Meet Demis Dokhanian | Multifamily Investment Sales Broker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Demis Dokhanian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Demis, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?

1.       Unwavering Accountability. Probably the most important quality to carry. Accountability means no matter what happens, I know that I must live with the results and therefore hold myself accountable for the task and the outcomes. The deal happened, great. The deal didn’t happen, I could have had a back-up buyer. I couldn’t find a buyer, I either didn’t look/work enough or I picked the wrong deal to sell. No matter what, you live with the outcomes, hold yourself accountable. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says something like “He who blames others has long way to go on his journey; he who blames himself is halfway there; he who blames no one has arrived.” A professional who leads their own career knows and understands that they will have to work with others and sometimes those others hold the power of the decisions and therefore the results, but the professional also knows that they need to prepare and create outlets so that no matter what happens, they will succeed in the end. I am accountable for what happens and as long as I see myself accountable, I have the most control I can over my outcomes.

2.       An Obsession with the Process, Not the Outcomes. Like unwavering accountability, the champion understands that the results are not guaranteed and therefore is not a product of his outcomes, but his effort. (1) He understands that the outcome is a moment in time, and the process is an continuous journey, and therefore his satisfaction is best placed on a consistent cultivation and exercise of his craft. The wins will come as you perfect your craft. (2) He puts forth the effort of a true champion, with the mindset that I need to outperform my competitors, so much so that I will always be able to say that I did everything possible to succeed in this task. My personal philosophy is that I’m going to put in so much work into whatever my task is, that if I can’t get it done, then no one can. The times I win I feel accomplished, the times it doesn’t happen I understand it wasn’t meant to and no one could, the times someone else wins, I just learned that I could do more and I’m excited to go back and improve on my craft. I find satisfaction with the work and my effort.

3.       Remain a Student. I remain a student, always. Even that person in first place is always behind to one entity that’s been there before them and will be there after them, and that entity is the industry in which you’re competing. No matter how good you get, the industry is always going to evolve, and therefore you’ll need to adapt, grow, and adjust your craft to the industry’s dynamics. You may have conquered it at some point, but the second you realize that, the industry’s changed and now you’ve fallen behind in your training. Remember, we’re obsessed with the process, not the outcomes so we remain a student to continuously adjust and adapt to the industry’s dynamics. If Kobe Bryant was in the gym at 2am when he was the captain of the USA Men’s Olympic Basketball team just to prove to his teammates that he was going to outwork them, you’re not allowed to stop learning, not even in first place. If LeBron and Savannah James sit, watch, and take notes every game even after he just passed 40k career points, you know that there’s always something more to learn.

4.       Maintain Spirituality & Faith. You must maintain a consistent faith in the universe, the source, what most people would consider God. My personal definition of faith is “your everyday enthusiasm that what’s happening to you is happening for you”. And it is. Some of us don’t realize that all the successes we’ve experienced in our lives didn’t come from the moment we received the recognition, but in the extended time we spent cultivating that success. And in those periods of cultivation, we didn’t realize we were planting and nurturing the seeds of our success. It’s always easier to look back and credit the work we put in after we receive the success or milestone and it’s even more effective to apply it to your present tense. When you go back to work, understand that what’s happening to you is happening for you, even if it may not seem like it is, it is. The work your putting in is cultivating a success. From the moment you began to hold yourself accountable, as you obsessed over the work rather than the results, and remained a student through the process, the outcome came only at the right time, when you were disciplined, mature, and ready to say, now that I received this success, I’m already working on the next.

Please tell us more about your business. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

I’m a real estate broker, in simple terms I sell apartment buildings. I actually got my license when I was 18 (circa 2011) and didn’t put it to genuine use until I was 31 in 2023. I didn’t start here, but I know I’m ending here.

I got my first job when I was in high school as a sales rep in a Sprint store on Melrose. I was 16 years old and had no idea what it meant to have a job nor how to sell a phone, let alone speak to a customer in a professional and respectful tone. All I knew was that I wanted to sell property at some point, T-Mobile had the Sidekick, and you could have BBM (Blackberry Instant Messenger) on Blackberrys, that’s it. My first sale ever was a woman who came into the store with a broken phone and she wanted her phone fixed, more accurately, she wanted a solution. I looked up her account and realized all three phones on her account were eligible for upgrade. With some quick math, I realized then educated her that upgrading all three lines was a better opportunity for her than paying our technician to fix her phone. In that very moment, I realized what it felt like to genuinely help someone find a solution to their problem. Sales, and more specifically, being a solution was my calling.

It took me my entire 20s to realize it and act on it but I genuinely believe it happened at the right time. It came when I was the right person for it, and I’m very thankful for that. I was intimidated and scared about becoming a real estate broker: judgment from my peers, fear of failure, you name it. So much so that I did about everything else within the investment industry before committing to my calling. I worked for a real estate investment office as their first investment analyst, I became the Senior Investment Analyst for the 7^th largest private operator of self-storage facilities in the United States, I became the owner of the top selling heavy duty step stool on Amazon, I became a top 5 mergers and acquisitions consultant in the cannabis industry. All that, to come back to being a Multifamily Investment Sales Broker as I was intended to be at 18. Long story short, I realized the feeling of fear I had for becoming a real estate broker wasn’t intended to deter me from something but rather to guide me towards what I was intended to conquer. Once I realized that, I finally found my art, my craft, my career.

None of it has been easy but just because it wasn’t easy doesn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy it. Usually our feelings aren’t real, they’re just an indicator of our mind’s perspective and way of thinking. You may not control how you feel, but you definitely control your response to your feelings and your perspective. Change your perspective, change your reality. The cheat code to this, adopt a perspective of the glass half full and watch the universe work in your favor to keep filling your glass.

Here are a few of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years:

1. You’re the biggest obstacle to your success. You’ll eventually learn that the work you do on yourself directly translates into the work in your career. The reverse is not always true. Become the best version of yourself who would succeed in the thing you want to be and watch yourself receive the success you’ve been seeking.
2. People do business with people they like, trust, and respect. For them to like, trust, and respect you, you have to like, trust, and respect you.
3. You’re a magnet through your intentions. What’s coming to you is what you’re perpetuating, and the language of attraction cannot be manipulated, so make sure your actions match your intentions.
4. Become as resourceful as possible. Be the person that people go to when they want a solution. Just like you’re an expert in your field and therefore the best solution, build your database with others like you in their crafts and watch you become the most resourceful and reliable person in the industry. That will result in business coming your way.

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?

I would definitely focus on food, experiences, and LA native things to do.

Our night events would probably include a Lakers game (Clippers only considered if they’re playing the Lakers), restaurants (Steak 48, Dan Tana’s, and Mother Wolf at the top of the list), Fleur Room for the nightlife scene, a house party, and the Griffith Observatory.

Daytime, I’d try to hit the following: Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica promenade, Melrose Trading Post (Fairfax flea market), Santa Monica beach, Malibu, Silver Lake for restaurants and coffee shops, and The Grove and Westfield Century City for shopping.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Everyone who had and continues to have the patience and respect for me before I became who I am today and for who I will be tomorrow. You know who you are, I notice, remember, and appreciate you everyday.

Secondly, without these books, I would never, I repeat, NEVER, have achieved my successes and experienced my life as I have and do today:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
As A Man Thinketh by James Allen.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
Master Your Emotions by Thibaut Meurisse.
The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz.
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.
Relentless by Tim Grover.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Website: https://www.jnmrealty.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jnmrealty/