Creating a Calm Space
If not for a tough day working in customer service at Best Buy, Anya Mashaney might be a social worker right now rather than the owner of a thriving real estate brokerage. Mashaney, 29, was a junior in college and having a headache-filled day, but her ability to smile through the chaos impressed a customer who was dropping his phone off for service. He left his business card, and after a phone call and an interview, he offered Mashaney a job as an assistant in his real estate office. By the time Mashaney graduated with a social work degree, she’d already earned her real estate license and started putting her education to use. Sometimes people move because they’ve lost a job or are going through a divorce, she says. The degree “helps me guide them in a way that makes sense to them,” Mashaney says. “You’re able to help them through as an advocate.”