Overcoming Adversity and Building Success: Chris Estrada's Inspiring Journey

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Welcome to the Journey Podcast, where we showcase some of the most inspiring stories on the face of the planet. And today I have a really good friend of mine, a gentleman that I actually met at my men's business leaders church group that I meet with every single week. And uh, Chris is not only in the real estate business, he's a commercial and business broker. He is a serial entrepreneur and a car enthusiast. And today I have the honor and privilege of introducing to you my good friend. Chris Estrada. Oh, thank you, my man. Thank you. The show, brother. Thank you, man. Long time coming. Long time coming. Yeah. So good to do this. Definitely. And it's interesting because we're here, um, at the top of, uh, Eva Cantina, which is down below. Uh, we had the great privilege of shooting here, but we were just downstairs and I know that you're a partner with them. You've done a bunch of business deals with them and a phenomenal business. And thank you. Uh, you know, I, I wanted, if you don't mind, just to kind of open up and share a little bit about. That journey, like how you even got into that. And I know you have a little bit of your real estate background that kind of tied into that, which is pretty cool. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thanks for having me, man. This is, uh, this is awesome. I'm so glad to be here. Yeah. You know, it's, it's been a really, really fun journey. I mean, to give you guys a little background about myself, I, uh, I like to call myself a recovering consultant. I was a, uh, I had a. Uh, marketing consulting company about, um, a, a a, a few years back and everything else. And then, uh, I said, you know, uh, real estate is kind of where you need to be. I, uh, I was consulting with coworking spaces, people that wanted open coworking spaces, so I said, you know, I gotta, um. I was consulting with people, helping'em figure out where they wanted to go. And then I did a couple deals and then I saw how much the broker was making. Yeah. And I saw how much I was making. I said, man, I'm on the wrong side of the table. So I pivoted into real estate. But, uh, you know how I got into Neva, I mean, I like to say that relationships are everything in this world. Yeah. And uh, one of my favorite quotes is that relationships will take you places. Money can't. That's right. And when you're really good at what you do and you're genuine about how you go around business. Then you operate at a, you operate at a higher level and you vibrate at a higher level, and you think at a higher level. Yeah. And by doing that, I just, people always ask me all the time, like, how do you work with such great people in, in higher companies? I tell, I always tell'em, you know, I just kinda, I just live my life doing the things that I enjoy doing and serving people to the highest degree that I can and, and just showing up how, how Jesus will want me to show up and. That is how I really think that me and, uh, me and Raul, my business partner, Nueva, really got aligned. Uh, we met a while back ago when he was running a couple of barbecue restaurants back in Atlanta, and, um, we, he, he's, he moved away, started up, uh, opened a bunch of Popeye's restaurants. Um, so he's been, he's, he's been in the game, opened a, a bunch of restaurants and then, uh, when he moved over here to Florida. It, we, we, we connected, helped him buy some properties. Then he said, you know, I think I wanna open a Mexican restaurant. I said, okay, well let's go. And then, um, he gave us the criteria. We looked at a couple places and man, Tampa Bay, like, I love you Tampa Bay. You guys are good. We had to bring the Mexican game, man. Like the, the food was, the food was not slamming, but now our food is slamming. So. That's cool. It's, uh, it's, it's been really, really fun. So we found this awesome restaurant in, uh, in St. Pete called Neva Cantina. It was, um, it had already been there, I think for probably like 10, 15 years. Uh, it's, he'd already been through a couple owners, great brand, grapefruit, grape people. The owner was just tired. Yeah, he was tired. He had another concept that he was kind of wanting to really go kick off and put some more time and energy into. So it gave us an opportunity to acquire that location and really just. Going, we, we revamped it, we repainted outside. And you know, when they say that, um, that you, like, when you're a business owner, you get a jo. Yeah. You get a Josh. Like when you're in it, you're in it. When things gotta get done, things gotta get done. That's right. We were out there painting, we were out there staining, and we were out there just for the first, for the first five, six months. I mean, we were there doing the work. I mean, I was out there staining the deck. So when you guys go to the creative conference, you'll see that deck. It was stained by me and a couple of my guys, so, wow. I mean, for those that like that, that think it's easy. I mean, you really, really gotta be in it. Yeah. So true. So true. Yeah. You really, really gotta be in it. Yeah, it, it reminds me of the saying like, you vibe attracts your tribe. And I was just mentioning I had the opportunity to speak with Raul, the owner, and it was just amazing like. Seeing the vision, the passion, and I could see why you guys would connect. Same reason why you and I connected. