We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Destiny Roxas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Destiny below.

Destiny, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Running a business is not always glamorous. It may look like it, but it’s a lot of self-accountability and self-admonishment. If you fail… it’s all on you. No one else to blame, and for the most part, you have to be able to push yourself through adversity, often without much support from others. In San Diego, it’s an extremely competitive market for real estate agents. Everyone and their auntie has their license, and it’s up to you as an individual to find unique ways to stand out – outside of your performance as a Realtor. Sometimes I feel like I’m juggling multiple jobs outside of real estate: Lead generator, social media manager, branding and marketing guru, videographer and photographer, creative director, operations manager, event planner, and billing and payroll department… I have so many hats it can be overwhelming. But all that being said, I love what I do… and I can’t imagine not working for myself. I have a high expectation of performance for myself and always have – plus I do enjoy the creativity challenge and becoming an expert in multiple facets of business. A 9-5 is my own personal hell… I’ve done it before, and preferred the more flexible types of employment – gig work and serving jobs defined much of my early 20’s. I think ultimately real estate plays into a lot of my interests, and having grown up on Section 8 housing, it continues to be a joy of mine to see how others live and experience how generational wealth can be established through the power of owning real estate. I love being able to empower others and provide critical information that can impact the trajectory of their financial lives.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a real estate agent in San Diego, CA – I’m San Diego born and bred, and attended Helix High and San Diego State University. I have a background in the hospitality and nightlife industries, and transitioned in 2015 into the mortgage lending world. From there I became a Loan Processor, Loan Signing Agent/Notary Public, and then a Loan Officer in 2018. Lending sucked the wind out of my sails (I loathed talking about child support, alimony, and bankruptcies) so I made the move over to real estate sales in 2020. Much of my following came from my background working in nightlife, and it continued to flourish in real estate, where I have a platform as a real estate influencer. I have gained a ton of business from my social media platforms, and it’s allowed me to do related influencer work for huge companies like Rocket Mortgage and State Farm. I truly believe in the power of owning real estate, as it is one of the safest investments you can do, and is a pillar of the economic stronghold within the United States. Real estate appreciation in an area like San Diego continues to outpace many cities in CA, and to see what you can do with earned equity is incredible. Understanding what the wealthiest in the world have accomplished by owning real estate is the message I continue to share with my audience – it’s a proven way of accumulating wealth. Right now affordability is a challenge, however the tough reality that San Diego will only continue to go up in price is something I try to educate my clients on… it comes down to first time home buyers getting their foot in the door with a starter home, and taking advantage of the high appreciation. Making your money work for you is so key, and investing it into you and the place you live is integral to getting ahead. My past clients who have purchased have made educated investments and are sitting on enormous equity- this is a tool for wealth building and stability. I couldn’t be more proud of facilitating growth like this, and my clients continue to return to me which brings me enormous fulfillment and joy. As hard as it can be being a self starter, I couldn’t be happier. Making Top 10% in all of San Diego this past year is evidence of my journey and my reputation within the industry – I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to help people. The American Dream is very much still alive, and to own property is still a goal of many. It’s my job to do whatever I can to help facilitate that dream through education, reliability, and superior client service.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Back when I was doing loans, I was lying to myself. I wasn’t happy – it takes a very special type of person to crunch numbers behind a desk all day. It did not provide the sense of fulfillment that I yearned for, and yet I had this perception of Realtors as being dumb door openers. It wasn’t until I started spending time with really good agents that I began seeing what was possible… the care and advising that they were providing intrigued me. Actually actively participating in the search, and seeing your client’s eyes light up when they saw “the one” – and then eventually handing over keys and seeing their joy… that made me want to pivot. I was scared, because bringing in the business was a daunting task, but it suited my personality and interests so much more than loans. So despite all of the time I had invested into being a Loan Officer, and all of my skepticism about the competence of agents… I took the plunge and never looked back. I can say that my background in lending has helped me tremendously in the field, and helping my clients navigate the psychological ups and downs of real estate is much more aligned with who I am as a person.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Education has always been at the forefront for me when it comes to my clients, so putting out content that was fun but also educational was what I initially focused on. My social media reach helped me get on NBC 7 San Diego, where I frequently provide housing updates with reporter Kelvin Henry. This has only elevated my reach, and I’ve earned a lot of respect from my colleagues. I have attended numerous local events and I network a ton, so my reputation is very much real estate influencer and expert. I try to go to events that have varying demographics, not just real estate centered – and focus on relationship building as opposed to hard real estate sales.

Contact Info:

• Website: destinyroxas.com
• Instagram: destinyroxas
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/destinyroxas/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/destinyroxas/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/destinyroxassd