We had the good fortune of connecting with Nili Hudson and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Nili, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I was raised by an amazing single mom that owned her own business. A high-end, glamourous women’s clothing boutique called The Pleasure Dome that catered to all of the major rock stars and movie stars for 20 years on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, from Janis Joplin, to Cher, to Barbara Streisand to Chaka Khan, on and on. I was designing, selling, purchasing, doing accounting, dressing the windows and anything that needed to be done in the shop for years before it abruptly closed when I was barely out of my teens. As the daughter of an entrepreneur who got up and went to work every day when nobody was directing them to, I knew that I could never be just an employee. I loved that I wanted to be successful like my mom and take over her business. I loved that I was a big shot in a little world and felt so incredibly accomplished at such a young age. I tried working for others briefly, shortly after we closed and it didn’t work for me. I was bored out of my mind, I needed to be challenged and although I was young, I knew that the only way to be in control of my time and to earn a living commensurate with the amount of effort, hard work and energy I was willing to give, I needed to be self-employed. I was 21 years old and had spent my young life learning everything I could about the clothing and manufacturing industry for years, but without a college degree, I had few options. I didn’t have the desire or the means to go back to school. Without truly understanding what being a Realtor entailed, I decided to go for it and get my license. I learned very quickly that it was not just showing beautiful homes to beautiful people, but I loved it! It encapsulated all on my attributes and skill sets and I flourished, being named Rookie of the Year my 1st year. But then the real estate market crashed. I didn’t think about the risk at the time, because to me I was destined to be successful so there was no risk. As time went on, I recognized that I traded in a regular paycheck, benefits, weekends and a more secure life, for a highly stressful, extremely inconsistent, challenging and sometimes very painful career as a Realtor but I loved it most importantly and I was determined to stick it out. The challenge pushed me to be a savvy, hard working, self-starter, to be creative beyond my wildest imagination, to trust in my capacity to persevere despite the odds and despite the set-backs. I saw no other option!
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve been a full time Realtor for over 35 years. To this day, I still get excited every single day to get out and do what I do. I receive the greatest satisfaction from a job well done, from accomplishing my goals and mostly from being of service to others. At the end of the day, everything I do, day in and day out is in service to others. This business if not for the faint of heart, it can be brutal. It’s similar to pursuing an acting career. In order to become successful, You are required to go out every day and pound the pavement. You get rejected all the time directly and indirectly. You can and should spend oodles of money marketing yourself and your properties but oftentimes to no avail. You can work 7 days a week, 20 hours a day with zero reward for months on end. There is no consistency and only the rarest of the breed will ever be able to depend on a regular stream of income. You must be relentless in your pursuit of excellence and success! I was and am still to this day, relentless in the fact that I love being in business and can’t imagine doing anything else for a living. I love working with People! I love getting to know people and in the process, helping them achieve their goals whether to find the home of their dreams or the perfect investment property. Or helping them sell their family home of 50 years. It doesn’t matter if it’s a piece of dirt or an estate, I love the art of my business from beginning to end. And it is an art. I’m at it with the same level of enthusiasm and excitement as I have been since I started. I don’t just love the people and the showing of beautiful homes, I love the creative marketing, the strategizing that comes with helping someone buy and sell simultaneously and time it just right. The writing of contracts and negotiations. The overcoming of challenges and obstacles along the way. The winning in Multiple Offers. Some of my proudest achievements come often these days, as in this exact moment, where I’m in my 8th transaction with the same clients over a period of 25 years because they keep coming back to me and referring their friends and family. Or the escrow I just closed with a client who I first sold a home, in my first year in the business and who I just represented again, 38 years later. This Year I was in the Top 1% of Realtors in the Nation, again! I’ve been named “Top Producing Realtor” repeatedly and achieved pretty much every award/recognition group available at every company I’ve been with. Top Listing Producer, Top Selling Producer. I’m a Certified Luxury Marketing Specialist with the Institute of Luxury Home Marketing as well as a Certified Residential Specialist through the Residential Real Estate Council. All of these organizations help me be a better Realtor, expand my level of knowledge, expertise and networks. When times get tough, the market is down, my business is a little slow, I get back to the basics. I believe that the universe meets us at our point of action in life and therefore I’m always pushing energy forward. It doesn’t matter so much what you do, as long as you are moving toward your goal and showing up every day in with your highest values and efforts. It’s not so much the goal line that I’m working on as I did when I was younger, it’s the journey. It’s the experiencing all the joy that comes from a job well done and a productive day. From being able to share my knowledge and experience in ways that support other people whether they’re clients or colleagues. Once I truly found my rhythm in this industry and achieved a certain level of success, roughly 25 years ago, it’s been an extraordinary journey. Not always easy, but so full of rewards and gifts. I am eternally grateful for this career and the people that have entrusted me with their business.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a best friend that wasn’t from here, as most are since I was born and raised in Los Angeles, these are some of the things I would love to introduce them to on their visit. Keeping in mind that I won’t take anyone to Universal Studios or Hollywood Blvd as most tourists are apt to do! I would start with a day out in Malibu. We have 26 miles of world class coastline, beaches, ocean front restaurants and hiking. We’d probably start the day with a hike in the Santa Monica mountains and make our way up the coast stopping for lunch at Malibu Farms. We would cruise north and visit some beaches and shopping centers full of chic boutiques where all of the Malibu rich and famous hipsters shop. After that maybe we would stop at Nobu on our way home for a little sushi and cocktails.
On another day I would probably do a more typically touristy day in Venice on Abbot Kinney with dinner at Gjelina. Or maybe we would go to Beverly Hills, in and around Rodeo Drive for some extraordinary window shopping and oogling of the uber, over-the-top people and cars that line the streets. Cipriani’s, Crustacean, E. Baldi, Mr. Chows or Nerano would be my choices for dinner depending on our mood. Another must see attraction for anyone visiting L.A. would be The Getty Museums. Both the Brentwood Museum and the Villa on P.C.H in Pacific Palisades. I would hope that there’s a wonderful musical at The Ahmanson Theater and of course the most incredible ultra fabulous L.A. experience is a concert at The Hollywood Bowl or Greek Theaters. There’s plenty to keep us busy here. We are a world class dining destination with an incredible Art and Theater scene. Los Angeles is a vibrant, diverse, exciting City but don’t expect to party till dawn. We tend to close down around midnight!
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mentors in life have included without limitation my mother for the work ethic she exemplified and the creative, artistic brilliance she mastered. Other mentors included my managers Scott Gibson and Pat Heller who over the course of 30+ years, demonstrated by example how to be respected leaders in the real estate industry. They created environments that fostered a culture of “being exceptional” in every way. Everything I am today is due in many ways to their trust, their nurturing and their care. They encouraged in all of us a sense community, cooperation, growth and integrity. They educated and supported me in ways that I can never repay, except with my loyalty.
Website: https://www.nilihudson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/los_angeles_westside_homes/
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nilihudson
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NiliHudson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesWestsideHomes
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nili-hudson-compass-los-angeles
Other: I’m also an underwater photographer for fun! https://nilihudson.smugmug.com/
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