Russell Darrington: Hi, this is Russell Darington, owner of Phoenix Osteopractic Physical Therapy and the host of Professional Spotlight Series. Today, I’m excited to welcome a person whom I deeply respect and admire. Sarah Naylor is a dedicated real estate professional here, right here in the Rock Wall community. She’s passionate about helping people find more than just a house. She helps them find a home as well as their place in the community. Sarah is known for her heart for service and authentic relationships. She’s deeply committed to the people, families, and communities that she proudly serves. Sarah, uh, I’d like to ask a little bit about you as to what made you start or choose to go into real estate.

Sarah Naylor: Um, I get asked that question and I just think it’s funny every time. I did not have a passion for it. It wasn’t something that I thought I was going to be all my life. Um I didn’t start until I was about 40 and uh just my kids were getting older. Um, I had been teaching tennis um on the side kind of and had been a personal trainer for decades actually and I thought, you know, I think I could do something else a little bit more and I actually thought I could teach more tennis or we were in the process of buying a house and I saw how hard my agent was working and I thought, well, maybe I want to do real estate. So, I put out two fillers um put one out to the tennis pro in the community and their response was, “We’ll see.” and I put one out to my real estate agent that I was working with and she’s like, “Join my team.” And she didn’t even have a team, so she started a team. So, I decided that was my answer. And so, I got into real estate and uh it’s been the most rewarding, difficult, stressful, therapyfilled career that I never imagined that I could enjoy and love as much as I do.

Russell Darrington: That’s fantastic. Um, so, and I know how hard you work. uh we’ve known each other for a little while now and one of the things that again you shared just a little bit a moment ago that that you’re also passionate about is health and fitness. Um I came to know you through your uh personal training experience as a camp gladiator personal trainer and when we came to know each other you said well that’s kind of my side gig. really a real estate agent and that kind of was almost a little bit of both. But so tell me a little bit more about how your passion for health and well-being uh kind of uh dovetales in with your passion for being a real estate agent and building community.

Sarah Naylor: Again, fell into it. Um, so I played sports all my life growing up and then when I got older and thought I could either be a a frumpy out of shape housewife if I wanted to be or I could decide to continue being active, um, I I taught some aerobics classes and then I got my personal training certification and and kept that for 20 years. And I loved it. And what I loved about personal training was that you are in with these families for years couple times a week and you just you know everything about them. Um just because you’re you build such a camaraderie with them and you know about their their life and and things. So real uh doing uh personal training was a blast. Loved it. And then when I got into real estate I thought oo real estate if you’re not in it full-time people can’t trust you. So, I decided to give up personal training and teaching tennis um to to just really dive into uh real estate and give it my all. And so, I did that for a couple of years and and I did great and it was successful with real estate, but I missed being the trainer. And because real estate is more of a you’re with a family for maybe six weeks, I mean, hot and hard and and doing everything with them and then you’re done. So, you don’t have that same relationship that just goes long term. and I wanted to go back to doing training. And I I was on a team at the time with real estate and I remember going to one of the mentors in the team and I said, “I think I want to do personal training again. Is that a problem?” And they said, “No, no, I think it’s fine. I think it could help to build your your database and your community and everything, but I kind of felt like it was an awkward tiein.” And so I I found the boot camp that I I started teaching and um I did it solely not talking about real estate at all for probably a year or so. And but I found the excitement of of doing uh personal training again and getting involved in people’s lives day in day out. You know, every morning if they’re coming at 6:00 in the morning, you know, you know all their good, bad, and ugly. And um but I didn’t talk about real estate at all. And real estate was also going well, but I was exhausted. I’m going to be honest. I was getting up at the crack of dawn for my boot camps and then having to go and and look professional for for um real estate and sometimes I’d be tired and so in an early morning boot camp sometimes I’d say something about being up late and people are like are you up late? I mean you’re just doing boot camps early in the morning and I’d have to explain about deadlines and contracts and they’re like what else do you do? And so I thought, uh, I almost was embarrassed to admit that I did real estate. And sure enough, as soon as I did, my boot camp clients gave me referrals for people that were buying and selling houses. And I was like, what? So, because they could trust me to get up so early in the morning and never miss and never be late and always have things um, set out for them and be organized, they thought, well, I guess I could trust her with real estate. But the funny thing was, it was never for them in the beginning. it was always for their child that’s buying their first house or whatever. It was kind of a a handoff just in case she’s not any good, but I turned out it to to be pretty darn good at it. And that became by far my biggest referral source was my boot camp uh customers. And I didn’t even know it, but when I got into real estate, I had come up with a a motto, which was home and heart, where home and heart meets. And I often thought, well, I just like the alliteration of the ages, home and heart. And then I was thinking about it one time and I realized, no, God was actually putting art cardio in with the home part. And it was truly what God had already already organized for my life from way back and I didn’t even see it. So I have to say God has been in the entire journey that I have been on from this from the real estate side definitely and for the cardio side. Absolutely.

