Stefani Markowitz, Charles Rutenberg LLC

Name: Stefani Markowitz

Title: President

Email: [email protected] 

Years in real estate: 12

Company Name: Charles Rutenberg LLC

Year Founded: 2007

URL: http://RutenbergNYC.com/

Telephone: 212-688-1000

Twitter: @RutenbergNYC

How did you get your start in real estate?

Real Estate has always been exciting for me, ever since I was young. My grandfather founded Rutenberg in New York when I was still in high school, so I grew up with his passion for this business and the possibilities for our model. Equally important was my grandmother, who encouraged me to pursue this. Before joining Rutenberg, I went out to learn the business at The Heddings Property Group, Douglas Elliman and The Modlin Group. The great thing about real estate has been meeting so many interesting people and helping them with a major facet of their lives – where they actually live.

What real estate associations or organizations are you a member of?

I am a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, as well as the Real Estate Divisions of YJP, UJA, AIPAC, and FIDF. As a company, we have also partnered with Wounded Warriors, where we offer veterans the opportunity to become licensed real estate brokers and start working at our company.

What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?

Rather than a transaction, what I’m most proud of is a partnership. Rutenberg has been helping veterans as part of the Wounded Warriors project become real estate agents, and it’s been amazing for our team and these veterans who’ve come on board.

Rutenberg sponsors returning members of the armed forces to go to real estate school, where they can train to pass the state real estate test and become licensed agents, and we give them a job. It was really sad to learn how many vets don’t find jobs after serving our country, and I’ve been really moved by the outcomes of those who we’ve helped get back on the right track.

I thought real estate could be a really good match. This is not a 9 to 5 job and they certainly know what it means to be committed to something.

What have been some of the benefits of being a mentor or having a mentor?

I started learning about this business from a brilliant man who happens to be my grandfather. He’s mentored me every step of the way, with his wisdom, guidance and perspective.

As for being a mentor myself, where I help play a role is in talking through some of the finer points of deal making and negotiations with our agents. The most rewarding part has been to mentor some of the Millennials joining Rutenberg. These are young people with the same outlook as me, their tech fluency, their aspirations, and it makes feel great to be able to help coach them on the real estate part.

There are a lot of young women joining our company now and I know that it’s my leadership that’s attracting them, so I really try to deliver on all the ways we help women get into the business.

Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career and why?

My grandmother, Mimi Friedman. She’s been the secret sauce behind my grandfather’s success. He founded our company, but he also has had a long career – and another company, that he still runs – in the stock market as an IPO expert, and she was his sounding board, and proofreader and confidant all those years. We speak every day, and we talk about the big picture of being a manager, how my plans are evolving and she gives me great feedback. The only constant in life is change, is something she always tell me. The other thing is that behind every successful man is his wife. I know that in our generation, it’s certainly changed, but the truth is that strong women abound in our big city and are our the silent partners in everything great about New York.

What time management strategies do you find to be the most effective for you?

Of all of our resources, time is the most precious, because it can’t be recovered. The answer to this has been to wake up as early as possible, get my heart racing with a hard workout, and then charge through the day… like a woman on mission, which is who I am. I’m in a position now where I have a lot of meetings, so I carve out time to actually do the work before I’m out of the office, running around again.   I delegate to my team and follow up with them lots. Overall, I’d say my advice is to create a schedule, stick with it, find ways to make yourself accountable to the goals you’ve set up, and also leave time at the end of the day for all those things outside of work that make you happy.

What is the best advice you have received and who was it from?

The best advice I ever had was from my grandfather – because he pointed me in its direction – but really it’s from a 1980s management guru named Peter Drucker. His concept was “management by objectives” and it’s boiled down to an acronym: S.M.A.R.T. It’s worked for me, and it has become part of our company motto: Rutenberg, the Smart Brokers. In our case, our agents are “smart” because the 100% commission model leaves more money on the table for them, and it’s better for the customer, because we spend more time, and money, on their deal. As for S.M.A.R.T., that would be S – set specific goals; M – Measure those goals; A – keep yourself Accountable, set goals that are Attainable; R – Realistic, as in realistic goals for you in your life, and Rewarding, as in getting paid 100%; and T – is for Time management, manage your time, and your clients’. And being Thankful.

When you launched your business what were some challenges that you experienced?

I took over the top job at Rutenberg when I was 27 years old. The only business I’d ever been in was real estate, and I learned at the knee of some real greats at the three firms where I worked previously, but it was still my prerogative to prove myself to the doubters out there. The short story is our company has thrived, we’ve grown in revenues and number of agents, and, more importantly, the attitude around here has changed. I talk with our agents every day at the office and we have a very positive crew, they are doing deals, and making their money. What I also see is agents working with each other, and I think an environment where team work can thrive says a lot about the capability of the leadership to foster that.

How did you overcome them?

See above... I worked hard, dedicated myself to my team and my agents. I also believed in myself and that inspired others to believe in me. The culture in our company is different from most real estate brokers. We don’t do cut throat. Our approach is collaboration. Part of that is that our model is different -- there’s no fighting for the leads, as we all work independently. But, that also means that we also can agree to share our clients, our agents are partnering with each other to help service the clients betters. Our company culture is collaborative, not competitive. I’ve found that encouraging agents to work together surmounts most of the difficulties there are to overcome.

What was a significant milestone or achievement for your company?

A year and a half ago, when I started at Rutenberg, we were the sixth largest brokerage company in New York, with 489 agents. Today we are number 5 with 625.

What advice would you give to a woman who is planning to launch her own business?

My advice is reach for the sky, hire the best people, use your resources to the fullest and accept support from others. Dedicate yourself. If you have a family, come up with a way to be with them, but also be on the job. Learn to deal with all the competing requests for your time; it’s hard for everyone, but harder for women because we do so much “work” outside of the 9 to 5. Women are strong, and we need to stick together and support each other.

How do you empower other women in your workplace?

I see real estate as female empowerment at its finest. I encourage women to learn about real estate as a new career, to understand how this is a business, with our model, at least, where you can make money even by doing just one deal a year. At the core of it it, most women are very social, and real estate is a social business. If you’re great at relationships, real estate is a way to capitalize on your natural abilities for empathy, listening for what’s between the lines and helping people find what they are looking for to complement their future lives. If you’re good at it, there’s no limit to how far you can go.  The most inspiring stories we hear are from women who spent the first part of the careers in another industry, and then wandered into real estate to knock our socks off.