April 29, 2025 • 4 secs
In this episode of Media Rebel Unplugged, host Janice Becker speaks with Kelly Shultz, a dynamic entrepreneur in the real estate and construction industry. Kelly shares her journey from a successful career in media to taking over her family's home building business. The conversation delves into the challenges of navigating a male-dominated industry, the importance of community and support among women, and the entrepreneurial spirit that drives Kelly to succeed. She offers valuable insights on overcoming imposter syndrome, the significance of self-care, and the role of family in her business journey. This episode is a celebration of women's empowerment and the strength found in collaboration and support.
Takeaways
- Kelly transitioned from a media career to real estate.
- Navigating a male-dominated industry requires confidence and resilience.
- Community support is crucial for women in business.
- Imposter syndrome is common, but self-belief is key.
- Entrepreneurship involves risks but can lead to personal fulfillment.
- Setting boundaries is essential for self-care.
- Women often multitask and strategize better in business.
- Family support can significantly impact entrepreneurial success.
Advocating for team members fosters a respectful work environment.
Women are making strides in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Sound Bites
"I always say I would not last in the military..."
"I think things are changing for the better..."
"I love that you advocate for people on your team..."
Chapters
00:00 Breaking Barriers in Male-Dominated Fields
02:56 Navigating Family Dynamics in Business
05:57 The Transition from Corporate to Entrepreneurship
08:57 Building a Supportive Network for Women
12:09 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
14:56 The Importance of Business Ownership
18:00 Self-Care and Setting Boundaries
21:03 Inspiring the Next Generation of Women Leaders
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Welcome to Media Rebel Unplugged.
I'm your host, Janice Becker.
Today I am joined with Kelly Schultz from Schultz Homes.
I am really excited to have you here and to get your input because a lot of our episodeshave been about these strong women leaders in male-dominated fields and you didn't
initially start there.
Yeah.
So my career trajectory when I graduated from college, I actually started Pandora radioback when it was really Pandora radio.
(00:29):
Now it's has been acquired by SiriusXM, but I was there for about seven or eight years.
So I was in the world of media advertising slash tech.
So amazing.
Only great things to say about the time that I had there.
marketing and advertising is a crazy world that I learned so much about.
Worked with a lot of agency partners, huge brand partners as well.
was in Chicago at the time.
Got to work all over.
(00:50):
the central region, really amazing experience of getting my foothold in sales.
I never thought I would really be in sales, but in the background always had this edge tocome back to.
Akron area specifically because of my family and my family had a home building company andme and my siblings, three of the four at least, decided that we would take it over.
So I made a path to kind of get back here and go the entrepreneur route, which is what Ireally had my heart set on for a long time, which kickstarted my career in real estate.
(01:17):
We own a home building company, but there's a lot more facets to what we do than justthat.
We have a development arm.
I actually own and run a brokerage.
I'm the principal broker for Schultz Realty.
And then me and my brother's own Schultz designing construction, which does high endcustom building and remodels all over Northeastern Ohio.
I run that with them and it's many worlds merged together.
(01:37):
It's construction, real estate, finance at times, running a small business, it's running afamily business, but it keeps things very interesting.
I can't even imagine what that must be like, especially in a male-dominated field, but nowyou're also with family.
What is that like for you to balance the two?
I was always around small and family business and the fact that it was my dad that passedit along to me and my two brothers.
(02:01):
I was always kind of groomed to be tough and it was somewhat of a smooth transition justbecause especially growing up with three siblings, like one of four, like you have to hold
your own.
Yeah.
So I would never say that I was like a dainty or passive personality.
I've always had it in me to stand up for myself, but going from tech and media and techhas a
(02:21):
preconceived notion of being a little bit more of a soft space than construction, makingthat transition and seeing how you have to show up in a room and put your feet on the
ground and really make a seat for yourself at the table, I think more so when it's anindustry like construction.
I've heard a lot of my friends and past colleagues that go into finance say finance is asimilar way.
(02:42):
No opportunity is going to get handed to you, especially if you're a woman.
You not only have to be a hand raiser, but you have to literally fold it like
seat out for yourself and sit down at the table, which I think there's good, bad and uglyand everything.
The silver lining there is it makes you a stronger person every single day.
Every opportunity that you get, you feel like it's deserved for your part in it, that itwasn't just handed to you, which makes you proud.
(03:05):
It does.
I'm proud for things myself in this very male dominated space.
And the media side, it's more in the leadership part that you really have to fight forthat and still feel like your voice isn't really heard a lot of the time.
advocating for yourself, the episode previous to this, we just had that discussion is youreally always have to advocate, especially as a woman, regardless if it's for your health
(03:26):
or for your career or whatever it is to be heard.
I think we're making movement, but it's still surprising how we have to be loud about
I can tell pretty quickly in a conversation, especially with an older male, I'm good atreading how people are reading me.
I pick up very quickly what they assume that I don't know.
I've been in real estate for about six years.
(03:48):
I've been able to impress so many people because the bar is so low, which is like good andbad.
I'm not going to say it's easy to succeed, but if you're going to set the bar that low forme, great.
I'll step over it very easily.
I can tell quickly that they assume that I don't know things.
When I start
you know, talking through my methodology on reasoning for pricing or, you know, I take onthe economy and where the housing market's going.
(04:11):
It's very quickly shifts the mood of the room, especially when it's a woman talking,because I'm always sitting right next to my two brothers.
Everybody wants to know what they think.
And God bless my two brothers.
A lot of times they look at me as, like, because they know, you know, what I know and theyrespect me.
It's interesting how our dynamic just plays out with strangers a lot of the time.
