Meet Suzi Farajiani: Realtor & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Suzi, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
The most important lessons I’ve learned in my business is that you have to have a “WHY,” and that there are no breakdowns, only breakthroughs. Of course everyone is going to tell you that It’s important to have a WHY, because that is what will fuel your reasoning to push forward, especially after a breakdown. My WHY is my mother & the fact that I want to take care of her the way she took care of me growing up. I genuinely have a passion for what I do, & it truly fulfills me; but I can honestly say there have been times I’ve wanted to throw in the towel. Maybe I would have a moment to cry or vent or journal about it to have some way of getting it out, but every single time I’ve ever hit that wall, it was usually after that I would experience a breakthrough. That’s why I also don’t believe in being attached to the outcome because being at war with myself is the worst possible thing, it’s allowing my ego to take control. If I show up & do my best, even if it doesn’t work out & I’m disappointed & have a breakdown, there’s usually always a silver lining & something else that comes together afterwards if I allow it. That’s how we learn & we grow to be better versions of ourselves. In Real Estate you are dealing with the biggest purchase the average person is going to make in their entire lives. It’s not a car where you get to test drive it & see it’s turning radius & the way it parallel parks. It’s not a shirt you buy from the department store that you can return a week later after having worn it on a date & decided it’s not your color. You don’t get to sleep in a home before you purchase. It’s a really big, important decision with a lot of money on the line & attention to detail must be paid, otherwise you or your client can loose on hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. In high pressure situations like this, there will at some point be breakdowns; and if I didn’t have a purpose, a why, a reason, to fill my passion & drive to get through, I’d eventually hit a wall and could stop believing in myself, or my client/customer would eventually feel what I’m projecting & not believe in me. Either way it’s a lose-lose situation. I never want to lose the belief I have in myself so I hold on to my purpose & every single day it fuels my work ethic because I want to be better so I can do more to take care of my family. The WHY is just as important because it plays into the breakthrough whenever there is a breakdown.
Having passion is something you can’t fake, especially in a consumer driven society where everyone is looking for the next best thing. If you try to fake it, you will project inauthenticity & that can be like a ripple effect into your relationships with not only clients but also your piers & colleagues. If you don’t have passion behind what you’re doing, you will eventually come at odds with yourself & 1 of 2 things will happen: 1, either you will fizzle & burn out because you will be in such conflict with yourself that it could resonate into depression, or just overall dissatisfaction with your life where nothing will be enough; OR 2, your customer/client will begin to fizzle out based on what you are projecting. Energy doesn’t lie.
When a breakdown occurs it’s usually because you aren’t in alignment with something & that’s inevitable. If we all did the right things all the time we’d have nothing to learn. Let’s say your breakdown is that you don’t have passion in what you’re doing & you become depressed. The breakthrough is that hopefully you come to a place where you are willing to pivot to find something that doesn’t make you at odds with yourself. If you are self aware, coachable, & willing to take the steps to get back on track even when it’s hard, that’s where you’ll experience a breakthrough. Think about every single time in your life something hasn’t worked out, it’s usually leaving space for something else to come together. Not being attached to the outcome, doing your best, & just being open to learning will always put you in a position to have a breakthrough & that’s the beauty in the growing pains that make us better at what we do, better individuals to the people around us & better to ourselves.

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’m a professional Realtor who’s goal is to educate, & empower people in their decision making, & enriching their expansion of building wealth through investing in real estate & homeownership. I’m an entrepreneur who also manages rental properties I own, flips properties, & owns Airbnb vacation rentals that I manage as well. I understand every facet of the business from being a first time home buyer, to wanting to buy a 2nd & 3rd income property, to being a landlord, to buying a fixer to flip, to redoing and redesigning a home, to selling that fixer to gain the highest return on investment, to successfully managing multiple vacation rentals even overseas & maintaining ‘Superhost’ status with a healthy return on investment with my time & my money. I am real estate, & because I understand what it’s like the be in the shoes of a buyer, a seller, & an investor, I’m able to bring value to my clients by pointing out the blind spots, managing their expectations, guiding them through the process & delivering high caliber results for them to be successful. The biggest challenges I’ve learned was just how to overcome the breakdowns because nothing was handed to me. On the outside growing up people would think I come from a life of privilege. However that privilege came with many demons of trauma & abuse. I didn’t have a good childhood & I started working at a young age so I could just get out of the house, which is what I owe my work ethic to. Self awareness & coach-ability are what set me a part because I never feel like I know everything & that’s what keeps me learning & growing & better. Owning your own business will keep you humble & hungry for more. I believe in an abundance mindset & that everything flows easily & effortlessly to me & that I have the ability to handle anything that comes my way. That belief has kept me grounded & kept me in the arena fighting even after a breakdown or when I thought I wanted to be in the stands. Being in the arena is so much more rewarding & I’m passionate about bringing value to people’s lives.

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.
Luckily my best friend lives in Los Angeles & our favorite things to do are go for a hike by the beach where you can see incredible mountain & ocean views & then go down by the water in Santa Monica or Malibu & grab some fresh fish tacos. The best thing about California is that we get practically 300 days of sun here, the weather is always amazing & the landscape compares to none. There’s mountains, hills, valleys, fields, meadows, beach, lakes, rivers, & desert, so there is an abundance of beautiful scenery & it’s one of the only places where you can go from beach sand to mountain snow in the same day! If you’re staying here for a week, you should just start at the beach & work your way up to the mountains. Start by going for a hike & then grab some fish tacos, then make your way through the city & stop at some of the best restaurants with rooftops views in LA like Perch, Mama Shelter, 71 & above, The Huntley, The Penthouse, The Highlight room, Yamashiro, The Tower bar, EP & LP, or The Ivory on Sunset. Then, make your way up to the hills & check out some incredible properties so you get a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign and LA living. After you’ve done some sight seeing on Sunset blvd or up Sunset plaza make your way out to the mountains or take Pacific Coast Highway up to Santa Barbara (45 minutes outside the city) & go to the Santa Ynez Valley & check out the gorgeous wineries like Bridlewood Estate Winery where you can grab a bottle of wine & have a picnic outside, or if a spa is more your fancy, go check out the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa for a serene getaway with picturesque views, beautiful golf course & exceptional restaurants. Los angeles is one of the best cities in the world because you never run out of things to do!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My coach Dave Culwell has been the biggest supporter & inspiration. He’s taught me a lot about business, how to talk to people, how to deal with difficult personality types & how to show up for myself. Also the International Student Volunteer program I did at the end of college was a life changing year for me. I traveled across the globe to 3rd world counties where I tutored orphan children in villages where they had next to nothing that we do here in the states. Showers were a cold bucket over the head, shoes were a luxury, but the love & gratitude was everywhere & you could feel it. There is always going to be someone who has less or more than you, & that’s why being a person who comes from contribution & being open to learning is important to me. I always want to add value wherever I go & my life experiences with the International Student Volunteer program taught me that even when there may not be much to give, giving of myself is enough.

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