Technology is a passion for Gasparovic, so she’s invested in it heavily. Her Web site includes a pop-up window, asking visitors to chat with a salesperson via instant messaging. The system alerts Gasparovic and her associates when someone is on the site. That means they can offer help immediately. “The idea that we can capture people right then and there has been a big marketing tool for us, too,” she says. 

FREE TIME: She likes being her own boss and the scheduling flexibility that brings, but she wasn’t prepared for how tough the business is. She and her husband, a real estate attorney, initially “lived, ate, and breathed” the business, she says. Then she learned to let go of some of the work, hiring buyer’s agents and an office assistant. “Now I’ve got weekends to myself again,” she says. 

RESIDUAL INCOME: Gasparovic has recruited 26 new sales associates to her company, which gives her an additional source of income, because EXIT Homeplace Realty offers sponsorship residuals. Last year, those sponsorships alone earned the former second-grade teacher nearly $40,000, more than she ever earned in the classroom.