Pinning the Market
As a high school senior, Francesca Lampert, 26, was the first female wrestler to join the team in Redwood City, Calif. Now, the team has more girls than boys, and a picture of her pinning a male opponent still hangs at the school. “When I’m not kicking butt in real estate, I’m just kicking butt,” says Lampert, who also has her blue belt in Brazilian jiujitsu. Excelling at less conventional sports boosted her confidence as a young woman in business. Plus, it provided another benefit: self-defense skills. In her first job out of college, Lampert handled marketing, editorial, and sales for a children’s book publisher. “During a performance review, my boss told me I wasn’t a good salesman,” she says. Within a year, Lampert quit, earned her real estate license, and sold two houses. “I’m so much more than a salesman,” she adds. “I’m an advocate, a matchmaker, a trusted adviser, and a neighbor.”