Balancing a successful career with motherhood is always a challenging quest – and working in real estate has a few extra curve balls thrown in.
Saturday ‘game days’ – for both parents and children – make the juggling act even more precarious, but, according to four of RT Edgar’s hardest-working mums, the benefits are totally worth it. And they all agree the flexibility offered by real estate makes it a great career choice for mothers.
Elissa Holloway
Sales Agent, Bellarine, and mother to Louis, 9.
Elissa can already see her business acumen rubbing off on her son. “I had a little chuckle to myself earlier this week when I asked my son to do something around the house. He answered back with ‘How about I meet you halfway, Mum?’. He’s heard me negotiating on the phone many times, and I loved that he tried it on me”.
Elissa is looking forward to receiving a handmade gift from Louis on Mother’s Day.
“There have been many over the years but my favourite is a little written card with an outline of my son’s handprint and his first attempt to write ‘Mum’. It’s stuck to my bedroom door where I can see it every day.”
Discover more about Elissa here
Chelsie Cargill
Sales Agent, Bayside & Toorak, mother to Slater, 20, and Madison Monroe, 17.
Chelsie is planning on spending this Mother’s Day in the city with her children and maybe even selling a property while she’s at it!
“We love the city, so we’ll go window shopping then to a cheap and cheerful restaurant for yum cha. Last year I took my laptop because I had a big deal going down and I sold a property whilst at lunch! Now that was a good Mother’s Day!”
Chelsie has been able to show her children that with hard work, grit, and a bit of luck, their hopes and dreams can come true.
“My kids are the making of me and are now my biggest supporters. Slater is following in my footsteps as far as achieving record-breaking sales goes. He recently began a retail job selling sneakers and sold $993 in one transaction on his second day at work. Madison is also a real go-getter, totally independent, and can charm her way out of any situation”
Discover more about Chelsie here
Vicki Sayers
Director Mount Eliza and mother to Ella 21 and Oscar 18
Vicki agrees that working weekends and always being ‘on the phone’ are the biggest challenges to being a working mum in Real Estate.
“However, showing my kids that working hard doing something you love is rewarding and it pays off, has made it worthwhile. Even though I do put in many hours, I have had the flexibility over the years to attend various school events, and by being able to work remotely, I can go away on holidays, spending time and sharing experiences with my kids while still looking after my clients.”
This year, Vicki will celebrate Mother’s Day with her family over a special lunch in the city, during which she will undoubtedly dish out some motherly advice to her children.
“The words of ‘mother’s wisdom’ I regularly find myself saying are: keep hydrated; work hard so you never have to rely on anyone else; reputation follows you so always be true to yourself; and fake eyelashes don’t make you more beautiful!”
Discover more about Vicki here
Rachael Fabbro
Sales Manager, Boroondara, and mum to Antony, 17
Rachael is proud to be able to teach her son business concepts and that anything worth having is worth working for.
“I want to show him that goals can come to life, that kindness can exist within the sometimes cold world of business, and that as a real estate agent, if you have a genuine motivation for best practice, transparency, and achieving excellent outcomes, you can make a positive difference to your and your clients’ lives."
Rachael says trying to balance work and family commitments is difficult, but it can be done.
“Working six days per week, week in, week out and missing out on Saturday sport is hard,” she admits.
And what words of ‘mother’s wisdom’ does Rachael often find herself repeating to Antony?
“ Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is watching.”
Discover more about Rachael here
