Meet Jeffrey Shore: Real Estate Broker & Top Producer

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

Hi Jeffrey, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In 2012 my wife Lisa and I welcomed our beautiful baby girl Emma to the world. At the time, Lisa was working as a Supervisor at an agency that specializes in behavior intervention services for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related disabilities. I was working at a small commercial real estate firm as both the Director of Operations as well as a leasing agent. When my wife took leave to care for our baby, she began to put into motion starting her own consulting business. She had risen as high as she could go within her agency, but she wanted more. She followed her instincts, and within a year and a half had built a thriving business. No more timesheets, no more quarterly reviews, no one to ask if it was okay to take time off. She built her company, Topp Consulting, LLC, from the ground up, with endless networking, one client at a time. Today she is known as one of top behaviorists in Los Angeles, providing comprehensive parent training/coaching for families with a child exhibiting challenging behaviors, as well as providing shadows for one on one support in the classroom setting. Cut to a couple of years later, and the commercial real estate company I was working for had grown from 5 agents to almost 40 agents/employees. While I was closing more deals, I was still acting as the company’s Director of Operations. I was steadily making more money, but I was getting burned out on the administrative side. I had always admired my wife’s grit and determination, but making the leap to full time agent, with no salary to fall back on, was intimidating and more than a bit terrifying. One of the seasoned agents who I worked with had been for years encouraging me to jump into residential real estate. I always loved looking through Homes & Land Magazine in Malibu. I knew of all the agents, their beautiful listings, and the sky-high numbers these homes were selling for. You have to remember, I was leasing your typical 7-Eleven strip center in the San Fernando Valley…how could I possibly sell a multi-million dollar home?! It seemed almost impossible. But the allure to truly work for myself was too great. The seed had been planted when I watched my wife start her own business. We would go from a family working for others, with a salary, vacation time, 401K, etc., to working for ourselves, generating our own business, relying on our own drive, determination and expertise. In 2015 I joined Sotheby’s International Realty’s Pacific Palisades brokerage office. I had a lot of help, support and encouragement from many people. I loved the world I had entered, and I loved the work. I knew I had made the right choice when my first referral fee was greater than any one of my 200 deals I had closed in commercial real estate during the previous 8 years. It wasn’t just about the money. The money was simply a by-product of being successful. It was about the journey of believing in myself, of knowing that I could be successful. The life I’ve created affords me the opportunity to spend more time with my family. I’d rather work hard building my own business than work hard for someone else building theirs. My wife and I chose our own definition of success, and we get to pass that along to our daughter.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I operate as a Broker Associate at Sotheby’s International Realty. This business is all about the people, and that’s what excites me the most…I love the people. I love bringing people and deals together. Every day comes with its challenges, but more importantly, the opportunities to learn more about myself and how I can better serve my clients. I am passionate and driven, and I have achieved success by a relentless persistence and an unwavering positive attitude. The road has not always been easy, so to help navigate I tend to develop relationships with people who are smarter than I am, people who know more than I do, so I can learn from them, and put that knowledge into practice. A few things I’ve learned (and some I’m still working on): Stop taking things so personally. Know your worth. Be confident, even when you don’t know the answer. If you don’t know something, it will come up again, so take the time to find out. Believe in yourself. Learn to say “no”…you don’t have to take on everything that comes your way. Trust your gut. Support clients’ decisions instead of forcing opinions on them. Spend quality time with your family. Answer calls promptly. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat healthy foods. Be an example in everything you do, you never know who’s watching or looking up to you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The first thing I would do is listen to my best friend to hear what he/she might want to do. We’re so lucky to live in Southern California. I remember one weekend years ago my friends went skiing and I spent the day in Malibu at the beach, and we were only 2 hours away from each other. I’m more about the simple pleasures than the hotspot of the week, but I have a few things I think they might enjoy. One of my favorite places is Back on the Beach, next to the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica. Slipping someone a $20 (or a $50) to get seated immediately or at the best table won’t work here. You wait like everyone else, and every table is the best table. What you get is great, consistent food, with waiters and waitresses who really enjoy what they do. You’re on the sand, in the sunshine. Totally relaxing. I’m a regular there. I’m also partial to Terrazza at Casa del Mar. My wife and I got married at Casa almost 11 years ago, and it’s always a treat. Great people watching. Another favorite is Scopa Italian Roots on Washington in Venice. A few side trips would be in order. The tide pools on Broad Beach in Malibu. A strenuous climb up Sand Mountain across from Thornhill Broome Beach in Pt. Mugu, a stop for beer and peel n eat shrimp at Neptune’s Net. For sure a trip up to Santa Barbara. The drive along the coast is gorgeous, and if I had more time then I’d definitely be going further north to Big Sur, Carmel & Monterey, with a stay up in Yountville, and dinner at The Bistro at Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford. Coming back down to LA we’d also hit some beaches in Orange County. Sunset Beach in Seal Beach has been a favorite for a long time, and of course Bolsa Chica Beach and Huntington Beach. Without a doubt we’d also be spending some time out in the desert. My favorite spot is La Quinta Resort & Spa. I’m there all the time with my family and friends. A side trip for some hiking in Joshua Tree. Closer to home everyone wants to see and spend time at Chateau Marmont. I get the appeal, but I live here, so it’s not my first choice, but I’ll brave the crowds to please my best friend! 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?
I owe a large part of my success to my father, who passed away at 64 in 2004. My father was my best friend. He grew up poor in Philadelphia, and lived above his father’s tire store. He was tough and extremely bright, skipping two grades and joining the army rather than attending college. The company he started, which taught people how to drive tractor trailers, was eventually listed on the New York Stock Exchange. As a kid, he forced me to sit in on his board meetings, just so I could hear how people talk, how they operate. I would spend weekends with him doing errands, where I met his tailors, who had these numbers tattooed on their forearms, survivors of the death camps. We would shop at the Reading Terminal Market where I would meet and talk with the butcher, the Amish, and all of the colorful characters he knew. I spent summers with my father in the Florida keys, along with my brother and one of my father’s closest friends. I spent weekends at The Strand Motel in Atlantic City where my father lived when he was broke, ordering drinks for everyone at the bar when I was 7 years old. I walked the boardwalk and bounced on the knee of Red, one of the mob’s enforcers, and talked to his girlfriend, who rode the famous diving horses at Steel Pier. I sat and watched Cosmos by Carl Sagan, and movies like Papillon and The Godfather. I learned about people. He taught me about life. It was one of the greatest gifts I ever received, and I will continue to use it until I die.

Website: www.JeffreyShore.com

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