Thank you so much for having me on, Iwona. Very excited to talk.

You know, um, I find it really interesting how many people are on social media these days. So when I decided to put myself on social media, of course business was a big aspect of it, but then as soon as I started I realized people don't really want to hear real estate content. It just sounds too salesy. So I decided to take a different approach where I just share my life, what I am all about. Um, I love fashion, I love perfume, you know, I post my workout, my food, etc. So when people decide to work with me, they feel like they know me and not just as a real estate broker, but more as a a person that enjoys these things in life. And Dubai has so much to offer, so why not showcase everything.

You know, it's definitely hard to gauge. I I find that I wear my heart on my sleeve usually. So I do share a lot of my life, but when it comes to personal, I hide things like my dating life, for example, or too much family information, for example. But majority of it, like, I'm an open book. I share my day-to-day very openly.

Obviously. I mean, anybody that's in real estate, money is a big motivator. They'd be lying if they said that's not. Um, but Toronto real estate was a very, very cool market to be in. And the last three to five years in Toronto, there were things that happened—it was like a bubble that burst that people talk about because real estate is so cyclical, um, in nature. Dubai kept popping up as a place that people can grow wealth in. So a lot of my investors along with me were like, there has to be a better place to put our money in, and Dubai was like the best option to do so. And being, you know, single, I have no kids, I was like what better time to pick up and leave than like right now. Because a lot of people in Toronto, like a lot of real estate brokers in Toronto, try to sell Dubai, but they can't really sell Dubai without being here. Like Dubai is such a dynamic city. You don't know.

Exactly. Things change and also, you know, there's so many developers, there's so many developments. How how are you going to know what's a good product and what's not?

Exactly. Until I came here, I couldn't confidently sell. So I decided I'm gonna pack up, leave, create a base here. And I learned so much by being here. Um, I'm I'm glad I did because now the Canadian investors can feel confident that I know what I'm trying to sell them. Don't want to be one of those brokers that sell without actually knowing Dubai. And there's like 1,127 active developments in Dubai. How can you know? And not all of them are going to make you money. So you need somebody boots on the ground that is doing the due diligence to make the investors feel like they're safe. If I'm recommending something, I'm vouching for it.

My secret sauce.

Um, I feel like the best way to sell anything, real estate or cars, for example, is to wait for the customer to come to you. Once people see that you know what you're talking about, they will themselves say, listen, I want to buy real estate, this is my budget, what can you recommend? That's the best way. That's my strategy. That's why I put myself on social media because majority of my business comes from there. And even in my friends circle, I'm very open about sharing my business. I don't want to be a secret agent. I'm very out there. Like even with you, when I see a good deal, I'll message it to you. All the people that I meet in Dubai, I converse with them and I tell them, look, this is what I do. If a deal comes across, I will send it to you. And that's how I gauge who's a friend and who's not a friend. Because the people that are want to be friends with you just for the fun times but not want to support you in your business will just say stop, don't send me anything real estate related. And the people that are like supportive and are good friends will be like, sure, keep sending it over. If I have a client, I'll let you know. So majority of my business that's happened here has been through word of mouth, referrals, and social media. So it's just being a people person that helps me get sales. I don't necessarily believe in cold calling, 'cause a lot of brokers that over here do that. They buy lists of data and they call. And I don't want to do that because that's not the way I build relationships.

And that can't be forced, unfortunately.

Yeah, it would be great. But that's why a lot of the people that I end up working with me, I have built some kind of a friendship with. And they're like, you know what, she knows what she's talking about. I'm going to do business with her. And that's the best feeling honestly, because that gives you repeat business. And that gives you referrals. It's unmatched. It takes a little bit longer, but then you know you have a client for life.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. You know, when I first came to Dubai, I realized that the perception of real estate brokers is really bad. It's a profession that not a lot of people trust. Because the stakes are high, because there's so much money involved, I noticed that a lot of people are lying. So a lot of the people that I attracted via social media, a lot of clients that came to me, had a very similar story. They worked with a broker that got them an off-plan property—off-plan is new construction in Dubai—and now a year later or 18 months later, they want to sell it and the broker's nowhere to be found. The broker promised them guaranteed returns of a certain amount and that they will be able to sell it for them at a profit. And now they're nowhere to be found. These clients are not in a position to continue to make the payments. So they're approaching me to help. And I'm helping in every which way I can, but I'm also being very realistic that look, if you're unable to continue to make the payments, you have the possibility of losing your initial deposit. So let's avoid that whatsoever. I will find a buyer, I'll try to find a buyer, but in the meantime let's figure out finances. Let's figure out what we can do. Let's see if we can get a mortgage on an existing property or something. And I hate to see people in that situation because the broker that they trusted lied to them. And that is a very common theme and I'm very sad about it because all of the people that I have worked with, I have actually refused selling them a development because I don't personally feel that that development will make them money. Or I don't personally feel that that will yield them an appreciation.

