A chance encounter with a stranger changed the course of Ami Bumia’s career. An outside sales rep for an electronics company, Bumia was approached by a Realtor who asked what she did for a living and had her describe a typical day on the job. Immediately she concluded: “You don’t like your job. You should become a Realtor.” Bumia giggled and wanted to know why. “Because you can’t teach your kind of talent,” she says.

A year later, Bumia followed up with the Realtor and embarked on a new career. Bumia, vice president of sales at Fulton Grace Realty, is a Certified Negotiation Expert who ranked among the top 1 percent of Realtors for the Chicago Association of Realtors in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Now, she shares the knowledge she’s gained with other agents.

“While I loved working with my buyers and sellers, I now spend my days coaching and mentoring the brokers at Fulton Grace,” she says. “Stepping into this new role was exciting and challenging at the same time. I was what I hadn’t been in a very long time — a beginner. What I learned is that the beginner’s mind is an open mind, and an open mind innovates.”

She jumped right into her new role, creating an eight-week course for new brokers to understand what happens in a transaction from start to finish. “It really helps prepare them for working with buyers and sellers,” she says. “As agents, we often get caught up in our heads and that prevents us from taking action to be our better selves. No matter where you are in your life or career, take the next step to see what happens. Dare to do something different and give yourself the chance to see what is possible.”

In client testimonials, the resounding theme is that Bumia keeps it real. “I don’t tell them what they want to hear,” she says. “I tell them what they need to hear in order to get their desired outcome. I’m dedicated, strategic, and I do it with integrity.”

She sums up her journey from sales rep to Realtor to broker coach/mentor with seven words: Aim for passion and respect your fear.