Overseeing $150M, 200 Homes, 80 Airbnbs Before 30: Shannon Powers' Sacred Path with Family & Real Estate

🎙️ EP003 - $150M, 200 Homes, 80 Airbnbs Before 30: Shannon Powers' Sacred Path with Family & Real Estate $150M under management. 200 single-family homes. 80 Airbnbs. Before 30. And she's doing it all alongside her father and brother. In this episode of Plunge Into Prosperity, host Brandi Kolosky sits down with Shannon Powers — Asset Manager and Investor Relations lead at RTO Property and Sundown Vista — for an unfiltered conversation on the sacred path of building wealth WITH family, not despite them. From cold-calling industrial real estate owners at 22 to managing a quarter-billion in family-held assets by 28, Shannon shares the real story behind a modern family real estate business — including the family coach that made it sustainable, the sale-leaseback model that built her foundation, and the investor relations work she now calls her favorite part of the job. Together, Brandi and Shannon explore what it really takes to operate $150M with a lean 8-person team plus 12 virtual assistants, why "doing your career backwards" might actually be the smartest move in real estate, and the structural innovations opening private market investing to a new generation of women — from Sacral Sisters SPV to Puerto Rico Act 60 to self-directed IRA investing. This is the conversation every female real estate operator, family business successor, and women's wealth builder needs to hear. —

🌊 IN THIS EPISODE
→ Shannon's unconventional career path: from commercial brokerage to acquisitions to asset management to family business — and why "doing it backwards" actually worked → How cold-calling 50 industrial real estate owners a day at 22 built the foundation for everything that followed → The sale-leaseback brokerage model: pitching owners on 5-7 year leases, then selling the building to investors with them inside → The realities of working with family — the gifts, the growing pains, and the boundaries that protect both → Why RTO Property hired a dedicated family business coach — and how it changed everything

→ Brandi's "drama trauma" framework: why business financials almost always reflect the C-suite's personal dynamics → How Brandi is embedding a performance coach inside her launching fund as an emergency response when portfolio company financials slip → Shannon's personal definition of prosperity: showing up with energy that uplifts the entire team → The mindset of competitive athletes and dancers — and why getting told "no" doesn't sting the same when you've spent years auditioning → Brandi's Trump Hollywood / Trump Panama / Trump Puerto Rico era: becoming Employee of the Year across 52 cities worldwide → Operating $150M with a lean 8-person team plus 12 virtual assistants managing communications across 200 long-term rentals and 80 Airbnb guests checking in simultaneously → Shannon's newly earned Managing Broker's License and the expansion into third-party real estate management → Why investor relations became Shannon's favorite part of the job → The 10-unit Illinois apartment deal that taught Shannon why having
MORE investors on a cap table can actually create more joy → Sacral Sisters SPV explained: how Brandi opened private market investing to unaccredited women for the first time, with check sizes from $1,000 to $60,000 → The brutal truth: only 1.9% of global venture capital flows to women — DOWN from 2.3% just two years ago → Women-led businesses return 78¢ on every dollar invested; all-male teams return just 31¢ — yet men still aren't investing in women → Self-directed IRAs and trust-based investing strategies for fund LPs, and why "easier" doesn't always mean "smarter" → Travel as a prosperity strategy — why Brandi credits global travel with opening her neural pathways and her heart → Puerto Rico Act 60 explained: 0% capital gains for mainland US residents who relocate before year-end, 3-4% after → How Brandi structured her fund entity in Puerto Rico to export services and capture 50% tax credits back to her LPs → The fascinating economics of robot-built construction: a Walmart supercenter built in 6 days with 2 robots and 6 people — and why the economics only work at institutional scale → Red Atlas: the AI-powered platform changing how investors find off-market commercial real estate → Why "off-market" might not be a thing anymore — and where to still find real off-market deals → The 25-home Cape Coral build-to-rent project that became half long-term rentals and half Airbnbs → Mentorship in family business — Shannon on what her father has taught her about leadership → Closing reflections on the women's wealth movement and how to connect with Shannon, RTO Property, and Sundown Vista —

