Nina Steiner: From PBS Producer to LA's Go-To Writer's Room Broker

Welcome to this episode of The Tori Nook Talk Show! In this episode, Tori sits down with Nina Steiner, an office and retail tenant rep broker in Los Angeles with a former life as a television producer. Nina worked on PBS’s Great Performances, producing dance and music programs with artists like Pavarotti and Placido Domingo before moving from New York to LA with eight suitcases and no contacts. She freelanced in production for years, and about 10 years ago, she pivoted into commercial real estate.

Today Nina has carved out a distinctive niche representing Hollywood studios and production companies, finding writer’s rooms and creative office space, while also building deep expertise in flexible workspace with providers like Industrious, Regis, and WeWork.

They discuss working alongside Pavarotti on PBS, the early days of new media, why entertainment clients don’t sign exclusives, working with Douglas Emmett buildings, explaining holdover rent to Fortune 100 clients, blogging for the 2028 LA Olympics, co-brokering across borders, trusting your gut on red flag clients, and her mantra that God is the CEO of her business.

Topics covered:

Moving from NY to LA with 8 suitcases and no contacts
Producing Great Performances on PBS with Pavarotti and Placido Domingo
Pivoting into commercial real estate 10 years ago
Carving a niche in writer’s rooms and production studio spaces
Why entertainment clients don’t sign exclusives
Signing 8 leases in Sherman Oaks in one quarter
Ed Winslow’s Proof Stacking methodology
Blogging for the 2028 LA Olympics
The $14M wedding designer deal with Joe Bolognese
Co-brokering a writer;s room deal in the UK
Trusting your gut on red flag clients
Final advice: God is the CEO of my business