Today we’d like to introduce you to Jayson & Michelle Yunis.
Hi Jayson & Michelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our story in real estate really started at a time when neither of us knew exactly what was next. Jayson was the first to be let go from his corporate job, and that unexpected moment became the beginning of his real estate career. There was a lot of uncertainty, but we believed in each other and believed that if we were willing to work hard, learn, and keep challenging ourselves, we could build something.
Two years later, during Jayson’s second year in real estate, Michelle was laid off from her corporate job. We remember the conversation pretty clearly. The question was, “What are you going to do?” And the answer was simple: “Work in real estate with you.” At the time, we weren’t married or even engaged. We had both been married before, and between us we had five daughters who were either in high school or just starting college. There were a lot of reasons to be nervous about two people depending on a new real estate business, but we decided to believe in each other and figure it out together.
Almost 10 years later, that decision has become so much more than a career. We’ve built a business together, a life together, and something that really reflects who we are and what matters to us. Along the way, we realized that while real estate is what we do, people are really our business.
Our superheroes are the people we get to work with every day. They’re teachers and first responders, local business owners and parents. They’re families who realize they need more space, empty nesters who are ready for less, first-time buyers getting their first set of keys, and people simply trying to figure out what their next chapter looks like.
Today, we have the opportunity to help more than 50 families a year. We get to be part of some of the biggest transitions in people’s lives, and we don’t take that lightly. Every home has a story behind it, and every move has a reason.
When we look back at where we started—two people navigating unexpected changes in our careers, raising five daughters and trying to figure out what came next—we could never have known exactly where it would lead.
We just believed in each other, kept showing up, and kept building.
And almost 10 years later, that’s still what we’re doing.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We were scared. We were nervous. And looking back, we were probably feeling exactly what most business owners feel when they’re getting started. There were a lot of unknowns, and not everyone around us believed this was a good idea. In fact, some of the people closest to us discouraged us from doing it. We heard the concerns, we heard the doubts, and there were definitely moments when we questioned ourselves too.
Two things made a huge difference for us. The first was partnering with Keller Williams Realty. We were introduced to systems and models that taught us to look at real estate as a business, not just a job where you sell houses. We started learning about P&Ls, budgets, leverage, systems, and what it actually takes to build something that can grow beyond just the two of us.
That was especially important because we both came from corporate careers. We were used to having benefits, health insurance, a 401(k), paid time off, and a certain level of security. When you become self-employed, suddenly all of that is on you. So we started asking ourselves a different question: How do we create those things for ourselves? How do we build a business that can provide not only an income, but also the security, opportunities, and quality of life we once depended on an employer to provide?
It wasn’t always easy. We’ve been broke. We’ve had seasons where we had to say no to a lot of things simply because we couldn’t afford to say yes. We know what it feels like to look at something you want to do, somewhere you want to go, or something you want to provide for your family and realize that, at that moment, it just isn’t an option.
And we didn’t like that feeling.
That became a big part of what drove us. We wanted to build a life where we could say yes to the things we wanted to say yes to and no to the things we didn’t. Not because of money, fear, or obligation, but because we had a choice.
The second thing that had a major impact on us was coaching. We brought a coach into our business and our lives because we realized there were things we simply couldn’t see on our own. Coaching helped us identify blind spots, challenge the way we were thinking, push through different stages of growth, and become more intentional about what we were actually building.
Over time, the goal became bigger than selling more homes or making more money. We wanted to build a life by design.
For us, success started to mean having choices. Choice with our time. Choice with our finances. Choice about who we work with, how we spend our days, and what we say yes or no to.
We’re still building that today. We’re still learning, still being coached, still challenging each other, and still figuring things out. The difference is that today, we understand what we’re building and why we’re building it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At the end of the day, we’re in the people business. We genuinely enjoy getting to know people organically — who they are, what they enjoy, what’s important to them, and what season of life they’re in. Real estate gives us this incredible opportunity to take those relationships and sometimes be part of one of the biggest life events someone will experience.
