Successful Moms of MSRE
With Mother’s Day quickly approaching, Mark Spain Real Estate would like to celebrate all of the amazing moms who succeed in and out of the workplace! Mothers are the reason the world spins, and we couldn’t do it without them! We have asked a few of our outstanding moms for advice on how they seamlessly achieve success in all that they do.
Maria Perry
Maria is a Georgia native who graduated from the University of Georgia from the Terry College of Business. For 13 years she worked in the financial services industry with AIG, ManagedComp, and CIGNA leading and developing teams to focus on outcomes and professionally growing each team member. In January of 2020, Maria joined the Mark Spain Real Estate team as a Talent Acquisition leader. She is committed to developing strategies and training our TA teams to bring up talent to MSRE. We are proud to have Maria on our team and she has made a tremendous impact on everyone around her! Wife, mom, business professional, trusted advisor, coach, and a friend are just a few of the many hats she wears on any given day!
Tell us about your family.
“Family is everything to me. Without my family, past and present, I would not be the person I am today. My grandparents and parents taught me and showed me unconditional love and instilled in me the value of hard work and integrity.
My husband and children show me unconditional love and the value of respecting different thoughts and ideas daily. I am blessed to be married to Stewart for the last 27 years, and we love being parents to Justin and Lindsey. Justin is attending the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs), and Lindsey is in high school. I enjoyed hearing about Justin’s adventures at UGA (most of the time), and I beam with joy watching Lindsey dance on stage.”
What advice do you have for moms in the workplace to constantly grow and improve while being a great mom, too?
“My advice for moms in the workplace is to take care of our minds, bodies, and spirits. For our minds, let’s read, listen to podcasts, attend a class, reach out to a mentor, and/or hire a coach (someone outside our family). My coaches help me grow in business and motherhood by providing honest feedback and approaches to handling different situations. For our bodies, let’s exercise and drink water daily. I love to walk our dog Bailey and I drink sparkling water all day (La Croix apricot flavor is my favorite). For our spirits, let’s show gratitude for good times and difficult challenges. I enjoy starting my day with meditation, reading my devotional, reading the Wall Street Journal, and The Daily Stoic. I love to talk and love people so I’m sending an invitation to please reach out to me if you need anything. These are two mottos that I use in my personal and professional life:
- Help others, work hard, make a difference and have fun in all that you do
- Be a CFO – Clear & Consistent Communicator, Fair, and Open & Objective”
Natasha Fenner
Natasha was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Atlanta, Georgia after the age of 6. Her parents originated from Western Africa, they met in Liberia when her dad was there on business. Natasha’s family traveled extensively, she has been to London, Spain, Monaco, and Egypt! She is naturally reserved but can be outgoing when she is in a comfortable environment. She considers herself on omnivert! We are so thankful to have Natasha on our team, her hard work does not go unnoticed!
Tell us about your family.
“I enjoy spending time with my husband Kevin and our 4 children. We have 3 girls and 1 boy ages 8, 9, 13, and 17. My family and I love to travel and the beach is our favorite place. We’ve taken the kids to the Bahamas and Dana Point, California but we love Destin, Florida and we take the kids there every year. This year we are planning a trip to Jamaica.”
What advice do you have for moms in the workplace to constantly grow and improve while being a great mom, too?
“I believe that growing and improving is the only way to live life. I’m always thinking about the future, whether it is next year, next week, or what I’m going to do the next day. My favorite quote is from Nelson Mandela, which says, “I never lose. I either win or learn”. You are constantly growing and improving when you can admit and learn from your mistakes, and challenges in life. I consistently strive to be and do better every day, in my relationships, my thoughts and my actions. I speak positively to myself, and others and especially to my family!”
Taylar Caraway
Taylar loves being outside and being active, spending time with her family, and traveling and exploring new places. Her idea of a perfect day would be sitting in the sunshine at a winery listening to live music with her friends and family! Taylar pursued a very demanding job right out of college. Although it provided tremendous opportunities and allowed her to meet her husband, it taught her what she did not want in a long-term career: feeling trapped and restrained by the responsibilities of her job. She has always been a go-getter with some minor workaholic tendencies and wanted a career where her income would be directly correlated with her work ethic and efforts. In the fall of 2018, after moving to Atlanta, Taylar decided to get her real estate license. Mark Spain Real Estate allowed her the flexibility to stay at home with her son almost exclusively for the first year while working as much as she chose. “I am forever grateful for Mark Spain Real Estate.” Taylar states. We are so grateful to provide Taylar with the opportunities to succeed as a mother and in the workplace!
Tell us about your family!
“My husband and I met in 2015 while we both were living in St. Louis, Missouri. We took a crazy leap of faith and moved to California where we spent a quick year and a half before deciding to move to Atlanta in the Fall of 2018 shortly after getting married. We purchased our very first home, a “fixer-upper” about 6 months after arriving in Atlanta and spent the next 2 years renovating it ourselves from top to bottom. Renovating your home while you live in it while either pregnant or with a brand new baby is not the easiest! We finally got it done in November 2020! Briggs was born in the early morning on May 25, 2020. Having a baby in the early parts of the COVID pandemic was a little unsettling due to all of the unknowns, but the pandemic allowed us to have dad at home with us exclusively for the first 3 months. We were very lucky to have him home with us.”
