How a Bad Realtor… Inspired a Great One | Dorothy Harrison

What if the worst experience of your life became the foundation for your greatest success?

In this inspiring episode of Realty Life, Ken McLachlan sits down with top Durham region realtor Dorothy Harrison, who shares the real and raw journey behind her 16-year real estate career. 

From humble beginnings as a young, underestimated homebuyer to becoming a sought-after agent known for her grounded service and unwavering professionalism, Dorothy dives deep into what shaped her ethos. 

She reveals how a negative experience with a dismissive realtor became her greatest motivator, how journaling keeps her centered through the chaos, and how authenticity—not flash—sparked her career’s quantum leap. 

Listen For

6:57 Pregnancy, Commutes & Pivots: The Leap into Real Estate

8:43 The Realtor Who Didn't Care—and Why That Changed Everything

10:48 Early Days, No Confidence: What Every New Agent Should Hear

18:59 The Quantum Leap: What Changed After 10 Years

29:41 Who You Are in a Crisis: Lessons in Service

Guest: Dorothy Harrison

Instagram | Website | YouTube 

Ken can be reached at:

ken@remaxhallmark.com

Transcript

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Dorothy Harrison (00:01):

I was very much judged by the realtor at the time, being young. And then I actually called that same realtor back to sell that first house and felt at that time that probably wasn't one of his most important sales. And I really felt that. I really felt like, man, this guy doesn't care about us or this sale, he's got bigger things going on. And I thought, you know what? I would never do that. And so when I started my real estate career, that was something that I held really dear and made sure that every transaction and most of my transactions were small at the time when I started, and I really made sure to make those people feel as important.

Ken McLachlan (00:58):

Hi everybody, it's Ken McLachlan. Welcome to my podcast called Realty Life, where I get to talk to a whole bunch of interesting people that are in and out of our real estate business. Not all of them are in the real estate business, but we're lucky today that we have a real outstanding real estate professional that's been in our business for a while. We're going to find out a lot about her, but she is one of the top agents in Durham region, has been in this business for a while, is exceptional at what she does. I'm anxious to learn more about and to share more about her and how she got her start this business and what has compelled her to do so well. But on enough of that, and I want to welcome Dorothy Harrison. Hi, Dorothy.

Dorothy Harrison (01:42):

Hi. Thanks. I'm excited. I'm excited to do this. I'm definitely not an avid podcaster, but I'm excited.

Ken McLachlan (01:48):

Yeah, I'm so glad you're here. This is going to be fun. I mean, it's taken, you're just so busy and we have things going on all the time, so to actually just sit down and to do this and to share our ideas and stuff like this and to have people get to know you a little better is really important for me. So thanks for being here and thanks for being willing to share some ideas and some things about your journey.

Dorothy Harrison (02:09):

Yeah, for sure. Let's do it.

Ken McLachlan (02:12):

How long have you been in this business?

Dorothy Harrison (02:14):

16 years.

Ken McLachlan (02:15):

Wow.

Dorothy Harrison (02:16):

16 years as a realtor? Yes.

Ken McLachlan (02:18):

And what did you do before?

Dorothy Harrison (02:19):

I was actually a mortgage underwriter. So similar, maybe not similar, but sort of in the same realm of industry. I did start with residential mortgages, and then I moved into commercial mortgage underwriting.

Ken McLachlan (02:34):

So underwriting is actually processing the deals. Is that what you were doing?

Dorothy Harrison (02:39):

Exactly,

Ken McLachlan (02:40):

Exactly like that. So you wrote, did you spend any time in the mortgage business selling, servicing, getting business, or what was

Dorothy Harrison (02:50):

No, no. I worked directly for one of the vice presidents within the company. He did all the sales and marketing and finding of the clients. I just did the data input basically.

Ken McLachlan (03:04):

Was that right of university or high school or,

Dorothy Harrison (03:07):

Yeah,

Ken McLachlan (03:09):

Right

Dorothy Harrison (03:09):

After school.

Ken McLachlan (03:10):

How did you get into that business? What happened? How did that happen?

