We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rueben Hernandez-Valdez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rueben, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump into the story of starting your own firm – what should we know?

Embarking on my Real Estate career I truly had NO IDEA what I was doing nor did I understand what I was getting myself into. As with any goal one has, I knew what I wanted and what I didn’t as it pertains to my future. With that, I knew I wanted to be successful and stop living paycheck to paycheck. Outside of the courses and exams required to be licensed, I had one goal in my mind; build a brand.

For most, building a brand consist of a logo or a social media handle, but with my background in public relations and marketing, I understood it was much more than that. Although marketing was a strong point of mine, it quickly became a challenge of mine simultaneously. You see, when jumping into a career such as real estate, the everyday life as you know it changes. For one, because I knew my goals, I was committed to learning 24/7.
My Real Estate journey was unlike many as I became and active agent a couple of days prior to the world shutting down due to COVID-19! Naturally, as most of us did during the pandemic, I turned to social media and quickly became known as the “social media realtor” to most of my industry.

When I am asked this question of any “challenges” I faced (outside of the pandemic), I would have to say it was my confidence and the imposter syndrome feeling that overcame me as each day passed.
I was blessed to have started on a team at a brokerage that was very open to allowing me to run my business as I saw necessary. That is the great thing about Real Estate; you are your business. It is also the challenge because you are your own business and there is not structure telling you which way to go or how to operate. It can sometimes be a double edged sword if you are not driven or prepared.

So, back to my challenge of my low confidence, it was the biggest hurdle I had to overcome. I quickly learned that perception is reality (when it comes to clients) but that you must walk the walk if you are talking the talk. Some advice I would give others pursuing real estate or ANY other entrepreneurial career is to run. Run as fast as you can and take it all in. Take in the knowledge, the good experiences and the bad while also making as many connections as possible.
As I reflect on the first 1.5 year of my real estate career, I understand I was completely engulfed in real estate and busy every weekend and all days of the week, but it paid off.

Now, if you ask me what my challenge is, it is much more difficult for me to pin point a specific item outside of “the real estate market”. As many young professionals enter the industry I can only stress a couple of things: 1. Be your UNAPOLOGETIC self (not who you want to be, who you wish you were or what you think others want you to be) 2. Be intentional with your logo, social media 3. Don’t stop!

Rueben, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For many years after college, I worked in the hospitality industry, specifically events and catering, and knew that my skills were much more than being stuck in an office day after day. I finally made the conscious decision to utilize my PR/Marketing degree and ventured into being the Director of PR/Marketing at a competitive cheer/dance facility. Throughout my journey, I knew that I wanted to leave my mark on the world, starting with my community. At the end of 2019, I started to re-align my goals and plan out my 10+ years down the road. After applying and being turned away from being a new home sales representative for a builder, I knew it was time to venture out and find my way selling ANY home in San Antonio and surrounding areas.
I pride myself on having connections with my clients and allowing them to express their goals in a safe place. Yes, I sell real estate, but I also want to inspire people to follow their dreams and make them come to life, in and out of this industry.
I am proud that I have built a brand that is easily recognizable in our city and within my sphere of influence. Each and every review or testimonial I receive continues to reiterate I have found what I am meant to do as a career.
My brand is founded on being my unapologetic self through in through. What does that mean? Well, in today’s climate, there are many individuals that feel they cant be who they are without ridicule or some kind of effect on their day to day lives and that is exactly what I want to combat with my existence.
My adolescence was filled with bullying and outright belittlement; however, I do not allow that to define me. I use it to empower others. I do all this through Real Estate as a vesssel.

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

Building a reputation is synonymous with building a brand. Both require follow through and knowledge in your craft but they must both be intentional. With that, I am very particular of how I am perceived in the market through the eyes of both my clients and peers. Of course, delivering for my clients and representing them in the best light with their best interest in the forefront is by far the main reason my reputation was built to the level it has. Furthermore, my presence on social media has been something that has catapulted me. Something I teach my team, and emphasize in the brand classes I teach, is that perception is reality. Now, this is not to deceive or be someone you are not, but there is a fine line between those two ideas.
I studied public relations and marketing and the proof is in the case studies and current business/corporations that are thriving from understanding and utilizing the power of perception.
I do my job very well, and I can say that with the utmost confidence, but it matters how you interact with the community. It matters whether or not your logo is visible at all times. It matters how you make people feel. But, most importantly, it matters that the message is communicated and that people perceive you in the light you want your brand represented. THAT is how I have built my reputation.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Speaking of branding and social media, I would like to elaborate on my ideas and strategies. You see, when many people being to think of building their audience on social media, they immediately think of dollar signs or hiring someone to help push their profile or presence. That is the first step I would say NOT to do! Social media is exactly that! It is Social. The idea that you need another entity handle your social media is beyond my way of thinking and here is why:
Although people turn to social media for recommendations and reviews, they MOSTLY turn to social media to laugh and escape and far too many times, in my industry, we try to sell or convince the audience to utilize our services.
I have done exactly the opposite of this. I have spent a lot of time and effort to ensure my audiences (new and old) see who I am at my core through human interest, lifestyle, personality pieces and community giveback. Do I post about real estate? Yes, of course! This is my career! The difference here is I highlight and USE MY REAL ESTATE PLATFORM as a vessel to spread happiness and positivity.
THAT is how you build and audience. By being relatable and not ONLY using your social media platforms to push your business agenda but to also connect to humans. You may have overnight growth but you will have authentic growth with a much higher rate of interactions on your medias.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @rueben_realtor
• Facebook: Facebook.com/ruebenv
• Twitter: @RuebenRambles
• Youtube: Youtube.com/ruebenrambles