An Artist at Living
Mortgage Broker Jane Floyd Is A Success In Business And In Life.
Michael Thomassy met the cheerful blonde woman when she rented a suite in the Tampa" target="_blank">Tampa office building above his hair salon. It was 15 years ago, and Jane Floyd, who had two employees, was setting herself up in the mortgage business.?
“She grew from one to two to three suites,” Thomassy says. “The next thing I knew, she was buying her own building.”
It was a quick rise, one propelled by hard work and indefatigable energy—characteristics that anyone who knows Floyd will attest that she has in buckets.?
The founder of Diversified Home Mortgage, Floyd now has 21 employees and two offices on Bearss Avenue and Azeele Street. Her team has built a reputation not just for providing residential mortgages for first-time homebuyers to high-end clients, but also for an extensive range of related products and services.
“There is so much opportunity in this business,” Floyd says.
Floyd, however, fell into the mortgage business quite by accident. She had a degree in business and marketing and was doing public relations work for a title company when she decided she wanted something more in her life.?
A friend suggested she try her hand at mortgages, so she went to work for him and fell in love with the industry. A year and a half later, Floyd opened her own company with a partner. A year and a half later, she bought that partner out.
“I took out a second mortgage,” Floyd says, explaining how she financed her business. “But I was very blessed. I knew a lot of realtors and they were willing to give me a chance.”
Today, a hallmark of Diversified Home Mortgages is its consultative approach to business. Of course, Floyd’s staffers select the best home-financing options for their clients. But they also conduct a complete financial analysis and offer advice on everything from paying off debt to using their equity.
“We teach people how to use their mortgage to create wealth,” Floyd says. “We’re going into much more than just a loan. More than 75 percent of our business is referrals from past clients.”
Gerry Ziegelhofer, a realtor with Coldwell Banker and a colleague of Floyd’s for the past 16 years, can attest to her friend’s dedication.
“She spent three days counseling one of my customers, and helping him understand what he needed to do,” says Ziegelhofer.?
Hard work appears to be a pillar of Floyd’s personal philosophy. Thomassy says Floyd often comes in for hair appointments at 5 a.m. with her cellular phone at hand and jogging clothes on, ready for a run afterwards. Business partner Kameron Garms, himself an early riser, is accustomed to taking calls from Floyd at 6:30 or 7 a.m.
“Jane is intense, devoted, passionate and driven,” says Garms. “She works very hard to make the right things happen.”
Although she’s intense about work and tolerates no shirkers, Floyd has a reputation for warmth and concern for people in her life. And she has a long, infectious laugh.?
“Jane is intense, but relational,” says Steve Scanlon, Floyd’s business coach for the past five years. “She’s very cautious with people’s feelings. She’s one of my favorite people.”
Thomassy recalls how, when Floyd worked in the same building as his salon, she would throw “gratitude parties” in the lobby. More recently, she hired the IMAX theater at Channelside for a special viewing of The Polar Express for her clients, past and present.?
But Floyd’s generosity isn’t restricted to clients. She also channels her considerable energies into charitable work, much of it influenced by the strong presence that church has always had in her life.
“I call her Crazy Jane,” jokes Scanlon. “She has a lot of things going on at once. Most the people I coach like her, I would tell them to focus. But Jane has the ability to do a lot at once.”
Last year, Floyd raised so much money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that she was nominated by two board members to be Woman of the Year, although the honor ultimately went to someone else. In February, she ran a half-marathon to raise more money for the organization.
“I had friends who went through leukemia and made it,” Floyd says. “Then I learned more about the disease and these children and what they go through—you can’t imagine. The medication alone, the cost is insane. I am very blessed with two very healthy children and wanted to give back.”
In October, Floyd did a three-day breast cancer walk through Tampa" target="_blank">Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County for the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The daughter of a breast cancer survivor and dear friend of three others, Floyd walked 60 miles in three days.?
She and her husband, Hank, also donate significantly to International Cooperating Ministries, which raises funds to build churches around the world. Last Thanksgiving, Floyd and her family joined 41 people with Baja Ministries in Tijuana, Mexico, where they helped build two homes for needy families.?
“Every time I turn around, I find that she’s involved in something else,” says Thomassy. “She’s showing up with a staff or family to volunteer, or raising funds for someone who’s sick.”
“I guess I just feel like I’ve been so blessed in my life; I just get so much out of giving back,” says Floyd. “The older you get, you realize that it’s not about us. That’s one of the reasons God put us here.”
A 35-year Tampa" target="_blank">Tampa resident, Floyd has lived away from the Bay area for just a year, when she attended Florida State University. She transferred back to the University of South Florida in Tampa" target="_blank">Tampa.?
Floyd now lives near water and loves to boat. She and her husband also spend time watching their sons, 13 and 21, play sports. And she enjoys reading motivational books on business and team-building.
Thomassy remembers the days when he and Floyd worked in the same building and often listened to the same motivational CDs and read the same books.
