Always Evolving
If you want to become close friends with Isabel Affinito, 29, sit down with her and share recommendations for restaurants or vacation spots. She soaks up this kind of information—and was surprised to find early in her real estate career that some clients did not welcome her propensity to wax on about cool places to visit and contractors worth hiring. She became skilled in the art of reading people and has learned when and how much to share and when to back off. “I’m always working with different people, and it’s all trial and error.” The feedback is pretty immediate: “People don’t call you back,” says Affinito. She has already learned plenty, including when it’s a good idea to let go of negative emotions. “I hope that my business, my style, and the way I work continues to evolve my entire life.”