Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of SLD MIAFS, where we interview some of the most extraordinary and successful entrepreneurs and all sorts of successful people in life. And today we're going to have somebody that I'm really excited to call a dear friend. And if you love the Hamptons and you love Real Estate, this is your guy. He's somebody that has been at the top of the game when he comes to Real Estate in the Hamptons.
He's a Real Estate Investor Advisor, he's a Developer. And you probably might have seen him in selling the Hamptons. There he is. Hey guys, how are you?
What's up? Good looking, how you doing? I'm doing well. How about you guys?
How's everything down south? My yummy leaving. It's always nice. It's a bit hard now.
A bit human. No kidding. No kidding. Yeah, I'm getting ready to come visit you guys.
Probably September. Gonna be down there for about six months. Shifting everything down there. So I'm excited.
Well, you're going by the season because now there's people up north in the Hamptons. And then in the winter, people will come down here. It's a good mix up. Absolutely.
You got to have the balance. And something I've been working on is following my people. You know, like you said, Elviro, it's everyone's here for three months. And then they shift back either to New York City or down south.
So you got to follow the money, got to follow your people. And that's hopefully what we're going to be doing over the next couple of years. Now, I was just mentioning that you've been killing it at the game in the Hamptons. Because you were one of the disruptors, right?
They were talking about old Monet, the same old clientele, and a young guy comes like you, starts disrupting things around. Now also with the TV shows that you've been on. So tell me a little bit how it's been for you being in the luxury of real estate in the Hamptons. Yeah, for sure.
So it's been something I've heard. We talked about this, but it's been in my blood and DNA from the start. My dad has been out here in the Hamptons since the late 80s. And he was really someone that was instrumental in pushing the new luxury home, single family home development on.
And growing up, I was able to learn from that, figure out what works, what doesn't see kind of the shift into your point, the old money turning into now new money, and a lot of different athletes, and people in tech and people in finance who are coming out here to just experience this living situation. We are. We're super blessed out here. It's a very serene, beautiful place of anyone's been lucky enough to visit.
And I'm lucky to call it my home. And it's good to be sort of an ambassador to the Hamptons, but also offer everything that I've come to learn in 33 years about my home. What makes it special? How do we navigate the real estate market?
Whether that's setting people up with the right attorneys, or finding the right off market investment opportunities, it's been something that I take a lot of pride in, and just I'm looking forward to continue on the journey here. Beautiful. Now, how do you position yourself as an outlier, so that people actually go to you and not to all these old traditional brokers? Yeah, I think for me, I like to call myself someone that could be a chameleon.
So I have to sort of not alter my personality, but just kind of morphed into whatever my client, whoever they are, whatever their needs and desires are. And then as well, I've taken on this role of trying to be a builder and a representative, and a selling representative. And that offers like a one-stop shop for a lot of people, whether it's, I'd say 50, 60% of my clients are people that come in, they buy something, or they're investing in a certain property, and they want to know what are my next steps? Great.
You held me out with finding the right attorney, the right inspector, the right title person, but we're looking to buy this house for $2.5 million, we want to put a half a million dollar into renovation. JB, can you help? And so I think having my guys and my development group be there in terms of really from the onset of me walking through with a different client, different client's certain transactions, my guys are there as resources. So I think for me, it's just being kind of all encumbering someone that can be a resource from start to finish, looking and purchasing a home to finishing and out, building it out, renovating the home to make it something that those people want.
So yeah, that's kind of it. I see a lot of one-shirt ponies out here, that's sort of let me into the path that I'm in now. There's not too many of us that can call ourselves like a very established broker, but also someone that's a reliable builder as well. No, I think that's fantastic.
And also gives you a different perspective, right? Because you have the knowledge and the understanding of what the client is actually looking for in the long-term vision, not just something to get on the spot. So that's very important. Now, when it comes to generating leads, right?
Because you've been very heavily involved on social media, you've been on TV, you've been doing all sorts of different approaches. What's been your number one source of lead generation? Yeah, you know, social media is one thing. I think you and I do a pretty good job there in just making sure that our content is reflective of our brand and how we're both becoming better versions of ourselves and improving every day, but also being really, really solid resources for our clients.
But I say that, but it's ancillary. The Instagram, the social media, you have to do it. It's a prerequisite, but it's not just going to be something that, oh, if I post three, four really high-valued content pieces throughout the week, that's going to generate leads. That has to be in the background.
It's something you have to do. But for me, what I like to do is just put myself out there. It's like, and it's pretty exhausting, Alvaro. And as you know, it's like dinners with people three or four times a week, whether it's potential clients or preexisting clients that you have to sustain and remain kind of front and center and build off that relationship.
