We were lucky to catch up with Sheila Dadashzadeh recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sheila, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My parents are most definitely my heros!! They fled the Revolution in Iran with my older sister and pregnant with myself and my twin sister. As immigrants, they came to the US with very little. My dad went to school, got his BA and Masters and worked 3 jobs around the clock to provide for his family. My mom stayed at home to raise us, but once we were all in school most of the day, she also joined the workforce and began taking classes at a local community college. They both had a hunger for work and to make a good life for us. What started for both of them as odd jobs just to make a living, turned into building their own businesses. My father started investing and eventually owning his own car dealerships and my mom is an independent interior designer. Both of their entrepreneurial spirits were definitely instilled in me and I always think of their journey and how it has influenced many of my life choices, especially when it comes to my career. The hard work and determination they had to succeed and prove themselves in a country that was foreign to them is something that I always will look up to and remind myself of. My heros!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began in Real Estate in 2005 while I was attending UCSD and looking for a part-time job. I got an admin job with a top Real Estate Team and that’s where I started learning the ins and outs of the business and fell in love with it! I would attend my classes and go straight to work after and on the weekends. As soon as I graduated with my BA, I took my RE test and began doing Real Estate full time. It was challenging as I went straight to a commission based income, but I learned so much that first year of my career and built a great foundation for my business.

I pride myself in my relationships that I build with my clients and love the life-long friendships that come out of working together. Being a resource for people before, during, and well after the home selling or buying process is important to me as I don’t see each sale as a transaction, but instead as a stepping stone for my clients to build wealth and financial freedom.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

In Real Estate, you see a lot of heavy hitters on social media talking about themselves, with endless photos and videos of them, when it is not about us. It is about our clients and helping them navigate the market. Being honest with open communication is something that I take very importantly as buying a home is usually the biggest investment in a person’s life. I take this very seriously and make sure my clients know that they are not just a transaction to me. Integrity is key in this business as a lot of it is built upon referrals and I know that I am doing something right when people refer me to their family and friends.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Covid during the past few years has effected everyone and has obviously had a big impact on the Real Estate market. The beginning of it was quite scary for me as we did not know what was going to happen to the economy and housing in general. People were scared to do anything and deals I had in escrow already, people were canceling based solely on fear. After the initial fear, people realized that based on life circumstances, they still needed to buy or sell regardless of Covid. But the way we did business had to change to make sure everyone was safe and didn’t feel their health was at risk. My favorite part of my work is meeting people and that face-to-face interaction I get with them. This changed drastically as I had to change to Zoom meetings and video tours instead of doing these in person together. I had to adapt to this new way of building relationships with my clients. There was a lot more responsibility put in me as a lot of buyers didn’t see the homes in person or sellers trusting that I was keeping their home safe during showings. I learned a lot through working during the pandemic, and I believe grew as a professional.

Contact Info:

• Website: SheilaSellsSD.com
• Instagram: @SheilaSellsSD
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheilaDadashzadehRealEstate/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheiladadashzadeh/
• Other: https://www.zillow.com/profile/Sheila%20Dadashzadeh