March 13, 2025 • 41 mins
Shikilia Caro, founder and CEO of Shea Asset Management Group, shares her journey from insurance underwriter to creating a diversified financial services company offering real estate, insurance, and financial advisory services. Her story demonstrates how adapting to challenges and having a clear vision can lead to sustainable business growth over more than two decades.
• Started her business in 1999 after relocating from New Jersey to Texas
• Transitioned from real estate to insurance during market downturns, using corporate experience to enhance entrepreneurial ventures
• Created the "Money Matters Analysis" process to help clients understand their complete financial picture
• Emphasizes the importance of legacy planning and proper life insurance education
• Developed "Girl Flip," an investment training course giving women a safe space to learn real estate investing
• Believes in celebrating small wins while working toward bigger goals
• Approaches wealth as a relative concept, tailored to individual definitions of success
• Values continuous learning and maintaining a "forever student" mindset
Every coach needs a coach. Find someone you trust to be on your financial team, whether you're an individual or a business owner. They can expose you to opportunities you may be unaware of that could provide the security you're looking for.
https://sheaassets.carrd.co/
sheaassetmanagementgroup.com
instagram @SheaAssets
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Storie (00:16):
Welcome back to Market it With Atma, where we share the
tips, tools and strategies tohelp your business succeed the
tips, tools and strategies tohelp your business succeed.
Today we have on the show avery special guest founder and
CEO of Shea Asset ManagementGroup, ms
Shikilia (00:33):
Welcome.
Thank you so much.
I'm so happy to be here.
Storie (00:36):
I am so glad you're here .
You actually hold a lot of hatsunder this Shea Asset
Management Group, right.
Yeah, Shea's pretty diverse, sotake us back.
Take us back what encouragedyou or inspired you to start
Shea Asset Management Group in1999?
Shikilia (00:54):
Yes, yes, tell me more.
Oh, my goodness.
Well, what inspired Shea isthat I actually relocated here
from New Jersey oh, wow, yeah,back in 99.
And I was an insuranceunderwriter back then, oh my
goodness.
And a company moved me here andwhen I got here, the lady that
(01:15):
hired me quit and took a job inCharlotte, north Carolina.
Storie (01:19):
The universal aligned, didn't it?
Shikilia (01:23):
I'm like, okay, what do I do now?
Because.
I know these people are notgoing to keep me on right at
this price.
Storie (01:31):
Unless they need you right, Unless they need me.
Shikilia (01:33):
And so I said, okay, the writing's on the wall.
So at my 90-day probationperiod I quit.
And I went and got my realestate license and I'm like, yay
, you know, if I'm going tochange my life, I might as well
go for the gusto right.
so I changed my geography andI changed my career.
Storie (01:53):
Oh my goodness.
Shikilia (01:54):
And so after I got my license and everything, I
said, okay, where do I seemyself with this in 20 years?
And so I wanted to be able tosay, 20 years later, you know
that I have 20 years as arealtor, you know.
And so with that I started mybusiness.
I went on and yeah, I deviatedand then, a year later, I
(02:17):
incorporated.
Storie (02:18):
Wow.
So .
What?
When you first started, did youenvision it being what it is
today?
Shikilia (02:26):
No, not at all.
Storie (02:28):
So did you exceed expectations or are you still?
Are you still working towardsyour goal?
Shikilia (02:34):
I am really still working hard toward my goal.
I practice giving myself smallincremental goals so that I
could celebrate, becausesometimes if you don't do that
and you can't celebrate thesmall wins and you're constantly
chasing the big win, you canstart feeling like a failure.
Storie (02:56):
Yeah or burnout,
Shikilia (02:58):
You feel like a failure.
You feel like you know Ishouldn't be doing this.
This isn't for me.
It's very discouraging, right?
So if you just enjoy the walk,enjoy the process to getting
there, then it's a lot easier todigest.
Storie (03:16):
I agree, would you say.
I mean when you set out a goal20 years ago.
Goals evolve over time right.
How has yours evolved?
I mean, I feel like, as theyevolve, you're constantly
reaching another goal or anotherformat of that goal, right?
So how has yours evolved since1999?
Shikilia (03:35):
All right, I'll give you a high overview.
So the first goal was to get mylicense and stay in the
business for exceed a year.
Right, that was the first goal.
Right, Because most agents theysay about 80% get out of the
business in the first year.
Storie (03:52):
Wow, I didn't know that.
Shikilia (03:53):
So my goal was just to hang in there.
Storie (03:57):
I'm going to get there and then I'm good
Shikilia (04:01):
and it should go, you should be on fire from there
.
And it should go, you should beon fire from there.
(04:28):
But after I achieved that, thenI wanted to get into mortgages,
because my whole goal was to bea, an assistant and a
receptionist.
So we were doing pretty well.
Storie (04:32):
I feel like we could have a whole podcast at every
moment of your journey.
Shikilia (04:38):
yeah, and so when the real estate market crashed,
right, I had to pull back out mycorporate hat and I ran for
cover.
It landed me at AAA.
Storie (04:51):
Oh, okay.
Shikilia (04:51):
AAA, texas.
I started out as a lifeinsurance specialist right,
because nobody would hire meanymore to be an underwriter,
because at that point I had beenin business for myself.
I'm in sales.
In sales, you know, I have allthese years of experience.
They like lady you are notgoing to sit at the desk and
paper push, so just stop playing.
so I only got sales calls sothat landed me in life insurance
(05:15):
, and so I ended up in 18 monthsgetting promoted with AAA to
their uh sales manager.
over uh the southern region.
Storie (05:26):
See, and that says a lot about any position you have, I
mean, I know, through COVID andall the different hurdles, that
the economy has hit.
Maybe the universe is drivingyou to something you need to be
at.
Shikilia (05:37):
Exactly.
Storie (05:38):
Because you really made the best of those situations.
Shikilia (05:41):
and so I ended up.
I was supposed to have justbeen passing through, of course
right, and getting back to beingthe entrepreneur that I am.
Yeah.
But I ended up there almost 10years.
they kept promoting me andgiving me different regions and
things like that.
So I had Houston, san Antonio,I had Vermont, maine, new
Hampshire,I enjoyed it.
(06:05):
I'm traveling, I'm getting toknow different areas and all of
that I'm hiring, I'm training,I'm doing onboarding, I'm doing
training and developmenteverything.
So really, in hindsight, thatposition prepared me for where I
am and where I'm going today.
Storie (06:25):
Being an entrepreneur.
That's right, because you do,you have to hire, you have to
let go, you have to research
Shikilia (06:36):
So when my husband and I split again, I'm at that
pivotal point where I'm like ifI'm a change yeah, if I'm going
to change that, I'm going to besingle again I might as well
jump back off the porch andrelaunch my business, but this
time, instead of relaunching mybusiness as real estate and
(06:56):
mortgage, I relaunched as realestate and insurance financial
services.
Storie (07:01):
Because you had that history.
Shikilia (07:03):
Now I'm 10 years.
Storie (07:06):
Right, why not offer?
Correct.
Okay, and so that's.
That's henceforth Shea AssetManagement Group.
Wow.
So underneath that, not onlyare you doing all those things,
you've also managed to write, bean author to write a book.
Your wealth is a mindset.
Yes, what inspired you to moveinto that area of the world to
(07:28):
help people?
Or do you just like writing?
Shikilia (07:31):
I definitely.
It's not because I like writing.
That is definitely not it.
It's definitely my desire tohelp and give information you
know that.
I know a lot of people don't payattention to certain areas.
So when I had my, when I wasdoing mortgages, there's a
(07:55):
question on the mortgageapplication that asks do you
have life insurance?
And it used to frustrate me somuch the number of people that
said no and I'm like.
So let me get this straight.
You have a 200 back then a$250,000 home, $240,000 course
(08:16):
between you and your wife orhusband, your spouse, and you
have 2.5 kids, 2.5.
I love that.
Storie (08:23):
The average the 2.5 is the dog.
I love that.
I'm going to use that one.
Shikilia (08:28):
Right, Okay, and you're going to leave your
spouse hanging with all of that.
So I would intentionally put mypin down and say you know, you
have to change that.
So one day I was venting athome like why do we think this
way, you know, and my dad goes.
You know, Kaya, that's what hecalls me.
(08:49):
Maybe you should sell lifeinsurance because you're real
passionate.
So it was just crazy.
You know that I ended up thatthe crash of the real estate
market really landed me intolife insurance?
