Name: Julia Davis

Title: Managing Partner, Founder

Company Name: RIOT PR, LLC 

Years in real estate: 20+

How have you navigated obstacles to achieve success in your career? The biggest has been my own internal drive. As a rising female executive in an all-male engineering environment, and in my career forging my own company since 2001, you stay away from second guessing yourself. No matter how difficult or insurmountable outside factors have been (including two recessions), I have never given up. It’s just not in my DNA. And, checking your gut. If you listen to your inner voice, your own gut feeling, and you connect with it every day, on each deal, on every single client contract, every new endeavor, it will never steer you wrong. “To thine own self be true,” – there is nothing more powerful.

How do you play your strengths to your advantage in your career? Strength comes in knowing what you are good at, and in knowing how to pull in employees and partners who have strengths that augment your own. I am lucky to have been associated with incredible people, including my clients. I leverage three strengths: writing, relationships, and mentoring. The guiding thought is – I am not here to be served – I am here to serve. I help whenever the opportunity presents itself. When you mentor people to be their best selves, you get that back two-fold over time. I’ve had the good fortune of working with some of the most incredible people in the business.

What trends are you seeing so far this year? The economy keeps chugging along. Growth continues. I worry about a residential ‘glut’ looming in the market but there seems to be no slow-down in population growth and in people wanting to live in the bigger cities. I am confident this strong eonomy will continue at least through 2017.

What do you do for fun? Hiking, biking, and being totally unplugged. I have an Adirondack Great Camp on a lake in the wilderness. This year I will climb higher peaks there – you have to push yourself to really achieve.