Forty Under 40: Carter Clark

Carter Clark took a leap of faith in 2003, opening a realty company before he possessed a real estate license, but with $54.2 million in 2006 sales volume, it’s proven a good leap.

His partner taught him about real estate, but Clark feels his personal drive has also contributed to his success. “My competitive spirit gets going.” His biggest challenge has been dealing with people who don’t take him seriously because of his age.

He enjoys helping people be successful. He said, “very few people leave [our company], and I attribute it to the atmosphere in our office.” In 2006, those people increased production more than 390 percent, he said.

Clark said taking on larger transactions also helped grow the firm. “They take a lot longer and you really can’t do them as a new company.” In 2006, he personally handled $14.19 million in sales volume, including a $9.8 million deal.

A native of Springfield, Mo., Clark stayed in Northwest Arkansas after graduating from the University of Arkansas in 2003 with his bachelor’s in small business and entrepreneurship and a bachelor’s in finance.

Clark likes to network at sporting events and is a basketball fan. In fact, he was a walk-on Razorback on the basketball team in 1999-2000.