And so who knew all the aspectsof life insurance and how it's
(09:14):
a financial vehicle and all ofthose things that I learned was
just amazing.
And so when I looked forwardand said, in 20 years, what am I
going to be doing?
And things like that.
I'm like I'm going to besharing whatever information
that I have gathered over those20 years, Right?
Storie (09:35):
I say that's a true leader, right, you take what
you've learned and you share it.
Yeah, that's a leader in anyindustry, in my opinion for sure
.
That's a leader in any industry, in my opinion for sure.
So the first book you wrotekind of goes over the do's and
don'ts, things you wish you'dhave known, correct.
Shikilia (09:53):
Okay, exactly so I was.
What about 18 years old?
When, I got my first lifeinsurance policy.
Wow, because you know, I'm outthere acting a donkey and
everything, I'm partying andeverything.
And my young mind said myparents shouldn't have to bury
(10:13):
me because I'm in these streetsacting crazy, right, right.
And so I went and got a lifeinsurance policy.
Well, that agent didn't educateme at all.
She sold me a 20 year lifeinsurance term, a 20 year term
at 18 years old, not telling methat I had the option for
(10:34):
permanent insurance, that I hadan option for a policy that
could grow cash value.
So in essence, you're sayingI'm not going to be insured at
age 38.
Right, she didn't want to takethe time to go through it with
you she didn't give me any kindof education Because, even if
she felt like I couldn't affordyou know the policy at that time
(10:55):
, you know a better policy atthat time had she educated me, I
would have known to go back, orthat my term actually had a
convertibility aspect to it andthat I could have converted it
once my career, you know, tookoff.
She gave me no education, sothat was the fuel to my fire
Behind the wheel that I'm likeno, we have to tell people and
(11:18):
then you can make an informeddecision, Absolutely.
So if you make a decision not toinvest, we're not supposed to
use the word invest when we'retalking about insurance, but in
essence, you know, investing inyourself, in your future, in
your family.
Storie (11:32):
Someone mentioned to me they use this phrase life
insurance is the greatest giftyou can give to a family member.
Shikilia (11:39):
Hallelujah, it really is Absolutely.
Storie (11:42):
Every time I think about that, I'm like do your family
members really care if theydon't have it?
Shikilia (11:47):
Yes, you heard that term.
They used to say, oh, he wasborn with a silver spoon in his
mouth, and I say no, no, hedidn't have a silver spoon,
someone just cared enough toleave him a legacy, that's right
.
To give him a spring.
Storie (12:03):
And that's amazing to have, and I wish I mean I don't
know what inspired you to getlife insurance at 18, because I
really was not thinking aboutthat at 18.
But you've had mentors in yourlife, it seems like that have
helped guide you.
Okay, this is what's important.
Go ahead and make your owndecisions.
None of them told me that.
Shikilia (12:19):
Really None of them told me that, and that's how it
became a passion of mine, right,because, had I known, I would
have been able to act quicker.
Right, you would have mademoves differently.
I would have made movesdifferently, absolutely.
Right.
And so now, when you fastforward in current age, you know
(12:39):
life and all the livingbenefits.
You know life and all theliving benefits, the things that
life insurance offer, thestrategies you heard of infinite
banking, and all of thatInfinite banking is life
insurance.
Storie (12:54):
See, a lot of people don't know these things.
Shikilia (12:56):
Infinite banking is actually financed through life
insurance.
It's different strategies offunding various types of life
insurance policies.
Storie (13:13):
Wow.
So how do you come acrosstypically in your flow?
How do you come across peoplethat need to be educated on this
?
Do you do it through advisingthem about financial wealth so
they can purchase a mortgage?
How do you leeway intoadvertising to your audience?
They need to understand thisinformation.
Shikilia (13:27):
All of the above so right, Because everybody have
different needs.
So my approach is to always dofact finding so that I can meet
you where you are.
I can't assume where you arebased on where the last lady was
.
Right.
So I have to be very good atfact-finding, and so it helped
(13:52):
me create my money mattersprocess.
So I have what is called amoney matters analysis, and it's
a slew of questions that asksabout where you are currently
financially Okay.
Do you own a home?
Do you have 401K stocks, bonds,any of that?
(14:12):
Do you have life insurance?
How many children you have?
Who are you responsible for?
Storie (14:19):
Oh wow, Is it your parents Do you have aging
parents.
Shikilia (14:22):
What happens to them if something happens to you
prematurely, right?
So those are the types ofthings.
So my whole first consultationwith a client is fact-finding.
Storie (14:34):
Oh, wow.
So in this, what I call acourse that you just mentioned,
it's a fill in the blank to helpyou realize where you need to
be Correct.
Shikilia (14:42):
Okay, wow so first step fact finding.
So now your mind is goingbecause you're you're having a
conversation you don't normallyhave.
You may have portions of theconversation and you may have
portions of the conversation inyour head, but now that you're
having to spew it out, to me.
It's making you go wow, yeah,what does happen to mom?
(15:05):
Oh, my goodness, if somethinghappens to my sister or my
brother, they probably are goingto expect me to take care of
their kids.
You know what I'm saying.
Absolutely so.
All those things arethought-provoking.
Yep, and then the next step,after the consultation and
everything, is the review.
So now I'm putting this into areport.
(15:27):
Okay.
And I'm reviewing this back toyou, making sure I have my
numbers right.
Storie (15:32):
Right, okay.
Shikilia (15:33):
And now that report is showing the gaps, if there
are any, I see.
The report also helps youcelebrate the things that you
have accomplished, because thereport will say hey, you're on
track.
Storie (15:49):
You know you provide almost a sense of peace to what
they say is one of the moststressful things you can do in a
marriage is buying a house andgetting married.
Shikilia (15:57):
Right, that's right.
Storie (15:58):
Those are the two most stressful, but if I had known
the things that you've justtaught me, rather than going
through the process and learningthe hard way, it would be
exactly what you imagine whenyou're a kid, right, that
blissful moment.
And so what are one instance ofyou being able to help somebody
through your method that reallyresonated with you, that stuck
(16:19):
with you over time, can youthink?
Shikilia (16:22):
of one.
Yes, I always have the perfect.
This is the perfect scenario,and it just utilized every
aspect of what Shea does SheaAsset Management does.
I have a client who purchased ahome with me 17 years ago.
(16:45):
Oh my a home with me.
Okay, 17 years ago.
Oh, my Full circle.
During the course of those 17years, insurance I provided, you
know, for her.
I also was her financial coach,wow.
So whenever she made moves asfar as moving money around,
(17:06):
investing in her retirement, allof that kind of stuff, we, we
spoke, you know, we did that.
So now she's approachingretirement and she says I want
to move away.
Oh wow, it's time for you tosell the house.
So now I'm selling.
At that point it was 16 yearslater, the very house I, I sold
her.
Storie (17:26):
Oh my gosh, what a full circle moment.
Shikilia (17:28):
And we did her financial assessment beforehand
to make sure she was ready forretirement.
Storie (17:35):
And was she.
Shikilia (17:36):
And I was able to send her her report with a huge
you know congratulations, youare ready for retirement.
Wow.
And when I tell you it was acelebration for me just as much
as it was for her that that waseverything that Shea is built to
(17:58):
be.
Storie (17:59):
Exactly what you envisioned.
Shikilia (18:01):
Exactly what I envisioned.
Storie (18:02):
That is incredible To be your one-stop financial
resource not only that, you'recreating relationships and I, we
, we talk about that a lot.
Atma is you can't sell topeople, I I would never consider
myself a salesperson, but I cancreate relationships.
I can talk to people andunderstand them, and for you to
be a part of their family forthat long, I mean you must take
(18:24):
a lot of pride in that.
Shikilia (18:25):
I do, it was, I mean I can.
It makes me emotional justthinking about it, because that
was just.
I couldn't have asked foranything better in that
situation.
Storie (18:40):
Honestly, you're a blessing to all those people as
well.
Can I share another one withyou?
Shikilia (18:43):
Absolutely.
This one right here was such achallenge.
It tested all of my criticalthinking.
Okay, I want to hear about thisone.
Problem solving.
Learning, learning moments,thinking outside of the box
Creativity.
It took everything to get thisparticular deal done.
(19:07):
This was a real estatesituation.
I am, I have my seniordesignation, so I have I'm
certified to work with thesenior community.
Storie (19:19):
Oh, wow.
Shikilia (19:20):
Okay, and also certified in probate real estate
.
Storie (19:24):
Oh, my goodness.
Shikilia (19:24):
And so in this particular case she fit both.
