GRAB A SEAT AT THE BAR

WELCOME

Oh, my stars, did this year fly by! I can’t believe we’re already looking at the tail end of 2025. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

Now, I’ve been thinking a lot about how opportunity rarely shows up the way we expect it to. Opportunity doesn’t always walk in wearing a name badge. Sometimes opportunity is sitting right next to you, whether it’s at a bar, in a carpool line, or in a conversation you almost didn’t have. So, this week, we’re talking about the power of presence, curiosity, and the small moments that can quietly open big doors in real estate… if you’re paying attention.

STORYTIME WITH GLENNDA

Sometimes, All You Need Is a $9 Glass of Wine

I want to close out the year by telling y’all one of my favorite real estate stories. I love it because it perfectly captures something this business has taught me, and I am deeply grateful for it.

Back in the day, whenever I had an appointment in Buckhead, I’d try to schedule it for the late afternoon. That way, I could stop at the Ritz-Carlton on the way home. I have always liked sitting at the bar to eat because the people there are there to welcome conversation. (If they don’t want to talk, they get a table and pull out a book or their phone.)

Now, here’s where last week’s post on gratitude rears its head again: I am so grateful to be in an industry where it doesn't matter where you came from. It doesn't matter how poor you are. It doesn't matter what your circumstances are, because you can make an unlimited amount of income on your own terms, on your own time. I don't care what anybody says, being a real estate agent gives you limitless possibilities. You don't have to speak English. You can sell only to your community. You don't have to be the smartest person in the room because you can surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. You can live in some shithole and sell a million-dollar home.

People don't always capitalize on what the real estate industry can do for them, and that's a mistake. They're so busy listening to the negative people who say, “Oh, you're never going to sell a house in your first 30 days.” Or, “You live in an apartment. You don't have anybody that you can farm,” and they let others’ words limit them.

Listen to me: I want y’all to ignore the naysayers. If you have a gym membership, if you have enough money for a glass of water and a salad, you can go to the nicest restaurant in Atlanta (or your city) for lunch and sit there for two to three hours at the bar and find a client.

So, there I was, back in 1993, just a baby agent living in a sad apartment. I was sitting at the bar at the Ritz Carlton having that nine-dollar glass of wine, and I started talking to the woman next to me. Literally, this gal said, “What do you do?” And I said, “I'm a real estate agent.” And she goes, “Really? I'm fixing to sell my condo.” Again, I am nine dollars deep into my marketing efforts at this point, and about three months into my career.

Of course I said, “I can help you with that.” I didn’t even hesitate. Then I asked, “Where are you moving to?” She told me she was moving to New York. I asked her, “Why would you leave Atlanta and go to New York?” (I may be a little biased about my fair city.)

She said she was leaving for New York because she said she couldn’t make any money in Atlanta. So I asked her, “What do you do?” Turns out, she was an escort. Oh, my stars!

Now, this is where some folks would shut down and get real uncomfortable. This is where they’d decide this conversation “isn’t relevant” or “isn’t their world.” But even though Jesus and I were both babies at the time, I already knew that every person has a story, and every conversation matters.

I didn’t judge her; I just listened because I had never (knowingly) met anyone in her line of work. I had a whole lot of questions. I was curious and I was present. Basically, I was myself and I treated her like a human being. (Sometimes, I think this is a lost art.) She said to me, “I can't make any money here because the women in Atlanta give it away for free. In New York, they expect to pay.”

So no lie, I’d been selling real estate for all of three months when I sat down at the lobby lounge of the Ritz Carlton Buckhead. And the escort I chatted with had me sell her $300,000 condo in 1993 dollars, which is more like $700,000 in what’s about to be 2026 dollars. I literally made $9,000 over that glass of wine!

Real estate isn’t built on giant gestures. It’s built on small moments of connection, on being willing to sit down, spend nine dollars, and actually talk to someone without an agenda. I’m grateful that this business taught me to value those moments.

Because here’s the truth: you can spend thousands of dollars on marketing and never build a single real relationship. Or you can spend an hour listening to someone and open an entirely new world. That escort was a reminder that opportunity doesn’t always come wrapped the way you expect. It doesn’t always walk into an open house holding a pre-approval letter. Sometimes it sits next to you at a bar and waits to see if you’re paying attention.

Understand that time is the real investment. Conversation is the currency. Curiosity will open that door. Too many agents are so focused on the next lead that they miss the human sitting right in front of them. They’re scrolling/pitching/performing instead of connecting. So if you’re out celebrating tonight, I want you to remember this: just start a conversation and see where it goes.

That night was an early lesson that I didn’t need a fancy script or a massive budget. I needed presence. I needed to show respect. I needed the willingness to see people where they are, not where I thought they “should” be. I think about that story whenever agents tell me they’re discouraged or burned out or feel like nothing is working. My advice is always the same: go live your life. Go have a glass of wine at the bar. Go talk to someone you wouldn’t normally talk to. Stop trying so hard to “work” real estate and start being in it. This business doesn’t reward hustle alone; it rewards awareness.

So I want to end this year by saying I am profoundly grateful that real estate taught me that the smallest investments, whether it’s nine dollars, an open mind, or a genuine conversation, can sometimes yield the biggest returns.

You just have to be willing to show up and listen. Now go make me proud tonight!

GLENNDAISM

Today’s Words of Wisdom

GLENNDA BAKER & ASSOCIATES

Are You Seeking Redemption?

I remember the very first time I saw this home at 1274 Redemption Drive in Lawrenceville, GA. I actually said out loud, “Oh, my stars, this cannot be the Atlanta suburbs!” And that is where the redemption begins. Because just when you think you know what suburban living looks like, this property quietly rewrites the story! Tucked away on a peaceful cul-de-sac on 3.14 private, wooded acres along the Alcovy River, this home feels less like a house and more like a sanctuary. This is a full reset from the noise of everyday life.

From treetop views and covered porches to sun-filled living spaces and a finished terrace level built for real life, this is the kind of home that restores you body and soul, from the moment you pull into the drive.