THE PATH TO LEADERSHIP

“I immigrated to America in 2003, so I was worried about my English, and I was worried where I would find my clients,” Shelley reflects honestly. “He had a showing with a Chinese client, and he asked me to go with him. I realized I really liked it. I enjoyed talking to people and showing them houses, so I decided to get my license.”

From the Ground Up Shelley immigrated to the U.S. in 2003 from her hometown of Tianjin, China, the third biggest city in China. She had met her husband, Corey, through work, and the couple came to Dallas, Corey’s hometown, three years after getting married. By the time Shelley started her real estate career in 2010, she only had a small circle of friends, but that didn’t prevent her from succeeding. She met her first client at church, and her business was off the ground.

“I started from there. Several other friends from church introduced me to friends, and in my first year, I sold seven houses. Lots of people were saying real estate agents average seven houses. I was happy and grateful to make that mark,” Shelley recalls.

In the following years, Shelley’s business grew steadily. She developed a strong reputation with the Chinese community for her hard work, tenacity, and attention to detail.

Becoming a Leader

Over the years, Shelley worked for several different brokerages, some of them small brokerages that serve the Chinese community. She enjoyed her experiences in these offices but felt their training and agent development programs were lacking. So, in 2018, she joined forces with fellow agent Teresa Tong to form the brokerage Tong-Parsons Realty. In 2019, they brought on partner John Terrell, the former mayor of South Lake, to become Tong-Parsons-Terrell Realty.

Today, the brokerage has over 80 agents. They focus on selling to the Chinese community, but not exclusively. In 2021, the brokerage closed $130 million, and they are tracking to close $160 million in 2022. Teresa, the broker, handles recruiting and accounting. Shelley spearheads the brokerage’s training programs. Both still actively sell real estate.

One of Shelley’s main objectives is to ensure her agents are adequately trained. She offers weekly training and continual support, making the process of building a business more streamlined and effective.

“We welcome any agents to join,” Shelley says. “We do really good training. The hard part is starting a business, so I help my agents with what they need to know to start the business. There are no office fees, 90/10 splits.”

Growth Minded

As Shelley looks ahead, she hopes to continue growing Tong-ParsonsTerrell Realty. Her goal is to reach 120 agents by the end of 2023 and eventually have 200 agents.

Outside real estate, Shelley enjoys cooking, reading, traveling, and spending time with her friends. She and her husband, Corey, have two sons, Michael (21) and Mason (15).

“I’m most grateful for my family and my partner. My husband is so supportive. He takes on a lot of the home chores and helps out, and my partner Teresa is great. We know each other for a long time, from the same city in China. We just get along really well. We 100% trust each other and support each other.”