Xudeedi Posted May 19, 2007 Mohamoud H. Ali: A Successful Real Estate Agent or A Somali Celebrity? Faisal Roble May 17 , 2007 His story is one of from “rugs to riches;” he is an Inductee of the Master’s Club and a recipient of the most prestigious THE TOP SALESPERSON AWARD in real estate His mornings usually begin at 7:00 a.m. And that was the case on the morning of December 23rd, 2006, a day Mohamoud Haji Hassan Ali hosted me at his residence in Oakville, Virginia. As part of his routine, Ali (a man in his early 40s with an extremely youthful face) hops on the treadmill for 20 or so minutes, followed by a light breakfast of cereal and fruits, and a cup of coffee. Munching slowly and taking a measured leisure at each bite, “I completely overhauled my diet about five years ago,” says Ali, a successful Somali-American real estate agent in the greater Washington area. Still sitting in his large breakfast nook and only 30 minutes before leaving the house, he lists instructions to his efficient and tireless Indonesian house-keeper, who stayed with him for the last 10 years. No sooner did he complete what appeared to be a long list of daily chores than he jumped on answering his early morning business calls streaming into his blackberry, one of three cell phones. Before we walked out of the house, the bell rang, and a tall blond white woman walks in. She was, I learned, the driver of the school bus for his 8 year-old daughter (there are also 5 year-old son and 3 year-old daughter in the family) who is enrolled in an exclusive private girls’ academy. And with that, Ali is free to begin a grueling day’s work of negotiations, complex transactions and real estate exchange. As he talked to his clients (while driving) in multi languages [English, Somali and Arabic] with equal ease, I was reminded of the emerging “Cosmopolitan” and mosaic new citizen of America’s ever diversifying and colorful urban centers. The Ali phenomenon, rising immigrants which permeates all levels of social/political life in California, is where America’s future lies. The first thing you would notice at the encounter of Ali is his irresistible and infectious smile that immediately tells you one thing about him; he is the right person for the trade/business he is in. But you’re convinced more after he greets you and then overwhelms you with his bear hug, only to be followed by perceptive and purposely disjointed questions of “so, what type of job do you do…. And how many kids?” And in no time, he will engage in a spirited, yet comfortable discussion of options and upgrades of the house he would like to sell you. It is his inter-personal skills, sharpened by his “go-getter” attitude, an attribute Somalis posses as much as their American host, that made Ali a successful, world-class real estate agent licensed in the greater Washington Metro region. A winner of one of the most important and most prestigious real estate award, “THE TOP SALESPERSON AWARD,” this first generation Somali American, who immigrated to the US in 1982, had achieved a lot, an achievement that seems for many an unthinkable task. His success lies in convincing enough Americans of all sorts of background (Most of Ali’s clients are not even from his own immediate community) to spend and dispense over $30 million of their hard-earned money through him. The basis for this relationship is rooted in a simple six- letters word: trust. That is a great achievement by any standard! Ali’s impressive award, which he won this year, says it all. Mr. Ali sold more than $30 million in real estate. This, indeed, is not a small feat for a Somali boy born in the provincial town of Eragabo, who pulled himself up “by the boot-straps.” He is a leaving example of an attribute that Somalis are said to have possessed and often talked about by foreigners and Somalis alike, until their collective image was maligned by an unending civil strife: “entrepreneurial” ingenuity. Just like many Somalis did succeed in the world of competitive business, particularly in East Africa and the Middle East, Ali is a trailblazer, and he is in the forefront of a new Somali immigrant class bent to defy odds in the West, especially at this trying period of a wide-spread anti-Muslim sentiment. He has already defied the odds as shown by his wining of the top award in his industry: “In 2006, Mr. Ali sold more than $30 million in real estate - a significant achievement, as evidenced by his being awarded the title of TOP SALESPERSON for Long & Foster in 2006. Further, Mr. Ali is among the Top Twenty Producer by both Settled Units and by Gross Commission in the Virginia and West Virginia Region. Long & Foster has honored Mr. Ali by inducting him into the prestigious Master's Club. Let it be known, however, that Mr. Ali's recognition goes beyond the borders of Virginia and West Virginia. He is counted among the TOP ONE PRECENT of the Real Estate Agents in the United States - a significant