Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen McCutcheon.
Hi Kristen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After graduating Suma Cum Laude and earning top honors in her major from King’s College, PA, Kristen started her career in education and earned her way into the position of an academically and gifted specialist. Eli graduated from Western Carolina University in construction management and his foundation was in structural steel as an estimator and then moved into running the steel erection company out of Jacksonville, NC at the age of 28. Married and two young children later they moved to Wake County, NC for the opportunities for their young children in the way of education, parks, museums, outdoor life and thriving rich community that the Triangle has to offer.
In 2014, Kristen’s father passed away. She decided to began a side business that helped support the family ‘s childcare costs while honing in on her love for capturing the beauty of life. Captivated Photography became a business that captured families, lifestyle moments, and weddings from Raleigh to the beach. After business blossomed, we realized her love of people and ability to create a business where her talents could thrive was something to explore further. In 2018, she put teaching & photography on hold to go all in on the opportunity to help people build their wealth through real estate. She paired her love of thoughtful communication and ability to inspire and teach others about the opportunities through wealth building through real estate and grew a steady business all while their family continued to grow.
In 2022, Eli stepped away from working as contract compliance for Durham County in order to go full time into real estate as a united front- a husband and wife real estate team. Having 4 young children and a heart after God’s own heart – they wanted to be fully present with them in this season of life. Aligning with a real estate firm that believes the foundation to life is putting: God, Family, then Business as a priority helped them to see the benefits and opportunities in stepping out in faith and to live life in a way that honored God and the blessings of this special season of life.
Since then, our business has grown organically serving over 90% of our business through past clients, referrals from friends and family members, and our general sphere of people who already know and trust them. Building a business from people they meet and interact with every single day means that we’re building it off of integrity, trust, doing the right thing even if it’s the hard thing, going beyond what is expected and delivering extraordinary dedication in order to show up and achieve extraordinary results. This year our business goals is to serve 55 clients – helping them to build wealth through wise real estate investments and selling properties in a way that maximizes their return on investment.
In 2024, Kristen was asked to serve as in the role of Team Leader for the Keller Williams Realty Cary office- serving over 120 agents. In that role, she focused on profitability of the firm, hiring agents who were looking to build systems and model based businesses, teaching and running sales meetings, while helping to build training calendars for the firm. During that year, Kristen and Eli served in a way that was able to pour into agents and their families both in real estate through Mac Realty – as well as within the firm through the agents that call it home. Earlier this year in February of 2025, Eli was recognized as a servant leader and awarded the firm’s most prestigious award- the Eagle Award. He was recognized for serving at an all in pace; running Mac Realty and being an incredible role model to so many agents while Kristen was able to serve as Leader of the KW Cary firm.
2025 is a year of singular focus and being back in alignment with their company’s Big Why. To be reunited as one team through Mac Realty with a laser focus. Being together as a husband and wife united front, serving well and at the highest levels of integrity and excellence, while being a blessing to their family and community is what 2025 is all about!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When Eli and I decided to build a real estate team, we weren’t just building a business – we were building a dream for our family of 6. The path wasn’t always smooth or easy, and yet in those most difficult seasons – that’s where character, strength of heart & systems of efficiency, and our dependency on God and the peace of Jesus – being in relationship with him developed. From those most trying times – we honed in on our unique strengths and grew as a couple and as a team in business and in life.
Some of the most difficult times were when we knowingly said ‘yes’ to a period of serving beyond us and our family.
2023 – Serving as a teacher in Wake County because our son’s classroom wouldn’t have one. No one knew at that time besides people in our life that could pray us through it and speak words of encouragement. We knew our business would take a hit in production and yet we knew that if we didn’t put those kids first it would be a regret we would always have. Our business allows us to live a life by design, not by default. Being present and serving where we are called to serve is a core of who we are and what the good Lord allows us to do through Mac Realty. Serving what we could for 7 weeks – little did we know that it would be the seed that would lead into more teaching opportunities just a few months later.
