Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023!
2022 was a fortunate balance between hard work and enjoying quality
time off with family and friends.
As a team, we traveled freely, celebrated often, mourned deeply,
and learned so much from the world and from each other.
I'd like to take the time and reflect on what we accomplished and
thank those we couldn't do it without!
For the first 9 months of the year, we worked on a big team milestone!
Hiring a brand designer was truly a dream come true and something that would have taken much longer to do without the support of both Ashley and Hendrik. You guys get me, and I appreciate your listening ears and gracious minds more than you know! PS. To Stevie, Megan, Abi, and Erica - thank you also for being the unofficial champions of my mental health journey and to each of you for your treasured advice.
If you're curious to know more about our rebrand process feel free to dive into this blog post!
In November, we celebrated our two-year anniversary as
The DEN Collaborative!
In the two years that we have been working together as a team, we've grown a lot - as agents, as friends, and as people. We have been fortunate enough to have helped a total of 25 (soon to be 27) families with the sale or purchase of a home in the Denver Metro and Foothills areas. Those folks have contributed to helping us sell over 10 Million Dollars in real estate since Nov. 2020!
We are so excited to be taking this industry by the horns and are beyond grateful to those of you who have helped propel our success by sending us friends and family to work with.
We can't thank you enough!
I am so appreciative and proud to have had so much return and referral business this year! Every single person who bought or sold a home with our team was either a friend within our network or was directly referred to us by one of those people. As someone who moved to Denver in 2017 only knowing one other person, there are no words for how grateful and humbled I have been to watch this baby business grow. Y'all really showed up and it's been incredible to watch it unfold.
Thank you again to those of you who chose us to represent you in 2022:
Click on each photo to read their stories!
That's not to say "we're everyone's cup of tea"!
2022 has also been the year that we figured out who we don't want to work with. Some folks don't jive with our vibe, and that's OKAY. We learned how to protect ourselves financially, emotionally, and physically. We leaned into how important those things are for us as women and as the CEOs of our own businesses. It was an enlightening and empowering year, and we have grown in the face of challenges.
We ended the year on a high note:
As the year wrapped, we gathered at the annual holiday party for our managing brokerage, Resident Realty. (The best brokerage to hang your license!) We exchanged transaction stories and celebrated some of the top-producing agents in the state, then had the opportunity to hear about a few charities that Resident Realty supports.
We learned that they take a portion of our commission split and donate it to various charities, including the Firefighters Community Compassion Fund. Their mission to put cash in the pockets of local firefighters so that they're able to provide direct assistance to the community struck me and I felt compelled to thank the wife of the founding member. He walked up to our table later and presented me with a Challenge Coin, created by their non-profit! I was stunned. It was a HUGE honor and one that I won't take lightly going into 2023.
A few other notable moments in 2022:
In March, I took myself on a much-needed solo trip to process my grief.
In May, Abi visited for a few days, and then Hendrik and I took ourselves on a 3-week trip from the south of Germany to the very northern tip.
In June Stevie visited and we spent more time together than we have since we were in middle school.
In August I celebrated surviving 30 years on this ridiculous planet with some of my most treasured gal pals in Pagosa Springs (#EMITYTRAP).
Hendrik was able to work from Germany when he went back in October to be with his family and we hustled to finalize the "Facelift" Phase of our home remodel.
In November, we finally gathered our friends and family in our new home for the first time and they helped us "warm it up"!
December kicked off our "screw-commercialism-this-Christmas" parade and we decorated inside, had a cookie bake-off, and spent the month doing fun and silly activities together. We played with goats, painted pottery, and drove through a light show while hanging out of the car windows like heathens.
I'm humbled. I'm grateful. I'm in awe of the life I've somehow created and of the friends who actively choose to be my family. I love you all!
While 2022 has had its ups and downs, I'm so happy to say that I managed to collect memories that I will cherish forever.
Thank you for being a part of it and for your endless support.
Cheers to 2022 and to the New Year!
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