How Tonya McIntyre Built a Thriving Career from Adversity

What drives someone to take bold risks and build a life of impact?

Ken McLachlan sits down with the inspiring Tonya McIntyre to explore her incredible journey from a small-town girl with big dreams to a thriving real estate professional in Durham Region. 

Tonya opens up about her early years, growing up in a challenging home, and the determination that led her to leave at just 16. 

She shares the lessons she learned from her entrepreneurial mother, making the leap into real estate, and why relationships and resilience have been at the core of her success. 

Tanya also discusses the personal tragedies and triumphs that have shaped her, the philosophy that keeps her grounded, and her passion for helping others find their own path in business and life. 

Listen For:

03:09 – Moving to Toronto at 16 – the big leap into independence

12:50 – The impact of growing up in an alcoholic home

17:24 – Breaking barriers: “No one is putting a ceiling on me”

24:31 – The power of mentorship and learning from the best

Guest: Tonya McIntyre

Website | Realtor | Instagram | Facebook 

Ken can be reached at:

ken@remaxhallmark.com

Transcript

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Ken McLachlan (00:07):

Hi everybody, this is Ken McLachlan and this is Realty Life and it's a little thing, I do a podcast that I don't know if it's a little thing, but it's a thing that I do a podcast that really hopes or I hope from doing it to really get involved with people in the real estate industry. Not everybody is in real estate, but in the industry that I'm really accustomed to find out what drives them, how they got to where they are, where they're going, and the difficulties that they have and the lessons that they've learned and the things they can share and all that stuff. So today, guess who I have? I have Tonya McIntyre, who is an extraordinary person. Realtor has grown so much and contributed so much to the industry, to her clients, to her family, and there's so much about her that I want us to learn together and I want to welcome you, Tonya. Thanks for being here.

Tonya McIntyre (01:03):

Well, Ken, it's been a long time coming. Both of us are busy, and it's truly an honor just to have a smidgen of your time this morning. So

Ken McLachlan (01:11):

Thank you. Yeah, we're going to have some fun, huh?

Tonya McIntyre (01:13):

So you've been here. Sounds good.

Ken McLachlan (01:15):

I guess right now you're a realtor. You've had a sort of journey to get to this point. We're talking a little bit about that, but you work in Durham region,

(01:25):

So I'm going to ask you a question before we go any further. There's a book I read called The Storyteller by David Crow from Foo Fighters, and in the book he talks, it's a great book by the way, and in the book he talks about his belief that everything that we are today was a result of something that happened when we were 13 years old. So he asks us in the book, and he told the story about when he was 13, what happened to him, and it reflects to me in my life as well, the things that happened to me in my life at 13 that really got me into this business of real estate. As an example, Ringo Star talks about when he was 13, he was sick in the hospital for months and months at a time. And to amuse him, somebody brought these drums in that he had never touched before in his life, little bongo drums or whatever. And from that moment on, he knew he was going to be a drummer. What happened to you at 13, if anything?

Tonya McIntyre (02:31):

I think at 13 I was in a pretty tumultuous home. My dad was an alcoholic and I knew my mom was a business owner and I just saw her passion to help people in the community. But at 13, I knew I needed to get out of there and be something bigger and better. I grew up in a really small town with 500 people. And so at 16 I finished high school and I moved to Toronto with I think there was five girls, and we rented a little basement apartment at

Ken McLachlan (03:04):

Really

Tonya McIntyre (03:04):

A little under a hundred bucks each. And we all lived together. We did. So

Ken McLachlan (03:09):

Just back this

Tonya McIntyre (03:10):

Up a bit, I turned 17 at December

Ken McLachlan (03:11):

16. You're on your own. Unusual That is as on

Tonya McIntyre (03:15):

My own. Yeah, I know my kids still, it's pretty big pressure. Well, did you

Ken McLachlan (03:21):

Know,

Tonya McIntyre (03:21):

They tell me it's times are different.

