How to Get a Netflix Show, Invest in Real Estate, and Build a 7-Figure Business ft. Eleonora Srugo
In this engaging episode of "Banking on Cultura," Victoria Jenn Rodriguez welcomes Eleonora Srugo—known for her strong presence on the hit Netflix series "Selling the City." Together, they discuss the realities of working in New York real estate, the lessons (and drama) from appearing on a global streaming platform, and how Eleonora Srugo is reshaping the team-building process post-TV.
The conversation covers everything from the challenges of leadership and team management, to authentic perspectives on renting vs. owning in Manhattan's tricky market. Eleonora Srugo offers an unfiltered look at her journey, the risks—and cultural biases—of being a bold woman in business, and practical tips for aspiring property owners and agents.
Key Takeaways
Authenticity is Everything: Eleonora Srugo remained true to herself, both onscreen and off, refusing to compromise her values for entertainment or business.
Team Building is Tough: Leading, mentoring, and empowering a team—especially under the public eye—is one of the hardest and loneliest jobs, second only to parenting.
Renting vs. Owning? Don’t rush to buy—renting can be just as smart (or smarter) depending on your goals, especially in cities like NYC.
Real Estate Reality Check: The glitz of real estate TV doesn’t show the grind: late nights, complex deals, and the relentless hustle behind every sale.
Relationship Over Transaction: Building genuine, trust-based client relationships outlasts any one real estate deal. Eleonora Srugo ensures her clients know she’s invested in their long-term success.
Practical Homebuying Advice: Start preparing early if home ownership is a dream. Markets are local, and timing (plus stable finances) is key.
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Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
What's up everybody, welcome back to Banking on Cultura. I am your host Victoria Jenn Rodriguez. I hope you are staying warm, especially if you are on the East Coast. It is Brick City out here. So just want to send you all the warm vibes and tell you that I miss you guys. It's been a minute since we started the new year. We are just re-rolling out season 7, so shout out to all of you for being with us for so long and for your support, your engagement, for sharing episodes all the things. We couldn't do this without you guys. So thank you, thank you, thank you. So today's guest is super dope. You actually might recognize her because she's been on Netflix, she's been in all major press outlets, she's done all the things. Super badass. And you know we love badass women on this show. And so I'm really excited for you guys to get to know her. I'll be taking notes as she is, um, sharing her insights and her intel. So without further ado, I'm really excited to welcome Eleanora, welcome to Banking on Cultura.
Eleonora Srugo:
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
I appreciate you being here.
Eleonora Srugo:
I love being here.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Thank you. And you know what I love about social media? Social media is like one of those things that you can just reach out to someone, 50/50, they might say something.
Eleonora Srugo:
You never know who you can connect with. Exactly. People I've heard from.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah, but thank you for checking the DMs. When I saw you on the Netflix show, I was like, ooh, she's Spicy. I like her. And spicy in the sense where you're so confident and like bold. And, you know, women who are confident and bold—
Eleonora Srugo:
some days, depends on what. I'm confident with real estate.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Well, I think also in your own skin. I think, you know, all women, we tend to have to deal with a lot of things when we are bold and when we are courageous and when we are like leading the charge. I don't think there's any way to ignore that. But that's one of the most things that I admire about you is how, like, in your skin you are and how steadfast you are, especially in an industry like real estate.
Eleonora Srugo:
Thank you.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
You're welcome. So introduce yourself. Tell the people about you.
Eleonora Srugo:
Okay. So I'm Eleonora Srugo. I have been doing real estate for 16 years now, which is crazy to say because I don't feel that old, but I guess I am.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
And we don't say old on the show. We say seasoned.
Eleonora Srugo:
Okay, well, that doesn't make me feel any better. So I grew up in New York. I grew up in the city. That is my one true love, I think, from now and always. I did a Netflix show. That's how most people now know me. I started working on it like 4 years ago now and came out a year ago. Since then, life has been fun and exciting. I've been able to connect with so many amazing people. Like yourself, you know, build bridges. And I would say prior to even the Netflix show, I was a relatively community-minded person for a few reasons. Most of all, I believe that the city was full of opportunity for me. And second of all, I sell the city, also the name of my show, but I do actually sell the city. So I'm invested in its success and, you know, the people and livelihood in it. So other sort of parts of my life involved sort of, you know, maybe some politically adjacent activities, being involved in charity groups, boards, whatever. Anything that has to do with New York, I love. That's why I was thrilled to do the show. And, you know, we'll see what's next.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Well, I wanna get into all the tea, behind the scenes, all the things. But we like to start this show with something called "What's the Bonchinché?" So give us something we can't get Google about you? Something maybe that's on the horizon, something personal, something that we can't look up? Because now you out there.
