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Meet Hope Hughes

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Hope Hughes.

Hope, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m a REALTOR® with Colorado Home Realty, a Holistic Life Coach, a fitness instructor, an author, and a blogger. All things I never would have believed were possible for me when I was younger.

Growing up, we never owned a home own. We moved at least once a year going from low-income housing to apartments to motels and mobile homes. It was sort of a nomad kind of life. As I got older and on my own, I was fascinated with houses. Big ones, little ones, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to live in one and I would go to every open house I could find just to see what they looked like on the inside. When I was 24, I purchased my first home with just $500 down through a special first time home buyer program. It was an incentive brought on by the Denver housing market crash of 1989. It was a little townhome located in Aurora for just $30,000! My interest rate was 10% mind you, but my payments were just $305 a month and I was finally… officially… a homeowner!

Through the years that followed, I’d often wonder what it would be like to be a real estate agent but didn’t think I was “salesy” enough. I wanted to be an advocate for home buyers and sellers but it seemed that without strong sales skills and a flashy car, a career in real estate would be short lived.

Twelve years and six purchases later, I finally decided it was time to take my love of homes to the next level and I got my real estate license and became a REALTOR®. I still didn’t know much about being a salesperson but I had lots of experience buying and selling homes, I had great people and customer service skills, I was gutsy and I wanted to help people get excited about home ownership.

As for becoming a Zumba® Fitness Instructor… that happened mostly by accident, but that’s another story. I now teach five classes a week and am thrilled to share my passion for dance and exercise with others and support them on their fitness journeys.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Working with the public in an ever-changing real estate market keeps you on your toes for sure! With every client I help, I learn something new. That’s because every client is unique. Whether they are looking to buy, needing to sell, invest, or whatever, they all have different circumstances and different priorities. Every transaction is unique.

During the housing market crash of 2007 – 2009, I learned even more than I bargained for! Many of my colleagues were taking part-time jobs to pay their bills and I was no exception. I rolled up my sleeves, gathered up my entrepreneurial spirit and started my own side gig as a real estate software trainer! It saw me through the market crash and beyond – I still hear from other REALTORS® from time to time with tech questions.

My most recent challenge came in September of 2018 when I received my second cancer diagnosis. The first was four years prior when I lost my thyroid to cancer. This time it was stage two breast cancer. I discovered a lump that turned out to be a fast-growing tumor that was not detected on a mammogram just four months prior. I underwent chemotherapy treatments that lasted five long months. I kept up with my clients the best I could. There were a few that didn’t know, although I’m sure they eventually noticed my always perfect hair was really a wig. I wasn’t able to teach my Zumba® classes but I attended classes often to visit with friends and students and express my appreciation for the instructors who subbed classes for me. The support I received from both the real estate and Zumba® communities was amazing! I learned how truly blessed I was to have their friendship and prayers and I learned that sometimes allowing others help you is not only okay, it provides a pathway that allows healing both physically and emotionally.

Shortly after my diagnosis I started to blog to share what I was learning as I navigated infusions, drug side effects, hair loss, and my pending surgery.

My tumor responded well to the treatment but instead of opting to remove just the tumor, I decided to go ahead with a double mastectomy to reduce my chance of recurrence. It’s been a year since my surgery and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. Not only am I free from worrying about breast cancer in the future, I also feel lighter and more agile which certainly comes in handy when I’m teaching Zumba® classes!

Within a month of surgery, I resumed my Zumba® teaching schedule and was starting to feel like my self again as the chemo drugs made their way out of my system.

Even though my cancer journey was behind me, I never stopped writing blog posts. I found that it helped me process emotions and gave me an outlet for sharing what I was learning. And it seemed my readers were were enjoying the food for thought I was providing.

It was while researching a topic for my blog that I stumbled upon information about holistic life coaching and something in my heart was telling me I had found it for a reason. A few months later I attended an extensive holistic life coach training program in Tennessee and began working toward the certification I have since completed.

It was a crazy, joyful, fulfilling and fateful year that lead me down a surprising path. I finally feel like all of my passions are represented equally. And I truly feel that my ability to apply my life coaching skills to support my real estate clients though challenging life changes is of tremendous benefit.

Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
I’m a REALTOR® and a Holistic Life Coach. As a REALTOR® I specialize in representing and protecting my clients’ interest in buying and selling residential real estate. I educate them in the process and provide them with the facts to make smart and profitable real estate decisions.

As a Life Coach, I specialize in guiding clients through their personal process of self-discovery that allows them to uncover the source of their obstacles and challenges so that they can make conscious decisions to move their life in a direction that fulfills their desires and goals.

What I’m truly passionate about is combining real estate experience with my natural life coaching abilities. This allows me to not only provide my clients with the information and data needed to make smart and profitable real estate decisions but it also allows me to support and empower them through what can often be a stressful process.

I understand that buying or selling a home isn’t just about knowing the market, explaining contracts, navigating competing offers and expert negotiating. It’s also about taking care of the details for them. It’s about listening to their dreams and their concerns. It’s about helping them navigate the changes and decisions they need to make with understanding and kindness that exceeds their expectations.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me, success is a process not a destination. I believe it’s best defined in moments. A hug and a sincere thank you from a real estate client is a success. A major “aha” moment with a coaching client is a success. Remembering my choreography in front of 30 students in a Zumba class is a success too! It’s not about money or awards, it’s about people.

We are all going to have big and small challenges. We are all going to have big and small successes. My wish is that the success outnumbers the challenges, but I’ll take them either way.

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