Learning and teaching

COLDWELL BANKER ADVANTAGE'S LISA GEDDIE SHARES LESSONS LEARNED FROM HER PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY

From salon owner to president of the largest real estate company in our area, Lisa Geddie has proven herself a talented business woman with a myriad of skills. After being promoted within Coldwell Banker Advantage to her current role of President of the Sandhills Region in October of 2022, Geddie now heads up the #1 Coldwell Banker in the state of North Carolina and the #3 Coldwell Banker in the entire nation, according to the company’s website.

Coldwell Banker Advantage’s recent achievements under her leadership include being named a Chairman’s Club and President’s Club Award winner by Anywhere Leads for its outstanding performance in 2022.

Before getting her real estate license, and starting her nearly 18 year tenure with Coldwell Banker Advantage, Geddie shared that she was a cosmetologist and a salon owner for about 15 years.

Once she got her real estate license, Geddie immediately went to work for Coldwell Banker. From there she put in the time and effort to move on up in the company ranks. She became a manager for one of the smaller offices in 2010 before she moved up to director of operations a couple of years later. Further down the road she was promoted to general manager, then to senior vice president, and then to the title she currently holds which is President of the Sandhills Region.

Though the transition from salon owner to real estate agent might seem surprising to some, Geddie explained some of the ways in which she’d been exposed to real estate work throughout her life. “...I am a second generation realtor, so it always had been in my blood, I guess. And my husband and I invested in some rental properties and did a few flips prior to me getting my real estate license…” stated Geddie.

Geddie shared that skills she’d developed as a business owner served her well in her new roles.

“...my prior experience in managing different hair stylists—you have different personalities, and everybody works at their own pace—so that sort of I think placed me in a good position in order to be able to manage independent contractors,” said

Geddie.

In addition to being self-driven, Geddie recognizes the importance of learning from those around you and those that have experience doing what you want to do.

“…you have to seek people out that have been successful and try to spend as much time as you can to gain the knowledge that they’re willing that I had any barriers in front of me. I’ve always had a very purposeful mindset,” said Geddie. “I guess I have never thought about what could be viewed as an obstacle the same way as others might. Gender, age, nationality, etc. I know that it is in my nature to show others through my actions and how I respond to situations that all things can be worked through if that everyone I have crossed paths with has taught me something. (Good or not so good.) I tend to focus on the good,” shared Geddie.

Another element to success is this idea of growing where you are planted. Geddie spoke on how important it is to take advantage of the opportunities you are given.

“For me it has been less about my various career positions or titles, but about showing up and learning from whoever or wherever I was afforded the opportunity to participate. Whether it be serving on various boards or my involvement with my church, or my day to day obligations and responsibilities with my work family,” added Geddie.

One woman who inspires Geddie is Dolly Parton. Parton’s giving spirit and authenticity are characteristics Geddie admires in this woman who went from living in a house with no plumbing to being one of the most respected women in her industry. A quote from Parton that rings true for Geddie is “You never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”

Within the real estate industry, Geddie shared that she has been inspired by Lori Arnold, owner of Coldwell Banker Apex in Texas. “She’s been a big help to me as far as sharing her knowledge and experiences.” to share with you, and most people throughout my life have been very willing to share their knowledge and experiences with me. I think you mold yourself after those that you've been around…”

When asked to share a piece of advice to young professionals navigating the workforce, Geddie said this: “I think it would be “sometimes it’s best to tune out and not tune in.” Geddie’s advice encourages people to be careful not to get too wrapped up in the 24/7 news reports and to focus on the goals they have and take the steps necessary to achieve them.

Geddie is grateful for the professional journeys she has been on and enjoys what she’s able to accomplish through her work.

Geddie shared that she’s always trusted that she was capable of achieving her goals. “I never did feel we listen to understand not to just respond.”

Geddie attributes her positive outlook and the success she has earned largely to her faith. “My faith has always been my foundation. I know that I am just an ordinary person that trusts God to do the extraordinary in my life and those around me. I know

“The greatest joy I receive is knowing that I can share with others to help them grow and prosper with the experiences and knowledge that have been given to me by those that have been so gracious to share with me. Every season in life is preparing me for something, I just have to embrace it and wait for the transformation,” concluded Geddie.

>> By Faith Hatton

From ITALY, page 1

I was nine years old bussing tables, so I feel like I have been working my whole life,” shared Scibilia. She learned firsthand the ins and outs of the restaurant industry from her father who opened his first restaurant in Winston Salem before relocating to Fayetteville in the late 1980s where he opened his second restaurant.

