- Support for this program was provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

- Hello, this is John Harmon, founder, president, and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.

And thank you for tuning into Pathway to Success.

Today's guest is James Hughes.

He's broker salesperson, Keller Williams, New Jersey Metro Group in, we're excited to have you here today, James.

Well, - John, first of all, thank you for having me.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here today.

It's, it's a pleasure to be here - And let's get right into it.

Give us a little bit about your background, where you're from.

Big family, small family.

- I was raised with four of my siblings on, on the Lower East Side.

I went to public school at PS 34, right across the street.

- So what was it like?

You know, growing up in New York, Manhattan, big city, - It was always a hustle.

And my father, who was very much a man of the street as well as a businessman, instilled in me that wherever I was, I belonged and taught me at a very young age to be able to stand up for myself and to be entrepreneurial.

- You said you had four siblings, where were you?

- I am the oldest of the four, four youngest siblings.

My dad had a penchant for treating the boys a little differently than he treated the girls.

So the girls were treated like princesses, but that they were also had their own strength and guidance they got from him that created their, their business savviness.

But the boys were treated with a little bit more tough love.

So my dad instilled in me to, to get up and work.

If he got up, I had to be up and I, he left the house at 7:00 AM If I wasn't at school, I'd have to be going somewhere to work.

And that bike shops shining shoes, you name it, we did, I did it all on the way up.

And then my father took ill somewhere about when I was 15, 16 years old, lost his eyesight.

I decided that it was better for me to hustle and, and, and, and I actually didn't finish high school.

I dropped outta high school and my sisters and my younger brother, they went on to finish high school and go to college.

- Hard work there.

There's always some benefits to hard work notwithstanding whether you have a, a college degree or not.

So, but I wanted to build a foundation on what you have deemed as keys to your success.

- Okay.

Well, I consider myself an autodidact and that means someone that's self-taught.

So notwithstanding having dropped outta school, I was, one of the early jobs was being a messenger in Midtown Manhattan, moving packages around between jobs.

I would walk right into NYU, the new school, Baruch College Pace University, and sit in classes.

Back then, the security wasn't what it is today, so I was able to walk in these schools and audit classes.

I would sit there one day at Pace University, a teacher was handing out tests and I said, well, I'm not in this class.

They said, take the test.

And I, I took the test and I did very well on the test.

Said, why aren't you in school?

And I told them, I told 'em, I said, you know, basically I'm looking out for my brothers and sisters.

My father passed away.

IFI think there's more value in me going to work.

- There's an old debate.

- Are leaders born or made?

I think both are, are true something in your, the nature nurture.

There is also a gift and struggle.

And I think you either rise to because of adversity or you let it sink you.

And I think that's when leaders are made when they confront adversity head on and then they rise above it.

- So, all right.

When did you get involved with real estate?

- I, I worked for 23 years in the, in the fashion business.

My dad, one of the businesses he was in was in ladies fashion.

So in following when he passed away and to follow in his footsteps, the only thing that I knew were the things I did for him part-time or during the summers working in the fashion business, it's not a business where there's a lot of people that look like us.

So I was always forced to work harder than my counterparts.

And I was always, every summer when new young people would graduate college that were sons and daughters, nieces and nephews of the bosses, I had to work extra hard to make sure that I didn't lose my spot.

So I worked for 23 years in fashion and rose to a level where I went from working for small companies to eventually working for major brands like Jones Apparel Group guest Jeans, and Liz Claiborne.

- Yeah.

So give us a little more detail.

23 years in the industry, some of the things that you did.

- So my role was always in operations.

I wasn't on the creative side of the business.

There was even less people that looked like us in, in those positions in the garment business.

I was able to work my way into the and sourcing side.

What does that mean?

I was responsible for negotiating contracts internationally with manufacturers for goods that would be imported into the United States.

And I had to make sure that they all arrived from different countries on time to be in the distribution center so they could get to the retail floor to make a collection.

- So what did you do after leaving the fashion industry for 23 years?

