2020 Women in Real Estate: Susan Shelby, CPSM, FSMPS, President & CEO at Rhino PR

Who inspired you to join the CRE Industry? My public relations (PR) roots began in the high-tech world but my husband and I were both laid off during the “dot com crash” in 2001. I moved into the CRE industry when I found a job as corporate marketing manager with Vanderweil Engineers. Since founding Rhino PR in 2004, I have worked with numerous companies in the CRE industry, including architects, engineers, and construction companies. The tangible aspects of the CRE industry are appealing - to be able to see and visit the buildings my work centers on makes it more meaningful to me. 

What is the best advice you have received, and who was it from? I was going through a tough time with my business and I called my father to cry on his shoulder. He had been president of an architectural firm in CT before he retired, and told me about going from 150 to 50 employees during the recession in the 1980s. Talk about stress! He listened and said, “Susan, this, too, shall pass.” I was pretty mad when he said that, as it wasn’t the response I was looking for, but I have come to realize he was right, and it did pass – as most things do.