📍 CHAPTERS 00:00 - Welcome + Why You Should Keep Listening 00:42 - Shannon's Background: Chicago Roots & RTO Property Overview 01:00 - Managing 200 Homes, 80 Airbnbs & 6 Commercial Assets 01:55 - Balancing Personal Rituals With High-Pressure Real Estate 02:50 - The Realities of Working With Family 04:00 - Why RTO Property Hired a Family Business Coach 05:00 - Brandi's "Drama Trauma" Framework for Failing Businesses 06:15 - Embedding a Performance Coach Inside the Sacral Fund 07:25 - Shannon's Personal Definition of Prosperity 09:25 - Career Path: Brokerage → Acquisitions → Asset Management → Family Business 10:00 - The Athlete/Dancer Mindset and Getting Comfortable With "No" 11:30 - The Sale-Leaseback Model That Made Shannon's First Career 12:30 - Brandi's Trump Hollywood, Panama & Puerto Rico Era 13:15 - Becoming Employee of the Year Across 52 Cities Worldwide 14:30 - The Power of Personal Rituals That Reflect Into Business 15:45 - Operating $150M With a Lean 8-Person Team + 12 VAs 17:30 - Shannon's New Managing Broker's License + Third-Party Management 19:00 - Why Investor Relations Became Shannon's Favorite Role 19:30 - The 10-Unit Illinois Deal That Changed Her Perspective on Cap Tables 20:45 - Sacral Sisters SPV: Opening Private Markets to Unaccredited Women 22:30 - The Catamaran Event in St. Augustine That Started It All 24:00 - Creative Fund Structures: SDIRAs, Trusts & LP Innovation 26:30 - The Brutal Truth: 1.9% of Global Capital Goes to Women 27:30 - Women Return 78¢ vs Men's 31¢ — Yet Men Still Don't Invest 28:30 - The Growing Network of Women in Commercial Real Estate 29:30 - Travel as a Prosperity Strategy & Shannon's Upcoming Poland Trip 33:00 - Puerto Rico's 0% Capital Gains + Act 60 Tax Strategy 34:00 - How Brandi Structured Her Fund to Export Services + 50% Credits 35:30 - Why Some Sacral Sisters LPs Are Rolling Dividends Back In 36:30 - Revitalizing Commercial Buildings: From 30% to 95% Occupied 37:30 - Red Atlas: AI-Powered Off-Market Commercial Real Estate 38:30 - Why "Off-Market" May Not Be a Thing Anymore 40:00 - Robot-Built Construction: Walmart Supercenter in 6 Days 41:30 - Why Robot Construction Economics Only Work at Institutional Scale 42:30 - Connecting Robotics Manufacturers to Puerto Rico Developers 43:00 - Where to Find Shannon, RTO Property & Sundown Vista 44:00 - The Host & Keep Acquisition by BlackRock + Future Exit Paths 45:00 - Closing Reflections + Brandi's Open Network for Cap Raising — 🌟 KEY QUOTES FROM THE EPISODE 💬 "I really try to put time into myself and my schedule so I can show up for other people the next day." — Shannon Powers 💬 "Most of the time businesses fail because of organization, communication, and the upper chain — not the economy." — Brandi Kolosky 💬 "I almost did my career backwards — sales, then acquisitions, then asset management, then family business." — Shannon Powers 💬 "Women weren't able to get a business loan at a bank without a man co-signing until 1985. That's the year I was born." — Brandi Kolosky 💬 "Women return 78 cents on the dollar. Men return 31 cents. Yet the men are still investing in each other." — Brandi Kolosky 💬 "Investor relations is probably my favorite part of the job." — Shannon Powers 💬 "I love what I'm doing. I love life. I love learning. I'm a bibliophile, a polymath." — Brandi Kolosky — 📚 RESOURCES & PEOPLE MENTIONED - RTO Property — Shannon's family real estate company - Sundown Vista — Shannon's Airbnb portfolio (Illinois, Siesta Key, Marco Island) - Red Atlas — AI-powered commercial real estate platform - Puerto Rico Act 60 — Tax incentive program for mainland US residents - Sacral Sisters SPV — Brandi's investment vehicle for women - Host & Keep — Recently acquired by BlackRock (mentioned) - BlackRock vs. Blackstone — Real estate portfolio acquisitions - Robotic construction firms (Denver-based) building hurricane-proof and blast-proof structures - Cape Coral, FL — 25-home build-to-rent project case study — 👥 ABOUT SHANNON POWERS (GUEST) Shannon Powers is the Asset Manager and Investor Relations lead at RTO Property, her family's Chicago-based real estate company managing approximately $150M in assets — including 200 single-family homes, 80 Airbnbs operated under their Sundown Vista brand (with destinations in Illinois, Siesta Key, and Marco Island), and 6 commercial properties. Before joining RTO Property, Shannon built her foundation through commercial brokerage focused on industrial sale-leasebacks, acquisitions at a smaller family office, and asset management at a fund with $1B+ assets under management. She recently earned her Managing Broker's License, expanding RTO Property's third-party management offerings. A Chicago native, former competitive athlete, and the middle of three siblings (her older sister works in medicine; her younger brother works alongside her in real estate), Shannon brings sharp operational rigor, deep relationship-building skills, and a passion for investor relations to one of the fastest-growing family-led real estate operations in the Midwest. 🔗 Connect with Shannon: - RTO Property: https://rtoproperty.com - Sundown Vista (Airbnbs): https://sundownvista.com - LinkedIn: [Shannon's LinkedIn URL] — 👥 ABOUT BRANDI KOLOSKY (HOST) Brandi Kolosky is the Founder of Sacral Capital, Managing Partner of Sacral Sisters SPV, Founder of Sacral Capital Puerto Rico, Founder of Sacral Advisory, future GP of the Sacral Fund, and Host & Producer of the Plunge Into Prosperity podcast. A polymath, bibliophile, and former professional dancer of 21 years, Brandi has worked across nearly every industry — from marketing and PR for Trump properties across 52 cities, to aviation, consumer health, digital infrastructure, and infrastructure investing. She was an early pioneer in bypassing oil and gas flare to power Bitcoin mining, and now invests across four core pillars: aviation, consumer health, digital infrastructure, and infrastructure. Through Sacral Capital and Sacral Sisters, Brandi is on a mission to heal one of the most broken systems in finance: the 1.9% of global capital that currently flows to women-led businesses.

Share this episode with a sister, family member, or friend who's building something of their own - Tell us in the comments: What does YOUR sacred path with family and prosperity look like?

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