FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #26 Reinventing Yourself: Amanda Blalock's Journey from Dreams to Real Estate
What happens when you decide to pursue your dream career at age 50? Amanda Blalock's compelling story proves that reinvention is possible at any stage of life.
Amanda shares her remarkable journey from dabbling in real estate-adjacent roles to becoming a successful realtor and property manager with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Fredericksburg. "I had always dabbled in working for builders and things real estate and always had that little bug and interest," she reveals, "but it wasn't until my life sort of took a turn... that I decided it was now or never." Her message resonates powerfully: "I really promote it is never too late to reinvent yourself and it is never too late to step out into those dreams that you've always thought of."
Throughout our conversation, Amanda tackles the misconceptions surrounding real estate professionals and property managers, emphasizing how she builds trust through radical honesty and exceptional service. This approach has earned her clients worldwide, including military personnel stationed abroad who entrust their properties to her care. "If I take your house, I'm going to treat it like my own," she promises.
Beyond her professional insights, Amanda shares wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs about breaking through what she calls the "terror barrier"—that uncomfortable space between comfort and growth. "Comfort zones are where dreams go to die," she warns. Her advice? Seek guidance only from those who have achieved what you're pursuing, embrace failure as part of the journey, and remember that "when you push through [the terror barrier], that's where the magic is."
Curious about reinventing yourself professionally or interested in working with a realtor who truly puts clients first? Connect with Amanda Blalock through social media or by calling 540-273-0393.
Amanda Blalock
Margoupis Real Estate Team
Brokered by Berkshire Hathaway Penfed Realty
(540) 273-0393
Amanda@CDSells.com
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to another episode of the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. I'm excited to introduce you to a fantastic neighbor today. Amanda Blalock is a realtor and property manager with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Fredericksburg and member of the Margoupas team. Amanda, welcome to the podcast. Oh, thank you so much for having me. I'm glad to be here. Awesome. Well, I'm excited to dive in and learn all about you. So let's start off by sharing with the listeners a little bit about your business.
Speaker 3:Of course I am, as you said, amanda Blalock and I'm a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway and I'm part of the Margoupas team and, as a separate entity, I also head up the Madison Property Management Company, where I am a property manager as well. I'm sort of an all-encompassed anything real estate and I do a lot of work with investors, help them find properties and identify those and things like that, licensed in the state of Virginia and Maryland.
Speaker 2:Wow that's impressive. So how did you get into this? Tell us your backstory. Tell us how you became a realtor.
Speaker 3:I certainly will, and I actually enjoy telling this backstory in hopes of inspiring especially the women group, because this is something I got into is what I would call a second career in life. Later in life I had always dabbled in working for builders and things real estate and always had that little bug and interest. But it wasn't until my life sort of took a turn you know I was middle-aged at this point that I decided it was now or never. And I really promote it is never too late to reinvent yourself and it is never too late to step out into those dreams that you've always thought of. And this is kind of that for me. I think we always have things we think oh, I wish I had done this, that's too late now. I'll just refuse to have that mindset.
Speaker 3:So when I was pushing 50 years old, I decided to make it official and to be able to do the level of real estate I was wanting to do and I dreamed of doing. I was going to have to go, secure licensure and many things, and that's exactly what I did. I kind of honed my skills because there was a lot of work you did without a license for builders and property management, but then I decided to take it to another level and to go on my own and I honed my skills for the past, you know five or six years. And then last year I stepped out and really made it official and branded myself as Amanda Blalock Realtor and it was probably the best decision I've ever made.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. Congratulations, thank you, and yes, that is inspiring, and I mean, you can begin again any day and I just love that so much.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, I wish, I wish we could just really get that embedded, especially into women that may have been, you know, at home for a few years, caring for children, or in a different career they weren't happy in, and they always had that dream, and sometimes it is when you know it's in your 40s sometimes, or 50s when you go. You know what it's my time.
Speaker 2:Yep, it's time to be happy. Think about yourself a little bit. Do what you really want to do.
Speaker 3:We're natural nurturers so it's hard for us to because it almost feels selfish to us. But when you learn that it's not selfish, because your best version of yourself is the best version for your family around you and your friends.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love that so much. Thank you for sharing that. So tell me, do you find that there are any myths or misconceptions around real estate?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, and this is a proven one. Studies show that for some reason, the lack of trust in real estate is sort of an overlying blanket for real estate agents and it's a shame because I am honesty, I think sometimes in this world, just being brutally honest with people, even if it's not the news they want to hear, or if it is the news they want to hear, just be brutally honest and be available and I think dispelling the myth that you can't trust us or we don't work hard or we're not giving our all some may be warranted in particular situations, but I would hope that I'm able to change that through my clients and when they speak about the service with me they can say she was always there for us and we trusted her and she never led us down the wrong path, but mainly it's service after the sale. So I would like to dispel that and I do think that's a misconception. And on my property management side I think the misconceptions are even worse.