Dorothy Harrison (03:14):

Somebody I knew. So it was a connection got me in the door. Yeah, for sure. And I started out in the accounting department and then kind of just worked my way up.

Ken McLachlan (03:22):

Yeah, it's always that way, isn't it? Somebody, but did you have, thinking back, and I always ask people this question, I want to start off with it right now, but do you remember you being 13, 13 or 14 years old?

Dorothy Harrison (03:38):

I have the worst memory of,

Ken McLachlan (03:40):

Okay, so let's try to do this teenage

Dorothy Harrison (03:45):

Years.

Ken McLachlan (03:45):

This is my contention. I think that what happened to us when we were 13, 14 makes a big dent on who we are today. So how we were thinking for me, I'll give you the example. When I was 13, I had experienced something with my dad that bought an income property, and we were looking at it, I was watching him, and he was very proud of this, buying this property. And I remember at the time thinking, that's what I want to do. I want to get involved with real estate. I want to do things like that. And a lot of people I've talked about have told me about how things that happened to them when they're 13 and 14 impacted them on their life today. Do you have anything, we haven't talked about this at all, but do you have anything that goes back when you were 13 or 14 that you were doing at the time or your early teen years, or maybe not?

Dorothy Harrison (04:40):

Yeah, I don't think that young, but I will say when I was about 16, one of my very first jobs was a telemarketing job.

(04:52):

And yeah, I did cold calling for Mad Canada Mothers against drunk driving. So that was my biggest thing was it was phone sales. And I remember then I did really well, and you would get rewarded with different things at the time. And I remember I won a trip to Miami, so I think I knew that I had the sales skill within me, but I mean that I didn't get into sales

Ken McLachlan (05:23):

No. Until later on.

Dorothy Harrison (05:25):

Until later, yeah.

Ken McLachlan (05:26):

Does your family have a sales background or tell me about that.

Dorothy Harrison (05:29):

Nope,

Ken McLachlan (05:29):

Not

Dorothy Harrison (05:30):

At all.

Ken McLachlan (05:30):

Nothing at all. So you just really got into the mortgage underwriting business. You were connected with somebody. So how did that transition into real estate and how long were you in mortgage before that?

Dorothy Harrison (05:42):

So I worked there for 10 years, and I think for me, the biggest thing, it was actually a seed that my dad planted, to be honest. He's always been into the real estate investing side of things, although we came here as immigrants with not much money at all. And so he didn't get the opportunity necessarily to invest into income properties and such things, but did have a lot of friends and contacts that did. He was in the trades, he was a tile setter, and so always was around nice homes and people with lots of money and that kind of thing. And so he thought that I would do well in that field. And so that's kind of how it all started. So I was pregnant with my second child and quickly, so my second and third are 18 months apart. So before I even went back to, it was first national that I was working at, before I even went back, I was already pregnant with my third. And so then I thought, I've got to do something where I can be closer to home rather than taking that commute downtown.

Ken McLachlan (06:57):

Oh, you were downtown from Durham?

Dorothy Harrison (06:59):

Yeah.

Ken McLachlan (07:00):

Oh boy.

Dorothy Harrison (07:01):

Yeah. So that was a challenge with young kids, and the train was always late and you have to pick them up from daycare by six. So I

Ken McLachlan (07:08):

Thought, yeah, your husband's in the business. He's in the building business, isn't he?

Dorothy Harrison (07:11):

Yeah.

Ken McLachlan (07:12):

Yeah.

Dorothy Harrison (07:12):

Okay.

Ken McLachlan (07:12):

So you thought it was a natural thing for mortgage underwriting to get into the real estate sector, into sales. How did you find it when you first got into it? What was your experience like

Dorothy Harrison (07:24):

With sales in general?

