Sherry Ellison has faith.
Whether it was the courage to leave a secure job and become the president and chief executive of her own company, Omega Financial Resources Inc., or to expand her business and staff to her Charles Street location in Baltimore, Ellison always had faith.
And from day one, she knew it was the right move.
“After my first day in the office, I walked out with a profit,” Ellison said.
Focusing on helping moderate- and low-income residents become financially sound, Omega has a clear vision of what it wants to accomplish.
With Ellison at the helm, the company tries to reach out to local investors or homeowners who may have received poor advice, or no direction at all.
Ellison actually considers one of her, and Omega?s, strengths to be their ability to give straight advice to first-time buyers. In a mortgage market with many experts worried about subprime loans crippling buyers, Ellison prides herself on providing a strong, straight bottom line.
“If we don?t give good customer service, then people don?t come back,” Ellison said. “But we have to be honest from the start and let them know why, and what they can and can?t do.”
Entering the working world in the early 1980s, Ellison began her career in Mercantile Bank?s collections department, but soon left to take a position with Fairfax Savings Bank. By working her way up the ladder, studying from manuals and company-issued guidebooks, Sherry became a manager within two years.
Following up with stints at other banks, she soon found she had an earnest desire to move out on her own.
A deeply religious person, Ellison prayed about the issue, and in 1998, she opened an office in the Belvedere Hotel, starting Omega Financial.
Within a few months, Sandra Millinder, an unpaid intern, joined her. Today, Millinder is still with Ellison as the business has grown and expanded to its new location on Charles Street in 2001.
And Millinder is glad she has stayed for the ride.
“I respect [Ellison] and love her as a person and as a boss,” Millinder said. “I like the business, but I want to stay here. There?s no gossip here, no pettiness.”
SHERRY ELLISON
» First job: Worked as a nurse?s assistant at 13
» Education/credentials: Anne Arundel County High School, several years of community college
» Daily e-mails received: About 45
» Daily voice mails received: Around 40
» Essential Web site: Maryland Association of Mortgage Brokers
» Career objective: To create a financial option for low- to moderate-income people
» Favorite gadget: Stress ball
» Hometown: Glen Burnie
» Birth date: Aug. 18, 1959
» Original aspiration: To be a nurse
» Sports/hobbies: Working on the yard, being outside, enjoying Baltimore and spending time with my husband