She had lost her husband andshe wanted to sell the house so
she could move closer to herfamily.
Well, in Texas all communityproperty is held 50-50.
And so he had children from aprior marriage and so when he
(19:47):
passed away, most people thinkautomatically the property
becomes the spouse.
But it actually became 50 50his uh ownership to his heirs
passed on without a will, unlessyou have the will Okay.
Correct.
Okay, so he passed without awill.
(20:07):
So his 50% went to his children.
Well, two out of three of hischildren were deceased.
Storie (20:16):
Oh my.
Shikilia (20:18):
And the one child that was living hates the wife,
of course, because he felt likeshe was the cause of the demise
of his parents marriage.
So he could not stand her.
So I had to get in there andput my psych hat on.
Storie (20:36):
Referee psych yeah.
Shikilia (20:39):
And talk to him about what her options are, and
so you could either benefitright by signing or I'll just
help her lease out the property.
She holds it and you getnothing until something happens
to her.
Storie (20:54):
Smart move, very smart move.
Shikilia (20:55):
I'm like, and we see here that you owe child support
, and so what we can negotiateis the attorney general taking
this lump sum, pay off yourchild support and you finally
get to keep your income taxevery year.
Storie (21:09):
And you would not have been able to offer that if you
didn't do your research right.
There you go.
Shikilia (21:16):
Then the two that were deceased.
One didn't have children, sohis inheritance went to his mom.
So now, the new wife had tobreak bread.
With the other wife With thefirst wife, and then the third
child that was deceased, or thesecond of the two that was
(21:38):
deceased.
Her child was in prison, ohLord.
So I had to get in touch withthe warden because he had to
sign.
Oh my goodness, so you went andmade a trip to the prison.
No, no, oh Lord.
So I had to get in touch withthe warden because he had to
sign.
Storie (21:47):
Oh, my goodness, so you went and made a trip to the
prison.
Shikilia (21:50):
Oh, okay, no, we were able to get it done, get a
notary there and all that, wow.
But I'm telling you so, whenpeople talk about the job of
their realtor, this, that andthe other, your financial
professional, and all of that,this, that and the other, your
financial professional, and allof that you have no idea what
(22:10):
goes on on this side.
Crisis management is one of thebiggest reasons to have a
financial professional on yourside.
Yeah, to even consult, becauseyou don't know what you don't
know, so you don't even knowwhat to ask if you don't know,
right, I think a lot of peoplerely on attorneys for that.
But y'all don't know what youdon't know, so you don't even
know what to ask if you don'tknow.
Storie (22:27):
Right.
I think a lot of people rely onattorneys for that, but y'all
don't understand.
That is a hefty cost perquestion.
There you are.
So having what you do andsomeone like you with such a
variation of knowledge is almostinvaluable to me.
Anyway, thank you.
It's hard to find people youcan trust, you know, to guide
you in the right direction, butyou're not actually opening
(22:47):
these accounts for them, you'redirecting them in the right
direction, where to go and whatto do.
Shikilia (22:51):
When you say opening these accounts, what type of
account?
Storie (22:54):
Like you're not a bank, no, not a bank.
Shikilia (22:56):
You're not going to give them a loan, but exactly
Right, but I do provide themwith the insurance vehicles, the
financial vehicles you know,but through major companies.
You know National Life, youknow New York Life, all of that
I broker, so I am able to writethe fit the best product to my
(23:19):
client instead of vice versa.
Storie (23:21):
Making it stress-free almost Correct.
That's incredible.
Shikilia (23:24):
That's the mission.
Storie (23:25):
So, in terms of marketing, all of the different
things you do, what strategieshave been most successful for
you?
Do you use social media?
Do you use your website to drawin people?
Do you go to networking events?
What would you say is yourstrongest attribute in terms of
marketing?
Shikilia (23:43):
I'm a walk it, talk it girl.
Attribute in terms of marketing.
I'm a walk it, talk it.
Girl, I do better in person.
Storie (23:59):
COVID forced me to get creative, to show my skill on
video right, so I host my GirlFlip course online.
Shikilia (24:02):
Tell me about that.
What is that?
So?
Girl Flip is an investmenttraining course that I wrote and
created to give women a safespace to invest in real estate.
Learn how to invest in realestate Wow.
To become investors, because alot of times, you know, the
hesitance is I don't know whatto do.
(24:22):
Or where to start.
Where to start?
So a lot of people will go tothese high-level investment
seminars and all of that kind ofstuff and it sounds great, but
they're frozen into inactionbecause, I don't know where to
start.
So what my program does isactually walk you through step
by step, from structuring yourcompany all the way to getting
(24:47):
financially fit and purchaseready right and then deciding
how do you know what type offunds to go after.
Do I do private funding?
Can I qualify for traditionalfunding you know all of those
things to building your team.
Wow.
Right.
What questions do I ask acontractor?
What is the process If I'mtrying to determine whether I'm
(25:11):
going to keep this property forincome?
Or I'm going to fix it and flipit.
How do I determine that?
Yeah.
So all of that I walk youthrough step by step.
I tell everybody this is not aninformation session.
So if you are not ready to dothe work, because you get
homework and there's thingsyou're supposed to do to move
the ball forward, right.
(25:32):
So if you're just coming tocollect information, you
probably should wait untilyou're ready to do work.
Storie (25:38):
You want to give them actionable next steps on every
portion of it.
Shikilia (25:41):
Correct.
So right now, where we are inthe process, for instance, this
particular class, theirassignment, right now that they
were given on Tuesday, is hereis your due diligence list.
I had them previously pick aproperty that they would
actually be interested in Wow.
So now they have to do theirdue diligence on that property.
(26:04):
What you know, what are is ithas the items been permitted?
What type of zoning is it?
What are you allowed to do?
You know?
Storie (26:15):
Wow, all the things they'll need to know, correct.
But you give them kind of thestructure,
Shikilia (26:20):
Yeah, no they got to turn it in.
Storie (26:21):
Wow.
Shikilia (26:22):
So before next class .
Storie (26:27):
So they have to turn that list in.
Are you putting this umcoursework in the order of which
they will need to use it?
Shikilia (26:31):
in the order that's so.
so you're going through thewhole process wow along the way.
Storie (26:40):
Now let me circle back, because I didn't let you answer.
One question is how you thinkis the best marketing tool.
But really you did answer it.
It's all of the above.
Shikilia (26:51):
And word of mouth.
I can't really say that I'vegotten any business off of
social media.
Right, it's more informationalSocial media is the first place
people go, just like you did, tolook me up.
So I have to make sure mybranding is there, my presence
is there, because it just kindof certifies whatever
(27:14):
conversations that you and Ihave had.
Storie (27:16):
Yeah, it makes you look valid, correct.
What's funny is I reached outto you on social media, but
you're actually a client of ours, aren't you?
Shikilia (27:24):
Yes, and I thought that that's why you reached out
to me.
Wow, not at all.
No, I didn't even know.
You're a client, and then oneof my co-workers was in my
office.
They're like you have a podcastwith her and I was like yeah,
and they're like she's one ofour clients, and so of course, I
gotta go look at everything,like, do we need to do
everything right?
So the all this time when I wascommunicating with you, I
(27:47):
thought it was because no?
Storie (27:50):
no, but you know what?
yep, I thought that's why howwe founded each other.
No, but I am so proud to say that you've been with us
for since the inception ofAdvent Trinity.
Absolutely, so thatrelationship is very strong yeah
.
back when they were in uh, uh,what is it over there?
(28:14):
Not Arlington I?
honestly don't know.
Pantigo, pantigo, yeah, yeah,when they were in Pantigo.
Shikilia (28:20):
See, and you're still with us today.
Storie (28:22):
I'm so proud to say that .
So the website, for instance,that you mentioned just gives
you the credibility Absolutely.
It shows you what you say isbacked by all the information.
Shikilia (28:33):
that's listed and it goes in the detail right.
So now you can read thecertifications that I have,
because I can't spew everythingout to you in 20 minutes you
know, and so now you can go andtake a deeper dive to kind of
again verify what I've alreadytold you you know, and dig a
(28:53):
little deeper.
Storie (28:54):
Okay, this makes a lot more sense as to why my web
developer was like, yeah, she's,she's an author and she's this
and she's this.
And I'm like, how do?
You oh this makes more sensenow, exactly.
So you've built a strongfoundation.
We really focus on build launchgrow scale at Atma.
Where would you say you are inthat build launch grow scale
(29:16):
methodology?
