real inspiration
Jeff GARNER By Jane K. Asher, Ph.D. Photos by Dawn Townsend Photography & Design
Navigating Personal and Professional Challenges With Purpose
W
hen COVID-19 hit and Michigan’s stay-at-home order was enacted, the hustle and bustle of the real estate industry was forced to a halt, posing many significant challenges to even the most seasoned real estate professionals. However, the work stoppage — and the new regulations that followed — were especially taxing on rookie agent Jeff Garner who, at the time, was just beginning to find his groove in the real estate business after leaving a 25-year career in the environmental, health and safety field.
36 • January 2021
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“We were considered nonessential workers, and my business had to stop completely,” said Jeff. “Then, when we were allowed to return to the real estate industry, there were new restrictions. I had only been in the industry for 18 months, so my business was suffering from my lack of knowledge and preparation for market disruptors.”
Before long, Jeff had an entire household of extra responsibilities on his plate: paying bills, managing appointments and administering medications. “Additionally, we are now required to monitor and constantly care for my mom’s health and well-being,” Jeff said. “It was a tough adjustment but an easy decision for my wife and me to provide her the care and support she needed.”
Then, as Michigan began to reopen — in addition to navigating the new challenges of an unfamiliar professional territory — Jeff encountered an unexpected personal challenge when he traveled to Saginaw to take his 78-year-old mother to her doctor’s appointment. At the appointment, the doctor informed Jeff that his mother, who had been experiencing bouts of dementia, could no longer drive or continue to live alone. “This was a huge shock,” Jeff said. “I immediately realized I would need to bring her to my home to stay with us and provide care for her,” Jeff said.
During the quarantine, Jeff — who was homebound like so many Michigan workers — sought to make the best of the situation and used the opportunity to further develop his real estate knowledge and sharpen his industry skills. “eXp has an amazing training program, and it ended up being a good time to take advantage of the classes to prepare myself to be a better agent,” he said. “I also attended multiple mega-agent Zoom trainings to support agents during the quarantine.”
That same day, Jeff’s mom — who was a real estate agent for 47 years — joined Jeff and his wife, Stacey, at their home in Brownstown. Jeff quickly began to realize how their new, multigenerational living situation would drastically alter his and Stacey’s day-to-day lives. He says that the hardest part of the transition was discovering the magnitude of care that his mother needed: Even simple tasks like eating and taking medications had to be strictly monitored on a regular basis. “The situation demanded a lot of patience and compassion during an already professionally stressful time,” he said.
Rather than getting back to business and life as usual once the lockdown was over, Jeff had to juggle extra responsibilities at home with his mother, which affected his professional performance and business production at eXp Realty. “Between all of the tasks of caring for my mom and all of the time involved, my days were so divided,” Jeff said. “My prospecting, as well as my time in the office, declined, and my usual business routines were disrupted.”
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Wayne County Real Producers • 37
