You can follow your own path and go far and wide on your own adventure.

Yet, there’s nothing that can truly replace — or compare to — the place where you grew up … your home that you carry in your heart always.

That’s the way it has definitely been for Chris Lock.

As a Realtor with Keller Williams of Greater Springfield, Chris knows — and shows through his work — that there’s no place like home.

Getting His Start

As he recalls, his start in real estate happened by accident over time.

“I worked in hospitality. My girlfriend (now wife), Amanda, and I ran restaurants in the region. We moved to Chicago and opened several restaurants there,” Chris says.

“The hospitality world teaches you lots of good things about how to deal with people. We knew we didn’t want to raise our family in Chicago and this was home for my wife and I. We have deep roots here and came back.”

In turn, Chris and Amanda knew they wanted to take a new professional path. For a time, Chris sold food service equipment and helped with commercial projects.

“We did a lot of different projects after the Joplin tornado. There were many rebuilds going on in the area,” he recalls. “I was more on the equipment side during those rebuilds.”

Learning and Growing

Chris spent many years with the Missouri Restaurant Association Southwest Chapter, holding various roles including that of President and Chairman. Eventually, Chris was recruited to go into insurance sales in Ozark.

“While I was getting licensed in insurance, we had a friend that was a Realtor and she said you would be great in real estate,” he remembers.

“So I did that and loved it from the start when I got my license in September 2015. We had three years of pretty grueling work between insurance and real estate full-time. In 2018, I dropped insurance and have been doing real estate everyday since.”

One of the best parts of his work for Chris is the fact it doesn’t feel like work at all. In addition, one of his favorite aspects of real estate is coming together and finding common ground during a deal.

Welcoming Others

Chris has a strong specialty in relocation work and welcoming people from other areas to their new home in Springfield.

“My background is in organizational communication development. That’s my degree. It helps me talk with other recruiters and people who are in HR departments and help with local relocation that comes this way,” Chris says.

“My favorite thing is showing off the city. I meet folks at the airport and show them Springfield and the surrounding area and all the things that we enjoy about living here.”

As Chris says, his big why in his business is, without a doubt, his family, including his wife of 12 years, Amanda, and their two children — 8-year-old, Lucy and 5-year-old, Charlie.

Family Highlights

Away from work, Chris and Amanda look forward to supporting their children in their activities, including soccer and gymnastics. He also REALLY enjoys fishing (as you can tell from the photo shoot location).

When it comes to giving back, Chris is a big fan of the Springfield Public School system, as well as supporting the PTA.

Those who get to know Chris feel a lot of gratitude for the way he approaches his life and work. His heart is 100 percent into it.

“I always want them to know that I am here to advocate for their success,” Chris says.

“I’m always there for any type of resources for them that they can use for their house … to be their resource for anything and everything for their homes and beyond. I want to be a trusted advocate for them. Having good solid relationships with people is very important to create a win-win for both buyers and sellers.”

Congratulations to Chris Lock for giving his all on behalf of his clients. In the process, he personifies the phrase that there is no place like home … and welcoming others to the place you grew up.

“This doesn’t feel like work … surrounding yourself with the right team to help facilitate the deal and make it smooth to the closing table,” he says with a smile. “Some of our best friends are people we didn’t know five years ago.”