Melanie Bishop

A Fortitude for Family

By Jane K. Asher, Ph.D.

Photos by Stylish Detroit

Melanie S. Bishop hails from a family of “incredible salespeople,” so when she began selling shoes in her parents’ high-fashion shoe stores at the age of 12, she was not surprised by how quickly she developed a knack — and a love — for sales.

After spending a year at Eastern Michigan University as a political science major, 19-yearold Melanie got engaged and moved back home to return to the family shoe business, where she continued to work until she started her family in 1976. Then, in 1986, shortly after the birth of her third child, Melanie made a surprising decision that inadvertently changed the course of her life.

“Despite previously being in sales for years, I never had any interest in real estate, so when my friend Debbie suggested that we become real estate agents, I thought she was crazy,” Melanie said. As a result of her friend’s persistence, Melanie finally relented, and the two of them attended real estate school together. “I had no idea we were going to Real Estate One’s pre-licensing school or that we’d be joining them, but after getting licensed and spending a few weeks marketing, we partnered up and hit the ground running at Real Estate One,” Melanie said. “It all started by accident, but I was hooked from day one!”

After her first year as a part-time agent, Melanie left the partnership to venture out on her own, but she says she is forever grateful to Debbie for introducing her to the unexpected career that ended up defining her life path. In 1992, when Melanie became a single parent and sole supporter of her three children, she successfully transitioned to full-time. “Real estate enabled me to leave a deteriorated marriage, stand on my own and take care of my family by myself,” she said. “When my children were young, it was not easy to be at two places at once — there was a lot of compromise, but my children understood and were proud of me for keeping us all together and financially secure.”

In the years that followed, Melanie continued to increase her business and eventually became the #1 agent at Real Estate One/Max Broock - West Bloomfield until 2010 when she relocated to the company’s Bloomfield Hills Office, where she remains with the Max Broock brand to this day. As evidenced by her 35-year career volume of over $800 million, Melanie continues to thrive in the industry as a result of her hard work, integrity and professionalism. “Being successful in my own right and having the ability to make people’s dreams come true is all-important to me — my business now defines who I am,” she said. “I am always striving to be the best I can be for my clients.”

In 2016, Melanie paired up with her youngest son, Noah S. Bishop-Cohen. Noah and Melanie each maintain their own businesses; however, they cover for each other and band together to jointly market themselves through their “Two Generations of Sold” tagline. “Noah and I think and do business the same way and are totally in sync — he is truly a chip off the old block, and it is thrilling to see him follow in my footsteps and take our legacy into the future,” Melanie said. “I am aiming for him to take over and move forward someday but not in the near future … I don’t know what I would do without real estate.”

MUCH LIKE MOTHERHOOD, REAL ESTATE IS NOT AN EASY JOB. IF WE MAKE IT LOOK EASY, IT’S BECAUSE WE’VE WORKED REALLY HARD TO BECOME GOOD AT IT.

“With 35 years in the business, my mom has a wealth of knowledge — I had an amazing mentor prior to working with her but felt it was time to learn the ways of one of the top-producing real estate agents in the state,” Noah said. “The learning experience I get from her is amazing, but the greatest reward is the relationship we have created: We have always been close, but business has brought us closer.”

For the past 25 years, Melanie has been happily remarried to the man of her dreams, Arthur Solomon, and they have created a truly unified blended family, which includes their four children and five grandchildren: their son Aaron, his wife Christy and their daughter Emily; their daughter Jessica, her husband Joshua and their children Samantha and Jonah; their daughter Shayna, her husband Philip and their daughters Brooke and Abby; and their son Noah and his new wife Dana. With the exception of Jessica and her family who live in Baltimore, Melanie’s entire family enjoys weekly Sunday night dinners together.

Every other winter, Melanie takes her entire family on a vacation, and they never miss a holiday together, whether it is in person or on Zoom. “The most important thing to my mother is family — she puts family first, and you can always count on her,” Noah said. “She is the matriarch of our family and the glue that keeps us all together.”

Melanie loves Motown music, Barbra Streisand, romantic comedies and reading, but her greatest interest is her grandchildren. “My five grandchildren — four girls and one boy — are the light of my life,” Melanie said. “I want to be an integral part of their lives and make memories with them for a lifetime.” In honor of Melanie’s 16-year-old granddaughter, Brooke, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 8, Melanie’s entire family supports JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research, and fundraises by participating in the JDRF One Walk® in September. Last year, despite the annual event being moved to a virtual platform, their team still raised $30,000. Melanie also supports a variety of Jewish organizations.

Melanie has always embraced motherhood as her most important “job” in life. “I am very different from my mother who was from a generation when women’s main focus was keeping their husbands happy,” she said. “My children are my heart, and I did everything to make them self-sufficient, independent, confident and educated in order to equip them with tools for a fulfilling future — I feel very fortunate that I succeeded in this area.”

To Melanie, success — both in business and in life — is when you feel you are doing the best you can and when the results confirm that. “Much like motherhood, real estate is not an easy job,” she said. “If we make it look easy, it’s because we’ve worked really hard to become good at it.”

Melanie Bishop - Top Producer