Ali Samael is a top-tier Realtor known for his celebrity status, his feature on HGTV’s House Hunters, being to go-to realtor for the Seattle Seahawks, and much more. He’s come a long way on a path full of struggle and succession. In this article, we take a peek at Ali’s rise to celebrity status and how he got to where he is today.
Ali didn’t hang out with the best people growing and 2 of his best friends were shot and killed when he was just 18, but he had people who truly believed in him. “I had 2 teachers who saw something in me that I didn’t, and they would let me hang out in their classroom during lunch and after school to keep me occupied. Eventually, I realized that there were people who believed in me and I just didn’t want to disappoint them. I wanted to change so I got a job at Nordstrom and saved up some money. I saved up $15k my first year and bought a hookah lounge in Burien with my cousin and named it VIP Hookah Lounge. I ran that lounge for a year before selling my half of the business for $20k. This taught me a huge lesson of “when to fold” because the following year the hookah lounge got offered to be purchased for $100k. I learned that most businesses are not profitable the first year or two and I should’ve been patient.” said Ali. He later opened another business with the $20k called Create Live Designs where he created websites and mobile apps. It sadly failed but the business taught him more than he would know. He was able to take the skills he learned on target marketing/execution and apply them to his next venture.
After talking about his previous business he mentioned his venture that came right after.
“My last project got me $16k and I took that money and bought 50 hoverboards. This was 2015 when hoverboards first started getting big. I originally thought I was going to retail these and sell them for the market price but then I noticed other retailers undercutting the price. I quickly switched my business plan and decided to come up with another plan to make my goal of $100k. I had planned to rent each board for $20/hr on Alki Beach. Business went well and we made a killing! Until the city shut us down for not “having permits” that didn’t exist. The reality to it is my business partner was black and they didn’t like that.” Although he failed in his previous venture he was able to continue his journey in trying to become successful and reinvested the money he had into his hoverboard business, and even though he couldn’t continue he didn’t let that stop him he kept on pursuing his dreams and looked for the next thing.
He eventually realized what he needed to do to achieve his goal of taking care of his family he took a leap and finally got into Real Estate. “I still had a goal of making $100k to take care of my parents and make my family proud. I went back to Nordstrom and by now I had built a pretty good relationship with a few Seattle Seahawks players through being a personal stylist. One day someone suggested I should get into real estate and I gave it a shot. I sold $11M my first year and made over $200k in commissions. I started a podcast one day called Topic Of Discussion and found I had a knack for connecting with large audiences. Soon after I decided to outreach you a few brands that I wanted to work with and got a call for HGTV House Hunters. From there, my business started booming!” His relationship with the Seattle Seahawks boosted his career as he was able to use his connections to become the go-to guy in real estate for the Seahawks and was able to make a name and a check because of it. His great personality is the reason his podcast started doing well and as he was doing outreach to brands and eventually got a gig with HGTV. The feature on HGTV’s House Hunters was a pivotal moment in Ali’s career and has placed him in the position he is today.
As he continues to grow and strive to be the top Realtor in the Seattle area Ali Samael is constantly making moves to further his career and even help other realtors with his vast knowledge and experience. It’s quite astonishing what he has been able to achieve and overcome even after many failures, Ali never gave up. I cant wait to see what big move he does next. If you want to get connected with Ali Samael or even just follow his journey go check him out on his Instagram below.
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