Eleonora Srugo:
I know.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
You've been on this show.
Eleonora Srugo:
And the thing is, is I'm an open book. So there's like, there probably are a lot of things. But well, I think the number one question that I'm getting these days is just about the show, if it's coming back, if it's not. And like, the honest answer is, I don't know. But like, I will tell you this? I don't think so. And I think that we already knew that sort of in April. That's why the team is— no, a lot of people are like, do you still work with the girls? Are they still— the answer is no. It did not, I guess, necessarily end well. But at this point, it was a few months ago. I'm a little bit indifferent to it. I'm happy to answer any questions about it. But yeah, you know, Netflix typically does renewals within a few months, although they would hate that I said that because they say that there is no typical. But according to myself and ChatGPT, there is a typical. And we didn't get it. So I think at that point we sort of realized that it wasn't going to happen. And I realized that it was an investment that I had made in a team that wasn't paying off. We sort of cut ties and we'll see. But it could— it's not— it actually hasn't officially been canceled. But there you go. You kind of have the, like, real scoop. That's, that's the honest answer.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
You know, we like exclusives on Pinky and the Cultura.
Eleonora Srugo:
But I will say this, I can actually tease one thing. You will still see me on Netflix this year.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Okay.
Eleonora Srugo:
I can't say anything else.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Okay. Well, I loved— I don't want to say your character because I feel like that was really who you are.
Eleonora Srugo:
No, it was me. It really was me. Yeah, I mean, that probably— look, to a degree, it was— I think it was very true to all of us. It wasn't every part of me. I have bad days too and days where I don't— where I take the bait. But generally speaking, as we were doing the show, I really tried to channel, like, the best parts of me. And I knew that I was putting myself out there in a way that, like, an immigrant mother who worked very, very, very hard to give me this opportunity, I was not going to go on a platform and embarrass her. So to the degree that I was sort of self-aware, you know, the better parts of my personality probably came through. And also, you know, Netflix is not going to put us out there to be hated. Right? There's a reason why they chose us. In fact, I thought the whole cast was strong. I love our cast. I fought very hard to make sure that every single person, especially the women, that I thought gave it sort of more of a New York flavor. Specifically, we had a cast member that was from, from Jersey. It was important to me that we represent this tri-state area and not just have agents that were here from sort of You know, I think Nashville and, you know, North Carolina or whatever, wherever they're from.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
So when you said you invested in the team.
Eleonora Srugo:
Yeah.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
So was the deal with Netflix that—
Eleonora Srugo:
There's no deal.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Okay.
Eleonora Srugo:
The way that it works is that they, you know, are always casting, producing, looking for stories. And they happened to meet me at a time in my life when I needed to expand and grow my business. I had sort of plateaued. I was on my own since 20. I had a team before, by the way, with a partner. It took every ounce of my being. I mean, when you don't just work for yourself and now you have a responsibility to people that are relying on you and looking to you for guidance, you know, you think twice about, like, you know, taking the day off or going to the gym. You sort of make yourself have to go to the office and generate business not just for you but for them. So I had a team, and in 2016 I left that team so that I could just like live a little and have, you know, what they call work-life balance, I guess. That's when I sort of glowed up and lived my, my best life. But I still had a big business and I needed the support. And so I started to sort of look at who was there.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
When you say big business, like how do you measure that?
Eleonora Srugo:
Like I had— there were too many days where I needed to be two places at once.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Okay.
Eleonora Srugo:
Okay. Or there was a client that like needed to go back to see something downtown, but I'm already uptown. So I needed the coverage. That's usually when you you start to think about hiring more agents. Although for me, it was never just about getting coverage. It was actually about enabling them with their full potential to leverage me, my name, my brand, the comfort to build their own business. I didn't actually want them to just work on my business. That seemed pointless. That's why—
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
no, what I meant was when you say that your business was pretty big, like, do you measure that by like how many properties you sold, or like, how do you, how do you know?
Eleonora Srugo:
I mean, look, there are a lot of other ranking and measurement systems, either by volume or how many properties or the size of deals. But I don't— for me, it's really measured by time. I'm giving every client the same sort of white glove, full-service experience, whether it's a small rental or a big sale. For me, it's like once you decide to use me, I'll be your real estate advisor. You know, it's a fancy word. I'm still just a broker and I'm proud to be a salesperson. But like, I am that real estate person in your life forever. So, you know, if you just have a random question or you're like in, I don't know, Turks and want to buy something, but you want to call me, like, I always— I want you to call me. I want you to bother me. So if I feel like I am overwhelmed with that, then definitely it's time to grow. And at the same time, Netflix was definitely looking and talking to me. So certainly I was aware that I should be hiring people that Some people might want to be on the shows. There are people on my team that were never on TV.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Okay.