Russell Darrington: Thank you. Um so Sarah um and you can speak to either side of your passion. Uh you’re doing really primarily real estate of course now, but so is there a certain kind of customer or person that you serve that you find that you serve best or that you reach out to? Who would that be?

Sarah Naylor: I really try not to limit myself. I do love working with first-time buyers. Um the reason is I I don’t think I understood what a real estate agent did until I became one. And even getting that ask to the agent that was helping me, I really fell in love with, wow, she’s doing a lot more than just opening up doors for me. And seeing how the burden of buying a house is severe. And to be able to take some of that burden away from from anybody, be it a first-time buyer or a 10th time buyer. Um, I I like to do that for people. I like to take away whatever stress I can and put on my own shoulders and and try to help them. But what I love about first-time buyers is it’s scary. It’s um very very overwhelming to think, “Oh, I want to buy a house. Yay. This is a great milestone.” But it’s the the questions the lender is going to ask you over and over again and to prove your your income and everything. And then to be strapped with this mortgage now for 30 years. Um there’s a lot to have to think through. And I do believe there are dumb questions. So, when people say there’s no such thing as dumb questions, I laugh and stinker because people ask dumb questions all the time. But when it comes to real estate, I don’t think there are dumb questions because especially a first-time buyer is going to have so many thoughts, questions, concerns, and think they’re dumb and they’re not. I don’t think they’re they’re dumb in this role because it’s about to be a major life change and I want to make sure you understand what you’re signing. The contract is overwhelming to you. That’s where I come in professionally and I want to hold your hand and be able to answer all the questions, but then also set you up with the vendors that I trust that are going to help us to get through the process as quickly and easily as possible. So, I love first-time buyers. That is truly not my niche. Um, I don’t I almost get a little scared of high high end because I’m so I’m so real and so uh vulnerable and open and honest with people that I feel like I come across a little too down to earth. And so if I have a wealthy client that is down to earth, oh my goodness, we’re going to do great. If I have one that likes to put on airs and keep up with the Joneses, I’m probably not your girl. And I’m going to be honest with you. But I do sell a lot of acreage um estates that have land and uh shops and I’m out kind of in more of a rural area and so I do a lot of acreage properties that it’s it’s your forever home until it’s time time to downsize. So I do I do it all but anyway I have my favorites and I have my non-favorites.

Russell Darrington: Sounds great. So let me ask you this question. What about you and how you approach your uh profession as a real estate agent? What makes the experience different with you from others in your industry? What would you say sets you apart?

Sarah Naylor: The main difference about me is I am as black and white as they come. I will always give you the truth, the facts, whether you want to hear the numbers the way that they really are. Um, I am not about extending my own career to reach further elements. Um, I don’t necessarily need the money only because my husband does have a fabulous job. So, I am doing this for the client and the client only. And that comes across really really well to my clients. They get it. They know that I’m there for them. I’m going to negotiate absolutely the best for them. And um I’m not worried about my mortgage. I’m not worried about making my own monthly payments. It’s it’s for them. And so that is generally people like me. Um I’m also exposure to your house for just do um the usual. I will I will seek out what others are doing right now at this season. I will find out what’s going on right now and I will I will pursue and and buy and be involved in whatever it takes to get your house the exposure that it takes.

