Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriel Ortiz.
Hi Gabriel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in the Oak Cliff area and graduated from Townview Magnet Center from the School of Business and Management. During my time there I knew I wanted to be a man of business and pedigree. My first choice for college was Babson University in Boston but unfortunately, I was unable to raise enough in scholarships to meet the $55K per year tuition. Not wanting to take out any loans or put my parents through financial hardship to get me through school I decided maybe the Navy was a viable option. I started the recruitment process but at the same time, I was still applying to other business schools and eventually got accepted to Northwood University which was a private business university. I ended up raising the $34K in scholarships that would meet their yearly tuition. I attended school in West Palm Beach, FL and finished my undergrad in 3 years by rigorously working through my courses. I decided to come back to Dallas, TX when I finished where an old friend and I decided to open a gym in the Oak Cliff area since we had met at Anytime Fitness years before. Our gym had a good run of success for 2 years even being featured on Oak Cliff Advocate.
I decided I wanted to work for something more and decided to go back to Florida in 2017 to pursue my calling, Real Estate. I took a leap of faith by not knowing many people over there and deciding to get into this super competitive industry but I was confident. I networked a lot and met a lot of people that put me in the position to succeed eventually landing a position in commercial property management in 2018 where I worked until the end of 2021.
I did feel the need to come home to be closer to family and knew it was time to come back. I had successfully built a life in another state within the real estate industry.
Today I am working with Residential buyers and sellers but am using my connections within the commercial industry to build on top of my prior experience.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was definitely not a smooth road. First of all, the going between states and leaving everything I ever knew behind really took a toll. I really struggled with my living situation at first in Florida since I was running out of money. I started working in a restaurant while I took my licensing courses and paying all the licensing fees. I’ve always told everyone that one day I’m going to write my “$7 Story” which is when I was only left with $7 to eat for the week after paying all my expenses and rent. Florida, in the beginning, was tough but I felt like I NEEDED to be there because something in my heart was telling me to. Once I finished my courses then was the big “Ok now what?” since I knew almost nobody and most people are drawn to someone, they know of a big producer within the real estate industry. I had neither in a city I barely knew.
I started going to classes and just any kind of event where there would be people and just handed business cards to anyone that I would strike up a conversation with.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in Real Estate and Property Management and I’m known as Gabriel, the one who moved to Florida, by a lot of my peers. I’m also known as the dancing REALTOR sometimes because of the energy I put in some of my videos for my listings. I’m very proud of my roots, my family, and my desire to be the best at anything I put my mind to. I have struggled because I’ve always liked to take risks to become better. There have been losses but there have also been wins that I can hold my head high with. I think my charisma and the ability to speak to ANYONE with confidence is what sets me apart. I’m also constantly trying to learn something new every day, not just in real estate. I’m also always trying to better myself professionally. I plan on enrolling in Law School to one day becoming a real estate attorney.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think my confidence and my approachability. I’m an easy person to talk to and am well versed in many subjects but I’ve been told that I don’t come off as a know it all. Attracting people into your circle is definitely a big catalyst when it comes to the real estate industry. You have to project so many images all at once to your clients. You have to be a kind person while maintaining professionalism at all times but you can’t have zero personality because you need clients to trust you and your work. I believe that has helped me expand my network everywhere I have gone.
Contact Info:
- Email: Gabriel@Huggins-Realty.com
- Website: https://gabrielortiz.huggins-realty.com
- Instagram: @GabrielOrtizRealtorDFW
- Facebook: @OrtizRealtyDFW
