Two months into the New Millenium, I found myself turning in my Texas driver’s license for a California version and arrived in the Silicon Valley to participate in the Dot Com Glory Days. These were the days of working hard and creatively, enjoying chair massages in the conference room and free sodas and bottled water in the rec room, going along on surprise day-long bus outings to local recreational events for the entire staff, and hearing stories of instant millionaires about Dot Com whose companies went IPO. The dream was alive!
Only a year later, my 100 colleagues and I arrived at work one day to learn our Dot Com was closing its doors. We didn’t know it then, but we were on the leading edge of the Dot Com Bust. It was the first time in my long professional life that I had ever been downsized, fired, or otherwise left a company without my saying “Buh Bye” first. The experience made me rethink my career path so - while first working on contract at eBay and then on staff at Adobe - I decided to study for my California real estate license. I didn’t know then that this was a very popular choice for Dot Com refugees or I might have been less enthusiastic. Today, in the summer of 2007, there is one licensed real estate agent in California for every 46 residents!
In the early Spring of 2002, I left my direct marketing manager position at Adobe to join Coldwell Banker at its Willow Street office in Downtown Willow Glen. I never looked back. Real estate as a career has introduced me to wonderful new friends, all the delightful communities and neighborhoods in our Valley and Foothills, and given me the flexibility to pursue the joys of being a mother & grandmother, a grassroots activist, and a leader in the Santa Clara County Democratic Club.
In HometownSiliconValley, I will journal and offer opinions and insider information about what’s happening with Silicon Valley real estate as well as chronicle my adventures and introduce you to the people I meet (both public figures and citizens like you and me), and the places I like best. And, I will look forward to hearing from you and engaging in dialogue about your experiences and opinions.
My first professional career was as a newspaper reporter so this opportunity to be a “citizen journalist” online is exciting and offers me the opportunity to correct some of the inaccuracies about real estate that too frequently crop up in the mainstream media.
Alicia Kay Lanier is a REALTOR and a member of Coldwell Banker’s Diamond Society – Top 8% of Agents Internationally www.AliciaLanier.com AliciaKLanier@gmail.com Phone 408-491-1634
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