Real Estate Wonder Woman: A Guide To Success

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Tool Kit is a recurring column on Inman that pulls together resources for agents who want to dive deeper on specific subjects or team leaders and brokers looking for educational content on timely topics for trainings.

Have you ever seen a really successful woman in real estate and wondered how she does it? The answer is likely a combination of wisdom, talent and strategic customer service.

One area that is often less spoken about is that she also has a strong background in finance. Her personal finances do not hold her back from growing a business that all her competitors talk about every time she posts another stunning listing on Instagram.

I have learned this from working in the housing industry since 2005 and consulting with many top women agents nationwide. These women share four common traits: Good time management, stable finances/reserves, love for their community and the audacity to know what she’s worth. 

In this Tool Kit, we are going to break down these four traits so that we can stop funding our own failures, end limiting beliefs, and break through the glass ceiling. Unfortunately, in 2025, diversity, equity, and inclusion issues still exist, so we are going to have to work hard to make sure we secure our future in the housing industry.

Time management

Top producers know how to not only manage their time but also how to balance out work-life responsibilities. In other words, Wonder Woman delegates like a boss and doesn’t try to do everything on her own. She recognizes the value of a good admin, invests in outsourcing her marketing, and makes time for her clients.  

She’s also an expert in setting boundaries. You will often see her enforcing office hours and giving clear instructions on how to present offers. 

In other words, she overcommunicates what you need to do to work with her because she doesn’t have time to explain it repeatedly. She knows the value of being accessible during those hours, and her clients feel heard and respected. 

She believes in systems, and her customers get systematic help and information, as well as very similar listing and purchasing experiences. 

She makes time for continuing education and learning about current trends so she doesn’t fall behind and offers the best information for her clients.

She takes vacations, and her business is well covered while she is out of the office. She doesn’t miss lunches or birthdays because she knows her schedule, and she has mastered the art of not letting clients or other agents walk all over her.

She makes time to participate in her local, state, and national associations. 

In other words, every minute is accounted for, and she runs her calendar, not the opposite.

Here are a few articles to help you save yourself when it comes to time management:

Finances

Many women in America lack a strong financial education. This means that as new business owners entering real estate, it can be extremely tricky, difficult, and overwhelming to understand the responsibility and unpredictability of generating income to support a full-time career and making sure that you have essentials like health care, retirement, and taxes covered as well.

Another key factor is making sure that you are financially stable in your personal life before you work in the housing industry.

Making sure that your savings are adequate to cover you not only for an emergency but also to support your lifestyle if you need to wait several months for a commission to close out is, unfortunately, something that many recruiting brokers and sales coaches leave out of the conversation.

Also, not being familiar with essential household finances, what I like to call the background of what it takes to qualify for a mortgage, can make it difficult to talk to or even direct your clients to a referral if you do not understand how these things work. 

Women are especially behind the 8-ball when it comes to savings and planning for retirement, and the cost of living is higher for women in regard to a professional wardrobe, hygiene, medical care, and many products that only women need. 

Here are some resources to make sure you’re ahead of the curve with finances:

Community: We have to support each other

Women leaders in this industry are champions of other women. They are not afraid to mentor, and they take time to understand the needs of the clients they serve. Being in touch with the problems your clients face, the issues that all women are facing in today’s difficult economy, and the lack of essential support systems inside the areas where they live.

Safety, respect, understanding the demographics of your clients and their unique needs are critical aspects of being part of your community. Wonder Woman does not hesitate to help with domestic violence shelters, animal shelters, food pantries, affordable housing efforts, health and safety awareness, sponsoring local kids sports teams, and so much more. 

Here are a few articles on these topics:

The audacity to know your worth

Management software company Textio conducted a study in 2024 where they analyzed performance reviews for more than 23,000 workers across 250 organizations. The results? Seventy-six percent of top-performing women received negative feedback in comparison to just 2 percent of high-performing men. 

In other words, it’s not your imagination. You are getting way more negative feedback and giving too much feedback to yourself, and your women co-workers are too. 

It has to stop. Too many women are stuck because other women believe this is the system and how things are supposed to be. Too many women view other women as competition instead of potential collaborators. 

Knowing your worth is the highest mark a Wonder Woman in real estate can achieve. It means that you are confident to lead and volunteer; it means that you know how to stand up for yourself and for others, especially against bullies, bigots, and toxic masculinity that many women encounter daily. 

Don’t miss these must-reads:

Wondering if you can be a Wonder Woman?

You can, and you probably already are. This Tool Kit was designed to help educate you on the potential that you have, how to maximize your skill set, and how to pivot beyond just getting by and asking for more. 

All women deserve more. As much progress as our industry has made, there are still many barriers that need to be overcome and boundaries that need to be set. Do not lower your expectations, and do not compromise your self-worth. Delegate, and ask for help. Lean into your community of strong, brilliant women, and help when you can. 

Collaboration and support turn into tangible income, and that is the best gift to give your future self. 

Rachael Hite is a seasoned housing counselor and thought leader in the real estate industry, known for her extensive expertise across business news journalism, retirement housing, and affordable housing initiatives. Connect with Rachael on Instagram and Linkedin.