Eleonora Srugo:
And they are still there, by the way. There's a guy on the team, for example.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Okay.
Eleonora Srugo:
But the formula for that show is about, you know, women in the workplace.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Got it.
Eleonora Srugo:
And that's— by the way—
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
So you pitched Netflix?
Eleonora Srugo:
No, they have a show called Selling Sunset. Obviously, it's one of their biggest hits. And, you know, it is. It's, you know, beautiful real estate, beautiful women. And, you know, real estate is just the tool with which they tell these stories, right? It's actually about, like, conflicts that women have in the workplace, decisions, sacrifices that women have to make, dating, love, fun that women get to have. And it is told through the background of beautiful real estate that's also really fun to watch. And so I knew that that's the show that we were trying to make in New York. So, like, what would make New York look beautiful? And, you know, then Netflix does their own casting, and sort of when they're casting, they're like, "How do you know Eleanor?" You know, we all have to know each other. So, um, but for me, it was really important that it all was real, that it wasn't staged. Um, and so I was like, you know, I was hiring. I was probably hiring more than I needed. Um, so I expanded very quickly, which— is costly. I had to pay my operations person a lot more to manage them. But, you know, there's photo shoots and headshots and, you know, uh, deals that I'm paying them out on that I normally wouldn't pay anyone out on just to teach them. Um, hours upon hours of coaching, mentoring, teaching, you know, everything from my systems, tracking sheets, answering questions. But then also, like, a lot of them were, were struggling financially at the time, and I didn't want them to feel the sort of fear that I felt when I was starting out. So it was like, and they all just knew that I had done this $75 million deal and made over $1 million. So in a way, I think they were also counting my money, but it was like car services and the member clubs, you know, like I'm a member at all these member clubs, but I'd go and go out with them and then I'd like go home early and be like, someone just charged like this much money on my account. Which was fine, 'cause I wanted them to feel together, but that's a lot of what we were doing. I was always paying for everything, and we were out like a girl gang, which in a way was really fun, but it's really expensive.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah, yeah, it's expensive.
Eleonora Srugo:
And they're not, yeah, and I'm not like, you know, we were, it wasn't like people were taking us out. So that became sort of like a thing. And then other things that we would do, just like little trips or spa days or whatever, and look, I actually think that it paid off because by the time they had decided who they wanted for the show and who they didn't, the cast knew each other. You know, the sort of conflicts were real, the relationships were real, the emotions were real. And so that would not have been possible if we were all just plucked together and never actually hung out off camera.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
So what does Netflix handle? They handle like, I guess, the production, the editing.
Eleonora Srugo:
Oh, once you film? Yeah, of course. The storyline, of course, everything. But Netflix, you know, Netflix is the platform, but the real people that put this together are the producers. We have the best production company in the world. It's called Done and Done. They've done, you know, The Hills, Selling Sunset. And Adam is really a visionary. He, like, has always made really beautiful television, and he's able to take real life and make it like art, like give it the Hollywood treatment. Yeah. And he did. I thought— I think that, like, You know, he did that on The Hills when, like, Lauren is, like, choosing between the guy and going to Paris. And I think that he did that with our show and still was able to keep the grittiness of New York.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
What did you learn about yourself with this experience?
Eleonora Srugo:
That is a great question. No one's ever asked me that. Look, I learned that I certainly had relationships and friendships with women that I've never had before. I would say that I've— I improved on some things. Whereas, like, I would say that a lot of the things that went down on the show, I would have been way more emotionally reactive to in the past, didn't get me as bad or didn't hurt, didn't faze or hurt me. I realized that a lot of the times in the past that I had let conflict or betrayal debilitate me were worthless and they wasted my time. I sort of decided that I was never going to let these conflicts take time away from me. So it could hurt and I could sort of feel it, but I wasn't going to act on it because acting on it requires thought and time and distraction from other things. And honestly, I think I bounced back pretty quickly, like, okay, so I invested time and money. I thought I had built real connections. I felt hurt that those ended, like, so easily because I thought it was much more real on my end and authentic. And, but you know what? Didn't break me. I've been through, I've definitely been through worse. So I think that's like the good thing of having, you know, going through struggles and, you know, not having, not having very much money or have facing setbacks in your career. You're able to sort of clock those and keep a record. And then when it happens again, you're way stronger and way better equipped to handle it. And you actually, like, you know that you've been through way worse. Yeah.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
So would you say that your leadership style has changed as a result of that experience?
