Exploring Life & Business with Shara Shepherd of Shara Shepherd, Realtor and SS Legacy Properties

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shara Shepherd.

Hi Shara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in the SF Bay area. My immediate family and I come from humble beginnings. My mother actually resided in Houston for several years, and my maternal grandmother is from Texas (northeast) so I have a lot of family here that I was always wanting to connect with. After visiting the Houston area several years ago, I fell in love with the city and its culture. I made my mind up after visiting a few times that this was where I wanted to plant my roots so here I am now!

Pivoting into real estate was always a long-term goal of mine. After working in corporate America for about 10 years, it became apparent that transitioning into real estate needed to be a ‘shorter-term’ goal. I honestly started to dread going to work some days and I believe that is no way to live. If there is one thing about me, if I do not like the situation or environment I am in, I will find a way out of it no matter what.

I started studying for the CA exam when I was still living back home in California, but Southern California at the time. Once I visited Houston and realized I wasn’t going to live in California much longer, I put those studies on hold. My previous career ended up taking me to NYC. After living in NYC about 2 years, I started studying for the NY exam but my heart was still in Houston so the TX exam it was!

During the process of relocating to Houston, I had to put my studies on hold for a few months while getting settled. Luckily, I passed the TX exam on the first try (by the grace of God!) and that’s when this rewarding, roller coaster of a journey began!

I started as a part-time agent, still working in my previous career with plans to go full-time, later down the road. I learned some very solid, invaluable tools on how to structure my business, generate my first transactions, and just overall how to create a sustainable business, from my first brokerage. Many of the activities learned I still practice and try to teach other agents, today. As mentioned before, some days I dreaded going into work and my heart and mind were just no longer passionate, let alone interested, in what I was doing in my previous career. I’ve always felt like my purpose was much larger and my previous career was simply not enabling nor helping me get there. In fact, it was doing the very opposite and leaving me extremely unmotivated every day.

This only pushed me into real estate further. I started generated business and connecting with people through some paid marketing resources and organically on social media. The rest was history. Within only a couple of months of being licensed I was assisting several renters and a few buyers. Thanks to some of my very first clients and their trust, support from close family, friends, and partners in the business, things took off for me during the height of the pandemic. I was legitimately scared that I’d be out of business like I know many entrepreneurs were. It’s been an absolute blessing that the opposite occurred for me. To better serve my client-base, I went full-time at the height of the pandemic.

Aside from work, I’ve always had a passion for traveling, exploring, learning other cultures. I also love art, photography, and being active. Spin, HIIT, and hiking are my favorite ways of being active.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Absolutely NOT lol! Just being real. The market has been nothing short of unprecedented but in a way, my previous career, my natural hustle, and ability to adapt to change very quickly, prepared me to be the best agent for my amazing clients and future clients. I am extremely grateful and blessed to be in the position I am to serve them.

Every day in real estate is full of surprises because every transaction is different, each client’s situation and circumstances are unique. You’re always working with different business partners both new and seasoned, and of course, this market is unlike any market we’ve ever had in real estate.

Some days are smooth, but honestly, most weeks/days are challenging for some reason or another. The more transactions you successfully assist people with, the most experienced you become, and the more prepared you become for the unknowns of this business. You become better at mitigating risks and helping your clients assess and make informed decisions in their best interest.

I’d say a few of the more personal struggles that I don’t think get discussed enough are the emotional aspects of real estate. In general, it’s an emotional process for buyers and sellers, but can also be a very emotional journey for everyone involved. As an agent or any entrepreneur, you experience a lot of failure, a lot of rejection, and so many highs and lows in your journey. Despite that, you know you still have to remain motivated and consistent. However, because we’re all human, living in the kind of world we live in; everyone is dealing with something, and some days it can be extremely tough to stay motivated, for various reasons of course. It’s so important to balance rest in your day to day, give yourself lots of grace and patience, really focus on establishing healthy routines such as a working out, nourishing diets, reading, meditating and/or praying, affirmations, etc. so you can successfully charge through all those challenging moments while maintaining a healthy mindset, and better control your emotions during those highs and lows.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Shara Shepherd, Realtor, and SS Legacy Properties LLC?
Well, there’s a lot to know! Shara Shepherd, Realtor provides real estate services and resources to prospective buyers, sellers, investors, and renters. This part of the biz specializes in relocations, listing services, and first-time buyers. Blessed to say we’re growing and there will be some exciting changes coming next year so my team and I can assist more people with their real estate needs. This will include offering more services in California, TX markets, as well as officially adding savvy agents to the team so stay tuned! I believe what will continue to set my business apart is the hands-on, hyper service-oriented approach, and knowledge of the market. I know people say this often, but I am truly a number nerd. Coming from a 10-year forecasting/planning background helps tremendously in the kind of environment we’re in. People need to be able to rely on this kind of expertise in challenging times like these. My team and I are very hands-on, strive to educate, and be as valuable to clients before, during, and after the transaction. 110% is given to every single person I work with. I have an established process so my clients can have the most enjoyable experience as can be. My clients recognize this difference. 🙂

SS Legacy Properties is the parent company, which I am an employee of, and mainly involved with real estate investments. It’s the way I’ve structured my business and provides many long-term advantages that enable me to grow more strategically.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
LOL oh boy! People knew me as a social butterfly growing up. Always very kind, generous, silly, often feisty lol, and strong-willed. Younger Shara, was pretty timid and reserved. Still very sweet and generous as I am now. Growing up and maturing into the woman I am today, less timid, definitely more opinionated, still fun, social, very energetic, and definitely goofier than ever. Also extremely self-motivated and have a unique gift of motivating and inspiring others which I love doing. I am becoming more comfortable nurturing that gift and using it in ways I didn’t realize I could before. People who know me personally or have worked with me know I’m generally always in positive spirits, always laughing, making others laugh, and making others feel great about themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: sharashepherd.realtor
• Instagram: instagram.com/sharatherealtor
• Facebook: facebook.com/sharatherealtor
• Twitter: twitter.com/sharatherealtor