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Real recogniz is real. Of course I do, man. They do. They do. And I mean, you can tell. I mean, I could, he was very experienced and he says, Hey, you know, this is what I want to do. Let's go. And then, um, the biggest thing about business owners, you have to be decisive. Yeah. Every time somebody, uh, comes up to me and says, Hey, I wanna buy a property, or whatever else, I'll show them a property. And then next thing you know, later on down the road, they. They, they just, he and haw and they analysis paralysis. Yep. What I like about Raul is like very other, other very successful people, is they can make decisions. Mm-hmm. We don't need to know all the answers. We just know, need to know a few of the answers. Yeah. For sure. Any other person probably would've passed on that opportunity. Yeah, definitely. But because, I mean, it was rough. Yeah. It needed a lot of love. The number, it didn't look great on. It didn't look great on paper, but we saw it was a really, really cool opportunity to, to revamp that and then expand the brand to where we are now in Tampa, of course. And we just opened our third location. Yeah. In Brandon. Um, it's amazing. Last, last Wednesday. Yeah. So we have three locations in about. 16, 18 months. Yeah. Yeah. Which is unheard of with restaurant expansion. Yeah. What I love about what you guys have going on as well, even with Ro man, like the humility is there. Yeah. And the focus is really on the customer experience and the product. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, your food's gotta be good. Your service has to really, really good be on point, and that's gonna get the what's that's wasn't gonna get them coming back. Of course. Course.'cause what we saw is not knocking. All the other, other Mexican restaurants are out there, but their food was, their food was okay, and they're just getting that first time customer. We get that first time customer, but we also want to make sure that first time customer turns into a third, fourth or fifth. They want, we, we have, if you ever come to your, come to our place for your birthday, we got the sparklers going. I mean, we're singing for you. I mean, it's, it's, it's lit. It's jamming. That's cool, man. It's fun. And Nueva cant, it's not really just a restaurant. It's an experience. Yeah, for sure, for sure. As you saw with the Halloween bar. Oh yeah, definitely. And everything else, I mean, when do you go in there? How many, when was the last time you saw a Mexican restaurant decked out with a Halloween bar like that? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we went all out. Yeah. No, that's so cool. Yeah. We're looking forward, we're gonna bring our, our creators conference, uh, tribe and, and check out the Nova down, uh, in, down, uh, St. Pete, right? Downtown St. Yeah. Yeah. Downtown St. Pete on fourth Street. Yeah. Nice. So that's, that's really cool man. And so you guys have three locations and still expanding and what I love about what you do is you're more on the real estate side of things. Yep. You're like helping to broker these deals. And I, I think about the saying that, you know, your gifts will make room for you. Yeah. And it's just really cool that you are able to bring your expertise and be a part of this like grand vision. Yeah. And I wanted. To kind of go a little bit into how you ended up in real estate in the first place. Sure. Because I know out here you're one of the, the real estate market is super competitive. Yep. Mm-hmm. And it's, it's very rare to come across people who are actually killing it in real estate. Yeah. And it's just, you know, awesome to see your journey and how you've even transitioned and not being from Tampa. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe thank, yeah, it's, it's kind of cool, you know? Um. I think you're always gonna be driven by two things, drive markets, fear and opportunity. Yeah. Too many people are living in, in, in, in the world of fear and they're too, they're too busy holding on to past versions of themselves that are no longer serving them. Yeah. And. Moving here. So I've lived in Tampa for about three years now. Originally from Atlanta. Built a super, super successful real estate career out there over the past nine years. Yeah. Still have it. Going over there is really, really good. People ask me all the time, like, why would you leave that? Mm. And I said to myself, you know, I was ready for something new. I was ready for some new change, and I was ready to be reborn, per se, by the water. Mm. And I knew there was a ton of opportunity over here in Tampa. It's about five to seven years behind Atlanta in development. Mm-hmm. So there's a lot of room to run over here. So that's what brought me over here. But what really got me into real estate is, you know, as a consultant you can only really, the only path to make more money is to go build more hours. Yeah. And I was tired of billing more hours. I, I said to myself, I'd rather go do more, do bigger deals and work with higher things. So I've done everything from apartment investing to office, leasing to land, land acquisitions, land dispositions. I mean, I've done the full mix and they, one of the, they always say that the riches ruin the niches and then that, you know, the. You don't wanna be a generalist? Well, I like to say I'm a really good generalist. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And, and I think it makes me very well versed when, when I'm speaking with clients, because I can talk about the housing market and how that affects why you should or shouldn't move your restaurant or business to a certain part of area course a certain part of town. And I would think about that with you guys that are out there, like with your business, like what other factors that with, with your company that that. Could affect you guys, like in your industry. Like what else do you need to know? The more you know, it's only just gonna make you more valuable to serve your client at a higher level and you be able to be more valuable and and irreplaceable. That's so true. That's so true. So bring me back to like young Chris. Oh man, man. Like I'm, I'm curious'cause your family is from the Philippines. Yeah, yeah. My parents from the Philippines. And you, you know what's really interesting is I recently learned about the journey of your grandmother, Lola. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she's like the OG that Yeah. Really moved your whole family to the states. Mm-hmm. If I'm not mistaken. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she has a really amazing background. And, um, if I'm not mistaken, like she, she got her education and all that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And she went through, she's seen some things. Dude, man. My Lola, RIP man, she was, she was awesome. She was 94 years old. She was, um, super, super sharp at 40 years old. Her, um. She, she ended up getting a, going through a divorce and, uh, she's a, she's a survivor. My, my Lola was a survivor. She was, uh, she had. She had a, uh, she had four or five brothers and sisters that were, that she lost in the war. Wow. In the Philippines. Wow. They were, she was getting picked up. She was getting picked up by, uh, by a family member, and they were going to the house and on their way over there, they had to go pick something up or whatever. And because they made that detour, they missed the house getting bombed. Wow. So just think about that like we are miracles in and of itself. I looked this up the other day. Your chances of being born, yeah, you have a better chance of winning the lottery That's right. A million times than you do of even, even being, yeah, it's like a one 400 trillion. It's a crazy, and you can imagine that you could win. You have a better chance of winning the lottery a million times than you do of even born. Yeah. So the fact that you're even here listening to this podcast Yeah. You are already a statistical anomaly. That's so true. But my grandma, so like, she was a total survivor. So at the, at, when she was 40, my grandfather, she, he decided that, uh, he didn't wanna be married anymore. He left her. So my grandma had to figure it out and fend for herself, and she went back to school at 40. Wow. She went to school, back to school at 40, got her degree and then she worked at the bank. She worked at, um, she worked at the bank in, uh, California. I can't remember the name of it, but bro, she worked at the bank for so long. She, she, she ended up retiring. She ended up retiring with her pension, and then she outlived the bank. The bank had since been bought out and closed. Wow. And they're still paying her retirement. That's crazy. She got paid longer in retirement than she ever did actually. Working crazy. Yeah. So, but yeah, I'm super, super blessed. I never take that for granted. I mean, I, it's uh, you know, being here, it's such a blessing and for us to be able to. Carry on the legacy of our, our ancestors and our family. It's, uh, I don't hold that lightly. And it's, it's, it's pretty exciting to be able to do that. That's beautiful, man. Yeah, man. That's really cool. And what would you say, like with your grandma, and then shout out to, uh, you know, miss Lola of course, and, you know, just a beautiful soul. Yeah, she was great. And what would, would you say 94? Yeah, man, that's a long life. Yeah. And what would you say were some of the characteristics that you, you, you're, you're proud to have taken from her? You know, she had a crazy memory. Mm. And I always tell people all this time, like, my memory scares, even me, I'll remember the mo, the dumbest facts that I, that I just don't remember, but it's played very useful in my career because I remember a lot of details. But she would remember, she could tell you the exact date and time that her washer and dryer was delivered. 25 years ago. That's incredible. Yeah. That's really, and she had a, she had a super hard work ethic and I think another thing I really took from her was she was always a very positive person. And in, in today's world, you know, there's just so much, there's just so much frumpy energy and so much bad to look at. And I mean, she was 94 and like she always lived like. Like she still had plenty of gas in the tank. She traded stocks and learned how to, like, read charts and everything else. Yeah, she'd sit in her bed watching Jim Kramer. Not that he is ever right or wrong, but you know what ifs. But like she would, she was always wanting to learn about new things and how to better herself. And, and I really took that with me of, you know, I could have stayed comfy in Atlanta just being like, you know, doing really, really well. Closing a couple, closing all my deals and, and, and. And driving the Porsche and all that. I got all that, but I was like, you know, it's time to level up. Yeah. Like I felt like God called me here to, to do something bigger. And when I made that choice to move here three years ago, Nueva wasn't even remotely in the picture. Mm. I mean, I knew I was, I knew it was 2023. The market was gonna, the market was slower. And I told myself if things are gonna be slow and if it's gonna, if I'm gonna have a slower season. I wanna be at the beach. Yeah, yeah, that's right. I wanna be at the beach. Yeah. So I said I, I made that, I made that decision. I had some, I made some really, really cool friends through the car community. I'm a huge car guy. As Josh had mentioned, I had, I had my nine 11. I'm gonna get another whip soon enough. So. Nice. We'll see. You'll, you'll get there. But, uh, one of my really, really good friends has an amazing car rental company, sharp exotics. Give her a shout out right there. She's really awesome. Yeah. So cool. Like, I see, you know, you pulled in with the, with the blue Lambo truck. Yeah. You, we got a blue URIs out there. You know, the plate is like my. My Uber. My Uber. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, she's got a bunch of, she's got a bunch of lambs. Uh, she's got all the really, really nice car. One of my best friends, super, super genuine people. Um, you know, you just, she, she's really, really cool. What's the company? Sharp exotics. Sharp. Make sure you guys focus with sharp exotics. Sharp exotic Tampa. Yeah. We'll put the, we'll put the link down, down below. Definitely. Yeah. She's, she's really, really good people. But, um, you know, when I moved down here, like I, I like to think. I like to believe this and we can talk about the church in the church all the time. If God showed you the plan, you probably wouldn't believe it anyways. That's right. Yeah. So, oh, you may not even move forward of all the difficulty. You might, you might, you might see that and be like, Hey, this is, this is what's coming. Yeah. You might be like, oh man, I don't, I don't know about all that. Or how long it's gonna take or how long it's gonna take. I mean, I had a crazy, crazy, super successful business. Like a, a good, a good solid mid six figure business in Georgia that I had built up. And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna leave that and I'm gonna go start fresh over here in, in, in, in Tampa. And I like to think I didn't start from scratch. I started from experience. Mm. Yep. And it was just, it, it was a lot. It was like God was saying, Hey, look like, go over there. I'm not gonna tell you why you're there, but you're gonna, you're, you're gonna figure it out soon enough. Mm-hmm. And man, bro, I got broke a couple times. Yeah. Yeah. Because I, I like to, and we were talking, we were talking about this early. I like to think that you're not a, I like to, I believe this, that you're not a true entrepreneur if you've never really been like, you gotta check your account and be like, whoa, man, can I, yeah. Can I buy this cheeseburger? That's right. Can I pick, can I get my dry cleaning? Can I pay for this parking? Like, that's so true. It really humbles you. Yeah, because when you're in that. When you're in that state, you realize what's important. Mm-hmm. You realize what's important because is if you're good with your health and if you're good with God. Yeah. That's all you really need to really, really keep going. Absolutely. And you, you get forged in the fire. It really builds your character and it's, it's a good feeling getting to the other side, man. Oh yeah. Yeah. It really is. It makes it that much, it makes it that much better and that much sweeter. It pushes you. Yeah. It pushes you and it makes you better. Yeah. Be, and I remember, I think it was Kevin O'Leary that said this on Shark Tank. He goes, I will never invest in somebody, in somebody that. Got it. Right. Yeah. And did well their first time out. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure you've had your experiences with the Oh, yeah. With, with the business and everyth everything, and Absolutely. I mean, it, it humbles you and it makes you realize what's important. It makes you realize how much you can really live with and, and, and, and deal with and still be okay. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's so true. I wanna talk about like your darkest moment Oh yeah. In entrepreneurship. Oh, yeah. Is there a moment you can recall where you were just like, man, I, I I, I want out of this. Like this is, this is not it. I, I, I've had those moments, those, those crying in the closet moments. It is just so tough, man. Yeah. And you don't even see a light at the end of the tunnel, but you know that. In, in a weird way, as a spiritual person, you know that God's gonna get you through. Yeah. But you just, you don't know how it's gonna happen. Yeah. And the uncertainty can get the best of you. Oh man. I remember earlier in my years, my, uh, my first business I was doing with the consulting company and, um, did pretty well, had some clients and everything else, and then I had a really awesome business coach and, um, you know, I just, I got caught up trying to keep the previous life that I had. Mm-hmm. Yeah, with the current income that I have now. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I had ran all the credit cards up, I didn't have a bunch of clients in and then next, and I had a roommate at the time and man, next thing you know, like, you know, we're three months behind the mortgage. Yep. Three months behind the mortgage. And I'm like. Oh shit. Yeah. Like, it is, it's not real. It's going down. It, it's going down. And, and I'm, for you guys that are out, there's real, I'm sure I'm, I'm, I'm sure you guys have been there. Like you've, you know, you are just, you are like, you know, pay your mortgage over paying your business coach. I highly recommend that. Yep. Yep. But sometimes that's what it takes. And I told myself, I was like, man, like. This, this is one of my many, come to me, come to Jesus moments. But, so one of my real first ones was I remember sitting there on the couch and, and I remember telling my mom, I had to tell my parents, I was like, man, I'm, it's, it's, it's bad right now. Like it's. It's, it's bad. I had to tell them like, man, I'm broke. Yeah. I'm, I'm, I'm broke. And it's, it's, it's bad. They're mm-hmm. They're gonna take my house. And I remember like, wow. I remember sitting there on the couch and then having to get down on my knees and be like, yeah, Jesus. Like, I don't know what this is gonna look like. Mm. Like, shit. Yeah. And then, um. Yeah. That's when I really, really had to give myself the God. Yeah. I was like, fuck. Yeah. And then, uh, sure enough, I remember telling my mom, I was like, man, like, fuck, I don't know what's gonna happen. Yeah. And then I remember I got the offer letter the same day as a foreclosure letter. Wow. On the house. Wow. And I ended up closing a month later. Wow. And I almost fucking lost it. Wow. Wow, man. Thank you so much for sharing that. You know, I, I, I know what that valley feels like, brother. It's tough. It's tough. It's tough, you know, and I, I commend you, man, because you're like, you're one of those, those generals that just, you, you held a