Because I think they assume that I'm like the sister that just tags along and...
(04:33):
It's not our dynamic.
I'm in the middle.
So I have an older brother, Aaron, and then my younger brother, and he's 38, and then myyounger brother is 30.
I think that's great when you have that level of support from family members thatacknowledge your knowledge instead of speaking for you or on your behalf and making you
(04:57):
feel less than.
Yeah, at the end of the day, like they're my business partners, right?
And I'll give a lot of credit to my dad.
My dad has two daughters that are very strong.
If in some other universe, we were able to run a company together, my dad would have fullconfidence in us.
Like he knows his daughters.
As far as the capacity to see things end to end, all those like my new skills that youhave to have as a business owner, being able to act in the present while thinking about
(05:23):
the future.
Women tend to...
Multitasking their brain a lot easier than men.
I always say I would not last in the military because like if you're giving meinstructions of do or die in the moment, I'm thinking about the next thing.
Women just have this like inherent ability to multitask and strategically plan in a calmersense in their male counterparts, which makes us really strong business owners when it's
(05:48):
something that our hearts are set on.
What's something that you wish you would have known before stepping into this role?
I have such a soft spot in my heart for entrepreneurs and people that take a huge riskwalking away from a guaranteed job.
And not everybody's going to support you.
I'm lucky that I have my family surrounding me.
So I have like a built-in net at all times if they have no options for me.
(06:10):
You have all the resources available to you to succeed.
It's just how much work do you want to put in?
When I moved from having a nine to five guaranteed salary, great situation, great setup,great job to...
A little bit of isolation in a small business, going from a company of thousands to acompany of 10 was a tectonic shift for me.
(06:31):
There's a route for success and there's a route for happiness that can be truly your ownunique thing.
So betting on yourself and believing that it's all going to work out.
I was pretty nervous in that transition.
And now I see that this was completely for the betterment.
I have a more flexible schedule.
If I believe in something, I can see it through the end and make it my own.
especially in a male dominated industry when you have to convince people that may notagree with you at the onset or may discount you versus I had tons of male competitors that
(07:02):
do exactly what I do on the brokerage side.
It just makes it that much sweeter.
I can identify with that because I went from this big corporation USA Today, went to asmaller agency and then finally stepped away from that.
And it's scary.
I don't have anybody else supporting me or my children and to say, okay, I've had enoughof this.
I'm going to step out.
believe in myself.
And that's the biggest thing at the end of the day is believing in yourself.
(07:25):
You can absolutely accomplish anything that you put your mind to, but it's hard.
You're going to have a lot of trials, a lot of no's, a lot of
competition and women sticking together and supporting one another and building thatnetwork.
I know for me being in a new area, a new business owner, and I never intended to start thepodcast.
And then I was like, okay, so I'm totally alone.
(07:46):
Other people feel the same way.
So let's start this and help reach other people with women leaders and inspire andmotivate them as well.
It is difficult, especially with marriage, children, career life balance.
Women really take that on a lot heavier in this time period of life than men do.
It's hard to find like-minded women that are in the same position.
(08:08):
It's hard to come by people that are thinking and have the same priorities.
I'm pregnant right now, definitely excited to have kids.
But I've delayed it for a reason.
And I'm really glad that I did, honestly, in hindsight and seeing where I'm at today.
But it's tough to find that community of people that are thinking about things the sameway, especially in a smaller market.
My experience is coming from a big city where everybody was grinding and all the shipswere at the same level.
(08:32):
And I loved the competitiveness.
loved, there was just a energy about it.
And I am trying really hard to find that same community in this area.
So I love that you're doing this.
Thank you.
I'm glad.
It's nice that oh other people have found this helpful to have others be able to identifywith it.
We've had a wide range of guests and hopefully we continue to grow.
(08:53):
That anybody listening can find something to relate to.
Like you even mentioned women in finance.
We just had a woman on it and she's amazing.
She's one of the Forbes recognized finance and wealth advisors.
She's amazing.
uh
I think I've been blessed with the ability to connect with other women and part of that isthey're able to see that I'm genuine.
(09:16):
I actually want to just help people at the end of the day.
So like you said, just finding like-minded people is really important.
Any woman that I meet, I'm just any man too for this matter, but more so women.
I just want to know their story and how they got to where they're at and what they thinkabout their next step.
I could see myself getting into other industries, buying businesses down the road.
(09:36):
I always think if the construction industry is going to set the bar this low for women,what other industries are like this?
Because I want to go blow it out of the water there.
oh
I love that because people ask me, well, what's your next step?
And I'm like, just world domination.
It's like I'm always starting a new venture, but I like that I don't feel held back in anyway.
(09:56):
I've just had this unfounded sense of confidence since I was a little kid.
And my time in media, I had one or two male bosses and I was so young and so hungry at thetime.
I mean, I was a little bit nuts when I was right out of college.
I was so about career development and I want to do skip levels with managers above me.
(10:16):
I got a meeting with the CEO of the company one time.
Like I had to fly to Oakland, California for this meeting because I just wanted to sitdown with him and be like, tell me your story.
I was really serious about it.
I've seen men and jobs that they're not qualified for, but I've never seen a woman in ajob she's not qualified for.
A couple men that I've come across in my career, I've said, if you are doing this, I canliterally do anything.
(10:41):
Seeing whoever you have convinced that you have this handled or that this is the right waythat this should go, if you can convince this many people that I can be the president of
the United States of America tomorrow.
At times, the negatives that I've seen in unqualified people in their positions has givenme more hope where I'm confident.
Like, there's tons of people out there that are doing jobs they aren't qualified for, butit's their confidence that just carries them on.
