Girls may just want to have fun, but as NAR statistics show, young professional women want homes of their own. “No one in our market was focusing on women who weren’t waiting until they got married to buy a home,” Hollingsworth says. “I filled a gap.” That smart positioning helped Hollingsworth launch her own brokerage in 2006 and close more than $6 million in sales and 24 transaction sides the same year. 

A face to launch a business: To differentiate her new company, she created Pixie, whose youthful face personifies the independent woman Hollingsworth targets. “Pixie is on everything from my car to billboards to sports bottles and gift bags,” she says. “So far we’ve mailed more than 60,000 direct-mail pieces, bought 20 billboards, and built a Web site with Pixie on the home page.”

Serious about education: Another big contributor to Hollingsworth’s success is her commitment to learning new skills. “I love getting new ideas and taking advantage of the resourcefulness of my mentors and coaches,” she says. In addition to her NAR designations, Hollingsworth is a participant in Howard Brinton’s StarPower program and active with Buffini & Co., a training and coaching company.