We were lucky to catch up with Thomas Nelson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Thomas thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
While there are days I do wonder if I’m truly happier as a business owner versus having a regular job, I ultimately have to say yes I am! I have worked for other people as a teenager, but never as an adult, so it’s been 34 years of “1099” entrepreneurship vs. having 4 jobs where I was a “w2” employee. I formally worked as a grocery clerk for Safeway, a delivery man, sheet metal worker and a bookstore clerk all between ages of 15 and 20. I had a paper route as a kid and I had a part-time caddy job at the local golf course, but those were both casual employment. As a self-employed business owner I’ve been a house painter, a handyman, a car detailer, a Mobile DJ and a REALTOR® Over the years I have enjoyed the education, freedoms and the financially limitless possibilities of owning my own businesses. I’ve met and worked with some great colleagues, clients and business coaches. So why would I want to quit all that? Because there are no guarantees. I made a bold decision to wake up unemployed every morning until I make a sale. No sale, no paycheck or commission. These professions I chose had no earnings ceiling on them, but, no basement to stop you from plummeting into debt either. Being a REALTOR® delivers an abundance of challenges and problems to solve along the way, in order to earn that commission check. It’s a career that is built entirely on my competence & character for delivering the goods. Self employment takes the courage of betting on yourself, your skills and your desire, because you got to want it bad. See, what they don’t tell you is that real estate is gonna put up a fight. It’s an industry that says “You want it? Come and take it if you can, ’cause we ain’t giving it away here!” So yes, there are days I wish I could leave work and the worry at the office and in the lap of my boss while I go home and forget the day. There are lean months where I wish I got a regular paycheck because I had to learn long ago how to make 9-10 months income work for 12 month years. Luckily with a working budget and flush earning months, it works out. It certainly was a weakness I felt more often early in my careers, than in later years. I DJ’d for 30 years and retired while launching my real estate career mid-DJ career, and I’m in my 23rd year now of selling real estate in San Diego, CA. Ultimately I’ve enjoyed most of my businesses and some of my jobs and I realize no job is 100% joy, they all have pros and cons and none offer a guarantee – w2 people get fired, phased out or replaced all the time. As Clint Eastwood says, “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” What I do guarantee, is that you will love your career if you enjoy your work, warts and all.

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?
I’m a California Residential REALTOR® and I’ve been licensed since 1999 and worked in San Francisco & The Bay Area as well as San Diego and Palm Desert. I’m a third generation REALTOR® so I suppose it was destiny to follow in the footsteps of my grandparents and parents, but I avoided it for 10 years before I finally jumped in. My son being born was the motivator, I wanted a career that had no age or income ceiling on it. My family built their wealth in real estate and they lived well, I wanted that for my family too. What makes me different is 1. I’m Working 100% By Referral – no advertising and I’ve been coached by real estate coaches formally my entire career. I have not been on my own or left to my own devices; I have grown annually, been held accountable monthly and learned far more than I would have on my own. I’m proud to say I’m always a better REALTOR® and entrepreneur next month than this month, next year than this year-I’m a student of life for life and a born explorer. But, what this means for my clients is not only mastery from their REALTOR® but the 100% By Referral business model makes me relationship focused e.g. I have to put my clients’ needs first, deliver the goods and close escrow with advocates willing and wanting to refer me my future business. Why is this different? 95% of the agents out their do not have a coach and work transactionally – they just repeat experientially year one over and over, while buying leads and moving on. Their focus is prospecting leads, not serving clients. Meanwhile I’m impacting and improving the lives of others with my services. I prefer servant leadership over find’em, fleece’em, forget’em.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In early 2007 I had a listing that wasn’t selling, this was a first for me. I re-ran comps after 4 weeks on the market and suddenly realized the problem; the market was dipping and the asking price was too high. The seller was in denial of the numbers and insisted we not lower the price. 2 weeks later I ran numbers again and they were even lower, the market was in a tailspin – what we didn’t know then, but would within weeks, was we were in massively depreciating market, “the bubble” created by invalid loans, inflated prices and homeowners that treated their homes like ATMs had burst and we were headed for the biggest financial crash since the Great Depression. After accepting the shock and awe of tour new reality I decide to retool and learn how to be the best short sale negotiator and listing agent I could be. First, I went to training and received my Certified Distressed Property Expert certification and I started helping negotiate, list and sell my friends, my clients and other REALTORS’ clients (referred to me by agents refusing to work short sales) distressed properties. As we hit 2009 I went back to real estate school in Glendale Arizona, one week per month, 6 times per year for 2 years taking the absolute best foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, auction property and investor training from other REALTORS and investors that worked in the trenches. I learned the language of the foreclosure banks, I made connections and I took my services to mastery levels. As 30% of my colleagues quit the business, I grew my my business and survived the work 5 years of my real estate career and the worst financial times of my lifetime. I learned that adversity doesn’t make character, it reveals it and that only those willing to adapt and overcome their present circumstances will survive their setbacks and grow in resilience.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In early 2007 I had a listing that wasn’t selling, this was a first for me. I re-ran comps after 4 weeks on the market and suddenly realized the problem; the market was dipping and the asking price was too high. The seller was in denial of the numbers and insisted we not lower the price. 2 weeks later I ran numbers again and they were even lower, the market was in a tailspin – what we didn’t know then, but would within weeks, was we were in massively depreciating market, “the bubble” created by invalid loans, inflated prices and homeowners that treated their homes like ATMs had burst and we were headed for the biggest financial crash since the Great Depression. After accepting the shock and awe of tour new reality I decide to retool and learn how to be the best short sale negotiator and listing agent I could be. First, I went to training and received my Certified Distressed Property Expert certification and I started helping negotiate, list and sell my friends, my clients and other REALTORS’ clients (referred to me by agents refusing to work short sales) distressed properties. As we hit 2009 I went back to real estate school in Glendale Arizona, one week per month, 6 times per year for 2 years taking the absolute best foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, auction property and investor training from other REALTORS and investors that worked in the trenches. I learned the language of the foreclosure banks, I made connections and I took my services to mastery levels. As 30% of my colleagues quit the business, I grew my my business and survived the work 5 years of my real estate career and the worst financial times of my lifetime. I learned that adversity doesn’t make character, it reveals it and that only those willing to adapt and overcome their present circumstances will survive their setbacks and grow in resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ThomasJNlsonREALTOR.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tjnelson_realtor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThomasJNelsonRealtor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasjnelsonrealtor/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TJNelsonRealtor
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThomasJNelsonRealtor
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/thomas-j-nelson-san-diego-2?osq=Thomas+J+Nelson+Realtor

Image Credits
Thomas J. Nelson owns these photos no credited required.