An Interview With Luis Leiva – The Founder Of Culture Estate

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Luis Leiva, is a humble & fearless entrepreneur who has found his calling in Real Estate. Below is our recent interview with Luis CEO at Culture Estate

Q: Can you tell us something more about Culture Estate and your history?

A: I founded Culture Estate, one of the fastest growing agencies in NJ, on October 2016. Since then we have grown of over 3,500% and increasing daily. I am extremely passionate about everything I do, including being a mentor to many in and outside of my organization. I’ve dedicated my career to building up people, which I feel is the greatest resource any company can have. I aspire to induce change in the Real Estate industry, which is ripe for reform and create awareness around what we can do when we work together as an industry. I’ve found my greatest success by educating not only my agents but also anyone who is willing to watch our free content across the web. I have found that the more value we add the more positive recognition and success we have experienced as a company. I am a big dreamer and a risk taker when it comes to personal growth, I am a perfect example that you can accomplish anything as long as you want it bad enough. I grow up with a lot of the same problems people use as excuses to not succeed, but I found that as long as you can change your mindset you can change anything in your life. Changing your path is the first step in changing the world, no one who was average ever did anything to impact the world.

Q: How did you become interested in real estate?

A: Back in 2003 I owned a barber shop, which at that time I thought was going to be my career. Unfortunately I was not aware how unfulfilling this actually was going to be for me. I found myself trapped, underutilized, and frankly miserable since I felt that my mind was not being stimulated. Around that time I went on my first trip to Las Vegas and I saw how the other part of the world lived. I saw people, who were no smarter or more talented than me, pulling up in high end sports cars and living a lifestyle I knew would never be possible for a barber shop operator. I then thought to myself, what do I have to do get my life on a different trajectory? then it hit me, Real Estate! Upon my return to the real world, I could not get the experience out of my mind and changing my life was all I could think about. I have always been excited by the Real Estate industry. As a kid my family moved from apartment to apartment just about every year, I never thought it would be possible for my family to own a home of our own. So needless to say I really valued the industry for all that it offered not only the professionals but also the community is serviced. Bam! I found my calling, I went all in! I sold my barber shop at a loss, but I didn’t care because I was sold on Real Estate.

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Q: How did you begin your career?

A: I must have been the most excited Real Estate student in the world. I took the accelerated course to get it done faster, I never missed a day, never missed a chapter or word my instructor would say. I passed my exam on the 1st go around since I soaked up everything my teachers taught me, then I was off to the races. I went in as a fulltime agent, I didn’t know there was any other way and i was in for a lot of surprises. My first year, I hardly made any money at all, if fact I made less than the average fast food employee, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was how can I grow and do better, so the next year I changed my atmosphere and things started to work out for me. In the beginning no one believes in you, not your friends, not your family basically no one. But as long as your belief in yourself and your goals are strong enough you will start to influence all the sceptics and doubters. That’s exactly what I did when I started to succeed in the industry I was destined for. When I became my companies top producer as a 2nd year agent I knew I was meant for this business. The rest is history!

Q: Where does the name Culture Estate come from?

A: When the name Culture Estate came to me I was not really looking for it. The best ideas come when you are not trying or searching. I was on a trip to Aruba and at the airport on my way there I had a flash of inspiration. The word Culture had been a huge trend in the business world for some time, and I had always looked to create an great environment wherever I went. So naturally Culture needed to be a core value for my company. So it dawned on me, why not name my Agency Culture, but it had to be sexy, not “Culture Realtors” not “Culture Real Estate” It had to be short and sleek, I dropped the word “Real” and then it was born “Culture Estate”. I drew the simplistic logo on a piece of scrap paper then I stood back for a moment and looked at it, and then I knew I had something special.

Q: How do you pick your agents?

A: I am a big believer that you attract like minded people. We put out a positive vibe on all our marketing campaigns and in return we have attracted the same kind of people to our organization. I believe God puts the right people in your life at the right time, that has been the case my entire life. I oftentimes think that I could have not done a better job at picking my crew if I would have hand picked them out of all the available talent in the industry. I have only turned down a few people in the years we have been open I am a true advocate of giving people an opportunity and let them show you what they are made of. Great sales people are not born that way, but good people are. We can train you to be great at your profession but we can’t train you to be a good person.

Q: What’s a typical day at Culture Estate?

