Ashley Wilson might have found her way into real estate without Michael Sandman's help, but the Raleigh real estate attorney not only pointed the way for the 23-year-old summer office temp, he handed Wilson $400 and told her to get herself a real estate license.

I had no thoughts that I was helping launch a rocket to the moon, quipped Sandman, who had hired Wilson when she was in college to help him and his wife Lisa with their children.

We were struck with the immediate connection she was able to make with us, our boys and friends and family, he explained. Her personality is magnetic though it's hard to put your finger on any one personal quality that makes Ashley so easy to connect with.

But Sandman emphasized that the phenomenal success of the 31-year-old Concord native came as no surprise to him and Lisa. Ashley was destined for success in every career she chose. Everything she accomplished she earned through smarts, determination, continuous self improvement, honest dealings and warm personality.

And those attributes have paid off. In her first job at Raleigh's Athens Woods new-home community where only 18 houses had been sold during the previous two years Wilson sold 16 houses in four months. Then, during the next four years at Heritage, she sold around 270 new homes with a sales volume of about $92.6 million. So in 2008, it wasn't surprising that the 27-year-old Realtor was selected out of 400 applicants nationally to be in 30 Under 30, a group of the 30 Realtors under age 30 in the Nation whose achievements were outstanding.

But that was only the beginning. After a brief tenure at Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, the young Realtor moved to Keller Williams Realty and started the Wilson Realty Group NC, a company comprising a listing manager, closing coordinator, internet lead manager, and two buyer specialists in addition to Wilson, the broker-owner.

But real estate was never considered when Wilson attended Meredith College on a full academic scholarship.

I always thought I would be a teacher, explained the former high school cheerleader, yearbook editor and member of the National Honor Society who made the Dean's List every semester. Actually, teaching runs in her family her mother has taught second grade for many years and her sister is a former math teacher. In fact, after graduating magna cum laude, Wilson did teach sixth grade for two years in a Chapel Hill middle school.

But the summer job in Sandman's office changed everything. "Michael inspired me to take the real estate class," Wilson recalled, noting the market was hot at the time. She explained that working for the attorney was her first job outside of babysitting and teaching and "it really piqued my interest, I began seeing myself as the next big Realtor in Raleigh."

She could have been clairvoyant. Since moving to Keller Williams May 2009 and becoming a general broker, Wilson reports a 380 percent increase in 2009 and 150% increase in 2010 in Wilson Realty Group's production during a period when the market was down. "When the market was artificially hot, it was easy to make money in spite of mistakes people were making in their businesses," she explained. "In today's market, it is vital that you know the right things to do and how to do them to be highly successful the business doesn't come find you; you have to go find it."

For guidance, Wilson credits Keller Williams and her business coach, Ron Patulski, MAPS coach and owner of PerformanceU. "Not only have I grown professionally since beginning my coaching with Ron," Wilson explains, "I have grown personally as well. Ron challenges me to be uncomfortable- I know I am growing when I am uncomfortable. Just when I think I have it- I am uncomfortable again!"

Previous coaches call Wilson a coach's dream "She is talented, driven, charismatic and, most importantly, coachable." In the eight short months they have worked together her production is more than nine times larger than it was before she joined Keller Williams and it's still growing. "Keep your eyes on Ashley," he told me. She will soon be among the top producers in this region.

Sure enough- now Wilson Realty Group NC is reaching the top! Wilson Realty Group NC ranked number 10 in the Region in 2010, and currently ranks number 2 in North and South Carolina!

Despite her workload, Wilson does find time to enjoy the beach, exercise and travel. She also devotes considerable time to the charity she co-founded with her friend Jenn Nowalk, a Realtor at Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston. The nonprofit Triangle Spokes Group (TSG) raises funds all year to buy the new bicycles it distributes to needy children in the Triangle at Christmas. Wilson got the idea from The Spokes Group in Charlotte, run by her brother-in-law, Will Beard, and his father, Andy. "Children have my heart", Wilson explains. "I had a guilt feeling when I quit teaching for financial reasons, because it's hard to walk away from children." She wanted an outlet to give back to the kids. Since its inception in 2007, TSG has donated 1050 bikes.

"Ashley is like no one else you've ever met," Nowalk says. "She is full of passion for real estate and life with strong drive and determination, anything is possible if she puts her mind to it."

Wilson's father knew that from the time his daughter was born. "Ashley has always been very determined", said Keith Wilson, a Concord remodeler and builder. "She jumped out of her crib when she was 8 months old."

Emphasizing his daughter has always accomplished what she set out to do, he quipped, "If she told me she was going to the moon today, I would start watching CNN."