Shikilia (29:18):
I feel like I kind of am consistently and
constantly fitting in all of theareas, you know, and that's how
you become successful right.
Yeah, I'm like I'm constantlythere because any I guess
achievement that I make, thenit's okay.
(29:39):
What's next?
So I'm constantly in growthmode, I'm constantly in launch
mode, right, because it's thenext thing and I already have,
like it might be 15 things thatsay that I want to achieve.
Right.
So once I check off these five,it's on to the next five.
Storie (29:59):
You never stop.
Would you encourage others whoare starting out as
entrepreneurs or even justworking on branching out on
their own in a new life, likeyou did, um to always continue
growing?
Shikilia (30:13):
well, no, I don't, that's not I.
I never make general statementsbecause what's for me is for me
and what's for you is for youthat's right so it's about
finding your sweet spot andit's's about finding what.
That's why the book is calledWealth is a Mindset, Because
what you feel wealth is may bedifferent than my definition of
(30:38):
wealth.
Now, of course, we have whatthe statistics say wealth is
right.
And what's that margin and thatmagic number?
But for me reality is just likesuccess is relative, so is
wealth.
Storie (30:56):
Everything is relative, almost, and I love that you came
on the podcast because I didn'tknow this much about you, but
it's very similar to what ourview is here at Atma customizing
it.
People come to us so many timesasking okay, well, how much do
you charge for this, how much doyou charge for that?
Well, do you want somethingeverybody else has or do you
want something made for you?
Correct, and what's your budget?
(31:17):
Why would I just throw a numberat you if you can't afford it?
Right, let's get where you needto be, right, exactly, and
that's exactly how you framed it.
Shikilia (31:23):
Yeah, because some people are like we have
different ideas of retirement,right?
Yes, One person's retirementlooks like I'm sitting on a
porch with my iced tea.
Storie (31:36):
The tea.
I was just going to say thesame thing, and that is my idea
of retirement.
Shikilia (31:40):
So what I need financially for retirement is
going to be totally different.
Where my retirement looks like Iwrote the book and these
courses specifically for myretirement.
You're like huh, how's thatretirement?
Because my retirement lookslike me spending two, three
months in the Bahamas, rightCalling it work, because I'm
(32:04):
doing some speaking engagements.
I'm doing a course, a series,you know and everything.
So now I'm doing some speakingengagements, I'm doing a course,
a series, you know andeverything.
So now I'm getting to travel,I'm getting to.
Once I get off and finishspeaking to you guys, I get to
go lay on the beach.
Storie (32:15):
You know, that's my vision absolutely would you say
that's a common misconceptionwhen, in terms of wealth
building for people is we're notall the same, not all the same,
not all the same Would you saythat's the biggest misconception
.
Shikilia (32:29):
or what would you say is that is one of the
biggest misconceptions and Ican't really think of another
one A close second, maybe aclose second.
I think a close second may belegacy.
(32:52):
You know, misconception of whatlegacy is, or maybe not even
paying attention, or havinglegacy on your radar, right,
Some people come from the schoolof thought of hey, I had to get
it in the mud, so should you.
Storie (33:12):
I think I was raised that way.
Shikilia (33:13):
Yeah right.
But what I'm coming tounderstand, and trying to get
people to understand, is thatpreparing legacy is also going
to give you a whole other realm.
And what's the word?
(33:33):
I'm looking?
Storie (33:34):
for Sense of security.
Shikilia (33:36):
Thank you so much as if that's not the first line in
the book Security.
Storie (33:41):
And I have not read the book.
Shikilia (33:44):
That's like the first chapter in the book.
Storie (33:47):
I love it.
Shikilia (33:48):
So, absolutely, it's going to give you a sense of
security while you're living andthen that is going to pass on
to your heirs.
You know that security is yourlegacy.
It really is, so it's one andthe same.
And we can make it fluid.
Storie (34:08):
With the right education , it feels like Correct.
So what's one powerful piece ofadvice that you would give to
people that are looking tosecure their financial future?
What's one piece of advice youwould give our audience, whether
it be business owners orclients?
Shikilia (34:28):
Individuals and business owners.
Every coach needs a coach.
So the first order of businessis to find someone you trust.
Get a financial professional onyour team right.
So, whether you're anindividual, you should have a
financial team.
Storie (34:45):
Okay.
Shikilia (34:46):
If you're a business , you should have a financial
team, and so you have to findpeople that you trust, that you,
that can expose you to thingsyou may be unaware of.
That could help give you thesecurity you're looking for.
Storie (35:04):
So would you do?
You still have mentors andcoaches that you refer to
Absolutely Really, even after?
Listen, I just posted today andI said I forever a student,
that's my hashtag, hashtagforever a student.
I'm gonna.
(35:25):
I'm gonna forever be learningand I can't deliver information
to you if I'm not currentlytaking in information.
That is very true, so I have toconsistently, and whatever I
know today, look at the changingtimes.
So what is so today?
That's why, as a licensedprofessional in more than one or
two areas, One, two, five.
(35:48):
It's consistent continuationeducation, continuing education.
Why?
Because the market changes.
So, even the state dictatesthat I have to constantly be
learning so that.
I'm delivering the rightinformation to you.
So, aside from what they makeme do right, I go out and seek
(36:11):
information so that I can betterserve my clients right.
So being able to optimize your strategy as a
salesperson, a marketing personor an entrepreneur, you have to
be able to do.
That seems like what you'resaying.
Shikilia (36:24):
Yeah, so be successful because it's it's.
It's so much out there there isno way you can ever get to the
point that you feel you know itall, because it is changing too
much and it's still so much outthere to learn.
Brian will tell you that withthe first class that I took,
(36:45):
when he was trying to force meto learn technology, I wanted to
cry and throw things at him.
Storie (36:52):
He is a teacher.
He's a teacher.
Shikilia (36:56):
And then he will be all calm.
Shikilia you, you ain't.
And I'm like I want to kill youright now, but I had to stop
saying in the last year or so.
I'm like I have to stop callingmyself technology challenge,
because now, when I comparemyself to others, you're up
there now oh my goodness,
Storie (37:17):
-- --tw-pinch-- --tw-pan-y --tw-pinch- data-
--tw- put out some new courses.
Did he shameless plug?
No?
Shikilia (37:21):
okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna seek some out yeah so.
But I have been really justmaking myself because in my mind
I kept thinking oh my goodness,it's taking me two hours to do
this and somebody else will comein here and do it in 10 minutes
.
But what I am learning andfinding that if you're really
honing in on the technology,even the experienced person it
(37:44):
may.
They may have to sit there andtinkle with it for an hour or
two.
Storie (37:48):
I will say every day, yeah, every day, I have to learn
something new or an update to atechnology and how to do it
correctly, exactly.
Shikilia (37:56):
And as soon as you learn that piece of technology,
they update it and tweak it andchange it, and now you've got to
figure out how it works again.
Facebook, for example, totallydifferent than you know three
years ago as far as how you cannavigate on it.
Storie (38:11):
And so I'm no longer this is my announcement to the
world I'm no longer technologychallenge, I am in technology
growth you really are and wouldyou say, at whatever point you
are, you finally reached a pointwhere you're like you know what
this is a full time joblearning the marketing
(38:32):
technology.
Shikilia (38:39):
Let me get a team on my side Would you say that's
helped you.
Yes, and so I don't have theteam that I want yet, but I have
.
My team looks totally differentthan it did a year ago, two
years ago, and so definitely ingrowth mode, didn't I say?
Storie (38:52):
There we go, constantly growing.
Shikilia (38:54):
Constantly growing and so I do have a good team
that is very patient, that isvery patient with me and
everything.
But I definitely am trying toget to the point where I have
that right hand person Back whenI had my mortgage branch, my
(39:14):
assistant.
She will tell you what myanswer would be, separate from
what her answer would be.
That's how well she got to knowme, how I move and how I think
I need her back, I know right.
Storie (39:29):
And so, yeah, that's what I'm looking for looking
well, hopefully in the next yearor so you'll come back on and
be like you know what I found myperson so to point that out.
If people want to know moreabout you, to learn more about
your courses or the books you'vewritten, or just your story
even, yeah how can they reachyou?
Shikilia (39:49):
well, a couple of ways.
You could definitely reach meon social media under Shea
Assets.
When you put in Shea Assets, itwill come up, okay, with an S
on the end.
You also can reach me via email.
Info at sheaassetscom.
Okay.
And you can reach me on mywebsite.
(40:11):
I have a stay in touch contacttab there.