Ken McLachlan (03:22):

Mom did you know it was unusual at the time

Tonya McIntyre (03:24):

And they were, but they weren't. I knew I was surrounded by good friends. We were very naive and innocent and we grew up in a very small town. We were very sheltered. So I mean, we hadn't even seen anyone outside of what we looked like. So coming to Toronto, we lived in a very Jewish community and they kind of just nurtured us and took us in and helped us learn how to cook and clean and show us the world as it was.

Ken McLachlan (03:53):

So the people that you were living with at the time, two questions. Are you still in touch with them or one person, sorry.

Tonya McIntyre (04:00):

Well, her name was Rifka Rubin. I think she was probably in her eighties at the time. So I'm going to say no, she's no longer.

Ken McLachlan (04:09):

So you weren't living with like-minded like age kids at the time. You just happened to move into a boarding house or

Tonya McIntyre (04:18):

Her home? It was her basement apartment. It was two bedrooms and we all shared the space. It was tiny.

Ken McLachlan (04:27):

So you all shared the space in the house, right? What? I can't believe this. I mean, I didn't know this about you. And how did you make a living? Did you go to school? How did you come to make that decision to move out? How powerful was that for you to do that?

Tonya McIntyre (04:48):

So the year before I left home, I opened up an ice cream parlor on a little piece of grass by my mom was a florist and she was halfway between Innisvale and very, so very different than it is now. So there was right on Highway 11. So I was able to work the summer before and save a ton of money and I paid for my way through school. I had my first year's rent in the bank, and then I just figured it out after that.

Ken McLachlan (05:20):

Where'd you get that from? I mean, not the physical money, but where did you get that drive from to do

Tonya McIntyre (05:26):

It? A hundred percent. My mother,

Ken McLachlan (05:27):

Mother

Tonya McIntyre (05:28):

Owned a flower shop on the corner of Annville Beach Road and Highway 11, and then she moved into Big Preco and I was with her. I didn't want to be at home. My dad was not the best man, but I was with my mom all the time. My mom was at the time the only florist and in berry. So she literally married everybody's wedding was there when my mom retired and she actually lives with us and has for 21 years. The mayor had a going away party for Jackie. That's how special she was in that little town. So my drive, my passion, my willingness to help others and just be there, a hundred percent comes from her.

Ken McLachlan (06:08):

But you realize though, I'm sure you do, the decision to actually at 16 to uproot yourself to go to another big city, which was so different from where you were born and lived in was extremely rare and difficult. And did your mother support that decision?

Tonya McIntyre (06:29):

So when I finished grade 12, I wanted to work in dentistry and I did for 25 years before I got my license. I didn't get into school. All of my friends got in and I didn't get in and I just thought, where am I going to go? They're all going to leave me and I'm going to be here in this small town. So later on that summer I got a call from George Brown and they had implemented a new program, so I was able to get the clinical part that I wanted, but also it was more administrative. So I, they took 2020 kids and I went, I didn't even think about it. It was done. My mom was very supportive and for me it was my way out without hurting her. And her day off was Wednesday. She used to come every Wednesday and she would cook and clean for us and leave me $20. That's what she had and that was my spending money for the week. It's hard to believe it was only two years ago really.

Ken McLachlan (07:33):

But

Tonya McIntyre (07:33):

So

Ken McLachlan (07:34):

You talked about getting into the dentistry business and having some kind of, I know I know from you, from talking to you before about this that you spent a lot of time 25 years in that business and you actually ran clinics or at clinic. I did. And tell us about that experience because you really trained yourself to do it in management.

Tonya McIntyre (07:57):

Yeah, so I think looking back, my co-op was at Lake Castle Loma area and on my first day of co-op, there was a sign on the door. The guy had gone bankrupt. I didn't know what to do, so I went home and I called my administrator at the school and they said, don't worry, we'll get you another co-op. For some reason I was able to get something at Bayview Village. So coming from a really small town and going into that area, I had no idea. But I was so fortunate and the dentist that owned that Ron Weinraub were still extremely close. He's probably one of the most impactful people that ever has come into my life. And I've had a few wonderful male figures that have come and impacted me, and he's definitely one. And he took a chance on me when I was 17 and he hired me, I dunno how much you want me to fast forward, but not long after I started working there. I met Eric, my husband,

Tonya McIntyre (09:02):

And

Tonya McIntyre (09:04):

We were 18, turning 19, and it was time for the girls to all spread their winks and Eric really had nowhere to live, so he thought we should live together. And I said, I think my parents aren't going to be really okay with that. And so he called my mom and my mom said, there is no way her father is going to allow that to happen. So he proposed to me. I was 19 and three days old and we got married that July and that was 32 years ago.

