We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Austin W. Bergman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Austin W. below.
Austin W., so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
I figured this out at a young age, there was only one person that I could model myself with was Oprah. When you have the IT factor and you can walk into a room, the energy shifts and everybody realizes you are in the room. At a young age, it was very hard to grasp that. I could walk into a room shake hands, and if I left one person out that person told me and or felt I was too busy for them, so as I got older learned to grasp that.
Learn to engage with each person in the room as an individual and a person, lock those eyes while engaging.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I started my career out at a very young age of 18 years old, I purchased my first home, and the realtor I was using was doing things that a first time homebuyer should not have to deal with. 30 days after I closed I was licensed.
Throughout most of my career, I was in Richmond, Virginia living on a hamster wheel, selling about 500 homes a year with my ex-wife, we skyrocketed to one of Richmond’s very successful real estate companies. That is no way to have a life by the way, yes you are making good money but the lifestyle SUCKS!
I wasn’t however, living true to myself. I was hiding the fact that I was gay and living an actors life every single day.
In 2016, I decided to rip the Band-Aid off, unapologetically live the life that I was destined to live.
I now reside in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, live life in the fast lane, and focus on the high-end, super wealthy and sell their lifestyle in their dream every single day.
I would say, it’s a dream come true! I wake up every single day doing exactly what I dreamed life was about.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I didn’t really know myself, I really didn’t know money I thought I knew it all.
My advice to people early on in their journey is to see the outside world, I came from Richmond, Virginia, and it’s bubble a very small minded bubble at that. Now, since I have ventured out and opened my eyes there is so much more that the world has to offer, then staying exactly where you were born, if you don’t like where you live, move you are not a tree!
Get to know yourself, nobody really truly knows themselves until you were in your 30s, if you are gay come flying out of that closet life is so much better on the other side, if you do not like the person that you were dating or married, to rip the Band-Aid off and leave them, if you’re trapped in a vocation, that you feel like you’re in jail cell quit the job and move on.
We all get one trip and average of 80 years in this lifetime make sure you enjoy it.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
My ideal client, my ideal client is 40 years old with about a 6/7 million dollar net worth. Looking for a second home or a home for their boat. One of the reasons Florida’s market is so hot is rapid depreciation. A lot of my client but real estate because they need the tax benefits.
I jive with business owners, investors, boaters people that like to have fun with life if you were some boring bump on the log engineer, or very analytical I do tend to not see eye to eye with those type of people.
Contact Info:
- Website: AustinwBergman.com
- Instagram: @austinwbergman
- Facebook: Austin Bergman
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinwbergman
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SookdkPBeSY