line and I, and then I told myself, I said, you know what? That previous business, I built it. I was building it for me. Yeah. I was not building it with God. Mm-hmm. I did not have him on the side. Mm. So at 32, I sold everything. I moved back in my parents and I said, you know what? Like I'm just gonna. I'm gonna go all in on the business. I'm gonna figure it out. And what does every business owner that's down and out do when they're, when they're down, they start another business. That's right. That's what we do. So I moved back into, my parents broke as hell. 32 minutes. You humped season. I sold everything but my mountain bikes, my car, and my computer and my clothes. And I said, all right. Let's, let's go do this. My parents took me in and, um, I got, I said, I'm gonna get my real estate license. Everybody told me I was an idiot. And, uh, they were like, go get a job. Nobody wanted to hire my ass. Wow. And I, I, because they said I was too entrepreneurial, whatever else, I was like, all right, I gotta go do my own shit. Yeah. So I went and got my real estate license and, um, man, it was like. Most people take six months to get the real estate course done if they even finish it. And most people don't. Even a lot of people sign up for it and don't even get it done. Yeah. And most people take six months. I got it done in a month. Wow. I basically said, you know what, this is what I want to do. This is, this is the path. And I just, I, I, I focused and I'd say that's one thing I'm really, really good about is I'm getting good at getting hyper-focused when shit needs to, shit needs to get done. Yeah. Need to be done. I'm, I'm the guy that people call and say, Hey Chris, this needs to happen. Like, can you help? Yeah. I'm the guy that can get it done because I know I can do it for myself and I know I can do it for my people. For sure. For sure. And so I got it done. I got licensed within. I basically got through the course in about a month and then, um, yeah, was licensed, uh, two months later and producing. That's incredible, man. Yeah. Yeah. So it was a lot. It was, uh, but it, it, it made it happen and, um, you know, I didn't know all the answers. Yeah. I didn't know all the answers and how it was gonna work out, but, you know, I stuck with, it took about a year and a half to, like, it took about two years until I really, really started getting into it. And, you know, people want success too easily. Yeah. Yeah, it's a microwave mentality. Yeah, it's a microwave mentality, man. And you know, if you don't go through those early times, you don't appreciate it when you're, that's right. When you're, when you're there. Like, and that for you guys are out there listening to this, like you guys, I, I, I challenge you guys to ask yourself like, what do you really want? Yeah. What do you really want your life to look like? And, you know, and that can evolve. And too many times we're. We're repositioning our lives today for previous versions of ourselves. That's right. That's good. That's good. Too many pre, pre, too many people are serving previous versions of themselves that are no longer serving them. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So true. So true. You gotta be willing to be like, you know what? I don't need that shit anymore. I'm not that person anymore. Like I'm willing to go freaking sell everything and go all in on, start over, whatever that is. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm willing to look like an asshole and an idiot doing it, but I feel like this is what I'm called to do and I'm gonna see it all the way through. Yeah. No, it's so true. And I, I actually just did a talk on this, on just being attached to your old identity. Mm-hmm. A lot of it is just. The, the fear of going into the unknown. Yeah. And we'd rather settle for the devil we know than the devil. We don't. Yep. And it's, it's a lot of that, man, that's such an incredible story, brother. Like I, I'm, I'm so happy that we went there because I, I can feel, I can feel the heaviness of it and, and I, and I've been there, so Yeah. I could really empathize with, with that. And there's so many lessons, right? Keeping God in the equation, which is a big thing, being humble enough mm-hmm. To say, you know what? Shit is really bad right now. Mm-hmm. And I'm gonna go into my humble season. And the fact that you even had your parents Yeah. Is a blessing. Yeah. Yeah. Shout out to your parents, by the way. Yeah, they've been great. My parents are great. They're, they're wonderful people. They've, uh, they've, I always just want to kind of keep on carrying a tradition and, uh, make them proud and make some moves, man. That's incredible. Yeah. That's incredible, man. And, you know, in terms of like other life lessons from a business standpoint, like. What would you say, if there's any practical advice you could give on things that you learned? Maybe how to manage your money or how to go about business? I know for me when you, when you talk about just consulting, I know for me not staying in lead gen mode, like constantly generating new leads, that was one of my biggest downfalls when I kind of fell into that scenario. But what about for you even just managing your money or. Yeah. There are a couple things I've learned. I mean, with money in particular, one of the biggest lessons I learned with money is when you respect money, it will respect you. Mm-hmm. If you respect money, it will respect you. That's good. And you can attract way more of it. Yeah. Too many people talk about money like it is a. F that it's a finite source. Mm. And we talk about making money. Like we actually have to go to our house, cut the trees down, get the dies, put it together, and then make the money the money's already made. Yeah. We need to go. Scoop up the money. Yeah. The money's already made. That's right. You don't need, you don't need to make more