Today, Tarek El Moussa is one of the biggest names on HGTV. However, he had other plans for entrepreneurial success before eventually deciding to pursue a career in real estate.
On social media, the father of three has been honest and open with his fans regarding his success journey. In a recent Instagram post, El Moussa revealed he tried to launch businesses that were wildly different than real estate.
Tarek El Moussa Experienced Many Failures Before Success
Like many other successful entrepreneurs, Tarek El Moussa experienced massive setbacks before finding success in the real estate market.
“At the age of 44, I’ve already lived 9 lives 🌪️” the father of three shared on Instagram. “I’ve been a real estate agent, a house flipper, and even a TV star. I keep climbing new mountains in real estate, and now I’m on a mission to give homeowners smarter, more transparent ways to sell their homes, keep more of their equity, and make confident decisions without unnecessary pressure.”
Real estate wasn’t even his first choice. He had a passion for business, but struggled to get his ventures off the ground.
“I started a T-shirt company, a beer company, I even tried trading stocks,” El Moussa shared in the video. He also touched on difficult moments in his life, including his cancer battle and divorce from Christina Haack.
While Tarek El Moussa is one of the biggest names on HGTV today, he even struggled in the spotlight for a time. In the video, he admitted he pitched the concept for “Flip or Flop” without any house flipping experience. Thankfully, it eventually paid off.
Overall, fans truly appreciated Tarek El Moussa’s honesty. If he had built a successful T-shirt business or beer company, then the world wouldn’t have his excellent HGTV shows.
“What a great story! Keep going bc you’re an inspiration to everyone! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼” a fan wrote in the comments.
“Needed to hear this 👏” another added.
The HGTV Star Made Many Mistakes Before Real Estate Success
Even after Tarek El Moussa became a reality star on “Flip or Flop,” he made plenty of mistakes. On Instagram, he detailed a decision he made that turned out to be quite illegal.
“Backyard pool owners, STOP🛑” El Moussa captioned the video. “You CANNOT just throw junk in there and cover it with dirt. It’s actually illegal. This is the story from the VERY FIRST ‘Flip or Flop’ pilot episode… the La Habra house that started it all. I thought I was a genius. Turns out I was just a guy with a hole in the ground and bad ideas. 😅”
The show premiered 13 years ago, but started filming long before. Tarek El Moussa had a lot less experience than he does now.
“So the very first ‘Flip or Flop‘ was back in… Wow, we filmed that in summer of 2011,” the father of three recalled. “It was in La Habra, California. For those ‘Flip or Flop’ fans out there, you guys know the house was kind of on a cul de sac. It backed to the park and had this huge pool in the backyard. And if you remember this pool, it was empty, it had no equipment, and it was just a big hole in the ground.”
Thankfully, Tarek El Moussa learned from his mistakes, though he admittedly made many more. Fans look forward to learning more about his long career in the industry.
