When a $5,000 goal turns into $41 million in sales, that’s when you get a little help

With the hope of making some extra money to put toward her house payment and maybe some redecorating, Kelly Kemnitz approached a friend about how to get into the real estate business in 2005.

“Do you think I could make $5,000 to $6,000 a year?” she asked Marie McGinley, a former agent who mentored many in the business.

McGinley warned Kemnitz that there would be no easing into real estate and that Kemnitz, a perfectionist, would be torn between being a mom and having a career.

“She pegged everything that would happen,” Kemnitz said.

Kemnitz raised two daughters while becoming the No. 1 individual residential agent in the state with $41 million in sales in 2020.

“The funny thing is I had so little expectations when I started,” she said.

Not so funny is how much she worked. Her sales are the equivalent of what the average four or five agents combined might do in a year.

“When is enough enough?” Kemnitz’s husband, Ben Brophy, asked.

Now, she’s getting some help by forming her own team, Kelly Kemnitz & Associates, within ReeceNichols South Central Kansas.

“Part of my reason for forming a team is so I don’t work myself into the ground,” she said. “I want to be doing this in 15 or 16 years.”

Kemnitz said she’d like her brand to continue after she’s gone, too.

Plus, Kemnitz said she can help her team — Jill Coad and sisters-in-law Courtney Krsnich and Kathryn Krsnich — grow while elevating the experience for her clients, too.

Even though she’s so successful at it, Kemnitz said real estate wasn’t her first career choice.

“I actually have a master’s in physical therapy.”

It wasn’t the right fit, though.

“A lot of schooling for nothing.”

Once she started selling homes, Kemnitz said she instantly knew real estate was a perfect match despite not being a natural salesman or even being aggressive in her selling approach.

Where she was aggressive was in studying real estate.

“I was hungry to learn the business as much as I could.”

Even with such diligence, Kemnitz never expected to achieve the success she has.

“I still sort of pinch myself.”

She said her husband is “very proud” of her but these days is feeling some relief as well.

“He’s happy to see me get help.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 9:49 AM.