Meet Danielle Boling | Owner/Principal Broker – Network Real Estate Partners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Boling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’ve always had a passion for real estate. I grew up in Oak Park, Illinois down the street from the famous Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio. I learned about hidden doorways, stained glass windows, prairie style architecture and ginkgo trees by the age of seven. I was taught that a home’s style should vary just like people do, and that when a home is built, it should add to the environment and be in harmony with it. These were some of Wright’s philosophies, along with his theory that “every great architect is – necessarily -a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his day, his time, his age.” These ideologies stuck with me throughout my life and have always helped me envision my career through a creative light. I see myself as an entrepreneur, first and foremost. Second, I am a business owner. The latter is where the left brain gets to take center stage, and is where I make financial decisions, formulate negotiation strategies, and plan for the future of the company and its expansion. I constantly work to ensure sustainability in an ever-changing market and grow the brokerage carefully – hiring and training only the absolute best people in a sea of many. I create and balance budgets, forecast, and generate revenue. These tasks are necessary. However, the right brain activities are what really ruffle my truffle. Choosing a company name, a logo, branding colors, and tagline were first steps decades ago when I first began. Building websites, hiring a team of like-minded people, and finding different and unique ways to market properties came next. Learning every intricacy of the homebuilding process over many years of onsite sales with local and national builders was another piece to the puzzle. Spending time with interior designers and working in design galleries alongside them taught me how to help clients make their custom color and option selections. Watching architects draw dream homes on butter paper and then seeing them come alive during the construction stages was fascinating. Then there’s my favorite part of what I do – simply listening to what my clients want and finding the best match to that wish list that I possibly can. Being an integral part of one of the biggest life decisions people will ever make is a huge responsibility, a great privilege, and a very gratifying process!

Another passion of mine is writing. I am starting my new blog site www.thebohemianbroker.com this year, which will give me another creative outlet. My goal with that is to reach “my people” – fellow creatives, artists, bloggers, designers, and anyone interested in seeing this crazy world through eyes that appreciate the beauty in the everyday. Some days you have to search for it a little harder, but it’s always there. Other times, you’ll stumble upon magic without even trying. I get to choose the subject every time I begin to write, and there’s something invigorating about being able to commandeer the direction of a topic that you choose, and then create human interaction around that.

Danielle is in the final months of earning her master’s degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. As her thesis, she is currently working on a creative nonfiction memoir that highlights anti-racism through the lens of a cross-cultural friendship that spans over thirty years.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My real estate brokerage firm Network Real Estate Partners, is now in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, and Chicago. Years ago, I interviewed and was offered a high-level role with a well-known national brokerage firm. The managing broker stopped midway through the interview and said “Danielle, you’re a free spirit.” She recognized something about me that I didn’t yet realize about myself in early adulthood, and she was right. I didn’t fit the typical corporate mold and I wanted to create my own vision. I wanted to wake up every day knowing that my success would be the fruit of my chosen focus, my direct effort, and that it would be without a ceiling. I don’t like following scripts, being limited creatively or financially, or having to conform to someone else’s standards. I learn something new every day. Sometimes the lessons are very hard, and they aren’t appreciated until much later upon careful reflection. I’ve gleaned strength through struggle, and wisdom from maturity and experience, like most people. I have overcome challenges by remaining hopeful. This helped me through the recession several years ago, when days felt like weeks and foreclosures and short sales were the norm. People were suffering financial hits from every angle and we all felt it. Hope has helped me during this pandemic too. Hope mixed with creativity and a pinch of amassed resilience. I always look for ways to see the good in people, and the opportunity in a difficult situation. Failure only comes from quitting. I believe in the collective good and in surrounding myself with my tribe. Inspiring, creative folks. I want people to know that generosity of spirit is a trait that comes naturally to me, and one that I look for in others. It’s the way we collaborate, the way we build together, and the way we are hopefully remembered.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Bishop Arts District! It’s invigorating and inspiring. There’s a definite following with this locale, and it’s not a “hidden gem” anymore – it’s popular. That said, it still maintains an eclectic and chill neighborhood vibe that is rich with music, international cuisine, and vibrant art. Think wall murals and photo ops, jazz at Revelers Hall, and the best gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches or tapas you’ve ever experienced. Then add craft cocktails at a secret speakeasy and a play at the Kessler. I’m always entranced by hot summer nights in Dallas, where one can sit underneath fairy lights on a moonlit rooftop patio, listen to velvety jazz fusion, and sip on a smoked rosemary old fashioned. You’ll remember why life is so great – real quick!
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother Betty Jean Hoaglund, is a revered artist who also owned a successful executive search firm that she built from the ground up (see the left-brain/right-brain theme again?) Not a day goes by that I don’t realize how lucky I am to have learned from her, and to have her as an extraordinary role model who never gives up and always gives back.

Website: http://www.networkrealestatepartners.com

Instagram: danielleboling_realtor

Twitter: @danielle_boling

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielleanastasiaboling

Other: Blog: http://www.thebohemianbroker.com

Image Credits
Andrew Knowles, AJK Images