[00:00:00] Podcast Intro: Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mic Unplugged. We’ll help you identify your because, so you can create a routine that’s not just productive, but powerful. You’ll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary.

[00:00:29] So let’s unleash your potential. Now, here’s Mic. 

[00:00:34] Mick Hunt: Welcome to another exciting episode of Mic Unplugged, and today we are diving into the world of high stakes real estate, philanthropy, and navigating life transitions with the visionary who’s redefining the industry from handling sensitive estate sales to founding a national network of trusted real estate advisors.

[00:00:54] She’s a leader whose concierge approach to business and life is as innovative as it is inspiring with the career that spans over two decades, marked by her unique blend of style, negotiation, prowess, and a deep commitment to her community. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome the incomparable Melissa Rubin.

[00:01:15] Melissa, welcome to McUnplugged. 

[00:01:17] Melissa Rubin: Thank you so much for letting me be here. I’m so excited. 

[00:01:21] Mick Hunt: I am excited as well. I’m excited for the world to hear about your journey, to hear about you and all the amazing cool things you’re doing down in South Florida and also New York. And as we talk about that journey, Melissa, You know, your journey from the fashion industry to becoming a real estate mogul is fascinating, right?

[00:01:37] Can you share what inspired this transition and how your past experience have helped shaped who you are today? 

[00:01:43] Melissa Rubin: So certainly, so I was in the fashion. I grew up in Montreal, which fashion was like my life since I was a little girl. And through my career, I had the opportunity to live in multiple cities and really create brands for myself.

[00:01:57] For large retail stores. And I came to Miami to do a startup for Sunglass Hut called Watch Station. So it was, I, before that I was at the limited stores and at that time in the nineties to be part of a limited division, it meant that you were like really on top of your game in fashion. And they said something to me, which I will never forget.

[00:02:18] And I was sitting in the interview and they said, Here we do the tango. Now you might want to do the rumba. The rumba is a great dance, but we do the tango here. So if you can get on board with the tango, we’re good. But if you want to do the rumba, then that’s fine, but you’re not going to do it here. And it was like a defining moment in terms of really understanding, like really embracing what is and not trying to do something at that point that they would not accept.

[00:02:44] And I just have always remembered it throughout because in any Corporate environment, people are doing a tango and you might want to do the rumba, but to be successful, you will have to embrace the tango. 

[00:02:56] Mick Hunt: That is awesome. I’m ready to start dancing right now. I know me 

[00:02:59] Melissa Rubin: too, but I have the food gene, not the dance gene.

[00:03:02] It’s really, it’s really an issue. I came here with actually one of the limit executives and we created. Sunglass has division called watch station. And so we created a thousand stores around the globe. And I had the opportunity to really create something that didn’t exist in the watch business. And what I learned in general and in the fashion business, like there are key items.

[00:03:26] So if you, as a man go into a department store, you will see a sock wall. And that is a key item for that particular. Product and they expect to do gazillions of dollars from that key item. So I’ve always remembered that. And then I’ve translated that to real estate, making sure that every person I meet and work with is a mini key item that we focus on maximizing whatever it is they want to maximize.

[00:03:52] And it’s different for every person at every age, at every time in their life, wherever they are in the country. But nobody, there’s not like, what is the saying, a square peg in a round hole, 

[00:04:03] Mick Hunt: right? 

[00:04:05] Melissa Rubin: So there’s just, everybody is their own individual and how and to really recognize that and create it for them.

[00:04:11] So anyway, I’m, I’m digressing, but when, um, Soundglass had sold their division. I decided to just take a package and not move back into, into fashion. I didn’t want to move back to the Midwest. I was living in Columbus, Ohio. I knew it was an amazing time, but it was never going to be the city that I would fall in love with passionately.

[00:04:29] I went to real estate school for fun, never thinking I would ever, ever practice real estate. And then I started interviewing for, for a fairly large GM jobs across the country in very rural areas, because that’s where some of the larger. Companies were, and I decided I just didn’t want to do it anymore. I needed to change.

[00:04:48] And because of my involvement in the community, I feel very blessed because I’ve always been involved in the community. I was able to then reach out to those people on boards that I have been raising money for and doing things for, and say, I have a new career and they gave me an opportunity. But you know, it’s very humbling.

[00:05:05] I think when in any career, we sometimes think what we do is who we are and what we do is what we do and who we are is who we are and when you can take out the ego and recognize that, you know, starting over again is very humbling from being one of the largest in that particular business to starting over and not having a clue is very humbling.

