We asked Shannon to share the story of how she became a real estate agent, as it was quite the journey. This is how she came to work with us at Pretty Home Realty:
“Before I was in real estate, I wore a lot of hats. When I first got out of college, I was a social worker. I taught developmentally disabled children and adults and gave them and their families therapy. However, my goal was to go back to school, get my master’s degree, and work for the church, and I eventually did. It wasn’t the easiest journey, but it was worth it.
“I got a call to work as the first female pastor in Kansas. I had a lot of experience because I’d done missionary work in Cuba and the Middle East, so I was prepared for my journey, but it was still overwhelming. When you first start out in a job, you don’t know what you’re going to do. I had two churches out in the middle of nowhere at age 30, and I was on my own, but I made it.
“While I was there, I got married, then later had to move to Ohio for my husband’s job, and while we were there, we adopted a four-year-old daughter. Sadly, eventually, my husband and I decided to get divorced. I didn’t want to put the church through my divorce, so I moved back to my home state of Michigan for family support. However, there were no church positions available when I moved back here.
“I thought, ‘Now what am I going to do?’ I was searching for work when I came across Pretty Home Realty, and their post asked, ‘Do you want to be a real estate agent?’ It intrigued me, but it also scared me to think about being an agent. It was Friday, and their class was starting on Monday. I was 50 at that point, had no idea what I was doing, but decided to call the training center and sign up for the class.
If you put in the time, work hard, and do what you need to do, you’ll get where you need to go.
“I passed my test but decided to join another team because they made me a bunch of promises. They said they’d give me leads, invite me to their golf outing and other activities, and make my real estate career happen. However, when I got there, it wasn’t like that at all. I was so relieved when I spoke to Shawn and Christina because their team sounded like a much better place for me.
“Christina immediately started getting my stuff transferred, and I felt like they wanted me there. I felt like I could be valuable and do real work at Pretty Home Realty. My goals were to provide for my daughter and pay for her college. Once I joined this team, I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to reach my goals.
“Working for Pretty Home Realty has made a difference because my daughter has seen that her mom never gives up, and that’s important. On this team, if you put in the time, work hard, and do what you need to do, you’ll get where you need to go. Life is not always easy, but if you stay with it and believe in yourself, you’ll go in the right direction.”
We want to thank Shannon for being vulnerable and sharing her story. If you ever have questions for our team or want to know how we conduct our real estate business, call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.