LOCAL PROFILES
Real Estate Exec: Realty Executives of Nevada

Growing up in Las Vegas, Lisa Cobb played a lot of tennis and was quite good at it. And that winning mindset, plus a solid work ethic, set the tone for the successful careers she would choose as an adult. “Attitude counts 110 percent in your success,” Lisa says. “It’s all about attitude and hard work.”

As a criminal justice major in college, Lisa considered becoming an attorney. However, marriage and a baby convinced her to put the decision on hold, and instead she forged a thriving career as a paralegal. Balancing a demanding job, home and a family kept her working at a hectic pace, and by the time her third child came along, she made the decision to become a work-from-home mom. “Direct sales seemed to be the perfect business,” Lisa explains. “I could work my business around the kids and their schedules.” So she went to her father, a retired Las Vegas REALTOR^®, for advice about starting a Real Estate career. Though he believed in her ability, Lisa’s dad advised her that the timing just wasn’t right—not in the Real Estate market, but in Lisa’s own life. “He thought my kids were too young and it would be too hard to balance everything,” Lisa remembers.

After looking into several business options, Lisa got excited about Tupperware. “You can’t be good at selling something if you’re not enthusiastic about your product,” she says. Her enthusiasm for the business, combined with plenty of hard work, skyrocketed Lisa to national-level success with the company. “It’s very satisfying being able to provide well for your family,” Lisa declares. And the skills she was perfecting in Tupperware—great customer service, strong motivational skills and a genuine interest in the needs of others—were soon going to be very transferrable to yet another career change.

Lisa owned and developed a successful Tupperware franchise in Spokane, WA, and then returned to Las Vegas to purchase a second franchise with the company. While running her franchise and serving the company as a motivational teacher for others in the business, Lisa once again found that her career was requiring more time away from home than she wanted to spend. Her children were older, and Lisa wanted the freedom to support them at their sports events and other functions of their active lifestyle. She returned to her father for advice.

Her father agreed that the family was in a position to benefit from Lisa’s transition to a more flexible schedule. Yet she needed a career that would maintain the standard of living that the family had grown used to with her executive income in Tupperware. This time, a career in Real Estate seemed the perfect choice. “I could be independent, work for myself, and have unlimited income potential,” she says. “And I think I inherited a lot of work ethic and sales success from my father.”

When Lisa began her Real Estate career five years ago, the market was inflated and non-traditional. “It was easy to make money in that kind of market,” she says. “Just about anybody could get into the business and do well.” But as the market started to dissipate, doing well and making a good living in the business required more knowledge, skill, flexibility and even better customer service. And Lisa’s previous careers provided the base for her success as a REALTOR^®. Despite the downward trend nationwide, Lisa has consistently enjoyed great success in her business. “If I can do it in this market, I can do it in every market,” she explains. “And long-term, Real Estate will always be a good investment.”

In the past five years Lisa has earned many awards and much recognition for her work, including a feature on the TV series, “House Hunters.” But the real reward, according to Lisa, is the flexibility the Real Estate business affords her family. “I make 98 percent of my son’s soccer games,” she says. “That’s more important to me than awards.”

Lisa’s business last year figured out to be exactly 50/50 between serving buyers and sellers, and she likes it that way. “I work with buyers and sellers equally because I think it helps my buyers that I can see a potential transaction from the seller’s eyes and vice versa,” she explains. Most of her clients now are referrals, and she keeps in touch with past clients through her monthly mailer. She also serves on the relocation team with her colleagues at Realty Executives of Nevada in Henderson, NV, and is proud of the work they do to help make their clients’ geographical transitions easier.

Lisa believes that success in any Real Estate market comes from a genuine commitment to the business of helping people. And that includes other REALTORS^®. “I’m all about attitude, sharing ideas, helping people grow, letting them know that hard work and great customer service will get them where they want to go,” she explains. “When business is slow, you make business—preview homes, take a class, stay engaged. And it’s ok to ask for help.” Mentoring is a natural quality for this motivated lady.

Lisa can be contacted at (702) 460-3700 or lisasellslv@cox.net. Her Web site is www.lisacobbhomes.com.

Photography: Elisabeth Libby