2024- Serving as Team Leader at KW Cary is not like any other firm role out there. It is all in 8-5, traveling throughout the year to Texas, Nevada, Charlotte and mini trips in between. Eli and I were asked to take the love of teaching and serving at the highest level next to the agents within our firm. The owner, Scott Taylor looked to us as a way for us to almost get an MBA by trial by fire and we saw it as a way to serve in the way the office needed at the time. 2024 saw some massive shifts in contracts, compliance and the NAR settlement; being there to ensure agents were served and trained at the highest level was an honor. Behind the scenes Kristen was facing a health battle no one knew about besides family. It started mid 2024 and resulted in a surgery in November 2024. That surgery led to emergency surgery the day after – she was bleeding internally at a massive scale and it could have been life alterning/life ending. That life event made Kristen & Eli realize that serving others is such a gift and time is so precious. It was time to go back to serving together – united- one focus- God, Family, then Business.
Those most challenging years in real estate were ones we wouldn’t take back. The incredible relationships built in those times, the strength of character that comes through endurance and patience are things that you take with you for a life time. Our mindset in having a clear vision for our future and why we’re doing this was reinvigorated during those times, and we became better real estate agents, mentors, partners, advocates, and people after God’s own heart because of those challenges.
What a blessing it is to serve, serve well, and be able to support and come alongside people in their real estate journey. Similarly and now more simply focused, we are hungry to serve our clients with all the dedication and enthusiasm for their dreams. Helping our clients build their wealth through real estate is what we do. Our why is because we know that by doing our best work, and giving honor and glory to God, we are being obedient and good stewards of our time, talents and blessings for the good of those we are serving!
As you know, we’re big fans of Mac Realty at KW Cary. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At Mac Realty at KW Cary, we specialize in helping our clients navigate the ever changing real estate market with confidence.
What sets us apart?
1) Proven success in selling. Our strategic pricing, marketing, staging, and customizable listing strategy helps our sellers net the most, while spending less prior to going live, and often out performing the market.
2) Client centered approach. Real estate is not about transactions; it’s about relationships and the joy in the journey. We prioritize our clients unique goals, timelines, and needs in order to customize their experience to best serve them.
3) Community Knowledge: As a Cary based team, we understand the nuances of the market trends and intricacies all the way down to exact neighborhoods using a multi-tired data approach to all transactions.
4) Comprehensive Support beyond the Sale: Our clients know they have us as a resource for life. From recommending specific contractors and vendor to providing tools like electronic home equity tracking and neighborhood monthly reports, we’re here for our people long after closing day.
5) A Business with Heart- As a team built on heard work, integrity, values, and commitment to excellence, we bring a personal touch to every client journey. Our clients are clients for life and building a strong dependable communication standards. Our team shows up in a way that we’re here for the long run and we do that by creating yearly fall photo events and various giveaways to our sphere on social media and our past clients through out the year.
We are honored to deliver packages for our clients that meet their needs. From no showing- cash offers to the fully staged experience and everything in between. The tiered based planning is on the level of service their home or their personal situation in time requires. Cultivating that unique approach allows our clients to choose the best options and packages for them.
What we are most excited about is that each of our clients have such special and uniquely huge wins. From our first buyer or seller consult to the point of where it’s closing day- every time it is such a joy to reflect on the way their success has delivered at times an almost unbelievable story. Caring about the financial gains of our clients is a great joy knowing that they get to enter into the next season of life after having the opportunity to see so many various tools and choose the best outcome pathway for themselves.
What we’d love for our readers to know is that first and foremost, we are here because God allows us to be. Our business is His and what we do is for His glory. We are just honored to run this business in a way that we can give him thanks and praise. We are striving to be good stewards of our time, talents and his blessings. We believe that in this season, this is his calling for us.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
We are huge advocates for having a mentor that can pour into you and speak to the season of life and business you’re in. For us, when Eli and I decided to partner together in business, the first thing we did was get a business coach. At KW Cary, they have built into their model a system where after earning into a certain level of production you can qualify for one to one weekly coaching. After having several different mentors, we would suggest in ‘staying in curiosity’ when meeting with mentors for the initial consult. Choosing a mentor that has proven success in the goals and aspirations you have while holding the same values is key. One without the other in our opinion is not the recipe for success.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://macteam.kw.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macrealtyteam/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MacRealtyNC
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@macrealtywithkwcary8282
Image Credits
Caroline Batten Photography
