Margaret Sumly

First of all, I would say I'm a Christian, so I believe in God. And then, I would also attribute my success to my parents, because they laid the foundation. You know, they raised me to be upright in society, to grow as a person, to always know that the sky is the limit. And then I'd also give it to myself as well, inasmuch as those things were essential, it also got to a point where I had to carry the mantle myself as an individual to keep on growing. So I attribute my success to my faith, my parents who gave me a strong foundation and taught me that anything is possible, and to my own determination to keep pushing myself forward.

I would say the industry is rewarding. It's not going to be easy for you, because real estate and maybe construction, usually it's deemed to be for men, but then being a female, you know, just to make the mark is not easy. But being firm and also believing in yourself, just being passionate about what you do, you're able to stand out regardless. Nobody should enter with a limiting belief that maybe we can't succeed in the industry. It's very broad, it's wide open, and it's very accepting as well, so they should look ahead and just dream bigger than I have ever dreamed, and maybe make more impact than I will ever make. This is especially important for young women from places like Ghana, West Africa, where girl child education is pushed but not as much as I would hope. I remember when I was done with undergrad and communicating with my female friends, it was either masters or masters for marriage, and most of them opted for marriage. It's not a bad thing, but they've been conditioned to believe that that is what the world has to offer. I want them to see that you can have it all if you want to. If someone like me can do it, if you are in this country, you have more opportunities to do better than I am doing.

The biggest challenge I've currently faced is communication with clients. It's an industry where it's high pressure, emotions are high when there's builders, seasons are changing, anything can happen, so communicating with clients sometimes can be difficult. People come in a bit heated because maybe things are not going the way they expect it to. That's why I keep attributing everything I've done so far, from learning the basics to where I am right now - I understand the level of frustration some might go through, so I'm able to be relatable and also be able to understand where they're coming from. I don't go back in heated, I only communicate clearly to them and help as much as I can. On the flip side, the opportunities in the field are that it's not linear - there's always potential to expand. Real estate is quite broad, so opportunities are limitless. I've worked in the construction side, the government side where you have to make sure the title and all the permits are in order, and now I'm working in the financial side. My field in undergrad and graduate studies have given me the opportunity to expand beyond just one side of things. I can decide today that I've done the financial side, but now I maybe want to be a stakeholder, create my own company and be able to help these people. With my current company, I've seen people move from ranks to ranks because it's all-rounded - you're not just learning from one sector, you're learning everything, so it's easy to move from one department to another because you already interact and know what it is about.

When it comes to values, I believe my core values are being able to be honest. I think honesty takes people far, because if you're honest with yourself, it can lead you to places you might not want to be, because people have this limiting belief. Just having that honest discussion with yourself can make a difference. Another core value is this belief that I can do anything. If I find myself in medical school, I might not be the best in the room, but I'll also not be the least. I have that mindset, so that's what I've applied throughout my life - that any aspect or any field I find myself, I'll be able to adapt. I don't know if I'll say adaptability with a growing mindset, or adaptability with the aim to be successful. Those are some of my core beliefs that I carry with me throughout my life and career.