Daily Inspiration: Meet Nathan Weinberg

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Weinberg.

Hi Nathan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career working in hospitality. I worked my way up in hotels from a Banquet Houseman (setting up tables and chairs) to a Valet, Bellman, Concierge, Front Desk Agent, and then into management. I loved my time working in hotels. I met so many interesting people and saw so many fascinating things.

Throughout my time in hotel management, I kept my focus on the human resources I worked with. I learned early on that I could have all the vision in the world and it didn’t matter at all if the people who chose to work with me didn’t support that vision.

When I left hotels I decided to run in a new direction. It was the end of 2008 and I saw what was happening to the housing market. Lives were being changed for generations to come and I saw an opportunity to help stem that tide. I wasn’t entirely clear on my goal, I just knew it was time to try my hand at real estate. I remember my first day as a Realtor. As I walked into the office, I watched two agents leaving with bankers’ boxes. I wondered, “What the hell am I getting myself into?” The next three years were hard. I didn’t know a soul in Nashville, so I would sit at my desk and read the business journal and listen to the leaders all around me to see if their experience could/would rub off on me.

I did open houses every weekend and would rent a car so people thought I had more credibility than I really had. It was a silly thing, but I’ve always believed in manifesting destiny, so driving a nicer car, and dressing a bit differently was part of that plan. In my third year, I met my now business partner. We were both struggling Realtors and were both about to have our first children. We figured misery loves company so why not support each other while our lives were about to change. Fast forward a few years and we had grown our partnership and were adding to our team.

We starting dabbling in construction. Building infill housing in Nashville’s urban core. This was exciting. Helping to develop the land was something I really enjoyed. It spoke to everything I love about real estate and everything I love about growing cities. As both our organizations grew we added other opportunities to our bucket. We opened a coffee shop (Retrograde Coffee) and will next year open a small hotel in Pensacola. The future continues to look bright and the more places I go the more interesting the opportunities.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Everything is a struggle. They wouldn’t call it “work” if it didn’t take some effort. The most common sticking points have been predictably silly. Money is the biggest challenge. Finding it, deploying it, and protecting it. The other big challenge has been community and municipal synergy. What a city wants often doesn’t coincide with the plans of a community and the plans or needs of development.

Getting all those entities to talk nice to each other remains a challenge. As our companies have grown I have become somewhat of a politician. I have learned to find and work with stakeholders as well as leaders to meet in the middle. Finding common ground often just requires the right perspective.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a serial entrepreneur. I love all things in real estate, hospitality, and coffee. I am known for uniting people and organizations to help everyone achieve their highest potential. I am most proud of the growth I get to see in people.

Nothing is more exciting to me than watching someone else succeed. I am not a unicorn, but no one is better at keeping a positive mental attitude than me (maybe Ted Lasso). Every day I divide my efforts between my organizations as is needed. I spend most of my time developing my Realtors and growing our footprint.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
As I work in two different worlds I see very different things on the horizon for both. Real Estate is going to look very different in five years. Agents will need to evolve to meet the changing priorities of buyers and the modes in which they find and buy homes. iBuyers don’t make me nervous, but I do think they force us to make our offerings better.

Being more agile, professional, and connected will be the hallmarks of success in real estate moving forward. Our coffee and hospitality work has a very different outlook. Hotels are evolving to meet the desires of a post-pandemic frankly endemic world. That makes creativity key in how we deliver services to guests whose priorities have changed but expectations have not. I love this challenge because while it can largely be solved by technology, hospitality in its nature still relies on those human resources I love to talk about.

Making those people the best at what they do is my top priority. Our coffee business is moving in an altogether different direction. Coffee, coffee shops, and the movement around slowing down are becoming clearer every day. I love that we have more time now to make memories for our guests and I hope to make those memories indelible.

Contact Info:

• Email: nathan@MWRealEstateCo.com
• Website: www.mwrealestateco.com

Image Credits
Andrea Behrends