Ken McLachlan (07:26):

In real estate? Yeah, real estate. In real

Dorothy Harrison (07:27):

Estate. I think I really quickly learned to know that this is what I love. And so I think it was pretty natural for me. Homes have always been a big part of our life. So although maybe my family wasn't necessarily investing in real estate and that kind of stuff, my dad was in that industry. My dad got my husband into that industry. So he was also into the whole idea of renovations and making your homes look nice. And we did buy a home at a pretty young age

(08:05):

My first home when I was 22. And together my dad and my husband did a lot of fixing of that home. We sold it, we purchased another. So we sort of got into it at a young age, and then getting my license and walking people through that just seemed pretty natural. I didn't have a great experience purchasing at a young age, and I remember thinking those things. I think my third home, I negotiated myself. This was prior to ever having a real estate license.

Ken McLachlan (08:39):

So what was that experience? What did you learn from that yourself?

Dorothy Harrison (08:43):

The negotiating?

Ken McLachlan (08:44):

Yeah. And then when you said you didn't have any good experience with it.

Dorothy Harrison (08:46):

Oh, that one.

Ken McLachlan (08:47):

Yeah.

Dorothy Harrison (08:48):

Yeah. So I think I was very much judged by the realtor at the time, being young, and maybe he wasn't so sure that we were ready to make a purchase. And then I actually called that same realtor back to sell that first house, and felt at that time that maybe it was a small town home, probably wasn't one of his most important sales. And I really felt that. I really felt like, man, this guy doesn't care about us or this sale, he's got bigger things going on. And I thought, you know what? I would never do that. And so when I started my real estate career, that was something that I held really dear and made sure that every transaction and most of my transactions were small at the time when I started, and I really made sure to make those people feel as important.

Ken McLachlan (09:52):

Yeah. So the service aspect with you because of the experience you had was really important to you, and you left you doing that to your clients today. Do you remember starting out what, I'm sure business wasn't handed to you at the time or now even, but do you remember the No, I had my license. Now I have to to, I want you to speak to a lot of these young agents out there that are just starting out that, I mean, I remember when I first got my license, well, great, I got my license. No, what the hell do I do? Basically, how do I show up? I remember my manager at the time saying to me, spend 60% of your time chasing listings. And 40% of the time for buyers, that was my training at the time, and he was right because I went door knocking and went doing things. But do you remember that first six months of your career, what it was like? What did you feel?

Dorothy Harrison (10:48):

I think the biggest thing was just lacking confidence with anything, right? Until you have that experience, that momentum, that those solid proven sales or facts behind whatever it might be, that lack of confidence is really what can kill you. So I remember being very nervous as to would somebody trust me in selling their home knowing that I had never sold a home before, for example. So sort of getting over those first few and the first couple transactions that I did were both friends. And so that I think was obviously very

Ken McLachlan (11:30):

Helpful. That helped you. Dorothy, how old were you when you started?

Dorothy Harrison (11:33):

No, I would've been 29, almost 30, let's say. Okay.

Ken McLachlan (11:41):

So that was about the same age as me. So did you feel at the time that, I mean, I remember precisely the feeling that I had of the inexperience, the lack of confidence, and the really not knowing. I mean, I didn't have a sense of how to do the offers, the negotiation. I kind of knew basically how to do it. Somebody had taught me, but the fear of being found out that I was so green at this time During it. And I think what for me was the compelling thing was that I just had to push through it and trust that I was going to figure this out and that I couldn't screw it up that much. Is that kind of what happened to you?

Dorothy Harrison (12:22):

Yeah, for sure. I'd say so. And I guess the one thing that I will say, so for me, it was a second career. Like I said, I was about 30, but I had already purchased three homes at that point. So I

Ken McLachlan (12:34):

Wasn't

Dorothy Harrison (12:35):

Super green in the sense, I know that there's a lot of new people coming into the business that are maybe a lot younger, and this is their first career and they're still living at home with parents and that kind of stuff. And I think that that definitely does play a role in things. I was a mom, I had purchased a few homes, so although I was green in the industry, I felt like I kind of knew what I was doing. It was just more getting the experience behind me to then have those facts to say to people, Hey, I've done this and here are my results. That's the biggest thing that I think today I really showcase are my results.