money. You need a bigger net. Mm. You need a big ass net. That's good to go. Swoop the shit up. Yeah. You need to go get your unfair share. Yeah. That somebody else is to, is, is neglecting or whatever. That's right. I, I'd say that showing up how you show up is everything. And the fact that you even show up says everything. Yeah. Like I can't tell you how many times this has happened. I'm sure it has happened for you. The number of times you've got an opportunity because somebody else didn't show up. That's right. That's right. Some other broker didn't show up. Somebody, some other broker didn't. Didn't keep treat that quiet. They weren't on top of their game. They weren't on top of their, they weren't. Yeah. But even when they're on top of the game, they didn't show up with empathy for their people. Mm-hmm. And too many people. I would say another big piece is, as I mentioned this to you earlier, separating yourself from the outcome. Yeah. Like how can we, I look at every opportunity in every, every client that I work with, like how can I serve them to the highest level and help them solve whatever problem that is. Yeah. Because. Whether it's we're buying apartment complex, there's leasing spaces, we're solving problems. And my job as a broker is to help them, help them solve that problem. And in the business brokerage side, like there's a lot of, there's a lot of, uh, there's a lot of people that have these businesses that have been running them for 20, 30 years and they could sell it for a decent, for a decent valuation and get some money for it. Instead of just closing up the doors and, and leaving. Yeah. So they're leaving a lot of money on the table. So true. And there's, there's some good conversations to have around there, but like really, really showing up and just, and knowing your shit. Mm-hmm. Knowing your shit. Like I told, I, I spoke to this, uh, group of young entrepreneurs that, uh, that my cousin in San Antonio invited me out to, and I told them, I said. Sha GPT will not save your ass when a client is screaming at you in your face. That's right. That's right. You really, really gotta know your stuff. Yeah. You really, really gotta know your stuff. You need to be able to speak knowledgeably about it. Mm-hmm. Like I can speak knowledgeably about. Square footage and prices about anywhere between here, Tampa, St. Pete, Atlanta, of course, and most diff most different areas across retail, industrial, multifamily. Not too many brokers can do that. Yeah, yeah, I agree. So that brings me a really, really cool value add. But no, that's awesome, man. That's really awesome. Yeah. Now why entrepreneurship? Why go through the pain? Why endure? Like, why not just go a traditional job route? And I know you've worked traditional jobs as well. Oh, yeah. And like, what was it for you that was just like, you know what? This, this isn't my thing. I'm, I'm not going down this path. It just doesn't feel like it's, yeah. Yeah. You know, entrepreneurship is funny because in the Filipino culture, you are either a, you're either a nurse. Doctor, accountant, engineer, or failure entrepreneur isn't listed. Yeah. Like you, it's not even, it's, it's of course's. I don't even think there's a, uh, I don't think there's even a word in tag, gala, uh, for entrepreneur. So for me it was kind of, it was kind of forced. So, um, and you know. College and everything else. I have my own opinions about college. It's changed a lot and I mean, I have a, I have a business degree, I have a freaking master's degree. I have an MBA and all that stuff. And I have made more money being an entrepreneur than I ever did from being, uh, in corporate America for sure. And this is the thing about corporate America, man, like you could be doing. Everything right. You could be neglecting your family, neglecting your, your, your, your own time, neglecting your health. And if the company has a bad quarter or they just don't like you anymore, you are gone. That's right. And. No company is going to have your back and save you. Yeah. And that happened to me. So in um, back in 2000, so my first job outta college, I used to do event marketing for Pepsi. Mm-hmm. And, uh, we used to drive around. I used to have a, um, a, uh, a a a truck with a trailer and I'd go to, uh, I'd, I'd go to all the NASCAR events, the Super Bowl events. And I think I told you about this. I used to go to all the dub shows. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I used to go on the dub shows, shout out a little scrappy, you know, scrappy, Jim Jones, bone Thugs we're all hanging up, hanging with him at the dub shows. And, uh, it was, it was a lot of fun. But in, in 2008 when everything hit the fan, you know, everybody was slashing marketing budgets and slashing sales budgets. So marketing is the first. The first thing to go. So I was let go. I was let go from, from my dream job at that time. Mm. Um, I had just bought my house like a couple months earlier. Yeah. And I was like, oh shit. Like, what are we gonna do? Yeah. And, um, yeah man, and then I, uh, I, I I, I did that for a while and I mean, in 2008, if you guys were there, man, put your comment, which put what you were doing in 2008.'cause I was in unemployment office and if I was smart, I would've buy, been buying some real. Estate. Mm. And uh, like I think about that now, somebody told me this, like, you know, if you could buy, if you could go back 10 years ago, would you buy real estate? Mm-hmm. Knowing what you know now. Yeah. And that answer is yes. So why would it be any different now? Yeah, so true. Like, it's gonna be so different, but yeah, man, like. I, I did everything, uh, in the sense of, you know, go get that job, like college and society teaches you to be employee. Mm-hmm. Be an employee. It doesn't teach you to be an independent thinker. Yeah. And, and build and build businesses that build people. Yeah. They just want