Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Meneses.
Hi Brandon, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I entered the world of real estate at 17 years old. My high school required all students to work in a real-world job throughout their senior year to graduate. As a result, I found myself working as intern filing paperwork for a top real estate team in my city – Boca Raton. The team was called The J Alexander Group & the CEO Jonathan Alexander served as my mentor.
My first few months, I spent watching and listening to Jonathan & Lily’s, Jonathan’s wife, real estate conversations. Starting so young was a blessing in many ways. Yet it also meant I quite literally had no real-world experience. I caught on quickly to the importance of emotional intelligence in real estate. I was like a sponge absorbing anything & everything around me.
After close to a year of working in real estate, I was officially promoted to executive assistant. I stepped into the role of managing the team’s listings, tracking the team’s growth, & handling finances. At 19 years old, I had a company credit card to use when purchasing business supplies. This was a huge moment of growth for me as it propelled me to improve my financial skills early on in life.
As fulfilling as being an executive assistant was, it was not until my boss & I took a business trip to California that I first began to envision myself as a real estate agent. The trip was meant to improve my administrational skills yet I found myself exposed to the possibilities of what selling real estate could do. I will never forget the moment one particular gentleman walked onto the stage & said “My name is so & so, and last year I sold $200M in real estate”.
At that moment, it was like a lightbulb had gone off. On the flight back to Florida, I remember telling Jonathan, my boss, I was going to transition into selling real estate. Over the next year & a half, I grew from an executive assistant to successfully closing 33 transactions. I was soaring beyond my imagination and after visiting California with my boss, I had my eyes set on Beverly Hills.
This particular city seemed to be the epitome of ultra-luxury real estate as many of the highest sales ever recorded in the US showed to be there. In the Summer of 2019, I left my real estate team & transitioned into a new brokerage called The Agency – headquartered in Beverly Hills. I spent 4 months working out of their South Florida office before transferring to their Beverly Hills HQ.
Shortly after, the pandemic hit causing the real estate world to freeze. After months of waiting, I was able to finally get licensed and became relentless in my daily hustle. I successfully sold 12 million dollars worth of real estate within my first 12 months of being licensed. I was beyond hungry to make a name for myself. I performed as a top agent on a team in Los Angeles in those 12 months of selling real estate.
Right when I hit the 12-month mark of selling, I left the team to start my own. My partner, Dennis DeWalt, was key in executing this pivotal move as he became my business partner in the process. Together, we hustled for months on end working on building our clientele. We worked 24/7, around the clock, constantly showing homes and negotiating deals.
When 2022 finally rolled around we started the year with 18 million dollars under contract within the first quarter. We roared through the year with monumental sales in Santa Monica for $7.5 million and Pacific Palisades for $6.4 million. This leads us to today. We are expecting to close out the year by tripling more than what I sold last year before starting our team.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This journey has been anything but a smooth road. I have experienced many smooth chapters. Yet overall, this journey came with many obstacles which challenged me to my core. In the end, it is the toughest of obstacles that have propelled me the farthest in my career. One particular obstacle was the transition from being on a team to starting my team. I was so used to having the 24/7 support of a team, when I ventured off on my own it was like a baby chick leaving the nest.
I had to figure out everything on my own. It came with many moments of questioning my decision. Yet, it also strengthened my grit – my ability to overcome anything. I learned to strengthen my company ties & lean into the relationships I had with top agents in the office. I also learned the power of ultra-marketing. With a team no longer present to lean into their marketing, I began to produce brochures, booklets, etc. It was a powerful lesson since it led to so much of my success in attracting clients.
The image Dennis and I held in our marketing was fierce and powerful. We always wore suits when showing homes and thought outside the box when it came to delivering our services. We built an image of our exceptional presentation as a first impression. This allowed us to capture our client’s trust in knowing we could always go above and beyond for them since we were already setting the bar high, to begin with.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I serve as a top luxury real estate advisor in Beverly Hills. I focus mainly on guiding my clients through some of their most pivotal residential purchases throughout Los Angeles. I have a strong clientele base in the hills (Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, and the surrounding area). Because I live so close to the hills, I specialize in selling residential estates in this area.
I am most proud of my emotional intelligence. Real estate has allowed me to strengthen my ability to understand how people’s emotions work. Most of the time, a decision to sell or purchase a home comes from an emotion that is then justified with logic. Without a strong emotion to move someone towards a decision, many people will find it difficult to make a life-changing decision.
When I am with my clients, I focus heavily on understanding the way their mind works so I know best how to guide them. It is not always necessarily what I say to them, but instead how I say the information to them which helps differentiate me from other top agents. Relationships are what make life. Without them, there would not be any life. Part of making a relationship work is understanding the person on the other side.
What are your plans for the future?
My ultimate goal is to become a world leader where I focus heavily on changing global policies surrounding climate change, sex trafficking, and economic reform in and 2nd & 3rd world countries. I acknowledge I am very blessed to be where I am at such a young age yet I also understand many outside factors have played a role such as the country I am in and the environment around me.
I will always have my foot in real estate since I truly believe it is an industry with unlimited potential affecting all areas of life. With climate change increasing as a global issue, I feel responsible to rise as a global leader in aiding the reforms to help change the destructive course of our current society. We need the planet & the planet needs us. I
I grew up around all women. Specifically, my mom, sister, and grandmother were the main figures in my life. I learned to understand feminine energy because of them. It helped me better understand what it is like to be a woman and the struggles which come with it. As a result, when I first learned about sex trafficking I was shocked to my core.
How could any society allow for such dark acts? To know some countries choose to look the other way was beyond unbelievable as well as knowing it served as one of the top black markets in the world. I see numerous leaders proactively seeking change, yet I do not see enough. I feel instead of desiring change, I can be the change. My goal is to completely eradicate the sex trade industry as a whole.
I was blessed to begin my real estate career working on a top real estate team so young. Yet I also understand many others would not have near an opportunity in 2nd & 3rd world countries. I think about the future doctors, lawyers, & leaders in places like my home country of Colombia. How some of these people, no matter how much potential they have, will never make their dreams a reality because of the lack of opportunity.
Many of these 2nd & 3rd world countries lack the infrastructure to facilitate profound dreams. Yet, with the right leader stepping into place, these countries can produce profound citizens to help create a more prosperous future. Many of these countries have had the chance to elevate themselves yet because of misguidance from sinister leaders, only those at the top of society gained while the people at the bottom still starve. I see myself as the next Nelson Mandela, Ghandi, and so forth.
Contact Info:
- Website: brandonmeneses.com
- Instagram: @brandonmeneses_
Image Credits
Jay Invina
