Speaker 1: 0:30

My name is Leon Suliaga and I am the operator for the Suliaga Group at Luminary Bank. I've been in business since 2003, extremely passionate about this industry. You know, one of the things that I said in one of the books that I wrote was you know, you kind of trip into, you know, the mortgage business and it's been the greatest trip that I've ever had in my career Not the easiest one, for sure, but definitely the best, the best trip that I've ever had.

Speaker 2: 0:57

Talk me through your journey, from how you got to where you are today.

Speaker 1: 1:01

It's a long journey. So I'm not sure how many of your listeners know what a reader's digest is, so I'll just kind of give you the bullet points, right? So you know, one of my, one of my really close childhood friends, you know said to me back then hey, I think you do really well in the mortgage business. You should consider, you know, coming and working with us. And I was like I'm not interested. You know, I'm in school, sounds like a pyramid scheme, you know what I mean. Like I was exposed to some of those pyramid schemes in the past and I was completely like, put off. And he's like well, I just bought my first house. And I was like, I was like what do you mean? You buy a first house? You're 19 years old, what are you talking about? He's like yeah, I'm in the mortgage business. Now there's nothing to flex in that area, because everybody was in the mortgage business back in 2003, right? And so I went to his house. I saw the contract he had just put on his new condo and I looked at him and I was like Moses, how are you making so much money? Is this legal? Like you know, what are you doing? Right? And he essentially said totally legal. You know, it's just like I told you.

Speaker 1: 2:04

You know, like we're in a mortgage space and so got into it, dove right in and, you know, started to climb this, this entire ladder, and then 2007 hit right, the liquidity crisis happened. And that was a real gut check, because one of the things that I always say is that is what Mike Tyson says right, everybody has a good plan until they get punched in the face, right? Well, the entire industry got punched in the face in 2007 and the market just completely like changed, right? I remember, like going to my boss's desk and saying, you know, hey, nathan, I have to fund this loan here tomorrow and I can't get a hold of the bank, and he's like the bank closed, that bank closed. So he's like you're going to have to find another route. That's how bad it was. But you know, I had two decisions, right, and this is kind of the bullet point version two decisions to essentially go either completely get out of the industry or just double down and to make a very, very long story short industry or just double down and to make a very, very long story short.

Speaker 1: 2:59

He, nathan, actually was super instrumental because, even though I knew and understood the high level of the industry. I never really understood the business itself right and he was able to kind of like, you know, unpack. That, for me, pointed me in the right direction. Right before we started this I said you know, one of my passions is being an avid reader and he's like, hey, go read these books High Trust Selling by Todd Duncan, go follow this guy, tim Berheem, loan Toolbox, and then read this other guy, barry Habib, you know, mortgage Market Guide. And that's all I needed, right. So I went doubled down and little by little, like brick by brick, ever since then I've been building this business.

Speaker 2: 3:37

That's beautiful. How many years?

Speaker 1: 3:39

So 2003 to now, what is that? 22 years, yeah, 2025? Yeah, I think it was 2026. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 3:48

So you often say that home ownership should be intentional, not accidental. What does that mean for your clients and your team?

Speaker 1: 4:00

Yeah, I think proper planning prevents poor performance, and I feel like a lot of people in this industry we need to do a better job of giving our clients the plan what's the plan before, what's the plan during and what's the plan after? Right. And so for years and I'm at fault of this as well, because this is something that I had to learn the hard way For years, all that we talked about was the during piece. Right, like what happens during the transaction. We're going to give you a great rate, we're going to make sure that we close on time and we're going to make sure that this process is smooth. In other words, we're really good at during right, but that's 10% of the value that a mortgage professional should be bringing to the table right. Of the value that a mortgage professional should be bringing to the table right, 40% of that is the before the preparation. What happens if this? Then that A lot of times, consumers whether it's first-time home buyers, move-up buyers, people that are investors or people that are downsized right, they're probably gonna do this max six times in their life, right, we do this every single day and we're expecting them to be as prepared as we are, and so constant reaction during the transaction is literally a lack of preparation before and then the after.