Eleonora Srugo:
No, but who I select has changed a lot. I got a lot of criticism for some of things with my leadership style, which I thought was very odd. Our sister show in LA, the leaders I think are in a way, okay, maybe they're more measured, they're less reactive men, typically when they deal with conflict. But I mean, like, some of them, like, sleep with their employees and have dated them. Like, and so, like, I'm— you're measuring, like, me against that scale and somehow saying that I'm a horrible boss, but they're like— I— to me, it's like not even in the same category. First of all, I don't think either makes you a horrible boss. Sleep with your employees, that's how a lot of people fall in love. Or, um, me, or me as a micromanager obsessed with the calendar. Look, they all have a choice, and people don't need to work work under me or be mentored by me or coached by me. My style is the sort of no shortcuts style. I'm not— there's, there's no BS. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. It's not easy. It wasn't easy for me. I want people to earn it. And I know how good it feels when you've done something on your own rather than when someone gave it to you. And that's sort of the feeling that I want to impart on everyone else. I do hold everyone to a very high standard, but that's because I believe in them. And so to me, it's like, would they rather me not hold them to a high— would they rather me think that they can't do it? Then I just simply wouldn't care. And especially today with, like, AI, I find it even more challenging to hire well and to find the right balance. So, you know, a lot of the girls sort of, as it was ending, came up to me and said, like, oh, well, I don't want to be like you. Like, I don't want to have my whole life be work. I need more me time and peace and whatever. And I'm like, you know, I understand that we have sort of been sold this concept of work-life balance or segregation, but like, just as I am not judging you for sort of like traveling around the world and taking photos in front of, I don't know, G-Wagons or Hermès bags, like, please don't judge me for choosing to work because I love to do that. So if my balance is 99% work and being around clients, and if I go out at night to chase clients or whatever, be around clients and not go out for fun because I see an opportunity, why am I being judged? I don't get it. The other thing is that I think that like being— I'm not a parent yet, but a lot of my parent friends have said that like it is a very sad job because once you've done your job really well, you've become insignificant. That's the success of it, of having raised a good, capable, independent child means that they don't need you. And that very much can happen at work too. I don't know why there is sort of a judgment of, you know, having a team that's no longer there, people that leave you, or employees that are no longer there. In a way, I did my job. I mean, every single person that went through the rigor of working with me now has tremendous opportunity to get hired elsewhere. People will look at their resume in a way that they never would have before. And so in a way, me becoming not significant to them and them feeling the confidence to go and do this job without me should be applauded and not looked at as some sort of thing that I should be ashamed of or anything like that. I'm way more selective. I definitely consider culture dynamics. I try to do things now with a trial period. I'm very grateful, knock on wood, I think I've hit a sweet spot with like who I have now on the team. I'm very careful in my use of words and precise, and I definitely discipline, ask questions, repeat questions sternly if I don't get the answer to the actual question I ask because I know someone's avoiding. I'm asking questions pointedly for a reason because I always want to understand someone's thought process or why they made the choice that they make. So I can help them not do it again. And so, like, I don't just say, "Oh, that's wrong, fix it." I say, "Well, why did you do that?" I want to know. And then they kind of get scared, so they don't want to answer it, but I push back. But I don't yell. I don't raise my voice. But I am now hyper-aware if someone's like, "Oh, she yelled," or whatever. You know, now I'm like, "Mm, you're not gonna do that to me anymore." And that was actually one of the major conflicts of the show that they didn't really think talk about, but there was something that had happened. It wasn't that Taylor was saying that I spoke about her or whatever. The deeper part of that was that she had said that I yelled at her at a work event for lying and being late. My interpretation of the facts is that I didn't yell at her, but I called her out on it. She got emotional and whatever. But the point is, the facts are Maybe you didn't like that I confronted you or called you out or was direct or was shrewd. We're very different. We're different culturally. We're different in how we speak. But there aren't versions of the truth.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah.
Eleonora Srugo:
I didn't yell.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah. But even if you did, like, so what?
Eleonora Srugo:
Totally, totally so what? But I didn't yell at a work event. Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah.
Eleonora Srugo:
By the way, like, Someone did, and we all saw that on TV, right? But like, no, I didn't. First of all, you're right, so what? But second of all, why is it so easy to talk about women that way?
