Today we’d like to introduce you to Mesa Bonello.
Hi Mesa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been in sales for most of my life. Starting out around 13 years old selling meals at my family’s hot dog cart, eventually entering the world of retail for a while, and spending the majority of my career within the fitness industry in sales and management. Truthfully, I loved all of it! Each experience and industry shift teaching me something new, but never quite feeling fulfilled. I had considered real estate on and off, but never committed to getting my license… that was until my husband had an inside scoop into the industry. A colleague of his had recently started working in real estate part time and was actually venting to him about his frustrations with it! While you may think hearing someone complain about what they do would deter you from it, my husband saw it differently. He listened to his colleague go on and on about this list of frustrations, and when he got home he then went on and on about his colleagues frustrations to me, but when he was finally finished with the list he said “you would be great at all of that!” That push ended up being exactly what I needed to make the leap. I started the online real estate course just a few days later, began interviewing brokerages before I even had my license, and quickly found my home at Redefine Real Estate in Plymouth.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Has it been a smooth road? Yes and no… I’m extremely grateful for my team at Redefine who are always there to answer questions and help me ensure a smooth process and transaction for my clients. Now if only my brain had an operations team like I do at the office. Mentally, it’s been tough. In a fully commission based role, there can be times when you don’t get paid for months. Depending on the situation, there can be times when you submit offer after offer that don’t get accepted, which can start to weigh on you. It’s hard to put on a brave face for my clients, when I feel like I’m sitting right next to them on the struggle bus. But I do it, and it makes that “offer accepted!” phone call so much sweeter!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What do I do… well the short and simple answer is I sell houses. Although I don’t think that’s true at all – because houses really sell themselves. When you walk into a house, maybe even before you actually walk in, you have a pretty good idea of whether or not this is the one. So what do I really do? I help my clients find their future. People come to me with bits and pieces of what they want their future to look like, and I help them complete that puzzle! I love all of my clients and all of their puzzles, but my favorite kind of puzzle is someone that’s moving to Michigan from out of state. Those clients aren’t just looking for their new house, they’re looking for their new norm, their new community, their new local coffee shop or farmers market. Sometimes they don’t know anyone else in the state yet, and it’s an absolute honor to be their first point of contact and be the one to welcome them home!
What were you like growing up?
I was always a pretty confident kid. Now that I think about it, if you go way back, my first sales experience was actually selling Girl Scout Cookies. At that point we didn’t have the online store or links to send out like they do today – I was out there in front of Sam’s Club with my mom, and between the two of us you couldn’t NOT hear us. As a confident but weird middle schooler, I dyed my hair blue. I remember being called into the principles office because at that time this was not normal and somewhat frowned upon… I may have back talked a bit to the principle because I thought the color of my hair was a silly thing to get in trouble for, and still I kept my blue hair until it faded to an awful sea foam green. Growing up in Canton, I went to the Plymouth Canton Educational Park for high school. My favorite class was Public Speaking, and I’ve continued to use the skills I learned to this day. From talking over the mega phone at events like Relay For Life, giving a speech at my own wedding and at others’, making videos for social media, and having the confidence to do consultations with strangers. It’s safe to say that talking has never been an issue for me. In this role though, more important than talking is listening. Anyone can talk. Anyone can tell you how many bedrooms and bathrooms are in a house, not everyone will listen and learn your motivations or your “why”. Not everyone will care. Your realtor should do more than unlock a door, that’s like picking a random puzzle off the shelf, handing you the box and telling you “that’s your future.” A realtor that actually cares is like the puzzle piece that you’ve been looking for that fell underneath the couch.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.listingmi.com/team/mesa-bonello
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mesa.b.realty?utm_source=qr
- Facebook: Mesa B Realty