Speaker 1: 5:02

Huge right. The after, you know, is a major piece. You know it's 50% of the actual process, right? What happens after? Right, most institutions are just going to drop you and say, hey, congratulations, here are the keys to your house. But there has to be a plan afterwards and how to help these consumers manage the largest liability that they're going to have on their balance sheet, which is their mortgage. And so, yeah, we can't be accidental, we have to be intentional in that process with our clients.

Speaker 2: 5:29

Just real quickly, because I don't know what is the after. What do you do after?

Speaker 1: 5:32

Yeah, so we have a client success manager and a team that essentially engages our clients as long as they actually own the property. So it's essentially a concierge service. So, as soon as the transaction closes, jill and her team essentially will not only call the client seven days later, 30 days later, they'll essentially make sure that their payments are actually set up online in the portal. Three months later they're going to make sure that their escrows are about to be dispersed and ultimately have a resource, a point of contact for all things regarding the actual mortgage right. And so if a client gets something in the mail, oftentimes they'll say what is this? Is this spam? Is this a legit solicitation? What is this? Jill is there to answer those questions, right? If they need a recommendation for a roofer, if they need a recommendation for a cleaner, if they need recommendations for a gardener, jill can essentially connect them to all. So it really is a concierge service post-closing that we do in a very proactive manner after the transaction closes.

Speaker 2: 6:30

I've bought three houses and I've never ever had a level of that service.

Speaker 1: 6:35

Yeah, yeah, I mean, and again I can know this is not something that you know I used to do on a regular basis. Yeah, this is something that has come in the last few years. Right, and so to your point. Right, like proper planning prevents poor performance literally means we have to have a process in place.

Speaker 2: 6:51

Yeah, that's, that's wonderful. I love that. As a business owner, I love that. Yeah. What core values drive your team and how do these values shape the client experience?

Speaker 1: 7:00

Okay. So on the business side, I really do believe this to the core. Everybody deserves the best price, the best advice and the best client experience. Okay, the best price mortgage rates are mortgage rates. I don't know why our industry is overcomplicated this entire thing and interest rates you can literally Google today and be like what does a 30-year fixed mortgage look like? And Google is going to give you an aggregate in terms of where the market is Now for the newer generation. Go to ChatGPT or some of these AI tools and they'll do the exact same thing. So rates are rates, right, so the market. But everybody deserves a competitive pricing right. But they also deserve the best advice right.

Speaker 1: 7:41

When you start to your search online. When you start your search, you know on the different platforms that stuff is important, but it needs to be bespoke at some point. That's where advice comes in right. Our designations you know our CMP has designation, for example. Our certified mortgage planning specialist right designation allows us to give the level of advice that a CMP or a certified financial planner, I'm sorry would give on the mortgage side of things.

Speaker 1: 8:02

So how does this loan fit into everything we're trying to do financially? A mortgage is not just a rate and a payment. It really is one slice of your overall financial picture, right? So how does this entire thing fit together? So the advice piece is huge and we really drill down on that. But then experience, okay, again, proper planning prevents poor performance, right?

Speaker 1: 8:22

The majority of people if you look at the Myers-Briggs, okay are present voice people, right and so meaning they need a pathway, they need a plan, they need a step-by-step process for them to follow, right? And I think a lot of times you know people in our industry gets in trouble because you have people that are future voices, people that have big aspirations, big views, but they don't have a process, right? And so for years now, we've implemented a process it's called our Excellent Loan Process, our ELP, and we work with the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Development to develop this process and every single month, every single quarter, every single year, we refine this process, little by little, so that the consumer, when they come to our practice, they know that it's not just going to be a reactive approach but a practice. So those are some of the fundamental core beliefs that we have in our practice.

Speaker 2: 9:13

That's phenomenal. I'm going to have to ask you later about this Carlton piece. How does your family's influence, like your mother's saying, tell me who you surround yourself with and I'll tell you who you are guide the way that you lead today?

