Austin Woman Magazine:
“Marathon Runners Make Good Realtors - by Christine Cox”
Luisa Mauro and Tausha Carlson are both 30 years old and only four days apart in age. Mauro (“the oldest”) is a UT graduate; Carlson, an Aggie. Mauro is single; Carlson, married, and both are dedicated runners who don’t find it the least bit unusual that at only 30 they own their own company, Marathon Real Estate.
“We have other friends who own businesses, and our parents were great role models who inspired us to go in an entrepreneurial direction,” explains Carlson. “My mother owns and runs four businesses, including a farm equipment business and a convenience store (and incidentally needs very little sleep) and Luisa’s father owns two restaurants.” Indeed, Mauro’s father owns the successful Carmelo’s Restaurants in Dallas and Austin, and has been a great source of encouragement to her along the way, even though it’s meant Mauro wouldn’t be able to help out much with the restaurants anymore.
Carlson, who has a master’s in food science, confides that she always envisioned herself as a business owner, but only ‘someday’ in her 60s, as part of a retirement plan. “But then,” she explains, “When Luisa and I started running together, the ideas to do something now began to germinate.” Carlson says she originally thought she and her husband would do something together, but when it came down to it, he really liked the security of a job that comes with benefits and a 401K. “So, when you’re on a run for four hours with someone, you tend to cover a lot of topics!” Carlson explained.
Finally, one day, Mauro, who has a bachelor’s in business administration, called for a “sit down” meeting with Carlson – which took place at Central Market. That’s where the informal planning for the business they would open together began.
“Having your own business is a lot like being dedicated to and focused on running, says Mauro. “You have control over how fast you will go, or grow, in the case of business, and you have to be disciplined and committed to go the distance,” explained Mauro. “You don’t wake up everyday and say, ‘oh, I wanna go to the gym.’ But through persistence, you achieve goals. And that’s how we believe you have to be to run a successful business.” It’s obvious that running for these women has been the impetus for achievement and direction in their lives.
“I started running in junior high,” said Carlson, “but began running marathons at 19.” Mauro got hooked on running later than Carlson, but now runs several marathons a year.
“I have decided to commit to one a year,” Carlson tells Mauro. “I have to limit my obsession,” she laughs. Mauro is noticeably impressed with Carlson’s decision.
As for triathlons, “I’m scared of drowning,” Carlson says, only half-kidding. “I have a friend who just did a triathlon, and got kicked in the face on the swim and broke her jaw.”
“Yes, I’ll just stick to running,” agrees Mauro. “If you need to stop when you’re running or biking, you can – but swimming – well, it’s sink or swim. I don’t like that idea at all!”
Speaking of sinking or swimming, comparing a business relationship to dating is another way for Mauro to express her love for this work. “There’s an adrenaline rush, much like running, just like dating. Waiting for the phone call – wondering what your new client is thinking, if they’re going to call and ask you to go see houses – it’s just like when you first start dating someone. Then, when you’re actually representing the seller or the buyer, there’s a lot of adrenaline about the sale. When things are not busy enough, we start craving that chemical rush that comes with selling someone something so personal.”
Carlson confides, “When we first started out, we had to open a joint bank account, and Luisa was a little tentative because she’d never had a bank account with anyone before. But, we communicate well, and a lot, so it’s a lot like my marriage! Luisa reminds me of my husband, the way she thinks about things carefully before she finally says out loud what she’s decided. I talk out loud to process my final decision or feelings. We balance one another out well.”
These women seem to agree on most everything, and so they explained further how they see their business for the future.
“We want to grow slowly,” explains Carlson “and only hire people who have the same standards as we do, people that will fit in with our culture, and what we believe in. Every week we meet and have a planning meeting. We would like to stay small. I envision this company as an intimate, boutique firm, so that we can give our clients the personal attention they need.”
“And we want to have a good team environment, not competitive and cutthroat, but where our staff is supportive of one another,” agrees Mauro. Both women are aware that this is a business that can be quite acrimonious. They appear unflappable, nevertheless.
With over 9,000 registered realtors in this area, one wonders if these two young professionals are concerned about the competition. “It’s the 80-20 theory,” Mauro explains confidently. “Probably only 20 percent of those people are actually practicing, and Austin is growing so much right now, there’s enough business to go around.”
As for the controversy over the speed of growth in this town, Mauro and Carlson believe that the leaders of the city have done a great job so far of balancing growth and making sure we maintain and parks and public spaces. “Hopefully,” Mauro added, “our future leaders will continue to do the same. Texas’ growth is huge in general, and I can understand why some people are upset about certain aspects of that growth. But since we won’t be able to stop it, we may as well embrace it and hopefully help see that it’s done right.”
No doubt, that’s also a part of the future plan for Marathon Real Estate, with these two formidable young women “running” the show.