Russell Darrington: Thank you. I I’ve watched you uh for a few years now and I know from personal experience just watching how hard you work uh for your clients. Um, again, you go out of your way, uh, sometimes driving sometimes an hour or hours and miles and miles to serve your clients. And I I’m sure that comes across and they appreciate that. Um, what are some common mistakes that people make in when uh, looking to buy a home? Uh, and and how do you help them overcome those or or prevent those?

Sarah Naylor: Well, the first thing is yes, you want to call me, but then I’m going to tell you to call a lender. You’ve got to call a lender because you don’t really know what your budget is. You may think you do, but there’s uh there’s just insurance and taxes that you just don’t know about. And those kind of things help you to set your budget, and it’s very, very frustrating for you to think, you know, fall in love with houses, and then realize that really isn’t what works best for your budget. So, I hate for somebody to feel like they’re ready to go and then get their dreams shattered when they find out what their real budget is. So, the first thing is truly to talk to a lender and find out what makes the most sense for your budget.

Russell Darrington: So, would that be what we call pre be getting pre-qualified? Yeah. Right. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Fantastic. You’re gonna and and you’re going to ask me all these questions at the beginning as a first-time buyer. That’s not my lane. I send that straight to the lender and they really are going to be able to give you specific answers for your circumstance. Gotcha. Let me ask you this question. How has your business evolved over the years?

Sarah Naylor: Um, how has my business changed over the years? I mo much of what’s changed is honestly my confidence. The market has changed tremendously. It was a sellers market heavy heavy when I started and now it’s become a buyer market the last few years and I’m sure it’s going to switch back into the sellers market. But learning the es and flows of the market has been great. But honestly, now when I go into an appointment, I’m not nervous. I’m not worried. I know that I either have the question or the answers to the questions they’re going to ask or if if it’s something that I’ve never heard of, it’s not going to derail me. I’m going to be like, you know what? We’re going to figure that one out. So, just having done this as many times as I have and being as vulnerable and open with my clients and letting them ask all the questions has allowed me to feel really, really confident that we’re going to be able to handle absolutely anything. So, my confidence has been what’s changed the most, I think.

Russell Darrington: I’m sure that shows through to your to your customers again that they recognize your experience uh that you uh know what you’re doing and that gives them great confidence in you as well. So, um Sarah, how can people uh learn more about your business or reach out to you?

Sarah Naylor: Well, um I do have a website at at sarahaylor.com and uh I I’m proud of my website, but I’m also really proud of my Google reviews. So, if somebody wants to Google me, I do have over a hundred, which is huge for a real estate agent to have 100 five-star reviews. So, that makes me pretty pleased as well. So, honestly, if people want to do some research on me, first thing is to go check out my reviews because I haven’t paid for any of them. And then, um, once you’ve read those and you feel like that makes sense, then go look at my website because it shows how professional that I do, um, conduct my business. So, those are the best things. Then of course you can always reach me on my phone and that number is 469-442-7402.

Russell Darrington: Fantastic. Any final words that you have uh for someone um uh that might need any kind of advice or what’s the what’s the best recommendation you’d have for a brand new home buyer?

Sarah Naylor: Uh for a brand new home buyer is use me. Uh get all the vendors that you need lined up. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t be afraid to adjust as you’re learning a little bit more about what your needs probably really are.

Russell Darrington: And if they don’t know certain people, you have contacts with pretty much anyone and everyone in the industry that they might need to know. Is that true?

Sarah Naylor: Absolutely. Anybody that you need, I promise is in my back pocket. I I know them.
Russell Darrington: Fantastic. Sarah, thank you again. you are one of my favorite people on the planet um for lots of reasons um not just for what you do as a real estate agent but and again you might want to speak to a little bit of that in fact I’d like you to speak a little bit more about um what you do and I know you don’t like to toot your own horn but um you like to build community and you love to serve people um what are some of the things that uh you’re proud of that you’ve done that are maybe do those in those two areas serving people and building community.

Sarah Naylor: The two things that I can come up with is that I do host events and I don’t do events just for the events sake. I really want people to feel like they have a community and I don’t want anyone to feel like they are alone. And living out in the more rural area that I do, I realize that the lots are bigger and that you may not have a nextoor neighbor that you can run to. And so that’s what helped me to start my events in the first place is because I wanted people to know that your neighbors are there for you and you can enjoy each other, have a good time and celebrate life together. So I do events and they are usually well attended and I’m grateful that um people know that they if they come they’re going to have a good time. So that’s one thing that I absolutely love. And then I also like um there is a group that I I again it fell into my lap that was started called Rockall Area Small Business Alliance. I’m really really proud of that. um I invited about 20 people to join a Facebook group and now it’s over 4,000 maybe 5,000 people and on that Facebook group and we meet once a month now not that many people show up by any means to our monthly meetings but it’s open to every single small business in this area and it doesn’t matter about overlapping industries we truly want people to come and build relationships build their rolodex like I have be able to put those vendors in their back pocket but also to be able to share and brainstorm about what’s working in their business what’s not working in their business, what’s going on in the current economy and things like that. So, I’m really really pleased and proud of that because I want again small business owners to feel like they have a community, uh people that they can talk to and trust and know again that they’re not alone. So, those are probably what drives me and what I do

Russell Darrington: and I know a little bit of the reason, but I would you share a little bit more about what was the impetus for you starting the Rock Wall Small Business Alliance? What brought you to because it was a pretty big endeavor. you put a lot of time and effort into it and hosting it and um what what what led you to do that in the first place?

Sarah Naylor: Well, I’m sure you’re talking about Heroes Day and Heroes Day was a collaboration that you helped me with. Um I we as a trainer, I thought, let’s do a 5K and then we got bigger and got all kinds of uh just different circumstances that we were able to just throw together and make this amazing event. And the heroes that we wanted to honor were our first responders. And so we raised funds and all the proceeds go to first responders. And um it was getting bigger and more exciting in our own heads, you and me. And we thought, well, we might need a little help to actually promote this. And so I went to our area chamber of commerce and asked if they would like to be a part of it with us. And of course, they were like gung-ho and thought it was a great idea. But I was literally told that they really should just take it from me. It’s too much, more than I could possibly handle. and let them have it and just rest and relax. I don’t do that very well. So, I said no thank you. I kept it. And the event went off amazingly well. We had a flyover with uh uh airplanes. We we had uh vendors, we had food trucks, we had so many participants. Uh it went incredibly well. And I cried the night that it was over cuz I was pleased that I had done it without their help. And um that’s what kind of made me think, you know what, the Chamber of Commerce is really just there to serve themselves and to get promotion to themselves. And I thought, I’m a small business owner. I want other small business owners to have the same opportunity that I just did. And let’s band together and make our voices as big as a an area chamber of commerce. And we honestly have done that.

Russell Darrington: Yes, it was um you saw the need of really wasn’t being served well by um the other organization. They seem to be serving the interests of larger companies, larger and it’s great. They’re building the community through these large companies, but the small business owner, the little guys like myself that are maybe soloreneurs or just starting out or just getting going, really didn’t have a voice and maybe didn’t have the um honestly perhaps the wherewithal to join and be a part of the chamber of commerce on an ongoing basis. And you set up this organization. It’s very nominal cost to be a part of it. you put on an event every month and uh for networking to provide lunch um and that’s just one of the things that I love about you Sarah is just how much you serve and give and always without really expectation of anything in return of course uh I do believe as you that what you put out uh always almost always comes back and uh even even in in greater quantity so thank you for who you are thank you for what you do um again I respect and admire you and appreciate and love you and thank you for sharing your time with us today and look forward to uh your future success.

Sarah Naylor: Thanks a lot. Thank you very much.