You can reach me there and alsocall me 469-510-5182.
469-510-5182.
Shaquille at Shea Assets.
Storie (40:28):
I love it.
I will also be adding it to thebottom of this podcast.
This was probably one of thefunnest podcasts I've had and I
really appreciate you coming on.
Shikilia (40:37):
Thank you so much Thank you, shane, it was really
a pleasure.
Storie (40:41):
Well, we're going to talk more soon.
Shikilia (40:43):
Love it.
Storie (40:43):
And to our audience.
Thank you for returning toanother episode of Market it
with Atma.
We'll see you next time.
Welcome back to Market it With Atma, where we share the
tips, tools and strategies tohelp your business succeed the
tips, tools and strategies tohelp your business succeed.
Today we have on the show avery special guest founder and
CEO of Shea Asset ManagementGroup, ms
Shikilia (00:33):
Welcome.
Thank you so much.
I'm so happy to be here.
Storie (00:36):
I am so glad you're here .
You actually hold a lot of hatsunder this Shea Asset
Management Group, right.
Yeah, Shea's pretty diverse, sotake us back.
Take us back what encouragedyou or inspired you to start
Shea Asset Management Group in1999?
Shikilia (00:54):
Yes, yes, tell me more.
Oh, my goodness.
Well, what inspired Shea isthat I actually relocated here
from New Jersey oh, wow, yeah,back in 99.
And I was an insuranceunderwriter back then, oh my
goodness.
And a company moved me here andwhen I got here, the lady that
(01:15):
hired me quit and took a job inCharlotte, north Carolina.
Storie (01:19):
The universal aligned, didn't it?
Shikilia (01:23):
I'm like, okay, what do I do now?
Because.
I know these people are notgoing to keep me on right at
this price.
Storie (01:31):
Unless they need you right, Unless they need me.
Shikilia (01:33):
And so I said, okay, the writing's on the wall.
So at my 90-day probationperiod I quit.
And I went and got my realestate license and I'm like, yay
, you know, if I'm going tochange my life, I might as well
go for the gusto right.
so I changed my geography andI changed my career.
Storie (01:53):
Oh my goodness.
Shikilia (01:54):
And so after I got my license and everything, I
said, okay, where do I seemyself with this in 20 years?
And so I wanted to be able tosay, 20 years later, you know
that I have 20 years as arealtor, you know.
And so with that I started mybusiness.
I went on and yeah, I deviatedand then, a year later, I
(02:17):
incorporated.
Storie (02:18):
Wow.
So .
What?
When you first started, did youenvision it being what it is
today?
Shikilia (02:26):
No, not at all.
Storie (02:28):
So did you exceed expectations or are you still?
Are you still working towardsyour goal?
Shikilia (02:34):
I am really still working hard toward my goal.
I practice giving myself smallincremental goals so that I
could celebrate, becausesometimes if you don't do that
and you can't celebrate thesmall wins and you're constantly
chasing the big win, you canstart feeling like a failure.
Storie (02:56):
Yeah or burnout,
Shikilia (02:58):
You feel like a failure.
You feel like you know Ishouldn't be doing this.
This isn't for me.
It's very discouraging, right?
So if you just enjoy the walk,enjoy the process to getting
there, then it's a lot easier todigest.
Storie (03:16):
I agree, would you say.
I mean when you set out a goal20 years ago.
Goals evolve over time right.
How has yours evolved?
I mean, I feel like, as theyevolve, you're constantly
reaching another goal or anotherformat of that goal, right?
So how has yours evolved since1999?
Shikilia (03:35):
All right, I'll give you a high overview.
So the first goal was to get mylicense and stay in the
business for exceed a year.
Right, that was the first goal.
Right, Because most agents theysay about 80% get out of the
business in the first year.
Storie (03:52):
Wow, I didn't know that.
Shikilia (03:53):
So my goal was just to hang in there.
Storie (03:57):
I'm going to get there and then I'm good
Shikilia (04:01):
and it should go, you should be on fire from there
.
And it should go, you should beon fire from there.
(04:28):
But after I achieved that, thenI wanted to get into mortgages,
because my whole goal was to bea, an assistant and a
receptionist.
So we were doing pretty well.
Storie (04:32):
I feel like we could have a whole podcast at every
moment of your journey.
Shikilia (04:38):
yeah, and so when the real estate market crashed,
right, I had to pull back out mycorporate hat and I ran for
cover.
It landed me at AAA.
Storie (04:51):
Oh, okay.
Shikilia (04:51):
AAA, texas.
I started out as a lifeinsurance specialist right,
because nobody would hire meanymore to be an underwriter,
because at that point I had beenin business for myself.
I'm in sales.
In sales, you know, I have allthese years of experience.
They like lady you are notgoing to sit at the desk and
paper push, so just stop playing.
so I only got sales calls sothat landed me in life insurance
(05:15):
, and so I ended up in 18 monthsgetting promoted with AAA to
their uh sales manager.
over uh the southern region.
Storie (05:26):
See, and that says a lot about any position you have, I
mean, I know, through COVID andall the different hurdles, that
the economy has hit.
Maybe the universe is drivingyou to something you need to be
at.
Shikilia (05:37):
Exactly.
Storie (05:38):
Because you really made the best of those situations.
Shikilia (05:41):
and so I ended up.
I was supposed to have justbeen passing through, of course
right, and getting back to beingthe entrepreneur that I am.
Yeah.
But I ended up there almost 10years.
they kept promoting me andgiving me different regions and
things like that.
So I had Houston, san Antonio,I had Vermont, maine, new
Hampshire,I enjoyed it.
(06:05):
I'm traveling, I'm getting toknow different areas and all of
that I'm hiring, I'm training,I'm doing onboarding, I'm doing
training and developmenteverything.
So really, in hindsight, thatposition prepared me for where I
am and where I'm going today.
Storie (06:25):
Being an entrepreneur.
That's right, because you do,you have to hire, you have to
let go, you have to research
Shikilia (06:36):
So when my husband and I split again, I'm at that
pivotal point where I'm like ifI'm a change yeah, if I'm going
to change that, I'm going to besingle again I might as well
jump back off the porch andrelaunch my business, but this
time, instead of relaunching mybusiness as real estate and
(06:56):
mortgage, I relaunched as realestate and insurance financial
services.
Storie (07:01):
Because you had that history.
Shikilia (07:03):
Now I'm 10 years.
Storie (07:06):
Right, why not offer?
Correct.
Okay, and so that's.
That's henceforth Shea AssetManagement Group.
Wow.
So underneath that, not onlyare you doing all those things,
you've also managed to write, bean author to write a book.
Your wealth is a mindset.
Yes, what inspired you to moveinto that area of the world to
(07:28):
help people?
Or do you just like writing?
Shikilia (07:31):
I definitely.
It's not because I like writing.
That is definitely not it.
It's definitely my desire tohelp and give information you
know that.
I know a lot of people don't payattention to certain areas.
So when I had my, when I wasdoing mortgages, there's a
(07:55):
question on the mortgageapplication that asks do you
have life insurance?
And it used to frustrate me somuch the number of people that
said no and I'm like.
So let me get this straight.
You have a 200 back then a$250,000 home, $240,000 course
(08:16):
between you and your wife orhusband, your spouse, and you
have 2.5 kids, 2.5.
I love that.
Storie (08:23):
The average the 2.5 is the dog.
I love that.
I'm going to use that one.
Shikilia (08:28):
Right, Okay, and you're going to leave your
spouse hanging with all of that.
So I would intentionally put mypin down and say you know, you
have to change that.
So one day I was venting athome like why do we think this
way, you know, and my dad goes.
You know, Kaya, that's what hecalls me.
(08:49):
Maybe you should sell lifeinsurance because you're real
passionate.
So it was just crazy.
You know that I ended up thatthe crash of the real estate
market really landed me intolife insurance?
And so who knew all the aspectsof life insurance and how it's
(09:14):
a financial vehicle and all ofthose things that I learned was
just amazing.
And so when I looked forwardand said, in 20 years, what am I
going to be doing?
And things like that.
I'm like I'm going to besharing whatever information
that I have gathered over those20 years, Right?
Storie (09:35):
I say that's a true leader, right, you take what
you've learned and you share it.
Yeah, that's a leader in anyindustry, in my opinion for sure
.
That's a leader in any industry, in my opinion for sure.
So the first book you wrotekind of goes over the do's and
don'ts, things you wish you'dhave known, correct.
Shikilia (09:53):
Okay, exactly so I was.
