Northwest Arkansas Business Journal 2009 Fast 15: Kristen Grace Boozman

Kristen Grace Boozman, 28
Broker
Portfolio Luxury Real Estate, Rogers

Claim to Fame: Started her own real estate company after working in the business for four years.

Next Step: Expanding the company, eventually into Fort Smith and Little Rock.

For Kristen Boozman, relationships have been the key to success. While working at the Shadow Valley Country Club in college, Boozman met many of the real estate clients she works with today.

“That job helped create some of the most valuable relationships,” she said. “It opened the door to getting to know a lot of people that I wouldn’t otherwise get to meet.”

Boozman, a native of Rogers, got her real estate license while she was majoring in fashion merchandising and apparel studies at the University of Arkansas.

In 2002, she went to work for the Pinnacle Realty Group and stayed there for four years before leaving to work on her dream of starting her own business.

A year later, Boozman started Portfolio Luxury Real Estate.

The company specializes in listing upscale homes with unique qualities, Boozman said

Boozman said her motivation is derived from helping people find a great home.

“My biggest high is getting a client a great deal on a house,” she said.

While she’s not directly using her education in fashion merchandising, Boozman said some of what she studied in school ties into the home staging aspect of her business. By helping clients prepare their home to list on the market, with furniture placement and interior designing, she still gets to use that creative background, she said.

Boozman said she stays connected with clients via the Internet and her BlackBerry, which rarely leaves her side.

“Right now, with just starting the business six months ago, I’m working all the time,” she said. “If I’m not at work, I’m thinking about work, it’s my No. 1 priority right now.”

Boozman also serves on the NARTI Foundation’s board of directors as well as the HomeAid Northwest Arkansas board of directors.

When she’s not working, she’s logging flight time for her pilot’s license and planning her wedding to fiancé Justin Williamson.

George Westmoreland, a Rogers businessman who also serves as Arkansas’ civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, said he’s known Boozman for several years.

“I would describe Kristen as a driven entrepreneur with an extremely bright future,” he said. “She started her own business at age 26 and has been very successful.”

(RELATED: Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s 15 Young Pros on the Fast Track)