Over the years, we tried the “cute names.” We tried the fancy logos and all the things you think you’re supposed to do when you’re building a real estate brand. But what we kept finding was that people connected most with us simply as Jayson & Michelle.
Once we understood that, everything became a lot easier and a lot more authentic.
A big part of our brand today is simply sharing who we are and a little bit of our world. And honestly, our lives probably aren’t that different from a lot of other couples. We love trying local restaurants — we’re definitely foodies. Fitness is a big part of our lives. We love spending time with our daughters and our dogs, and we absolutely love to travel. Who doesn’t?
Those are the things that naturally create conversations and relationships for us. Someone recommends a restaurant. Someone asks about a place we traveled to. We meet someone at the gym. We connect with another parent or local business owner. There’s no complicated strategy behind it. It’s just people getting to know people.
So eventually, we dropped the cute and fancy stuff and said, “This is who we are. We’re Jayson & Michelle Yunis. We want to get to know you, and we want to understand what’s important to you.”
Because when you really think about real estate, so much of it comes back to lifestyle.
That’s where Miami Florida Living came from. It isn’t a fancy team name we created for ourselves. It’s a way for us to share what we love about living here — the neighborhoods, local restaurants, businesses, things to do, and some of our own experiences along the way. We share that through our social media and our biweekly newsletter because it gives people a chance to experience Miami through our eyes and, at the same time, get to know us a little better.
That lifestyle conversation also helps us become better real estate advisors. The families we serve aren’t simply looking for three bedrooms, a certain number of bathrooms, or a particular square footage. A growing family may be thinking about schools, parks, a backyard and where their kids will grow up. An empty nester may want less maintenance and more freedom to travel. An entrepreneur may care about being close to their business, restaurants, the airport, or the places where they spend their time.
They’re all looking for something different, but ultimately they’re looking for a lifestyle.
The better we understand the person, the better we can understand what home, neighborhood, or next move actually fits their life.
That’s probably what we’re most proud of about the brand we’ve built. It feels like us. There really isn’t a separation between “Jayson & Michelle the brand” and Jayson & Michelle the people.
We’re not trying to convince everyone that we should be their real estate agents. We’d rather get to know people, let them get to know us, be a resource, and build a genuine relationship. Then, when real estate becomes part of their story, we hope we’ve earned the opportunity to be the people they trust to help them through it.
For us, that’s Miami Florida Living. It’s not just about where you live.
It’s about how you want to live.
What does success mean to you?
Success has definitely changed for us over the years.
From a business standpoint, one of the biggest ways we measure success is through referrals. Thankfully, that’s where the majority of our business comes from today — past clients, friends, people in our community, and even real estate agents across the country and internationally who trust us enough to introduce us to someone they care about.
To us, there really isn’t a bigger compliment.
A referral tells us that someone found value in what we did. It means they trusted us with their own experience and, more importantly, trust us enough to put our name in front of someone else. We don’t take that lightly.
Personally, our definition of success is a little different. Success is having the ability to say yes to the things we want to say yes to, and no to the things we choose not to. It’s having that choice.
And what do we like saying yes to? Seeing new places. Meeting new people. Traveling. Spending time with our family. Reconnecting with old relationships and having the freedom to enjoy the life we’ve worked hard to build together.
We could sit here and talk about how many homes we’ve sold, how much volume we’ve done, or how many families we’ve helped. But the truth is, that’s not really our story — it’s theirs.
The move is their story. The relocation is their story. Buying their first home, selling the home where they raised their kids, moving across the country, upsizing, downsizing, or starting over — those moments belong to our clients. We’re just fortunate enough to be invited into them and trusted to help along the way.
What we can be proud of is what those experiences have allowed us to build.
We’ve built a business we genuinely enjoy. We get to work together, travel together, meet incredible people together, and do life together.
For us, that’s success.
Not just building a business that gives us a living, but building one that gives us a life we actually want to live.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://miamifloridaliving.kw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miamifloridaliving
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MiamiFloridaLiving
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Miamifloridaliving
