As owner of the Lavelle Group with @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, Stefanie Lavelle has built a thriving real estate business by saying yes to essentially every opportunity to generate a new client, partnership, listing or sale. The housing crash of 2009 to 2012 taught her to focus on daily business activities, not outcomes.

“I dug in and did all the business no one wanted,” Lavelle recalls. “I helped investor clients rent their places. I did a ton of painful short sales, and once the market improved, I had secured all of those clients for life.” One of those clients purchased a $2 million new construction condominium a few years ago.

Lavelle has been selling real estate in the city and its northern suburbs for 22 years. She grew up on the North Shore and has lived on the North Side of Chicago for the past 26 years. A former corporate interior designer, she chose a career in real estate after Sept. 11 halted demand for high-rise office redesigns. Her father suggested she earn a real estate license and introduced her to an industry contact. The rest is history.

Operating a 90%-plus referral-based business, Lavelle has a reputation for delivering smooth transactions and securing the best price in record time. Her operations team includes a full-time director and two showing agents, but she personally ensures clients are well supported throughout the process.

“My business is not a revolving door, uncertain of who is walking through it,” Lavelle says. “I am the sole person in contact with each of our clients. I do the weekly calls, all of the negotiations and marketing decisions. When someone hires me, they really get 100% me.”

A mom of three young children, Lavelle is proud to show her kids the “strength and capabilities that we have as women” by balancing family and career.