(11:04):
Some women value themselves or feel imposter syndrome and things like that.
I just want them to know, no, you're fine.
Trust me, we're all just trying to get by.
Nobody has everything figured out.
Just keep going.
Learn and make yourself a little bit better every single day and you'll be fine.
was joking with my dad when I first started the business and I was like, feel like animposter.
(11:24):
feel like I have a pretend business right now because I don't have any clients and I'mdoing all these things.
And he laughs at me.
mean, it's real to feel like that, especially when you're building something and you don'tsee the traction for it yet.
Yeah, when I first got my real estate license in Ohio, in the state of there's levels oflicenses, first year salesperson, and then your broker.
The typical trajectory is that when you get your salesperson license, you go work at aKeller Williams or a- EXP Realty.
(11:49):
Yeah.
One of those bigger brokerages and you go on, you work under somebody that's been doing itfor a while and you get in this pyramid for lack of better term.
That's the standard route.
But when I was getting my license, I thought, why can't I just have my own brokerage dayone?
I thought, well, I'll find a way around this.
So what I did was I found a boutique brokerage that we had some history with.
(12:14):
My dad had a partner and I went to that guy and I said, Hey, I'm getting my license.
I want to have my own brokerage and be a broker, but I have to have my license for twoyears.
But can we make a partnership for the first two years where I rebrand it?
It looks.
Like it's my brokerage, but he was the principal broker on record.
I'm so glad I went that route because I had ownership day one and I was running a businessday one, which I knew I could do that part.
(12:40):
It was the actual transactions that I had to work with him and train before I could reallytake it over and be the principal broker on record.
I'm proud of myself that I didn't just go work under somebody else or join a larger teamand take the standard route.
Ownership of businesses is something that's undervalued by women and that's the true routeto.
financial success.
took a little bit of a risk, right?
(13:01):
Like it could have failed that imposter syndrome where you're like, Schultz Realty day onehas never sold a house.
Okay, here we go.
Now $50 million later, very successful, you know, continuing to grow my market and I havemarket share, which is nice, but it was a little bit of a risk in the beginning.
very inspiring that you were so brave really to do that and think outside the box.
(13:23):
I don't know many people who would think that way.
Ohio is one of the hardest states to get a real estate license, which most people don'tknow that.
And then for you to go that extra step and say, I'm actually going to owe my own brokerageon day one.
It's very inventive.
Yeah, I figure I knew the branding part.
I knew the running the business part.
I knew I had the connections.
(13:43):
I knew that I could convert the sales leads myself.
I was just like, I'm a bigger value to them than they are to me.
So I can figure it out and do it myself again.
If somebody else can do it, I'm going to figure out how to do it myself.
think about that all the time.
I could go and get another corporate job and make six figures, or I could have my ownbusiness and build it into something and have my children be a part of it, family
(14:05):
business, and make millions of dollars versus I'm making them millions of dollars.
And then they're going to look at me and tell me, we don't give out raises here, but thankyou for making us extra millions of dollars.
Because that is the standard.
Ownership.
It's definitely not for everybody, but if you know that it's your core, that you can takeon that responsibility, having employees is like a big weight a lot of times.
(14:28):
They're before you.
And that's the culture that we try to take is our employees and our clients come beforeus.
And that's why for a second generation company, we've been able to be successful and havea great reputation.
But if you feel like you can do it, it's definitely the route.
said, what advice would you give to somebody looking to their own business?
Think about it from all angles.
Definitely get advice from people, the good, bad, and the ugly.
(14:50):
Literally from people that you admire, that have tried and failed, that have tried anddecided it wasn't from them, which those are all fair routes.
Don't look at it through rose-colored glasses.
Like even when I assess an investment, I always take the pessimistic route that way whenit works out better and you're happy about it.
But starting your business, you're never going to feel like you're ready.
(15:10):
There's a saying, if you wait until your product is out of prototypes to launch it, you'vewaited too long.
That's the biggest thing is nobody's watching you under a microscope like you are.
You just got to start and change.
And especially in small business, that's something that I've learned and that I talk withmy brothers about a lot is at the end of the day, your ability to pivot change and keep
moving forward is way more important than you doing a perfect, especially in smallbusiness to a further degree, to a sense of higher perfection or et cetera, et cetera.
(15:38):
But it's the key.
Just keep moving the ball up the hill.
Every single day, what's the priority today?
What's fitting into our long-term strategy?
Let's keep doing these things at a good pace versus him hauling over the details becausethose details are going to change way faster than you even realize.
just count how many times I've had to pivot since launching.
just a year I couldn't even count.
(15:59):
And those aren't failures.
As long as every single pivot is an improvement in one way or another, you're doing justfine.
Thankfully, I have a very supportive family and that's something that I hear a lot.
From that they're impressed with how quickly I pivot and it ends up being a good pivot.
Like you said, at least I learned something.
this didn't work out.
This was a failure, but okay, I'll move on to the next thing.
(16:21):
You just have to continue to grow.
Yeah.
And especially in ownership and moving from nine to five, I know not everybody has thisluxury, but you log off, you go home, you start thinking about the next morning and you
know, they can replace you when it's your business.
It's literally your livelihood, which can weigh on you and understanding that mentalityand, and whether or not you can really handle it.
(16:44):
You have to have a really good support system.
I like that my husband doesn't work in our family business and never will because he isthe separation and the piece that I need from it.
And I love working.
love running a business.
It's not that I need to escape it.
It's just, that's my separation.
Yeah.
when I talk to my parents about it.