- So I was by, by the time I was leaving the fashion business, I had two sons and me and their mom and things were not working out well.

And, you know, court date, I had flown back from California to New Jersey to go to court, and I was waiting outside the judge's chambers.

And the judge, the judge, his name was, I, I just remember his name was Mack d Hunter.

It was a older black man, very distinguished, very noble in how he presided over the courtroom.

And I, as I was sitting out there early, he sat next to me and he said, A young man, I don't understand what it is that you do with all that international travel, but you have two sons.

You have to figure out something that uses, utilizes your skills, but keeps you planted in one place because clearly you're gonna have to co you're gonna be co-parenting.

- How did that impact your life?

- Well, my dad passed when I was 20.

Right.

And there, there was always a part of me seeking a father figure.

I lost a older brother, a half brother when I was 15.

So that need for somebody to, if you will holler at me, was always, you know, growing up on the lower East side, you always had the OGs that will holler at the younger guys.

But I never had anybody in that sort of professional space, legal space come to me and approach me the way the judge did.

He didn't have to, and that's the thing that I realized he was actually the judge and has to be impartial.

But what he did, and he, he remained impartial, you know, on the stand.

But what he did really meant a lot to me because he, he, he sat down and talked to me and it was almost like a father talking to his son.

And I believe that sometimes God uses people, you know, to, to talk to you if we just keep our ears open and, and, and thank God he did, because it really altered the trajectory of my life.

- I think that's fantastic.

And sometimes people are available to impart these nuggets that could be transformational one's lives.

- I took his advice, I did some research.

I read a book called What Color Is My Parachute?

And then from that book, I was inspired to seek out an industrial psychologist.

The industrial psychologist administered a test to me.

It was like 400 questions, then four essay questions.

And back then it took a couple weeks to get the results.

I met with him again and he said, these are the 10 things that you would do well at.

And the real estate broker was off the chart, like the highest way off to the right up in the air, literally outside of the graph.

And so I researched what it took to become all of those 10 things.

And real estate broker took the least amount of reeducation and was the point of entry was easier than any of the other ones.

So I became a real estate agent.

- Now that you've decided to go into real estate, what are some of the steps you had to take following that conversation and your research?

- So it, it was first burning the bridge.

Burning the bridge.

What I mean by that is that I had to quit what was familiar to me.

I, I had to quit a job.

I was already making six figures and to a lot of my counterparts, I had a good job, even friends and family.

Some family members told me, you're crazy to do that, you got a good job.

But I knew that there was something bigger for, for me out there.

Plus I was tired of knocking my head against the glass ceiling at that good job.

Anyway, you take a course 75 hours, then at the end of that course you take a test in the school that administers the course.

Then from there you take a state test and if you pass that you get fingerprinted and then you're licensed.

When did you, you know, become a - Licensed realtor?

- So I got my license in 2004.

Shortly after that conversation with the judge.

Very little of what you learn in real estate school prepares you for dealing with people.

Real estate is a belly to belly business.

And I think just having grown up in New York, dealt with the streets, dealt with business.

Also, having traveled the way that I did, gave me an empathy and an ability to work with and through people.

- The saying is, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.

So we're gonna roll in a little break here.

Back in a moment - For more information, please visit our website.

- Welcome back to Pathway to Success.

I'm your host, John Harmon, founder, president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.

Our guest today, James Hughes, he's a broker salesperson, Keller Williams, New Jersey Metro Group.

And you know, I tell you, James, I'm just delighted to have you here because you know, real estate is a part of the economy in a meaningful way.

And one's ability to own a home could put them on a path of starting to create wealth for themselves and for their family.

So your first sale, what was that like?

- You, you don't know what you don't know until you realize you don't know it.

And they, they don't teach you how to go get the business when you go into real estate school.

Here I am reinventing myself in my forties and I'm being mentored, if you will, by an agent who was my age, but had 20 years experience selling real estate.

He took me on a couple of appointments, then for a percentage of my commission.

He said, I will help you on the next few transactions.

And I said, nah, I got it.

I said, I got this.