And then it's just men, events and flying around, you know, in South Florida last year, I was in South Florida for three months, and I just met as many different new people as I could, slash went to as many different events as I could. It's really putting your personality on display and putting in that work because that's, I can't tell you how many times that's lead, led to people sending me leads or people wanting to work with me or finding a sort of a fit for how it can help their clients or help them themselves. So it's a combination getting out there, networking, but also doing the behind the scenes stuff, the Instagram, social media stuff that helps sort of embolden and push forward your initiative and your brand. 100%.
And I love to do a great job with that, with the breadcrumb, which is showcasing what you're doing throughout the day. So even though you're networking and doing all of that, you still have a camera or something that records what you're doing so that you can do both at the same time, which is very cool. Even with your dining in serious where you were going to all these different restaurants as well. Everyone loves that.
Everyone loves that they're asking for it again. I thought it was a little, I love doing that sort of stuff. And then I let some voices get in my head a little bit. They're brokers that I think were a little bit jealous that I was doing that sort of thing.
And they would say, oh, well, what about your showcasing, your $10 million sale? You're not really an agent. You're just kind of an influencer. Everyone, you can find your certain path and what makes sense for you and your personality and brand and find that balance because otherwise, we're all going to be the same.
You have to be a little different. And that's how you stand up. 100%. So I should bring that back.
I should bring that back up. Bring it back. I love that. I love that.
But what's going on? So how do you manage? I wouldn't say only the stress that this industry represents, but also the jealousy, the haters. Because you are a public figure.
You are in the eyes of a lot of people that need some TV or social media. So how do you handle that? That's a good question. I think that for me, I'm someone probably until two or three years ago, really, overly cared about what people thought of me.
I thought I could make everyone like me and that's just not realistic. You're going to have people that for whatever reason, don't like you. Want to throw shade your way. Want to hate?
I think it's more pronounced now than ever, especially through social media. But for me, it's like, shoot, you got to be able to block out that noise. And I really, as active as I am in social media, I really try not to even look at the comments. Sometimes it was more prevalent when I was on the TV shows and you see that one, two or three comments on a post that were just, I don't know who you are, but they were throwing hate.
All you do is just help the rich in this and that. That's cool. It's part of what we do. It's part of success journey.
I think that's going to come inevitably, but it's about how you react to it. And how you kind of persevere through that stuff. And for me, it's just blocking it out. One other thing that I think you mentioned is that, and you do a great job of this out of the road, it's actually, I do have to say, you're someone that motivates me every day.
And I mean that. So I'm lucky to call you a very good friend, but it's improving yourself. So dealing with the stress for me is like, I know I have to wake up and I do 15 minutes of breathwork. Or I know that before I go to sleep, I do a little journaling.
And of course, working out too, those things you start to learn about yourself and what you need to in order to be the most best version of yourself and the most successful person you can possibly be. And it's not easy. It's work. It's, you know, it's actual work every day.
And there's certain days you wake up as I'm sure you do too. And it's like, man, I can't do this today. But how do you push through that? And knowing when you're at your limit, like, for example, this past weekend, I was at my limit.
I've just been running around. Everyone's out here in the Hamptons for the summer. Fourth of July week was crazy with clients, dinners, and events and this. And I needed to check out for 48 hours.
So what I did was I hopped in my car. I went upstate by myself, checked into one of my favorite little hotel spon ins and got a massage and was there 48 hours ago, hiking, did a little journaling. And then I come back, recharged. And I'm good to go for the rest of the week.
So I think it, like the next iteration of improving yourself and doing the work is knowing when you reached your max where you know you're going to break or you're going to explode on someone and to avoid that, knowing that being that self-awareness and being able to just be like, I'm checking out for two days. You know, if you need any emergency, shoot me an email, but other than that, I'll catch you on one day. You know what I mean? And I think that's something I've learned about myself too.
I need that sometimes. That's very powerful and well said, because we always try to push so much that we don't stop until we are actually burnt out. It's very important that people understand that in order to reach a higher level, you got to understand that there's moments where you got to reach out to batteries. Like this week and I have 100 mile race.
And you cannot just fully run 100 miles without stopping to grab some food or drinks. You'll die, you know. So it's about how you see the ultimate goal and how you start breaking those into small, tangible goals. And you do that a good job with that.
Now, you got a great time. You have a bad time. Yeah, I mean, I have, you're like, oh, you said that. I got lucky over the last series.
I got a little bit of sun, which is, which is always good. But yeah, I mean, I want to ask you too, you know, someone that is so successful and has really positioned themselves as a leader for the next kind of the next generation and people like us, you know, 30s, 40 year olds, but also 20 year olds who are coming up and learning different ways and different skills to improve themselves. What, you know, what is your motivation every day? What is your motivation to get up and go and go do another 100 mile race or an iron man on a different continent?