Speaker 1: 9:25

Yeah, my mom's my hero. She, she is literally the most important person. I mean no disrespect to my dad, of course, dad, I love you but she has been the backbone of our, of our family and the matriarch of our family, and hard work has been instilled in us since we were kids. But you know, I think that you can tell so much about someone by seeing who they surround themselves with right Now. I have two kids now, so I see Isaiah, I see Lucy, I see their friends and then I see their behavior from their friends. Right has been such an important principle in my household that she's instilled in me because it's allowed me to surround myself with people that are at a much higher degree further along in life and also in business. So, yeah, she's been instrumental in shaping who I am today, and obviously my brothers as well.

Speaker 2: 10:20

Speaking of culture, how do you create a culture of growth and collaboration in initiatives like Leo Circle or the upcoming how To Collective?

Speaker 1: 10:29

a core belief of mine. Right, like you know one plus one is 11,. Right Like it's not two right, two minds. You know, if you guys don't know that, quote two minds, you know, one side by side equals 11, right and Leo Circle, all these projects, the how To Collective, the pod, all of this stuff is literally designed to enhance in that collaboration, but also, you know it's there because it's one of the core beliefs. You know that I have right, and so community is another one. Right Like hospitality is just one of the things that it just comes natural to me. And so having friends in the industry, not just in real estate, our financial advisor friends, our business partners, is incredible. So that's how that came about.

Speaker 2: 11:21

That's beautiful. So for people that see home ownership as intimidating or out of reach, what advice would you give them?

Speaker 1: 11:28

Yeah, I mean it certainly is the biggest financial decision that you're going to make your entire life, right, like I mean, you're not buying a pair of shoes, you're investing the largest liability that you're going to you know to essentially take on your entire life. So it should be intimidating because it is right. But fear, right, false evidences appearing real is a really good acronym that I talk about with our clients on a regular basis. Right, fear is a real thing until you start to engage in the process. Right, again, it comes back to this process piece right, you know a lot of people are intimidated because they're trying to bite this elephant with one bite.

Speaker 1: 12:08

It doesn't work that way, right, first, it's timelines, right, like, if you're thinking about investing in real estate, I always talk about the rule of 50%. I say, hey look, whatever your timeline is, if it's two years, it doesn't really make a difference, according to some studies. Right, specifically around the reticular activator, whatever your timeline is, usually it's about 50% once you start engaging and perseverating on this idea. So, if you're thinking about buying a house a year from now, it's probably about six months, because what ends up happening oftentimes is you find the unicorn right, and now we're scrambling right, and so why is that relevant to your question? Well, we want to make sure you engage with whomever it is that you trust as early as possible. Right, and usually you want to engage with your mortgage professional as early as possible because they are going to be able to give you, hopefully, the plan in terms of how to take this elephant down one piece at a time.

Speaker 2: 13:04

Chunk by chunk.

Speaker 1: 13:05

Chunk by chunk, that's right.

Speaker 2: 13:08

So I want to actually touch on business growth.

Speaker 1: 13:10

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 13:11

I know we spoke about this earlier. How has video and content creation become a part of your business and leadership toolkit?

Speaker 1: 13:20

Yeah, the one-to-many approach has been a game changer, right, I think TV is literally now on our phones, right, like, people are consuming information very differently, right, like we're no longer taking out the Britannica encyclopedia to look up meanings, we're looking at videos online, right, and so, years ago, you know, I read a book called Jab Jab Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk.

Speaker 1: 13:43

You know I've I've watched a lot of his content. You know, I'm a huge fan of Alex Hormozy's. You know, huge fan of some of these incredible stories that are out there, and one of the main things that they talk about is this whole concept of one to many, right, one to many in terms of, like, I can't stand in front of a thousand people every single day to, like, get the message out, right, but I can't stand in front of a camera and talk about, okay, the concepts that are important, that I want people to know and see a thousand views, or a thousand people, or a thousand impressions, engagement. And so it's been amazing for us because it's allowed us not only at the top of the funnel to create opportunities for us to engage with clients, but but also behind the scenes, you know, with our current clients and our current database, to provide additional value. So the podcast has been amazing, the interviews that we've done has been incredible, so I you know we're doubling down on this.

