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A TRIBUTE TO OUR LONG-LASTING ENTERPRISES
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02.12.2016
After 40 years of firsts, Joy Bailey sees a bright future for Joy Real Estate LAURA HAIGHT | CONTRIBUTOR
Joy Bailey, center, with (from left) husband David Bailey, daughter Pam Bailey McCoy, granddaughter Brittany Pike and son Craig Bailey, all of whom work at Joy Real Estate. Photos by William Crooks
Nothing seems to deter Joy Bailey. At 70, the owner of Joy Real Estate has thrived, both personally and professionally, through the trials of discrimination, economic upheaval and technological revolution. Opening her real estate business in the late ’70s, Miss Joy (as even her son and business associate, Craig, calls her) faced an interest-rate roller coaster that has never been equaled. In 1975, when Joy Real Estate opened its doors, interest rates lolled at around 8 percent. By 1978, they were up to nearly 12 percent. And in 1980, they reached nosebleed heights of 21.5 percent – a level never seen before or since. What a time to start a business that would rise or fall based on people being able to get financing to
make large purchases. But it didn’t stop Miss Joy. “I didn’t fathom it was a problem. What others see as a problem, I see as just a speed bump. Something we have to get past. We found creative ways to get owner financing,” she recalled. During the more recent recession, Bailey found the same perseverance and aggressiveness helped her steer her business successfully through more rocky shoals. “We really didn’t suffer that much [during the recession],” she says. “It’s your mindset. If you think there’s no business out there, then there is no business out there.” This sheer will to succeed has been instilled in her son, Craig, her daughter, Pam, and granddaughter Brittany, all of whom work with her.
“We aren’t afraid of failure,” says Craig Bailey, managing broker, “because we know we can make it back. We may get knocked down, but we recover and get back up.” The most important thing he learned from his mom? “To fearlessly lean into opportunity, if it’s worth going after.” STARTED BY A FLUKE And so it has been for Joy Real Estate. The brokerage is the largest independent real estate agency born and based in Greenville County. Eighty brokers strong, the company had $72 million in sales volume in 2015 and sold 434 units. Joy Bailey fell into real estate through a fluke of >>