Ken McLachlan (09:35):

Incredible. So straighten things up

Tonya McIntyre (09:37):

Me again, young and foolish.

Ken McLachlan (09:39):

Well, no, I don't think so. So you were 16 on your own and then you went back to your home?

Tonya McIntyre (09:44):

No, no, nope. I lived with those girls up until Eric and I met and they were kind all done school and working and it was time for us to figure out next steps.

Ken McLachlan (09:53):

So you never moved back to your home with your mom and dad?

Tonya McIntyre (09:57):

Never.

Ken McLachlan (09:57):

Okay, got that.

Tonya McIntyre (09:58):

Yeah, no.

Ken McLachlan (09:59):

So you met Eric and at the young age of 19, got married 32 years.

Tonya McIntyre (10:05):

Yeah.

Ken McLachlan (10:06):

We'll get into that a little bit in a minute. I wanted to ask you some other stuff here before we get into your career and the foundation of the work you do and what compels you to be the way you are. I have a belief, and I'd like to get your opinion on this, is that who we are, and you've kind of expanded upon that already, and I want to ask you who you are in a crisis is who you really are in life. And without getting into personal details, different crises in your life, compelled you to step up to be the person that you are today. I find that whenever I see people that are in a crisis and that they're acting a certain way that identifies to me who they really are in life. You know what I mean?

(10:57):

Mean the crisis. Sorry, let me just back it up. The crisis of really in that family relationship that you had mom and dad, that to me was a crisis that was in front of you and you had the choice at that time to either stay at home, accept it, live with it, roll with the punches, whatever, or to make a difference for yourself. And you made the choice at that time based on the crisis that was there to step up and carve out the pattern in your life. That's what I mean by that. You actually demonstrated at that point who you actually are in that crisis that was in front of you.

Tonya McIntyre (11:33):

Now that I'm a mom and have kids that age, it resonates with me because none of them I don't think could really survive on their own. I mean, maybe they could if they were in a crisis. Eric and I try to provide the best opportunities for them and give them the life. We both had a tough upbringing, but I think it's the backbone of my mom. My mom also grew up in an alcoholic home and she left home and met my dad and that unfortunately, that was the way that her life went. But I don't resent or look back at it all being bad. I know in my core that I don't touch alcohol because I'm afraid that if we're predisposed to that gene that it might be there, but there honestly can, there isn't one solid good memory that I could say about my father.

Ken McLachlan (12:31):

I

Tonya McIntyre (12:31):

Understand.

Ken McLachlan (12:33):

I put that in place, have an alcoholic. My father was alcoholic, perhaps not as extreme as what you're describing, but still impacted me a lot to be who I am today.

Tonya McIntyre (12:43):

When he passed, we were there and I remember my uncle saying to me that their father was an alcoholic and he was the one of six that got that gene. And it's never left me because I feel blessed. I feel blessed that I was strong enough to know that that wasn't the life I wanted and maybe naive enough to not know what was coming my way.

Ken McLachlan (13:08):

Well formed who you are today, that's for sure.

Tonya McIntyre (13:10):

Absolutely. Yeah.

Ken McLachlan (13:11):

So you have three kids?

Tonya McIntyre (13:13):

We do. We have three and one that passed away.