Speaker 3:Property managers are usually not popular and I get told a lot and I think I must have this thing where I'll do jobs nobody else likes. No one wants to be a property manager, but that's just not true. I found myself really enjoying it because it really is dealing with someone's one of their largest investments and in some cases I'm working for an investor who buys homes as their wealth, building their wealth and to be a part of that and to help them build their portfolios is exciting, because a lot of my owners are abroad. So in that property managers are known for they don't check your house if your house will be run down and again, I'm sure there's instances like that. But I know that my owners and my investors would say opposite and it's not a brag, it just is If I take your house, I'm going to treat it like my own. So that's another myth that property managers should just kind of mean.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for being the model of what realtors and property managers should be in being trustworthy and honest and upfront. You have clients overseas. I mean that takes a lot of trust.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, as you know, we're in a very military driven area and a lot of them are abroad in their work. And then I have one that just happens to live abroad and buys, you know, his real estate investments in the States. So you will have all of them. It does take a lot of trust because they are single-handedly handing everything over to you. We just took one at Madison. Just a wonderful man had served his country but his home was Ghana and he wanted to go back and his properties here have to be cared for because he's not quite ready to sell. And it's an honor that someone thinks of you, that they trust you like that. So we build a good rapport and they're interesting people. I love to hear their stories and it brings me joy to give them the comfort that they can let this part of it go and go live the rest of their life.
Speaker 2:I can tell you really enjoy it. I do.
Speaker 3:I'm determined I will not. You really enjoy it, I do, I really. I you know. I'm determined I will not do a job.
Speaker 2:I don't love, I just won't. I got one life, so I'm going to go ahead and do things I enjoy doing. That's amazing. Okay, so you enjoy your job. So tell me, what do you do outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:Well, my, I have twins that are 17 and they're rising seniors at Riverb end and they're both in sports. So I really do enjoy all their sports activities. So that's probably my most fun activity. And then travel. I find that travel it's not just about getting to do something fun. That's my reset and that's how because I do have a stressful side of my job and that's my reset it broadens my horizons. I love just feeling another culture outside our country and then coming back all charged up and ready to go. But I'd say my little guilty pleasure. I went to my first concert, I think, when I was 13 or 14, and I never stopped going. I love music. If it's live music, I don't care what genre it is, I will go to anything, I just love live music. So I have a couple of concerts always on the books.
Speaker 2:So fun I love that I love that.
Speaker 3:So what do you wish the listeners knew about your business that when you come to my business and if you're if you hire me to whether you're an investor that needs to identify properties for rental potential, or if you're a someone who needs to sell your home that you've loved for years, or you are buying your first home or you're buying another home that I'm going to treat it just as though you are my family and it also.
Speaker 3:We don't have to necessarily see eye to eye on everything. My job is to listen to you and your needs, and I think in this world I wish I could tell people that I'm going to stick with you. My work ethic is there, but I've learned that it's really your actions that speak. You can say anything you want, but they want you to act for them and I will be there for you when the service is done. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hire somebody and then you can't find them when it's over, and I just couldn't treat somebody like that, and I think what goes around comes around, and so no-transcript.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that, I love that. I love the values that you're bringing into your business.
Speaker 3:That's amazing simple place I grew up, but they remind you every day that life really is pretty simple. Just be honest, be good and treat people like you would want to be treated, and so my kids. These old sayings are still around for a reason they're powerful.
Speaker 2:They're powerful. I love that. I love that. So you mentioned you've lived here since 2003. So what do you love most about living in the Fredericksburg area? Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:So I've definitely made this my home. I really didn't have a home after I left Mississippi, where I was born and raised, and I ended up running for office here and was on the school board for 10 years and after that experience I knew that I had found my forever and it wasn't because of you know, I loved what I did on my days as a public official in Spotsylvania, but really what I learned is who we are as a community here and, at the end of the day, every community has their problems, but I would put Spotsylvania, fredericksburg, next to anyone. The people are kind and they care. They really do.
Speaker 3:I was able to be involved in tons and tons of different groups around the community and and involved with the school system and the, the local government, and I was just always impressed at how, at the end of the day, people are really good at heart. I mean, they really are we. I think we get too caught up in the hustle and bustle and the bad things are the news, but really right now, if I had to, you know, call a neighbor or something. They're going to be here. This community has been good to me, so my loyalty is back to them. I'm going to be good to them too.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love your community focus. That's amazing.
