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Jacksonville Real Producers ~ September 2023 Broker Spotlight ~ Brittany Nolan of DJ & Lindsey Real Estate
September 2023 Broker Spotlight ~ Brittany Nolan of DJ & Lindsey Real Estate
By Michelle Williamson
Photos By Scott Golmic
WHAT’S NEXT?
Brittany Nolan, DJ & Lindsey Real Estate broker, entered real estate young. After her soccer career with Flagler College ended, she found herself at a crossroads. For the first time since she started playing soccer at five years old, she was left with a bunch of time to fill and a friend void (many of her friends were her teammates), and she had to decide what to do next.
Instead of returning home to Osteen, Florida, Brittany worked four jobs in and around St. Augustine while finishing her degree in print journalism at Flagler, and she continued working afterward. She was a bartender at the San Sebastian Winery, a maid at the Casablanca Inn...”I was working all the time,” she says with a laugh. One of her jobs was as an unlicensed assistant to a luxury real estate agent.
Fueled by a strong work ethic and the drive to succeed developed through her parents’ example while growing up, and her sports career, she gave each of her jobs the same dedication she gave soccer and quickly became a key holder, manager, etc. Then, without fail, she wondered, What’s next?
While dating her now husband, Cabe Nolan, Brittany decided to get her real estate license. “I didn’t plan to use it, though,” she says. “I thought I would do more assistant work, and Cabe and I thought we would travel some.” That changed after she got her real estate license and posted her new credential on social media.
Soon after her post, she was approached by DJ & Lindsey about starting a team of agents. “Back then, teams were almost unheard of,” Brittany remembers. “At the time, I was wondering what I would do next,” she says. “I thought I would use my degree. I wrote for Flagler’s magazine and did some other local stuff. I wasn’t anticipating making a career decision that quickly,” she says. “It was more of a ‘Why not try it out and see what happens?’ Real estate looked fun to me.” She was 23 years old at the time.
“I kept my bartending and Surf Station jobs because we were putting all our money into leads initially. I think it was three months before I was working real estate full-time.”
Today, less than a decade later, Brittany leads DJ & Lindsey’s team of 103 agents.
Helping Others and Making an Impact
The most fulfilling aspect of Brittany’s role as broker “is tied into what we [DJ & Lindsey] started originally,” Brittany says. “Most people see the broker role as a manager of the agency, and it is. I still teach the agents, though, with a lot of help. But I take pride in creating good agents that add value in the industry. That remains my number one goal. Obviously, we want to keep money coming in and the business going, but finding good agents in a saturated industry is hard, and it became harder through COVID-19. We kept our same values, though, of being genuine, empathetic, knowledgeable hard workers, and those values are still instilled in our entire company,” Brittany says.
“Not every agent stays, but we still take pride in knowing we created a really good agent and helped them become good at their job. We know we’ll come across them again. That’s fulfilling for us.”
Brittany says their business is run not about “the title or the money; it’s not about ‘me’ at DJ and Lindsey. We help so many people, customers, agents, administrative staff. We always try to help those we encounter to the best of our ability.”
“DJ & Lindsey’s focus is on excellence,” she contin ues. “We have a really high standard. We focus on five stars all the time, which is a good thing.”
At the end of the day, Brittany wants DJ & Lindsey Real Estate to be remembered for their impact on the industry. When they first started about 10 years ago, teams of agents were virtually unheard of. “Back then agents would say things like, ‘You can’t work together,’” Brittany shares. “Now working in teams is common. We had a big impact in this area.”
Brittany remains focused on growing DJ & Lindsey’s agents and their industry impact.
What’s Next?
In the future, Brittany sees DJ & Lindsey expanding into other areas and creating more teams. Personally, she and Cabe just moved into their custom home on Anastasia Island in St. Augustine. The two married in April 2021. Her future goals center around real estate. She and Cabe purchase and renovate homes as short and long-term rental properties. “Cabe takes care of that business,” she says. “When I’m not doing as much real estate, my ultimate goal is owning a boutique hotel on the beach,” she laughs. In fact, the couple is now “making moves on purchasing a hotel.”
Brittany and her husband are also active investors in the newly launched real estate fund, Adira Capital: “A local fund focused on putting investors first as we evaluate deals and bring opportunities to earn passive income to build wealth through real estate,” Brittany explains. DJ and Lindsey Dellasala, along with Luke and Sadie Newcomer of The Newcomer Group, are also active investors in the fund.
When they’re not working, she and Cabe enjoy bik ing, boating, exploring downtown, and adventures with their rescue Labrador, Loki.
When soccer ended, Brittany found herself at a crossroads. “Who knows what could’ve happened. Life could have gotten really rough for me,” Brittany reflects. But she made the decision to work hard, and as Robert Frost wrote at the end of The Road Not Taken, “That has made all the difference.”
We have a really high standard. We focus on five stars all the time, which is a good thing. - Brittany Nolan