What about 18 years old?
When, I got my first lifeinsurance policy.
Wow, because you know, I'm outthere acting a donkey and
everything, I'm partying andeverything.
And my young mind said myparents shouldn't have to bury
(10:13):
me because I'm in these streetsacting crazy, right, right.
And so I went and got a lifeinsurance policy.
Well, that agent didn't educateme at all.
She sold me a 20 year lifeinsurance term, a 20 year term
at 18 years old, not telling methat I had the option for
(10:34):
permanent insurance, that I hadan option for a policy that
could grow cash value.
So in essence, you're sayingI'm not going to be insured at
age 38.
Right, she didn't want to takethe time to go through it with
you she didn't give me any kindof education Because, even if
she felt like I couldn't affordyou know the policy at that time
(10:55):
, you know a better policy atthat time had she educated me, I
would have known to go back, orthat my term actually had a
convertibility aspect to it andthat I could have converted it
once my career, you know, tookoff.
She gave me no education, sothat was the fuel to my fire
Behind the wheel that I'm likeno, we have to tell people and
(11:18):
then you can make an informeddecision, Absolutely.
So if you make a decision not toinvest, we're not supposed to
use the word invest when we'retalking about insurance, but in
essence, you know, investing inyourself, in your future, in
your family.
Storie (11:32):
Someone mentioned to me they use this phrase life
insurance is the greatest giftyou can give to a family member.
Shikilia (11:39):
Hallelujah, it really is Absolutely.
Storie (11:42):
Every time I think about that, I'm like do your family
members really care if theydon't have it?
Shikilia (11:47):
Yes, you heard that term.
They used to say, oh, he wasborn with a silver spoon in his
mouth, and I say no, no, hedidn't have a silver spoon,
someone just cared enough toleave him a legacy, that's right
.
To give him a spring.
Storie (12:03):
And that's amazing to have, and I wish I mean I don't
know what inspired you to getlife insurance at 18, because I
really was not thinking aboutthat at 18.
But you've had mentors in yourlife, it seems like that have
helped guide you.
Okay, this is what's important.
Go ahead and make your owndecisions.
None of them told me that.
Shikilia (12:19):
Really None of them told me that, and that's how it
became a passion of mine, right,because, had I known, I would
have been able to act quicker.
Right, you would have mademoves differently.
I would have made movesdifferently, absolutely.
Right.
And so now, when you fastforward in current age, you know
(12:39):
life and all the livingbenefits.
You know life and all theliving benefits, the things that
life insurance offer, thestrategies you heard of infinite
banking, and all of thatInfinite banking is life
insurance.
Storie (12:54):
See, a lot of people don't know these things.
Shikilia (12:56):
Infinite banking is actually financed through life
insurance.
It's different strategies offunding various types of life
insurance policies.
Storie (13:13):
Wow.
So how do you come acrosstypically in your flow?
How do you come across peoplethat need to be educated on this
?
Do you do it through advisingthem about financial wealth so
they can purchase a mortgage?
How do you leeway intoadvertising to your audience?
They need to understand thisinformation.
Shikilia (13:27):
All of the above so right, Because everybody have
different needs.
So my approach is to always dofact finding so that I can meet
you where you are.
I can't assume where you arebased on where the last lady was
.
Right.
So I have to be very good atfact-finding, and so it helped
(13:52):
me create my money mattersprocess.
So I have what is called amoney matters analysis, and it's
a slew of questions that asksabout where you are currently
financially Okay.
Do you own a home?
Do you have 401K stocks, bonds,any of that?
(14:12):
Do you have life insurance?
How many children you have?
Who are you responsible for?
Storie (14:19):
Oh wow, Is it your parents Do you have aging
parents.
Shikilia (14:22):
What happens to them if something happens to you
prematurely, right?
So those are the types ofthings.
So my whole first consultationwith a client is fact-finding.
Storie (14:34):
Oh, wow.
So in this, what I call acourse that you just mentioned,
it's a fill in the blank to helpyou realize where you need to
be Correct.
Shikilia (14:42):
Okay, wow so first step fact finding.
So now your mind is goingbecause you're you're having a
conversation you don't normallyhave.
You may have portions of theconversation and you may have
portions of the conversation inyour head, but now that you're
having to spew it out, to me.
It's making you go wow, yeah,what does happen to mom?
(15:05):
Oh, my goodness, if somethinghappens to my sister or my
brother, they probably are goingto expect me to take care of
their kids.
You know what I'm saying.
Absolutely so.
All those things arethought-provoking.
Yep, and then the next step,after the consultation and
everything, is the review.
So now I'm putting this into areport.
(15:27):
Okay.
And I'm reviewing this back toyou, making sure I have my
numbers right.
Storie (15:32):
Right, okay.
Shikilia (15:33):
And now that report is showing the gaps, if there
are any, I see.
The report also helps youcelebrate the things that you
have accomplished, because thereport will say hey, you're on
track.
Storie (15:49):
You know you provide almost a sense of peace to what
they say is one of the moststressful things you can do in a
marriage is buying a house andgetting married.
Shikilia (15:57):
Right, that's right.
Storie (15:58):
Those are the two most stressful, but if I had known
the things that you've justtaught me, rather than going
through the process and learningthe hard way, it would be
exactly what you imagine whenyou're a kid, right, that
blissful moment.
And so what are one instance ofyou being able to help somebody
through your method that reallyresonated with you, that stuck
(16:19):
with you over time, can youthink?
Shikilia (16:22):
of one.
Yes, I always have the perfect.
This is the perfect scenario,and it just utilized every
aspect of what Shea does SheaAsset Management does.
I have a client who purchased ahome with me 17 years ago.
(16:45):
Oh my a home with me.
Okay, 17 years ago.
Oh, my Full circle.
During the course of those 17years, insurance I provided, you
know, for her.
I also was her financial coach,wow.
So whenever she made moves asfar as moving money around,
(17:06):
investing in her retirement, allof that kind of stuff, we, we
spoke, you know, we did that.
So now she's approachingretirement and she says I want
to move away.
Oh wow, it's time for you tosell the house.
So now I'm selling.
At that point it was 16 yearslater, the very house I, I sold
her.
Storie (17:26):
Oh my gosh, what a full circle moment.
Shikilia (17:28):
And we did her financial assessment beforehand
to make sure she was ready forretirement.
Storie (17:35):
And was she.
Shikilia (17:36):
And I was able to send her her report with a huge
you know congratulations, youare ready for retirement.
Wow.
And when I tell you it was acelebration for me just as much
as it was for her that that waseverything that Shea is built to
(17:58):
be.
Storie (17:59):
Exactly what you envisioned.
Shikilia (18:01):
Exactly what I envisioned.
Storie (18:02):
That is incredible To be your one-stop financial
resource not only that, you'recreating relationships and I, we
, we talk about that a lot.
Atma is you can't sell topeople, I I would never consider
myself a salesperson, but I cancreate relationships.
I can talk to people andunderstand them, and for you to
be a part of their family forthat long, I mean you must take
(18:24):
a lot of pride in that.
Shikilia (18:25):
I do, it was, I mean I can.
It makes me emotional justthinking about it, because that
was just.
I couldn't have asked foranything better in that
situation.
Storie (18:40):
Honestly, you're a blessing to all those people as
well.
Can I share another one withyou?
Shikilia (18:43):
Absolutely.
This one right here was such achallenge.
It tested all of my criticalthinking.
Okay, I want to hear about thisone.
Problem solving.
Learning, learning moments,thinking outside of the box
Creativity.
It took everything to get thisparticular deal done.
(19:07):
This was a real estatesituation.
I am, I have my seniordesignation, so I have I'm
certified to work with thesenior community.
Storie (19:19):
Oh, wow.
Shikilia (19:20):
Okay, and also certified in probate real estate
.
Storie (19:24):
Oh, my goodness.
Shikilia (19:24):
And so in this particular case she fit both.
She had lost her husband andshe wanted to sell the house so
she could move closer to herfamily.
Well, in Texas all communityproperty is held 50-50.
And so he had children from aprior marriage and so when he
(19:47):
passed away, most people thinkautomatically the property
becomes the spouse.
But it actually became 50 50his uh ownership to his heirs
passed on without a will, unlessyou have the will Okay.
Correct.
Okay, so he passed without awill.
(20:07):
So his 50% went to his children.
Well, two out of three of hischildren were deceased.
Storie (20:16):
Oh my.
