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Betty Steele's tenacity, compassion, honesty and entrepreneurial drive have made her one of the top real estate agents in San Diego's North County. Betty, who moved from Houston, Texas to the funky beach town of Leucadia, Calif. in 1969 at the age of 18, immediately began making a name for herself. In 1970, she opened a health food store on Coast Hwy 101 in Leucadia. During the next two years, she would open a health food restaurant in Leucadia, called Bear Rabbit and The Tar Baby, which she eventually sold.
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During the late 1970's, Betty and her husband Pat Steele - a veteran roofing contractor who owns Seaside Roofing and surfer whom she met at the beach - bought a half-acre lot in Solana Beach. Since the Steeles didn't know anything about subdividing the parcel or about land use, Betty decided to take a real estate class. Betty, who went the extra mile in taking classes like appraisal, land use development and marketing, earned a real estate license the next year. Betty knows the power and reward of hard work - The mother of two worked three jobs while studying for her license. Her new career would allow her to earn a good living while having quality time with her children.
During one of her real estate marketing classes, Betty was taught to be unique in her approach to sales. So, on a hot Santa Ana day before Easter, she rented a rabbit suit and went door to door in a Cardiff condo complex and handed out candy, along with her business card. Betty, who instantly nabbed a listing and a sale, knew she would be a successful realtor, so she quit her other jobs to sell real estate full time. Betty wanted to set herself apart from her competition, so she earned her broker's license, and received additional real estate credentials through the Graduate REALTOR Institute (GRI). A GRI title, similar to a CPA title for an accountant, is one of the most nationally respected and prestigious professional titles in the country. According to a national survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors, GRI graduates are the top performers in most real estate offices and earn at least 35 percent more than non-GRI graduates.
Betty, whose sales areas include Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Cardiff, Encinitas and Leucadia, has won numerous awards for top sales person and listing agent. Although she continues to be a top seller, Betty is more motivated by happy clients.
The award-winning realtor not only cares about her clients but also about her community. Betty has served as the president of the Del Mar/Solana Beach Sunrise Rotary Club; president of the Local Networking Group; and was a co-founder of San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a national non-profit organization that provides education and resources to clean up our beaches and coastal waterways. Most recently she has co-founded the Cardiff chapter of the Blue Thong Society, a women’s volunteer society.
Betty's two sons are also heavily involved and well known in the surf industry - Cody is a professional surfer and entrepreneur; and Taylor is an accomplished surf videographer who owns Poor Specimen, a film and video production company, and Steel House Inc., a sports distribution firm. |