It's media and it's very technical and they'll say stuff and they're like, we don't knowwhat that means.
(17:05):
But they're learning as I am talking to them all the time.
But it is nice that they're actually also not in it.
It's sometimes frustrating that they can't relate to what it's like to be a business ownerat the same time because they never own their own businesses.
My grandmother did.
She owned her own hotel in Ocean City and was also a single mom.
I think I learned probably the most from her and watching her.
(17:26):
Can you imagine running a hotel?
but she sounds like a bot.
She was the boss.
She sadly passed away in 23, but I remember I was 12 when she started teaching me thehotel and the phones and stuff.
I'll never forget these girls came in and they were like eight hours late.
They hadn't called.
This is before cell phones.
She ran out the room and they were so irate and she just stood her ground.
(17:48):
And she was so strong in that moment.
of me getting to witness this strong woman own her business, like truly.
And the problems with employees and stuff that she had to deal with.
I I was a front receipt to all of
Yeah, that's amazing.
I love that your grandma had that background.
I always say men are providers by nature, but when you see a woman that's a provider, it'son another level.
(18:10):
You know, your grandma being a business owner during her time was rare.
My grandma was in finance her whole career.
She was the provider in so many ways for their family.
She passed away in 22, but when I was starting my business, she helped me set up myQuickBooks and all my chart of accounts.
She knew her stuff.
She was an early investor in Apple.
She was very, very, very smart.
I accredited a lot of seeing her being in the conversation of the family finances andwhere their money was and what she was investing in and having had a career that she
(18:38):
retired from.
She was a controller for a uh large equipment company here.
Just her having that experience and me being able to see it.
Obviously I didn't know it at the time.
I was cutting the tone for women can do anything.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Which is way cool.
I think you're right.
never realized how much she was setting the tone for me to do that.
And looking back throughout my childhood, like I was an entrepreneur probably like 10, wasselling bracelets I made on the sidewalk.
(19:02):
I was always hustling.
We would sell candy bars for fundraising and I would double the price so I could get acandy bar.
Yes, my first business was I was a gift wrap.
would at Christmas, I would advertise that I would wrap gifts for a dollar a piece.
You had to either bring the gifts to me or I would come to your house and wrap your gifts.
I was probably 10 years old.
Yeah.
My dad was my only client the first year.
(19:23):
He had me wrap all of his employee gifts.
But I would be like, you know, mom, you need to take me to Joanne Fabrics.
I need this many rolls of wrapping paper and ribbon and tape and yeah, and did a littlemarketing myself.
So cute.
I feel like I think for especially entrepreneurs who are successful, that's how it starts.
It starts at an early age.
(19:43):
So when I told my parents about this podcast, they laughed.
were like, oh my gosh, it makes total sense.
When I was little, I used to put on a show with my brother.
It was called Jake and Jamie show.
My brother's name is David.
I don't know.
I was like the Jake and Jamie show and I would be on a microphone.
I'd either be singing or I'd be talking.
(20:03):
I'd be pushing him out of the way.
And they were like, oh yeah.
There it was.
for you.
I love that.
But yeah, I'm glad to bring it full circle and hopefully to em motivate my children aswell.
And my daughter, especially, being the only girl with all these boys to really just beindependent and strong, which she is.
(20:26):
think things are changing for the better.
you said at the beginning, we're making progress, but there's still those micro momentsand big moments too.
There are men in our industry that me and my brothers will go to a networking event andthey will shake both of their hands and ignore me.
And I'm just like, so rude.
They either assume I'm one of their wives or somebody that doesn't matter.
(20:48):
Or I love when people ask for one of them in a decision that would fall under my world.
Things like that happen all the time.
When I very, very first started, we had an employee that we was slated to start with usand he made an inappropriate comment to me.
I put my foot down to me.
said, who's firing him today?
oh They knew from day one.
There was nothing was to be played with.
(21:10):
Well, toxic employees are something that you should not keep around when you're startingyour business, especially the longer you keep them around, the worse it is for you and
your company.
It sets the tone for what you're going to tolerate.
It's sometimes a very hard decision to make.
think in that instance, it wasn't so difficult and very deserving, but you have to makethose decisions very
(21:34):
And we have other women that work in our business too and I feel like just me being one ofthe leaders of the company sets the tone that those women should be respected the same
way.
They may not be as forthcoming with it or as objectively upfront about it, but I look outfor them the same way.
I look out for them and say,
She's not just our bookkeeper.
(21:55):
First, she runs all of our finances.
She knows her shit.
She's going to be respected as such.
You know what I mean?
She's not just our designer.
She doesn't just pick out the colors.
She is the creative mind behind what we do and why people come to us.
And dictating that expectation for the other women, I feel like is something that I tickedhard to.
I love that you advocate for people on your team because that's another thing.
(22:15):
Not all women have that ability to advocate for themselves.
to have somebody there that is a support system for them is important too.
So we always ask, what is it that gets you through your
Honestly, my husband is such a light in my life.
My husband coffee and I just love my free time.
I feel like that's my little reward in life.
Whether it's something small or planning a trip or whatever, I feel like that's the rewardthat I shoot for.
(22:41):
Just the flexibility of time and coming back to myself outside of the grind and I Pilates,yoga, meditation, all that stuff.
And I feel like my me time is like my sacred space.
However, whatever I need to do to keep that
coming is what I'm willing to do.
Yeah, it's important we talk about all the time, self care, self love, setting boundaries.
(23:03):
And for me, because I have teenagers who feel like nine o'clock at the night is the timeto come talk to me now.
They've ignored me all day and I will, I would love that.
But now I'm like, no, the boundary is nine o'clock is my time.