[00:05:27] Mick Hunt: Correct. That’s awesome. And you’re actually going a place that we talk about a lot here at make unplugged because, you know, I love Simon Sinek start with why, right? Like everyone has a why, but to me, there’s a deeper thing. And I call it your because like, there’s a, because there’s a reason that makes us do the things that we do.

[00:05:46] And, you know, knowing your story a little bit, They’re like, you have a deeper because as well, right? There is a reason that made Melissa navigate the waters that you navigated. What would you say your, because. 

[00:05:58] Melissa Rubin: I love to make a difference in people’s lives, whatever that difference may be, and in the world.

[00:06:04] I feel that I’ve been very blessed in my life. I’ve had opportunities that have been created for me and I’ve created my own. If I can give that back, whether it’s mentoring people in, in our business, which I think we must do. As somebody who is, it was people who are seasoned. I think we, we have to do that.

[00:06:23] And it’s so much fun to see people grow to raising money philanthropically in a community because people can’t afford medical, but everybody needs to have the best medical. To making a difference. Right. And my old boss said, retail is detail and you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make something that can impact somebody’s life, 

[00:06:45] Mick Hunt: right?

[00:06:45] Absolutely. I want to take something that you, you started referencing and go a little bit deeper. You’ve been a guiding light for your clients who are going through a lot of transitions, especially divorces. Right? How do you navigate these difficult situations? And what impact does that have on you both personally and professionally?

[00:07:02] Because your clients love you, right? Like your clients love You because you’re there for them. And I think that’s something that folks don’t understand or they miss in a relationship with their real estate agent or their realtor. 

[00:07:14] Melissa Rubin: I’ve been certified in collaborative divorce and real estate. I went through a contested divorce and I wish I knew then what I know now.

[00:07:24] And so it’s very personal to me to make a difference in mediating two parties that have come to the point where they don’t want to speak to each other anymore and to try to come together for the cause of both of their futures. Sometimes that means speaking separately to each other. Sometimes that means getting on the phone.

[00:07:44] phone together so that we can communicate effectively, but mostly we plan in advance so that everybody is on the same page as we go through the process. But I divorce, I mean, it’s, I never understood how people can love each other, be so close to each other, you know, sleep side by side with each other.

[00:08:04] And then dislike each other so much. And it’s like, it’s unfathomable. I still, I mean, I, I lived through it, so I certainly can relate to it. I just don’t know how I got to that point, you know, but that’s just really important to gain another thing you can do to make what is a very stressful situation, sort of less stressful for somebody.

[00:08:24] Mick Hunt: Yeah. And so your playbook, the essential playbook, winning real estate tips during divorce, right? That’s a notable achievement. Yeah. What was your motivation behind that? And I take a little bit. It was your personal story and your personal journey, but what do you hope that the readers of that book or, or the people that are going to go read this book now, listening to this podcast, what do you want them to take away from that playbook?

[00:08:45] Melissa Rubin: We don’t know what we don’t know. Whether you’re going through a divorce or not a divorce, it’s just being fiscally responsible. Real estate is going to be your largest asset for the most part. We work our whole lives, but for the most part, we make much of our foundation in real estate. And so to be able to just step back and read like what the little things you could do to maximize your profit, because that will help your future.

[00:09:09] Is what the intention was to get out of it. And I didn’t know what I didn’t know. 

[00:09:13] Mick Hunt: Wow. You know, how long did it take you to write that book and what was your thought process going into it? 

[00:09:18] Melissa Rubin: It was, it took a few months. I did it in the pandemic when I had a little bit more time at the very beginning when we weren’t allowed to be in properties.

[00:09:27] And the thought was really just how can I make a difference to another human being’s life who’s going to go through what the next year will be a very difficult time for the most part. How do we minimize them spending their money on divorce attorneys because they can communicate to settle if they have everything up front for the most part and we hope then it makes it easier.

[00:09:48] I love that. 

[00:09:49] Mick Hunt: One of the things I love about you too, is your passion for philanthropy. And I know that that plays a crucial role in your life and in your business. Can you discuss how giving back has influenced your career? And then I’d love a followup. What are some of the communities that you serve? 

[00:10:03] Melissa Rubin: We did eight or nine years ago is I always gave back for every transaction because again, I feel like how many more bowls can somebody have?

[00:10:12] So I thought a donation and I always gave to a charity of my choice, But then it wasn’t about me. It was about them. So now we donate to a charity of the client’s choice. And so for every transaction, regardless of the size, where it is in the country, and we have a beautiful card that we send to them that basically says, we’re so grateful to.

[00:10:33] To have you in our lives, please fill it out and send it back. So we’ve made donations to elephants in Africa, the pelicans here, St. Jude, make a wish, most of the animal related charities, which I’m passionate about, cause I have my dog Remy and just on and on and on, but really I have all the cards and I keep them and it’s just, it’s so nice to see how so many people have so many passions that are important.