What advice do you have for moms in the workplace to constantly grow and improve while being a great mom, too?
“Put your family first and get comfortable with making sacrifices; it’s impossible to be the best mom, the best wife, and the best realtor all at the same time, all day, every day. That is exhausting and defeating. Recognize that you can’t be everything to everyone all the time. Figure out what your “why” is and then learn how to say no to things that don’t align with your why and your priorities. I’ve found that having Briggs has solidified my “why”. By prioritizing my life around my family I’ve been able to be very intentional with my business which provides me very clear direction, and almost counterintuitively my business has grown exponentially over the past year.”
Sara Archambeau
In 2016 Sara started as an agent for Mark Spain Real Estate. Since then, opportunities of growth arose and she is now our Director of Sales for the Alpharetta team! Sara closely exemplifies Mark Spain Real Estate’s core value of being in constant pursuit of growth and improvement.
Tell us about your family
“My husband, Aaron, and I live with our two kids, Zachary and Elizabeth Grace, here in Alpharetta, GA. Zachary is in 3rd grade and enjoys everything from soccer to playing the guitar, he gets his patience and intelligence from Aaron! Elizabeth Grace is in kindergarten, from the moment she came into the world we have been impressed by her kind and spirited personality, she also is very active with gymnastics, swimming and soccer! We are incredibly blessed to have our extended family close by as well – it truly does take a village and we could not do it without the support from our family!”
What advice do you have for moms in the workplace to constantly grow and improve while being a great mom, too?
“For moms in the workplace to ensure they are constantly growing, surround yourself with people whom you respect and can aid in your continuous pursuits to develop both as a professional and as a parent! Years ago, a very wise friend of mine gave me a glass jar filled with large rocks, small rocks and sand – know what are the large rocks and what is really the sand in your life. Being clear on what is important helps ensure you are focusing your energy and growing in the areas that matter the most!”
Mindy Farris
Mindy was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated college from the College of Charleston in 2007, right when the recession hit. Instead of living a life of great prosperity and opportunity, Mindy found herself working 16 hours a day 6-7 days a week. She exemplifies resilience, not giving up on her dream of a life of prosperity and happiness. She decided she was either going to be a part of her problems or the solution to them. With 6 boxes and $200, Mindy moved to Georgia with her now-husband. She worked at Emory and in 2 years she and her husband were married, bought their first home, made amazing friends, and had their first baby! The road was tough, but Mindy and her husband took on life head-on and conquered their dreams. In 2016, Mindy pursued a job that allowed her work ethic, tenacity, and passion to thrive. She got her license and began to work at Mark Spain Real Estate. Her job now adds a new perspective and new meaning to her world with each client. In serving her clients, she seeks to work with every vendor and agent that is part of the transaction with respect, kindness, and compassion. She believes our clients are best served when, as an industry, we work together as a true team, bringing families together with love and support!
Tell us about your family!
“I am a proud mom, a head-over-heals-in-love wife, a best friend, a daughter who is lucky enough to have both my parents still on this earth with me, and a realtor at MSRE! My first love in this life is definitely my family!! I have been blessed enough to be the mother of 3 beautiful girls, Hannah (8), Holly Grace (6), Hope Everly (she’s waiting for me in heaven), and my one and only precious son, Brock (5 months). We are all huge University Florida fans and love to travel. We are super active in our community here in Woodstock, GA, and life is never boring with my little crew! They are the reason behind every goal I’ve set here at the brokerage!! They always have been. My “wins” as a realtor are definitely measured by the opportunities that this amazing career offers my family as well as others!”
What advice do you have for moms in the workplace to constantly grow and improve while being a great mom, too?
“My best mom advice is to calendar, calendar, calendar!!! I mean, my calendar is filled with my husband’s work schedule, my work schedule, school calendar, track and dance practices, feeding & nap schedules, bath/bedtime routines the list goes ON! I do a morning brain dump and then prioritize the list, then the daily timeline is created. Rarely is it possible to get it ALL done in one day, so this daily habit helps me stay focused and on track to hit all the goals I have set for my family and business! I think the hardest part for me, is that I always make myself my last priority, so even though it feels selfish, I do make sure to create time for reading, shopping, hair/nails, cleaning, laundry …not gonna lie sometimes I even have to schedule a shower especially the really good one’s where you get to shower, shave, and fully moisturize afterward, AMAZING! (sounds insane but the Mama’s out there know what I mean!), exercise, and feeding myself…like, not while standing! It’s a lot of hard work, but the most rewarding thing I have EVER done!!! And in the end, my advice is to offer yourself and other mom’s infinite grace…none of us are perfect, but as my dad told me when I had my first child, if you lead your babies and family with love, then you’re doing an amazing job!”
Mark Spain Real Estate is actively seeking to hire dedicated individuals who are in pursuit of continuously growing and improving. If you are seeking a new career, contact us! We strive to excel in reaching all of our clients’ real estate goals in the buying and selling processes while delivering an unparalleled client experience. At Mark Spain Real Estate we lead with a servant’s heart and put our clients first in all that we do.
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Mark Spain Real Estate is grateful to serve all of Metro Atlanta and Athens in Georgia, Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina, Orlando and Tampa in Florida, and Nashville in Tennessee!
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