As part of my series about prominent entrepreneurs and executives that overcame adversity to achieve great success, I had the pleasure of interviewing…
Sha’Kreshia is a trusted Realtor in her community as well as the founder and CEO of Humble Hustle Finance, a personal finance platform that educates emerging adults on the importance of money management. She has a strong passion for helping others change the way that they think about money and real estate. It’s the key to building generational wealth while living the life you feel that you deserve. She is not going to stop until she can help as many families as she can become financially independent and guide them through investing in real estate.
Jason Crowley: Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this specific career path?
Sha’Kreshia Terrell: As a kid, I remember growing up and listening to my mom talk about how our family, a family of 5 at the time with 2 girls whom were 10 months apart, lived on an income of $500 per month. The home we lived in, well put it like this, moved when you walked through. No insulation and many other problems but it was a stable roof over our heads. One day in particular, I remember a commercial came on that advertised home remodeling for low income families. You were to send in a letter describing your home and the condition that it was in and if you were the winner, the company would come out and remodel your home for free. My mom took the time to write a letter. Basically, the response she received in return is that our home was in too poor of a condition to be remodeled. I remember the very look on her face as she read the response letter. It was a look of hurt and sadness because she did all that she could to provide for her family but with her being a house wife there wasn’t much else that she could do. She kind of laughed it off in front of her children but as a child, you sense when something is wrong with your parents. Since that very day I’d always said that I was going to be something big in life just so that I could buy my mom a nice big home with a beautiful kitchen because she loved to cook. Sadly, she passed away when I was 13 years old but that hasn’t stopped me from reaching my goals to put my family in a few nice homes. I see it as a tribute to her. That’s what keeps me going.
Crowley: Can you share your story of when you were on the brink of failure? First, take us back to what it was like during the darkest days.
Terrell: Back when I was studying to get licensed for real estate, I went through some dark trying times. I mean I woke up in a world of debt wanting to become a Realtor. I just didn’t see how that worked. Real Estate was always something that I wanted so badly that it was almost as if I could taste it. I studied and studied some more but could not seem to pass the test. I almost gave up after multiple retakes. I knew the information, it clearly showed. I would fail the test by 1–3 questions every time. The very moment I threw my hands in the air, a few friends talked me into taking it one more time and I am so glad I did! I then got to a point where I paid off all debt! Looking back on it, it just took me to double up on my studying time, remembering my why, and trusting God to lead me through the process. It was during a period where I was learning more about the woman I was becoming and what I wanted out of life. I was focused on all the wrong things and I had to let go and let God. I learned that he wasn’t tell me no at the time, he was just telling me, not right then but my time was coming. Being in the storm you don’t think as clearly as you do when you get through the storm. Only after the storm does everything start to make sense.
Crowley: What was your mindset during such a challenging time? Where did you get the drive to keep going when things were so hard?
Terrell: I remember trying not to question God and what he was doing in my life. It’s hard to do when you don’t understand his plans for you. Why was I in so much debt? How did this happen? How can I pay it off? How am I going to teach people about personal finance and real estate in the situation that I am in? All these questions continued to run across my mind. It was depressing. I mean you know the plans that you have for yourself, but you don’t realize that His plans for you a far more different. I surrounded myself with positive people who continued to encourage me even though they did not know what I was going through. Seeing how they believed in me and pushed me to be my best self along with trusting God and remembering my why, I had no choice but to succeed. When I want to add fuel to the fire, I go back to where I grew up. It keeps you humble and makes you hustle harder, hence the name of my business Humble Hustle Finance.
Crowley: Tell us how you were able to overcome such adversity and achieve massive success? What did the next chapter look like?
Terrell: Honestly the more that I let go of trying to plan out and have control over my own life, the more success I started to achieve. As far as what the next chapter looked like, I’d put it all in God’s hands and he led the way.
Crowley: Based on your experience, can you share 3 actionable pieces of advice about how to develop the mindset needed to persevere through adversity? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Terrell: Keep God First — Growing up I knew that you were supposed to pray to God, but I didn’t fully understand who he was. I think I may have gone to church once as a kid but the only thing I remember doing is staring at the tall ceilings. My husband’s family would invite me to church and often sit me down to help me understand Him better and how to listen when He speaks through you. They would answer all my burning questions with so much patience and understanding. I would ask the same questions time after time and they never once complained but talked me through it. They still do til this very day. I am proud to say that I have found a church home and I stay as close to God as I possibly can. I honestly can’t thank them enough for what they have done.
Personal Development — To lessen the number of dark times that you may go through I feel that personal development is important. Every morning before starting your day, do something positive. Pray, read a book, work out, watch a motivating YouTube video, or listen to a podcast. Something that will motivate you to get up and go throughout your day in a positive light. I didn’t learn this until recently. Since then my days go a lot smoother than they used to. Waking up sad because you aren’t where you want to be in life calls for long depressed days. Don’t do that.
Remember Your Why — Days when I feel down and out I picture my mom’s face after she read that letter. I also like going back to where I grew up. I feel as though you constantly need that to remain humble and to reignite the burning flame that is within you. Write out your why and put it in a place where you look every day. Make it so in depth and strong that it automatically empowers and inspires you to get up and go when you turn in its direction.
Crowley: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Terrell: There isn’t just one person, there are people. More than one person has helped me get to where I am in life today. I am the type of person who learns most of the time by someone else’s mistakes that they have made in life. They come to me knowing in full confidence that they can talk to me about the things they are struggling with in life. I listen and find a lesson in every story whether the lesson is for me or for someone else that I may come across in life.
Crowley: Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Terrell: I am always thinking of new project ideas. I have a few more in the works. I hope that it helps people realize that no matter where you come from or how much you have in life, anything is possible. All it takes is for you to just do it. Trying and failing is better than not trying at all.
Crowley: You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Terrell: I would like for everyone to become so financially independent in life that they can make investments confidently knowing that they are creating wealth for generations to come while being able to live the life that they have always wanted. Don’t be afraid to learn about financial literacy or to try new adventures. You never know where you may end up. I never in a million years would have thought that I would be educating others on money management let alone real estate.
Crowley: Any parting words of wisdom that you would like to share?
Terrell: Keep God first, I can’t stress that enough! Everything won’t be perfect in life and it may not go according to your plans but if you keep Him first, He will work it out. There will be times when your faith will be tested but staying prayed up and positive helps you float through. Without trying times, there wouldn’t be any lesson to learn and we wouldn’t appreciate life as much.
Crowley: How can our readers follow you on social media?
Terrell: @shakrealestate on Facebook and Instagram
Crowley: Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Terrell: Thank you so much for having me, it’s been fun!