Ken McLachlan (13:16):

Well, the results you have, and actually the work you've done to get those results is incredible how you built upon it. So the first six months you dealt with people that you knew, plus then you started digging up new business at the same. How did you go about digging up new business? What did you do?

Dorothy Harrison (13:32):

For me, I would say my biggest pillar was doing open houses and not necessarily my own, but other agents in the office that were super busy, I would offer to do their open houses. That was my biggest thing.

Ken McLachlan (13:48):

Did you find yourself getting obsessed with it? In the sense that I remember the first year or so in this business that it was just consume me,

(13:59):

And it does still to this day, but consume me overwhelmingly that my brain wouldn't stop thinking I got home at night. It was so much going on. There's so much new to me at the time, I didn't have the experience of buying and selling houses before personally, but the whole atmosphere, the energy around the real estate career and being on your own and having to be a commissioned sales person was very interesting. And the challenging at the time, and it's a difficult thing to do for a lot of people. Did you get overwhelmed by it at all, or did you feel overwhelmed or?

Dorothy Harrison (14:35):

I think naturally, of course. And I think to your point, I still do, right? It's still, I wouldn't say that that part necessarily gets any easier. When you're passionate about something, your brain is constantly going. It doesn't matter if you're on vacation or if you're at a kid's birthday party or wherever you are, you've always kind of got that on your mind. And I would say, of course, when we go through any kind of highs and lows, I went through those times where I'm super stressed and any small thing might trigger me. But I mean, I think that's a part of life.

Ken McLachlan (15:18):

How do you deal with it? What do you do? I mean, we all go through stress. There's changing markets, there's challenges. Right now we're dealing with, this is 2025, we're dealing with uncertainty in the international world and all that stuff, and our throttle markets and stuff in Durham market. How do you deal with it? How do you handle the stress? What do you do? Where's your go-to?

Dorothy Harrison (15:42):

So I think one of the things that I like to do is write things down, and I focus on the small wins. And so things that are going well, I tend to really put more focus on the positive stuff. That's just me as a person in general. So I'll set a notebook aside with things that I accomplished for that day or for that week, and try and almost redirect my focus. Yeah, that's literally, and as much as I know technology has taken over, I'm still totally a pen and paper person.

Ken McLachlan (16:26):

Yeah, I am too. A lot of that stuff is So you would actually have a sense of journaling is what you're talking

Dorothy Harrison (16:32):

About. Exactly,

Ken McLachlan (16:33):

Yes. Yeah. Doing that. Do you do that every day?

Dorothy Harrison (16:35):

Every day. My tasks, I cross them off like visually, I need to see that I've accomplished things and done things, and I do that for everything in my life, not just real

Ken McLachlan (16:46):

Estate. So you find that that helps you deal with any stress that comes up in situations that happen if you are focused on putting it down and dealing with them, it helps you a lot if you get through things.

Dorothy Harrison (16:57):

Yeah, then you see that you've actually made some progress in your day, and you've actually done some things that worked out really well, and not necessarily just focusing on the stuff that's causing you the anxiety,

Ken McLachlan (17:12):

Because this business, as you know, can be so overwhelming with different things that come up and different stresses and different problems and the circumstances that we have to deal with and disappointments along the way. So you deal with that by putting that down. So I do the same thing. I journal a lot. I think if I didn't journal, in fact, I found a journal of mine from 20, the year 2000

(17:35):

That I had been doing. I was trying to, thankfully my writing was still pretty good at that time, so I can actually read it. But it's interesting how a lot of this hasn't changed for me a lot, the stuff I wrote down and what I believe in and how I've handled things along the way. So it's been quite interesting. I want to ask you about something. You're a very successful real estate agent, and you work really hard at your craft, and you're very service oriented and you have a lot of connections and your market. But there was probably, I'm going to take a guess at this. I think my guess is is that for years and years, you were doing a certain level of real estate business. I know I, I was doing a certain level of real estate business, and all of a sudden it clicked in where I went from being a to a plus 20, and there was a sense that all of a sudden I had put perhaps done my dues and did the work and the foundation work, and all of a sudden it turned on for me. Was that your experience with your career, or has it been your experience?

