Editor’s Note: I have been honored to be part of Douglas Elliman since the beginning of my real estate career. Their reputation and industry positioning are one of a kind. Established over a century ago, Elliman has one of the largest, most trusted networks of agents all over the globe, from Japan to Spain to California. I find it inspiring to be a part of a brand whose focus is delivering the highest level of service to some of the most unique and influential clients in the world.
Elliman’s reach is global and the brand keeps evolving, yet I still feel like part of a tight-knit family. That’s why it was important for me to sit down with Peter Hernandez, the western region and Texas’s President of Brokerage. He shared with me a fascinating story about how he went from not knowing what career he wanted to pursue, to becoming the president of a brokerage he created, to being acquired by another company, and becoming a principal of Douglas Elliman. It’s a must-read for aspiring real estate agents, entrepreneurs & anyone with a dream.
You can read Peter’s full bio here. Let’s get into it!
Garrett: Just starting off, are you from California? Where did you grow up?
Peter: I grew up in Pacific Palisades. I was actually born in Washington DC. I spent a couple of years on the east coast, and then off we came to California. I’ve lived most of my life in Malibu, with a [5 year] stint in San Clemente when I was President of Coldwell Banker.
Garrett: So, what attracted you to real estate in the beginning?
Peter: I didn’t want to get into real estate [at first]. My dad and brother were both in real estate, and had a company together. I resisted with every ounce in my body. I was thinking [about] things like law and international banking. I was watching all of my friends in the Palisades become movie producers and doctors and dentists and lawyers, and I’m thinking, “I’m going to be a realtor in Venice.” It just was not anything I wanted to do. At UCLA, I was pre-law, and after I graduated, I went to Europe with the goal [of seeing] how long I could live on $1,500. I ended up spending nine months there after college. I worked in vineyards, peeled potatoes and bought a van to live in. One night while I was getting ready to come home, I was contemplating my future. The thought finally came to me: why am I trying to be a lawyer when everybody I know wants to invest and participate in real estate?
Once I came back, I kind of committed to doing it. I was [really just] surfing all day, partying all night long, and maybe coming to work. I would [still] make the sale because I was good at it, but I wasn’t committed. 10 years in, you get to that point where your credit cards are maxed out and you realize at some point, you gotta get serious. That’s when it happened to me.
I remember having a big first year. I remember going to my accountant and he [said to me] “You owe a lot of taxes”. I remember saying, “Well, I don’t have the money”, and he said, “Let’s incorporate”. It was at that moment, I realized I was approaching it from the wrong angle. I was [a] business. It really clicked. I went, “Oh, this is cool. I could turn this into something, that I can be proud of.” I wasn’t thinking about how I’m going to make my next sale. I was thinking about how I’m [going to make] my next 150 sales. Everything got way bigger in my mind.
I quickly rose to the top in sales, [and then] I started managing offices, turning them into top offices. From that, Coldwell Banker [asked me] to be President, which was the first time they’d ever taken anybody directly from branch management to president. Now I’m at Elliman, and I’m having the best time of my life here.
Garrett: You seem to really relish in your leadership role at Elliman. Is that a skill that you feel you’ve always had or something that you developed?
Peter: Originally, I wasn’t confident in who I was. I was trying to always be somebody different – to be a leader for everyone. There’s an old saying that if you market to everyone, you’re marketing to nobody. I learned a lot about the importance of authenticity.
Now I’m comfortable [with] just being myself with all my flaws. It’s just who I am and I’m running with it. I think it makes me a better leader. [I realized] people who like me and want to work with me probably are people I like and want to work with. As agents, it’s the same for your clients, your community and the people [on] your team. You want to be like-minded and on the same path with the same values and goals.
Garrett: That really resonates with me. You want to work with like-minded people.
Peter: Yeah, and I think too, that over time, learning to be more and more disciplined with yourself is really critical. I love that saying, “if you want to see who a person is, see what they do every day.” Being consistent with your work, with everything, is something that needs to be developed and learned over time.
Garrett: Are there any daily rituals or practices that you’ve put in place over the years that keep you in that mode?
Peter: I’ve got a very disciplined morning routine. I get up around 5:30 am every day, get in the same chair, [and] do my spiritual readings and pray. I journal, then I go through emails [and social media] quickly. That’s all done by 6:30 am [and then I] exercise and have a great breakfast. I’m usually on the road by 8:00 am, then I go hard until about 6 or 7 at night.
I make sure I have hobbies that keep my mind active. I’m enrolled at Berkeley Online School of Music. I’m learning music and how to play guitar. Spending family time is really important to me too. I have an amazing daughter and an amazing wife, and [I wanna be] the best example to them.
Garrett: I’m sure you’ve fine-tuned that process and your morning routine. How has it evolved over the years?
Peter: It takes time to trust in it. When you’re young, you just have this tremendous urge to get out the door, or sleep in is this other urge. You have to sit quietly and reflect–I call it putting on your armor every day and getting into the right space. We are bombarded every day with values that aren’t real, but they influence us. When you go on social media and have a 20-year-old telling you the “5 Hacks for a Successful Life”… that should tell us something. Even me, I haven’t lived a full life yet, so it’s like, we’re going to learn more. If you come out every day trying to provide real value and service to people, it’s funny how you’re rewarded for that.
Garrett: I’m really interested in how you built Teles and then got acquired by Elliman. Can you take me through that emotional journey?
Peter: I didn’t [form Teles Properties] until I was 53. It was a long time to wait to start a company. I had many, many conversations with different people throughout the years and it never felt right. Maybe I was too scared.
What happened is an interesting story. A couple of guys and I went down to listen to [someone who] was going to start a real estate brokerage in Beverly Hills. We listened to his pitch and [we’re] walking out of the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey, [when] one of the guys says, “Well, that was a dumb idea.” One of the other guys said, “What would we do if we started a company?”
Then, we started having meetings every night at my house. [It] took us about a year to write a business plan. We launched… and then within six months, the market was in the worst recession of all time.
We weathered that storm, and then it clicked. Teles Properties was the number one priority in all of our minds. We were all 100% invested, and it really worked. We had 22 offices, 700 agents, and were doing $2.8 billion in sales – it really started to go.
[But then], Other large, rapidly expanding brokerages started to come on the scene. We were approached by all the major companies, but we weren’t interested in teaming up with anybody. We were thinking to ourselves: we’re either going to go for a huge joint venture capital play now and become the biggest brokerage we can, or trim the sails, get recession proof, and really get the thing working.
Then Elliman came into the conversation. Everything about them felt different. We sat down with Howard Lorber and we agreed to a basic structure of the agreement within an hour. There is an intangible quality to Douglas Elliman. We were able to secure listings in markets without offices. That’s what Elliman is–you sense that there’s something behind the company that’s bigger, [that’s] luxury.
It will be five years in August that we’ve been part of the Elliman brand. I saw it as a huge opportunity to stay around and help them build their company in California, and now, the western region–Nevada, Colorado, etc.
Garrett: I have one more question for you and it speaks to the experience piece. When you think about the top agents, is there some characteristic or common thread that comes to mind?
Peter: Work ethic is always [at] the top of the list. All the top agents [are] always trying to be better. They are never satisfied with where they are, and they’re all striving for excellence in their services, branding, and client relationships. It’s great to compete against yourself.
Disclaimer: The interview has been edited for length and/or clarity. and
Comments