Shikilia (20:18):
And the one child that was living hates the wife,
of course, because he felt likeshe was the cause of the demise
of his parents marriage.
So he could not stand her.
So I had to get in there andput my psych hat on.
Storie (20:36):
Referee psych yeah.
Shikilia (20:39):
And talk to him about what her options are, and
so you could either benefitright by signing or I'll just
help her lease out the property.
She holds it and you getnothing until something happens
to her.
Storie (20:54):
Smart move, very smart move.
Shikilia (20:55):
I'm like, and we see here that you owe child support
, and so what we can negotiateis the attorney general taking
this lump sum, pay off yourchild support and you finally
get to keep your income taxevery year.
Storie (21:09):
And you would not have been able to offer that if you
didn't do your research right.
There you go.
Shikilia (21:16):
Then the two that were deceased.
One didn't have children, sohis inheritance went to his mom.
So now, the new wife had tobreak bread.
With the other wife With thefirst wife, and then the third
child that was deceased, or thesecond of the two that was
(21:38):
deceased.
Her child was in prison, ohLord.
So I had to get in touch withthe warden because he had to
sign.
Oh my goodness, so you went andmade a trip to the prison.
No, no, oh Lord.
So I had to get in touch withthe warden because he had to
sign.
Storie (21:47):
Oh, my goodness, so you went and made a trip to the
prison.
Shikilia (21:50):
Oh, okay, no, we were able to get it done, get a
notary there and all that, wow.
But I'm telling you so, whenpeople talk about the job of
their realtor, this, that andthe other, your financial
professional, and all of that,this, that and the other, your
financial professional, and allof that you have no idea what
(22:10):
goes on on this side.
Crisis management is one of thebiggest reasons to have a
financial professional on yourside.
Yeah, to even consult, becauseyou don't know what you don't
know, so you don't even knowwhat to ask if you don't know,
right, I think a lot of peoplerely on attorneys for that.
But y'all don't know what youdon't know, so you don't even
know what to ask if you don'tknow.
Storie (22:27):
Right.
I think a lot of people rely onattorneys for that, but y'all
don't understand.
That is a hefty cost perquestion.
There you are.
So having what you do andsomeone like you with such a
variation of knowledge is almostinvaluable to me.
Anyway, thank you.
It's hard to find people youcan trust, you know, to guide
you in the right direction, butyou're not actually opening
(22:47):
these accounts for them, you'redirecting them in the right
direction, where to go and whatto do.
Shikilia (22:51):
When you say opening these accounts, what type of
account?
Storie (22:54):
Like you're not a bank, no, not a bank.
Shikilia (22:56):
You're not going to give them a loan, but exactly
Right, but I do provide themwith the insurance vehicles, the
financial vehicles you know,but through major companies.
You know National Life, youknow New York Life, all of that
I broker, so I am able to writethe fit the best product to my
(23:19):
client instead of vice versa.
Storie (23:21):
Making it stress-free almost Correct.
That's incredible.
Shikilia (23:24):
That's the mission.
Storie (23:25):
So, in terms of marketing, all of the different
things you do, what strategieshave been most successful for
you?
Do you use social media?
Do you use your website to drawin people?
Do you go to networking events?
What would you say is yourstrongest attribute in terms of
marketing?
Shikilia (23:43):
I'm a walk it, talk it girl.
Attribute in terms of marketing.
I'm a walk it, talk it.
Girl, I do better in person.
Storie (23:59):
COVID forced me to get creative, to show my skill on
video right, so I host my GirlFlip course online.
Shikilia (24:02):
Tell me about that.
What is that?
So?
Girl Flip is an investmenttraining course that I wrote and
created to give women a safespace to invest in real estate.
Learn how to invest in realestate Wow.
To become investors, because alot of times, you know, the
hesitance is I don't know whatto do.
(24:22):
Or where to start.
Where to start?
So a lot of people will go tothese high-level investment
seminars and all of that kind ofstuff and it sounds great, but
they're frozen into inactionbecause, I don't know where to
start.
So what my program does isactually walk you through step
by step, from structuring yourcompany all the way to getting
(24:47):
financially fit and purchaseready right and then deciding
how do you know what type offunds to go after.
Do I do private funding?
Can I qualify for traditionalfunding you know all of those
things to building your team.
Wow.
Right.
What questions do I ask acontractor?
What is the process If I'mtrying to determine whether I'm
(25:11):
going to keep this property forincome?
Or I'm going to fix it and flipit.
How do I determine that?
Yeah.
So all of that I walk youthrough step by step.
I tell everybody this is not aninformation session.
So if you are not ready to dothe work, because you get
homework and there's thingsyou're supposed to do to move
the ball forward, right.
(25:32):
So if you're just coming tocollect information, you
probably should wait untilyou're ready to do work.
Storie (25:38):
You want to give them actionable next steps on every
portion of it.
Shikilia (25:41):
Correct.
So right now, where we are inthe process, for instance, this
particular class, theirassignment, right now that they
were given on Tuesday, is hereis your due diligence list.
I had them previously pick aproperty that they would
actually be interested in Wow.
So now they have to do theirdue diligence on that property.
(26:04):
What you know, what are is ithas the items been permitted?
What type of zoning is it?
What are you allowed to do?
You know?
Storie (26:15):
Wow, all the things they'll need to know, correct.
But you give them kind of thestructure,
Shikilia (26:20):
Yeah, no they got to turn it in.
Storie (26:21):
Wow.
Shikilia (26:22):
So before next class .
Storie (26:27):
So they have to turn that list in.
Are you putting this umcoursework in the order of which
they will need to use it?
Shikilia (26:31):
in the order that's so.
so you're going through thewhole process wow along the way.
Storie (26:40):
Now let me circle back, because I didn't let you answer.
One question is how you thinkis the best marketing tool.
But really you did answer it.
It's all of the above.
Shikilia (26:51):
And word of mouth.
I can't really say that I'vegotten any business off of
social media.
Right, it's more informationalSocial media is the first place
people go, just like you did, tolook me up.
So I have to make sure mybranding is there, my presence
is there, because it just kindof certifies whatever
(27:14):
conversations that you and Ihave had.
Storie (27:16):
Yeah, it makes you look valid, correct.
What's funny is I reached outto you on social media, but
you're actually a client of ours, aren't you?
Shikilia (27:24):
Yes, and I thought that that's why you reached out
to me.
Wow, not at all.
No, I didn't even know.
You're a client, and then oneof my co-workers was in my
office.
They're like you have a podcastwith her and I was like yeah,
and they're like she's one ofour clients, and so of course, I
gotta go look at everything,like, do we need to do
everything right?
So the all this time when I wascommunicating with you, I
(27:47):
thought it was because no?
Storie (27:50):
no, but you know what?
yep, I thought that's why howwe founded each other.
No, but I am so proud to say that you've been with us
for since the inception ofAdvent Trinity.
Absolutely, so thatrelationship is very strong yeah
.
back when they were in uh, uh,what is it over there?
(28:14):
Not Arlington I?
honestly don't know.
Pantigo, pantigo, yeah, yeah,when they were in Pantigo.
Shikilia (28:20):
See, and you're still with us today.
Storie (28:22):
I'm so proud to say that .
So the website, for instance,that you mentioned just gives
you the credibility Absolutely.
It shows you what you say isbacked by all the information.
Shikilia (28:33):
that's listed and it goes in the detail right.
So now you can read thecertifications that I have,
because I can't spew everythingout to you in 20 minutes you
know, and so now you can go andtake a deeper dive to kind of
again verify what I've alreadytold you you know, and dig a
(28:53):
little deeper.
Storie (28:54):
Okay, this makes a lot more sense as to why my web
developer was like, yeah, she's,she's an author and she's this
and she's this.
And I'm like, how do?
You oh this makes more sensenow, exactly.
So you've built a strongfoundation.
We really focus on build launchgrow scale at Atma.
Where would you say you are inthat build launch grow scale
(29:16):
methodology?
Shikilia (29:18):
I feel like I kind of am consistently and
constantly fitting in all of theareas, you know, and that's how
you become successful right.
Yeah, I'm like I'm constantlythere because any I guess
achievement that I make, thenit's okay.
(29:39):
What's next?
So I'm constantly in growthmode, I'm constantly in launch
mode, right, because it's thenext thing and I already have,
like it might be 15 things thatsay that I want to achieve.
Right.
So once I check off these five,it's on to the next five.
Storie (29:59):
You never stop.
Would you encourage others whoare starting out as
entrepreneurs or even justworking on branching out on
their own in a new life, likeyou did, um to always continue
growing?
