#45 Dan Henson - Realtor, Investor, and Business owner

Dan Henson is a realtor, investor, and business owner who has a passion for helping people find their potential. He has an inspiring story to share about his journey, filled with hard work, determination, and resilience.

Dan was born and raised in a military family in Virginia Beach, VA, where he learned the value of work ethic from an early age. He started working at a young age, doing odd jobs like a paper route, grocery store, and putt-putt golf. After high school, he followed the restaurant path and worked his way up, eventually becoming a corporate restaurant manager at 24. Dan's focus on mentorship and leadership was the key to his growth within the company.

In the mid to late 90's, Dan moved to Florida with Bennigan's restaurants, and eventually started working with the Gecko’s Restaurant Group, where he spent nine years and helped grow the business to three locations. During this time, he met his wonderful wife Lora, and together they have two children, Bailey and Hunter.

Dan's life took a turn when he lost his sister in a car accident, which left behind an amazing nephew, Jake. This experience gave him a new perspective on life and made him realize that he wanted to make a difference in people's lives.

Dan started his own restaurants - Findaddy’s, Smokey’s, and Foxfire golf course - but lost everything in 2007 and 2008. It was the worst time in his life, and he felt defeated. However, he found great people and opportunity in tough times when investor and friend Richard Dear brought him and his partner into the Beach Club on Siesta Key. It kept them working and allowed him to keep his head above water. Richard sold the business but requested the new owner to keep Dan and his partner on board. Chris Brown did, and they parted ways about a year later.

A great mentor, Joe Upchurch, offered Dan an opportunity as a GM with Hooters, where he worked for four years. Applebees was the next restaurant to hire him as GM, and he had another great mentor, Mike DeGirolamo. Dan got his real estate license and became a manager for Applebees, sold real estate, and ran restaurants for two more years before going full-time into real estate.

Dan has been successful in real estate, and he feels fortunate to have had two mentors in his journey - Geoff Scalera and Jonny Lowey. Geoff taught him tough love, and Jonny taught him to open his mind to what is possible and to be open to people.

In 2020, when COVID-19 hit, Dan lost four deals when he just opened a new office. With sales slow, he put all his effort into learning video and YouTube. Sales took off, and Dan built a team of agents that focus on video information for home buyers and sellers. Dan's story is an inspiration to all of us that no matter how many times we fall, we can get back up and pursue our dreams with hard work, determination, and resilience.