We were lucky to catch up with Shane Aronson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shane, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back at the decisions you made early in your career, particularly whether to join a firm or start your own, do you feel you made the right choice for that stage of your career?

Prior to jumping into Real Estate I had spent 7+ years in Private Banking cultivating a client network and growing a large business. Upon leaving banking I decided it was time for a new chapter and one that at that I could truly call my own!

As I started to look at different firms I was fortunate to be connected to many colleagues and top agents through my prior network and had many firms eager to bring me on due to the clients I had potential access to. Early on one agent had said to me, “I would love to have you on my team today but go and interview 10 different brokerages and find the perfect fit for you”. This is exactly what I did at the end of the day taking about 2 weeks to really speak with everyone and anyone I thought could even remotely be an option.

As the end of my second week SERHANT. was holding their Q3 sales huddle and conference down in Miami, which my now current broker invited me to. I remember to this day him saying no strings attached but come pull back the curtain, get to know us and get some amazing insight at the same time. While here I spoke to everyone and anyone that would speak to me to really pull back the curtain and try to find that perfect fit, would it be SERHANT. While here another agent that I was discussing the decision with said “your brokerage should feel like a really comfortable custom made shoe just for you”. A really well fit shoe?! Arent we talking about real estate brokerage’s or are we talking about shoes?

As the weekend continued to progress it just hit me one day, I was no longer “interviewing” potential colleagues to find out everything and anything I could to help me make my decisions BUT instead I was talking to my new family! Thats exactly what SERHANT. has become a true family. Most people will tell you that real estate is cut throat and everyone is out to get you. While we are competitive and all grind to be at the top here at SERHANT. we do it all while bringing each other up alongside!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Working with people is something that always just came naturally to me and to no shock why in college I decided to pursue a degree in Event Management Hospitality. I always say that removing one piece in my journey would change the entire trajectory.

Right out of college my now wife and myself decided to take an adventure out to California eventually landing in the Bay Area for a number of years and spending the beginning of that managing high end restaurants for some top chefs like Michael Mina in San Francisco. Quickly realizing that this was not going to provide the family life balance I was looking for I started to think what could be next.

When I tell you what came next was never a blimp on the radar, NOT even a thought. Right place at the right time, after managing PABU in San Francisco for a few years many top executives had become VIP clients of mine. And then it happened one of the Top Producing Bankers at First Republic Bank at the time said to me at Happy Hour that day if you ever want a job i have one waiting. “You are great at selling high end wine and sushi, now I will teach you how to sell accounts and finance. It’s all about the people at the end of the day.” Sounded great to me and at 1 AM the next morning when i got home from the restaurant i sent my resume right over! Fast Forward 4 weeks and out of the restaurant i went and into a suit and tie sitting at a bankers desk in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city!

Banking something I never thought i’d do but never be where I am today without. I jumped into this new career full force and with everything I had, with the true fortune of having some of the best mentors around me while on my journey. Like I said before never did I imagine this turn would come but what a great one it was truly learning over my 7 years how to grow a book of business, deal with high HIGH net worth clients, the working on finance under so many umbrellas. Over the course of 7 years growing a book from nothing in a city where i really knew no one as well from 0 to managing over $750MM in cash deposits, $120MM of referred AUM, $80MM in referred loans. But it was time to start the next chapter…….The bank continued to grow and times were changing, finding that my passion was no longer there for what I was doing so it was time to move on. Boy am I glad I did becuase i left March 1st 2023 and unfortunately there were major banking issues throughout the country just a few weeks later.

After some much needed time with the family, I sat with some trusted mentors and thought whats next. I get finance, I was absolutely bitten by the sales bug, have built a network of clients and enjoy people…why not real estate?! After thinking for a week on it I decided I was all in, purchased the course and 7 days later passed my exam! It was because of everything that came before this that even got my foot in the door at SERHANT. As you could imagine we do things with a bang at SERHANT. and that was the same for their agents. At the time and still to this day any agents coming in are coming with a sales history previously in real estate an a number of transactions under their belt, in walks ME! No real estate experience and had never closed a transaction in my life but my broker, Christian Prakas, gave me a shot because he saw the agent I was going to become.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

It’s ok to set boundaries with clients. For so long especially when we are in commission sales we always feel we must jump the second that someone calls. Unfortunately this while in the short term can help and MAYBE close a quick deal ultimately hurts you and the business down the line.

I always jumped the second a client said lets go, I said how I. While DO NOT get me wrong I am available to my clients and always will be, holding the appointments I have for me and working on my business is just as important as working in my business at the end of the day.

Finding this balance of being available when clients need and to an extent on their schedule but at the same time being ok saying to a client we unfortunately cant do that time but we can do xyz because I have this scheduled already. Clients will actually respect this and have no problem with scheduling at a different time, of course there are always the exceptions.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Authenticity and Transparency have been the corner stones of how I do business. I always find leading with these things first always start a relationship on a good foot and lead to genuine relationships that provide further trust and referrals.

I learned this in my banking days, every bank has accounts. Well every agent can write a sales contract or put a house on the MLS. Its everything else that goes along with it and having the true authenticity and transparency when dealing with people and their biggest assets such as their homes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shanearonson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanearonson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.aronson.1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanearonson/