Disciplined Approach: As a dual Israeli-American citizen, Elad Bushari served five years in the Israeli Defense Forces before moving to the United States from Tel Aviv.

What the army taught him about real estate: "It’s discipline. It’s planning," he says. "Even when times are very difficult, you always know that you’ve been through worse."

Take your business seriously: To succeed, you have to think as a business owner, and not as a real estate person, Bushari advises. "You’re a business owner that deals with real estate and not vice versa." Last May, Bushari started his own brokerage and his results are impressive: 27 homes sold for $22.9 million in 2008. He’s succeeding by keeping overhead low. In 10 years, most practitioners won’t need an office, he predicts.

Personal touch: Bushari and his team handwrite everything they mail to clients. "We never send anything preprinted," he says.