Check Out Kevin Stewart’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Stewart.

Hi Kevin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I first fell in love with Los Angeles when I spent a month and half in the city in 2014. I was 21, it was the summer of my sophomore year in college, and my best friend and I decided to pack up our car and head to Los Angeles. We were what some might say, “young, dumb, and broke”. I was a DJ at the time and managed to pick up a few gigs which managed to buy us a few weeks at a time. When the summer was ending and our bank accounts ran dry, we knew it was time to pack it up and head back home to Cincinnati, Ohio.

A few years later, I was a senior in college and I started watched Million Dollar Listing LA on TV with my mother. It was at that time I decided that one day I would move to Los Angeles and sell those multi-million dollar mansions I’ve been seeing on TV.

During my senior year of college, I decided to get my real estate license in Ohio. I thought the experience would someday help me get my career started in LA. During my first year of being a licensed agent in Ohio, my Mother (retired teacher and rookie realtor) and I sold 22 homes. This was a lot for our first year!

Then, the day my parents dreaded came to be, it was moving day. I packed up the car and spent a week driving across the country to my new home in sunny southern California, Los Angeles. When I arrived, I spent a month in a really crummy one month rental that I subleased from my sister’s friend in North Hollywood. It was gross. I then found a one bedroom apartment just off the Hollywood Blvd in good ole Hollywood. What no one told me when I first moved out here is that living off Hollywood Blvd is not the place to be. Fast forward four years later and here I am living on Hollywood Blvd (but in a much nicer apartment), but we’ll get back to that later.

As I arrived in LA, I immediately started looking for a job. I knew coming into it that The Agency was the ONLY real estate brokerage I’d love to work at. Unfortunately at the time, it wasn’t so easy getting an “in” at the company. I ended up applying to at least 35 jobs until I landed an interview with none other than Jon Grauman (Director of the Estates Division) at The Agency. In fact, I was sitting at an interview in Orange Country (an hour drive from my home) where I was interviewing to sell time shares…. boy would that have been MISERABLE!!!

I had an interview with Jon and his wife Lauren and we really hit it off. You have to understand, at this time I was brand new to the city, unlicensed, and literally didn’t know Santa Monica the city verses Santa Monica the street.

Fast forward four years later and here I am… one of the lead agents on our team, a top producing agent in the city, and most likely the top 3 or 4 highest producing agents for anyone under 30 years old. It’s been a real dream come true.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Short answer, NO!

The biggest struggle as a real estate agent is finding clients, not to mention it’s extra difficult when you move to a brand new city and only know 3 or 4 people, and let me tell you, these people were not my million dollar buyers I’ve been looking for lol.

Another difficult component is my surroundings. A real estate agent to its core is a “local market expert” and honestly, it’s hard to feel like a local market expert when you’re just learning the city for the first time.

It took me five months to close my first deal in LA, which also means it literally took me five months until I cashed my first paycheck. I had my finances calculated… I only allowed myself to spend $10 per day, which would last me for another four months before I would be forced to move back home.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a real estate agent at The Agency in Beverly Hills. What I am most proud of about myself is the way I’ve been able to grow my business at such a young age and in such a short time. I’ve also been intentional about staying true to my roots, never growing an ego, and finding true passion and joy in my work. I find a lot of fulfillment in being able to help people reach their real estate goals, whether that be buying their first home or selling their house for a large profit. I’m blessed to have so much joy in my career, not to mention I met some of the coolest clients (and now friends) in Los Angeles.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The technology world is making a huge impact on our career. As a young agent who is semi tech savvy, I role with the evolution and try to use it to my benefit. I am a big believer that real estate needs human interaction, so I do not think it will ever fully do away with real estate professionals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theagencyre.com/agent/kevin-stewart
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinxstewart/