CAROLYN Ocampo Medel, a medical technologist by profession, gave up her low-paying job at a hospital upon seeing better opportunities as a real estate agent.
"Nag give up ko dayon kay nag- focus na lang ko sa real estate. Sa pag-start nako, kalooy sa Ginoo daghan man gud dayon akoang clients, Mga kaila og mga relatives sa akoang bana. Mao to nag-focus ko kay nakita nako na diri na jud ang kasolbaran sa akoang mga problema (I gave up my hospital job and focused on real estate. Thank God, I had several clients when I first started, the friends and relatives of my husband. I realized that this new job could solve my problems)," Medel said in a Facebook interview with SunStar Davao yesterday.
The 49-year-old mother of two was introduced to the real estate industry when she was offered to buy a house and lot from another developer and the agent asked her to market her house, that's when she became an agent.
She only started with Santos Land Development Corporation (SLDC) when her classmate, who is a broker, invited her to a seminar that opened her eyes of what she really wanted to do and the rest, they say, is history.
Medel has been an agent for six years now. "Nag-start ko nga ang aim nako makahalin lang ko maski isa lang ka house in one year kay para makatabang pambayad tuition sa akong mga anak (I only aimed to sell one house in a year when I started just so I could help pay the tuition fees of our children)."
She's pertaining to Patricia Caryl, a Grade 11 student, and Harden, a Grade 9 student, at Ateneo de Davao University.
This year, she has sold some 10 units already.
Her life was never the same again having been a top agent of SLDC every year since 2013. She, however, had lost count of the total units she had sold for the company so far. But her glory was no easy walk in the park as she labored with a lot of sweat and tears.
She had learned to accept rejection after rejection as part of the trade, a challenge that would later breed good results.
"Dili man gud ko gapamugos. Dili hard selling ba. Kung dili sya, akoa pud respetohon.
Pero ginapangitaan jud nako way na makapangita jud sya sa gusto niya. Naanad man gud ko nga mag assist sa mga tao tapos dili kaayo ko grabe mag expect ug return (I never force anybody, I'm not inot hard selling. I respect those who don't buy but I also find every way to meet a client's need. I'm used to assisting people and I don't really expect anything)," she said, thus, ending up becoming a friend to her clients.
She admits not giving up easily and her patience really pays off.
Her travel incentives with SLDC brought her to Japan in 2014, Europe in 2016, USA and Canada in 2017 and Europe in 2018.
With her income as an agent, she opened her Harden Homecafe beside Ateneo Matina and the family is living on its own house and lot.
Medel is starting her own build and sell company, one house at a time. Quite a feat indeed when she began selling one unit at a time.