Dorothy Harrison (18:43):

Yeah, a hundred percent.

Ken McLachlan (18:45):

Tell us about that. How long did you, I mean long, we're always laying the foundation work in this business. I'm not saying you're not doing that, but do you remember the period where you had that quantum leap in your career?

Dorothy Harrison (18:59):

Yeah, it was probably 10 years into the business for me. And that's actually ironically about the same time that I switched over from Sutton to Max.

Ken McLachlan (19:13):

Oh, to homework. Yeah.

Dorothy Harrison (19:14):

Yes. So it was all in that same timeframe. And I think to your point, I had laid the foundation. I had been servicing people for a long period of time. I had a lot of facts that I can share with people. And then the other thing that I think also attributed to that was my own personal growth in my real estate portfolio and openly sharing that with people. And I think people seeing the success that I had together with my husband built, obviously in doing that now, created a whole new platform of prospective clients and people that wanted to follow along and do the same thing to have the same

Ken McLachlan (20:10):

Success. Do you actually remember that moment, the quantum leap that you had? I do. For me, I know exactly when it happened. Maybe you don't. I don't know.

Dorothy Harrison (20:20):

Not super vividly. I can't say this was the day, but I know that it was around that 10 year mark, and I remember I had shared something on social media saying that I got the next keys to, I think it was my seventh door at the time. And I remember the amount of response that I got just from that one post. And people just seeing, especially the people that know us, we did not grow up with money or any kind of privileges. Nothing was handed to us, everything, and

Ken McLachlan (20:58):

You worked for it.

Dorothy Harrison (20:58):

Everything is self-made for sure. And so seeing that the regular everyday person can build that success, I think, obviously would resonate with people in that same way, right?

Ken McLachlan (21:14):

Well, yeah, but by having that, I mean, I remember for me, I just remember standing outside of a house and I was probably about my sixth or seventh year in the business and thinking that if I could just get this one more sale, I'm going to be at a different level and I'm never going to drop down from that level. And it wasn't about convincing people to buy a property, it was just being of service to people. But I knew that once I got to a certain level in the production and the ability to help people, that I was never going to go back down

(21:47):

And I'll never forget that it was just, I don't know where the hell it came from, but it was something that, and that's I think what you're describing is that once you put the foundation work in and did it and developed it, I know that you never bli below that. I know that a lot of people at the beginning of the year, top producers like yourself, they always have conversations with them. They say, oh, how am I? I have to start over the year over again. I have to get this X amount of whatever it is. I don't know if I can do it. And everybody has that feeling about I have to start over again from day one, commissioned salespeople. That's what we do for a living. But what would you tell people about this industry? What are you proudest of most about it? Is there one thing, or maybe, I mean, there's many things I'm sure, but is there something that, I mean, you've been in this industry a very decent time, and you've seen a lot of different people seen a lot of different things that are going on. For me, I'll throw my own thing in here, that I think it's the ability to help people through the most emotional time, investment time of their life. I like doing that. I've always liked doing that, and it gives us the opportunity to get centered with people and do that kind of thing. So I don't know, do you have any thoughts on that or?

Dorothy Harrison (23:07):

Yeah, I would say kind of similar. I think we're all unique in the way that we handle situations. And I think one of the things and is I think something that I was probably born with because I remember my parents saying to me all the time, you're just so calm. And

(23:27):

I think that that really does help people, to your point, making a purchase or a sale or an investment or whether it's your own personal home, but whatever it is, it is a stressful time that you're going through. And so having the ability to remain as that calm voice for people and be able to share with them, I think problem solving and coming up with unique ideas and stuff, that's definitely a strong skillset that I possess. And so being able to figuring things out as we go along in that journey and just remaining positive and helping them remain calm and positive, I think it is a unique skill, I would say. And I think that it's something that's either natural or not, right.