Yeah.
Everybody needs a little bit of peace just to recharge, get centered again so we can do itall again tomorrow.
That's me all the time.
(23:25):
like, I can't, I don't have time to be sick.
Well, thank you very much for coming by.
And I think there's going to be other women who can relate to what you're saying today.
I always say if we just help one person with our conversation, that's a win for me.
So where can people find soul stones?
So we're Schultz DC on Instagram, Schultz Design and Construction on Facebook.
Of course we have a website and if anybody ever has anything that they need, can find me.
(23:48):
We are also going to put links regarding you and your company in the description as wellso they can find you.
Thank you all for listening to us.
Please make sure you like and subscribe.
If you know anybody who would like to be a guest, there is a link in the description aswell.
We hope to hear from you and we see you soon.
Welcome to Media Rebel Unplugged.
I'm your host, Janice Becker.
Today I am joined with Kelly Schultz from Schultz Homes.
I am really excited to have you here and to get your input because a lot of our episodeshave been about these strong women leaders in male-dominated fields and you didn't
initially start there.
Yeah.
So my career trajectory when I graduated from college, I actually started Pandora radioback when it was really Pandora radio.
(00:29):
Now it's has been acquired by SiriusXM, but I was there for about seven or eight years.
So I was in the world of media advertising slash tech.
So amazing.
Only great things to say about the time that I had there.
marketing and advertising is a crazy world that I learned so much about.
Worked with a lot of agency partners, huge brand partners as well.
was in Chicago at the time.
Got to work all over.
(00:50):
the central region, really amazing experience of getting my foothold in sales.
I never thought I would really be in sales, but in the background always had this edge tocome back to.
Akron area specifically because of my family and my family had a home building company andme and my siblings, three of the four at least, decided that we would take it over.
So I made a path to kind of get back here and go the entrepreneur route, which is what Ireally had my heart set on for a long time, which kickstarted my career in real estate.
(01:17):
We own a home building company, but there's a lot more facets to what we do than justthat.
We have a development arm.
I actually own and run a brokerage.
I'm the principal broker for Schultz Realty.
And then me and my brother's own Schultz designing construction, which does high endcustom building and remodels all over Northeastern Ohio.
I run that with them and it's many worlds merged together.
(01:37):
It's construction, real estate, finance at times, running a small business, it's running afamily business, but it keeps things very interesting.
I can't even imagine what that must be like, especially in a male-dominated field, but nowyou're also with family.
What is that like for you to balance the two?
I was always around small and family business and the fact that it was my dad that passedit along to me and my two brothers.
(02:01):
I was always kind of groomed to be tough and it was somewhat of a smooth transition justbecause especially growing up with three siblings, like one of four, like you have to hold
your own.
Yeah.
So I would never say that I was like a dainty or passive personality.
I've always had it in me to stand up for myself, but going from tech and media and techhas a
(02:21):
preconceived notion of being a little bit more of a soft space than construction, makingthat transition and seeing how you have to show up in a room and put your feet on the
ground and really make a seat for yourself at the table, I think more so when it's anindustry like construction.
I've heard a lot of my friends and past colleagues that go into finance say finance is asimilar way.
(02:42):
No opportunity is going to get handed to you, especially if you're a woman.
You not only have to be a hand raiser, but you have to literally fold it like
seat out for yourself and sit down at the table, which I think there's good, bad and uglyand everything.
The silver lining there is it makes you a stronger person every single day.
Every opportunity that you get, you feel like it's deserved for your part in it, that itwasn't just handed to you, which makes you proud.
(03:05):
It does.
I'm proud for things myself in this very male dominated space.
And the media side, it's more in the leadership part that you really have to fight forthat and still feel like your voice isn't really heard a lot of the time.
advocating for yourself, the episode previous to this, we just had that discussion is youreally always have to advocate, especially as a woman, regardless if it's for your health
(03:26):
or for your career or whatever it is to be heard.
I think we're making movement, but it's still surprising how we have to be loud about
I can tell pretty quickly in a conversation, especially with an older male, I'm good atreading how people are reading me.
I pick up very quickly what they assume that I don't know.
I've been in real estate for about six years.
(03:48):
I've been able to impress so many people because the bar is so low, which is like good andbad.
I'm not going to say it's easy to succeed, but if you're going to set the bar that low forme, great.
I'll step over it very easily.
I can tell quickly that they assume that I don't know things.
When I start
you know, talking through my methodology on reasoning for pricing or, you know, I take onthe economy and where the housing market's going.
(04:11):
It's very quickly shifts the mood of the room, especially when it's a woman talking,because I'm always sitting right next to my two brothers.
Everybody wants to know what they think.
And God bless my two brothers.
A lot of times they look at me as, like, because they know, you know, what I know and theyrespect me.
It's interesting how our dynamic just plays out with strangers a lot of the time.
Because I think they assume that I'm like the sister that just tags along and...
(04:33):
It's not our dynamic.
I'm in the middle.
So I have an older brother, Aaron, and then my younger brother, and he's 38, and then myyounger brother is 30.
I think that's great when you have that level of support from family members thatacknowledge your knowledge instead of speaking for you or on your behalf and making you
(04:57):
feel less than.
Yeah, at the end of the day, like they're my business partners, right?
And I'll give a lot of credit to my dad.
My dad has two daughters that are very strong.
If in some other universe, we were able to run a company together, my dad would have fullconfidence in us.
Like he knows his daughters.
As far as the capacity to see things end to end, all those like my new skills that youhave to have as a business owner, being able to act in the present while thinking about
(05:23):
the future.
Women tend to...