you to be an employee. Yeah, for sure. And man, I did all that stuff right. And it, and, and it, you know, I got, I got laid off after two layoffs and being unemployed for like a year. I was like, man. Um, this, this, this is not working. And then I went back to go, I went and got my MBA because everybody told me I needed an MBA to go get a better job. Mm-hmm. And then when I got my MBA, nobody gave a shit. Wow. Yeah. Everybody told me I was too entrepreneurial, so I was kind of a forced entrepreneur. Mm. I, I said to myself, I was like, you know what, like. I launched a consulting company. I didn't have a single client. And then I said, all right, let's, let's go figure it out. So that's what I did. I landed a couple clients and, and, and got rolling and, and it was, it was good. And it, it, it kept me afloat for a, a number of times. And I think too many people are sitting there just trying to like, you know, hit all the websites and try to, trying to network and all other stuff and just, you know, just, just go do it. Yeah. Yeah. Just, just, just, I agree. Yeah, it was, it was tough. Now when you were a kid, were you like planning on being an entrepreneur? I, I, it's interesting because you, you mentioned this and I remember when. Entrepreneurship for me when I was in college was like, that was what people who didn't go to school, that that's what they had to do for survival. Right? Yeah. It, it wasn't glorious until like social media came out. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody was like, glorifying entrepreneurship. You're like, I don't wanna be an entrepreneur. I heard they're broke. Yeah, exactly. And it's, it's crazy because, uh, I don't think it's for everyone. Yeah. And I, I think though, at a very deep level, I, I was. Definitely wired to be an entrepreneur. I remember being by the fire hydrant and running like a car wash with my friends. Yeah. I, I, I remember flipping, uh, just little hustles and, and selling candies in my school. Yeah. Yeah. Just making money However I could, when I was in college, I ran a barbershop out of my dorm room. Oh, that's dope. That's cool. And just to put myself through school. Nice. So there was always those little signs that I would. At some point in time get into entrepreneurship, but it wasn't really glorified during that time. Yeah. It really wasn't. But for you, like what was it growing up? Do you feel like you were always wired to be an entrepreneur? I think I was, and I just never really knew it and I never really leaned into it. Yeah. And I never really knew that it was a path I could take. Mm-hmm. So even when I was a kid, you guys are gonna laugh about this, like. I used to, we used to eat these, um, we used to have these oxtails. Yeah. And I'd clean'em up and I'd sell'em to the kids at school and tell'em there was some Star Wars thing if you guys bought those. Sorry. But appreciate it. And then I, I even, I. I mean, geez, uh, since I was like 13 years old, I was always washing cars or mowing grass or, or cutting grass or whatever else, or washing people's dogs or hustling. Yeah. I was even washing people's planes. And uh, I remember at one time I had some other friends, they were like, Hey, um, I mean they, they were good friends of mine and they had the mowers and. I would be the one that would go door to door and knock on the people, sell the job, and then I would sub it out to them. They would do all the work. Right. And I'd make half the, I'd make half a little over half the profit. I was like, you know, dope. Yeah. So I always had it as me, in me as a kid, but nobody ever really told me like, Hey, you should go pursue this. Yep. And make it happen. I mean. I probably could have had like a bunch of car washes after. Yeah. Instead of going to college. Of course. I mean, I had a great time in college. I had some, made some of my closest friends and uh, I learned a lot during the time. I wouldn't trade it for the world of course, but now, like, it just doesn't make sense. For sure. And my, my question to you too, on the college,'cause I, I'm very similar. I have a business degree and, you know, did all that stuff. And my question to you is, let's just say you do have children. Are you going to, uh. Encourage them to go and get a degree? Or is it just gonna depend? Like what if they do wanna be entrepreneurs, are you gonna recommend that they have the degree as a backup? Like what are your, your views on that? You know, I think college is a good time for them to. Marinate. Yeah. And kind of grow up and mature a little bit. I agree. And if they're gonna go to school, I want them to go get a degree in finance or go, go, go do something good. Like if you're gonna get a, if you're gonna get a degree in whatever random underwater basket, re weaving studies or Yeah. Or theology or whatever, like, no, we're not gonna do all that. Yeah, for sure. Uh, I mean, I think. I think college has its place for some people. Yep. I mean, and you know, we need employees. Yeah. We need good employees. That's right. And so entrepreneurship isn't for everybody. Yeah. But I think it really just depends on them and what, what they really want to do. But I can tell you right now, man, they're gonna, they're gonna be hu they're, they're gonna be hustling. They're not gonna, they're. I'm not gonna be soft on them. Yeah. I mean, our parents were so, were, were really, really hard on us. And I, I think that's what really made us who on uh mm-hmm. Who who we are today. Yeah. And I mean, and business isn't soft. Yeah. The world doesn't give a shit about your feelings. It's contact sport. Yeah. The world does not give a shit about your feelings. Yeah. Yeah. Very true. Very true. And the, the sooner that we can get these kids to just really think about that and operate like that, the better off they'll be. Yeah. No, that's so good brother. And as we get ready to bring it in for a