How They Went Back to Work: Tennille Allerheiligen, Realtor

 I’ve always liked real estate. I saw my stepdad buying properties. He was buying them and turning around and selling them and making money. I always looked up to that. And just from that process, I knew there was money to be made in that business. And it could be flexible with my kids. My husband knew of a really well-known broker in the area that was trustworthy. So it kind of all aligned at the same time: I get to do real estate, I get to be flexible, I know a great brokerage and it gets my kids into the good school.

When I bought my house [in Torrance], I was 25 years old. I didn’t know the area well. I didn’t find out until I had kids that my kids couldn’t go to Torrance schools. So I realized that the realtor I bought the house from, sold me a bill of goods. So what do I do? I’m going to become a real estate agent. And I’m going to protect moms. I will call school districts to verify. And I will put [the schools] in the description. I am a voice for them.”

How I did it
“I’ve been a realtor for four years. You have to be state licensed. You don’t have to have a college degree. I had to take classes and that was only once a week for a month. And then it takes about four months after that. You can go take the state test.

I ended up meeting one of the top producers at Century 21 at the time. He and I hit it off. I was asking him questions and he’s like, “Hey, if you maybe want to work together once or twice a week, I could teach you things, maybe you can teach things on your end.” Our partnership grew and from that now we pretty much have a name brand and a lot of people know us in the local communities. He was a mentor to me. And he still is.

Sales were horrible in the beginning. The first year actually wasn’t that bad because I was just reaching out to everyone. The second year I didn’t do that well. The third year I did even worse – I maybe made $15,000 to $20,000. I was kind of getting a little bit like, maybe this isn’t for me. Starting January of this year, it has blown up. I’ve had almost 26 listings this year and will make $150K this year. It’s motivating.

I think [real estate] is a great opportunity for moms. You already have a network with other moms. And what are we looking out for? Our kids. And I feel like because schools are tied to real estate, it’s a huge deal. You can bring your kids to work. You’re not working for a boss, you’re working for yourself. It’s total sales. As long as you’re okay with sales and rejection – you have to learn not to take it personally.”

Work Hours and Child Care
“I pretty much work when my kids are at school, from 9am to 2pm. I don’t have childcare outside of school. If I’m busy and in the middle of something, I’ve taken [my kids] back to my office. I also work from home. Or I’ve push [my daughter] in the stroller and walked around the neighborhoods I would prospect in. I would pack a lunch, and we’d have a picnic at the park. My mom role is always going to take a priority. And if it’s not, then I can’t be in this line of work.

I go to bed when my kids go to bed. A lot of times I’ll read to them and then I fall asleep. I sleep from 9pm to 6:30am. That’s the only way I can do it. Sometimes if my husband’s home, I’ll stay up with him and watch a movie or whatever. Then the next night, I’ll just make sure I go to bed when the kids go to bed. That’s how I get caught up.”

What I Did Before Kids
“I was successful before kids. I was in IT. I was a business development manager for a small resale company. And I went to Fortune 500 companies and sold them anything computer-related, from desktops to laptops to cell phones to servers to data centers. It wasn’t something I could go back to with kids. It was like 40 to 60 hours a week.”

– as told to WLP