Speaker 2: 14:37

I love to hear it. I'm a big supporter of video content. That's right. When people think of your team, what do you want them to immediately associate with?

Speaker 1: 14:47

Yeah, I think we have a few models in our household that has bled into my team. One of them is that we can do hard things right. So this world tells us all the time that you know, this is just too difficult, this is just too hard, you know, but one of the things that we've taught our kids, my wife and I, is that Anceliagas can do hard things right. Yes, math is really hard, okay, but Isaiah and Lucy, you can do hard things. Yes, math is really hard okay, but Isaiah and Lucy, you can do hard things. And that's actually bled into our team right, you know, we can do hard things, we tackle hard things right, and we do it with excellence, but not perfection, because perfection is impossible. But right underneath, perfection is excellence right, and as long as we actually approach our business in that way, you know, we've seen success.

Speaker 1: 15:32

I have some. My team as cool as I am, I'm the pretty face in the camera, as you can see right, obviously right. But I mean it's the people behind me, my staff, my teammates, are really the oil that makes this engine move. Huge emphasis on leadership development with us. You know, what does Jim Rohn say? Right, when you start to work on yourself. You go from making a living to making a fortune right, and that couldn't be further from the truth, like we've invested so much time and energy and effort on our leadership development, constantly improving through various resources that we've gotten from some of the consultants we've hired. But you know we can do hard things is a bedrock of what we believe in. Excellence is another one, and constant growth is the other one as well.

Speaker 2: 16:18

Here's a million dollar question that all business owners want me to ask.

Speaker 1: 16:21

Okay, go ahead.

Speaker 2: 16:22

How do you attract that amazing team?

Speaker 1: 16:27

Oh, all right, I mean, it's a beautiful question. So we want people to grow in their leadership ability, we want people to do certain things right, and we're constantly pointing the finger at people, but what we don't realize is there's three fingers pointing right back at us your team, your company, your. This is a hard lesson that I had to learn. Your growth is gonna be dependent on me, right? And so, like how do I attract, how do we develop talent? You have to develop first, because you have to be a leader worth following. You know, one of the greatest resources that are out there on leadership is the Giant Worldwide Training.

Speaker 1: 17:10

So shout out to Courtney Jordan and Jeremy Kubitschek. She was, oh, so shout out to her. Yeah, she has been. Her. Jeremy and Steve have been an instrumental, like probably the biggest instrumental change in my life. When I was introduced to that content, I think, started to change, right, I started to become self-aware, and that's when, you know, my team, my, my staff started to grow, right. And so what is the magic? The magic answer here is if you want to grow, if you want your team to expand and grow. Execution is one thing, but, like, develop them as leaders is the other, and that is a really really hard thing to do but totally worth it.

Speaker 1: 17:53

But we can do hard things.

Speaker 2: 17:55

What do you mean by it's hard, by the way, to do that?

Speaker 1: 17:58

Yeah, because you have to be self-aware, right. Like you know, the hardest thing to do as a human being is to look in right, because we can always look out and be like, oh dude, you have food on your teeth, right, you have broccoli stuck in your teeth, right. But it's super hard to look at the mirror and say, yeah, that was on me, right. Second, it's hard because if you don't have the right framework and the right tools, it's extremely difficult.

Speaker 1: 18:24

One of the reasons why Giant War, why it was huge for me no pun intended is because it gave me the tools and the framework right For years. No pun intended is because it gave me the tools in the framework right. For years, I was reading books on leadership and it was literally all about well, this is what a leader looks like. Now come back to my seminar so I can tell you more about about it, and keep coming so I can sell you more material nothing that could translate and obviously be replicated, right, and so the tools are huge. And then the desire, you know, is the last piece. So my ladies at work are incredible because they took on the challenge and we're an incredible team for that reason.

