Today we’d like to introduce you to Saud Rai.
Hi Saud, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After a decade and a half of managing a restaurant, Cinthia and I decided that it was time for us to change fields. As everybody knows, the restaurant business is one of the most difficult businesses to be in but we did it very well, we were successful but there was time for change right? And I feel that we are always driven by challenges and while we are at the restaurant we changed the menus around and brought it to the level where it should be.
It was very successful but there were no longer any challenges left for us and we are sacrificing too much of our life for the restaurant. Although we were passionate and we loved it, at the same time it was time for us to change for something new. So we decided we will leave the restaurant. I said, okay let’s take a break!
So we went to Ecuador for over a month and that was our first true vacation after almost 16 years. We enjoyed our tour in Ecuador. We had the time of our life. We recharged, refreshed, and put our thoughts together. And on our way back, Cinthia mentioned “How about Real Estate?” and I was like “What about Real Estate?” and she said
“Just take the license and just in case it won’t work out at least you will have your license”.
And I was like, “Okay, let’s do it!”. That was Friday afternoon when we arrived home. I parked the car, I didn’t even take the luggage out of the car yet and I went upstairs to my home office and I applied for a real estate license at Gold Coast. And I was like “Okay, you know what we got nothing else to do, this is what it is. Let’s give it a try.” Although, I heard good and bad things in the past about real estate that could be very challenging and whatnot.
But again, since we didn’t have anything, the restaurant was completely done. We left. We are the kind of people who believe that if you want to change something, you can’t do half, you have to do full out. And that’s exactly what we did, we said our goodbyes and there was no going back. So after I applied Friday, the very next Monday was my first in-person class. We went there and I remember Cinthia drove me and because you know that time the money was starting to dry out already, we went on a month-long vacation, we were not rich lol!
We were okay but we are starting to get negative. So to save gas, Cinthia waited for me outside while I was in for the class. When I came out after the first day of the class I had a very big smile on my face. And Cinthia said, “What happened?” I said “I found it! I found what I wanna do!” and to me Real Estate the first day I loved it! There were no other words to describe it. I thought it was challenging, and I like numbers and there was some math involved. It was love at first sight!
Then I got my license within 10 days. I passed on the first try. And that’s how I got into real estate. In choosing a broker company, I interviewed exactly 10 different brokers before I chose which company I’m gonna go for. And guess what, Keyes Company was the Broker number 10. They won my heart. Because I liked Tony, he spoke from his heart. He said, “Listen, Saud, you know I’m not gonna tell you you’re gonna be successful but Hey, if you put your heart into it you may succeed!”
I liked that he didn’t give me any false hope. And another thing, it was in Homestead and I live in Homestead. Because in the 15 years that we lived in Homestead, every day we went back and forth to Coral Gables to work at the restaurant. And For me having a job just 5 minutes from home was perfect. Also, The Keyes company is the number ONE broker in Homestead, FL. I liked the family culture.
The Keyes company in my opinion is the best broker in Florida at all levels. They have their values and that is extremely important to me. So I decided to join The Keyes company. I went there for passion and I only have one goal, and that is to make it. And then I said, “Cinthia, it’s time for you to get your license”. Then of course I supported her until she got her license. And we started to work together and that’s when Skywalker Group was born.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I guess nothing is ever a smooth road, it has its struggles. Of course, I wanna say that I’m grateful for the people’s trust somehow we can speak our minds and speak with our hearts, and that’s how we were able to make true and deep connections with the people we serve. I think that is probably one of our biggest qualities if you ask me.
And some people ask you, “What is the secret of your success?” so it will only come down to that level where you can communicate effectively and genuinely and the people feel that. And that is what makes a big difference. Trust is built on a very early level and it’s our job to deliver on that. And we are extremely careful that we will be able to deliver the kind of service that we promise.
So apart from that, about struggles, there was a time when I didn’t even have the money to buy a coffee because everything that we were making, I was reinvesting back into our business. Because for me, to get to the level of the vision we have we committed ourselves that we will focus only on what is needed to be successful.
And along the way, we max out on our credit card, we were behind on our mortgage. Because real estate in the beginning is always very tough and everybody knows that. However, at the same time, we were able to bounce back quickly. There were plenty of struggles but with the grace of God, we were able to overcome those struggles.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Skywalker Group is a force of its own. By the grace of God, we were awarded from several different platforms such as RateMyAgent and FastExpert as Number Realtors of Miami-Dade County, number one in Homestead, and number one in Florida City. And just last year alone we received 10 different awards. Moreover, The Keyes company has almost 4,200 realtors and we are in the Top 5. So we sold more homes than any other agent in Miami-Dade County.
In our organization, the service level is extremely important, that’s where we deliver. It’s, not the transaction, we provide an experience. Just like our tagline “Experience beyond Expectations” and that’s something that we live by, for us our branding is extremely important, the Skywalker Group is well known in our local areas because of the amount of business that we have done and how we represent ourselves as Skywalker.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is the most simple things in life. I know a lot of people will say that but for us, it’s not just the words, it’s the feeling. When it comes to work, it’s the satisfaction when you finish a deal. When the client smiles and is truly genuinely happy after the deal closes. If they are buyers when we are handing them the keys to the house. And when they are sellers when they feel that they made a successful and profitable business.
Those words, and sometimes they don’t even have to say a word, you can just see it on their faces. You see we have a lot of closings, there’s a lot of smiles, some with tears but happy tears. And that just touches our hearts so immensely and greatly that words cannot describe it. Sometimes you don’t even have to say that you are happy, you just have to feel it.
Also, when the client writes the reviews. Because sometimes, some people don’t speak well at the moment because of their emotions and sometimes they say what they feel at that time. And when we read those reviews it makes us happy. Bottomline, customer satisfaction is what makes us happy. And outside work, another thing that makes me happy is sitting in front of the TV with a cup of wine with my three dogs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.skywalkergroup.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skywalker.group/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkywalkerGroups
- Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skywalker.group