And we, I went after what they call expired listings.

An expired listing is a listing that's gone full term, didn't sell.

So I went knocking on the door, met with the homeowner.

My dad used to say, when you have a toothpick in your pocket, walk around like you own a lumberyard.

And I I, I went in with confidence as if I sold many, many houses and they chose to list with me and we successfully sold that home.

- Typically, how long is a property listed before it expires?

- Well, so a typical agreement amongst realtors is usually a six month agreement.

They ask for a six month agreement.

My team averages from the day we start showing to the day we close 48 days.

- I still wanna take you back just a little bit from your first sale to your second and subsequent sales.

I mean, what - Are some of the things you've learned?

The buyer that's purchasing on the lower end of the pricing spectrum or in our so-called in our communities desire, the same exact things that a buyer or home seller wants in the so-called more affluent communities.

So we've don't dumb down our services because of the price point or 'cause of where the property is preparing the home for sale.

Certain cosmetic fixes, repairs that we know will ident be identified by buyers and or inspectors along the way.

We also stage, we bring in outside furniture.

If it's a vacant property, we fur furnish the whole house.

If it's a house that's currently lived in, we will modify their decor and bring in pieces to help highlight the house so that the presentation is the same as if that property were a million dollar home, we're a $2 million home.

- What, when is it a benefit to stage a home?

- On my team, we have an interior designer and I remember when I first started staging homes in the so-called hoods of other brokers from competing firms would call me up and say, what are you doing?

You're making our job more difficult because now they had it to add more value.

And so what happens is when the buyers come into the house, they can imagine themselves living there.

It helps engage the buyer.

So we're not just selling to the head numbers, facts, and figures.

We're communicating and reaching people in the heart.

And that's the connection that we wanna make that head heart connection when buyers and their agents walk through the house.

What's an interesting fact, we never look at our business transactionally.

So we always look at it as a relationship.

- You can be a, a licensed real estate professional without a college degree and and go on to have a great life.

That correct?

- Yes.

If you are willing to put the work in and you don't become complacent.

So to get a real estate license, again, high school diploma, both my sons went to college right now that doesn't mean don't strive for more or higher education, but that's just the point of entry.

But once you're in there, you one should engage in coaching, getting coached, learning.

It's so important to become a student of the game.

A lot of us wanna ball before we crawl and we've gotta put the work in, work on a team and then spin off and then do your own thing, learn the business.

Then once you're a sales person and you've put in the hours according to your broker for three years, then you can study for and take the test to be to get your broker's license and that's the next level.

I love - It.

Now - Team - James, - When was that established?

So I wanna say it was back in 2016 driving to church.

My eldest son Elijah was sitting next to me and he said, I think I want to get a real estate license.

And I said, okay, if you go to the classes, pass the classes and hang your license with the the same office I'm at, I'll reimburse you the fees.

Wow.

And he, he did it.

So Elijah, for the first, I want to say two years, he acted as my assistant.

Then in 2018 my son started working as an agent.

He started taking out buyers and that apprenticeship, if you will, taught him the, all the basics of the business.

To this day, agents will call me and they will speak in glowing ways about him.

Then in 2018, we were number 40 in the nation for individual agents for contracts closed.

And because of that and put a light on the fact that working in the urban markets, we did this selling homes that were averaging at the time 225 to $250,000.

And I was on the pedestal with agents who were selling million dollar homes.

So we were doing three times the work for a third of the money.

So James, describe your clients, the clients you serve, kids it's become increasingly more diverse.

A former broker witnessing me work that, you know, scheduling the conference room and who I brought in was like, you've brought the United Nations in here and, and so we pride ourselves on that.

A good 80% of my business is in what I affectionately call urban Essex County.

- Now, do you have any programs that you, do, you know, members of the community to get them more in tune with the, the process of of buying a home, - Buying real estate?

Let's face it, it's the cornerstone of generational wealth.

And one makes their money in real estate.

Not with when they, they get it when they sell, but they make it with how they buy.