Ken McLachlan (13:19):

And that is incredible that you are who you are today, basically a mother, a wife, a business person. It's a lot of, I always look at, I have four kids and Deborah has two, and I look at what we went through to become who we are today, and we did it on our own as you did. And I wonder if we're doing our kids a disservice by not giving them the opportunity to move out when they're 16. It's try on their own. I'm not suggesting we should be alcoholics or have a difficult home, but I don't know if it's a question that often comes to me, is that, is it better to have them struggle more? Do you know what I'm talking about?

Tonya McIntyre (14:16):

Yeah. Eric and I talk about this a lot. So when Jake's 24 now, and when he was done high school, he didn't want to go to school and I am so grateful that he was able to find an opportunity to go into a trade and we drove him out to the school and it was 20, $21,000. I think I've shared this story with you.

(14:40):

We dropped him off there and the owner of the school, it's out in Warburg, he said, he's pretty young to be out here. And we're like, yeah, he's never even slept in any bed but his own. He's just a homebody. And about a week or two later, we communicated with the school and he was doing exceptional and they picked him at a school and I mean, he's 24, so he lived in Ottawa on his own for almost five years. He just recently came back home. He owns a house at 19. He bought a house and he's taken the equity from that house and bought a pre-construction. So I think he's done well considering he wasn't sure his path and he didn't want to go to school. So we're really proud of him. He's a good kid.

Ken McLachlan (15:29):

He intentionally allow them to fail. If the opportunity came up,

Tonya McIntyre (15:35):

I'm okay with it.

Ken McLachlan (15:36):

Yeah.

Tonya McIntyre (15:37):

Yeah. I think that our biggest lessons learned from failing my kids have been pretty good. Victoria's just finishing her fourth year university. She probably will be the only one going to university, so we're super proud

Tonya McIntyre (15:51):

And

Tonya McIntyre (15:52):

She'll be a hallmark very soon. She's just starting her real estate courses. I'm proud of her too. I mean, she moved down to Bay and Dundas and did not pay for anything on her own, but she, she's managed her own bills and done well in school and she's really grown up and so she's coming home soon.

Ken McLachlan (16:15):

Wow.

Tonya McIntyre (16:16):

So

Ken McLachlan (16:16):

You have one daughter would danced for the Raptors. Which one? Tell

Tonya McIntyre (16:20):

Us

Ken McLachlan (16:20):

About. Yeah,

Tonya McIntyre (16:21):

So Becca was kind of a bit of a surprise. We thought we were done and she's grown into her own. She had a lot of stardom early in her life. She danced for the Raptors for five years. She's danced with Team Canada this summer. We're going to Spain and Italy for Teen Canada. She goes to performing arts school, but she's kind of still trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. And she definitely thinks she wants to go into real estate, but she's really super young, so she's working in a retirement home. Her and I share a passion for seniors in the community and they love her. They've really adopted her. So you know what, I'm actually okay if she doesn't want to go to school right now, she has really special qualities that are not teachable and she will find her way. Of course

Ken McLachlan (17:14):

She will.

Tonya McIntyre (17:15):

I'm very sure of it.

Ken McLachlan (17:16):

Is this what you thought it would be like Tonya, when you were 16? Is this what you visioned or did you have a vision of what your life would be

Tonya McIntyre (17:22):

Like? No vision.

Ken McLachlan (17:23):

No.

Tonya McIntyre (17:24):

No. I do know that when I decided to get my real estate license, my boss at the time told me that I would never earn any more money. And I remember just helping his son and daughter both set up their dental practice and get them running. And I thought, you know what, there is nobody, especially a man ever going to put a ceiling on me. I

Ken McLachlan (17:47):

Know that about you. Yeah.

Tonya McIntyre (17:48):

Yeah. I am pretty sure I make more money than them now, but

Ken McLachlan (17:53):

I think so. So let's talk about that real estate career you have that it's compelling and great. So you've dabbled with building a team, not having a

Tonya McIntyre (18:01):

Team

Ken McLachlan (18:03):

Right now you don't really have a team, right?

