Meet Thomas J. Nelson: San Diego, CA REALTOR ®

We had the good fortune of connecting with Thomas J. Nelson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Thomas J., how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Let’s clear up the myth; there is no work/life balance; there is however the perpetual state of balancing work life and personal life and it can be managed, but never done. You can never set it and forget it, you must actively mind it like a gourmet chef in a busy kitchen moves from pot to pan to oven to broiler in a symphony of diligence. The evolution of the balancing act between work and personal was simple; I had none early in my career, I worked for everyone, anywhere anytime. I was struggling as a new agent, so I simply worked as much as I could, chasing leads, open houses, buyers, sellers and what appeared to be opportunities to grow my business. Then I got a coach, a Buffini & Company coach to be specific and that coach got me focused on my 5 Circles of Life Goals and taught me how to systematize my business and prioritize my goals each day, each week, each month…in order to “win my year”. The 5 Circles of Life Goals are: Family, Personal, Financial, Business and Spiritual. Setting goals in each category helped me focus on specific clients, working specific hours (starting by 8AM and closing by 6PM daily) and taking one dedicated day off per week to recharge with my family. Taking vacations each year. Basically, when I was at work, I worked like a dog, when I was off and with family, I played like a puppy and never mixed the two again.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets me apart from others? I truly own a 100% Working By Referral Business. Now, so do many of my friends in real estate, but that sets us apart from 95% of the other real estate agents. out there. Within that 5% what sets me apart is my relationships that make up my 100% Working By Referral Business. See, I’m their REALTOR*, no one else. Because no one else has the relationship with them that I do. I work relationally and uniquely with each client and their needs. I do have systems in place, but I’m not transactional nor am I “cookie-cutter” in my approach to serving clients. They each think they’re my only clients while I’m working with them. And then this is my clincher move: I stay in touch between transactions, sometimes for years. The longest client relationships I have are 20 years long…my second client ever still buys from me as recently as last summer! What I am most proud of or excited about is each of those relationships and advocates that allow me to work with people I enjoy without advertising. I cultivated and cared for since starting my business in 1999. I’m proud they trust me, (many have become friends), they refer me and hire me repeatedly and when I call, text or pop-by, they are actually happy to see me. How I got here business-wise, was a difficult journey of staying the course despite a market crash, despite personal health and family challenges, despite drift; I got here because I had a coach, accountability and goals that drove me no matter what. I went all in on this Working By Referral method because I believed in it and what it would make of me personally and professionally. The lessons I’ve learned along the way have been to have a plan, don’t work that plan alone, ask for help, and set goals that make you enthusiastic because life is going to challenge your desire to achieve those goals. Your goals need to create a strong enough why, to get you through any how? I’ve also learned to set boundaries and that if do not respect them, my clients won’t either, so stay true to your boundaries no matter what. I’ll share a secret, boundaries are a great filter for who you should and should not work with. Take dedicated time each day and week to recharge and your health is #1, because none of this really works when you’re sick in bed or worse. And breathe; remember to breathe! We all have our stories, our adversities we had to overcome, victories we celebrated and lessons learned along the way. I believe in my brand of Working By Referral because it sums up all the work I need to put in to accomplish that. It is relationship and service dependent and it requires trust, competence and character to achieve. It’s also a journey, never a destination I arrive at because I’m serving people and people are complex and diverse. But, I’m dedicated to working relationally, growing each year and becoming a better REALTOR* this year than I was last year. The reward is not just the business, but what the business makes of me as a REALTOR*, husband, father & man.I believe the Good Life for me professionally comes from serving people enthusiastically because I enjoy my career, my craft and the people in it that I serve. It has opened so many doors of opportunity and seen me through adversity. Working By Referral is a good life because it takes earning it, and it takes collaboration and it has taken me further than I’d have ever gone on my own.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
San Diego County is rich in beaches, tourist attractions, cuisine and both manmade and natural experiences! When friends visit me, I love showing off The Village of La Jolla, Balboa Park, The Zoo, if it’s Spring, the Flower Fields and of course we hit Pacific Beach & Mission Bay to name a few. If they have kids, we’ll show them Legoland, Wild Animal Park and Sea World too. We always do a day trip to Coronado and show off the The Del Coronado Hotel, all the wonderful shops and restaurants and that wonderful beach! We eventually visit all the coastal communities from Imperial Beach to Oceanside. Downtown is always a day trip too, with Little Italy, Seaport Village and the Gaslamp being showcased. Typically lunch at somewhere like Basic Pizza in East Village or one of the fine restaurants at The Headquarters at Seaport Village and then dinner in Little Italy is a must, so many places authentic Italian restaurants to choose from. We enjoy good live Irish Music and food at O’Sullivan’s Irish Public House in Carlsbad; a pint of Guinness, a plate of Shepherd’s pie and our favorite band Brogue Wave on the stage makes for a fun evening! Or we’ll have drinks before dinner at our favorite speakeasy with a secret entrance: Raised By Wolves, before dining casually at Queen’s Bistro or more formally at either The Winery Restaurant, Larsen’s Steakhouse or Javier’s, all located inside the UTC Westfield Mall. Some of my favorite fine dining restaurants are Eddie V’s in La Jolla after 6PM for their wonderful food, gorgeous coastal views and the live Jazz trios for dancing and drinks. Mr. A’s offers fine dining on the rooftop of a high-rise with panoramic views of Downtown San Diego. Season’s 52 with location in Downtown & UTC La Jolla, where they bring a Napa-style farm to table experience to your pallet.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m where I am today because of my willingness to be coached and finding the right coach and training, which I received from Buffini & Company. Through the many members that have become team members, colleagues and friends and especially my longtime coach Cami Napoli who coached me through the professional growth stages and my personal challenges that made all the difference in my career. I owe a lot of my success to the coaching and Working By Referral training I’ve received over the last 20+ years from Buffini & Company.

Website: www.ThomasJNelsonRealtor.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tjnelson_realtor/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasjnelsonrealtor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TJNelsonRealtor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThomasJNelsonRealtor
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/thomas-nelson-san-diego-2?osq=thomas+j+nelson
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThomasJNelsonRealtor/featured?view_as=subscriber
Other: Blog: https://activerain.com/profile/thomasjnelson

Image Credits
These are all my personal photos owned by me.