May 4, 20237 min read

WomanUP!® Live: WaveMaker Takeover w/ Shawn Sorensen, Bernadette Cole, Juana Beede, Christina Norie

Updated: Mar 6

Join Annette Anthony and Renée Roqué on Friday, 5/5, as they chat with a sensational group of women from EXIT Realty that will be attending the WomanUP!® Retreat.

Welcome to the show! Please introduce yourself..

Shawn Sorensen My name is Shawn Sorensen, I’ve been married for 30 years, I have 2 amazing adult sons, and I am the Owner and Broker of EXIT Alliance Realty, home to 60 of the best humans on earth. I live in Murrieta, California and am currently sitting at my office in Temecula. I love being a broker because I can use my problem solving and detective skills all day long! I love helping my agents and our clients reach their goals!

Juana Beede Happy Friday everyone! My name is Juana Beede. I am the Owner and Principal Broker of EXIT Realty Bend in Beautiful Bend Oregon. I was born and raised in the Amazon jungle in Pucallpa, Peru and moved to Washington state in 1990. For the last 17 years I have lived here in Central Oregon with my amazing husband of 17 years and 3 beautiful kiddos. Madison, Dylan and Isabella. I started with EXIT Realty Bend in 2007 because I wanted a career that was flexible, would give me plenty of time with my family and I can serve others. Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of this panel.
Shannon Malcom Hi, I am Shannon Malcom. Owner & Qualifying Broker of EXIT Realty Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama. My husband and I have quite the testimony of coming from a place of homelessness to homeownership, owning a small rental portfolio and owning & operating multiple Airbnb’s, all while growing a successful real estate brokerage. We just celebrated our two year anniversary with EXIT Realty and recently won the Transformational Growth award for growing in agent count and production count. We have 40 agents currently but are planning for continued growth as we continue this journey of leading and loving on people. Thank you so much for inviting me to be part of this panel.
Bernadette Cole I am Bernadette Cole, Regional Owner of Virginia with EXIT Realty and Broker/Owner of three offices in the DC Metro Area. I started my career as an agent with EXIT Realty and loved it so much that shortly after I opened my first brokerage! Most of my career was in Sales Management but I always loved real estate. So as a broker and regional owner I get to combine the two! I love building people and seeing them reach new heights and succeed in reaching their goals.
Christina Noriega Hello! I am Christina. I just celebrated my 1 year anniversary of retirement after serving 22 yrs in the Military. I have a 20 year old daughter, who is home from school and my 5 nieces that live with me. I have been in real estate for 7 months as a NJ licensed Realtor with EXIT. I am so excited to be a part of today's panel.

Q1: What was the first business you started/owned?

Juana Beede: The 1st official business I’ve owned is EXIT REALTY BEND starting July 1,2021.
Shannon Malcom My husband and I first started a construction company, Three D Properties of Alabama, Inc. where we were renovating houses in lower income areas, placing tenants in them, and selling them to a hedge fund out West. We quickly realized we wanted to provide a better product for families so my husband went out and found private money so that we could purchase, rehab and resale properties in and around Birmingham.
Bernadette Cole My first business was Mary Kay Cosmetics. But over the years I have done so many things in so many industries including telecom, cosmetics, travel industry and real estate. Now all of the businesses I own are real estate related.
Christina Noriega My very First business was 12 years ago on eBay, selling designer bags and shoes. I lived in Europe for 6 years and acquired some items and it all started with wanting to clean my closet.
Shawn SorensenIn 1997 I started an in-home boutique business with a neighbor. We sold home decor items that we bought in Los Angeles at the big resale factories. We also made home made wreaths, Christmas ornaments and anything that was popular at the time. We would load our mom mobiles up with boxes and boxes of tchotchkes and would set up our friends homes with the items and sell them on the spot. I still have a couple boxes of wreathes hanging around in my rafters. This really ignited my entrepreneurial spirit!

Q2: What is the life or leadership advice you give most often?

Shannon Malcom “Start where you stand!” It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what has happened in your life, you can start where you stand and change the trajectory of your life and your families lives.
Bernadette Cole Every day is a new day and you are the Captain of your ship. Every day I get to CHOOSE and that is so powerful! Every day I get to choose what my day is going to be! TODAY can be the start of something new or it can be a day to build, restore or heal! I get to choose! And I am the captain of my destiny. Life is not happening to me, it’s happening for me and I get to choose how I want to show up and navigate!
Christina Noriega You are right where you are supposed to be for who you are being right now in life. And another one I really love is If you don’t quit you’ll win.
Shawn Sorensen Always trust your gut…it will never steer you wrong!
Juana Beede:You can do anything you put your mind to and I’ll always be here for you.

Q3: Tell us about a woman in your life who helped you reach a goal or encouraged you to step into your personal power!

Bernadette Cole First would be my mother, I watched her have to start over and work her way up in every job she had because we moved around so much. Second would be Tami B, she coached and encouraged me through some big turning points in my career. She has always been someone that I know I can count on and talk to.
Christina Noriega My mom has always been an encourager and continues to be for me But Also, Bernadette has been instrumental in personal growth in the last 12 months. We were friends before real estate and now I get to see another side of her that I admire. She introduced me to the woman in real estate by invitation to the womanup conference. The stereotypes that woman are in constant competition or gate keep dismantled by the Culture at WomanUp.
Shawn Sorensen There are so many woman who have helped me along the way…there are two I have to mention. First was my grandmother Sunny Calhoun. When I was a very little girl she taught me the importance of giving and putting others needs before my own. Every week we would make sandwiches for the homeless in our Anaheim neighborhood. She made sure that I knew that these people deserved love and respect just like everyone else. She was so wise and the most unselfish human I have ever known. Then there is Tami Bonnell…Tami’s solid advice and belief in me has kept my head in the game of life and business. She is probably one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. She truly cares about people and it shows in all she does. I always say I want to be just like her when I grow up!
Juana Beede There are so many amazing ladies that have influenced my life. My mother in law, Mary Beede, was one of the kindest people I ever met, and she taught me so much about being a selfless person. I will never forget having the courage to take two of the most influential women in my life to dinner when I was an agent and they both planted the seed that one day I could open my own brokerage. That was a wonderful time with Tami Bonnel and Annette Anthony. Both of these Amazing women believed in me even before I believed in myself.
Shannon Malcom: There have been many influential women placed in my life the past few years, but I will say this: The female leaders I have met within EXIT Realty and at last year’s WomanUp Retreat have given me such inspiration and aspiration to reach deeper and achieve more than I had ever hoped for or imagined.

Q4: What are you most looking forward to at the retreat?

Christina Noriega: I look forward to re-connecting at WomanUp, meeting new family and learning from one another.
Shawn Sorensen: Laughing and connecting with new and old friends!!! And of course learning from one another.
Juana Beede: I look forward to hugging old friends and new ones. Listening, learning, laughing till I cry and recharging myself. And of course drink some amazing wine!
Shannon Malcom: First, I’m hoping to reconnect with some phenomenal women I met at last year’s retreat but also looking forward to meeting new women and forming new relationships this year.
Bernadette Cole: Definitely the connection with old and new friends as well as strengthening those relationships. And of course all of the knowledge and wisdom that is shared from the stage every year! As well as the little “side sessions”.
Renee Roque: Join my WaveMaker Dinner Tuesday 6/13 @ 7:30pm @ Harney Sushi
Annette Anthony: Join my WaveMaker Dinner Monday 6/12 @ 7pm @ Senor Grubby's