Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Rivera.
Joel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been a real estate broker now for eleven years. I started my career in Connecticut back in 2012. Growing up we were a Habitat for Humanity family where my parents worked hard and volunteered their time and energy to help other families build their homes so that one day we would have a chance. I was part of the whole process while they built our home from picking out light fixtures to selecting carpet colors. This process as a child inspired me to go into real estate because I knew firsthand how much a home impacts a family. We grew up in that home and had some great memories.
I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart and my family will joke about how many ventures I’ve tried out. I went to college and earned my Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Johnson and Wales University all while working full time in Connecticut. Flash forward a few years and I’m dually licensed as a real estate broker in CT and FL. I’ve been in Florida now for two years escaping the cold weather from the north and building the lifestyle I’ve always dreamt of.
Because of my history as a child with Habitat for Humanity, I’ve always conducted my business with compassion, transparency, and a focus on education. Many folks these days are bombarded with some unreliable information and so I pride myself in holding hands, building relationships, and standing by my clients in the alliance.
I owe all my work ethic, loyalty, and professionalism to my my parents and brother. They have always taught me that we are on this earth not for materialistic things but to be a good human being, in my case is helping others reach the same goals of homeownership my family had.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been easy. When I started off in real estate I quit my day job. Boy was that a mistake. I found myself not being able to show houses because I didn’t even have enough gas money. The mentality I went in the field was that it was just like any other job. It wasn’t until a few years after that I realized and was told numerous times that this is a business. I didn’t treat it like a business. I didn’t have a budget or goals for it. I lost a lot of time and money with the wrong mentality and I emphasize to those who are considering getting into the real estate game whether it’s being a Realtor® or investor, to plan and treat it like a business.
I’ll never forget, I was with a broker in CT who looked at me one day and said to me, you might as well give up and get out of the business. I still hold those words and use them as inspiration to get up and do what I do best each and every day, help people. He has since seen me around town doing business and regrets my leaving. My former broker David Aurigemma from Regency Real Estate in Watertown, CT believed, inspired, and partnered with me to help me get to where I am today. I owe a lot of my success to him.
Most importantly, my fiancé of over ten years inspired, guided, and believed in me during times when I didn’t believe in myself. I will always remember and appreciate that.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I also work on the side with an amazing non-profit organization called All Our Kin, Inc. They are a national leader in the movement to transform our country’s child care system. Their innovative model for training, supporting, and sustaining family childcare educators creates opportunities for providers and high-quality care options for families. I have been their technical assistance lead business mentor coach for over four years.
I’ve helped trained adults in their proprietary business series that helps educators get into this space with business topics like contracts, handbooks, taxes, etc. This alignment with All Our Kin has fit my life so much because while I support real estate, I also support at-home businesses, which was a way to help impact our workforce, children, and community members.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Yes, Covid has taught us that everything can change in the blink of an eye. We never thought in our lifetime to be part of a worldwide pandemic.
One lesson is to learn how to adapt and adapt quickly. I remember having scheduled closing and quickly having to adapt to an outside parking lot closing so that it could happen.
I would also add that you need to be ok with change. I see so many people get upset because things are not the same as it was before Covid. We now live in a new normal, finding ways to adapt and expect that tomorrow it can all change again.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.riverasold.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/riverasold
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Riverasold/
- Other: https://rss.com/podcasts/goodbadrealestate/
