Shelly & Mike Martin
VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL EDITION: POWER COUPLE
PHOTOS BY JJHOMES PHOTOGRAPHY | STORY BY ZACH COHEN
BUILDING THEIR LEGACY
Michael and Shelly Martin are a real estate power couple; Shelly is one of Tulsa’s top real estate agents, and Michael is a regional technology director for Keller Williams. However, their lives didn’t always involve real estate. Before Shelly got into the business in 2009, Michael was a full-time welder, and Shelly was a stay-at-home mom.
Finding Real Estate
Shelly was introduced to real estate sales through her sister, an agent and team leader. Shelly was raising two young children, and as her kids neared school age, she began to consider starting a business. Her first idea was to open a retail boutique, but her sister encouraged her to look at a career in real estate.
“I realized, in real estate, I was able to control my schedule and still be able to be a mom and raise our kids. I wanted to be there with my babies,” Shelly reflects.
In 2009, Shelly began her real estate career as a part-time agent. Soon, it evolved into a full-time career.
“I have a problem with not climbing ladders,” Shelly laughs. “It just picked up. I don’t think real estate can be done part-time. I started doing the work and found success.”
In the early years, Shelly took her kids everywhere, from showings to the office to appointments.
“They were little mascots,” Shelly continues. “I’d dress them up and take them everywhere. I wanted to show everyone you can be a real estate agent and be a mom.”
Fun Fact
“One time, I thought they'd be fine in the car at two and four years old while I opened the door for a showing and stood at the front door. They colored the entire interior of the backseat and roof with a black sharpie marker.”
Two’s Company
At the time, Michael worked 12 to 14-hour days as a welder. He watched his wife enjoying success and having fun, and he, too, began to get curious about becoming a REALTOR®.
“I thought it sounded fun to help people invest in their futures and help them get to their next destination,” Michael says. “I was going to slowly transition, but God had another way to turn things for us. Our church always went on mission trips, and it was a passion of mine to go on one, but in welding, there was never enough time to do that.”
That year, Michael went to a Christmas party where secret gifts were exchanged. He was left with a clear bag that looked like a gag gift, but when he opened it, there was a fully paid mission trip in an envelope inside the package.
Without enough vacation days to go on the mission trip, he realized that his time as a welder had come to a close, and finally, he turned his sights toward real estate. Michael got his license in 2012 and began selling real estate in 2013.
Creative Teamwork
Over the past decade, Michael and Shelly’s business has taken several forms. They worked as a team in Tulsa for several years before Michael took a leadership role with Keller Williams in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 2018. In 2019, they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, to open another office. In 2020, they returned home to Tulsa to re-lay the groundwork for a business in their home city.
Today, Shelly is in production, while Michael is the Oklahoma Regional Technology Director for Keller Williams. Michael continues to support Shelly’s sales business on the back end while she handles appointments, listings, and client meetings.
Together in Business, Together in Life
Being married isn’t easy, and neither is running a business together. Michael and Shelly are tasked with balancing both.
“At first, it was hard,” Michael admits. “We had to really make a decision, are we going to be married or have a business? What's it going to take to come home and stop talking about work? But we knew we could beat the odds.”
Today, Michael and Shelly describe their partnership as a way of life. They are a team in business and at home. Their strengths and weaknesses are complementary.
Michael and Shelly’s children, Lane and Madison, are now 18 and 16. Any time away from the business is devoted to them. Lane is now taking real estate courses in college, intending to one day follow in his parents’ footsteps.
“That’s what we started this business for — for them,” Shelly says proudly.
Giving Thanks
Michael and Shelly are tremendously grateful for the positive impact their real estate careers have had on their lives. Looking ahead, they hope to give back to those that come from a similar path of struggle and perseverance.
“We want to leave a legacy behind by simply showing our true selves. We can make a difference that way,” Shelly says. “Michael and I come from two different worlds, and we have a story of struggle in our backgrounds. I want to live a life that shows the people before me in my family that worked their butts off ... the financial struggles they went through to make my life successful — that’s important to me. I'm trying to give thanks for lives that came before mine and heal the struggle of the past."
“I want to use this business — and one day it will happen — to be a place where struggling families can go, to provide housing for clients in need. That's the kind of care we want to give. We have big dreams of giving back. If I can see our work impact others, that's amazing. I want to see lives changed through our work.”
