Real Estate Bees: Courtney Poulos’s Success Story

I didn’t set out to become a real estate agent. In fact, my journey began far from open houses and escrows.

I started college at 14, worked in public relations full time by 19, and moved to Los Angeles with dreams of acting.

Like many artists chasing creative passions, I lived paycheck to paycheck, juggling multiple jobs just to stay afloat.

Eventually, I moved to Washington, D.C. and found myself in a secure but deeply unfulfilling editorial role for a federal subcontractor. I knew there had to be more.

One day, I answered a Craigslist ad for a real estate assistant position. That one decision changed everything.

I started working under a powerhouse real estate mentor named Polly Driscoll who not only taught me the technical skills of the trade but also modeled a way of doing business that was relationship-based, not transactional.

She helped me reframe my thinking — from financial survival to long-term investment and financial freedom.

Polly encouraged me to buy my first home. That experience lit a fire in me.

I saw how real estate could be a tool, not just to house people but to build wealth, autonomy, and empowerment. I wanted to help others, especially women, understand that, too.

That’s what led me to launch ACME Real Estate in 2011.

I didn’t just want to be another broker. I wanted to create a real estate brokerage that prioritized design, branding, client experience, and long-term success.

I wanted to change the narrative of what it looks like to be a successful woman in real estate — and to help others do the same.

That’s also why I wrote Break Up! With Your Rental — to share what I’ve learned and encourage more people to take control of their financial futures.

In the beginning of my real estate career, one of the biggest challenges was navigating an industry with no clear roadmap for success.

I was thrown into a commission-only world where there was no safety net — no paycheck unless you closed a deal.

That kind of pressure is intense when you’re just starting out and trying to learn everything at once.

Another challenge was building a network from scratch. I didn’t have a family pipeline of referrals or a book of business handed to me.

I had to figure out how to earn people’s trust in one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives without a long track record to back me up.

And then there’s the reality of being a woman in a male-dominated business culture. I had to assert my voice in rooms where I was often underestimated or dismissed.

That pushed me to sharpen not just my knowledge but my communication and leadership style as well, so I could command the respect I deserved without compromising who I am.

What helped you to overcome those challenges?

What helped me overcome those early challenges was a combination of time, relentless persistence, and the right mentorship, especially from Polly Driscoll.

Polly was instrumental. She didn’t just teach me the mechanics of real estate. She modeled a completely different mindset.

She showed me how to think long term, how to invest in my own business, and how to treat relationships as the core of a successful career. Her guidance gave me a foundation I didn’t know I needed.

Time also played a role. I had to live through the ups and downs, the rejections, the near-misses, and the small wins that slowly built my confidence.

Experience is a ruthless but effective teacher. With every client interaction, open house, and contract negotiation, I gained a little more clarity and a lot more grit.

And honestly, I just kept showing up. I stayed committed even when it was hard, even when I didn’t know where the next deal was coming from. I kept learning, adjusting, improving.

That persistence, combined with Polly’s mentorship and the lessons that only time can teach, helped me break through.

Eventually, I found my voice, my style, and my value. That’s what allowed me to not only succeed but to create a business and a brand that others could trust and be inspired by.

What was the most stressful challenge you had to overcome during your career?

At one point in my career, my client, a very popular renovation artist with whom I had about 10 deals in the pipeline, called me and said he was giving all the deals to his new fiance, a Realtor.

I was crushed. I was humiliated. I was pissed.

But that horrible experience taught me some important lessons: Keep a distance from your clients, don’t take business personally, one door closing truly does open others (my business immediately multiplied after he pulled that!), and faith in higher power and higher purpose will pull you through the tough times.

The most rewarding part of my career has been helping people transform their lives through real estate, especially women who never saw themselves as homeowners, investors, or financially independent.

There’s something incredibly powerful about watching a client go from fear and hesitation to confidence and ownership — whether it’s buying their first home, flipping a property, or building long-term wealth.

Knowing I played a role in that transformation is deeply fulfilling.

Founding ACME Real Estate was also a huge personal milestone. Creating a brokerage that reflects my values — design-forward, client-focused, and unapologetically independent — has allowed me to build not just a business, but a community.

Seeing the success of our real estate agents, watching them grow into leaders, and knowing that I helped create a platform for that growth — that’s everything.

And finally, mentoring and coaching others has brought things full circle.

Sharing what I’ve learned, speaking on stages, writing Break Up! With Your Rental — these aren’t just accomplishments; they’re ways to multiply the impact.

Helping others see what’s possible for themselves is the legacy I care about most.

Law of attraction and sphere of influence are the most powerful lead generation strategies.

You have to create something unique in your branding or your offering that actually attracts clients to you.

And then make sure to keep strong relationships with the people in your real estate broker CRM software.

AutoReel app – uses AI to turn photos into video in a cool way

Elfsight – easily install widgets on your website

OpusClip – takes long-form content and turns it into short social clips, with real estate SEO and hook evaluation. Easy editing.

Fello – hyperpowers my CRM for realtors (Follow Up Boss)

Canva – puts design truly within reach

What software tools have you tried using in your business but found them not useful?

Cinque – all spam real estate leads, and my firm adopted it at like 10%. Not even sure they are still around.

Blaze.ai – excellent IG marketing, but platform hard to use.

Playing Big by Tara Mohr. This book is an easy read but a true reminder of how our brains can sometimes hold us back from launching into our biggest power.

One time, I was selling real estate in Virginia. I showed up to the listing, and it was like a tweaker murder scene.

The guy who opened the door was shirtless, offered me “lemonade” which he went downstairs (and out of sight) to prepare.

He tried to lure me into the garage where there was a chair set up in the middle of the room and tools on a workshop table.

I was terrified, and literally RAN down the driveway to my car. Trust your instinct. Get out of there!

Take two years to get training. Don’t believe that you know everything just because one broker told you so.

Keep up with the legal forms. READ AND UNDERSTAND CONTRACTS. Figure out your unique value. Stop using templates and don’t let ChatGPT write your descriptions.