Ken McLachlan (24:18):

Well, yeah, I think it is a natural thing, but also naturally it's a learned thing as well. I mean, you didn't naturally be Dorothy Harris and all of a sudden wake up one day and you work damn hard at it

(24:31):

And developing it and meeting people and getting better at your craft. And I know the Dorothy that I know keeps doing that every day, keeps growing and having things done and expanding her business and stuff like that. So I think that's good for you to do that. It's interesting how you relate the different things in your career and how it happens like that. But you sell mostly in Durham?

Dorothy Harrison (24:54):

Yes.

Ken McLachlan (24:54):

Right?

Dorothy Harrison (24:55):

Yep.

Ken McLachlan (24:55):

Do you go outside of Durham at all or?

Dorothy Harrison (24:57):

I do, but I would say probably 97% of my business is Durham based. And really the times that I do go outside is for clients, family members, or perhaps somebody that's really close to me just to really be that person to guide them through the transaction. But I definitely, I know Durham, it's where I live, it's where I've done all of my business, so I'm definitely most comfortable sticking within that region.

Ken McLachlan (25:32):

Yeah, it's been good for you too, and you're well known there. I mean, you're the number one agent in Durham, the work you're doing, and that's extremely incredible that to be known as that and to service the people and do the job you're doing, which is incredible for it. This podcast, often, I often ask people what they would recommend to people that are not just the new people in this business, but people that are struggling in this business, that are finding a difficulty in a changing market. How do you deal with changing markets, Dorothy, what do you do that keeps you, we talked about the positive stuff about writing things down, but I mean, this can be a very stressful business we're in. How do you deal with the day-to-day on it?

Dorothy Harrison (26:20):

I think,

Ken McLachlan (26:21):

I don't want to accent the negative, that's not my point, but I just want to hear what your advice on that.

Dorothy Harrison (26:27):

Well, I mean, I'm a mom first, so making myself, I'm not just focused on real estate, obviously. I've got a family that I care deeply about. And having that focus as a mom as well is something that keeps me grounded, I would say, for sure. Knowing the biggest why and why are we doing all of this? And for me, obviously the deep roots of that are to make a great life for my children, for my family, and to keep us where we are. So I think that's ultimately what keeps me grounded, and just knowing that that is what it is, knowing that life isn't perfect. And I know even with my own kids, I've had some things that I've gone through in the past year and some struggles, and that's been really wide or eye opening for me. And just knowing that, you know what? We're pretty blessed. Life's not perfect,

Ken McLachlan (27:27):

Actually. We are blessed, aren't we? To be able to have the ability to do what we do and to be connected with all the people we're connected with and to help them through

Dorothy Harrison (27:35):

100%, and I've met so many amazing people while doing all of this, and people really do share their life with you, and you learn so much. And I feel honored that people will say, I literally had a text message before we jumped on this call, and one of my clients that I've worked with a couple times, and she said, Dorothy, we consider you as part of the family, so you do whatever. And that's a really nice feeling to have families.

Ken McLachlan (28:02):

Well, it's kind of amazing how you spend this 2, 3, 4 months with people that you didn't really know before. And you get, and I'm going to use the word intimate in the sense that you get to help them with their really intimate decisions that they have to make, and you're really compelled in there, and they share a lot with you, and then all of a sudden that ends and you kind of go on to the next type of thing. But that experience that you have with them stays with us though, I think, because it's really important and it means a lot to them, and you can pick up on that later on as you go down the road with them. But you get a lot of referral work, don't you?

Dorothy Harrison (28:38):

I do.

Ken McLachlan (28:39):

I bet.

Dorothy Harrison (28:39):

Yeah.

Ken McLachlan (28:40):

Yeah,

Dorothy Harrison (28:40):

I do. I know. And I think to your point, what you said, a lot of that I think also helps ground me, right? Because you hear and see what so many people are going through, and especially in times like this, where our economy is where it is, there's been a lot of circumstances and situations that I've been a part of that I never even would think would be. Yeah.

