2019 Women in Real Estate: Jonata Dayan, HSP Real Estate Group, NAI Global

Name: Jonata Dayan

Title: Executive Vice President

Company Name: HSP Real Estate Group, NAI Global 

Association/Organization Affiliations: REBNY

What is your favorite motivational quote?
One of my favorite motivational quotes is from Ira Fishman, a founding partner of HSP Real Estate Group. It was originally advice his uncle Jeff Gural gave him when he first started his career at Newmark. “When asked what’s the most important thing in real estate, most brokers say ‘location.’ But the reality is, time is a broker’s most important commodity. How you manage your time.” 

What is the best advice you have received, and who was it from?
Real estate is a second career for me. My husband, Eli Dayan, who was the founder of Bonjour Jeans and The Tunnel night club, gave me the best advice when I started. He said I would be able to succeed in real estate only if I created a “hook,” similar to what I had done in my accessories-fashion business. Looking back, he was absolutely right. It is not enough to simply ask people if they need office space. 

What books, blogs, podcasts, resources or influencers would you recommend to women?
I recently read “Small Great Things” by Jodi Picoult. It is an inspirational book and an important one for our times that addresses privilege, prejudice, justice and compassion. 

How do you hold your own in a negotiation?
I have been holding my own in negotiations for a long time! Managing expectations is crucial, whether it’s the seller /owner or tenant/buyer. I monitor the market and present my clients with the facts as I find them. Transparency and constant communication with the broker representing the other side or my counterpart is also a key to success in completing a transaction. 

What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?
In the past year, my team and I have been instrumental broadening the types of industries that make up the tenant base at 320 Fifth Ave. While retaining such long-term tenants as Signal Products, which owns the Guess and Nine West labels, we have also diversified the mix by adding an international engineering firm, two international furniture design companies, and a corporate culture designer to the roster. Concurrently, we arranged transactions for four office units at 450 West 31^st St., a commercial co-op close to Hudson Yards, comprising three sales and a 10-year lease.