A single mom works as a makeup artist and NYC real estate broker. Here's how she affords life in the city.

Working successful NYC real estate, brokering deals for the rich | and celebrated successful 1 of the astir desirable spot markets successful the world, is simply a "glamorous" business. Yet, for agent Violetta Kruglyak, that does not construe to a glamorous life.

For her, breaking into the existent property world is defined by 1 word: hustle. She mightiness activity for a patient that sells luxury Manhattan townhouses — but location is simply a batch of behind-the-scenes work, tight budgeting, and proceedings and correction that spell into being successful successful the competitory and move NYC existent estate business.

Kruglyak, 44, primitively from Odessa, Ukraine, moved to NYC successful 2011 aft getting married, having taught herself English while increasing up. Fifteen years later, she still thinks successful Russian, raises her 17-year-old boy arsenic a azygous mother, owns her dream sports car, and has worked her measurement up to go a make-up and hairsbreadth stylist and a agent astatine luxury residential and commercialized brokerage patient Nest Seekers International.

Kruglyak is 1 of the group Business Insider has interviewed for our Cost of the City series, wherever we dive into the lives of New Yorkers and the trade-offs they look to enactment successful 1 of the astir costly cities successful the country.

There person been times erstwhile Kruglyak has considered moving distant from NYC, particularly erstwhile she was struggling financially. In 2020, aft losing her past full-time occupation arsenic a beauty advisor astatine Nordstrom, she went into credit paper debt to make ends meet.

This is erstwhile she decided to prosecute a profession pinch a higher financial ceiling. After watching the first section of "Owning Manhattan," a reality TV show that follows NYC personage existent property agent Ryan Serhant, she signed up for a people to get her broker's licence and entered the manufacture successful 2024.

What amazed her was really agelong the process is: It tin return 2 months to a twelvemonth betwixt the infinitesimal you statesman a woody and yet closing it and getting a commission. This makes rate travel and income inconsistent for group successful the existent property industry.

"You person to tally a batch to find the deal, to find those people, to find apartments," she said. "It's a batch of acold calls. It's a batch of rejection."

While moving successful some beauty and existent property allows Kruglyak to pat into the luxurious NYC lifestyle, she does not needfully unrecorded it.

"When you watch TV, it's truthful glamorous and fancy and beautiful. Everyone is dressed up. But it's truthful overmuch to study if you want to beryllium a existent master and make group spot you and do deals," she said. "You person to wholly hide each your ego and what you knew, and conscionable beryllium a student."

Working for the NYC elite: from constitution to existent estate

Throughout her clip successful NYC, Kruglyak built a profession successful cosmetics and luxury retail, moving for brands and stores including Chanel, Bloomingdale's, Bergdorf Goodman, and Nordstrom. Alongside her income work, she studied English, trained arsenic a constitution artist, and earned an NYC circuit guideline license.

While being a stylist and a agent are different jobs, they provender disconnected of 1 point Kruglyak knows really to manage: group and connections.

"Each of my jobs and experiences brought maine to this. That's why I'm truthful comfortable successful existent property — because it's still people," she said. "You really person to beryllium creative, deliberation connected the go, and you cannot thatch that by the book."

Her web of clients arsenic a makeup and hairsbreadth stylist has grown complete the past 10 years, wherever she charges $200 for a constitution look and astir $1,000 per time to thief retired astatine a photograph shoot. The play calls and referrals she gets for constitution jobs thief prolong her arsenic she continues her main attraction connected increasing arsenic a broker, and immoderate of her beauty clients person go existent property clients.

"One period it tin beryllium up to $10,000, and I'm like, OK, I'm rich. Another month, it tin beryllium for illustration hardly $4000, which is thing and very challenging," she said. "It's scary, but astatine the aforesaid time, truthful motivating."

Managing a fluctuating income requires discipline. Kruglyak saves arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable from each paycheck and plans months successful advance.

"I'm growing, truthful I'm not arsenic unchangeable financially, but I already tin spot it's decidedly better," she said.

The marketplace has changed owed to caller regulations astir who pays for brokers successful New York City. Since the FARE Act, which banned the formerly communal believe of tenants being connected the hook for agent fees, took effect successful June 2025, Kruglyak said it has go easier for brokers to cod their fees straight from landlords. Still, she said she has seen much rental units, particularly well-priced ones, travel disconnected the market. Rents person besides risen sharply from a twelvemonth earlier.

"Last summer, I could find a workplace for for illustration $2,600, for example. Now it's impossible. The aforesaid workplace is going to beryllium for illustration $3,500, for the aforesaid size, successful Manhattan," she said.

No scheme B, only success

As a single mother pinch nary extended family successful the country, Kruglyak has had to get imaginative to make ends meet.

For personification successful her situation, she emphasized: "You don't person scheme B — only success."

She pays astir $2,900 for a 2-bedroom flat successful Coney Island pinch an water view. She has converted it into a 3-bedroom flat and sometimes rents retired the other room.

She is still paying disconnected the debt, but has it nether control. Although she has considered moving to Manhattan, her affordable Brooklyn rent keeps her from moving elsewhere. She has invested successful her dream sports car — a Mercedes — and pays astir $600 a period for security and $750 a period for the car payment.

She goes to the gym regular pinch her Equinox membership and pays for sensual bachata creation classes astatine slightest erstwhile a week utilizing her $120 monthly membership.

The biggest trade-off for Kruglyak is time. Focusing astir of her clip connected her activity and son, she said she feels for illustration she doesn't person overmuch of a individual aliases societal life, and seldom travels.

"I moreover mislaid a fewer friendships because I'm mostly focused connected profession building," she said. "If I sewage the prime to spell to immoderate arena aliases someone's birthday, I astir apt take to enactment pinch my boy aliases study something."

Yet, the image of successful New Yorkers astir her keeps her going.

"I deliberation immoderate group conscionable expect that something's expected to happen, but the mindset should beryllium you create thing to happen," she said. "People conscionable time off — they springiness up, it's tough, it's expensive, it's difficult — but I'm proud that, much aliases less, I made it, and I consciousness comfortable, and my kid feels comfortable. I cannot springiness up halfway."