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Exactly.
Eleonora Srugo:
You know what I mean? Like, oh, she yelled, she was aggressive, she's crazy. You know, how many times have I gotten that? I watch at restaurants all the time, and I watch so many of my guy friends say like, oh, she was so rude to the waiter, she's not rude to this. I'm like, do you see yourself? For some reason, it is interpreted and registered as more rude if a woman complains about her meal than if a man does. Watch it. See yourself do it. I literally test it in a restaurant. Watch a man say, okay, no, I don't want that. I didn't want that. I wanted sparkling water instead of still. And watch a woman say the same thing. Oh no, I didn't want that. I want sparkling. And it's like, thank you. Say thank you. Say please. Right.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
There's this expectation that we're just supposed to, first of all, accept anything that we get, number one.
Eleonora Srugo:
Yeah.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
And not like speak up for ourselves. And then number 2, we're supposed to be soft-toned.
Eleonora Srugo:
Right.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Thank you.
Eleonora Srugo:
Please. Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't order, you know. And by the way, I do that. I'm like, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't order sparkling. Yeah. But I have been around 100 million, like every man that I work with in business is like, no, no, I don't want that.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah.
Eleonora Srugo:
I've never seen him say, excuse me, thank you so much, blah, blah, blah. Like, why? Why do I have to so perform? Exactly. So I'm okay. By the way, I'll do it. I just think that it's a different standard. And I can't tell you how many, you know, I had a guy say to me like, oh, you're a great girl, everything about you is great, but you have to turn the volume down like 30%. I'm like, okay, I can do that. Yeah, I get it. But then what about you? Like, I don't— that to me it doesn't make sense, but whatever. I mean, yeah, this is the world we live in.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
I think first of all, building a team is one of the hardest things that you can do.
Eleonora Srugo:
Yeah, it is.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
And unless you've done it before, it's really easy for you to be a spectator and be a critic from the outside. But if you've never built a team on your own and created buy-in around an idea and buy-in around a vision and, you know, dealing with different types of personalities, different type of work ethics, different type of behaviors, it is one of the hardest jobs to manage people.
Eleonora Srugo:
I, I, I mean, second to parenting. So 100%. And also, it's very isolating for the team leader. Yeah, like, you learn I'm not on that, unfortunately.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Everybody's looking to you for all the decisions. Exactly.
Eleonora Srugo:
They don't want to go girl time kiki with me. I'm not— they've created this bond, and it was important to me that when we defined team, that it wasn't just like my relationship with each of them and what I give them, but it was their relationship to each other and obligations that they had to each other. So like, if they wanted to partner up with something, I would, I would put them to the test, like Talk this out, get together. But in doing that, I became sort of alone on my island.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah, yeah. I think that's what a lot of women leaders struggle with that are leading teams. They don't have their crew because they are the boss. They're like the one.
Eleonora Srugo:
Exactly.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
There's no one above the boss.
Eleonora Srugo:
Exactly. So it's like, you go through it. So like, I went on this show, I went on this show assuming that they would have sort of their time. And then I brought on my friend who's not on my team, who does her own thing in new development. And like, we would have our thing where I could go to her and talk to her about how I was building this team and struggling. And instead it just became like her meddling with all of them. Yeah. You know, which was hurtful, obviously, to watch.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
No, I mean, it's hard building a team and it's much harder doing it publicly.
Eleonora Srugo:
It's very hard doing it publicly and it's very hard doing it with this aura of this production company and television show when so many people today would love to be on a TV show, right? You know, would love a platform. You know, in their minds it's like, would I rather bust my ass in real estate and break my back every day? You know, which it's not an easy job. It's— I will say, like, for anyone who's ever complained about being on a reality show, like, no, that's—
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
that's—
Eleonora Srugo:
stop. My work for years has been very difficult. I— late nights at the office, you know, running to cold construction sites. Doing research, visiting buildings, making Excel spreadsheets, making PowerPoints, writing paragraph feedbacks about buildings, making calls to management companies, chasing them down, you know, following up with issues that go wrong in apartments, contractors and this and all of it. You know, doing glam and getting drunk and hanging out with your friends is a way more fun way to make money than my— than the way that I was doing it. So I understand why people want to be on a TV show. It is a great job. It is a great fun job. But yeah, when that's there, I, you know, it, it makes it even more difficult, you know?
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah, I totally get it. So let's use— I would love to understand, you know, given that you have so much expertise in the real estate space, like, what are you seeing right now? What is your advice to people who are aspiring to purchase some property? Should they do that right now? Should they wait? Like, what are you seeing right now?
