Career change: Sharon Farinholt

CAREER CHANGE OVER 50: Sharon Farinholt

By JENNY BAKER The Winchester Star

Last spring, Sharon Farinholt felt she needed a change.

After opening Crown Trophy in Winchester with her husband, Matt, in the depths of the recession in 2009 — she recalled putting the first trophy on the shelf and saying to herself “I have nowhere to go but up” — they grew the franchise to become a top 50 Crown Trophy franchise out of 154 total stores.

Over those same years, she saw her five of their seven children get married and welcomed seven grandchildren to their family.

The pull of family over work was beginning to win.

“Last spring, I decided that I wanted to slow down some, and I wanted to be able to spend more time with our growing family,” said Farinholt.

“The business continued to grow each year, and the time seemed right to pass the baton. Fortunately, my manager was interested in buying the business and we sold it Jan. 1.”

While she was ready to slow down, she wasn’t ready to retire.

“I enjoy working with people and wanted to continue to work, but I wanted to find a career that allowed for more flexibility,” she said.

Inspiration came from one of her friends, who was a Realtor. The friend suggested that Farinholt consider selling real estate too.

“I researched it, spoke to other Realtors and decided to move forward with getting my license. So while the sale of the business was happening in the background, I was taking the real estate license classes. I enjoyed learning about the business and liked that I could still work with and help others. It was a perfect fit,” she said.

Farinholt passed the exams in February, and joined the MarketPlace REALTY team, a woman-owned agency that provided the small family business feel that Farinholt desired.

“It has been the perfect home for my career,” she said.

Going from being on a 9 to 5 schedule to the more flexible schedule of a real estate agent has proved to be a bit challenging for Farinholt.

“I am very schedule oriented. Being in real estate doesn’t demand a 9 to 5 schedule, and I’ve had to learn how to enjoy that flexibility it has allowed me,” she said.

“It’s also been difficult going from being the one in charge at my business and having to navigate employees, customers, many orders a day, vendors, etc., to being responsible for only myself and how I serve JEFF TAYLOR/THE WINCHESTER STAR Name: Sharon Farinholt Career-change age: 52 Previous career: Owner of Crown Trophy, with husband Matt New career: Realtor See Farinholt, Page 13

Sharon Farinholt’s tips for changing careers:

“My advice is to listen to yourself. Everything in me said it was time for a change. Even though change is scary, especially be ing in my 50s, I knew it was time. We are never too old to learn something new and to challenge ourselves. Being uncomfortable means growth. You have to choose if you want to keep living life a certain way because it’s comfortable, or if you are willing to be uncomfortable to make a change in life.”

Words to live by

“When my daughters were young, their violin teacher, Dr. Pat O’boyle, once said something so simple but profound that I think of it regularly... “When I stop, I turn moldy.” Dr. Pat is now 89 years old. I’m not ready to be moldy, I’d prefer to stay fresh as I continue to age.”

Lessons learned in first career that helps with new career

“Being in business taught me so much about people. You work with so many different personality types, and finding ways to connect with each person was something that I loved being able to do.”