Making The Next Leap
March 4, 2011 | By Kelley Koehler | Filed Under Odds and Ends
I remember deciding to remodel my kitchen. I mean, totally tear out the kitchen and start from scratch. And, having never done any remodeling before in my life, I did what any sane person would do: I took a sledgehammer to the walls and read a book about building your own cabinets.
Turns out, I’m good at figuring things out. And I’m not a bad cabinet builder either.
I remember deciding to put concrete countertops on those cabinets that I had built – I read a book about it. How hard could it be?
You know the hardest part about do-it-yourself concrete countertops? The first shovel full of concrete. Right before you dump that first shovel full, the first shovel of the three quarter tons of concrete you’ll shift that day, you stop. And you realize what you’re about to do is completely irreversible, and you’ve never done a single concrete project before in your life.
It’s a recurring theme in my life and my various careers. Leaping into big things, making big changes. I get antsy, doing the exact same thing for too long. That’s how I know when I’m ready for the next leap, when I’m ready to learn something new and take on a set of entirely new challenges.
So it’s time for the next leap.
I’m landing with a company called Zeek Interactive, a web development shop over in Southern California, run by a couple of people for whom I have a great deal of respect, and who are in need of a project manager and software tester and overall organizer of things. I’m hoping there’ll be some fun with analytics and optimization along the way.
Which means I’m leaving real estate sales for the time being. If you’ve got a saved property search, I can help transfer that to another agent in the area with the same search. And if you were wanting my help to buy or sell, I would be delighted to give you references for a handful of agents in Tucson that I trust implicitly.
I’ll still be around. Probably not as Housechick anymore, but I hope it wasn’t the catchy name that drew us together in the first place. You’ll more likely find me over at my new little blog, kelleykoehler.com.
It’s been fun. I don’t regret for an instant leaping out of engineering and into real estate. Thank you to everyone who taught me so much about the business, about real customer service, about the highest standards of ethics and integrity. Thanks to those who taught me patience, who taught me how to tread lightly in stressful situations, and who honored me with their trust. Thank you to those who told me no in a million different ways, and to those who had the faith in me to say yes. Thank you to those who taught me how to recover from disappointment, and to those who allowed me to share their joy, their families, and their lives.
And thank you, most of all, to those amazing folks who trusted me to help with one of the largest, most stressful, personal events we experience in this modern life – buying and selling our homes. Without you, I’m just a girl with a silly nickname and a whole lotta for sale signs.
It was an honor. Thank you.
Comments
38 Responses to “Making The Next Leap”
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🙂
We are so honored to have you!
Kelley- exciting to see you joining such a great gang. Jeff and the rest of the Zeek crew is a great bunch to be associated with!
Face it, you’ll always be Housechick to me.
We wish you all the best Kelley, and are so happy for you. You’ve been a pleasure to have as our “Tucson Branch Manager” and should you ever decide to return to real estate, you’ll always be welcome to hang your license with us.
Good luck, Kelley. Once again, you’ve impressed.
Fabulous…best wishes on your new leap!
WOW – they say the first step is the hardest … but honestly, you’re destined for greatness no matter what you do. Zeek is very fortunate they you’ve agreed to be part of their team 🙂
[…] but she doesn’t need it. She’ll be a smashing success.But she’ll always be Housechick to me.Here is Kelley’s take on the change.And here is Jeff’s. Photo credit: I have no idea. It’s been around. I ripped this version […]
At the risk of sounding sexist…I have to say…going from one GREAT Man to another…sounds like pretty good “leaping”. No need to Look Before You Leap on that one. Sounds like “no bad answers” there.
Good Luck and Godspeed, Kelley!
Hey Kelley –
Best of luck on the next leg of your adventure (not that you’ll need it!) I’ll miss reading the Housechick tho.
Awesome, Kelly! Congrats on the “big leap”. Will be fun to hear about your new adventure.
Kelley – That is uber-exciting and I am so happy for you! All the best! Jeff is a lucky guy.