Multitasking their brain a lot easier than men.
I always say I would not last in the military because like if you're giving meinstructions of do or die in the moment, I'm thinking about the next thing.
Women just have this like inherent ability to multitask and strategically plan in a calmersense in their male counterparts, which makes us really strong business owners when it's
(05:48):
something that our hearts are set on.
What's something that you wish you would have known before stepping into this role?
I have such a soft spot in my heart for entrepreneurs and people that take a huge riskwalking away from a guaranteed job.
And not everybody's going to support you.
I'm lucky that I have my family surrounding me.
So I have like a built-in net at all times if they have no options for me.
(06:10):
You have all the resources available to you to succeed.
It's just how much work do you want to put in?
When I moved from having a nine to five guaranteed salary, great situation, great setup,great job to...
A little bit of isolation in a small business, going from a company of thousands to acompany of 10 was a tectonic shift for me.
(06:31):
There's a route for success and there's a route for happiness that can be truly your ownunique thing.
So betting on yourself and believing that it's all going to work out.
I was pretty nervous in that transition.
And now I see that this was completely for the betterment.
I have a more flexible schedule.
If I believe in something, I can see it through the end and make it my own.
especially in a male dominated industry when you have to convince people that may notagree with you at the onset or may discount you versus I had tons of male competitors that
(07:02):
do exactly what I do on the brokerage side.
It just makes it that much sweeter.
I can identify with that because I went from this big corporation USA Today, went to asmaller agency and then finally stepped away from that.
And it's scary.
I don't have anybody else supporting me or my children and to say, okay, I've had enoughof this.
I'm going to step out.
believe in myself.
And that's the biggest thing at the end of the day is believing in yourself.
(07:25):
You can absolutely accomplish anything that you put your mind to, but it's hard.
You're going to have a lot of trials, a lot of no's, a lot of
competition and women sticking together and supporting one another and building thatnetwork.
I know for me being in a new area, a new business owner, and I never intended to start thepodcast.
And then I was like, okay, so I'm totally alone.
(07:46):
Other people feel the same way.
So let's start this and help reach other people with women leaders and inspire andmotivate them as well.
It is difficult, especially with marriage, children, career life balance.
Women really take that on a lot heavier in this time period of life than men do.
It's hard to find like-minded women that are in the same position.
(08:08):
It's hard to come by people that are thinking and have the same priorities.
I'm pregnant right now, definitely excited to have kids.
But I've delayed it for a reason.
And I'm really glad that I did, honestly, in hindsight and seeing where I'm at today.
But it's tough to find that community of people that are thinking about things the sameway, especially in a smaller market.
My experience is coming from a big city where everybody was grinding and all the shipswere at the same level.
(08:32):
And I loved the competitiveness.
loved, there was just a energy about it.
And I am trying really hard to find that same community in this area.
So I love that you're doing this.
Thank you.
I'm glad.
It's nice that oh other people have found this helpful to have others be able to identifywith it.
We've had a wide range of guests and hopefully we continue to grow.
(08:53):
That anybody listening can find something to relate to.
Like you even mentioned women in finance.
We just had a woman on it and she's amazing.
She's one of the Forbes recognized finance and wealth advisors.
She's amazing.
uh
I think I've been blessed with the ability to connect with other women and part of that isthey're able to see that I'm genuine.
(09:16):
I actually want to just help people at the end of the day.
So like you said, just finding like-minded people is really important.
Any woman that I meet, I'm just any man too for this matter, but more so women.
I just want to know their story and how they got to where they're at and what they thinkabout their next step.
I could see myself getting into other industries, buying businesses down the road.
(09:36):
I always think if the construction industry is going to set the bar this low for women,what other industries are like this?
Because I want to go blow it out of the water there.
oh
I love that because people ask me, well, what's your next step?
And I'm like, just world domination.
It's like I'm always starting a new venture, but I like that I don't feel held back in anyway.
(09:56):
I've just had this unfounded sense of confidence since I was a little kid.
And my time in media, I had one or two male bosses and I was so young and so hungry at thetime.
I mean, I was a little bit nuts when I was right out of college.
I was so about career development and I want to do skip levels with managers above me.
(10:16):
I got a meeting with the CEO of the company one time.
Like I had to fly to Oakland, California for this meeting because I just wanted to sitdown with him and be like, tell me your story.
I was really serious about it.
I've seen men and jobs that they're not qualified for, but I've never seen a woman in ajob she's not qualified for.
A couple men that I've come across in my career, I've said, if you are doing this, I canliterally do anything.
(10:41):
Seeing whoever you have convinced that you have this handled or that this is the right waythat this should go, if you can convince this many people that I can be the president of
the United States of America tomorrow.
At times, the negatives that I've seen in unqualified people in their positions has givenme more hope where I'm confident.
Like, there's tons of people out there that are doing jobs they aren't qualified for, butit's their confidence that just carries them on.
(11:04):
Some women value themselves or feel imposter syndrome and things like that.
I just want them to know, no, you're fine.
Trust me, we're all just trying to get by.
Nobody has everything figured out.
Just keep going.
Learn and make yourself a little bit better every single day and you'll be fine.
was joking with my dad when I first started the business and I was like, feel like animposter.
(11:24):
feel like I have a pretend business right now because I don't have any clients and I'mdoing all these things.
And he laughs at me.
mean, it's real to feel like that, especially when you're building something and you don'tsee the traction for it yet.
Yeah, when I first got my real estate license in Ohio, in the state of there's levels oflicenses, first year salesperson, and then your broker.
The typical trajectory is that when you get your salesperson license, you go work at aKeller Williams or a- EXP Realty.
