LOCAL Houston | The City Guide JUNE 2015 | Page 43

Local June_FinalEDITED.qxp_002houston 5/21/15 7:24 PM Page 43

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

The very first job I had was when I was 7 years old at FULLER’S DRY GOODS
AND HARDWARE STORE – my family’s seed & dry goods store – where I

learned merchandising and selling. It was a great platform for customer
service, learning how to deal with people, and really understanding
that the customer was always right. My first “real job” after college was
teaching school in Austin, but I also worked at Montgomery Ward on
Monday, Thursday and Friday nights after school and all day Saturday
to make extra money when my husband was in law school. And in the
summer of 1962, when school was out, I sold World Book
Encyclopedias door-to-door. I had a very strong work ethic from a very
early age, which has served me well.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO REAL ESTATE?
After teaching school for 15 years, I got into real estate because my
husband became a land developer after law school when we moved to
Houston. Because of his involvement with real estate, we moved several
times – building new houses and remodeling older ones. By the time my
daughter was in the 8th grade, I decided it was time for me to
sell everyone else’s house instead of my own. I finished the
school year in May 1978 and entered the University of Houston in June
where I took every real estate course possible. I didn’t want to take just
the few courses that were required in real estate school. I wanted to
take every course possible. At the end of 1978 I took my real estate test,
and I was licensed. I started working in January 1979. I worked for
another broker here in Houston for about 18 months and then realized
that I wanted to be in charge of my own destiny. I convinced my husband to join me and a good friend of mine to join me, and WE CREATED
TURNER OWENS PROPERTIES.

1967

WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE GOOD AT IT?
Anytime I’ve ever set my mind to do something, I knew I would be good
at it. I never set goals that weren’t attainable. Once I started selling, I
knew I was going to be good at it. One of the greatest backgrounds I
had in sales was teaching. Teaching is a great background for any kind
of sales.

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST BIG SALE? WHAT WAS IT?
In early 1979 I sold a house in Tanglewood for just under $100,000
which was a lot of money at that time.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST SPLURGE?
My first Bottega handbag in 1979, and I’ve been buying them ever
since. I always have the perfect handbag for every outfit.

LOOKING BACK, CAN YOU SHARE A LESSON OR A MOTTO
THAT YOU’VE CARRIED WITH YOU YOUR WHOLE LIFE?

“NEvER, NEvER, NEvER GIvE UP” and ALWAYS surround myself with positive

people. I do not allow myself to be in a crowd of negative people.
That’s why I don’t watch TV – I don’t want to hear all that negativity.

1993
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