No Backup Plan: How Creativity and Persistence Changed Everything
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
By Lauren Clark
My husband lost his job a week before Covid began and I was working as a wedding photographer. Two weeks later weddings were cancelled nationwide unless they had less than 10 people attending. Suddenly we both had no income. Our three young boys were sent home to homeschool while we scrambled to figure out how to survive during mass layoffs and uncertainty.
A few months later, my husband was offered temporary work in Dripping Springs, Texas. Within a month, opportunities had dried up in our hometown and we made a huge leap: moving to Dripping Springs without either one of us having stable jobs.
That fall I was introduced to a broker and started wondering if real estate could become something I could merge into. I got licensed within two months and joined a brokerage in Austin that focused heavily on canned scripts and open houses. I hated it. The scripts felt stiff, awful actually, and every creative idea to merge my skillset with photography and social media was immediately discouraged.
I decided to start a travel blog about Dripping Springs as an outlet and future lead source. I was taking my camera to state parks, local businesses, and events while writing blogs about the area. My brokerage told me social media was a waste of time, but I listened to my intuition and did it anyway. A month later I switched to Magnolia Realty, where I had more freedom to build my business with my creative ideas!
Those first few years were brutal. I was still photographing full time while trying to build a real estate career. Housing prices exploded after we moved to Dripping Springs and it felt impossible to get ahead after moving with such risk. I worked seven days a week, often until midnight, while raising kids and trying not to burn out. It took five months to close my first transaction. Most of that commission went toward paying back debt from MLS fees, training, babysitters, and marketing expenses. I took my boys out for $15 milkshakes to celebrate and then cried on my bed because of the relief of finally making a paycheck from all that work!
I became obsessed with learning. Podcasts, SEO, title trainings, books, marketing, consumer psychology. About a year later my blog started ranking on Google and leads slowly began coming in organically.
Then I heard about ChatGPT before almost anyone in real estate was talking about AI. I paid for private training immediately and started implementing everything I could learn. I stayed up until 1 AM many nights using it to build systems, relocation guides and creating guerilla marketing ideas.
The momentum kept compounding. My blog grew, my YouTube channel took off, and suddenly leads were coming from every source. Even while our market was hit hard after 2022 with rising rates, affordability, and declining values, my business steadily grew.
Last year I sold $23 million and 28 homes in my local market and became the top producer in my ISD by volume.
An ex wedding photographer who moved to a new town during Covid with no plan.
There were many moments I thought I would have to quit. Times where our money was almost gone and one closing would barely carry us a few more months. But I kept leaning into creativity, marketing, relationships, and following my heart with how I knew I could generate a unique business.
It’s felt like sailing through storm after storm, but enduring all of it changed the trajectory of my family’s life and I am so grateful I didn’t give up!
Connect With Lauren
@laurenlovesdrippingsprings
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