“I tell her that the difference between her and me is that I read all this stuff, and you do all this stuff,” Thomassy says. “She creates a commotion wherever she goes, but she takes time too with her husband and kids. She’s kind of an artist at living.”
“She grew from one to two to three suites,” Thomassy says. “The next thing I knew, she was buying her own building.”
It was a quick rise, one propelled by hard work and indefatigable energy—characteristics that anyone who knows Floyd will attest that she has in buckets.?
The founder of Diversified Home Mortgage, Floyd now has 21 employees and two offices on Bearss Avenue and Azeele Street. Her team has built a reputation not just for providing residential mortgages for first-time homebuyers to high-end clients, but also for an extensive range of related products and services.
“There is so much opportunity in this business,” Floyd says.
Floyd, however, fell into the mortgage business quite by accident. She had a degree in business and marketing and was doing public relations work for a title company when she decided she wanted something more in her life.?
A friend suggested she try her hand at mortgages, so she went to work for him and fell in love with the industry. A year and a half later, Floyd opened her own company with a partner. A year and a half later, she bought that partner out.
“I took out a second mortgage,” Floyd says, explaining how she financed her business. “But I was very blessed. I knew a lot of realtors and they were willing to give me a chance.”
Today, a hallmark of Diversified Home Mortgages is its consultative approach to business. Of course, Floyd’s staffers select the best home-financing options for their clients. But they also conduct a complete financial analysis and offer advice on everything from paying off debt to using their equity.
“We teach people how to use their mortgage to create wealth,” Floyd says. “We’re going into much more than just a loan. More than 75 percent of our business is referrals from past clients.”
Gerry Ziegelhofer, a realtor with Coldwell Banker and a colleague of Floyd’s for the past 16 years, can attest to her friend’s dedication.
“She spent three days counseling one of my customers, and helping him understand what he needed to do,” says Ziegelhofer.?
Hard work appears to be a pillar of Floyd’s personal philosophy. Thomassy says Floyd often comes in for hair appointments at 5 a.m. with her cellular phone at hand and jogging clothes on, ready for a run afterwards. Business partner Kameron Garms, himself an early riser, is accustomed to taking calls from Floyd at 6:30 or 7 a.m.
“Jane is intense, devoted, passionate and driven,” says Garms. “She works very hard to make the right things happen.”
Although she’s intense about work and tolerates no shirkers, Floyd has a reputation for warmth and concern for people in her life. And she has a long, infectious laugh.?
“Jane is intense, but relational,” says Steve Scanlon, Floyd’s business coach for the past five years. “She’s very cautious with people’s feelings. She’s one of my favorite people.”
Thomassy recalls how, when Floyd worked in the same building as his salon, she would throw “gratitude parties” in the lobby. More recently, she hired the IMAX theater at Channelside for a special viewing of The Polar Express for her clients, past and present.?
But Floyd’s generosity isn’t restricted to clients. She also channels her considerable energies into charitable work, much of it influenced by the strong presence that church has always had in her life.
“I call her Crazy Jane,” jokes Scanlon. “She has a lot of things going on at once. Most the people I coach like her, I would tell them to focus. But Jane has the ability to do a lot at once.”
Last year, Floyd raised so much money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that she was nominated by two board members to be Woman of the Year, although the honor ultimately went to someone else. In February, she ran a half-marathon to raise more money for the organization.
“I had friends who went through leukemia and made it,” Floyd says. “Then I learned more about the disease and these children and what they go through—you can’t imagine. The medication alone, the cost is insane. I am very blessed with two very healthy children and wanted to give back.”
In October, Floyd did a three-day breast cancer walk through Tampa" target="_blank">Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County for the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The daughter of a breast cancer survivor and dear friend of three others, Floyd walked 60 miles in three days.?
She and her husband, Hank, also donate significantly to International Cooperating Ministries, which raises funds to build churches around the world. Last Thanksgiving, Floyd and her family joined 41 people with Baja Ministries in Tijuana, Mexico, where they helped build two homes for needy families.?
“Every time I turn around, I find that she’s involved in something else,” says Thomassy. “She’s showing up with a staff or family to volunteer, or raising funds for someone who’s sick.”
“I guess I just feel like I’ve been so blessed in my life; I just get so much out of giving back,” says Floyd. “The older you get, you realize that it’s not about us. That’s one of the reasons God put us here.”
A 35-year Tampa" target="_blank">Tampa resident, Floyd has lived away from the Bay area for just a year, when she attended Florida State University. She transferred back to the University of South Florida in Tampa" target="_blank">Tampa.?
Floyd now lives near water and loves to boat. She and her husband also spend time watching their sons, 13 and 21, play sports. And she enjoys reading motivational books on business and team-building.
Thomassy remembers the days when he and Floyd worked in the same building and often listened to the same motivational CDs and read the same books.
“I tell her that the difference between her and me is that I read all this stuff, and you do all this stuff,” Thomassy says. “She creates a commotion wherever she goes, but she takes time too with her husband and kids. She’s kind of an artist at living.”