Rising from the Ashes
How Michelle Lyons built a career during a real estate meltdown
Shortly after Michelle Lyons earned her broker’s license in 2008, the housing-market bubble burst, toppling millions of U.S. homeowners into foreclosure. Suddenly, the trajectory of her career changed. If she was going to survive a downturn that had thousands of Realtors® in Minnesota walking away from the profession, she needed to get a toehold in the one discipline that was booming: foreclosures. Before she showed up, the art of handling mortgage defaults was pretty much the province of men. Of course, they couldn’t know that Michelle Lyons never met a gender barrier she wasn’t ready to break.
During her wide-ranging jobs before real estate, Lyons held her own in the male dominated construction industry as a load supervisor. Working a series of gigs as varied as store clerk, shipping assistant, and paralegal, she proved she was adaptable, resourceful, and determined to get ahead.
Entering the real estate industry as an unlicensed assistant in 2003 at Boardwalk Realty, she earned her license the following year and moved on to Port Cities Realty in 2005. Working for a broker who was getting ready to retire, Lyons grabbed another opportunity and bought the agency in 2007.
“I was considered the ‘upstart’ in the foreclosure industry,” said Lyons. “I worked to make myself stand out and become the best at what I did. When the male agents and brokers started calling me for advice, I knew I had finally done it.”
In short order, Lyon’s foreclosure transactions comprised the bulk of business at Port Cities Realty, LLC, earning her the nickname, Northern Minnesota Foreclosure Queen. She needed to bring in additional agents and assistants to help her manage the volume.
Over time, she added two more brokerages and a property management business, although today, she has streamlined her business to just Port Cities and Range Cities Realty. During her 17 years in business, Lyons has sold almost 1,600 homes.
“I never looked back,” she said of those intense early years. “Although, when I'm having a stressful day, I do ask myself what in the world was I thinking buying the company. Just being an agent would have been so much easier!”
Lyons credits part of her success to the strong community of women she’s found in the profession. As she became more involved in her local and state associations, she networked with other agents and brokers who are women, and stresses the importance of women supporting each other in their careers.
“I got to know them, and we became good friends. I called on them when I needed a boost or wanted advice about a decision I needed to make. We were women standing by each other and building each other up. That is something that we need to continue to do not only in our industry, but in our lives.”
For Lyons, success has not come without a price, and found the work-life balance a challenge during the first few years.
“Combining family life and being a Realtor® or broker-owner was my biggest challenge, and I did not handle it well,” she recalled. “Real estate became what I ate, breathed, and slept. My family did not come first for quite a few years and they had to sacrifice while I worked all hours of the day and night.”
Today, Lyons counsels both new agents and seasoned agents about the need to take time for family—regardless of their gender.
“You can lose a handle on it if you do not pay attention,” she said. “Buyers want you to be available all hours of the day and all days of the week. But businesses have hours of operation, and you should too. When you set aside specific days to spend with your family, you enjoy a much better work-life balance, and that’s key for a successful real estate career.”
On the whole, Lyons believes that real estate remains an excellent career choice for women. She advises newcomers to hit the ground running by getting involved in their local, state and national associations.
“Get on a committee. Get on the board,” she said. “Be a part of the solution. Learn and grow and then pay it forward.”