When people invariably exaggerate that they’ve been working their whole life, rarely do they mean since childhood.

Not so for Sam Ehsani, a 41-year-old Iranian-born realtor who’s been working since he was a wee gaffer. As the newest real estate agent to join the Freeman team, Sam is something of an anomaly in his family of doctors and teachers. A strong independent streak is what provoked him to begin wheeling and dealing at the unbelievably young age of five.

“I used to raise chickens,” says Sam, who with his wife immigrated to Canada nearly six years ago. “I would take care of them, watch them grow and then sell them on the market in Tehran.” 

At eight, Sam rented retail space during the summertime when school was closed to open a small grocery store that specialized in fruit juices. His parents were supportive of his endeavors but questioned his motivation. At 10, Sam starting buying bicycles, fixing them up and selling them. By 14 he started doing that with motorcycles and would later graduate to cars.

“Nobody told me to do this,” says Sam. “It’s inside me. My father would ask me why I am doing this. He thought it was better if I pursued my education but during the summers and with my free time, I liked making money and being independent.”

A realtor for over a year now, Sam knows his entrepreneurial chops will serve him well in Toronto’s housing market. He also believes that his abiding honesty, integrity and trustworthiness will go a long way toward career success. Those traits and one other important one:

“I’m a workaholic,” he says simply. “I like to work hard.”

In Tehran, as Sam was obtaining his master’s degree in marketing, he began dabbling in housing developments, namely a low-rise condo building that he had to work hard at to gain his father’s trust and support. His hard work paid off and Sam would subsequently build a six-unit condo that many of his family members invested in.

Sam misses his family and friends and the beauty of Iran, but he and his wife decided to immigrate to Canada because it is a country that holds much opportunity.  He also misses teaching, a job he did at Azad University where he lectured students about marketing. He hopes to one day teach in Canada on a part time basis.

“When I was a kid my mother was a teacher and my father, a general practitioner, and most of my family are medical doctors or teachers. I inherited these things from my parents and relatives and I feel more comfortable doing this. Regardless of the money, teaching makes me feel useful in my community and the world. For me, working is about improving the world and humanity and making ourselves useful that way.”