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Don McEntire took an unconventional route to becoming a real estate Broker on Maui. After graduating from college at the
University of Utah he began teaching Spanish and coaching boy's basketball at the high school level. He says, "I really
enjoyed teaching Spanish and coaching basketball but it didn't pay very well. So I began looking for ways to supplement my
income and I started investing in real estate. In a short time I was making more money
from my part-time investing efforts than I was from teaching and coaching full-time. So I made a career change."
That was 14 years ago so he obviously made the right decision. First he became a top producing sales agent and later obtained
his broker's license and opened his own real estate brokerage in the snowy mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah, home of the 2002
Winter Olympic Games. However, he found it increasingly difficult to leave Maui after visiting relatives on the island, only
to return home to colder weather. He recalls "Maui completely enchanted me from the very first visit. I used to tell people
that I would move here someday but nobody believed me until I did it." He further explains, "I grew up in a cold climate but I
really wasn't much of a snow skier and I got tired of the cold weather. I love living on Maui. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by
the good fortune of being able to live and work in Wailea, one of the most beautiful places on earth."
Don kept his broker's license active in Utah and obtained his broker's license on Maui as well, making him a
licensed real estate broker in both Hawaii and Utah. "I spent my first few years on Maui as a sales agent for Wailea Realty"
he says, "it was a good learning experience but I wanted to offer a higher level of service to my clients and felt I needed to
run my own brokerage to effectively do so." So after several years as a top producing sales agent at Wailea Realty, McEntire
Realty was created. "People are often surprised that I launched McEntire Realty so quickly after moving to Maui, but this is
not something new to me since I had extensive experience on the mainland selling real estate while supervising other agents
and running my own successful firm." Don spends his free time enjoying the Maui lifestyle with his lovely wife
Claudia and children. He enjoys playing football or Frisbee on the beach with his kids, playing basketball when he can, and is
trying to learn the frustrating game of golf. He adds "this business can be very time intensive at times and I pride myself on
my high level of customer service. What that means is that every once in a while I have to borrow time from my family to take
excellent care of my clients, but I always pay it back. A family helps you keep things in perspective and find a balance in
life. I learned growing up that no success can compensate for failure in the home." |
