Lanelle Phillips is no stranger to the real estate business; her realty career began under the guidance of well-known real estate guru Harry Dann and continued with the H.G. Christie Real Estate company before she officially opened her own agency, Lanelle Phillips Real Estate, Tuesday evening.

Born and raised on Grand Bahama, Phillips left the island with her father and attended junior high school in Colorado and later attended a Vermont high school. She attended college at FAU in Boca Raton as well as Framingham State outside of Boston, where she started her career in sales at the youthful age of 19. She later moved to Chicago where she began a successful sales career on Nordstrom’s well-known shoe floor and quickly moved up into management under the associate buyers programme. Eventually, the call of her island home was stronger than that of her retail career and she returned to Grand Bahama in 1998.

Returning home and working with long time realtor, Harry Dann, gave her the guidance and knowledge she needed to begin her career in the Real Estate market. "Joining Harry Dann and Co. was a huge honor where his catch phrase ‘Dann’s the name, Land is the Game’ said it all. He was a man who could close a deal and that knowledge I have taken with me throughout my career. He fell ill soon after my return to home, and during this time I became actively involved in the management of the firm, but it was a bitter sweet time, as Harry lost his fight with cancer and I lost a mentor and a father figure.”

After transitioning the Harry Dann firm to his family, Phillips then successfully launched the well-respected H.G. Christie Real Estate franchise in Grand Bahama and ran their offices for seven years as District Manager and eventually was promoted to Regional Manager. During her time with Christie’s she and her agents were regarded as the leaders in the real estate market on the island. “It was exciting to grow a business from the ground up and see the successes of that work over the years. The company today still operates with a talented base of sales agents," she says.

Phillips’ decision to go out on her own is like that of any entrepreneur; she wanted to start her own company and return to a smaller and more personal service where her presence could be more beneficial to clients. “I want to get back to a more one-on-one intensive service. I was doing a lot of corporate work and missed my sales interaction. My agency will concentrate on working with our clients on a more personal level,” she said.

"I am thrilled about having the time to spend selling again and reconnecting with my clients that have remained loyal to me for almost 9 years - the network of people I have met over the years is the key to my success and it is so fulfilling receiving phone calls on a daily basis from them congratulating me on my own company and asking me to work with them. I owe so much of my success to my clients!"

Phillips is part of a growing trend, where female brokers and agents are becoming the leaders of their businesses. In fact, in the US, women run many of the leading companies who dominate the market. “Many are making their mark as pioneers of real estate business. They all have one thing in common that makes them shine - the power of knowledge gained through hands on experience,” according to sellsiusrealestate.com. The article went on to state that women agents tend to be very respected by their peers and cherished by their clients and customers.

Phillips officially opened her offices last year in the new Executive Office Centre, West Mall and Adventures Way, with a welcome party for her clients, friends and staff. Her two suites of offices are very island contemporary and have a welcoming feel to them, “I am sure any interested buyer or seller will enjoy coming to this island chic environment. I know Lanelle is up for this challenge and will be a great asset to our business community,” stated guest Sir Albert Miller.

Phillips is currently fine tuning her new interactive website and working along with her staff to create a database for her large catalog of homes and properties they have already begun to work with. “I am thrilled to now have an established office of my own in Grand Bahama,” Phillips said. “We have so many unique plans in the works that combine aggressive technology with good old fashioned customer service.”

“We have spent months working with US organizations and real estate associations gaining knowledge that we have brought back here to the Bahamas with hopes of creating a new benchmark for real estate on Grand Bahama. We are committed to continuing the education of all our agents, consultants and apprentices. We definitely have some surprises for Grand Bahama,” she concluded.