Shikilia (30:13):
well, no, I don't, that's not I.
I never make general statementsbecause what's for me is for me
and what's for you is for youthat's right so it's about
finding your sweet spot andit's's about finding what.
That's why the book is calledWealth is a Mindset, Because
what you feel wealth is may bedifferent than my definition of
(30:38):
wealth.
Now, of course, we have whatthe statistics say wealth is
right.
And what's that margin and thatmagic number?
But for me reality is just likesuccess is relative, so is
wealth.
Storie (30:56):
Everything is relative, almost, and I love that you came
on the podcast because I didn'tknow this much about you, but
it's very similar to what ourview is here at Atma customizing
it.
People come to us so many timesasking okay, well, how much do
you charge for this, how much doyou charge for that?
Well, do you want somethingeverybody else has or do you
want something made for you?
Correct, and what's your budget?
(31:17):
Why would I just throw a numberat you if you can't afford it?
Right, let's get where you needto be, right, exactly, and
that's exactly how you framed it.
Shikilia (31:23):
Yeah, because some people are like we have
different ideas of retirement,right?
Yes, One person's retirementlooks like I'm sitting on a
porch with my iced tea.
Storie (31:36):
The tea.
I was just going to say thesame thing, and that is my idea
of retirement.
Shikilia (31:40):
So what I need financially for retirement is
going to be totally different.
Where my retirement looks like Iwrote the book and these
courses specifically for myretirement.
You're like huh, how's thatretirement?
Because my retirement lookslike me spending two, three
months in the Bahamas, rightCalling it work, because I'm
(32:04):
doing some speaking engagements.
I'm doing a course, a series,you know and everything.
So now I'm doing some speakingengagements, I'm doing a course,
a series, you know andeverything.
So now I'm getting to travel,I'm getting to.
Once I get off and finishspeaking to you guys, I get to
go lay on the beach.
Storie (32:15):
You know, that's my vision absolutely would you say
that's a common misconceptionwhen, in terms of wealth
building for people is we're notall the same, not all the same,
not all the same Would you saythat's the biggest misconception
.
Shikilia (32:29):
or what would you say is that is one of the
biggest misconceptions and Ican't really think of another
one A close second, maybe aclose second.
I think a close second may belegacy.
(32:52):
You know, misconception of whatlegacy is, or maybe not even
paying attention, or havinglegacy on your radar, right,
Some people come from the schoolof thought of hey, I had to get
it in the mud, so should you.
Storie (33:12):
I think I was raised that way.
Shikilia (33:13):
Yeah right.
But what I'm coming tounderstand, and trying to get
people to understand, is thatpreparing legacy is also going
to give you a whole other realm.
And what's the word?
(33:33):
I'm looking?
Storie (33:34):
for Sense of security.
Shikilia (33:36):
Thank you so much as if that's not the first line in
the book Security.
Storie (33:41):
And I have not read the book.
Shikilia (33:44):
That's like the first chapter in the book.
Storie (33:47):
I love it.
Shikilia (33:48):
So, absolutely, it's going to give you a sense of
security while you're living andthen that is going to pass on
to your heirs.
You know that security is yourlegacy.
It really is, so it's one andthe same.
And we can make it fluid.
Storie (34:08):
With the right education , it feels like Correct.
So what's one powerful piece ofadvice that you would give to
people that are looking tosecure their financial future?
What's one piece of advice youwould give our audience, whether
it be business owners orclients?
Shikilia (34:28):
Individuals and business owners.
Every coach needs a coach.
So the first order of businessis to find someone you trust.
Get a financial professional onyour team right.
So, whether you're anindividual, you should have a
financial team.
Storie (34:45):
Okay.
Shikilia (34:46):
If you're a business , you should have a financial
team, and so you have to findpeople that you trust, that you,
that can expose you to thingsyou may be unaware of.
That could help give you thesecurity you're looking for.
Storie (35:04):
So would you do?
You still have mentors andcoaches that you refer to
Absolutely Really, even after?
Listen, I just posted today andI said I forever a student,
that's my hashtag, hashtagforever a student.
I'm gonna.
(35:25):
I'm gonna forever be learningand I can't deliver information
to you if I'm not currentlytaking in information.
That is very true, so I have toconsistently, and whatever I
know today, look at the changingtimes.
So what is so today?
That's why, as a licensedprofessional in more than one or
two areas, One, two, five.
(35:48):
It's consistent continuationeducation, continuing education.
Why?
Because the market changes.
So, even the state dictatesthat I have to constantly be
learning so that.
I'm delivering the rightinformation to you.
So, aside from what they makeme do right, I go out and seek
(36:11):
information so that I can betterserve my clients right.
So being able to optimize your strategy as a
salesperson, a marketing personor an entrepreneur, you have to
be able to do.
That seems like what you'resaying.
Shikilia (36:24):
Yeah, so be successful because it's it's.
It's so much out there there isno way you can ever get to the
point that you feel you know itall, because it is changing too
much and it's still so much outthere to learn.
Brian will tell you that withthe first class that I took,
(36:45):
when he was trying to force meto learn technology, I wanted to
cry and throw things at him.
Storie (36:52):
He is a teacher.
He's a teacher.
Shikilia (36:56):
And then he will be all calm.
Shikilia you, you ain't.
And I'm like I want to kill youright now, but I had to stop
saying in the last year or so.
I'm like I have to stop callingmyself technology challenge,
because now, when I comparemyself to others, you're up
there now oh my goodness,
Storie (37:17):
-- --tw-pinch-- --tw-pan-y --tw-pinch- data-
--tw- put out some new courses.
Did he shameless plug?
No?
Shikilia (37:21):
okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna seek some out yeah so.
But I have been really justmaking myself because in my mind
I kept thinking oh my goodness,it's taking me two hours to do
this and somebody else will comein here and do it in 10 minutes
.
But what I am learning andfinding that if you're really
honing in on the technology,even the experienced person it
(37:44):
may.
They may have to sit there andtinkle with it for an hour or
two.
Storie (37:48):
I will say every day, yeah, every day, I have to learn
something new or an update to atechnology and how to do it
correctly, exactly.
Shikilia (37:56):
And as soon as you learn that piece of technology,
they update it and tweak it andchange it, and now you've got to
figure out how it works again.
Facebook, for example, totallydifferent than you know three
years ago as far as how you cannavigate on it.
Storie (38:11):
And so I'm no longer this is my announcement to the
world I'm no longer technologychallenge, I am in technology
growth you really are and wouldyou say, at whatever point you
are, you finally reached a pointwhere you're like you know what
this is a full time joblearning the marketing
(38:32):
technology.
Shikilia (38:39):
Let me get a team on my side Would you say that's
helped you.
Yes, and so I don't have theteam that I want yet, but I have
.
My team looks totally differentthan it did a year ago, two
years ago, and so definitely ingrowth mode, didn't I say?
Storie (38:52):
There we go, constantly growing.
Shikilia (38:54):
Constantly growing and so I do have a good team
that is very patient, that isvery patient with me and
everything.
But I definitely am trying toget to the point where I have
that right hand person Back whenI had my mortgage branch, my
(39:14):
assistant.
She will tell you what myanswer would be, separate from
what her answer would be.
That's how well she got to knowme, how I move and how I think
I need her back, I know right.
Storie (39:29):
And so, yeah, that's what I'm looking for looking
well, hopefully in the next yearor so you'll come back on and
be like you know what I found myperson so to point that out.
If people want to know moreabout you, to learn more about
your courses or the books you'vewritten, or just your story
even, yeah how can they reachyou?
Shikilia (39:49):
well, a couple of ways.
You could definitely reach meon social media under Shea
Assets.
When you put in Shea Assets, itwill come up, okay, with an S
on the end.
You also can reach me via email.
Info at sheaassetscom.
Okay.
And you can reach me on mywebsite.
(40:11):
I have a stay in touch contacttab there.
You can reach me there and alsocall me 469-510-5182.
469-510-5182.
Shaquille at Shea Assets.
Storie (40:28):
I love it.
I will also be adding it to thebottom of this podcast.
This was probably one of thefunnest podcasts I've had and I
really appreciate you coming on.
Shikilia (40:37):
Thank you so much Thank you, shane, it was really
a pleasure.
Storie (40:41):
Well, we're going to talk more soon.
Shikilia (40:43):
Love it.
Storie (40:43):
And to our audience.
Thank you for returning toanother episode of Market it
with Atma.
We'll see you next time.
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