Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Erickson
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After graduating college, I started my career in the eCommerce industry and really grew to enjoy the work but never found full gratitude in it. I truthfully had no idea the mortgage industry was something I’d be interested in nor did I think it would be a challenging and rewarding career path.. and man.. was I wrong. I’ve always been classified as a “go-getter” and “creative, solution-oriented” type of employee but didn’t know where to focus my efforts, so I was feeling bit lost in my career. After taking a huge leap in 2021 and joining the marvelous world of mortgage, I didn’t expect to find all the things I actually enjoy working towards wrapped into one job. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all always smooth sailing but the challenge of sales and the rewarding feeling of seeing people’s proud faces at closing hasn’t lost it’s allure. It takes a tremendous amount of time, effort, sacrifice, and late nights to build a business, and I have vast respect for anyone who has built a successful referral-based business because as I quickly learned, it’s not something that happens overnight. After coming back from maternity leave in 2023, I knew I needed to make a change to my business strategy to stand out in the midst of constantly wavering rates and fees. From my experience, mortgage is not a typical field where people have opportunities to be creative in their own branding, which seemed crazy to me since we are selling ourselves and the customer service experience we offer. After thinking on this for quite some time, I had a vision of a brand powered by a mortgage company. A brand that embodied creativity, transparency, inclusivity, and pristine customer service. This was the first intentional thought I had about creating ‘the [mortgage] club’. After a lot of deliberation, I shared my idea with my concierge, Georgia Anderson, and immediately she fell in love with the idea and helped me present this brand in such a beautiful way. It’s simple really- all I’ve done is take my love and care for people and deep understanding for accomplishing homebuyer goals and crafted a space for homebuyers to have an experience purchasing a home instead of simply being quoted rates and fees. In an industry where we all adhere to the same rules and regulations, I strive to take an out of the box approach, distinguish myself, and build a business based upon the [mortgage] club sentiment, which is, people first.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Change is inherently hard for people, and I’m not one that always does spectacular with change but I will say, a positive attitude and goal-oriented perspective goes a long way. The real estate industry comes with more than a few twists and turns and mortgage specifically is not an easy “clock in and clock out” position. Leaving Oracle and the safety it provided for a job that is 100% commission undoubtedly takes the cake for a “bumpy road”. Not to mention, my first day on the job mortgage rates were around 3.3% and now our national average is closer to 6.875%, which some might argue is the biggest struggle in our current market. However, the job wouldn’t be as rewarding if there wasn’t a few challenges along the way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in helping people obtain financing for purchasing and refinancing homes as a mortgage consultant at Edina Realty Mortgage. The biggest difference between myself and other mortgage consultants in the industry is how I connect and communicate with my agents and buyers. I am most proud of ‘the [mortgage] club’ brand that was established in January of 2024 because it has given me a platform to be creative, authentic, and provide market knowledge that speaks to consumers in a nuanced way. If you want to learn more about ‘the [mortgage] club’, visit @the.mortgage.club on Instagram!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I am the youngest of 4 girls and we grew up on a hobby farm with chickens, pigs, donkeys, horses, you name it! My fondest memories as a kiddo would be getting into trouble on the farm with my sisters. It was never a dull moment, and as an adult, I’ve grown to immensely appreciate how much my parents gave up to allow us girls to grow up on 40 acres with all the animals we wanted. It’s a very special place to call home.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.edinarealtymortgage.com/mortgageconsultant/saraherickson
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.mortgage.club/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahEricksonMortgage/
Image Credits
Jenny Loew – https://jennyloewphotography.com/
Georgia Anderson – https://www.instagram.com/georgiaparks/?hl=en
