Ashleigh VanDuinen-Leistra

REACHING GOALS WITH A ‘WORK HARD, PLAY HARD’ ATTITUDE

By Robbyn Moore

Photos by Jacob Harr with harr Creative LLC

I have made lifelong friendships with a number of my clients.

As a collegiate athlete, Ashleigh VanDuinen-Leistra was a leader on and off the volleyball court. Her experience taught her valuable life skills such as organization, goal setting, leadership, and a disciplined work ethic. “Through sport, just as in life, the learning never stops, and failure is part of the process,” she said. “You can let setbacks break you or make you better.”

After Ashleigh graduated from Grand Valley State University with a master’s in business, she went on to work as an accountant at a public accounting firm, preparing tax returns for high-net-worth individuals and organizations. For two years, she would sit at her work desk, crunch numbers and feel as if there was more to life outside of her cubicle. “Every time I would complain about my work to my sister — who had a wonderful career in real estate — she would tell me to quit my job and sell real estate,” Ashleigh recalled.

In 2011, Ashleigh decided it was time to listen to her sister and put her salesmanship and communication skills to work, giving real estate a try. She joined forces with RE/MAX of Grand Rapids and proved that her decision to sell real estate was a successful one. In her first year, Ashleigh was awarded RE/MAX 2012 Rookie of the Year and inducted into the RE/MAX Hall of Fame in 2019. She has since achieved numerous awards and built up her team — AVL Homes — earning a career volume total of more than $90 million.

Currently, Ashleigh has one non-agent on her team and one transaction coordinator. “We all have a similar mindset and passion for our work,” Ashleigh explained. “Collectively, we work hard to provide an overall great customer experience for our clients.”

Along with building her team, Ashleigh is most passionate about her client relationships. “The relationships I have developed are irreplaceable,” she said. “I have made lifelong friendships with a number of my clients. If it wasn’t for real estate, I would have never had the opportunity to develop those friendships, which I truly cherish.”

Photo by Rachel Campbell

Because of the ever-changing world of real estate, Ashleigh said establishing and maintaining a structured business system is her biggest challenge as a real estate agent. “This industry is constantly evolving, which leads to processes that need to be consistently reevaluated, improved and changed,” she explained. “Typically, I’m a ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ kinda agent, so rather than ‘winging it’ while making constant changes, I try to follow an extremely detailed checklist of items that I want completed throughout the buying/selling process. Then, I factor in some fluidity to ensure my decisions are in the best interest of my clients — it’s a daily practice that I’m improving upon all the time.”

What Ashleigh loves most about her work is seeing the transformation process of a home when it moves from its current state to open house condition. “It’s so crazy what you can do with a can of paint and good staging furniture,” she said. “I love to watch that process.”

To Ashleigh, success is having a healthy work-life balance. Real estate gives her the flexibility to be available for her family while still meeting the needs of her clients. “When everything’s in check, nothing is sacrificed,” she said.

Ashleigh is happiest when she’s spending time with her husband, Phil, along with her stepdaughter Paige, stepson Brady and the couple’s daughter Charleigh. As a family, they love to spend time outdoors, specifically going boating. Her energetic and athletic nature keeps her active, and she enjoys activities such as riding her mountain bike, traveling to new places, and cooking with friends and family. Ashleigh is also very committed to supporting her community through outreach programs and philanthropic work.

“My first preference is to directly help individuals in need,” she said. “I like to see the direct impact our contributions have on individuals rather than donating to organizations where you don’t always know where the money is going.” The organizations that Ashleigh supports include the Pregnancy Resource Center of Grand Rapids, which provides care and compassion for those who need it to ensure every human is given a chance. She’s also involved with the Van Andel Institute — specifically Parkinson’s disease research — as a result of a close family friend whose father lost the battle to Parkinson’s. Moreover, every Christmas, Ashleigh and her family sponsor a refugee family through Bethany Christian Services by providing basic necessities such as warm clothing, kitchen supplies and tools. “The stories of what these people have experienced and have been through are heartbreaking,” Ashleigh shared. “As Americans, we have more than we could ever want or need, and we want to pass along our gifts.”

When it comes to building her business, Ashleigh relies on her solid relationships as the key to longevity. “One deal can take many turns, but the lifetime reward will be worth it if the client relationship has been built strategically,” she said. “Generating new business is never an issue when I work in the best interest of my client.”

While her collegiate career was impressive and her real estate business is skyrocketing, Ashleigh said that she mainly wants to be remembered for being a great mom. “At the end of my life, if my children say, ‘Mom, you were the best mom ever,’ then that will be my greatest life accomplishment.”

Ashleigh VanDuinen-Leistra - AGENT SPOTLIGHT