Yeah, like they they want to make their one-time commission and forget about the long-term relationship. Imagine the bad karma. You know, these people are relying on you. They're putting their life savings into a property that they are hoping will grow in value and you have lied to them about the possibility of them losing their money. For example, if I'm recommending a property to you, I will not recommend you the property unless you have full cash available to pay that during the payment period or a means to get a mortgage at completion. If you don't have a way to get a mortgage at completion and if you don't have the 30 to 50% of the purchase price over the two-year period, I can't recommend you to buy it because what if you're stuck and you can't continue to make the payments? So these brokers did not do that education piece, did not share that education piece with their clients, and I feel terrible because in Canada there were repercussions for people lying like that. Over here, I feel like it's the Wild Wild West where it's like, uh, you could say whatever and and there's no consequences. So it's unfortunate. And I feel like I want to change that. So I feel by sharing myself on social media, I want people to be able to trust me that I won't lie.

You know, there was this one client that had a really big budget. They wanted to buy something, but they wanted me to give them a piece of my commission. Like they they wanted my paycheck, pretty much. And I feel like that has also become the norm in Dubai where agents are doing whatever unethical things to make the deal happen.

Paycheck. Yeah. They pretty much asked me for my paycheck. So I don't think people realize that they're asking me for my paycheck. They said, can you give us like two or three percent of your commission? And I was I worked really hard on this deal. Um, so I was a little taken aback that at the end when the papers were about to be signed, you're saying this to me. So I was like, sorry, you're asking me for my paycheck? And they were like, no, no, I'm not asking you for your paycheck, but I know the developer is going to pay you such and such, so why don't you give me a few percent of that? And I'm like, how would you feel if you go to a doctor and ask the doctor, hey, do my checkup, do my diagnosis and my treatment, but give me a piece of your paycheck, please. Would you do that to a doctor? No, you wouldn't. So when I said that to the client and they're like, you you getting too emotional, you know, this is normal over here. I I won't do the deal if you don't give me the paycheck. And I'm like, well, I respect myself too much. Um, this is my profession, this is my bread and butter. I do not give a piece of my paycheck. So if you want to go work with somebody else, that's totally fine. And it was really hard for me to do that because, you know, I was starting out and it would have make it would have made a big difference. Um, but I had to walk away from that deal. And I realized that once you have enough self-respect, it's easier for you to say no.

It's something that you have to learn, right? Yeah. But when you say no, God sends you other business. So it's like, it was really hard for me to do, but I also realized that people do this because other people have done this in the industry and they think that is the norm. And, you know, according to Dubai Land Department, according to the RERA guidelines, that's actually unethical, that's illegal. I could lose my license if I said, yeah, sure, I'll give you a piece of my commission. And not a lot of people realize that because there's not a lot of consequences. People do it under the table, people don't talk about it. And people think brokers make a lot of money so it's okay to ask them for their paycheck. But it's like, we work on zero salary. We are 100% commission based. And then the brokerages that we work at also take a piece of the pie. Because to be at a brokerage, you know, to have your license at a brokerage, there are costs associated with it. So this misconception needs to change, and on on both ends, you know, yes, there is a lot of bad brokers, but also on the client side that image has to change. And I think more people should do what I do and say no.

Like, no. I'm not gonna give you a piece of my paycheck. I work hard for my paycheck.

I think one of the biggest trends that is shaping the property market is not a lot of people that are buying property necessarily want to be landlords. So if a client says I want to buy a property, they want to buy in such a way where they are able to cash out on the appreciation without necessarily taking possession of the completed product and putting a tenant in. Which is not possible in a lot of other cities, a lot of other big cities in the world. Dubai, it's very possible because their new construction market, the off-plan market, is booming. Like, Dubai is still in the infancy stage, I would say, compared to a lot of other cities. There's still so much empty land. Now the city's moving towards Abu Dhabi, right? With Dubai South and the new airport. So people should look into that side of Dubai now. Buy in Abu Dhabi. Now Abu Dhabi is what Dubai used to be 15 years ago. So I would recommend people that are already invested in Dubai to go towards that side, buy in Abu Dhabi because the the returns people saw in Dubai about seven to ten years ago, that's possible for you to see in Abu Dhabi. And you don't necessarily need to be a landlord. You just, if you have the liquidity, put it somewhere where you will see exponential returns. And Abu Dhabi is what I highly recommend.