Eleonora Srugo:
Okay, so it's hard to give a broad range feedback on the real estate market in the US because it is very localized. It's very individualized. And to look at Manhattan like the US is just wrong. It is an island on its own. It's one of the most international cities in the world. It's the largest secondary home capital of the world. You know, at its high point, 26% of the condos sold in, in the city are to international buyers. So the market in New York I can speak to is in a very wait-and-see space. Actually, overall, '25 was a good year. So since COVID it's sort of been gradually getting better and better and better. We're at an all-time sort of inventory low. There's not much on the market. Political climate, not so great. A little too divided. You know, prior mayoral elections were won with 60 to 70% margins. This was a straight 50-50. So not easy. A lot of people don't know what to expect. Interest rates are still high. Don't forget that just 6 years ago they were like 2%. So anyone who's locked into that kind of rate is not selling. And now they're high. And the cost of living in New York has gone up. So, you know, monthly real estate taxes and operating expenses for building are high. And so in many cases, you're literally paying as much to buy. So like, I have a friend who rents a loft in SoHo for $20,000 a month. He's like, okay, you know what? I have some money. Like, I'll buy a loft for $8 million or whatever. By the time you add common charges, taxes, you're like $16,000. So he's like, okay, so now I'm spending $8,000 to pay $16,000. And then he wants to borrow money. He's already— he's now at like $25 million. So it's like it, it literally is— he's paying $8 million to spend more than he already is on rent for the same exact product. Having said that, Manhattan is one of the healthiest real estate markets that exist because it's an island. And so it'll always balance itself out. In terms of broad range homeownership, I would just say that like we have somehow pigeonholed and named it the American dream. But it eludes a lot of people. It's something, you know, it's very evasive. It is something that if you really want, you need to actually start thinking about at a very young age to prepare for it. Otherwise, you will be like me renting a lot. And like a lot of— by the way, like 70% of New Yorkers actually renting.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Is that a bad thing? Like, what do you—
Eleonora Srugo:
I don't— so, so, right. So there used to be this stigma about it, like it's bad. I shouldn't be renting. You know, I actually was just like doing research, like places like Switzerland, like people have so much more disposable income because they all rent. Look, we have this thing. It's sort of built into the Constitution, like defend the right to own land and the right to bear arms to defend my land. So there is something that's sort of ingrained in us as Americans that we have to own something so that no one can take it away from us. But in terms of actual lifestyle and building wealth, you in many ways might be better off using your money to live life, go out, invest, build a business than homeownership. But it's riskier. Depends on your age, I would say. So, for example, I just said I lost money investing in this team and building it. That is okay. I'll make that money back. Had I bought real estate, I probably would have made some money. So it's— I would say it's a very stable investment and has a good burn rate. So unlike, you know, a stock that you'll look at and one day could just crash or you could be down like 20 or 30%, your home's not going to drop by 20 or 30% in a day, ever. That'll never, ever happen. There'll be ebbs and flows in its value, but it'll never plummet. And on top of that, you get to use it every day and enjoy it. So in terms of like a happy, stable, long-term investment, it's fantastic. But I don't know, you know, it's sort of— it's a good question. I'm Jewish, and Jews historically in Europe for many years were never allowed to own land. And so because they couldn't own land, they owned businesses. And owning businesses ultimately proved to be helpful to the culture and to sort of surviving and getting out of bad situations and that it was able to, you know, they were able to build banks and, you know, real businesses with staying power. But that was because they were excluded purposely from homeownership. And then if people want to get licensed or be brokers, that's another sort of part of the question that I get all the time. It's not what you see on TV. That's the good stuff. You know, no one wants to watch me on TV you know, having long, boring phone calls or walking into a, you know, crappy walk-up with roaches. But that is part of starting in the business. And I think that, you know, the pandemic, a lot of people thought like, okay, I'm going to make online content or I'll be a broker or I'll do OnlyFans, you know, whatever it is. Before you jump into that, do you actually love sales? Do you actually love real estate at all? Do you, you know, and answer those questions before you actually just go and get a license, which is a very easy thing to get.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
It's It's a hustle. It's definitely a hustle. It's a really hard job.
Eleonora Srugo:
Yeah.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Every real estate agent that I know is working, working like long hours every day, 7 days a week.