landing, I wanted to ask as well, uh, what's the vision? Like you have real estate, you're getting deeper into, uh, business brokerage and things like that. Yeah. What would you say is the vision long term with everything, man, the vision long term is just really, we are going to, we're gonna scale Eva, we are going to have. Man by next, this time next year, we will have about, we will have, we will be at five locations by this time next year. That's go That's awesome. Five locations probably, actually. We'll, we will be at five locations by Cinco de Bioo next year. Mm-hmm. But man, I wanna, I love it. I wanna, I'm, I, I'm going to be a, uh, portfolio owner. Me and my partners, we have some properties we're taking down. Um, we are. We are gonna have some really, really cool things going. That's so cool. Acquiring some, uh, investment properties, some warehouses, and then really just, you know, helping people help them, help people find next steps outside of themselves when they're wanting to retire from their businesses. Yeah. To really help those people move on and move on with some, with some cash in their pocket instead of just closing the doors and, and, you know, just being a, being a vessel for people within the radiant community that, uh. That want to get closer to, um, to some really, really good people in for sure, in the business world and everything else. I mean, it's huge. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's everything and just, um, you know, just showing up for the good people around me and, um, and everything else. So I'd say that's what that looks like, and that's what I think it's gonna look like. I mean, God's gonna have his own plans. I mean, that's right. You know what I like to say is God's plan is always better than ours. So true. And, um, so we'll see. It could shake out plenty of different ways. Yeah, definitely. When it's all said and done, what would you say you wanna be remembered for? You know, I want to be remembered that, uh, I was there for people. Yeah. I was there for people that, uh, that I took care of them and I serve them in the, to the highest level, in the same sense that, that Jesus would. I want to be remembered for that. And I wanna be remembered in the sense that, you know, when you're with me, you could always just show up however you are. Of course. Of course. And I would always meet you where you were, like you didn't have to, you didn't have to roll up in a cool whip or a, or a, or a, or a nine 11. It'd be cooler if you did. But yeah, I mean, I think it's just all about good people, good vibes, and um. That's what I would want for. I love that brother. And if there were any departing words, God forbid, this was your last interview. Oh yeah. Hope, hope not. What would be, and definitely knock on wood, right? But if, if, if it were, what would be the, the very last thing you'd like to share with the world? I would say, you know, wherever you're at, except where you're at. Because you're, where you're at is where you're at for a reason. God's got you are. You're in the exact place that you are supposed to be. Mm-hmm. You're not supposed to be five levels ahead. You're not supposed to be five levels behind. Where you are is where you are. So the sooner that you can come to accept where you are, the better off you'll be and the better that you can make decisions to where you want to go and what that looks like for you. I would say give your, another thing I'd say is give yourself grace. This shit isn't easy. You know, give yourself credit to how far you've, you've come, not other people around you. Stop comparing yourself to other people because like we like to say, you know, comparison is a thief of joy. And, uh, like there's just, you can't compare. Only compare yourself to where you were this time last year or last month or whatever else. And if you're not where you want to be, what changes do you need to make to, to get to where you want to be? And um, and you know, the other thing, the last thing I would say is, you know, whatever you got, just give it to God, man. Give it to God. Get humbled then and give it to him. And, and, uh, he'll, he'll make things better. That's so good if you're willing to follow him. Yeah. So, so good. Appreciate that, brother. Yeah, man. Where can our audience find you? You can always find me on Instagram, the Chris Esra. They'll put you, put you on the links over here. Uh, I'm over here in Tampa. Do some stuff in Atlanta. But, uh, but yeah, man, I appreciate you having me on the podcast and I want to give you a shout out and thank you for everything that you guys are doing. Your camera, your, your, your camera guy, Trey. I mean, he's a, he's a G. He's a g. He's the best. What you guys are doing out here, you guys are making some real impact in the world and I appreciate everything you guys are doing for yourselves and for your families and also for the kingdom man. You know, this is a. This is a win at the end of the day. It's, it's all for him, right? That's right, that's right. Nah, it's so good, brother. Thank you so much man. And make sure you guys follow Chris on all his platforms. If you need any real estate services, business brokerage services, anything like that, or you just wanna come and vibe at Nova Cantina, let's go in the Tampa Bay area. Come by about, grab you some bites and uh, yes guys, till next time, make sure you tune in, like, comment, share, tag, subscribe, all that good stuff. And, uh, we'll be seeing you soon for our very next episode. Take care. And we, and we're gonna get some tacos. That's right. We're gonna get some tacos. Appreciate you, brother. Thank you bro. Appreciate. Thank you so much, man. So good. So, so dope. Dope. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. That was great. Thank you. Oh no, that was really good, man. You brought me, you brought me to my spot. Shit, we're going there.