“He opened up a restaurant called Valentino's on Bragg Boulevard, used to be Empire Steakhouse; it seated over 350 people,” recalled Scibilia. “And I guess I just stayed, you know, I moved maybe a couple times throughout my life, but I ended up coming back. It's like a city that just kind of pulls you in, in a way, it's kind of weird.”

Scibilia has come a long way since opening her first restaurant, Roma Pizza, at age 19 in Buies Creek. Her restaurant resume includes opening a second Roma Pizza location on Person Street and opening the Little Italy Pizzeria and Restaurant franchise before shifting gears to an entirely new career.

“I left there [Little Italy] in 2012 and I felt like I wanted to do something different because I've always been in the restaurant business,” said Scibilia. “And you know, I've been doing this my whole life and I was really scared but I thought ‘I want to try something different and just grow.’ So, I went in, and I got my real estate license, and that was a challenge.”

However, it was only a matter of time before she came back to her passion with a little encouragement and an introduction to her future restaurant space.

“I got into real estate, and I think I was in it for about a year, and then my [current] landlord, he owns a lot of properties on this street, he called me one day and he's like, ‘Have you ever thought about opening something just for yourself?’” recalled Scibilia. “And I was like, ‘No, I don't want to do it anymore,’ but he would not take no for an answer. He just kept on and on and I came and looked at the space, there was nothing here, it was just kind of concrete, and I just envisioned it.”

That vision soon came to life and in 2017, Antonella’s Italian Ristorante opened its doors to customers offering an array of Italian dishes and recipes with a Sicilian twist, a personal touch from Scibilia’s own family legacy.

“Being Sicilian, the recipes are very different, and the recipes have been handed down for many, many years,” shared Scibilia. “We have to make everything fresh literally every day, which is tiring, but it's a good thing, because you are getting fresh quality every time you come and eat. We don't have any of our sauces pre-made except for like our house tomato sauce, which we make daily. So that's another plus because everything is made to order.”

Some of the featured nightly items truly are one of a kind, with Scibilia often custom creating the featured dishes for the day.

“It's funny, because before we open, I don't know what the special is going to be, and then everybody's like, ‘It's five minutes to opening, what's the feature tonight?’ And I'm like, ‘Well, let’s throw this together. What are we going to call it?’ And I start thinking of cities in Italy or Sicily, I might call it Santorini,” said Scibilia. “And it's true, that's how I come up with my feature specials. I'll go back there, and I'll just throw it together in five minutes, and I feel like maybe it’s an art, I guess.”

One of the things Scibilia prides herself in is providing not only delicious, fresh food, but also a memorable dining experience for customers when they come in.

“The decor of the restaurant, I think, was my biggest goal. I think that's very different compared to a lot of restaurants in town. It’s just like, you're not really in Fayetteville, you're somewhere else and that's probably one of the biggest compliments I get all the time, they [customers] love it. You have to see the atmosphere at night. It's very differ- ent, you kind of feel like you're in a really big city and that's what I was shooting for,” said Scibilia.

Scibilia shared that she wouldn’t be anywhere without her staff that help her every night, particularly her youngest son Giancarlo who helps with daily operations and lets her know when to take a step back.

“He’s selfless. He got his college degree in business, and he could probably be doing something else that he would probably enjoy more so because I don’t think he wants to follow in the family footsteps. It’s because without him it would be like, 13-hour days for me, and I wouldn't be able to go home until midnight. And so, a lot of times, it might be nine o'clock, and he's like ‘Mom, go home, I'll close it for you.’ But I don't know how much longer he’s going to want to do it. So as of right now, he's there for me so that's comforting,” shared Scibilia.

Scibilia said that having her name on the building serves as a personal motivator to continue providing food and service she can be proud of.

“It pushes me even more because it's my name up there. I don't think I'm a hard person to work for, I really don't, I just want it done right. Without my customers, I'm not going to be able to open the doors and so it's like you’ve got to give good service, you’ve got to give good quality food,” said Scibilia. “I take a lot of pride in what I do. I’m just blown away because I never ever thought that Antonella’s would be as successful as it is. I thought I would do okay, but my customers are just amazing, and they say such nice things about me. It’s just humbling.” not something that he wants, and I would love to give it to him, but I think he’d rather do something else and, I’m all for it, I support him,” shared Scibilia. “He’s a huge help

Scibilia shared that while there are no plans to expand her restaurant beyond its location on Hay St, she and her staff are considering maybe in person or virtual cooking classes as a way of further connecting with the community in the future.

“And here I am, five and a half years and still going strong. I’ve gotten older and more tired at times, but you know, I’m still here.”