FAMILY MATTERS
BY CHUCK PAUSTIAN
It’s all in the plan
These days it’s not difficult for Shontell Rucker, broker-owner of Houston-based Rekcur Properties, to spend time with her husband, Al. Together they own Rucker Inc., the holding company for Rekcur Properties and The Rucker Group, a mortgage brokerage of which Al is president. The couple share office space and have lunch together just about every day. “We’re both so busy, so the arrangement lets us be together more,” she says.
Before becoming a practitioner in August 2002, Shontell was an insurance coordinator for a local hospital. Although she en joyed helping people navigate the sometimes confusing process of filing insurance claims, she wasn’t happy about the limited amount of time she spent with her family, especially her two sons, Damion, 12, and Darrius, 8.
“When I was growing up, my mom and dad were always there for me. I felt bad about missing my sons’ school plays and other activities,” she says. “I wanted more freedom in my career.”
Al’s schedule has also eased since he switched from working in the finance department of a car dealership to a real estate career, Shontell says.
Shontell, who specializes in first-time buyers, handled 37 transactions and $6.8 million in sales through the first five months of 2005, surpassing the $5.9 million in sales she did during 2004 as a broker-associate with two other Houston brokerages.
She begins work at 9 a.m. and tries to wrap things up by 4 p.m., when the kids get out of school. “I rarely bring the office home,” she says. “There are other things that should be discussed at the dinner table.” She also doesn’t work on Sunday, a day she reserves for family and worship.
On many Saturdays you’ll find the family volunteering at an organization that helps the homeless. Shontell is also taking classes to learn sign language and teaching it to her sons so that the family can work more closely with the deaf in their community.
Organization is key to making her schedule work. Shontell invests time at the beginning of her relationship with clients and customers to get a clear understanding of their needs and wants. “That way we’re not driving around aimlessly,” she says.
She also sticks to her schedule as much as possible. “I plan everything, even rest,” she says. “If you let clients know when you can be available for them, they’ll respect that.”
Shontell is grateful for real estate’s flexibility. “I wanted to do something that would make me happy and allow me to transfer the same level of energy that I give other families to my own,” she says. “I don’t want my family to think I’m pushing them to the back burner for anything.”
NAR is promoting work-life balance through the “FamilyTime ” program it produced with Million Dollar Round Table, an insurance industry group. Pricing for the DVD begins at $5.
For more information, call 800/874-6500 or visit REALTOR.org.
