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When Laura Calabrese has a question at the office, she gets to do something most people cant. She can ask her mother, Susan, for help.
Ive learned an invaluable amount from her, Laura says while sitting next to her mother at their Greenwich office. Real estate is one of those things, the longer you are in it, the more you know. Just in terms of histories of houses. There is an invaluable aspect in working with someone who has done it as long as she has. So I think I had an unfair advantage joining my mother right away."
For her part, Susan enjoys having her daughter on board. The younger Calabrese understands the growing social media and technology aspects of the business a little bit better than her mother does. Laura also brings new ideas to the Coldwell Banker office. Having Laura come along, the office is appreciating her fresh perspective on things. Shes very good at looking at a situation and saying, 'You could do this or that.' Because it is very easy to get staid in your area, to have that fresh perspective is really good and helpful, Susan says.
Laura wasnt entirely new to real estate. Before joining her mother, she held a license in New York after leaving the marketing and public relations field. She got married and was thinking about having kids in the next few years. Laura said that being in a career where she was working until 11 p.m. with no control over her schedule was impractical. She laughs and says that she still works deep into the night, but at least now she has some ability to set the hours as she needs to.
Like her daughter, Susan tried her hand at a different career before finding her place in the real estate business. She was an actress working with the likes of Michael Landon. Her training in that career gave her a unique perspective with competition in the market. Having been an actress so long, I dont see competition. I see opportunities and different ways of looking at things. As soon as you start looking at other people as competition youve taken your eyes off of what really matters, which is your client, Susan said.
Both mother and daughter agree that the partnership is working well. And they think the clients agree. Last year almost every sale we made was a referral. Nothing makes you feel better than when someone says, I was looking for a Realtor and so-and-so said I should call you.
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