If you treat real estate like a quick commission, you’ll always be chasing; treat it like a calling, and it can change your family’s future. In this honest, no-hype conversation, host Robert Rico sits down with Clarissa Cortez—a veteran Bay Area Realtor, team leader, and longtime US Realty Training instructor—to unpack how she left the corporate financial world, rode out market crashes, and built a family-first business that still puts clients’ needs first. Click here to start your real estate career with US Realty Training’s classes, crash courses, and exam prep: https://www.usrealtytraining.com What you’ll learn: how Clarissa turned a numbers-driven finance background into a service-driven real estate business, built stability in a commission-only career, and stayed “the calm in the storm” for clients during the 2007 crash and beyond. You’ll also hear how she protects family time with clear boundaries, uses simple budgeting systems to survive slow seasons, and mentors new and part-time agents into confident professionals. Takeaways Give yourself time to be great: start part-time or as a referring agent, keep your benefits if you need them, and grow into full-time real estate instead of leaping blindly. Lead with service, not scarcity: focus on what’s truly best for clients—even if that means advising them not to sell or walking away from a listing—and let trust, referrals, and repeat business follow. Plan for the ups and downs: use an “envelope” or percentage-based budget, live below your best months, and set aside reserves so a canceled escrow or slow quarter doesn’t sink you. Be the calm in the storm: clients don’t expect you to know everything; they expect you to stay steady, ask questions, call lenders, and fight for options like modifications, short sales, or better terms. Make real estate a family affair: create a “family contract,” involve your partner and kids in goals, include them in small milestones, and set device boundaries so they’re not competing with your phone at dinner. Inside US Realty Training: real-world instructors like Clarissa, practical exam prep and licensing classes, and a supportive community that treats real estate as a long-term business and a calling—not just a commission check. Clarissa Cortez is a veteran Realtor, team leader, and US Realty Training trainer with more than two decades in the business. She blends a financial advisor’s eye for numbers with a teacher’s heart, helping clients protect their wealth through smart real estate decisions and guiding new agents to build ethical, family-first careers with generational impact. Ready to build your own family-first real estate story? Enroll with US Realty Training, start your classes or crash course, and then tell us when your first “for my family” commission check clears.