(11:49):
Yeah.
One of those bigger brokerages and you go on, you work under somebody that's been doing itfor a while and you get in this pyramid for lack of better term.
That's the standard route.
But when I was getting my license, I thought, why can't I just have my own brokerage dayone?
I thought, well, I'll find a way around this.
So what I did was I found a boutique brokerage that we had some history with.
(12:14):
My dad had a partner and I went to that guy and I said, Hey, I'm getting my license.
I want to have my own brokerage and be a broker, but I have to have my license for twoyears.
But can we make a partnership for the first two years where I rebrand it?
It looks.
Like it's my brokerage, but he was the principal broker on record.
I'm so glad I went that route because I had ownership day one and I was running a businessday one, which I knew I could do that part.
(12:40):
It was the actual transactions that I had to work with him and train before I could reallytake it over and be the principal broker on record.
I'm proud of myself that I didn't just go work under somebody else or join a larger teamand take the standard route.
Ownership of businesses is something that's undervalued by women and that's the true routeto.
financial success.
took a little bit of a risk, right?
(13:01):
Like it could have failed that imposter syndrome where you're like, Schultz Realty day onehas never sold a house.
Okay, here we go.
Now $50 million later, very successful, you know, continuing to grow my market and I havemarket share, which is nice, but it was a little bit of a risk in the beginning.
very inspiring that you were so brave really to do that and think outside the box.
(13:23):
I don't know many people who would think that way.
Ohio is one of the hardest states to get a real estate license, which most people don'tknow that.
And then for you to go that extra step and say, I'm actually going to owe my own brokerageon day one.
It's very inventive.
Yeah, I figure I knew the branding part.
I knew the running the business part.
I knew I had the connections.
(13:43):
I knew that I could convert the sales leads myself.
I was just like, I'm a bigger value to them than they are to me.
So I can figure it out and do it myself again.
If somebody else can do it, I'm going to figure out how to do it myself.
think about that all the time.
I could go and get another corporate job and make six figures, or I could have my ownbusiness and build it into something and have my children be a part of it, family
(14:05):
business, and make millions of dollars versus I'm making them millions of dollars.
And then they're going to look at me and tell me, we don't give out raises here, but thankyou for making us extra millions of dollars.
Because that is the standard.
Ownership.
It's definitely not for everybody, but if you know that it's your core, that you can takeon that responsibility, having employees is like a big weight a lot of times.
(14:28):
They're before you.
And that's the culture that we try to take is our employees and our clients come beforeus.
And that's why for a second generation company, we've been able to be successful and havea great reputation.
But if you feel like you can do it, it's definitely the route.
said, what advice would you give to somebody looking to their own business?
Think about it from all angles.
Definitely get advice from people, the good, bad, and the ugly.
(14:50):
Literally from people that you admire, that have tried and failed, that have tried anddecided it wasn't from them, which those are all fair routes.
Don't look at it through rose-colored glasses.
Like even when I assess an investment, I always take the pessimistic route that way whenit works out better and you're happy about it.
But starting your business, you're never going to feel like you're ready.
(15:10):
There's a saying, if you wait until your product is out of prototypes to launch it, you'vewaited too long.
That's the biggest thing is nobody's watching you under a microscope like you are.
You just got to start and change.
And especially in small business, that's something that I've learned and that I talk withmy brothers about a lot is at the end of the day, your ability to pivot change and keep
moving forward is way more important than you doing a perfect, especially in smallbusiness to a further degree, to a sense of higher perfection or et cetera, et cetera.
(15:38):
But it's the key.
Just keep moving the ball up the hill.
Every single day, what's the priority today?
What's fitting into our long-term strategy?
Let's keep doing these things at a good pace versus him hauling over the details becausethose details are going to change way faster than you even realize.
just count how many times I've had to pivot since launching.
just a year I couldn't even count.
(15:59):
And those aren't failures.
As long as every single pivot is an improvement in one way or another, you're doing justfine.
Thankfully, I have a very supportive family and that's something that I hear a lot.
From that they're impressed with how quickly I pivot and it ends up being a good pivot.
Like you said, at least I learned something.
this didn't work out.
This was a failure, but okay, I'll move on to the next thing.
(16:21):
You just have to continue to grow.
Yeah.
And especially in ownership and moving from nine to five, I know not everybody has thisluxury, but you log off, you go home, you start thinking about the next morning and you
know, they can replace you when it's your business.
It's literally your livelihood, which can weigh on you and understanding that mentalityand, and whether or not you can really handle it.
(16:44):
You have to have a really good support system.
I like that my husband doesn't work in our family business and never will because he isthe separation and the piece that I need from it.
And I love working.
love running a business.
It's not that I need to escape it.
It's just, that's my separation.
Yeah.
when I talk to my parents about it.
It's media and it's very technical and they'll say stuff and they're like, we don't knowwhat that means.
(17:05):
But they're learning as I am talking to them all the time.
But it is nice that they're actually also not in it.
It's sometimes frustrating that they can't relate to what it's like to be a business ownerat the same time because they never own their own businesses.
My grandmother did.
She owned her own hotel in Ocean City and was also a single mom.
I think I learned probably the most from her and watching her.
(17:26):
Can you imagine running a hotel?
but she sounds like a bot.
She was the boss.
She sadly passed away in 23, but I remember I was 12 when she started teaching me thehotel and the phones and stuff.
I'll never forget these girls came in and they were like eight hours late.
They hadn't called.
This is before cell phones.
She ran out the room and they were so irate and she just stood her ground.
(17:48):
And she was so strong in that moment.
of me getting to witness this strong woman own her business, like truly.