A: The typical day at Culture Estate usually starts with a couple of hellos and sharing of stories. Our layout is open and we have a lot of common spaces to induce conversations and the sharing of ideas. We will usually record our videos and messages in the mornings, then we schedule time to have meetings with all our different departments to see where we can make improvements. As the offices leader, I always have someone in my office looking for advise, help or bouncing ideas off of me pretty much all day long. Recently I have started to take 2 days where I will work from somewhere other than the office. This has really helped me focus on growing the company and caring forward the vision that we have for Culture Estate.

Q: What kind of problems do you face having so many agents?

A: The growing pains we experience as we grow the company are definitely there, but I am very happy to say that they are routinely discussed and resolved on a weekly basis. The issue we are currently experiencing is giving our agents enough one on one support. I am blessed to have such an amazing crew who have stepped in to help when they see someone in need, but we are definitely looking to make a big improvement in this portion of our business. The next issue in growing our business is looking for someone to fill my shoes so I can carry the organization to the next level. We are going to start franchising the company very soon and I know this will require a lot of attention from me, so I will need to find someone to help me with the role I currently play. I am up for the challenge and I am happy to say I do have candidates in mind already.

Q: What makes your company different than any other real estate agency?

A: We are innovative in our approach to everything. Our focus is around our agents not our brand, our marketing is superior to any other brokerage because it’s real, we don’t just highlight pictures of homes we highlight the the people and processes. Our company’s core values are not self serving, we truly want to make an impact in the lives of others. We are using Culture Estate to make a difference in the world, we see the company as a vehicle to be able to accomplish great things for the world.

Q: What kind of education, training, or background have you had to prepare you better for your business?

A: I have had the opportunity to go to college directly after high school, instead I went directly into owning my own business. I got all the business training I could have ever hoped to learn from a MBA degree. The rest of my education has come from experience and read a ton of books. I have grown to love to feed my brain. I once read 5 books in a months when I went on vacation. I love learning and I feel that i will never stop learning until the day I die.

Q: What made you want to become an instructor?

A: Becoming an instructor in Real Estate was never a profession I wanted to take on but I knew that the title would help me get more distinction in the business. Little did I know that one day I would become a leader and a speaker, with that designation I am able to gain more credibility when I am in front of a crown for the first time.

Q: Do you see yourself teaching at a trade school, high school or college?

A: I do not have any interest in teaching in the traditional sense, I feel that I educate on a much broader scale through social media and on stages. What I am passionate about is teaching high school or college kids about financial education. We have conducted 2 financial education days in the last 2 years at a private academy, and we are looking to expand that in the near future to other schools.

Q: Could you recommend any books or methods of professional and personal development?

A: Professional development: The E-myth, Start with why, 10x, & Traction in that order

Personal development: Any Tony Robbins book (I’ve read them all), The Bible

Q: Why is it important for you to get involved in volunteering and helping the community?

A: I have always said it’s not about how much money you can make, It about how much of an impact you can make!

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Q: What is Project Underground Railroad? and how can people get involved?

A: Project Underground Railroad is an organization that goes on missions to free children from childhood slavery. Once I heard about this charity I felt like I found my mission in life and the purpose for my company’s success. We contribute enough money to free 1 child from captivity every month, our goal is to grow this exponentially and eventually free 100,000 children in my lifetime. If you would like to know more about the effort or contribute visit: https://ourrescue.org/

Q: If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? If not, what would you change?

A: I would do everything the same way, I am a strong believer in everything happens exactly when it’s supposed to. I am very grateful for my mistakes and all the lessons I have learned along the way. I am looking forward to the future now that I have experienced a lot of the errors in my ways, now onto bigger and better things!

Q: What advice would you give someone who is considering this type of job (or field)?

A: Do it if you are passionate about Real Estate, not because someone told you that it’s an easy way to make money. Your passion is the only thing that will get you through the hard times. If you are passionate go all in, not part time.

Q: What more can we expect from you and Culture Estate?

A: Culture Estate will be a household name in the next 5 years. We expect to start franchising in 2019 and would like to be in every major market within that 5 year time frame. The ultimate level for Culture Estate will be to become a publicly traded company and go completely international.

Q: How can anyone reach you?

A: Best way to reach us is by visiting Culture.Estate or across our social media profiles @CultureEstate