Tonya McIntyre (18:06):

No, it's Ashley and I, Ashley has been with me eight of the 10 years. She's a lovely licensed realtor that supports me, has my back. And when I hired her, I basically asked her three questions, do you want to get married? Figure this out, and no day will be the same as the previous day. And she said, okay. So I've never met anyone like Ashley. She's truly a beautiful soul. She, I believe has every power to support me in my dreams and all the things I love to do are really not in her realm. I'm very grateful.

Ken McLachlan (18:50):

She's a big part of your life. I know that.

Tonya McIntyre (18:52):

She is. Yeah. Yeah.

Ken McLachlan (18:54):

So you've dabbled with having a team at one time?

Tonya McIntyre (18:58):

Yeah.

Ken McLachlan (18:58):

What was that like?

Tonya McIntyre (19:00):

So these two ladies, I miss them immensely. Actually. One of them came to our event last Sunday and she's gone out of real estate. I think during Covid was a really tough time, especially for newer agents. And I thought I would play a bigger role in getting them to where they needed to be. But sometimes we want things more or differently than their plan is. And I had to learn that we are still all very close. We spent a good chunk of time together and we had fun together. I miss them. But I just thought after the experience, I was really hard on myself and I kind of went into a little bit of where did I go wrong? But I'm okay with it because I realized that I have some work to do for myself to be a better leader and I was a leader in my previous role. It's tough. I still have a lot of work to do learning about real estate and being a better version of me. So if the right person comes through, I would love to have them, but it has to be the right fit.

Ken McLachlan (20:09):

So what would you talk, I'm going to ask you two questions about the business right here is what advice would you give to an agent just starting out and what advice would you give to an agent that's been in the business for a while?

Tonya McIntyre (20:23):

So I think I'm right now working with a group of younger agents at the Pickering office, and we've formed a little click and niche and they're definitely learning from me, but I'm learning from them because they bring a very different way of the business than I do. I think if you put everybody on the same playing field, it comes down to consistency and waking up every day and just being grateful. So every morning I start my day with a gratitude journal and I make my five phone calls and that's without fail. And the rest of the day is pretty structured. I have time for my appointments, time for my family. I could carve it more time for myself, but I get filled up pretty quickly. I don't need a lot to keep me going. So five phone calls, being grateful and showing up to work and I work every day in some capacity. There's something to be done in this business. So

Ken McLachlan (21:28):

Is your advice different to a new agent or to a senior agent? The same thing.

Tonya McIntyre (21:31):

I think it's the same thing. I think newer agents need to work more and more seasoned agents need to really hone in on the relationships. I think that's the secret to this business.

Ken McLachlan (21:41):

You've talked to me before about the five phone calls and I've told many other people about this as well. And you've actually identified, and correct me if I'm wrong, that's a cornerstone of your success or the five calls you make daily every day and connecting with

Tonya McIntyre (21:58):

People. It's just so simple for me, it's not even if I don't do them, I get anxious. So I just connect. Real estate is about communication and conversations, so you don't have to phone them and ask them about real estate, just phone them, it will come up.

Ken McLachlan (22:12):

So your conversations are just barely just checking in,

Tonya McIntyre (22:14):

Just checking in

Ken McLachlan (22:16):

And checking in. How do you find, this is from your database obviously,

Tonya McIntyre (22:20):

Right?

Ken McLachlan (22:21):

And do you just randomly pick people or is there a system to it or?

Tonya McIntyre (22:26):

Yeah, so I am not very regimented. I'm very relationship based. So sometimes it's later at night if I see something on Facebook, somebody's posted something, I'll just pick up the phone and say, how you doing? It happened last night and I learned a whole lot of thing. I talked to her at Christmas, it's only February. So

(22:49):

I think people are surprised that I still manage to maintain those relationships. And I don't know if you know, at Christmas time we do these cookies. I team up with a local business and I think this year we did 300 deliveries and we personally deliver them and it's growing to be out of control now. But I get such joy out of it and it's really my entire month of prospecting for December and people love it. So it's working and it's expensive and a lot of people wouldn't do it. But if you get joy out of something and it works and you remember people, you got to find your thing, whatever it is.

