Meet Ola Kuzmiankova | Dallas Realtor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ola Kuzmiankova and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ola, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
From day one, I’ve focused on doing the right thing, standing by the clients I represent, and treating every transaction as if it were my own. I think the biggest factor behind my success is that I never chose this career for the time flexibility or the idea of “being my own boss.” I came into real estate knowing how challenging it would be to build a business from scratch, to find clients, earn trust, and grow. That mindset, along with constantly pushing myself to learn and improv, has made all the difference.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I often talk to people in the real estate industry who say, “2020 was a great year for me, it’s when my business took off.” For me, it was the complete opposite. I had just come to the United States, landing in North Carolina with no connections apart from my husband and his family, who were scattered across the country. I was dealing with severe depression that I did not yet recognize, having just gone through a mastectomy, relocated three times in a single year, and lost any sense of permanence.

Within two months, I decided that I wanted to go into real estate, partly because my husband was in business school and I wanted to support us, and partly because the idea of a home and helping people find it was deeply meaningful to me.

Having grown up in Europe, the suburban layout was confusing. I did not even have a driver’s license at the time. I remember asking, “What do you mean it takes forty minutes to walk to a grocery store?” And then COVID hit. The DMVs closed, and the real estate license testing centers stopped scheduling appointments. By the time I finally got my license that summer, the market had become abnormal. Everyone was confused, and no one knew what to expect.

In hindsight, it was actually an advantage that I did not have a mold or a traditional way of approaching real estate. I saw the business with fresh eyes and a bit of sensible judgment. I shadowed some of the top-producing agents in the area and partnered with them on my first few deals. I learned so much from Inna Shapiro, one of the top agents in the Carolinas, staging homes with her, hosting open houses, and listening closely to her client conversations.

I made just two thousand dollars during my first year in 2020, but I knew I was in it for the long run. I learned to invest in marketing, build genuine partnerships, and slowly my business started to take off in 2021 – only to be disrupted again by another move – to Texas.

This time, I approached it with an “I’ve done it before” mentality. By 2023, I had become the top-producing agent on my team. Shortly after, I branched out on my own to grow my brand. In 2024, I was recognized by eXp as one of the top 50 agents in the state of Texas.

How did I do it? I experimented. I persevered and I indulged my appetite to create. Unwittingly and beyond my wildest dreams, I convened a fantastic, local online community that heard my voice and resonated with it. Now, each video reaches tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of people. I have partnered with local artists and architects and have had the privilege of helping countless people in their journey to buy or sell their homes.

Today, I often ask myself – as someone not from here originally – what gives me the right to guide people in this journey. Looking inward, two things ring true to me:

1) I know what a home means to someone uprooted and searching for one. I was in the dark when I needed “home” the most, and I never want others to feel that way. For many first-time home buyers and sellers, the process can be confusing and overwhelming, and I want to make it feel possible and empowering.

2) I believe a great home is ultimately about how it makes you feel inside it. Light, quiet, warmth, flow, and a sense of ease: these are things we all respond to, even if we don’t think of them as “design.” My eye for that was shaped by years of living and traveling through Europe, from growing up near the neoclassical grandeur of the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Residence in Homiel to standing in awe before Gaudí’s works in Barcelona. These experiences taught me that design is not about being “fancy”; it’s about whether a home helps you rest, gather, work, and belong.

I owe so much to the people who have been part of this story – my husband, mentors, clients, and community – each of whom reminded me that success is never built alone. Their support and belief in me make every home I help others find feel even more meaningful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
That’s a tough one! I would curate that based on the type of a person they are. I’d start by exploring Dallas and Fort Worth for the first 2-3 days, making sure to visit the Botanical Gardens of Fort Worth – I love their Japanese garden the most; or the Dallas Arboretum. I have taken all of my out-of-town visitors to Mr. Max – my favorite place around (I never expected to find such an authentic Izakaya in Dallas when I relocated; a meal at my favorite Izakaya was my last meal in Beijing when I left it in 2019 having spent a few years there!). I’d then take a full advantage of one of the most convenient airports in the world, DFW, of course, and fly out to Mexico, making sure to swing by San Miguel de Allende to explore the fantastic architecture and an upscale food scene.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My gratitude goes to my amazing clients and my online community – everyone who has been trusting, following and supporting me, whether through Instagram and TikTok or having connected with me way before that. People who shared my vision, listened to my guidance, engaged with my content, and trusted my perspective. What often looks effortless in my videos actually comes from hours of research and care. And knowing that people connect with that makes it all worth it.

Website: https://olakuzmiankova.exprealty.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ola_dallasrealtor?igsh=cHF5cXlxOGE5bXRj&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
Irina Khirsh