Eleonora Srugo:
Yeah. Well, you're not— you don't get to hang it up. And usually people, especially in the residential space, they want to see homes when they're not working. Right. So it's after hours. Unless obviously I'm actually working in some commercial stuff, which is nice because that's more consolidated to business hours. But more than that, like, if you are selling real estate, you need to think, if I were a client, if I were rich and buying a home, would I choose me out of the, you know, 30,000 in New York or whatever? What makes me better? And why would I— like, do you know your city, your town, your market better than anyone else? You know, do you have those connections? Are you creative? Or like brand new? I had a brand new agent in my office the other day who's like, just got licensed and it's like, now I want to be dual licensed. I want to do both Florida and New York. And like, what do I— and I need to make money. I'm like, yeah, so do I. We all need to make money. And like New York and Florida, you've never even done anything in one. So now you want to be bi— she's like, they're like, I want to be bi-coastal. But I'm like, okay, first get a client in one of them before you start saying that, you know, multiple markets. Even me, I do deals on my own in the Hamptons because it's a market that I know well. I've been going for years and I've studied it. But in a lot of other markets, I partner with someone else, even like, you know, local markets. Like, I don't know the Bronx. I grew up walking around Manhattan because like I was gypped in high school and only got a half fare MetroCard. So I had to walk everywhere. But I know the city like the back of my hand. Yeah, I don't feel that way in the Bronx. Yeah. So of course, if I have someone who's looking at something there, I always partner up.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah. So you work in sales, which is a transactional space.
Eleonora Srugo:
Yeah.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
But you depend on relationships to get your job done. So how do you separate yourself from other professionals in your lane when you're building relationships with clients? Like, what makes those relationships less transactional? I read somewhere that's something that you prioritize. Are the relationships and the transaction comes second. So what does that look like? Can you give us some examples?
Eleonora Srugo:
Totally. The way people can get paid when they're advisors, there's really like 3 ways in life that you get paid. One is like me, it's per deal, per transaction. The better ways, let's say, like, you know, lawyers, I guess they can get, you know, retainers or contracts for X amount of time and you're just paid for your time because there's an expectation that you're that good. And then the third and probably best way to build wealth and make money is to have equity and stake in it. And in a way, the bottom one is very closely related to the top one because like my success with you is only based on how well you do with building your own wealth. So no, like when I sell you a home, I don't own 2% of that home. You're paying me 2% of the commission. But the way that I try to look at it is like I, need that 98%— we're partners— and the 98% that you own better make you a lot of money so that then you want to come back to me again and do business with me again. You know, in my head, we're sort of partners in it. I don't actually own the house, right, guys? I know that I don't actually own 2% of the home. They paid me out 2%, but I don't get a repeat partner and repeat sort of equity in that relationship if they don't do well. At this point in my career, it's so blurred, right? My clients are my best friends. I'm so intimately involved with their, you know, interests, their hobbies, their wives, their children. But I like to be the be-all end-all resource. So, Eleanor, do you know a nanny? Do you know a chef? Like, should I go here on vacation? I need a place to surprise my wife. Like, what do you think she'll like? Like, let's go to yoga together. Let's, you know, that has what is what it's become. You have to have an ability to tell them not to do something. A lot of agents get scared of this, especially if you have no money at the beginning. You know, think about like literally being broke and being on the verge of getting someone to buy a $3 million apartment, which is a $90,000 commission, but knowing that it's probably not a good investment and saying no when you have like $2,000 in the bank. It's not an easy thing to do, but you have to. If you don't believe in it. I do that often. You know, I have a client who really wants the apartment next door to his, and I just think that the number that they want is way too much. And sometimes it's okay to overpay because the combined value is better. But in his case, combined value is not there. So like, I need to advise him not to do it. In another scenario recently, a client wanted to buy a house in the Hamptons, but I just knew that that type of home is not one that's easily sold in the Hamptons. Such a good price. So he was like, I need to do it. It's— and I just was like, it's a good price because no one else wants it. And I, and I know I just like knew the client. I knew the client is someone who likes to share where they bought and talk and wouldn't want the judgment. You really have to also read people and what's important to them. Is it need-based? Is it, you know, convenience-based? Is it because of the schools? Is it aspirational? Are they buying it more for one partner versus the other? What's the use going to be? And that sort of helps you determine what they want and then like what sort of their nature is. Do they like being in control? Do they need to be the big shot with the biggest apartment with smaller, you know, units in the building? For example, this sort of comes up like, do I want to be the penthouse on top of a bunch of small apartments, or do I want to be the smaller apartment in a building with all heavy hitters in that club? Like, you kind of just have to read people's nature, desire, what motivates them.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
And how do you do that? Like, what do you pay attention for?
