Betsy Ronel has a knack for jumping in, feet first. From her former career in public relations for luxury fashion houses, to moving cross-country (twice), to promoting the businesses and people she’s passionate about, and forming meaningful relationships with her clients, Betsy has a way of doing the work it takes to make things happen.

“I grew up in a very special house in Riverdale, New York,” Betsy says of her formative experiences with real estate. “And that sort of ignited my passion for homes, so I loved house building and design since my childhood.” After Betsy—who has a taste for unique opportunities and adventure—moved her family from New York to Santa Fe, New Mexico she found herself bored. She remembers thinking, “I gotta do something. I gotta create something, I gotta promote something.” So Betsy reignited her passion, and began renovating and restoring homes.

That taste of the real estate market gave Betsy the inspiration to get her license when, years later, she moved back to Westchester, NY. Though Betsy jumped right into this new career, her chapter was not met without adversity. “My biggest challenge,” Betsy says, “was making a business literally out of thin air. My kids didn’t grow up here. My old friends moved away, so I had no established contacts. No relevance here. No friends. No actives. When I came back I was like a new person.”

Not one to passively sit by, Betsy joined a brokerage in her area, and started hustling to build out her sphere. “Zillow helped a lot,” she says of growing her client base.“I know people hate to hear that, but I subscribed to Zillow almost immediately and did a lot of business there.” Betsy also credits reigniting old friendships, getting involved in community life, smiling, and being a ‘yes person’ as ways she not only got her foot in the proverbial door, but swung it right open.

Coaching also gave Betsy the support she needed to grow her business. “Chirag has really changed my mindset on a lot of things,” Betsy says of her CSC coach. “I’m a new agent, so I’m still very moldable and teachable. I want to change. I want to be the best I can be. Chirag imparts his wisdom, and I take it in. And I just do what he says, and it shows.”

Last year, only her third in the business, Betsy sold $22 million of real estate, significant for any agent, especially a rookie. Betsy takes her success in stride saying, “I’d like to be an inspiration for those new agents who are starting and thinking, ‘Oh my god, how am I gonna do this?’” Betsy would remind new agents “to pull from every resource you have—even if you think you have nothing and no experience, you do. And that’s what I love about real estate. Anyone who works hard can make it in this business.”

This upcoming year Betsy would like to build her name recognition and be one of the top three realtors in her town. This natural hustler would, admittedly, like to hustle slightly less. “I want to get to a point where my name and my brand is top of mind for people,” Betsy says.

Nearly a year ago Betsy joined Compass because she felt that at Compass,“your business really is your business,” which aligns with her future brand goals. “I have a big personality,” Betsy says. “I want to stand out to make my name known in my town. I want people to know it’s me, and not you know, twenty other agents at the brokerage.” Betsy also can’t deny the forward thinking of Compass is reshaping the entire real estate industry, “and that..” she says, “I want to be a part of that.”

Want to watch Betsy’s journey? Follow her @compass.betsyronel.luxeliving