Ken McLachlan (29:03):

And people need people like you around to help them through these difficult times, and that's the value that we bring. I always tell people that who you are in a crisis is really who you are in life. So in difficult times, it's important to surround yourself with people that are centered and calm. And I'm not saying that this is a really difficult time. Listen, let's be clear, there's always different opportunities out there, the opportunities to help people do things, but for some people it's a more difficult time than others, and that's why they need professionals like you to help them do these things on that. So that's a blessing to have you around on that.

(29:41):

It's good. Where can people get ahold of you? How do people get ahold of you?

Dorothy Harrison (29:47):

So I've got my stuff all online, but obviously social media is a big platform for us. So Instagram sold by Dorothy, that's my handle. They can call me directly. Email, website. I mean,

Ken McLachlan (30:03):

What's your website? Is Dorothy Harrison, or

Dorothy Harrison (30:06):

Sold by? By Dorothy? Everything is sold by Dorothy. Yeah. Com. Sold by Dorothy dot.

Ken McLachlan (30:10):

Yeah, we're going to put that up for people to see on the promo,

Dorothy Harrison (30:14):

Please

Ken McLachlan (30:14):

On that so they can reach out to you and do that. Do you have any parting things you want to say that I missed out on?

Dorothy Harrison (30:21):

No, I think we touched on some pretty good stuff.

Ken McLachlan (30:24):

Yeah. Was it as weird as you thought it would

Dorothy Harrison (30:26):

Be? No, it was good. Actually. I didn't think it was going to be weird, only because you're the one that's hosting it. So I had had lots of faith in you, Ken.

Ken McLachlan (30:36):

Oh, that's good.

Dorothy Harrison (30:37):

Yeah,

Ken McLachlan (30:37):

No, weird is probably the wrong word to use. But I can tell you that I've known you for many, many years, Dorothy, and you consistently have been the same all the time. That's what I love about you is the, you know what you're getting when you talk to Dorothy. There's no difference in, I could see you at a social setting or a business setting or whatever, and you're always the same,

(31:00):

Is a compliment to you because many of us aren't. You wear the same hat for a lot of things on that, and that's a difficult thing to do. And I compliment you on that. I know, because we hear from your clients from time to time how exceptional you are and what you're doing. So I want to congratulate you on that, and what you're taking the time to talk with me today is a real pleasure for me.

Dorothy Harrison (31:20):

Oh, thank you. I'm

Ken McLachlan (31:20):

Very thankful for that. So I encourage anybody that has any questions for Dorothy to reach out to her. Certainly Durham is her market, 97% or 99% of that time out there. But if you have any questions on real estate in Durham region, Dorothy would be your person to talk to because she does have the expertise to deal with you. So thank you again, Dorothy, for being here. It's been a sincere pleasure for me to have you. I hope you have a great day.

Dorothy Harrison (31:45):

Yeah, thank you. I appreciate you having me a party, your podcast. Always love chatting with you, Ken.

Ken McLachlan (31:57):

Here are the top three things I got from Dorothy Harrison today. Number one, the value of grounded service over flashy sales. Dorothy emphasized that her early negative experience with the dismissive realtor shaped how she approaches every client with respect and full attention, no matter the size of the transaction. I learned how much this mindset has contributed to her long-term success and reputation. Her consistent service first approach, especially during emotional or high stakes moments, reinforce the importance of trust and emotional intelligence in real estate. Number two, confidence is earned through her experience and action. I resonated with Dorothy's journey through initial self-doubt, especially in her first six months. Dorothy highlighted how she overcame her lack of confidence, not by pretending to be an expert, but by doing the work, open houses, building relationships, and gradually earning trust. This reminded me that confidence isn't something we start with.

(32:56):

It's something built by consistently showing up and delivering value. And number three, personal growth fuels professional breakthroughs. Dorothy's Quantum Leap came about a decade into her career around the time she switched brokerages and expanded her own investment portfolio. I learned how openly sharing that journey on social media invited new connections and opportunities. It wasn't a single tactic. It was an alignment of personal credibility, authenticity, and timing. Her story affirm for me that long-term success often comes from the inside out. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to leave a personal review, a like, share it with your friends and tell as many people as possible about the Realty Life Podcasts. I really appreciate all your support.