Meet Marc Hernandez | Luxury Real Estate Agent with Compass, Beverly Hills

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

Hi Marc, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I was running a national digital advertising team for Fox Television Networks and American Idol and, after seven years with them, they downsized our group by around 25%. I enjoyed working in corporate America, but thought that this would be an ideal time to pivot into creating and building my own business. So, I looked at my connections across my past careers….motion picture literary representation, digital advertising, and ad tech and I realized that my sphere of influence was pretty wide and thought luxury real estate would be a great business to serve people in their quest for buying and selling real estate.

What should our readers know about your business?

My story starts in Los Angeles.

My grandparents lived here, my father was born and raised here and so was I. I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and graduated from the University of Southern California. After graduation, I moved to Orange County and got into commercial real estate brokerage, first as a high-rise office building broker and then as Director of Operations for South Coast Plaza, one of the top luxury retail destinations in the world.

After South Coast Plaza, I decided to go to Hollywood to get into the entertainment business. I secured a job in the mailroom at United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills and eventually made it into the Agent Trainee program. My lifestyle changed as I went from a six-figure career in commercial real estate management to $350 per week in the mailroom. My parents thought I was crazy, but I was confident that I would climb back up the latter and be in a better place in the long run.

Eventually, I founded my own literary management company, Crescendo Entertainment Group and had a good run for about 3 years until a writers strike caused me to pivot into digital entertainment. After a couple of tech jobs, I eventually landed a dream job as the National Sales Director for Fox Television Networks and American Idol. After seven years with Fox, a downsizing in our group led me to rethink my long term plan and I decided to enter the exciting world of luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills. I started with Teles Properties, which was later acquired by Douglas Elliman and then moved to Compass in Beverly Hills where I currently lead a real estate team called The Marc Hernandez Group.

What I have learned from all of this is that you have to dream big, have a plan, commit to it, and then become obsessed with achieving it. Nothing will just come to you. You have to go after it and redirect and optimize as obstacles and challenges come your way. And you have to do it while meeting and learning from as many people as you can, while having fun and being happy along the way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I can be a little bougie at times and my favorite spot to take visitors is The Rooftop by JG at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills. It offers a great service and dining experience, with 360 degree views of Los Angeles, from the mountains to the sea. I also like to take guests to my office at Compass in Beverly Hills on Wilshire Boulevard, a block away from where my entertainment career started at UTA. We have great clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go and The Comedy Store and great concert venues such as my favorites, the Hollywood Bowl and the Greek Theatre. I give a driving tour of Los Angeles, which I have been giving visitors since my college days at USC that starts downtown LA, and meanders down Sunset Boulevard, all the way to Santa Monica, pointing out celebrity homes, fashion and retail destinations, hot restaurants and famous landmarks. I love to hike so I take guests to popular hiking spots such as Runyon Canyon, Franklin Canyon and Lake Hollywood.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d have to say that I owe so much to Tom Ferry. When I started in the luxury real estate business over five years ago, I knew very little about it. At that time, I decided to invest in Tom Ferry Coaching which showed me the ways of real estate sales, marketing, communications, operations, and innovation. The coaching fees seemed a little daunting at the time, but the return on investment was astronomical. What started out as a $12,000 annual cost has enabled me to create a $160 million real estate business. And I’m just getting started.

Website: https://www.compass.com/agents/marc-hernandez/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themarchernandez/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themarchernandez/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themarchernandez/

Image Credits
Sergio Garcia https://www.sergiogarciastudios.com/