Principal Broker of Realty ONE Group Pivot Monica Rousseau: “I’ve Never Been Afraid to Make a Mistake”
Written by Rosa Linda Fallon
Principal Broker of Realty ONE Group Pivot, Monica Rousseau believes that when you come from a place of gratitude, it will ultimately change your life. “When you change what you are thinking, your life will change,” she says. “You can’t change without changing your mind; the great thing is that you are in control of what you think.”
As the owner of two very successful Realty ONE firms in Asheville and Hendersonville, Monica is a manifestation of her statement. To her, success is a mindset. “Real estate is a mindset. All business is mindset. And if you’re not in a great space in your mind, then you need to get into one,” she says. For her, there was no other option apart from success, which she says is a culmination of the people she surrounds herself with, the relationships she has invested in, and the mistakes that she has learned from.
“I’ve never been afraid to make a mistake,” she shares. “And I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I don’t think you can be successful or grow without being willing to make mistakes.”
Monica got into real estate in an unconventional way. While living in Wilmington, North Carolina, she started her own parking management company that served the beaches. “Everybody loved me,” she says, sarcastically. In order to manage parking, Monica had to deal with commercial leases, her segway into the real estate world. After moving back to her hometown of Asheville, NC eight years ago, she joined a real estate company and went through extensive training. She became interested in the low-cost and market-resilient model that Realty ONE Group Pivot offered, one that allowed the agent to remain in the driver’s seat of their career. Three years ago, she took the risk and opened her first franchise a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “We started in November 2019 – that was our grand opening, just a few months before the onset of the pandemic. I bought the franchise for all of Western North Carolina. The structure, the reason I was interested, was because it was created during the downturn, so it works in every cycle of the real estate market,” Monica explains.
Photo by Brooke Parker Photography
An Asheville native, Monica is a graduate of Clyde A. Erwin High School and UNC Asheville. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics and eventually completed her degree in Education prior to getting into real estate.
She worked in the education field for years at both the school district and university levels. Monica describes working in education “very fulfilling” because everyday, she knew she had made a difference; it makes sense that she places a strong emphasis on educating the agents in her firm. “That’s really what helped me create my ‘why,’” she explains. While she is a great agent, she says her highest and best use is in running her business and developing others. “I look to leave everyone better for having encountered me,” she says. “I want to inspire people to want to learn and get better at their craft every single day.”
Education is the foundation of her business now. Monica believes very strongly in educating her agents and making sure they have the knowledge they need to succeed. “Educating them makes for a smooth transaction on both sides,” she explains, adding that she wants to create an environment where her agents feel excited and inspired to come to work. In the future, she says she wants to expand Realty ONE throughout other areas of Western NC and partner with agents who align with the firm’s values.
Outside of business, Monica is a mom of five children, three daughters and two sons, who are her pride and joy, though she admits she can be tough on them. She manages to keep a work life balance while also including her children in the business to help them learn the ropes.
When she is not with her family or mentoring the agents on her team, Monica remains actively involved in her local community. She participates in the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and supports initiatives designed to support small business development and entrepreneurship, including WomanUp – a program hosted by the Chamber that promotes women in business in Asheville.
“My journey has just been so awesome,” Monica says, “to have met so many people that have made me better, and that I have learned from, and that’s what I hope to provide to those I am working with.”
Ultimately, Monica believes that together, we are better. Her motto: “A Rising Tide Raises All Ships.” “The better we do, the better the people around us do. We lift each other up.”
Monica Rousseau
Realty ONE Group Pivot
90 Southside Ave. Ste 300
Asheville, NC 28801 and
319 N King Street
Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828)-595-2494
Email: monica@rogpivot.com