[00:11:00] For them and that we can just help just a little bit. 

[00:11:03] Mick Hunt: That’s awesome. Being this real estate mogul that you are, you have your pulse on real estate, right? The world’s constantly changing. Even the worlds that I live in and that I represent what was yesterday is not the same as today. And it definitely is not going to be tomorrow.

[00:11:18] What do you see as some of the future trends in the real estate market? 

[00:11:23] Melissa Rubin: Oh, it’s so interesting. Cause as you said, it does change every second. And Miami is an interesting, I feel we’re an anomaly to many of the places in the world because we’re an influx of so many cultures coming here. So we’re a second and third home market.

[00:11:40] And for that, we don’t feel, I don’t think the trends as some of the other places may. So when the interest rates went up and things paused, many of our. transactions are cash transactions and people want to get their money out of their country. So we’re not impacted as much. We still are impacted. There are trends towards different things in the home to make like luxury has changed their trends.

[00:12:06] Right now, people are putting dog baths in their home as something new in their laundry rooms to make it easier because maybe they want to have that experience of their own. Bathing their dogs. And I know it sounds funny, eh, but it’s like, I mean, I, I was in a condo the other day on Fisher Island, and she has this beautiful shower in the middle of her gigantic laundry room.

[00:12:27] And that was a priority for her designer. 

[00:12:30] Mick Hunt: You know, there’s gonna be five people that listen to this podcast and they’re gonna have dog bath now, . 

[00:12:34] Melissa Rubin: It’s the cutes. And I think about it because I stick Remi in the sink. I wish that I could have like a shower for my dog, like separate shower. It would be unbelievable.

[00:12:44] And we’re seeing like different trends in condominiums that each new condominium is trying to be more luxurious than the next, but everything is about lifestyle and having an experience. And it’s less about spending money. Speaking about four bathrooms and three bedrooms and etc. It’s really about what is the experience that I’m going to have when I’m living in this particular environment, whether it’s a single family home or a condominium.

[00:13:10] And that’s really the languaging that’s becoming more and more and more. And We see developers offering pickle ball and just, and sunset and cold plunges and things that really are creating more of a lifestyle and community environment. 

[00:13:28] Mick Hunt: That’s awesome. Has AI impacted the real estate industry at all? 

[00:13:32] Melissa Rubin: It has in terms of just helping us, right.

[00:13:35] It’s made a difference because although I see still use a copywriter, I’m able to at least give her something better than like my English that I would say is, you know, fair in terms of writing, not my skill set. So I’m able to use that. And it’s just things that you just like would never even you want to create a story and you just use AI and it comes out with this amazing paragraph.

[00:13:57] Mick Hunt: It’s insane, right? It’s really insane to see from a copywriting standpoint, the advent of AI. And, you know, I see the good, the bad and the ugly with it. Like I, I like it to help train thoughts, right? But I still want it to be me. So like, give me an outline, but then let me take the outline and make it me.

[00:14:15] And I see a lot of folks, I’m going to say misusing AI because I tell my friends, I saw how you used to write yesterday. Oh, you didn’t become a genius overnight. Your writing structure didn’t become that 

[00:14:26] Melissa Rubin: good. And it doesn’t know your voice, right? Like my copywriter and my social people know my voice. I don’t necessarily have to write it, but they know me.

[00:14:35] But AI doesn’t know my voice yet. Tricky part, I think for all of us is that we have to be so on top of things. The changes, because if we don’t, we’re left behind, whatever that looks like for you or, you know, whatever age and wherever part of your career in your life, right? Like I find for us being one on one having discussions, being in person, looking in your eyes.

[00:14:59] Makes a huge difference to growing a relationship. But as people are just getting out of college and they’re used to texting and not seeing each other as much, it’s, it’s a different, but ultimately I think no matter what we’re, we’re a people society, we’re not meant to be alone behind a computer. I feel like people need to, will have to embrace whatever change that is for them in their lives.

[00:15:21] We can’t be left behind. 

[00:15:22] Mick Hunt: Absolutely. A couple of more questions, Melissa, and I’m going to get you out of here. One, what is something that you want people to know about the real estate industry or business that maybe is a big misconception? Give us a truth about the real estate business. 

[00:15:36] Melissa Rubin: Oh my goodness.

[00:15:37] The actual business itself. It’s a lot of hard work. The television shows make it look super easy. You know, they’re just high. I like to buy this property. Everything’s great. They’re done. They’re celebrating. And that’s not reality. The reality is, is that there are many things that are involved in a transaction, both emotional and, you know, a physical transaction and going through that, I think unless you know it, you don’t know it and being able to guide people through all of those processes.