Ken McLachlan (23:32):

Yeah, I mean it sounds quite clear to me that you're really clear on who you are as a realtor and what value you bring to people and how every day is an opportunity to make a difference in people's lives

Tonya McIntyre (23:46):

And

Ken McLachlan (23:48):

Not just by selling them a house or whatever, but being there for them, being connected with them and being engaged in what they're doing and really genuinely concerned of what they're doing. It's really important.

Tonya McIntyre (24:01):

Picking up the phone and calling strangers, not for me. Send me in the grocery store. I will find someone.

Ken McLachlan (24:09):

So when you started out though, did you do cold calling? Did you open houses? What did you do when you first started?

Tonya McIntyre (24:17):

Nothing. I didn't do any of that or early in my career, I met a lady, Joan Campbell, I may have shared this story with you. And Joni sold real estate here in Pickering for

(24:31):

40 years and we had a very tumultuous deal that fell apart on closing and it had land assembly and my husband was part of the connection there to make all that come together. And so she took us out for dinner after it was all said and done, and she said, I want to retire in a year from now. I think you should be doing this full time. And I was selling real estate, but also working in dentistry for 18 months. And so I did. I quit, quit my job with three little kids and came to Max and we did everything together except for the money part so that she had an exit strategy and I was just coming in and I was rookie of the year that year and I, I've never looked back. So I'm grateful I went everywhere with her. Every CMA, every listing appointment

Ken McLachlan (25:23):

You learned, she mentored you, the whole thing.

Tonya McIntyre (25:24):

She mentored me. I am so grateful. And we still talk almost every day.

Ken McLachlan (25:28):

Wow. That's incredible that she came. I have those mentors in my life that impacted me so much as well that made a big difference

Tonya McIntyre (25:34):

In who

Ken McLachlan (25:35):

I am today. And I wouldn't have been who I am today without them helping me along the way. And I know you're doing that with other people today.

Tonya McIntyre (25:42):

Yeah, it's kind of cool.

Ken McLachlan (25:43):

It's

Tonya McIntyre (25:43):

Cool. I'm starting to work with Rich Robinson, some legacy work, which I think I know I want to be done at 60, so I have 10 years and I'm going to work backwards. So I'm like designing my life to look at when I'm 60 and everything I can accomplish between now and then.

Ken McLachlan (26:01):

It's called Success by Design. And I've done it years and years ago, and Rich is amazing at this really, really good, his company. And to actually have that vision of what you want to achieve when you're 60 years old or whatever the number is and push it back to where you are today is really impactful and it helps you get there what you want to do. Are you still in love with the business?

Tonya McIntyre (26:24):

Obsessed. Love it. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Every part of it.

Ken McLachlan (26:30):

Yeah. Steve Trape, we both know and love. He was talking to an agent the other day, and I won't mention his name. I don't have permission to use his name. And he said, Steve asked the agent, how are you doing? And he says, I'm amazing. He says, well, how's the market? He says, it's incredible. And he says, why is it incredible? And he says, because I believe in myself. And I think that words could come out of your mouth very strongly that the belief, and it's not an arrogance or cockiness, whatever to go with it, but it's the belief that I don't really care what you throw at me in life or in business or whatever. It's going to be fine. Everything's going to work out right.

Tonya McIntyre (27:18):

Yeah. I mean, if you look at the last five years of what we've had to go through, last year was my best year in real estate. I'm very proud of Ashley and I and what we accomplished last year, and we're going to have another great year. I think if you just put the foundation of your business, customer service, relationships, and I believe in myself. I do.

Ken McLachlan (27:41):

You do. I know you believe in yourself. And the customer service is critically important without having an agenda around it. Just to be of service to people and to help them with their knowledge and their education around real estate is such a value added necessity for them to have in their life. So you do that really well, better than most people. And you actually are very calm as well, right?

Tonya McIntyre (28:07):

Yeah. I think we haven't touched on my loss, but I know when we lost our child that I was literally out of control and I did a lot of work on that and I realized that life is going to hit us with stuff. We all get our cards. And I was pretty young. I was 23 and I didn't really understand why I was dealt those cards. But I'm grateful. I'm grateful for her impact

Ken McLachlan (28:35):

On

Tonya McIntyre (28:35):

Me and an ability to help others and see the best in people.

