Inspiring Conversations with Nick El-Tawil of Tawillionaire

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Nick El-Tawil.

Hi Nick, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I had no intention of ever becoming a Realtor. But did you know that “Realtor” is actually a brand name?

I’m from Arizona, but I got my real estate license for the first time in 2014, during spring break while I was in school in New York City. They don’t join the Realtor board in NYC – they’re New Yorkers, they have to be different – they join the Real Estate Board of New York instead.

My friend who helped me get my first job never used the word Realtor. He said I would be a “broker,” and I liked how that sounded! I got my first job that summer and never looked back.

Real estate is a young man’s game in NYC. You run around the city and grind rental apartments to start out, mostly renting to college kids or new grads moving to the city for the first time after school. That friend who helped me get the job also helped me get my first sales listings. I had a 7-figure sale under my belt as the lead listing agent just over one year into the game.

After a few years, I got my broker license and started my own company. Hired people and had two offices at WeWork in the city. But never made enough to break out of there before the pandemic hit.

When NYC was completely shut down in 2020, we couldn’t show properties. I came back to Arizona for a while to recharge, and that’s when I first thought about coming back for good. But I still had my New York apartment, so I decided to give it one last chance. I did another full year in NYC in 2021 (this time with a brokerage). It wasn’t the same, so I came back to Arizona for good in 2022.

It wasn’t a business decision to come back. I came back to be near my family. But I would be lying if I didn’t see an opportunity. Arizona – which was historically an affordable place to live – is now home to some of the most expensive real estate in the U.S. And it happened almost overnight.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve seen it all. Brokerages are cutting you out of big deals. Well-connected people are spreading false rumors about you to ruin your reputation. People just flat-out refuse to pay you and dare you to sue them.

Part of that was on me. In my younger days, I was a live wire. I could grind for 16 hours straight, making cold calls, but I also would lose my temper and get into petty fights. I wasn’t always the easiest person to be around. That made certain situations worse than they could have been.

I have been blessed to meet great people since returning to Arizona. I have grown a lot since my early 20s, and I’m much more mature now. No more 16-hour cold calling sessions, but I’m also happier and just generally nicer to people.

The biggest lesson for me has been that you have to let other people win sometimes. You can’t compete on everything. There is truly enough for everyone. When you let others win, then you can find your niche.

What were you like growing up?
I was on the computer at a young age.

My mom would buy me a pack of Pokémon cards if I took lessons to learn how to type when I was maybe eight years old. I’ve always been pretty tech-savvy (I built my websites, apps, etc.), which serves me well in the age of social media and constant connectivity.

We moved around a lot when I was a kid. Lots of different school districts. Hip-hop music kept me sane for many of those years! Eventually, I made my tracks on my laptop (and had applied for many jobs at record labels in NYC before I ended up in real estate).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nickeltawil.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/tawillionaire
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/tawillionaire
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/nickeltawil
• Twitter: https://x.com/tawillionaire
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2oIeR4YHXPwHzAddfiSGg

Image Credits
Christine Bertacini