We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shawanda T. Robinson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Shawanda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Thank you so much for having me back!
Yes! I was born and raised in Washington, DC. Petworth DC to be exact. I now currently reside in PG County, MD yet I’m always a DC girl at heart & forever! Real estate had been a passion of mine for many years and in 2015, I decided to go for it & change my life by becoming a Realtor®/Real Estate Agent. It has been a pleasure helping so many people/families with their goals and important milestones in their lives. I’ve recently moved to a new brokerage, Village Premier Collection Maryland. In addition to helping my clients with their real estate needs, I now mentor new agents. There are so many awesome things coming down the line that I can’t wait to share. It has been an exciting 2022, with so many new endeavors and I am so excited about the rest of the year, 2023, and beyond. I am a licensed Real Estate Agent in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia however, I have connections all over the country and link you with another Rockstar Realtor® if you need assistance outside of the DMV. I have extensive knowledge of the DMV real estate market, am intentional about supporting local businesses, am a foodie and am a local guide. I love experiencing new places to eat, hear live music, hangout and just enjoy. In my spare time, I spend time with my family and friends; they are everything to me! I’m passionate about changing the wealth gap in my community & strive to educate people on the advantages of owning real estate and how to leverage it. The primary services that I offer are free buyer & seller consultations/workshops, buyer’s agent, seller/listing agent, rent to own programs, credit & savings building program, and home evaluations. I am here to assist anyone that wants to buy or sell a home and welcome all inquiries. Knowledge is power and I am an open book about sharing information, experiences and life lessons. I love helping people and I can’t imagine not being a Realtor® it was one of the best decisions I have ever made!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media has been one of the best sources of obtaining new clients and keeping my current/past clients updated on me and real estate news. I have business accounts on every social media platform and kept the same name @shawandasoldit for all of them for brand recognition. I started out making my own posts and using varied real estate and scheduling platforms. I knew that I had to get the word out to my family and friends that I was a Realtor®. I continuously posted information even if there were not any likes or shares. Social media is a full time job so since starting out, I now have a marketing team that assists me with content so I can focus more on my clients/client care. I’m still very hands on with my social media content to ensure that it still highly represents me and gives value to my clients and followers. Social media allows you to have a huge influence in people’s lives. I am so grateful to all that see, like, comment, share, and repost my content. It makes me so happy and I always feel like my Mom is looking down from above smiling & super proud of me.
I would advise anyone starting to build their presence on social media to just keep pushing. Don’t let zero likes deter you from posting on a consistent basis. Set up business accounts for all social media outlets; you should separate business & personal accounts. Research the best times to post based on when your audience is online. Share some of your personal life on your business page; people want to be able to relate and connect with you. Add value by posting helpful and informative information. People see your posts even if they don’t hit the like button. Sharing consistent content is important; you must keep going as if your posts are getting 1000s of likes and shares.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
March 2020, was a time when we were all adjusting to our lives during COVID-19. The global pandemic was a time when we all had to be resilient in some way(s). We were temporarily not able to show houses and have in person meetings/consultations. I had to figure out how to run my business safely & remotely. I started increasing my social media presence, got a zoom account and ran my business from my house with the exception of buyers viewing homes. I started having lots of virtual workshops for buyers and sellers. I provided workshops on services that people needed during the pandemic such as how to maintain their beauty routines because you couldn’t go into the salon and how to grow your own produce/gardens. I wanted to provide value to people at a time that was very uncertain and honestly pretty scary for a lot of us. This surprisingly turned out to be very successful for business. It was thriving in a time when lots of other businesses were folding; I was happy for myself and sad for other businesses that could not sustain the pandemic.
2020, was definitely one of my best yet the most difficult year of my life at the same time.In July 2020, my #1 fan and rock, my Mom, Anita gained her heavenly wings. I was helping 5+ clients buy or sell when my mom was transitioning and ultimately passed away. Her death took a major toll on me in every way imaginable. However, I still had people that were counting on me to get them to the closing table. My colleagues assisted me with my clients and my family wiped away my tears. It was very hard to push through yet, I have an awesome support system; so grateful for them. I also reminded myself of how proud my Mom was of me and that she would want me to push through no matter what. Through all of the adversity of 2020, I was able to flourish in my business and have a great year despite what was happening in my personal life. I miss my mother every day, all that she instilled in me remains and making her proud of me is what has kept me going to this day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shawandasoldit.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawandasoldit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawandasoldit
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawandasoldit/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/shawandasoldit
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKQpHk5QaPhHIvhA82-75CA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/shawanda-t-robinson-village-premier-collection-maryland-lanham
- Other: https://blinq.me/QvOuFilfnfig
Image Credits
Couple of Lenses