Personal brand, absolutely.

Thank you. Yeah, no, I really appreciate that. Especially for women, right? Like I feel like I connect with women a lot because I want to show women that yes, you can be a business woman in real estate, very competitive industry, full of men, like real estate, but don't be shy to show the essence of you. Like a lot of women will not only message me about real estate, but they will message me about an outfit that I'm wearing or the perfume that I used, and eventually when there is a real estate need, I am on top of mind because I'm bombarding them from different angles, you know, not just real estate. Um, a lot of women message me about sending them links to where I'm getting my clothes from or, hey, it's my sister's birthday, what perfume should I buy for them? And I love that because that's like like I'm like a sister.

It's a no-brainer. Yeah. And then the transaction is less transactional because you've already built that rapport.

Huge. Huge. I spend a lot of money creating videos for my Instagram, but I find like the videos that get the most traction are where I'm just sitting and talking my opinion.

Thank you. I'm I'm glad you saw the video. Um, I find that money means different things to different people. And as women, especially women from the South Asian background like myself, money was such a taboo subject. We don't people don't discuss money. But at the end of the day, money is what makes the world go round. So let's not be shameful about it. Let's discuss money. And especially women need to realize they are so powerful. And money means different things to different people. I chose freedom because for majority of the people that I know, having money is not about the paper money, it's about what it gives you. And it's the freedom. It's the freedom to wake up whenever you want. It's the freedom to choose to not work on a particular thing daily. It's the freedom to leave a city and move to another city. Those things are so important. Especially when women decide to have children, if they decide to have a family, that freedom allows them to choose the lifestyle. Like when I have children, I want to be able to homeschool them or travel the world with my kids. Of course I want to meet a man that I choose as my husband that is okay with that mentality of mine, you know, that is able to realize that as a woman we need to have that financial freedom so I can choose to stay with the kids or I can globetrot with the kids. I want to show my kids the world. And even as a single woman, right? Women are so powerful in that they are able to buy themselves buy themselves the world. Before people would think that a woman needs to be with a man to buy a house, a car, or whatever. Especially in Dubai, I see women around me doing so many things, buying their dream cars, buying jewelry, like line up at Cartier, and and it's just so fun. And I feel like talking about money is the first step because people don't realize how much freedom having money can give you.

Not tied down to anything. That's so good. Yeah. I feel that that's very important and more more people, but women specifically should work on their mindset and what they feel about money because when you watch movies since we were growing up, they always show the villain being really rich. Yeah. Or like this cruel like Cruella de Vil, you know, having a lot of money. It's like why are we associating a lot of money to the negative characters? No, show the really positive people that have a lot of power to do good having a lot of money. And let's become those people that do good with the money.

Hmm, that's an interesting question. So I see like when I see negative stuff, it actually makes me laugh a little bit because then I feel like, oh I'm a celebrity, I'm getting hate comments. It makes me happy because it's like, yeah, if you're not getting hate, that means you're not doing enough. So getting hate comments is always like a, yes, I'm a celebrity. But I'm not. But it makes me feel like it's comical. So I would usually respond with something comical to these hate comments. It's usually men that are either being derogatory or they're just, you know, being stupid. What women do is more insidious in my opinion. A lot of women will watch my stories but they won't like, share, comment or anything. And it's so unfortunate that it's actually in this extended friend circle that a lot of women have that they see a lot of haters.

Yeah. And I think that's it should be a given. I don't understand why it's not a given, why it's not all women's default settings to do that. So I find it very interesting because, you know, over the years everybody that I have met in Toronto, even in Dubai, I noticed there is a lot of like they want to watch what you're doing, but they don't want to support you. So you know how on Instagram we have stories that only last 24 hours and then we have posts reels? I will always notice a lot of women watch my stories, but these people are watching me every day but they're not hearting any of my stuff. No likes, there's no comments, there's no shares. There's a lot of instances where I would even tell my friends, friends, share my stuff please or, you know, please add it to your stories, 'cause I have when it comes to business I have no shame. I always ask. If you don't ask you don't get. Yeah. That's what Kris Jenner said. No shame. If you're hearing a no you're asking the wrong person. Exactly. I keep asking. So a lot of times the the responses will be a no response or no share. And that just makes me wonder like what happened to women supporting women. Yeah. So that's I I won't say I get hate necessarily, but it's just indifference. And sometimes indifference hurts more than hate.

