Allison Greco
Create the Life You Want
story by MICAH PEPPERS photos by PAUL NURNBERG
Born and raised in the Lowcountry, Beaufort is the only place successful realtor Allison Greco wants to call home. Growing up, Allison always wanted to become a veterinarian. I felt a deep connection to animals,” states Allison. She took science and was a pre-med major at the University of South Carolina inColumbia to prepare for life as an animal doctor; however, life steered her in a different direction.
“When I graduated from college in 2010, I got a job as a receptionist at a local hair salon. Then, another job opportunity popped up, which employed me at a start-up company that specialized in dual fuel engines for class 8 over-the-road trucks. From there, I got a job in Greenville to help Motor Power & Equipment Solutions (MP&ES) with operations. A niche opportunity came up, and I started selling locomotives and grant writing to convert diesel fuel and compressed natural gas to make locomotives more energy efficient. It was a fun challenge, but then I lost the excitement and wanted to be closer to my family.”
In addition to starting her career, she married her husband, Tony, in June 2014. “Our parents have known each other long before he and I were even a thought in this world. We went through school together and started dating in college. I even told his mom when I was 16 that I was going to marry her son. He enrolled at Clemson, and I headed to USC Columbia.” Tony followed Allison and her job to Greenville, and, eventually, they both made it back home to Beaufort.
In 2015, Tony and Allison moved home. Once they were settled into Beaufort, Tony was working for a medical supply company. He eventually took over Allison’s father’s pool business with his
brother-in- law, and now runs The Pool Company full-time.
While Tony was getting settled into his new business role, Allison was on a new adventure. “I was back in Beaufort and started consulting for the company I had worked for in Greenville. We were looking to invest in real estate and purchase another home. We wanted an investment property. I felt I couldn’t find anyone who was giving me the service I was looking for, so I looked online and saw I could take a 3-week real estate class. My sister and I took the class together at the Technical College of the Lowcountry.” To Allison’s surprise, this 3-week course jumpstarted her on her now successful real estate career.
“I began interviewing at a few different places. I was told that the average agent sells around 5-10 houses a year and to not expect any money the first year. I made over 40 sales in my first year in the business. From then on, I wanted to continue to break barriers down.”
Allison’s real estate journey only continued to grow. “I scaled quickly. I was still selling locomotives. It was challenging to do both, but I did it. I decided to switch brokerages to Keller Williams, and while I was there, I learned what leverage was. I got to learn from wonderful mentors, like Joan Kelley, who runs the Joan Kelley Group in Bluffton. I watched the company’s models, how they scaled, and how they helped other agents. My clients and reputation were important to me. At some point, one person can’t do it all. I wanted to continue providing a high level of service, but I needed to figure out how to manage it. I bought and read the book Billionaire Real Estate Agent, and it helped me map out how to do it all. I wanted to find agents that wanted to service the clients the same way I did. I learned how to run a real estate team. I wanted to show them they could have a quality life as well as a sustainable income, and in 2019, I started a team named The Greco Group. Today, we have 15 real estate agents and four administrative staff.”
A person can’t just snap their fingers and wish for success. Drive, determination, and hard work are imperative, but what about also managing others? What makes Allison so successful in running The Greco Group? “My formula for success changes over time. My definition of success has changed. The younger version of me would always associate success with money, but the older version knows my time is more important. I work hard, so I can have more time with my family, sister, niece, and nephew. I have a five- and ten-year plan, and they evolve as I do. The best and fastest path to success is through others. How many lives did I affect in a positive way? I try to leverage myself, and I know that if I reach the top, then I turn around and try to help the next person up.”
Allison has always remembered her first love: animals. Although her dreams of becoming a veterinarian faded in time, her desire to help them has continued to remain steady. “My husband and I are wildlife rehabbers. We will rescue anything in need. We started off with English Setter Rescues. We would foster and transport them. When Tony and I were dating, I told him I was going to have an enchanted forest,” Allison laughs. “I just feel connected with nature and at peace with the animals. I knew I wanted to work with the wildlife animals, and a wonderful lady named Dixie ran the Wildlife Rehab, but I couldn’t really get in as a volunteer. I wanted to rehabilitate a raccoon so badly. My husband found a dead opossum with babies in the pouch. He pulled the babies out, and we took them to Dixie. We literally bartered the babies for a raccoon. That was five years ago, and now we have worked with fawn, opossum, mink, squirrels, bats, doves, crows, and raccoons. We have a triage station set up at my home with an IV bag ready. We have all the resources, but no handbook on how to actually rehab wildlife, so we just do our best. We take them in and raise them until they can be released to the wild. We have been able to create a wonderful network of people who want to help. It’s challenging working with rehabilitation of wildlife, but the animals bring me so much joy, and I hope we are leaving the world a better place with helping them.”
Allison will forever be a Beaufort native and local. “I just love the smell of pluff mud. It evokes so many things in my sense. This town raised me. It’s so deeply rooted in my being. Beaufort is just an amazing and spectacular place to be raised and grow up. It created me — the environment, the people, the culture. Every piece of me can be tied back to this place. My roots run deep.”
Life didn’t end up with Allison becoming a veterinarian; albeit she was able to fulfill her dream of helping animals while servicing local families in finding their forever homes, and all while building a successful business in The Greco Group. “Life doesn’t always work out the way you think it should. There’s always a reason. I got to create a life I wanted. Everything’s possible. You just have to be crazy enough to keep trying, and go for what you want.”