[…] __________________________________ edit: from Kelley “Making The Next Leap“ […]
Congratulations Kelley! See you in the OC 😉
Just so I’m clear, does this mean you aren’t available for counter top installs?
Congratulations Kelley! I’m sure you’ll love your new job…I am very excited for you!
Oh and you’ll always be Housechick to me!
Kelley – Congratulations! Of course, reading this I am a bit sad, but only because this blog has been one of my favorites since the day we were introduced online. You’ve provided me with a lot of great ideas (and tools) in my time as an agent. So thank you for all of that!
I know it will be a great fit for you over at Zeek after getting to know some of your tech background. I’m sure they’re excited to be able to scoop you up.
I’m sure your clients are sad, but I know you’ll recommend them to nothing but the best, so they have no worries there.
Good luck in SoCal, I must admit, I’m a bit jealous.
Sweet move – AZ – Socal – nice for everyone and best of luck.
Congrats to you and to Zeek Interactive.
What a great fit!
sounds awesome! congratulations!!!
Kelley,
What an awesome opportunity! I mirror ARDELL’s comment. One great man to the next. Hopefully we’ll still see you around the RE water cooler from time to time.
Hugs!
Dale
Congratulations Kelley – this sounds like a match made in heaven! Wishing you much success, and yes you’ll always be Housechick to me too…. 😉
Good luck!
Best of luck in your new venture Kelly.
So, when are you moving to SoCal?
HouseChick, and the BrickHouseChick Suite will always hold a dear place in my heart.
Be happy, Kelley!
I couldn’t be more proud…completely happy for you and excited for your move. You’ll always be Housechick to me, no matter where life takes you. Proud to call you my friend, and love you bunches.
So excited for you as you will now be known as the “ZeekChick”?
I’m truly happy for you Kelley! What an exciting time for you… hooray!
Congratulations Kelley…and to Jeff and Zeek too – it’s a win for all of you! I’ve no doubt this next leap will be an incredible one for you!
(does this mean your spot on the NAR float is available?)
Zebras will always be zebras
Housechick will always be housechick
Just sayin’
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congrats, Kelley! You seem to have a knack for picking the coolest places to work and this is no exception. Best wishes on this new path in your journey.
Holy cow! this is great news, and sad news all at the same time. Will sure miss our Tucson Branch Manager, but am SO excited for you and your new adventure. You’ll be great! congratulations!
Kelley, BIG CONGRATS on the move! I wish you tons of luck and great success, wherever you go.
I guess you can take the sofware guru out of software, but you can’t take the software out of the software guru – at least not for long. Welcome back to one of the coolest creative professions on Earth, Kelley! Zeek looks like a fun place to be.
Oh, and about that herding cats metaphor – it’s all too well deserved. Here’s the most important Web page on the planet for a software manager…
“http://www.tums.com/Products/Smoothies.aspx”
Wonderful for you!
So you left the greatest possible real estate boss to work with the greatest possible tech boss?
LOVE IT! Congrats and the best of luck!
Dear Kelley,
Thank you so very much for all the information that you have provided via your blog. I wish you much success in your future endeavor.
Sincerely,
Pete Metzger
Future Tucson Resident
There is something that I absolutely adore about you and it has nothing to do with your Twitter handle.
I’ve always wanted nothing but awesome things for you and I think this opportunity will be a match made in heaven. You will get to constantly challenge that big brain of yours and Zeek will get some kick ass results.
I also like the fact that you will be in my state and possibly I will see you F2F more.
Just know that some dude up in the Bay Area is pulling for you and wishes you nothing but continued success.
McLovin
I was just telling a co-worker the other day what an excellent job you did presenting and selling our home. I can’t thank you enough.
Good luck in your new adventure.
That’s too sad! I haven’t left comments, but I really loved reading your blog. The stats were so helpful, too. I was planning to use you should I ever need a RE agent and you’re gone and so will be the reports you’d just started sending not long ago… Thank you for keeping us posted about RE news in town for quite some time, Kelley!
Good luck, geekchick! 🙂