easier rather than realizing that it’s just part of running a business and I needed people not programs.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I help homeowners stage and sell their homes on the retail market. I also buy problem homes and make them fresh and new for a family. I love design. I love recreating spaces in homes. Taking the dysfunctional to wonderfully simple. Moving walls, adding rooms, addling the right color and texture and furnishing it to give a feeling that represents the clients desire. People call me often for advice regarding design. Agents often call for help with a client or transaction.
I am most proud of how I have continued to move forward even when deals fail. I take it as a learning experience and find out what I need to know to do it different or better the next time.
I think being an investor allows me to help homeowners in a way most traditional agents can’t. I understand what is needed to get the most value from a home. I know the cost of repairs. I know how to help with multiple options when a homeowner is in distress. I know what other investors will do and can help disseminate the contracts so sellers can make wise decisions.
What sets me apart is that knowledge of investing and understanding construction, I am able to help homeowners avoid bad sales tactics and know the minimal improvements that can bring maximum value.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I’ve been an avid learner since beginning my investing journey. I’ve had wonderful supporters and mentors – Augie Byllott is a friend and mentor, currently in my InvestHER community I have amazing support from coaches like Alecia St Germain with The Conscious Edge business coaching, Liz Faircloth and Andresa Guidelli who lead our community and move our mission forward to empower women to live a wealthy and balanced life on their own terms. And my biggest cheerleader is my husband who supports and helps with everything I do!
Contact Info:
- Website: ginnyadkins.exprealty.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/ginnyadkinsrealestate
- Facebook: Facebook.com/ginnyadkinsrealestate
- Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/ginnyadkins
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@ginnyadkinsrealestate