achievement that sets him at the pinnacle of Realtors nationwide”. A Somali inducted into the prestigious Master’s Club, and he is among the TOP ONE PERCENT in the most competitive business in America? It is such a distinction and excellence for individuals that help repair the tarnished collective image. Ali’s story is a celebratory one and undoubtedly brings to all of us that little glimmer of hope to redo the often-tortured Somali image. He is finally rewarded too. Between his top of the line commission earnings (and figure out your own calculations to find out how much this agent earned in 2006) and his doctor wife’s (Dr. Amal) income, who owns and runs her own private [successful] dental practice in an upscale bustling commercial district in Chantilly, Virginia, the two are the closest the Somali Diaspora community can claim as their own celebrity family. One particular attribute of Mr. Ali’s and his family is their willingness to share their modest success with their community regardless of clan affiliation or political persuasions. They are known for contributions to social causes without any hesitation or conditions. Moreover, Ali is reported by those who know him well that he is kind and gives hand to those in the community who need a temporary help (qaadhaan bixinta aad buu ugu fiicanyahay). At any given holiday (religious or national), and one could bet on and win here, the Ali family hosts a feast a la Somali style (featuring roasted lamb meat and Basmati rice). They also throw these sorts of lavish [by Somali standard] parties to elders, political personalities and his close friends of about ten or so, who all live in the greater Washington Metro region. Those who so far visited and got entertained by the Ali family include prominent artists (Hudaidi, Gaarriye, Said Salah, Halane, Ahmed Ali Egal, Hassan A. Samatar, Saado, et al), and politicians from all the Somali speaking regions in the Horn of Africa. In all my visits to the Washington area, I, as many other notable politicians and professional Somalis, paid my own visits to Ali’s residence either for dinner or for an afternoon tea party. Like their former colonial ruler, Great Britain, or their neighboring Asians across the Indian Ocean, Somalis are big consumers of tea, often spicing theirs with cardamom and cinnamon. Given the foot traffic of the Ali residence, this family is already there and has emerged as an influential family in the affairs of the Somali Diaspora community. Last December, 2006, as I concluded a conference at the Center for International Strategic Studies, DC, I spent my last night at Mr. Ali’s residence in Oakville, an upscale suburb neighborhood, in Fairfax, Virginia. The morning he was driving me to the Ronald Regan Reagan International Airport, he was also picking up another host of his from a hotel. The other guest , who was about to fly out of the same airport back to his assignment in the Horn of Africa, wanted to be dropped for and left at the US Department of State, where the other guest was meeting with Jandayi Frazer, the highly influential Under Secretary for African Affairs. In the absence of any Somali government for the last 16 years, Ali has been the shadow ambassador of everyone. He has hosted and entertained leaders from Somaliland, Puntland, Mogadishu, Kismayo, Northern District of Kenya and the Somali region of Ethiopia. Somalia needs civic and business/professional leaders (mainly from the ranks of the young generation) with a proven track record to soften its image and to reintegrate it into the world community. So far, that is what Ali and his family stands for. Faisal Roble WardheerNews E-Mail: Fabroble@aol.com Source Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gordon Gekko Posted May 19, 2007 What? Generating a couple of millions (only as a middleman loosing the bulk of the cake) makes one celebrity nowadays? In that case, in terms of fame, I would be the Somali version of Michael Jackson and this guy would be David Hasselfhoffs plumber. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOIC Posted May 20, 2007 This surely is not a quintessential read for me although a heart throbbing work of staggering genius and hard work. I am reinventing the wheel just to exist and this dude here is talking of thirty millions dollar sale. I have so far tried every dream I can and I can't even come close to turn a buck.I am stumped in the endless life of making the ends meet.I might be blowing self defeating behaviour here, but I know for sure such a promotion of Somali celebrity to be in the web doesn’t help me nor thousand Somali twenty somethings out there Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rudy-Diiriye Posted May 20, 2007 good dude! he aint looking for his uncle to kill thousands of his kinsmen so that he can be appointed to a fake job...! yup! he got off his tush and did his work!! cheers homie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
