Residential real estate brokerage is a unique industry in that, by and large, it is powered by women. Women run most of the top firms and are also typically the most successful agents. Any man in this business, if he’s honest, and a genuine real estate professional, will tell you that women played a huge role in shaping their careers. They are our bosses, mentors, partners, colleagues, and support.
I have many times told the story of Helene Luchnick. She was a legend in New York City residential real estate. I was lucky to have sat next to her during my first years in sales. While she could rub certain people the wrong way, I liked and respected her. She was always willing to help, always ready to share her knowledge with me, and always there to listen. She was tough but fair, smart but shrewd. Sitting next to her and learning all she had to offer was better than any master’s degree or coaching program I could have ever attended.
The reality is – women are far more willing to teach, share and listen than men will ever be. This may be part of the reason I gravitated towards this industry. It’s an environment that is very familiar to me because I am a product of incredible female support and leadership.
It started at home. I am the proud son of a single mother who worked day and night to provide for my sisters and me. She did this in a time and place when women working outside the home were an anomaly. I am the much-loved little brother of two incredible older sisters. I am the product of tough love and compassion from my second mother, Ellen Misimanga. She is integral to the man I have become today.
This influence didn’t stop at home. It has quite literally shaped my career from Pam, Bess, Diane, Dottie, Michelle, Reba, Emily – the list to too long. They have all been great friends, sometimes fierce adversaries, and always good teachers, fair players and smart, talented colleagues.
And my team at CORE, except for Patrick – (I didn’t forget you), has an entirely female staff. Brittley, Ashley, Pola, Meghan, Angela, Mandy, Juliet, Jessica, Vanessa, Annilee, Cassie, Ariana, Rose, and Danielle – you are the machine that keeps CORE going. Not only do these women keep the machine moving seamlessly – but this group raises 15 children while doing it – with one on the way. Hard work and dedication don’t even begin to describe what they do.
But I have most certainly learned the most from my two daughters – Ava and Ella. They have been my greatest teachers and harshest critics. They have shown me the very best and worst of myself, and I can never thank them enough. It has been a joy to watch them grow into strong, smart and courageous young women. In their own way, each will be a force to be reckoned with – and I can’t wait to see what is next.
Not one part of this would be possible without my wife – and anyone who knows me, and especially my family, will tell you that. She is my rock and the glue that holds my family and company together. She is my sounding board, confidant and business partner. She is also the smartest and most thoughtful person I have ever known. She also manages all my business activity, my life, four children, the entire CORE staff and operations, 100 real estate agents, and once COVID hit she added managing two houses, cooking 3 meals a day for 5 people, moving her office to the basement so she could be around to help homeschool 3 kids, do mountains of laundry and lots of cleaning – and she gave up over half her salary to keep as many people as possible employed when the pandemic forced layoffs. She is almost always the first one up in the morning and the last one to go to bed at night. She is amazing – but she is not alone. There are millions of women, just like her, working this hard.
There have been mountains of articles in recent months regarding the toll the pandemic has taken on women, especially women who traditionally worked outside the home. They have either seen their jobs eliminated or compounded with lack of childcare or assistance at home. Just last week, dozens of prominent men including Steph Curry, Andrew Yang, and Alexis Ohanian, published a full-page letter in The Washington Post affirming there support of the 50 prominent women who called on Congress to create a “Marshall Plan for Moms” providing stimulus checks to those whose work at home goes unpaid. Additionally, we need to focus on growing jobs for women as more than 30 years of progress in the workforce has all but been eliminated in the last year – and that should be unacceptable to all of us.
Finally, we need to give credit where credit is due. Bill Gates will be the first to say that the success of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is due, in large part, to the stewardship of Melinda Gates. A brilliant woman in her own right, he is proud to give her equal footing on this partnership and recognize her success in this endeavor. Slightly different is the former partnership of Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott. Amazon was created by BOTH Bezos and Scott. The myth that Bezos was some lone genius founder is just that – a myth. She was integral in the formation, and for many years, operation of the company. In fact, many in the company are concerned about its future trajectory given that she is no longer involved. There is no man – nor woman – who finds success without the leadership and partnership of women. The faster we all recognize this the better.
Monday, March 8th, is International Women’s Day. It should give each and every one of us time to thank and recognize the women in our life. For those of us in residential real estate brokerage, we have too many to thank. Start with one. Start with the colleague next to you, at the next closing table, at the next showing – your bosses, mentors, and associates. Just do it.
And in retrospect, my life and career have not been successful because it was powered by raw talent or steely determination. It’s been successful because it has been powered by strong women – and we should all be so lucky.
Let’s do this.
-Shaun