Meet Alex Helton | REALTOR

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Helton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It started as a tiny idea. I have several friends who work in real estate and I always thought it was interesting. I was driving around one day and a thought popped in my head: become a real estate agent.

The next thought was, “no way.”

And the “no way” didn’t come because I didn’t think I could do it. It appeared in my mind because I carried a lot conflicting perceptions of people in the industry. I loved my friends, but my mind also felt like agents were people who thought they were too cool for hard work.

“Well, that’s an idiotic reason to NOT explore something.”

So I decided to take the first step and sign up for the licensure exam. This was just after the COVID lockdown. I made it through the class and passed the test by now, I’d shed some of my worry over what people would think of me if I transitioned to real estate.

I had a well-paying but not terribly fulfilling job at the time. Lots of people were encouraging me to stay put.

Then within a week of passing the exam, I was laid off.

The big A-HA for me didn’t come until about a year in as an agent. Being successful in real estate is about being more myself. That sort of sleazeball image of the agent that I was carrying around isn’t totally false, but that image is why I have to be genuinely myself in the day to day.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I went to college for Creative Writing and I had always harbored a faint hope that I’d find a way to be a published writer or a TV writer. Maybe a screenplay (ask me about the one a friend and I planned to write about the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally).

But either I lacked discipline or life pulled me a different way — I guess it was probably a bit of both. Yet, in every job (except maybe waiting tables in my 20s), my writing skills came in handy. Then I moved through all the titles “d’jour” (check spelling on that)
Marketer
Copywriter
Information Architect
Taxonomist
Instructional writer
Content strategist

And now, in this career I write more creatively than I ever had before because I’m writing my own newsletter that includes interviews with other people. (Kind of like this.). I’m even working on some writing to take to the stage and I hope to get enough courage to do it soon.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, I use my friends to try out new things in this town. Things my local pals and I haven’t been able to do together because of conflicting schedules.

And keep in mind my friends are lovely weirdos. If someone were coming tomorrow, I’d propose the following agenda:
A drive over to Atlanta University Center because I’ve been wanting to explore over there. I love Portrait Coffee. Then the National Center for Civil & Human Rights.

That night we go to Fam Fam Karaoke with some other friends and enjoy a private room. I sing “Ship of Fools” by Robert Plant one too many times and my out of town friend considers flying home early.

But I turn it around with birdsong and great coffee in my backyard (Smoke Rise has the best birds. OK not sure, just pretending), then Slutty Vegan and thrift shopping.

I’d have booked us two nights at Hike Inn and when we get back, a trek to JeJu where. I like telling jokes in the salt room if no one else is in there.

OMG, where do I stop. Cat cafes, conveyor belt sushi, Dad’s Garage, Scraplanta, napping in camping hammocks at Stone Mountain Park, and so much more.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out Toastmasters. Specifically, the Gwinnett Tucker Toastmasters in club 833. I had always toyed with joining Toastmasters and had visited their site to find a club several times in recent years. Having a full time office job limited the number of “extra” things I felt like I could commit to. When I became a REALTOR, I joined this club which meets in the back of Matthews Cafeteria every Friday morning at 7:30am.

These people, whom I only met 9 months ago, show up. I started a little small business owners’ networking group. Guess who was there? My Toastmasters buds. I host an Open House and they are there. I swear, these folks would help me move if I needed them. They are those kinds of people. It’s insane to me.

And the bonus is that my mentor in Toastmasters is also a real estate agent. That’s another thing I need to call out about agents: they are not back stabbing or territorial at all. I almost can’t name a community that’s as collaborative and easy going as the REALTORS, I’ve met.

Website: https://alexhelton.me

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandra.helton.atlanta/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-helton/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.helton.atlanta/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alex-helton-real-estate

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