Atlanta eXp Realty agent Marvetta Bozeman has had two powerful men in her life: Her mentor, Hank Aaron – yes, that Hank Aaron – and Ronnie DeVoe, yes – that Ronnie DeVoe.
And while Marvetta would have likely made it on her own, Hank Aaron – a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and the No. 2 all-time home run slugger – gave her professional mentoring to help set her up for success while she was trying to make ends meet as a single mom.
“Hank is amazing,” said Marvetta. “He pushed me to finish my degree. He wanted more for my sons. He saw something in me that I didn’t see myself.”
In the late 1990s, Marvetta sold cars at a Toyota dealership in Atlanta and was wooed to Hank Aaron’s BMW dealership where she rose to second in sales. Aaron noticed Marvetta was working “bell to bell” and asked who was home taking care of her sons.
“Hank believes in family and learning from the ground up,” recalls Marvetta. “He wanted me to make sure I was home with my sons and told me, “if you don’t have a front-row seat, you will lose them to packs (gangs).’”
Marvetta’s Entry Into Real Estate
Aaron set up Marvetta as a leasing consultant with a friend who was building a multifamily community. While the money wasn’t as good as car sales, the hours were far better. And besides, Aaron promised her it would all work out and it did. Marvetta went on to become a regional property manager, then got her real estate license in 2007.
She latched onto a huge Atlanta brokerage with 300 agents that sold a lot of multifamily properties. She rose to No. 5 in sales with the company, but during an end-of-the-year banquet when the entire team was served nothing but water, she walked.
“It just rubbed me the wrong way. I’m big on loyalty.”
Marvetta then went back to school, getting a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Mercer University and a doctorate in business administration. “I’m an overachiever. I love education,” said Marvetta.
A Friend Suggested She Look at Ronnie DeVoe’s Firm
One of her sorority sisters was working for Ronnie DeVoe’s real estate company and insisted Marvetta check it out. She soon joined. It was during a meeting that she boldly put some ideas forward that didn’t have a lot of consensus, but DeVoe listened and was impressed.
After a couple of years, Marvetta got her broker’s license and was thinking about starting her own brokerage firm when her mentors, Calvin and Terri Gleaton, insisted Marvetta look at eXp Realty instead, which would save Marvetta the risk and overhead independent brokerages face.
>See why independent brokerages are flocking to eXp Realty
“I saw the tech, support, resources and the opportunity to grow at eXp,” Marvetta said, who was soon joined by DeVoe to join eXp. Together they are business partners, licensed by eXp.
“Some days I pinch myself,” said Marvetta. “He was one of my childhood idols growing up! I love our energy and relationship. He knows I am a forward-thinker. If he can dream it, I can put it into action. He says we are, ‘The Wonder Twins of Real Estate. Activate, super heroes Wonder Twin powers, activate!’ ”
eXp Provides Marvetta the Support She Needs
Marvetta is glad to have ducked the temptation of starting her own brokerage and marvels at eXp’s deep resources.
“Before, whatever our agents needed was just coming from Ron and I. Now with eXp, it’s no longer just me. My agents can jump into the eXp World where there is tons of support with training, CRMs – anything you need!”
Marvetta is currently on a culture tour with New Edition, where she and DeVoe recruit through marketing at the concerts and hold private mixers with agents in other cities. She recently spoke on a National Fair Housing Alliance panel, moderated by CNN’s April Ryan who happens to be Marvetta’s good friend and sorority sister. Next up, she meets with Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock to discuss the Downpayment Toward Equity Act, which will provide a $25,000 grant to first-time homebuyers to help increase home ownership in the Black and brown communities.
“I am really enjoying myself. I like where we can go. We can focus on the business of the business. We can handle our business without a lot of the challenges of running a business. We can send people to training, instead of “when can I do training?” There is so much available to us to help us grow.”
It’s clear grass doesn’t grow under Marvetta’s feet. She is just getting started.
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