Speaker 3:That's a great community. But, we're and we're growing. I mean we have we're fancy now like we have all the restaurants. We have good things to do. So you know when people come from out of town we have multiple things to do. I feel like you know it's a lot of fun now. So we have really I've even watched this town even from 2003, grow to something that is unrecognizable from when I first moved here in a good way, even better so our downtown is vibrant again, and our schools are top notch and there's a lot of good things in our community, and so you know anybody who's thinking of moving here.
Speaker 3:I would strongly encourage it. It's a wonderful place to live.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. I agree. I've been here since 98 and the fact that you're saying all of that and you're a realtor makes it perfect. Yeah, it's a great place. People moving in town yes, yes, absolutely Awesome. So what advice would you give new whether it's a new realtor or a new entrepreneur who's thinking about maybe switching careers, like you did, or starting a new business? What advice would you give them?
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, don't listen to anyone who tries to say negative things about it, and only talk to people who are in the position you want to be, or working towards that position, or already have had success, because it's very hard. It's not that they're wrong, but it's very hard to get solid, sound advice from someone who hasn't been down the path you're going. And so I learned years ago and it took me, you know, to get a little bit older in life, in my late 30s and 40s to learn that when I really wanted to do something or take a different avenue or a different trajectory in life, I found people who were already successful at that and they sort of modeled what I would like to be in that area, Whether it was when I was running for school board, I remember at that point I remember being told I was too young and at the time I was 36 and the twins were actually just about to be born and I was asked by a fellow person running for supervisor and I was running for school board. He said how are you going to do it with twins? And I said well, does anybody ever ask you how you do it with your two boys? It's, don't let anyone stop you If I listen to people going. Don't put yourself out there. You know it's hard. It's a brutal world. It is, and I'm made for it, and the brutality that comes.
Speaker 3:Or if somebody judges a vote I had made or something I had done, at the end of the day, if the vote was made for the betterment and as the whole of the community and the students, you were okay and I could sleep at night. So never let anyone who hasn't been where you're going or trying to do what you're doing give you advice. And secondly, don't get into the standards of well, you're too old to do this. You're too young to do this Because I feel like I've been on both sides of that, because I could see where people go.
Speaker 3:Well, by the time you're pushing 50, why are you then really leveling up your real estate career? Because it was time for that. I think our life is meant to be in seasons I really do and what works for everybody is different. There are people who will stay in the same career for 40 years and that works for them and they found their happiness there. But if you're that entrepreneurial spirit like I am, and you're always needing change and you're always wanting to go and level up and be better and better. Don't listen to anyone holding you back. And another thing is that failure is your friend Every time someone fails.
Speaker 3:I've seen so many people start something, they fail and they just sort of back off and go away from it because failure feels bad at the time. And it does sort of back off and go away from it because failure feels bad at the time, and it does. Failure feels bad to me. You get disappointed and it is a time that you kind of want to sort of pull back from your dream. But that's the time you work harder.
Speaker 3:I mean that is the time you're find one person that is very successful today that you could walk up to and they're going to tell you I failed 10 times before I had one win. And they will fail over and over and over. It's staying with it, and that comforts, as comfort zones, are where dreams go to die.
Speaker 3:So if you're a, dreamer and entrepreneur, you've got to break that terror barrier, because when you go to step out of it, you start telling yourself well, I do, I'm doing fine here, I meet my bills, the family's happy, I don't have to move, everything's good. Because right outside that is the place you're in is so unknown, and so people will stop and they call that the tear barrier. And the people that really want to go and stop will always wish they had pushed through it, because I'm going to tell you, when you push through it, that's where the magic is.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Really good advice. Thank you for that so much gold in that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it has helped me. It certainly has helped me. If the listeners want to connect with you, learn more from you or work with you.
Speaker 3:where can they find you? Well, amanda Blalock Realtor. I have social medias. I have Instagram Amanda Blalock Realtor. I have Facebook Amanda Blalock Realtor. My cell phone is always available. I have a work phone, but I prefer to use my cell. I'm open to text and it's 540-273-0393. You can email me at Amanda at MPM, madison Property Management, vacom, or Amanda at CD Sales, like Cat David Sells dot com. Both of those will get to me and are pretty easy to find. I keep myself very active in social media, always sharing things and always sharing sort of a little bit of my world. I feel like you've got to be transparent in some way to be to be able to you know. Really you've got to share who you are for someone to really begin to build that trust with you in a business. So I'm out there on social media, not hard to find.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Amanda. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing so much wisdom with us. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you for having me. I enjoyed it very much. I appreciate that, thanks.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to fxbgneighborspodcast. com. That's fxbgneighborspodcast. com, or call 540-534-4618.