Tesha Perry on the Built HOW Podcast: Leading Real Estate with Trust, Integrity and Heart

What does it look like to build a real estate business around relationships, lead with heart, and find meaningful ways to give back?

Tesha Perry recently explored those questions on the Built HOW Podcast with host Lucas Sherraden. During the conversation, she reflected on her journey into real estate, the experiences that shaped her business, the lessons she's learned as a leader, and the role giving back continues to play in her work.

Her story spans more than two decades in real estate, from navigating the challenges of the Great Recession to building a business grounded in trust and long-term client relationships. It's also a reminder that growth often begins with a willingness to keep learning.

Focusing on Her Family First

Before Tesha Perry built her career in real estate, she made a different choice. With support from her husband, she decided to step away from work to stay home and focus on raising her children, embracing a season of life that mattered deeply to her.

Real estate was a natural connection when she was ready to return to work. Both of Tesha’s parents were Realtors, and she grew up watching the profession’s highs and lows firsthand. She understood the opportunities, the challenges, and the demands that came with the business. In fact, she initially told herself she would never follow in their footsteps.

After becoming a mother of three, Tesha was ready to find work that fit her strengths while giving her more flexibility. Her original motivation was refreshingly simple: she wanted the freedom to go out and enjoy a cup of coffee whenever she wanted.

That desire for flexibility became the starting point for a career that would grow into so much more.

Finding Her Way in Real Estate

Tesha’s experience growing up around real estate gave her a perspective that many new agents do not have. She had seen the good and the difficult parts of the profession long before she entered it herself.

Once she made the decision to pursue real estate, she began building on that foundation through experience, relationships, and a willingness to learn. Over time, she developed a business grounded in thoughtful guidance, strong negotiation, and an understanding of what buying or selling a home means to the people involved.

Since becoming a full-time Realtor in 2004, Tesha has helped more than 1,000 buyers and sellers navigate real estate decisions. Her career has included challenging market conditions, including the short-sale work that became especially important during the 2008 housing crisis.

Those experiences helped shape her approach to the business. Real estate requires strategy and knowledge, but it also calls for patience, clear communication, and the ability to guide people through uncertainty.

The Power of Relationships

One of our favorite stories from the conversation was Tesha's reflection on her 40th birthday party. Half of the guests were past real estate clients.

That detail says a lot about the relationships she's built throughout her career. Many clients have stayed connected over the years, returned when they needed help again, and referred friends and colleagues to her.

Tesha explained that repeat and referral business eventually grew to account for at least 50 to 100 transactions a year, without relying on paid lead sources.

For us, this is a meaningful part of what relationship-based real estate looks like. Every client deserves thoughtful guidance, clear communication, and a positive experience they feel comfortable sharing with others. The trust built during a transaction can continue for years, creating connections that carry well beyond closing day.

Adapting Through Challenges

Tesha's career has included some significant changes in the real estate market. During the Great Recession, her father encouraged her to explore short sales, which were becoming increasingly important for homeowners facing financial hardship.

She took classes, developed new expertise, and built a small team to support the short-sale process and help buyers navigate a challenging market.

That period required flexibility, persistence, and a willingness to learn a different side of the business. Those qualities have continued to serve her throughout her career.

On the podcast, Tesha also spoke openly about the personal side of leadership. She's learning to have difficult conversations, respect that each person must choose their own path, and recognize when a change in leadership starts with her own approach.

Those lessons continue to influence how she thinks about building a team and helping others grow.

Growth Begins with Leadership

Tesha shared that her business has maintained a fairly consistent transaction volume since 2015, even through changes in team size. Looking ahead, she's focused on what it will take to reach the next level.

For her, that means continuing to develop as a leader, examining the systems and habits that shape the business, and becoming more comfortable with conversations that can lead to meaningful change.

Leadership is ongoing work. It calls for self-awareness, patience, accountability, and the courage to address challenges directly. Tesha's willingness to talk about that process made this part of the conversation especially valuable.

Making Giving Back Part of Real Estate

Giving back has been a meaningful part of Tesha's business for years, and it continues through our Joyfully Giving program.

After a client closes on a home, we donate a portion of our commission to a nonprofit the client chooses. Each closing creates an opportunity to support an organization that matters to someone in our community.

During the podcast, Tesha talked about why she values this approach. Real estate can mark an important milestone in someone's life, and the experience can also help support causes that are making a difference.

Through Joyfully Giving, clients can celebrate their next chapter while contributing to something meaningful to them. It's a part of our business that brings Tesha's commitment to service and community into the everyday work of helping people move.

Real Estate Across Three Generations

Tesha grew up with both parents working in real estate, making her a second-generation Realtor. She now works alongside both of her daughters, one as an administrator and the other - Emily - has recently entered the industry, bringing the profession into a third generation of their family history.

Tesha shared that she encouraged her daughter to complete a college degree and gain traditional work experience before choosing real estate. She wanted her daughter to have a strong foundation and a clear understanding of the commitment involved in building a business.

Her daughter has since begun developing her own real estate career, giving Tesha a new perspective on the industry and the opportunity to watch the next generation find its way.

Keep Leading with Heart

As the conversation wrapped up, Tesha shared advice that reflects the values she brings to her work:

“Keep leading with your heart and trust it.”

She followed that thought with a phrase that brings plenty of Tesha's personality into the conversation: “Let it shine baby, let it shine.”

Those words capture much of what has guided her over the years: trust your instincts, keep learning, care about the people you serve, and stay connected to the reasons you chose this work in the first place.

We're grateful Tesha had the opportunity to share her story on the Built HOW Podcast. The conversation touches on the realities of building a business, the importance of lasting relationships, the challenges of leadership, and the value of staying connected to what matters most.

At Giving Group Realty, we bring our mission of redefining real estate with trust, integrity, and heart into the way we serve our clients, support our community, and approach each new opportunity to make a difference.

Listen to the full conversation: Find Tesha Perry on the Built HOW Podcast with host Lucas Sherraden.