As a child of parents who emigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan, Sabbor Sheikh learned early on the importance of family and a strong work ethic.
“They emigrated to this country in 1987, leaving me back home. I was a relative newborn. My grandmother initially raised me there. Once I joined them here, what became apparent was they had to work extremely hard,” he recalled.
“They were looking for a better life, being able to provide for their kids. I saw early on how hard they worked around the clock, and so that really instilled in me the ability to earn and to provide for your family is critically important,” he said.
‘Mr. B’ Makes an Impact
Sabbor held several jobs, including working as a manager at his mother’s Asian market and as a senior salesman at a car dealership. But he found himself, he said, at a “crossroads”.
“I felt a sense of urgency and pressure to find my path, find a career. Where can I thrive and provide for my family?” he recalled.
Inspired by watching his parents buy and sell real estate over the years, Sabbor decided to try his hand at a career as a real estate agent.
He struggled in his first few years, selling just a few homes and barely breaking even after expenses.
“There’s no manual on how to do things. You get in, they give you a stack of business cards and they say, ‘Go,’” he said.
It was after he was invited by his broker to attend a free Buffini event in Boston that everything changed. There, he heard Brian Buffini’s message about building a business by referral.
“I checked it out, and it was ‘Mr. B’ on stage, Brian Buffini. He was funny, and the content made sense. It resonated with me — [building] a business this way, working by referral, having rich relationships,” he recalled.
Sabbor knew he had found his path forward.
Buffini Coaching — Beyond Business
Sabbor attributes much of his success to working with his Buffini Coach; in fact, he calls it “non-negotiable.”
“At this point in my life, I cannot see myself without a coach. Never does it cross my mind, ‘Oh, I think I should save some money and cancel on my coaching.’ No. Coaching goes beyond just business,” he said.
“The greatest thing that I get from my coach is clarity. What’s important now? What do we work on at this time? Coaching with Buffini & Company has not only shaped my business, but it’s also affected me in every area of my life, including personal,” he said.
Working with a coach has also allowed him, he said, to “earn at a level that I did not think possible.”
“I’ve lived on the same street for 30 years and last year I bought the building across the street from my mom’s house to stay in the neighborhood that I grew up in,” he said.
“It helped me save a certain amount of money that I can put towards my family and my kids’ college education.”
Creating a Legacy
Just as his parents served as his role models, Sabbor is now doing that for his own children.
“Now, looking into the future, a lot of my goals are legacy oriented. What do I want for my family? What do I want my kids to be able to say about their dad? What do I want to leave behind for them?” he said.
And those parents he was so inspired by? Now, it’s their turn to express their pride.
“It’s a great feeling watching my parents work as hard as they did and now seeing their son thrive. My mom tells me all the time, my dad is not big on words, but she’ll say, ‘Your dad’s really proud of you.’ It’s just this leadership role that I’ve taken in my family. To be counted on by mom and dad, that’s a big deal. Seeing my parents work so hard in my upbringing, it definitely instilled a sense of work ethic in me, and gosh, they’re so proud now.”