What drives you and how do you push through those times where you're like, man, you know, I need a break or I think I'm done. My body's not gonna respond over this. Like, how do you push through that? Well, I always have that bigger vision.
And there's a why behind every crazy goal that I have. So when you have a strong Y, you find more strength that you even thought you had. Because a lot of times when we think we reached that limit, there is actually still more room for you to go through. So I'm trying to always beat that resistance by pushing through tiny beat.
Because that's where you really grow. So it's about not passing through that crazy and breakdown, but just a little bit. The tiny, tiny, incremental pushes through that ceiling where you actually grow. And it gives you so much motivation and confidence to know that you're able to just persevere with anything you want.
And I think that also is very rewarding to see the people that, like, it might follow you or might see what you're doing that feel inspired, whether it's for taking their career in real estate to the next level or whether it's getting into a better routine habit to get better as a person. So I think that we also have a responsibility, as you can call it leaders, that we need to set up an example for this generation. And that's why I love connecting with you. Because within the real estate industry, there's a lot of ego, there's a lot of cockiness and all about myself, myself, myself.
And it's okay to showcase what you do, but it's okay to also build an angle that it's about how can I serve others, how can I inspire you, how can I add value? And you do that and I congratulate you for that. And I resonate with those values a lot. Well, I appreciate you saying that.
And the feeling is mutual. I think that in our business, in our industry, there are people that sometimes don't do the right thing. They may really just out for themselves. And I try to steer clear of those people and it's easier to identify once you've been in this world for a little bit.
And I just call it noise. Like I just say, block out the noise, stick on your path. If you have a plan, keep executing, keep, and you know, we all fail. You fail.
I fail at times. And it's those moments where you have to really kind of pick yourself up and figure, okay, I failed. Why? And reflect on it.
Why? Why did this deal go wrong? Why did this deal go south? Why did this person go see me?
I've been working with them for three months. Some of that's out of your control. But and you'll come up with that when you start reflecting on it. But the things that are in your control, you best believe that you have to sit there and figure out how you're going to rectify that and how you're going to fix that from the next time.
So you have a better chance of creating success. So I think that's super important too. It's just again, kind of key theme here. It's just being self-aware about what's going on with yourself.
In fact, a year ago, I was doing this 10 days, time and retreat. You cannot talk, write or anything. And you're just meditating all day long. And I said, wow, I've had everything.
I've ever dreamt of and now I have nothing. It's just me in a tiny room meditating all day long. And it's frustrating at times. But then eventually you find peace, real peace, real harmony, real happiness with nothing.
And when you're able to master your mind to that degree, you then realize, wow, this is it. So for me, I'll tell you in the luxury is your mind. I think it's really kind of cool that you're aware of that now. And I've done that work to get to that point.
You know, I agree, really in this kick of just self-health, mental health, the whole thing. It's really important, especially in our business where there's so many ups and downs and such a roller coaster ride at times. And you really, one thing I'll say too is don't get too high on the highs and don't get too low on the lows, man. It's all going to be good.
It's all going to shake out. Find that middle ground. Celebrate the winds. But don't harp on it.
And don't just stop because you sold the $20 million home. You sold the $5 million condo complex. You got to stay grounded and stick to the plan and just even on the lows. When you hear no for the fourth time that week, when you pick up the phone or you're knocking on doors, it just takes one more time to find that yes and to find that win and just got to keep going.
And it's easier said than done. That's easier said than done. Yeah. But it's so freaking key, especially in a real estate market that is, it's tough right now.
You know, I don't care where you are. It's been challenging over the last year. And you know what I've been telling, put yourself out there and do all the little things, the back end things. If you're drowning in paid work, there's easy ways to find a virtual assistant that doesn't cost too much, but it's really going to help your business.
You know, it's those little things I think can get us back on track and at least control the controllable, because a lot of what we do is out of our control. But the things that you can control, you have to control. And so you've set yourself up for the best position. And when the time comes to get those wins, you'll be ready to strike and you'll be ready to win.
I love it. See, my husband, you have a good one. And you definitely are a great mentor and inspiration from any. So I definitely encourage everybody to follow JB.
Anything Hampton related. Here's your guy. If you haven't seen him on TV, go check it out. Selling the Hampton's StreamlMax.
And brother, I can wait to see you here in South Florida whenever you're convinced. Or if I ended up going up North, I'll let you know. But always have pleasure. Always a pleasure brother.
I appreciate the time. And good luck to everyone and enjoy summer. Take care. And thanks again for everybody tuning in today.
We hope you enjoyed it. And remember, embrace its beautiful success in life. My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time.