One of the few good things about 2020 is the fact that there’s finally been time for people to catch up on excellent television they may have missed, and one show that caught the world’s attention was Selling Sunset on Netflix, a show that follows the Oppenheim brothers and their real estate team as they sell homes in Los Angeles.
Breakout show star and realtor Mary Fitzgerald sat down with Diply to talk about how much the show doesn’t catch, as well as how her extraordinary work ethic has helped shaped her career in new ways.
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Real estate wasn’t always what Mary had planned on doing for her career.
Mary told Diply she had originally studied radiology in college, but “I got into real estate because I found myself moving every year. I love the process, I love looking at places, and finding that gem,” Mary explained, but added, “I was uprooting my life, my son, my family, until I realized I could actually make money doing it instead of spending it.”
Mary’s career in real estate started off in an incredibly lucky way. “I got my license in 2008 when the market crashed, but I did great. Within six months I sold three homes!” she told us. “That’s not normal. Normally it takes a year.”
When it comes to advice for new realtors or those hoping to get into the real estate market, Mary kept it simple: “Don’t quit your day job.”
“Work on the side,” Mary told Diply. “It costs a lot of money to get started. All the subscriptions, your car, your signs, taking clients out, networking — it’s a lot. And you don’t get clients right away, typically.” It’s not hopeless, though, as Mary told us, “The first five are the hardest you’ll ever do, and then from there it’ll get easier and easier.”
Mary emphasized that work ethic is key when it comes to success in this industry. “If you put in 1000% effort and you go above and beyond for your clients, then you will get referrals, and it’ll snowball.”
Mary’s own work ethic is impressive, and she told Diply she doesn’t mind the work it takes to balance her professional and personal life.
“I don’t have much of [a personal life],” Mary joked. “My personal life is my work life too. Whenever we network, I’m hanging out with my friends.”
“We sacrifice a lot,” Mary told Diply. “Christmas, I don’t get to be with my family. [My husband] Romains working and we only have two days. Romain works just as much and I’m lucky that he understands. We both have really strong work ethics.”
Mary’s work ethic is incredibly evident on Selling Sunset and has earned her a lot of admiration, but there’s a lot that happens in their day-to-day business that the cameras don’t catch or that doesn’t make it to our screens.
“We film a lot, and they edit it down, so whatever we’re doing on a daily basis, they only show a clip of it.”
“I don’t think people realize how much goes into it, and it’s not always glamorous,” Mary laughed. “You have to go do inspections and kneel down in heels looking up a chimney — they edit that stuff out.”
“There’s a lot that show doesn’t catch, or just doesn’t air,” Mary explained. “I don’t care, as long as I’m not portrayed as different than I am, then I’m fine with it. I don’t care what they show or what they don’t show. I’m doing my job.”
You can find Mary on Instagram or on Twitter , and be sure to check out the first three seasons of Selling Sunset on Netflix!