Daily Inspiration: Meet Karen Ulinski

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Ulinski

Hi Karen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Perhaps the easiest way is to start from where I am today and go backwards.

I am a Business Development Manager for Pioneer Title Agency, the largest privately owned title company in Arizona. PTA has been my home for 3 years, although I have been in the real estate industry for 15 years. The past 10 years I have been in business development and prior to that I was a residential real estate agent. As a Business Development Manager, I assist real estate agents and lenders with the systems and processes of their businesses as well as offer marketing support.
The core team I work with have been my teammates for 10 years. We were all unhappy at our previous company and were first interviewed together, as a group. My teammates had previously worked with our current VP/Area Manager, Tom Davis, but I was meeting him for the first time. As he shared information about Pioneer Title Agency, he told me about the owner’s love for Arizona and his support for every community throughout the state. Pioneer Title Agency offers escrow discount rates for public servants and other groups of people, higher than most title companies. As the daughter of a retired fire fighter, my antenna went up with curiosity. Tom shared that Pioneer Title Agency has been the Key Sponsor of the Arizona Fire School since 2012, an organization who provides scholarships and support to our rural fire fighters.
I was sold!
I’ve had the honor of attending the past two opening ceremonies for the Arizona Fire School and have been able to provide sponsorships to fundraisers on behalf of Pioneer Title Agency. I was even able to have a collaboration t-shirt with State Forty Eight approved.
One of our Core Values is to “Leave things better.” We do this in many ways, putting our customers and state first while sometimes making decisions that are not best for business but are best for people.
Some of the opportunities I have as a Business Development Manager for Pioneer Title Agency is that I get to help professionals in the real estate industry freshen up their business skills, learn new business skills, and connect them with other professionals who they can collaborate with to grow their businesses. We have a state full of Escrow Officers to choose from to pair them with for the best fit.
I arrived in Arizona in 2010 by way of Las Vegas. My real estate career began there in 2009 by working REO accounts for asset managers. I sold foreclosures.
Prior to that I was working as the Customer Experience Manager for Victoria’s Secret at Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas. What a wild time!
I moved to Las Vegas in 2007 from Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. became my home in 2004 when I left my home state of New York.
Business and Community are my priorities. I learned service from my father and business from the retail industry.
Growing up in Upstate, NY I was pretty sheltered and did not have many career opportunities. After graduating from SUNY Cortland in 1997, I was struggling to land a job in my major, Communications. So, I continued to work at Victoria’s Secret where I had worked during college. Then, in 2000, a Swedish clothing company, H&M, came to the United States, NY specifically. I applied, was hired, and on an airplane heading to Sweden within a month. We worked overseas to learn their culture. This experience was pivotal to me. I had never been to Europe before, never even thought of Sweden. I worked there for a total of 6 weeks. My mind was opened to different ways of life, to different types of people, to different fashion. I assisted in opening new stores during their heavy expansion era and moved with H&M to Washington, D.C.
My childhood was not full of butterflies or rainbows; I lived the first 46 years of my life in survival mode. Now, at 49, I am able to be carefree and childlike. Trust in myself can be seen in every decision I make. Including decisions to say no, I do that quite often. I am comfortable saying no to whomever, regardless of their title or status or any other factor. People are people. I treat people according to how they show up. Not how they show up on their best days or their worst days, but how they show up consistently. We all have good days and bad days, we are not robots and that would be so boring! How a person shows up consistently is what I accept, what I expect. That allows me to navigate accordingly and keep moving in a forward direction. I enjoy bringing others with me in that forward direction. But my rule is this: No drama and no distractions. I attract wonderful people; vulnerable people, funny people, sad people, all types of people! At the same time, I also repel people. People who are not comfortable being challenged, people who are not comfortable making mistakes, people who are parked at stop. But I keep moving forward, I wish them well and leave them parked there. There is a lot of stuff to get done!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I was not set up for success. As a child, I received very little encouragement and was not provided tools to succeed. As a result, I learned not to rely on others for motivation. Or anything else, really. Unfortunately, I also learned how to be a people pleaser and felt like I needed to be perfect in order to earn everything. There was no seat at the table for me, I wasn’t even in the room. For many years I chased people’s approval and waited for permission to move.
That created struggles.

This became my fuel, though! One day I woke up and decided to be happy and healthy Despite everything!

Regardless of the industry a person works in, confidence and trust in yourself is a requirement. I had to shed the unhealthy thoughts and behaviors that created limitations for myself. Then I filled that space with new, healthy thoughts and behaviors.

I hope I don’t jinx myself, but I can’t imagine future “struggles” to be as difficult as what I have already worked through. My personal struggles were often far worse than my professional struggles. Since they are intertwined, living a healthy and happy personal life equates to having a healthy and happy professional life. This realization has helped me learn to pause and make better decisions.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Having worked in residential real estate for so long, I specialize in providing business development support for residential real estate agents. Since Pioneer Title Agency provides all types of services, I recently stepped into the commercial side of real estate. I am enjoying learning the differences and meeting people who focus on commercial real estate.

I am known for being different, not being typical. My approach to business is straightforward and fast paced. Often, people over promise and underdeliver. When I say I am going to do something I do it! Unless something comes up then I will communicate that. I hold others to the same standard.
I’ve become ok with leaving business on the table if a person isn’t a fit. I pay attention to discover who a person is and picture us working together. What does my gut say?
I’m proud to be able to be selective in choosing who to work with. Especially in a time where business has not been as good as it used to be. I still go with my gut every time. Quality over quantity.
My customers bring joy to me! They make me feel proud of them and proud to be on their team. There is a fit for everyone.

How do you think about luck?
There is no such thing as good luck or bad luck. As adults, we either create opportunities for ourselves or we create limitations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pioneertitleagency.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenarizonazrealestate/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenulinski/