Hidden Gems: Meet Paula Bruns

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Bruns

Hi Paula, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Ashley Swogger & I are both native Tennesseans who grew up in small towns (Paula is Centerville, Tennessee Ashley in Lawrenceburg,Tennessee). We didn’t realize it at the time but there were invisble strings already aligning us, as I knew & was friends with Ashley’s cousins growing up. Fast forward to 2012 when Ashley moved in to the house next door to me in Murfreesboro. Our youngest daughters were born 5 months apart in 2013 & remain inseperable as sisters to this day. What started as neighbors doing playdates turned in to sisters doing life together. We bonded quickly with same interests. Our 1st project post babies was to get our health on track. We joined Pure Barre Murfreesboro which we soon coupled with walking on average 20-25 miles a week. We walked & talked and manifested our dreams. We did energy work with a former Nashvillian, Holly Ramey. Covid came in to play & the winds of change blew through leading us both to move from Murfreesboro. With our babies starting school we felt the pull to explore careers that would fulfill us. We initially both landed in Property Management in Nashville & Franklin, Tennessee. We LOVED the people part of the jobs where we individually excelled and helped hundreds of families find new homes. We loved our individual oppurtunities. We obtained a wealth of knowledge from working side by side with some of the countries best real estate minds. While grateful to be working in our manifested offices in some of Nashville’s most striking high rises with sweeping views of the skyline, it became clear to us that our entrpeneurial spirits, skillset and desire to provide the highest levels of customer satisfaction naturally put us on the path to make the move from high level property management to residential home sales. We had both landed back as neighbors, this time in Berry Farms, Franklin, Tennessee. We knew the time was right to team up.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road. Our struggles are not unique at all. It’s the old thought of how do I achieve work/life balance. Adding the the extra job of mom it can truly be a juggling act. Ashley has 3 children & I have 2. We have become masters of time management when it comes to the many hats we wear such as mothers, significant others, realtors, volunteers, etc, etc. We strongly believe that you can do all the things and do them well without losing your physical or mental health in the journey of it all. We have the belief that your life shouldn’t stress you out. That you can & should build a life you love. We have had to leverage our valuable resources of time & money to bet on ourselves. We knew we would win. It took a lot of courage to make the moves we knew we had to. Moving our children & starting all new schools. I think our takeaway looking back is truly to trust your intuition. For us, it has never not worked out.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about We are realtor’s at EXP Realty?
We are realtors that CARE. Customer service is our TOP priority. We specialize in all of middle Tennessee. We know how important a move is to everyone. We have both had less than great personal experiences with our own home buying processes, so we have a special place in our hearts for walking first time home buyers through the process. Loving where you live is a huge part of our overall brand of loving your life. When you sign up with us, you get us both.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
While we are both native Tennesseans we have both made huge moves in our lives. Paula has lived in San Antonio, Texas, as well as, Santa Barbara, California. Ashley has lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. We believe that this puts us in the unique position to understand our clients who are making big moves. We’ve felt ALL those feelings.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://PaulaBruns.exprealty.com
• Instagram: @PaulaBruns_TNRealtor