Chrishell Stause‘s rise to fame has been anything but linear. Kicking off her career as an actor, Chrishell worked on some of the biggest soap operas in the United States. When her character was unexpectedly written off Days Of Our Lives — a show known for its character longevity — she knew it was time for a career change.
Little did Chrishell know, the new, humble career venture she’d chosen would lead to her becoming a household name when her two worlds, television and real estate, collided into one spicy reality show: Selling Sunset.
These days, after appearing in a whopping eight seasons of the beloved Netflix series, Chrishell’s life looks very different. Despite rumours online, the 43-year-old is still working in real estate, juggling other acting commitments, sponsorship deals and attempting to balance it all with a nourishing private life with her spouse, Aussie icon G-Flip.
Sometimes landing your dream career isn’t linear. Sometimes, it is comprised of all sorts of little jobs that add up to a whole, fulfilling career. So, that’s why we had to have a chat to Chrishell about her multifaceted work for Insider Trading, PEDESTRIAN.TV’s new series asks creatives about their careers: the nosy questions, the big learnings, and their advice for anyone wanting to follow in their footsteps.
Hint: if you’re looking to break into the creative industry, check out our newly relaunched Pedestrian JOBS and craft your next move.
Insider Trading: Chrishell Stause
Hey Chrishell! Let’s clear something up right off the bat — you’re actually a real estate agent, right?
Yes! I always think it’s funny when people are like, “They don’t do real estate”.
Has being on Selling Sunset changed your day-to-day life as a real estate agent?
Being on a platform like Netflix has definitely helped my career and business exponentially. I’m essentially funnelled clients now from TV and as a result, it’s actually way easier now. Granted, sometimes the show makes us look like agents you don’t want to hire. So it’s good and bad. That being said, I’ve had a lot of success being on the show. I don’t just work with anyone who calls up now because I only have so much time so if it’s a friend of a friend or something like that, I really genuinely do love working with people in real estate.
It’s just one of those things where it’s like, of course, I’ll always do that. I think it’s a fun job to have at any age.
So, would you say you have a better work-life balance now that finding clients is easier?
For sure. I think in the beginning when I was trying to get my real estate career off the ground, I was basically like a hamster on a wheel. I didn’t have a lot of results so I had to follow every single lead down. There are all of these things, the kind of grunt work that you don’t see on the show.
I always tell people — there is so much more to it than what you see. This was years before I even joined the Oppenheim group, just trying to get my first few sales under my best.
A lot of times when people ask me about joining the business, I try and warn them that it’s not as charming as it is on the show.
Like journalists, real estate agents can get a pretty bad reputation. What do you want people to know about your work?
Do they have a bad reputation here?
Oh yeah! Thanks to the growing rental crisis here in Australia, there is a lot of distrust when it comes to real estate agents. From rent hikes to never fixing housing to liveable standards, it often feels like dealing with real estate agents, especially in the rental sphere, can be an uphill battle.
Ohhh, okay. Obviously, there are going to be some bad eggs out there and I hate that because it gives us all a bad name. That being said, I think the number one most important thing is trust. If you don’t have trust, you don’t have a business. I would never want to break that trust with my clients.
If you watch the show, you would have seen how many times I’ve gone against my brokerage because I disagree on something, whether it’s the price or something like that because I have such a moral code where I refuse to do something just for a bit of extra money in my pocket. That’s a future client that I’ll lose forever.
To have a client that, whenever the time comes, wants to buy or sell with me, I’m not going to have to work as hard. I care so much for my circle of clients that I’ve given my absolute all for them and vice versa that I know they’ll call me when they need me.
I love that! While we’re here, are there any myths around real estate or agents you’d like to dispel?
I don’t know, I can’t really say there’s something to dispel in Australia that I can speak on. I will say that there are people out there who don’t have a moral code, so I think you have to be careful.
I think it’s interesting because people might be cutting corners because they have to and I’m in a different situation. So I also want to acknowledge that I’m speaking from a place of privilege, where I do not have to follow up every lead, and I can pick and choose a little more.
I didn’t used to have that luxury, but even then, I wouldn’t have ever done something that would have been bad for the client. I really took that seriously, so I hate that it happens.
How rewarding is a career in real estate?
I love it because it’s afforded me the ability to be really independent, have my own business and just find something that I can speak on. Honestly, the confidence real estate has given me is something I’m really thankful for.
In the beginning, I was a little bit nervous to speak as an expert on anything, you know? I think as women, that’s just something we do innately. Now as I’ve gotten older, the one thing I would say is that it’s okay to have confidence in something you know about. I know I’ve been in situations where I’ve given the benefit of the doubt to somebody who definitely seemed like they knew better than me and then in the moment, I’m like, ‘hmm I don’t think that’s right’. I should have spoken up.
Real estate has really boosted my confidence. I’ve done really well at it, I’ve worked really hard at it. And you know, as silly as the show can be, it’s something that even if the show goes away tomorrow, I know I’ve got a strong business with the clients I’ve built.
Is it something you’d recommend to young Aussies who aren’t sure what career is right for them?
Well, real estate in Australia is so different than in the United States. I’ve been to some of your live auctions because I was so fascinated by it, and it’s just completely different. Your pay structure is totally different. So I’m probably not the right person to say but if it’s something that you’re passionate about, then I say absolutely.
If you do, make sure you’re doing it from the right place because I don’t think your business is going to do well if you’re trying to cut corners but if you want to build a long-term goal and career, then go for it. That applies to anything.
Real estate isn’t your only gig, though. You’re also an actor, a reality star, a brand spokesperson and even a music video star for G-Flip! How do you balance it all?
Oh, it depends. Sometimes when it rains, it pours and you’re really, really busy and then sometimes it’s not.
I think I’ve gotten really good at just kind of prioritising things. I mean, anyone who has met me for two seconds knows my priority is my family. G is my priority. I’m always coming from a place of ‘what do I really care about?’ And then I do everything else because it helps either provide for my family or it’s something that I am genuinely passionate about.
In this instance, it brings me to Australia and G’s going to be here next week. We get to be here together so I think the universe does us a few favours. Sometimes it doesn’t work out perfectly, but as long as you keep your highest priorities at the top, you’ll be fine.
Speaking of, your guest role on Neighbours was iconic! What made you decide to take on the role?
It checked out with our schedules! I was like, wait, I think I can make it!
I really didn’t know too much about the show in the beginning. When the offer came through, I asked G immediately and quickly learned it was an iconic Aussie staple. I’ve done shows like that in America, and I started on a soap so it was very intriguing to me to do one Down Under.
Are there any differences between soaps in the US and Australia?
There are definitely some differences! There’s not a big culture of dressing rooms like there is in America. It’s such a thing there. It’s like, how long you’ve been there dictates what dressing room you get.
I don’t want to give American soaps a bad name but it can be a little dog-eat-dog sometimes. There are a lot of personalities and egos. I think that’s why I did well on Selling Sunset because I had already worked in soaps on American television so I knew to hold my tongue and fall in line a little bit.
So I was a little bit worried coming here but with Neighbours, I didn’t see anything like that. It felt like a family. Everyone’s just chill and hanging out. I found that really interesting, very Australian, lovely and charming.
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