Juanita Dryer

I attribute my success to having a sense of purpose and a greater destiny. The advice my dad gave me has been foundational - winners never quit, and quitters never win. That mindset of perseverance combined with knowing I have a greater purpose keeps me moving forward.

The best career advice I ever received came from my dad, and it's something that has stayed with me throughout my career: winners never quit, and quitters never win. That advice has been the most long-lasting and impactful guidance I've received, and I wanted to make sure it was included because it truly shaped how I approach challenges and persevere through difficult times.

It is a mindset shift. It is very important to put your mind, or I should say, it's important for you to be conscious of the thoughts that you're thinking, and remove those things that will inhibit your energy and inhibit you from being able to go after what you seek, whether that is building financial wealth, whether that's cleaning your house, whether that's purchasing a car, whether that's opening your own business. What you put in your mind will actually manifest outward. So if you don't take control of anything else in your life, take control of your mind, and position your thoughts in a way that will create your outcome. Because it starts within first, before it hits out.

The biggest challenges in my field right now include low inventory when it comes to residential real estate and the high cost of living in the state of New Jersey. The market is somewhat unstable with the current administration because I'm in real estate and commercial, and there's a lot of deals that are on hold because of tariffs and things of that nature. We're also dealing with higher interest rates, less giving from lending perspectives, and higher regulations than what we saw in better economies. The economy plays a major role. Another significant challenge is affordable, sustainable housing. My biggest pet peeve is how difficult it is for single women in New Jersey - a lot of women are single, and it's very difficult for women with one income to be able to get a home and be able to pay mortgage and escrow, property taxes and homeowners insurance, and that shouldn't be. If a person, man or woman, child or not, works and is positively contributing to the economy and paying taxes, and wants a stake in wealth building through real estate and getting some equity, they shouldn't have such a hard time and so much red tape to be able to purchase a house in a suitable neighborhood. A single person needs to bring home close to $150,000 or $200,000 net to be able to afford a $600,000 to $650,000 home, and a lot of people don't have multi-generational family that can go in with them and co-sign, or some people don't want that or are uncomfortable with that, or their relationships don't have that capability. That's the biggest downfall for me and the audience that I serve most of, which are women.

Integrity is very strong as a value for me, as well as my faith in God that grounds and centers me. Giving is another value, and that's more than monetary - having the best interest for evolving mindset shifts, whether I'm looking to help someone else or build myself. Having a giving service spirit, but also having a goal in mind, also having a destination, and making sure I stay on track, or if I deviate, I come back to the central focus. I value my integrity, my faith, being honest, and I value giving. I also value help - it's taken us as women a long time to come around to this, because we're so used to having to do it on our own, so I've come to value the power of help from others and the power of sponsorship.