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One of the most extraordinary things about having a blog about my community is meeting people that love Rome, Georgia just as much as I do…especially when I meet someone new to the area and get to see Rome through their eyes. Recently my husband and I had the pleasure of meeting Steven Le Noir. He has recently moved to Rome and is already making an impact.
Steven grew up in Southern California. He joined the Army from high school and served as a Cavalry Scout in South Korea and Hawaii. His military career abruptly ended when he broke his back and neck and was medically retired from the Army. He moved to Gwinnett County, Georgia, where he had family. He took a job working at Google in Atlanta, which allowed him to travel all over the Southeast. He was single, traveling, and making good money.
However, like many veterans, he was left without a clear path after being medically discharged from the Army. So many times, when someone gets out of the military, their direction disappears. They go from being told, “This is what we’re doing today,” to waking up every day asking themselves, “What am I gonna do with my life?” One thing that helped him through this transition was his love for bow hunting. Bowhunting has been a part of Steven’s life since he was six years old, and it was easy to jump back into the sport. He traveled all over Georgia hunting for black bears on public land. It was his refuge, and it wasn’t long before he could use this passion to help other veterans. Steven found a way to help other guys like himself who might be struggling to find direction in their lives.
After picking up a $50 camera, he began to share videos on the web of bow hunting tidbits, and he caught the attention of some big names in the bowhunting industry. This led to speaking engagements and television spots. He became involved with The Archery Trade Association. Soon, billion-dollar companies wanted his help to promote their products to veterans and hire veterans, which was something Steven could get behind and support. The connections Steven was making helped lead him to an opportunity to help develop a program to not only provide discounts to veterans, law enforcement, and first responders but also create a program where they could give back to disabled vets.
As happens so many times, what was paying the bills quickly became more “work” than “passion,” and Steven was ready to find something else. That is when he got a phone call from a buddy he was in the Army with who wanted him to come to California and get into real estate. That was just the thing that Steven needed. He packed up and moved across the country to California and got his start in real estate. Steven clearly remembers the day he got his real estate license; he lived with his mom and had $5 in his bank account. That would soon change.
Steven’s real estate venture gave him many tools, experience, and wisdom that he still uses today. He quickly learned how to negotiate, market, and sell homes. Most importantly, he learned the value of relationships with his clients. It wasn’t long before the Team Leader of Keller Williams approached Steven. They were launching another office and wanted Steven to join it. So he helped to launch Keller Williams Costa Mesa. He faced stiff, well-established competition in Costa Mesa, which drove him to do better, be better, and treat people better. Steven pushed himself to educate and develop habits that allowed him to do the best possible job in every situation. He sets unreasonable goals to reach. He learned ways to help people achieve their dreams and is a huge supporter of the veteran community.
While working at Keller Williams Costa Mesa, he heard about a top agent who had left another company. He reached out to her with a job offer. Little did he know when he contacted her that he was contacting his future wife, Jennifer. When his dad got married in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Steven brought his then-girlfriend to Georgia for the first time. Jennifer loved Georgia and bow hunting as well.
Later, on a visit to Athens, Georgia, Steven and his wife considered leaving the hustle and bustle of California and starting a real estate team in Athens. He had decided to fly back and forth and manage both of them when he came across a ranch for sale. He went back to California, wrote an offer on the farm, and what was going to be a three to five-year plan turned into a three-month plan where they bought the ranch, sold out of all his partnerships, and retired from Real Estate. He became a full-time rancher. After he had done that for about two and a half years, he and his wife got an offer from someone to buy the ranch. They decided to sell and bought a house in Cedartown, where he began working again as a Georgia Real Estate agent at Keller Williams in Rome in July 2020.
After hearing about all the fantastic things Steven has accomplished in his life, I was inspired. I asked what got him to where he was today and who inspired him. He said his parents were his biggest inspiration. Although they lived apart, his mom in California and his dad in Georgia, he saw how they did not let circumstances define them. They instilled a strong work ethic in him, making sacrifices when necessary and holding him accountable for himself.
He says he takes unreasonable responsibility and holds himself accountable. He is always trying to be excessive in his work ethic because he can always be doing better. He saw that in his parents and wants his kids to see that in him.
When times get difficult, he remembers the men he served beside in the Army. One was killed, and others are missing limbs, have traumatic brain injuries, and thrive in much worse situations than he is in. Steven said those people are not who they are because of their circumstances, but they are who they are despite them. Steven wakes up daily with his wife, his kids, and a job that he enjoys and is good at.
One of the factors in his success as a Real Estate Agent has been the training he has received from Keller Williams. They’ve been the number one training company in the world, above even Amazon, and it’s because of the technology the training that they leverage. Steven sat in on every training opportunity that came his way, even on areas that didn’t directly apply to his job, because he strives to be the best version of himself that he can be. He believes that he can always do better. The training he has attended, and the technology he has mastered have been his most profitable assets. Being able to take the training and apply the technology, he can do things for his clients that others probably don’t even think of.
As a realtor, his experience working in the Real Estate business has helped him to grow. In the past, he focused on volume… selling as much as possible to maximize profits. He has now shifted his focus to quality. Instead of striving to close 100 deals a year, he says he would rather close 50 and have better relationships with the people he works with. By treating his clients well, he feels he can grow his business and focus on being more of a resource than just a realtor. Steven believes having a client think of him as a trusted friend and knowledgeable asset instead of just a realtor is essential. They can call him about anything…with questions about home insurance, how they can buy rental or investment properties, and start building their wealth. That’s an essential measurement of how Steven can help other people.
In every situation, Steven strives to do the right thing, care about people, and not worry about money. He believes everything will ultimately work out if you do those three things. Other things he has learned along the way are the importance of time management, treating a deal as done only when it is done, and putting in the work, putting in the effort, and being unreasonable about it.
Finally, since I write a blog about why I love Rome, I had to know what drew Steven and his family here. He replied that the support our community gives each other and local small businesses was a big draw. One example he gave me was how a local restaurant served beef from a local farm and that the support he felt from businesses drew him to Rome. It is incredible how community support has built the town into what it is.
Make sure to follow Steven on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bowhuntingrealtor/
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