Before launching her real estate career in 2017, Shannon Sashko spent 14 years with Deloitte. She enjoyed her time there, having the privilege of working with two bosses that made her time at work fun and meaningful. After nearly a decade and a half in corporate America, however, Shannon had finally accepted that she desired something different.

 

“My personality is not to sit in a cube. I like to engage with people. Having a degree in Psychology, my goal is to always leave people feeling better than they did before we talked,” Shannon offers. Her next job was with St. Edward High School, an all-boys, private, Roman Catholic high school in Lakewood. She resonated with the school’s mission, but once again, her role left her feeling unfulfilled.

 

The throughline in all of Shannon’s work has been her desire to be of service. So, as she racked her brain for her next move, finding a career with a service orientation was most important. During this time of contemplation, Shannon remembered the trying experience she had selling her own house. It took her six years and six REALTORS® to sell her home, but the agent who eventually sold the house inspired her.

 

Thanks to that experience, Shannon was reminded of the love for homes she developed as a child, watching her mother work as an interior designer. And then, a light bulb went off. “I’m going into real estate,” she told herself. “I always wanted to help people, and it came full circle with something I loved.”

 

Despite her excitement, Shannon struggled to build a solid foundation in real estate early on. She was encouraged by her continued desire to serve, but in the first few years, her results did not match her goals. “I can't tell you how many times I almost quit, the thought that this can't sustain me repeating 1000 times over. I was on a team, not on a team, back and forth trying to figure out what would work,” she explains.

 

Finally, in 2022, things turned around. Shannon joined Theresa Seese’s team, and her business began to flourish soon after. The success she had previously only dreamed about was suddenly manifest. “I joined her as a Transaction Coordinator because I was almost giving up on real estate. It was clear, really quickly, that being a transaction coordinator was not my strong point, but sales and building relationships were,” she recalls.

 

“Theresa was the first person who believed in me. She built me up at my lowest point and never gave up on me, and I started to believe in myself. I became a different person in terms of confidence. That changed my life. I could never imagine I would have been as successful as last year.”

 

In 2022, Shannon’s first year on Theresa’s team at McDowell Homes Real Estate Services, she closed 26 homes for $7 million. Although the broader real estate industry continues to struggle, Shannon hopes to build upon her success in 2023…“My word for this year is unstoppable. That's my attitude. I'm going to work butt off to do what I did last year.”

 

Shannon has some personal goals for the years ahead, too. Along with her husband, Brian, 12-year-old twins, Samantha and Travis, two dogs, and three cats, Shannon hopes to provide her family with a vacation and plans to begin saving for college for the twins.

 

“Each year, I hope to be building something that provides for them. My passion lies in serving others and ultimately my children are a priority. They are everything to me,” Shannon says. “In my family and in real estate, I just want people to know I genuinely care about them and that I bring something of value to their life.”