Forty Under 40: Jodie Stafford
by January 1, 2005 12:00 am 131 views
Jodie Stafford, 37, said she always knew she wanted to go into real estate.
After all, she grew up in the 47-year old family business that includes Sweetser Construction and Arkansas Self-Storage.
“This is what we do and hopefully our children will do this, even on a grander scale,” Stafford said.
She attended New Mexico State University for four years and came home in 1990 to get her real estate license. She’s been with Sweetser ever since.
She calls her dad, Jerry Sweetser, her mentor. She’s proud of the fact the firm manages everything it owns. Sweetser has about 1,000 multi-family units in its control.
Stafford earned her HVAC license in 1999. She said that was one of her greatest achievements, along with balancing work and her life as a mother of four. Along with Denise Anderson, Stafford co-owns Sassy & Chic LLC, a home-based furnishings business.
If she had to offer advice to up-and-comers, it would be: “be fair.”
“I won’t ask someone to do something I haven’t done before,” Stafford said.
Stafford spent 11 years serving on The New School board. She is also a sustainer in The Junior League of Northwest Arkansas and a graduate of Leadership Fayetteville.