Speaker 2: 19:00

So they had to have wanted to grow as well.

Speaker 1: 19:02

For sure, yeah, but they saw it in me first, right? Like they saw it, they're like, okay, if this is important to Leo, it's important to me, right? Oftentimes leaders talk about this but they don't do anything about it, right? They're constantly self-sabotaging their leadership and their clients or their employees, similar to their kids, can see it and kind of sniff it out.

Speaker 2: 19:21

Yeah, that's so important. My last question to you, looking ahead what kind of legacy do you hope to leave for your clients, your team and your community?

Speaker 1: 19:29

Man. Yeah, I think about this often. Actually, there's a great quote that I think about often. It says if I find in my heart's desires that nothing in this world can satisfy, I can only conclude that I was not made for this world. Cs Lewis said that. Right, you know, when I die, nobody's gonna come to my funeral and be like man. That guy knew how to close lungs. It's like good for you, leo, like they're going to look at my cast and be like that rate you got me. That was amazing. They're going to look at me and be like I hope my son and my daughter say you know my dad, he made a huge impact in my life because he was present, you know, because he cared and because he instilled in me like great values that I can carry on forever.

Speaker 1: 20:09

And as cheesy as this might sound, this is not original content. Right Like impact for me is an acronym right and it literally stands for I must personally act. I must personally act in order to make an impact in this world and so hopefully, like you know, I will be remembered as a great husband, as a great friend, as a great man of God, as a great businessman. Right, but if nothing, if it all fails, okay, as a great dad, and so I always tell some of my closest friends that you know, this is something that is definitely evolved over the years. You know, I'm not a businessman that has a family, I'm a family man that has a business right and that shift is really really hard right. But like shift is really really hard right. But like, the people that are going to probably remember me the most and see all of my flaws and hopefully, you know, remember me, like I've discussed is my family.

Speaker 2: 21:01

That's beautiful. Is there anything else you would like to add that I didn't touch on? That you want to share with the listeners?

Speaker 1: 21:10

Yeah, I mean, I think overall, if you're thinking about, you know, starting a business, right, like? I interviewed a financial advisor his name is Matt, so shout out to him on this and I very rarely and I posted this on LinkedIn as soon as I had lunch with him. I very rarely take notes right on in meetings like that of like, like massive things that I probably haven't already read, but I remember writing what he said down when he talked about his journey. He said I was told a long time ago there's three I's in this world that we need to always keep in the back of our mind. He goes impossible, improbable and inevitable. He goes.

Speaker 1: 21:46

You know, when we start a business, he goes. Everybody's gonna tell you that's impossible. Come on, you're wasting your time, you're going to leave this career to do this. That seems really, really risky and probably very, very impossible. And they're right, because at the very beginning you know when you do this, when you start something like this right, everybody looks at the ceiling. There's no ceiling, yes, but there's also no floor, right, like, if this doesn't work, we're moving in to your basement, right, but he goes.

Speaker 1: 22:12

But once you get over the impossible part, you get into the improbable, right, and he's like is this probably going to happen? Maybe, I mean, it's a flip of a coin, right, it's a flip of a coin if we're gonna scale this thing up to eventually sell, like he shared, right, maybe, maybe not, he goes. But once you get past that, success is inevitable. Alex Ramosi, in one of his books and one of his podcasts, said that you know the reason why most people win, it's not because they're smarter than everyone else. It's because they've learned to push through those stages and through the heart. And when you get to the other side, you look around and you're like, okay, now I know why most people aren't here because they don't want to deal with the pain. So if you're a business owner and you're thinking about doing this scaling up hey, it's kind of probably impossible Then it goes into improbable, but eventually it's inevitable.

Speaker 2: 23:04

That's a beautiful quote. Thank you so much for being on this podcast.