And the problems with employees and stuff that she had to deal with.
I I was a front receipt to all of
Yeah, that's amazing.
I love that your grandma had that background.
I always say men are providers by nature, but when you see a woman that's a provider, it'son another level.
(18:10):
You know, your grandma being a business owner during her time was rare.
My grandma was in finance her whole career.
She was the provider in so many ways for their family.
She passed away in 22, but when I was starting my business, she helped me set up myQuickBooks and all my chart of accounts.
She knew her stuff.
She was an early investor in Apple.
She was very, very, very smart.
I accredited a lot of seeing her being in the conversation of the family finances andwhere their money was and what she was investing in and having had a career that she
(18:38):
retired from.
She was a controller for a uh large equipment company here.
Just her having that experience and me being able to see it.
Obviously I didn't know it at the time.
I was cutting the tone for women can do anything.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Which is way cool.
I think you're right.
never realized how much she was setting the tone for me to do that.
And looking back throughout my childhood, like I was an entrepreneur probably like 10, wasselling bracelets I made on the sidewalk.
(19:02):
I was always hustling.
We would sell candy bars for fundraising and I would double the price so I could get acandy bar.
Yes, my first business was I was a gift wrap.
would at Christmas, I would advertise that I would wrap gifts for a dollar a piece.
You had to either bring the gifts to me or I would come to your house and wrap your gifts.
I was probably 10 years old.
Yeah.
My dad was my only client the first year.
(19:23):
He had me wrap all of his employee gifts.
But I would be like, you know, mom, you need to take me to Joanne Fabrics.
I need this many rolls of wrapping paper and ribbon and tape and yeah, and did a littlemarketing myself.
So cute.
I feel like I think for especially entrepreneurs who are successful, that's how it starts.
It starts at an early age.
(19:43):
So when I told my parents about this podcast, they laughed.
were like, oh my gosh, it makes total sense.
When I was little, I used to put on a show with my brother.
It was called Jake and Jamie show.
My brother's name is David.
I don't know.
I was like the Jake and Jamie show and I would be on a microphone.
I'd either be singing or I'd be talking.
(20:03):
I'd be pushing him out of the way.
And they were like, oh yeah.
There it was.
for you.
I love that.
But yeah, I'm glad to bring it full circle and hopefully to em motivate my children aswell.
And my daughter, especially, being the only girl with all these boys to really just beindependent and strong, which she is.
(20:26):
think things are changing for the better.
you said at the beginning, we're making progress, but there's still those micro momentsand big moments too.
There are men in our industry that me and my brothers will go to a networking event andthey will shake both of their hands and ignore me.
And I'm just like, so rude.
They either assume I'm one of their wives or somebody that doesn't matter.
(20:48):
Or I love when people ask for one of them in a decision that would fall under my world.
Things like that happen all the time.
When I very, very first started, we had an employee that we was slated to start with usand he made an inappropriate comment to me.
I put my foot down to me.
said, who's firing him today?
oh They knew from day one.
There was nothing was to be played with.
(21:10):
Well, toxic employees are something that you should not keep around when you're startingyour business, especially the longer you keep them around, the worse it is for you and
your company.
It sets the tone for what you're going to tolerate.
It's sometimes a very hard decision to make.
think in that instance, it wasn't so difficult and very deserving, but you have to makethose decisions very
(21:34):
And we have other women that work in our business too and I feel like just me being one ofthe leaders of the company sets the tone that those women should be respected the same
way.
They may not be as forthcoming with it or as objectively upfront about it, but I look outfor them the same way.
I look out for them and say,
She's not just our bookkeeper.
(21:55):
First, she runs all of our finances.
She knows her shit.
She's going to be respected as such.
You know what I mean?
She's not just our designer.
She doesn't just pick out the colors.
She is the creative mind behind what we do and why people come to us.
And dictating that expectation for the other women, I feel like is something that I tickedhard to.
I love that you advocate for people on your team because that's another thing.
(22:15):
Not all women have that ability to advocate for themselves.
to have somebody there that is a support system for them is important too.
So we always ask, what is it that gets you through your
Honestly, my husband is such a light in my life.
My husband coffee and I just love my free time.
I feel like that's my little reward in life.
Whether it's something small or planning a trip or whatever, I feel like that's the rewardthat I shoot for.
(22:41):
Just the flexibility of time and coming back to myself outside of the grind and I Pilates,yoga, meditation, all that stuff.
And I feel like my me time is like my sacred space.
However, whatever I need to do to keep that
coming is what I'm willing to do.
Yeah, it's important we talk about all the time, self care, self love, setting boundaries.
(23:03):
And for me, because I have teenagers who feel like nine o'clock at the night is the timeto come talk to me now.
They've ignored me all day and I will, I would love that.
But now I'm like, no, the boundary is nine o'clock is my time.
Yeah.
Everybody needs a little bit of peace just to recharge, get centered again so we can do itall again tomorrow.
That's me all the time.
(23:25):
like, I can't, I don't have time to be sick.
Well, thank you very much for coming by.
And I think there's going to be other women who can relate to what you're saying today.
I always say if we just help one person with our conversation, that's a win for me.
So where can people find soul stones?
So we're Schultz DC on Instagram, Schultz Design and Construction on Facebook.
Of course we have a website and if anybody ever has anything that they need, can find me.
(23:48):
We are also going to put links regarding you and your company in the description as wellso they can find you.
Thank you all for listening to us.
Please make sure you like and subscribe.
If you know anybody who would like to be a guest, there is a link in the description aswell.
We hope to hear from you and we see you soon.
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