So, you know, I, I heard Denzel Washington say the first part of your career you learn and the second phase you earn and the third phase you return.

So I'm in a great place, I do it 'cause I love to do it.

I don't do it 'cause I have to do it.

Part of that give back is that quarterly will hold a coffee and real estate workshop and we will invite future home buyers to those workshops to come learn about programs that are offered through banks.

Because of my stewardship in these comm in the communities that I serve, the banks approach me all the time about programs that are, they call CRA programs which stand for Community Reinvestment Act programs.

So speaking quite frankly in our communities, first time home buyers and in particular people of color, they're directed by many lenders to FHA loan products, federal, federal housing administration loan products.

These are government insured loans and sometimes that's the only option for buyer because of their credit or debt to income ratio.

However, there are a lot of times that those buyers would qualify for conventional loan programs.

So why would the lender do that?

Well, or the agent refer the buyer to an FHA loan program.

One, it's more lucrative for the bank and for the lender.

They make more money on them.

And two, sometimes the agent is getting compensated from the lender to pay for Zillow or other kind forms of marketing.

And so instead of serving the best interest of the buyer that's come into their presence, they're serving the best interest of the lender that's cooperating with them on the marketing dollars.

- Gotcha.

Wow.

So describe some of the partnerships you have.

- We have the team licensed agents that are in my office, the lawyers, the mortgage people, the contractors, the service providers, title people that are around us that make this whole thing work.

So I've been invited to more backyard barbecues than I care to mention.

That's good because of that.

- But you moved from Hudson County and you, you do a lot more business down in Essex County.

What was the the, the rationale behind that, that move?

- As I started doing my research, I moved my license from Hudson County to an Essex County real estate office.

And everybody was chasing after certain towns, the so-called more affluent towns, but yet when home buyers and sellers would call and they had a property in Irvington or Newark or Orange, they would look the other way.

So I realized that there was a community of people that were underserved by real estate practitioners and that's where IFI found my niche - Advice to tho to that demographic.

- So first, first time home buyers, don't choose an agent cause they're friends or or their family member that just got their license.

Do research, make sure the agent is knowledgeable in the area where you wanna buy property.

Do research on the mortgage, get educated about the process before you go out and start looking.

That's the thing I recommend for first time home buyers and for sellers, choose your agent wisely.

Do research what is their list price to sell price ratio.

Don't necessarily choose the agent with the lowest commission structure.

You get what you pay for and be open to making some modifications to the home before you put it on the market.

- No, James, I I just want to thank you so much again for agreeing to be a part of the show today.

- It's with extreme gratitude, John, for having me here.

I'm so grateful.

My goal is always to inspire - And I want to just thank our, our viewers for tuning in today and on on the next time on your pathway to success.

This is John Harmon, founder, president, and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.

Thank you for tuning in today.

Today's message, elections have consequences.

There's a lot of consternation across America and New Jersey with the new administration and several of the cutbacks that have taking place.

But the bottom line is it is what it is.

And what's troubling for some people is because we vote for people all the time who make promises and then they don't do what they say they're gonna do.

And we just chalk that up to politics.

Well, as we confront this new gubernatorial race here in New Jersey, my question to the candidates, what is your agenda?

I think that we have to be crystal clear on, on defining our expectations for our candidates.

Otherwise they're gonna take us for granted.

And so the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey is a nonpartisan organization.

We try to mitigate the under performance in society.

Blacks have the highest poverty, the highest unemployment in the state of New Jersey.

Our net worth is 17,000 versus 322,000 for whites.

So I think it's critically important that we take a hard look at the next leader for the state of New Jersey.

So when someone comes to you seeking your vote, I would ask them, what was your response to the disparity study?

What is your agenda to mitigate the high level of poverty and unemployment?

What was your response to the, the lack of home ownership for blacks in New Jersey?

And what is your message or solution or remedy to get blacks more equitable participants in the state's economy?

That's what we're asking would be candidates in 2025.

How can we coexist in our state in a more equitable fashion?

Thank you.

- Support for this program was provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.