From the Marketing Side of the Table to the Sales Side: My Leap of Faith
From Marketing Strategist to Real Estate Agent: A Leap of Faith in Steamboat Springs
For 13 years, I built my career on the marketing side of real estate. I directed the marketing and creative vision behind residential properties and new developments across Steamboat Springs, focusing on the branding, positioning, and go-to-market strategies that turn a listing into a home people can picture themselves living in. I learned how exceptional properties come to life, sell, and leave a lasting impact on the market, whether they were existing residences or communities still being built. What I didn't know then was how well that experience had prepared me for a different side of the business.
This year, I made the leap into sales. And I mean a genuine leap of faith. I was walking away from a role I knew inside and out to start over in one where I had everything to prove. But I wasn't starting from zero. I had 13 years of experience in this market, which meant I already knew the brokers, builders, and developers I'd be working alongside. And when I looked at the marketing and leadership team standing behind me at The Agency, it would have been outrageous not to go for it.
In my first week as a full-time agent, I sold one residence and put another under contract. It wasn't luck. It was the result of 13 years spent understanding buyer psychology, market positioning, and how to translate a conversation into a confident decision.
Today, I represent four new development projects in Steamboat Springs, and every day I'm working to be a valuable resource for people navigating one of the biggest decisions of their lives. Some days, that looks like hosting an open house. Other days, it's cold calling, posting on social media, showing properties, attending community events, or simply being present and involved in the town I've called home since 2013. I'm putting myself out there in a way I never had to when I was behind the scenes, and I'm loving every version of what that looks like. No two days are ever the same.
I've also always been the youngest person in the room. In this business, that doesn't automatically translate into being taken seriously. But I don't see it as a disadvantage. I see it as an opportunity to be part of the next generation raising the bar in this industry, in this town, and beyond.
I wouldn't be in this position without Chris Paoli, my mentor and business partner for the past decade. I've watched Chris close two of the largest residential real estate transactions in Steamboat's history. I've watched him take real risks and identify investment opportunities before anyone else saw them coming. He understands the Steamboat market—and every peak and valley it has experienced—better than anyone I've ever met. More importantly, he taught me how to listen, how to ask thoughtful questions, and how to be a sponge in every room I enter. Those lessons are with me every time I sit across from a client or developer today.
Looking back, I see my years in marketing as the foundation of my career. Directing marketing and creative strategy for residences, developments, and an entire brokerage meant I spent more than a decade in the room with some of the best builders, developers, and real estate professionals in this market, learning the details that make a project successful. That attention to detail has become the foundation of every buyer conversation, listing, and development I represent today.
If there's one thing I want other women building a career—or considering a leap of their own—to take from my story, it's this: your experience counts, even when it doesn't look like the traditional path. Sometimes the best preparation for the next chapter is the decade you spent building the one before it.
Jessica Stanford is a Real Estate Agent and New Development Specialist with The Agency Steamboat Springs, specializing in new construction, luxury developments, and branded residences throughout Steamboat Springs and Northwest Colorado. Her portfolio includes Powderline Steamboat, Basecamp Row, Terrain at Walton Creek, and Eighth Street Steamboat. A Steamboat Springs resident since 2013, she lives with her husband, Jake, and their golden retriever, Kahana.
