By Janey Tate
Asia Cunningham makes being a boss mom look easy and fun, but she admits it’s a lot of work, but it’s work she wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Cunningham is one of the top realtors at Elite Realty Partners and the owner of Styled by AC, an online children’s clothing store.
This journey to being a female boss began for Asia 3 years ago when she decided to take her destiny into her own hands. She made the sacrifice to give up her career as a massage therapist– for a new life and path
“I got into real estate in 2015 when I got pregnant with my daughter. I was about to start motherhood soon and my daughter was going to need all of my time,” she said. “So I decided to give up my career of being a massage therapist for 7 years and took on the journey of becoming a real estate agent.”
For Cunningham, her start in real estate wasn’t picture perfect but she said she was determined to not give up.
“They say your first year is the toughest, and the first company I linked with wasn’t the best for me. I worked with them for a year and half and literally accomplished nothing,” said Asia, who’s now been a realtor going on three years.
In 2019, she did some research and found Elite Realty Partners and after meeting the owner, she knew the company was a good fit. She said a main driver for that is working in a diverse atmosphere.
“I fell in love with this company. I love everything about it. I felt so at home and the number one thing for me was that they catered to African American customers– people who look like you and I. And the majority of our realtors are African American,” said Cunningham who specializes in residential real estate as well as Luxury, commercial, industrial properties.
Asia has been smashing her sales goals and aims to place 50 people in new homes this year. Savvy with social, she uses technology and her large social media following to attract new customers. However, for her this work is more than just selling homes. This is something deeper because she truly connects with her clients.
“I love the outcome of taking someone from living in a certain place and helping them to live someplace better. It’s more than just the home, it’s the schools in the area — a better life for the kids, better surroundings. To see the impact it has on their lives and their future; that makes me proud,” said Cunningham who also noted that she is willing to work all people and from all backgrounds.
“I don’t discriminate. Whether you’re a buyer or a renter, I’m going to put the same passion into my work with you. You chose me to be your realtor, and you chose me for a reason. I’m not going to be lazy towards you.”
One focus of Elite Realty Partners is their mission to help more Black people become home owners and have more investments.
“We basically want people to elevate in life,” said Asia. “People look at us and stereotype us. If we have people beginning to invest, they can ultimately leave their kids properties and that’s a good start to generational wealth.”
The company’s mission helped to motivate Asia to get into real estate.
“This company helped to put the fire behind my passion,” she said.
When Cunningham is not passionately working with clients and closing on properties, she’s running her online retail business making sure kids look stylish and fly.
“The fire behind this company is having a daughter and me becoming a mom. Everything I do is because of her. She motivated me to work for myself. I never thought I’d be selling kids clothing,” said Asia who calls her daughter Asytn style muse and her own personal doll that she loves to dress up in cute clothing.
“I have always liked fashion. I started this by creating her company creating little hair bows. Eventually I wanted something more than that. We always got so many compliments when we went out. People wanted to know where I got this and where I got that,” said Cunningham about the comments she would get on her daughter clothing. “I said you know what, I love this so much, let me go into business and start selling kids clothing. Since I was getting so many inquiries, I decided to become one of the places where they could shop for their kids clothing.”
In June 2019, Asia officially launched Styled By AC, she she offers cute affordable clothing for toddlers up to sizes 5T. She also offers styling services for parents who want a little extra help making sure their child’s looks are pulled together just right.
“Even though I have a daughter it’s just not for little girls. I style little boys too,” she said.
Her fashionable looks she’s put together for her daughter have raked up thousands of likes on social media and has made her a sought after kid stylist.
“I love boosting a child’s confidence. Just from what they were it determines how they feel. So if I’m able to make these kids feel better about themselves; to build a kids confidence based on what they are wearing makes me feel a lot better,” she said.
Cunningham also aims to keep her looks affordable. All of her items cost $25 or lower. With the purchase of an outfit she gives free bows as a gift. She believes fashion is about how you style a look and not just about pricey designer item thrown together.
Moving forward Cunningham aims to become a real estate broker and eventually an investor. As for Styled by AC, she plans to open brick and mortar locations in various locations across the country. She hopes the company becomes a big brand name in kids clothing. However, Asia’s main plan is to keep a clear focus.
“Right now my focus is on Styled By AC and Real Estate,” she said. “I’m not trying to juggle so much at once because you start to lose focus when you are trying to juggle too many things at once. I’m going to perfect what I’m doing now and in the future who knows where I’ll be.”
For more information follow @Asia_theRealtor to connect with her in regards to Real Estate. To buy clothing or styling services visit Styled by AC.
Follow Hy-Lo News Editor-in-Chief on Twitter @Janey_Tate, Facebook and Instagram.
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