We were lucky to catch up with Emmery Calera-Borjas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emmery, appreciate you joining us today. Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?

I started in real estate because of my stepmom, who invited me to join the C5 Global group of agents. There I met Óscar Teran, which it’s the person I consider my mentor in everything that it’s related to real estate. He opened my mind in terms of what I could achieve, but also provided me with the tools that would help me to succeed in this career.

I was very frustrated in the first years of my real estate career because if you’re someone new in town, like me, it’s complicated to close deals. Based on that frustration, I look for Óscar for advice. At the Oscar Teran Group, I learned how to look for deals, qualify the kind of clients I wanted to work with and most importantly, how to close deals that work for everyone. And I can say that closing around 20 residential lease deals and two residential listings isn’t bad for a rookie!

One of these tools Oscar gave me was helping me join the best development team in Florida right now, Rilea Group. Working at The Rider Residence Miami with this incredible team has opened my eyes to everything that Miami has to offer. But mostly, the responsibility that we have in our hands as real estate representatives: to provide the best advice (based on a good amount of time invested in acquiring knowledge) to everyone who is looking to make South Florida, specifically Midtown Miami, their next home.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

At the moment, I specialise in the new developments branch of real estate blooming in the Midtown area. Currently working as the senior contract administrator at The Rider Residences Miami, I have been able to connect with so many incredible people in this industry.

While I manage everything related to the contracts, I am also the official point of contact that the buyers have with the developer. But above all, I feel part of something incredibly valuable for the area and for the history of Miami. Like I say to most of our buyers and partners, The Rider Residence Miami is not another new development building; it’s here to set a new trend where people can live differently and take advantage of everything Miami has to offer.

Still, I can see that there is a lack of knowledge with everything regarding new developments in Miami, mostly in the Midtown area. Most people know (or think they know) everything about Brickell, Miami Beach or even Wynwood, but they overlook Midtown Miami completely, losing the point that this is the new promising area. That is why I dedicate most of my social media content to education.

I love to teach. It all started when I volunteered for Sunday school at my church. Even though I do not consider myself worthy enough to get a teacher’s job, I think that I can help educate future investors and homeowners to consider all the possible scenarios that will lead them to understand that Midtown Miami is the best area for their new home.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

As a Venezuelan millennial, I can say that we’ve been through a lot. It’s not easy to lose family members for the inhuman conditions in your homeland. I lived most of my life in Venezuela, literally in a survival mode, when I had to find my way just to get the basic items that you need to live a normal life.

Even there, I had a vision to not conform myself to the reality that my eyes were witnessing, but to push myself to do different things to get different results. That’s why, while I was at the university in Venezuela, I applied for jobs in the United States, which led me to my first virtual job with a small company in Miami. Because something always told me that I was supposed to leave Venezuela and my loved ones there to seek a better life that I could build from scratch, and then be able to help them.

Which led me to arrive in this country almost 2 years ago. From the moment I put my foot on his land, I knew that I had the responsibility not to take everything for granted and work endlessly to earn my place in this country. That’s why I started in real estate, because I know this is a beautiful industry when we, as real estate agents, are just bridges connecting a family or an investor with their dream home. This nobility in the industry it’s what motivates me every day to learn more and to provide more value to the clients and the people that surround me in this industry.

My most resilient tip could be that, above all the bad or complicated things that can come to life, the words of Winston Churchill always ring a bell in my mind: “Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense”.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started just recording a couple of videos in my room. Very simple, not perfectly descriptive, but that’s what I always intend to do all the time: organic content that people can relate to, that people can see me as a real person and not someone with a team of 10 people around them preparing everything to make it look perfect.

My advice is: consistency. Your first video is going to be horrible and cringy. You will most likely be embarrassed about the first thing that you post, and that’s completely fine. It’s part of the creative process because when you are at the bottom, all you can do it to go up. I invite you to be consistent in your content, not to give up, and most importantly, be your critic without destroying yourself. Always give yourself a space to grow and evolve, and the results will follow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emmerycaleraborjas.exprealty.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realtorpollito/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095403363104
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmery-calera-borjas-ab1302223/

Image Credits

The Rider Residences Miami
Reynaldo Riobueno Photo