Taya DiCarlo

Taya DiCarlo has worked full time in real estate since 2009. She started as a licensed assistant and began selling on her own in 2013, joining Compass in 2017. Taya earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and worked as an actress and TV host before transitioning to the real estate industry.

What does success mean to you?

In my opinion, the only true measure of success is how happy you are and how happy others are around you. 

What challenges have you faced as a woman in business?

Being a woman comes with its own set of challenges. Imposter syndrome is a common hurdle that many women, including myself, have faced. The dictionary defines it as: the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s own efforts or skills. 

It’s interesting how so many of us have a hard time accepting a compliment when we have achieved success and will downplay it by giving someone else credit or self-deprecate in some way. I used to undermine my achievements, attributing them to luck rather than my dedication and effort. 

When I began my career in the South Bay, I felt the need to prove myself, especially as an outsider without the local connections that some other agents had established over decades—and the fact that selling real estate in our community to so competitive! Once I started getting client referrals directly from Instagram on a regular basis, my confidence soared. I finally started believing that my success was not an accident—it was by design and was a direct result of my consistent efforts. That whisper of doubt still creeps in now and then, but the difference now is that I don’t listen. I put in the work and trust that my process works.

Tell us about your role as a Realtor.

I advise clients on buying, selling and investing in real estate. In my role, I guide and educate my clients regarding real estate transactions, encompassing buying, selling and strategic investment decisions. The majority of my new client connections stem from my active presence on Instagram and referrals generated by individuals who engage with me on social media platforms. I have been using social media and video content to grow my business since 2015.

Why are you considered a go-to person in the South Bay community?

My clients have told me that they feel confident hiring me and referring business to me because of my ability to explain investing and homeownership in a relatable way. 

Although I have been using social media to grow my business since 2015, I didn’t start taking my video content seriously until 2020. I decided to leverage my prior experience as a TV host with my real estate career, and I developed a video series called Taya’s 2 Cents providing educational content about real estate and homeowner tips. 

Since I started producing those videos, my Instagram following has grown to over 52,000 organic followers, and I have closed over $120 million in sales volume since 2020. More than 90% of that sales volume came directly from Instagram. 

In addition to selling real estate and creating video content, I also regularly give keynote speeches at real estate conferences as a leading expert in my field. The largest audience I gave a presentation to was 6,000 of my peers in Dallas.

Share a significant accomplishment you achieved in your career.

I recently closed on the biggest sale of my career, which is also the highest residential sale ever recorded on The Esplanade in Redondo Beach: 709 Esplanade sold for $10,825,000. This transaction was also one of the most complicated and challenging deals I have ever worked on. I learned so much from that experience.

The agent that I was in 2013 when I first moved to the South Bay would have been so intimidated and probably would have second-guessed every decision along the way. But the woman I am today, who has the wisdom and experience of over a decade, was calm and confident every step of the way. Successfully closing that transaction solidified my confidence that I can navigate and negotiate any deal at any price point. 

What advice would you give your younger self just starting out in business?

One of my favorite quotes is by Yoda: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” I have learned that there are no shortcuts to success, and there is no greater teacher than failure. Messing up, saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, making mistakes are all part of the process … as long as you learn from them and make better choices going forward, and don’t quit.

What motivates you to go to work every day?

My children, Giovanni, 9, and Luca, 7. My boys are my everything. Caring for them and providing for them motivates me to work hard, and who they are as individuals inspires me to slow down and savor what matters in life—making the most of the small moments and enjoying life together as a family.

Photographed by Shane O’Donnell  |  DRE #01751317