[00:16:07] Is one of the most important thing because it’s their biggest asset for the most part, you know, that is a truth. I mean, it is just a lot of hard work. 

[00:16:16] Mick Hunt: There it is. There it is. Absolutely. You’ve built an amazing team, right? Like I would say, knowing you, you’re probably really proud of the team that you’ve built more than you are the successes that you’ve had.

[00:16:27] What are the top three qualities that you look for? And hiring a team member to be a part of your company. 

[00:16:33] Melissa Rubin: The most important is that they’re hungry to work. When I interview people that say, I just want to come for the leads that does, that doesn’t work well with me because I feel that leads are resultant of work.

[00:16:45] Well done. But that’s, so that’s not my model. I want people that really want to work and really are open to learn because not only do I coach them, but I have a professional coach that coaches them. So they have to be coachable and want to learn and we’re a, we were not an I. And to be able to participate in whatever it is that we need done for the team.

[00:17:06] Cause that’s what we were due to support. So I look for that a lot and that that’s like the most important for me because we can be taught everything. 

[00:17:14] Mick Hunt: Absolutely. What are two other things you look for out of your team 

[00:17:17] Melissa Rubin: that have to like dogs? 

[00:17:18] Mick Hunt: Oh, I can’t be a part of the team. 

[00:17:20] Melissa Rubin: Oh, no. Oh my goodness. 

[00:17:23] Mick Hunt: I like dogs.

[00:17:25] Melissa Rubin: Are you thinking of a career change? 

[00:17:28] Mick Hunt: No, not at all. I could supplement what I’m doing sometimes, you know, a hundred 

[00:17:32] Melissa Rubin: percent. 

[00:17:33] Mick Hunt: I know people, Melissa, I used to live in south Florida, so I know people, 

[00:17:36] Melissa Rubin: you know, of course. And I always say, And I would say to everybody, you just never know and having your real estate license earns you a referral fee.

[00:17:43] So why not? And then you learn something else. I’m really interested in how people like we’ll go to, we’ll go to lunch or I’ll go to dinner with them. And I would be interested in how they communicate with the waitstaff because how they communicate with the waitstaff is how they’re going to communicate with our clients.

[00:18:00] And so that’s really important. I have like a whole value in values. That are really important to me, and it’s important that we share those same values. Integrity, communication, trust, honesty, all of those things are really important. And the other thing that I look at, which might seem, I don’t know, silly, but I’m always concerned, especially if somebody is just starting out, that they have six months to a year of savings.

[00:18:26] Because if you don’t, you may make decisions that would be in your best interest and not the client’s best interest. And so for me, that’s really important when somebody is just starting out. 

[00:18:37] Mick Hunt: I do the same thing when I talk to salespeople in other industries, right? Like you don’t want your integrity. To come down to a right now decision in your checking account, right?

[00:18:47] Like that’s not the integrity that, that I’m looking for. So I totally agree with you on that one. 

[00:18:51] Melissa Rubin: It comes back, I think, to, to haunt you and all we have is our reputation. And so to do that, so those are, those are some of the key things and just having a discussion at what’s the most important to those people and making sure that I can help them achieve what’s most important to them.

[00:19:08] Mick Hunt: There you go. All right, Melissa, last question. What’s one thing you want the world. To know about Melissa Rubin. 

[00:19:13] Melissa Rubin: Oh my goodness. Well, I would say six or seven years ago, I propelled down the Marriott Marquis rooftop, the Marriott Marquis starting at the rooftop for a children’s charity. And it’s, I’m not like a daredevil, like some of my friends.

[00:19:30] And so for me, it was like, Oh my God, I am on the rooftop of the Marriott Marquis on a rope going down. And I feel like. We have to constantly challenge ourselves to become the new normal. And for me, that was like a new normal to be able to try something new out of the box. And the more we do, the more interesting we are, the more value we can offer to people personally and professionally.

[00:19:54] Mick Hunt: I love it. Ladies and gentlemen, Melissa J. Reuben, Melissa, again, thank you so much for being on the show. I’m truly honored that you took some time out of your busy, busy, busy, busy schedule to spend just a few moments with me and the listeners of the Mic Unplugged podcast. 

[00:20:08] Melissa Rubin: This was the most fun. Thank you so much.

[00:20:11] It was so much fun. 

[00:20:12] Mick Hunt: I appreciate that. And to the listeners out there, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it until next time. Thank you, Melissa. 

[00:20:22] Podcast Outro: Thanks for listening to Mick unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life.

[00:20:30] Don’t forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on Youtube at Mick unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired and stay unplugged.