We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Susanne Rhow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Susanne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
Prior to entering real estate 10 years ago, I had spent my entire career working with luxury goods and high net worth clients. Working for Saks Fifth Avenue and Estee Lauder honed my experience in understanding how clients bought luxury, but it was really working for Sotheby’s Auction House where I realized the type of expertise and service that high net worth clients expected and appreciated. That experience has really shaped the way I cultivate my clients and how I provide the best possible service to them. Not only do these clients demand someone who is highly competent and experienced negotiating and understanding the numbers, they also want someone who is pleasant to be around and who can appreciate their background and experiences. They expect to be taken care of seamlessly and to have a broker who is extremely responsive and proactive. All my previous work experiences have honed my skills perfectly for this career.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Years ago, I was a VP at Sotheby’s Auction House and competed for a wonderful estate from a prominent family. This family already had a generational relationship with a competing auction house but I was able to win their fantastic collection of Fine Art and Decorative Arts which totally surprised my competitor. The family decision maker was a senior executive of a very prestigious Real Estate Firm in NYC. She later told me I had won the estate because of the superb level of service and due diligence I provided. I chased down every question and concern she had, no matter how small. That really impressed her and made her feel I would do the same in handling their estate. While working with her during that year, she mentioned how I had all the attributes to be a successful real estate broker: hard work, follow through, attention to detail and a great personality. She said I should let her know if I ever wanted to make that career transition.
A few years later when I had a young family, I reached out to her as I thought this would be a great time to make the change and it was the best decision I ever made! I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to grow my business in a way that totally matches my style. Most of my business comes from business referrals that want to make sure their HNW clients are completely taken care of in a seamless way: Professionalism, Excellent understanding of the market, great negotiation skills, 24/7 responsiveness, private car & driver and most importantly a charming and authentic personality that can make anyone feel at ease and comfortable.
I believe all my business experience leading up to my career in real estate laid the foundation of a successful business. Each day I use skills that I used in my previous corporate world: Being professional and acting with integrity, listening closely to clients’ needs and requirements, ability to understand and explain numbers, and gaining trust of other brokers to build a consensus to make a deal happen. In short, I love my job and enjoy every day!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I had my daughter, I was working at a company where the hours were long and there was little flexibility for working mothers. I had to leave early to get to work and oftentimes by the time I got home my daughter had already been put to bed by our nanny. So I essentially missed so many moments of my daughter’s first year and missed many joyful moments watching her meet many developmental milestones. While my wonderful nanny took many pictures each day to share with me, it is one of my biggest regrets of my life. I was determined that I needed to change careers so that I could be much more available to be there with my daughter during the day. Also, as my husband is an editor at the Wall Street Journal and under deadline every day, I realized that I needed to be the one with the flexible schedule to accommodate all the necessary doctor and teacher appointments as she grew older. Therefore, I decided to pivot and start real estate in my late forties. It was challenging and humbling to start over in a new industry but I worked hard, gained experience and learned from every setback. Now, ten years later I’m so glad I put in the time and energy to build a new career that can last for a very long time!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Starting my career I had always worked for prestigious luxury firms. After spending years where I felt I was being judged more by my outward polish than my intellectual ability, I wanted to make a radical change and be judged solely by my intellectual capability. So I interviewed with technology companies and landed a great job with Cisco Systems working with CXO executives in the retail industry. It felt so great to know that I could pivot to a completely different industry and with hard work, become very successful based on my professionalism and ability to learn quickly.
Contact Info:
- Website: susannerhow.com
- Instagram: @susannerhow
- Facebook: Susanne Rhow
- Linkedin: Susanne J. Rhow