I think that's the energy that I want to live with now. It's like...

Yeah, and you are doing that and thank you for doing this because as much as we do, right, about inspiring women and stuff, it's like at the end of the day unknowingly you have to be an inspiration. Like actions speak louder than words. So it's your actions that end up inspiring the most women. Definitely. And and I think posting myself on social media is that's another reason, that's another motivation, right? Because we put ourselves on social media and if some other woman is having a bad day then she can see us getting up and doing the thing even when we don't feel like it. And then it's like...

Thank you. See I appreciate that. Yeah, I I really hope so because even if I can make one woman think that she's enough and she can do everything by herself, I've done my job. Because I grew up in Saudi Arabia. So in Saudi Arabia I had no like inclination that this will be the life I'm living. Like I'm so thankful that that little girl from Saudi Arabia is here now and my parents decided to move us to Canada. Because not living not like not growing up in Canada would not have given me the confidence, the education, the understanding of what the world has to offer.

Yeah, and Saudi Arabia, growing up so sheltered, I had no idea this could be my life because women were not allowed to drive. Women were only allowed to work in either hospitals or as a teacher. So I'm living this life that I didn't even imagine back then. And there's so much more that I want to accomplish. So being in Dubai it's like the best feeling because this city has the energy where you can do anything you want.

Possible. Yeah. Definitely.

Hmm. Um, I find it very interesting that my morning routine is non-existent. Like I know a lot of successful people talk about having a morning routine, but I am not ashamed to say I don't have one. I do have a nighttime routine, I have a wind down routine, but mornings I'm usually rushing out. I'm rushing out, I'm trying to get what I do what I need to do, be in the morning meetings because that's important to my company. Um, my workouts are usually in the late afternoons and then at in the nighttime I do need to wind down, watch a little bit of TV, put my phone on do not disturb because I actually have trouble sleeping so I have to do multiple things in order to go to sleep. Be present, right? Because as a self-employed individual you never get to turn off because you're always working and I'm working in two time zones. Oh yeah. So it's a conscious effort to turn off my phone, read something. I love watching Netflix. I love TV. Who doesn't? I know, but I also like trashy reality TV. Oh my god, me too. And um in the beginning, like I think five, six years ago, I used to say that's a guilty pleasure. But now that I know myself more, nah, it's not a guilty pleasure. I openly own it that I love trashy reality TV. That's so much. I'm very open about it. I love all the Real Housewives franchises. I love Love is Blind. Oh yeah, new episodes come next Wednesday. And people always are like, ugh, why you watching Real Housewives and it's so trashy and la la la. And it's like, do you know how much emotional intelligence I'm learning from watching these women?

Psychological. I love to watch the Kardashians. Absolutely. No shame in my game. I love reality TV. So that's what I do.

Um, a mentor of mine in Toronto told me to not be attached to the outcome and just go ahead and doing go ahead and do your routine, do what you need to do to make your business successful, but don't be attached to the outcome of that routine. And that was really eye-opening because, you know, as individuals we get really attached to closing a sale or a yes from a client or something. And of course that closing of a deal is esteem. Yeah, this is something you're working towards. Feeds our ego, fills our bank account. We get really attached to that and if that deal doesn't go through, then you go down. But if you're not attached to that outcome and if you learn the art of detachment is just doing the routine that you need to do. Like I try to make 10 contacts a day, talk to 10 new people a day, um follow up with my leads, create content that's engaging. I have three tasks every day. No matter what deal fell apart, no matter what client hung up on me, no matter somebody said something about me, I have to do those three things and not be attached to the outcome.

Yeah. Follow your routine no matter how you feel. And also Alex Hormozi and Leila Hormozi say that in one of their channels as well, that just be robotic about your routine and forget about like any negativity. And it's like really hard because in Dubai there is a lot of backstabbing and like cut-throatness happening. So if I were to be sad about every bad thing that happened to me, I'll probably be crying like two out of the three two out of the seven days of the week. And we can't afford that when we have big goals. You can't afford to be down for two days if we have goals like those. So just be detached from the outcome and do what you need to do is the best advice I received.

Yeah, definitely. Um, a lot of the people that have been in Dubai for a very long time are just like flabbergasted at how high the real estate prices are right now. Because if they have been here 15, 20, 30 years, they have seen how cheap land used to be, how cheap apartments used to be. And now they're like, Dubai Sports City has an apartment for one million? A one bedroom? 'Cause they have seen when they could get it for 200, 300,000 dirhams. So they're like, what? Whereas the non-Dubai population, they are relying on my judgment. When they do the comparison in Canadian dollars or US dollars, they're like, oof, that's cheap. Because the bigger cities in North America compared to those numbers, Dubai is still really cheap.

Exactly. So I think the people that are not from Dubai are seeing the grand scheme of things because they're comparing it to New York, Paris, London, Toronto. But the people that are in Dubai, they are a little bit more difficult. They feel like this is a bubble. They feel like the market will crash. Although for the last two years they've been waiting and it's like, well the people that bought while you were waiting for the crash have already made 20% in appreciation. 12% is the average appreciation year over year. So it's like, hmm. It's interesting. So the approach has to be very different when working with Dubai residents that have been here for a while and newer Dubai residents or the expat community or like long-distance investors. I talk to them differently because I know what the mentality will be.

Hmm. The most rewarding part is when I am able to share with my clients the appreciation on their property. And also like after they sign their papers and they get their pre-title deed, they will tell me like, hey, my family received my family's so happy we got their dream home. And and that's very rare for me because majority of the people I'm helping are investors. So it's very rare when it's like a family that I'm helping find their dream home. And that just it just never gets old. And I think the second best thing along the same lines is when they tell me, hey Salwa, we had a great experience with you. I have another friend that's looking for a similar investment. I have given them your number.

Yeah. And it's the best feeling ever. Cause that means you did a good job one time and they love you to the extent that they're willing to get their friends to experience that. It's honestly the best feeling.

Eek. Uh, I I would tell like I don't want to dishearten people, but I would tell them if you are ready to really work, then do it. Don't think there's going to be handouts and spoon-feeding and don't think anything is going to come easy.

Yeah, just because you're gonna make a lot of money doesn't mean it will come easy. So only do it if you're 100% committed. If you're willing to go all in. And don't think anybody will help you. I want to help people by telling them the truth. I don't want to help you by telling you here's here's leads or follow my strategy or whatever because then it won't be authentic. But I will help you by telling you don't do it unless you're 100% in. We go months without receiving a paycheck. Yeah. Like six months I haven't gotten paid even though my developers have gotten the invoices but I haven't gotten paid. So I'm really blessed that I'm managing myself. Not everybody can do that though. So I would say six to eight months living expenses, make sure you have that. But then you go all in. There's no giving up. There's no like this is too hard. Go all in because when the reward happens it's pretty fucking amazing. Like it's like the feeling is indescribable. But you can't it's like you know when you are digging for gold and then you feel like you can't do it anymore, that's when you have to go the hardest because the gold's right there. And that reward will be amazing.

You know, I personally don't think AI affecting my job per se because AI AI can do calculations for you. AI can project appreciation or revenues for you using tools like Property Monitor. But you always are going to need that human touch when money is involved. Like if you if a client is putting in million dirhams or more, they want some kind of a human interaction, somebody that they trust, somebody whose opinion they value to say this will be a good investment.

I don't think so. That's just my opinion. I don't know a lot of people that can enter in Chat GPT "I have this much money, what should I invest in Dubai" and be okay with that.

Exactly. Someone that knows that okay I've worked with this developer, I have seen their finished product. Will Chat GPT touch, feel the finished product that the developer has created? I don't think so. Yeah. And also everybody has different tastes, right? Like if you're buying property, in Dubai especially which is so multicultural, there are so many cultural differences. Like there are some families from India and Pakistan when they're looking for a property they want it to be a closed kitchen. And they want their door to be in the kitchen so the living room and the kitchen are completely separate because whatever they cook they don't want the smells to go in the living room. Whereas when I'm talking to Canadian clients they want full open concept kitchen because they want to cook with their family and they want everybody to they want the kitchen and the living room to be an entertainment area. How will how will a robot understand those nuances depending on the culture? I don't know. I feel like my job's safe.

Exactly. And also things like Feng Shui and Vastu and those things, you know, you want a human person. It's just my opinion. Like I would, you know, work with Feng Shui consultants and stuff for Chinese clients or Indian clients for example. Those things are important to people when they're buying a home.

For sure. Um, I think what I would like to tell women the most is that you are the creator of your destiny. And whenever you're feeling bad or down or unmotivated, do not underestimate the power of getting up, dressing up, showing up. Showing up is the most important thing. That's my Instagram, show up with Salwa. It's all about making sure you show up. The rest is easy. Yeah. Um, don't underestimate the power of a little bit of makeup, clothes. They can completely change your mood. Look at yourself in the mirror. Tell yourself how proud you are of yourself. Do not rely on outside validation. Be your own cheerleader and that will take you places.

Love it. Thank you. That was so much fun.