Kaufman of Transwestern: Values relationships

Name: Aaron Kaufman Title: Broker Company/firm: Transwestern Years with company/firm: 3 Years in field: 7 Years in real estate industry: 9 Address: 400 Park Ave., 16th floor, New York, NY 10022 Telephone: 212-537-7681 Email: [email protected] URL: Real estate organizations / affiliations: YM/WREA & REBNY Which professional accomplishment, honor or achievement has meant the most to you and why? Starting out my career as a property manager in Rockefeller Center and looking back at the past nine years has had the most profound impact on my career. Having first entered brokerage at a small firm, I used it to get bigger and bigger always learning from the good and more importantly the bad. It's a constant "tweak" to keep moving, keep performing, and learning what other ingredient will bring me to the next level. Every year I reflect on what that new ingredient needs to be and I go after it and create it. It's a total game changer. What advice would you give to those just starting out in commercial real estate? I would say that real estate as a whole is a massive component of our national economy. Real estate hits on so many sectors that one can be in real estate yet on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. My advice to one just starting out is to understand that this business is about building a tool set. The objective is to have a full set of tools to be able to completely use every piece of the buffalo. One should completely emerge in a sector, learn and when there is no more room to grow, go out and learn a new tool to add to your belt. Ultimately, holding all the tools will make you the master of your own destiny. How do you manage your personal and work life? I am who I am in business as I am in my personal life. On the weekends, I make sure I am a little more selfish with my time. I am always aware that every person and situation is a potential possibility to win business. Relationships are everything to me. Where would you like to be 10 years from today? Ten years from today I see myself owning and developing properties in the Hamptons and on the North Fork. That is where I am from and that is the place I want to take my fully loaded tool belt. Every piece of a commission goes into an account that I can only use to acquire property. In the end, I want to be picking up rent checks in an old pick-up truck alongside a scrappy old dog.