Ken McLachlan (28:39):

How did you get through it?

Tonya McIntyre (28:43):

I think Eric and I became a real marriage. That became one, which I'm very grateful for because it can go the other way. We did a lot of grief work. I became a grief counselor, gave back to the community. So all the same principles that I apply now, and I met some really beautiful people along the way and really struggled with why did this happen to us? We waited, we did all the right things, but then I realized he picked us to be her parents and he had a bigger design for us. And yeah, she's our huge reason why I strive and I just want to be the best mom for my girls and my son. So

Ken McLachlan (29:33):

Well said. There's nothing I could add to that. It's incredible. And the influence you have, and again, who you are in a crisis is really who you are in life On that. And remind me of your daughter's name.

Tonya McIntyre (29:46):

Her name is Brooke.

Ken McLachlan (29:47):

Brooke. Well, she's forever with you and us. Now

Tonya McIntyre (29:50):

She is.

Ken McLachlan (29:51):

Yeah. Thank you. This has been enlightening. What I got from this was really the sense that head down, do the work, be the best you can. Don't overreact to things and make a difference in life and keep striving to go forward. Did I miss anything?

Tonya McIntyre (30:15):

No, I think that's perfectly said. I can't imagine being described any other way, and I'm grateful.

Ken McLachlan (30:24):

Yeah, I'm grateful for you and the inspiration that you give to everybody and who you are in this industry and our company, and the difference you make to me and others is profound, and thank you for that. If I had to recommend people to get ahold of you, which I would, how would they get ahold of you? How do they reach you?

Tonya McIntyre (30:45):

I'm very reachable these days. We have a great website, Tonya mcintyre.com, my cell phone always on me. Tonya selling homes in Durham, Instagram or through the office. I work out of the Pickering location.

Ken McLachlan (31:01):

Yeah, so it's T-O-N-Y-A, McIntyre, M-C-I-N-T-Y-R-E Homes.

Tonya McIntyre (31:08):

I shared this story yesterday in a brief chat and already to people reached out. So I remember Deb did a talk once and Fatima Bregman was there, and I remember looking at her as, wow, I just want to be like her when I grow up. And Fatima and I are very close now and

Tonya McIntyre (31:30):

Wonderful.

Tonya McIntyre (31:31):

I love her so much. She's been a huge instrument. So even if one person wants to connect, I would love to chat and share. That's what the foundation of what you and Deb and Steve provide for us in a culture that we're very fortunate for.

Ken McLachlan (31:47):

Well, Tonya, thank you for doing this. I appreciate this is well worth the wait. I'll tell you that. Thanks, Ken. Thank you so much. And there you go. Tonya McIntyre from re max hallmark in Durham region. Thanks Tonya.

Tonya McIntyre (32:00):

Thank you, Ken. Appreciate you.

Ken McLachlan (32:11):

Here are the talk through things, and there are many more that I got from Tonya in this episode. Number one was the power of taking initiative. Tonya's journey from a small town to building a successful real estate career was fueled by her willingness to take risks and create opportunities for herself. I'm opening an ice cream parlor as a teenager to moving to Toronto at the age of 16. Her story is a testament to the importance of stepping up and making things happen. Tonya's life is built. Her own relationships and her relationships drive success. She built her career as a realtor on the foundation of strong relationships. She emphasized the importance of daily personal outreach, making five phone calls a day just to check in with people. It's this consistent effort in nurturing connections that has led to her sustained success. Lastly, but most important I believe is her resilience to adversity. Tonya's experiences, including personal loss and overcoming challenges in her upbringing have shaped her into a person she is today. She believes that who you are in a crisis defines who you are in life, and her ability to stay grounded and keep moving forward and helping others is truly inspiring. Thanks for listening today to the Really Life podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow a rating and share it with at least one friend who can benefit from Tony's insights. I hope to see you next time. And for now, Ken McLachlan.