While California-based Realtor Michelle Hirsch’s production value is impressive, her headspace is not focused on the numbers as she gears up for another day on the job. “That’s not what drives me,” she says of the decision to avoid her stats. “What drives me is being there for my clients, and the feeling I get after helping people.” As she focuses on pouring into her community and looks ahead at the next years in her real estate career, Hirsch, alongside a team composed of her sister and a transaction coordinator, join Keller Williams with a long-term view in mind.
“Keller Williams really motivates its Realtors and is there to support them,” Hirsch says. “When making the choice, I thought, ‘where do I want to be for the next 20 years? What is the one company that I can be with that will always be looking ahead and not get stuck?’”
This is not Hirsch’s first time joining forces with Keller Williams. In an effort to leave a previous unsatisfactory work situation, she joined the company on a whim, temporarily hanging her license in a market center within an unfamiliar area. “Because I didn’t make that decision with all the right steps in motion, it wasn’t the right time for it,” she shares. But, she maintains, she always knew she was going to return down the line. As she made her way back, she was excited to be under the leadership of operating principal Harma Hartouni. “When you’re speaking to this man, you know that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. I knew that coming over to Harma was going to be a career move that was going to take me into the next decade of my career,” she says.
At her father’s insistence, Hirsch took a dip into the real estate pool at 19, later going on hiatus to become a teacher. When she got pregnant with her third child, she decided to return to the industry, and she’s been serving her hometown of Valley Village ever since. “People know that if you want to sell a home in this area, there isn’t going to be anybody else who knows more about who’s moving in and who’s moving out,” she says. “They see me as the mayor of Valley Village real estate just because I know everybody here.”
Her father is also the reason why Hirsch stays away from counting her financial success. “My very first deal in real estate, I called up my father and told him how much money I was going to make,” she remembers. “Right then and there, he cut me off and said, ‘I never want to hear you count your money again.’ To this day, almost 16 years later, that was the biggest lesson to set the tone of my career.”
Instead of focusing on the monetary, Hirsch has focused on building value around her business and community. As part of her value offering, she owns a staging company that provides her clients with free service. Ultimately, she wants to thrive in order to be in a position to help those around her. “I grew up in a way where I needed to turn to the community for help,” she says. “I want to be on the other side of that and able to offer help to other people whenever I’m needed.”