Name: Klara Madlin
Title: Co-Founder, Klara Madlin Real Estate
Company Name: Klara Madlin
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What year did you start your career in residential real estate: I started in real estate in 1981 and opened my own company in 1984.
Real Estate Associations/Organizations:
What recent honor, achievement or recognition has meant the most to you and why?
In 2005, I was honored by Fiabci, an International Real Estate organization, for raising money in support of their education scholarship. Through this program, I regularly hosted students from the Netherlands, both as interns in my company and guests in my home. This was important as, in these countries, a career in real estate requires a semester interning in another country.
What has been your experience with having a mentor or being a mentor yourself?
I credit my real estate career to a remarkable woman named Ruth Teischman. Ruth sold me a brownstone on West 80th St. in 1980 when she was 80 years old. When I asked Ruth how long she had been selling real estate, she said 20 years. Surprised, I asked, "you mean you started at 60?" She shared that after her husband had passed away, she felt that she needed to do something. Trusting her, I asked if she thought I could sell real estate, to which she replied enthusiastically, "absolutely!" From there, my first coop sale, which happened 6 months later, was a co-broker listing I shared with Ruth. She worked until she was 98, leaving a profound mark on me.
Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career and why?
Ruth Teichman showed me that you could reinvent yourself no matter your age or gender.
What is the first thing you do when you arrive in the office in the morning?
I must always get a fresh cup of coffee and check emails.
What time management strategies do you find to be the most effective for you?
I try to answer emails as quickly as possible so they don't build up. I carry a smart phone and a mini iPad at all times so that I can work from anywhere.
4. What is the best advice you have received and who was it from?
* A handshake from an honest person is more secure than an "iron clad" contract from someone who wants to get around it. An attorney named Morton Zeidman told me that. Words to live by.
5. List 3 women that you would like to have drinks / dinner with and where would you go?
* I would love to have dinner with Gloria Steinman, Michelle Obama and Lilly Tomlin at Jean-Georges.
6. What is your favorite quote?
* "A bird can love a fish but where will they both live?"
7. What did you want to be when you grew up?
* I'm still not grown up!
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