Eleonora Srugo:
You pay attention to what motivates them. Oftentimes they say it themselves, and you kind of don't even— you really have to listen, but oftentimes they'll actually say it themselves when they talk about something. So when they talk about their lives or what they like, You know, a client recently was like, oh, I want to be, you know, he's moving here from L.A. and he was like, I want to be in a cool loft in SoHo, like artsy. And I'm like, you know, he needs just like things to be easy right now. Like, I, like I was reading more. He needs a high-rise building and views and concierge and amenities. And even he in that, I was saying in that, like, as we were showing, he's like, I actually think my kids like He's like, my kids need— I want them to come visit me, so like, I definitely need to have like a pool and gym and all this stuff in the building so that they come visit me. I'm like, what artsy SoHo loft has a pool? And so I'm like, he literally just said it himself. He just doesn't know.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
So what I hear is the way you build the trust and the relationship outside of the transaction is you listen, you ask Good question. You observe, you ask good questions, you observe, you ask good questions, pay attention to detail.
Eleonora Srugo:
You read reaction. Also, for me, there's no waste of time. There's no— I think sometimes people need to be educated on the market. They need to know what they don't want to know what they do. And so it's okay to show them sort of different options and perceive, you know, as long as I see value in it, I can see value in a cool loft and in a high-rise luxury building.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Yeah.
Eleonora Srugo:
As long as I get it for you at the right price, I'll get you out of it. My job is If you call me a month later and say, this is not for me, you are in at such a good price that you're going to walk away clean. You can change your mind. But aside from that, I want to watch them in each of those spaces, right? Husband, wife, how they react. You know, at this— look, I've been doing it for so long that it is second nature. It's probably a skill that you have to hone. But yeah, there are ways.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Do you find yourself the same way you read clients the same way you read, like, men in your personal life?
Eleonora Srugo:
Um, good question. I thought about that often. Someone's like, if you were, you know, half as dedicated to men or dating, then you would be so on it. Um, I should. One, there's not enough men. I mean, I go on a date like once every 6 months, and then I'm just so happy to be there that, like, you know. And then I probably don't— I'm not smart or strategic. And then two, so there's not enough that I like, like. And then two, look, men, it's matters of the heart, and that's— it's a lot easier to— if I usually don't let my guard down, but when I do, then I've given someone control, whereas in work I never give up control. And so that is a very scary place to be because I've done it before. I'm sure many women have, and they've been heartbroken, you know. So trusting someone with that is very scary. But certainly it's doable. I mean, like, every escort in New York swears by, you know, that book The Art of Seduction, which is basically a sales book, but it applies it to how to get men, wealthy men. So yeah, if a girl ever tells you— if you ever see that book, all right, pick up the read.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
This is your reading of the month. Yeah, The Art of Seduction.
Eleonora Srugo:
Yeah, but like, actually, it's like literally the hand— the guidebook to how to get a guy to buy you stuff. Okay, like, okay, like Yeah.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Okay. Not fall in love with you, just buy you stuff.
Eleonora Srugo:
To be so obsessed with you that you have the power.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
Okay. All right. I love that. Well, thank you so much for joining us. My pleasure. Please let the people where they can learn more about you, how they can get connected.
Eleonora Srugo:
I'm on Instagram, @elenoarastrugo. I guess I'm technically on TikTok, although I'm still learning. Watch Selling the City. It's still on Netflix. It always will be. Whether it comes back or not. And then look out, I will be doing something else really fun on Netflix in the summer. But I try to respond. Sometimes it takes more time. I would say like professionally, email is always best for me. I try to clear out my inbox every single day. More fun personal stuff, I get through DMs, but that definitely takes longer. But I do everything.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
So where can they like look you up professionally? Is there like a place they can go?
Eleonora Srugo:
Google. You know what it is? This is the one DM that actually annoys me the most where people are like, what's your email? Number one, just click email. It's in Instagram. And two, I'm a real estate broker. I am like a— you know, there's nothing not out there. That's like, if you want to find me, that is my job, is to be found so that you want to see my listings and I can market your property. So, you know, it's out there.
Victoria Jenn Rodriguez:
All right, well, thanks so much, guys, for tuning in. As always, if you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget subscribe. Don't forget to share this episode and also leave your feedback. We love reading your comments. Uh, but until then, I'll see you in the next episode, guys. Bye!
Why This Episode Matters
If you're a woman in business, an aspiring real estate mogul, or just obsessed with NYC hustle stories, you’ll find Eleonora Srugo’s journey relatable and motivating. She brings honesty, a critical eye on industry norms, and hard-won lessons for building wealth—and building community.
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