Lisa Simonsen of Douglas Elliman: Passion and Perseverance Are the Real Engines of Industry Longevity

As a part of my series about strong women leaders of the Real Estate industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Simonsen.

Lisa Simonsen of Douglas Elliman is one of New York’s highest ranked elite real estate professionals. She specializes in sales of some of the most prestigious addresses in Manhattan and abroad and has also expanded her business to the Douglas Elliman Beverly Hills office in California.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the Real Estate industry?

I was previously working in the fitness industry and realized I wanted to take my business “Simonsen Says” to the next level. My fitness clients liked me, trusted me, and considered me an expert making me realize my skillset is really in sales. This realization led me to take my business into the real estate industry.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

I had a wonderful friend and client looking to buy an apartment. Over several months I gave my advice which he chose not to take. He respectfully disagreed with my direction and as a result he ended up losing out on his dream home. The moral of the story is that when you commit to hire an expert in whatever field you need to trust their advice.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, I am excited to share that I appear on the new discovery+ series, Kendra Sells Hollywood, starring Kendra Wilkinson as she embarks upon a new career as a freshly minted real estate agent at Douglas Elliman, one of the most successful and competitive real estate firms in Los Angeles. I am so excited to be a part of this show and have an opportunity to mentor Kendra and teach her the ropes of real estate. You can stream Kendra Sells Hollywood now exclusively on discovery+.

I have also expanded my business to Douglas Elliman Beverly Hills office in California. I currently have a few incredible new listings in California and am looking forward to growing my business and team to be bi-coastal.

Here is the link to the trailer for Kendra Sells Hollywood:

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Douglas Elliman is the largest most successful Real Estate Company in the country. I have been with Douglas Elliman for 14 years and find it very special. Although it’s a big company it has an intimate feel. I have been fortunate to have extraordinary mentors at Douglas Elliman who have helped me achieve my success.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I have an amazing manager who also happens to be a good friend of mine who I am grateful towards for helping me along the way. He keeps me in check and also is always very supportive.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. The Real Estate industry, like the Veterinarian, Nursing and Public Relations fields, is a women dominated industry. Yet despite this, less than 20 percent of senior positions in Real Estate companies are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what do you think is the cause of this imbalance?

I do not feel any kind of inequality and some of the most successful people at Douglas Elliman are women.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Real Estate industry?

Real Estate is exciting because no day is ever the same. In this industry you can be completely entrepreneurial and get to see some of the best properties and homes in the world. Real Estate is the number one topic people want to talk about so wherever you go people want to discuss the market and what is going on.

Can you share things that most concern you about the industry? How has it improved?

One thing that has improved about this business is that Real Estate previously was not looked at seriously, recently it has dramatically changed in people’s perception. The stakes are higher and the salaries can be substantial so people coming out of Ivy League Universities want to choose Real Estate as a career which may not have been the case a few years ago.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?

First and foremost, you must lead by example. It’s important as a leader to have your own goals and keep people motivated. As a leader you must also try and teach people to rely on themselves and be creative, entrepreneurial so they are not just leaning solely on the team leader.

Lastly, you must be physically and mentally on your A game. I’m a firm believer in starting the day off getting up early, exercising and reciting your affirmations. It’s important to start the day off strong so you can help lead others.

Ok, here is the main question of our interview. You are a “Real Estate Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 2 non intuitive things one should know to succeed in the Real Estate industry, what would you say?

You need perseverance, Real Estate is a 24/7 business so you have to love it. You cannot be in the business just to make money, passion is definitely needed.

You must have creativity, you cannot ever sit or wait for the phone to ring. You need to go out and see a myriad of properties and make it happen. You may have a friend who does not realize they need more space. By being educated and informed you can show them better options available in the marketplace.

Because of your position, you are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My new favorite book ‘The Miracle Morning’ by Hal Elrod comes to mind. The concept “Can’t Change It” by Hal would be the movement I would inspire. We all get focused on the things outside our control and continually go over them in our head such as personal, work, financial issues, etc. We all need to adopt the mantra “Can’t Change It” so we don’t spend so much time obsessing over aspects of our life that we cannot change and instead channel that time and energy to focus on other things.

How can our readers follow you online?

https://www.instagram.com/lisarsimonsen/

https://twitter.com/Lisa_R_Simonsen

https://www.facebook.com/LisaRSimonsen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lsimonsen1/

https://www.elliman.com/newyorkcity/associate/527-a-551-liss/lisa-simonsen

Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights!