Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Manuel.
Thomas, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story is a bit unconventional in how I’ve grown my businesses and built my foundation, but from a very early age, I’ve always been the most driven, hard-working, entrepreneurial, badass in the room and to this day, I believe that remains true. While many people will say they had a plan all their life of what they wanted to do for a career, I was the exact opposite. I wanted to be a veterinarian, lawyer, athlete, government official, sports agent, and the list goes on, but the one thing that stood out was my surprising ability to connect with ANYONE and this skill correlated into something that’s beneficial to everyone. Sales. Whether it was selling candy to teachers and students, convincing my barber to pay me to sweep the shop, or pitching my family/friends on a business idea, I was always a shark.
My time at Bellaire High School with the programs and organizations offered such as DECA and Bellaire’s Co-Op Programs allowed me the opportunity to hone my entrepreneurial shark skills immensely. Under the tutelage of Alice McKinney (Co-Op/Marketing Director), I became skilled and sought after individual and was approached by many people in different fields in the hope that I would come work for whatever company and line their pockets with cash. However, I turned down many offers and my senior year, I decided to begin studying to get my real estate license and attend the University of Houston. Once at UH, I worked at a new development apartment complex as a part of the leasing team, I worked with a marketing program on campus as a consultant, and I owned my own sneaker resale business and managed to bring in about $85k in income at age 19. However, after my first year at UH, I decided college wasn’t a good fit for me, so I withdrew and begin my career as a full-time real estate agent.
Over the past three years, I’ve had the opportunity to work at a multi-million dollar, luxury mid-rise development, I’ve represented and worked with multiple NBA and NFL athletes, hosted several celebrity events, and traveled across the world to work internationally. My foundation is in real estate and I have spent years taking time to focus on gaining knowledge and experience, but I felt it a disservice to limit myself to just that so in addition to my real estate business I have launched an International Travel Vlog, my very own Media Group, and have several other projects in the making. While most people take every opportunity to focus on income and profits, I pride myself on helping and uplifting others, providing invaluable information to peers and mentees, and curating experiences and opportunities for others, which in turn provides me with loyal and resolute group of followers and clients.
Has it been a smooth road?
My road has been the opposite of smooth. Bumpy, ridged, filled with potholes, and every kind of roadblock you can think of. Throughout my journey, I’ve gone days without sleep or food, I’ve worked 100+ hour weeks (sometimes without pay) and even slept in my car on various occasions in an attempt to get ahead. I’ve sacrificed relationships, friends, and even family to achieve my dreams and aspirations. At times, the hardships have taken a toll on my mental and physical health, but I love what I do and am willing to make sacrifices to reach my goals, but it’s all about balance. A healthy balance of work, leisure and rest will set you up to win and with that, I can say in the long run I will look back with no regrets at the work and effort I’ve put into my craft.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
My bread and butter is Real Estate. I began just working with real estate sales and was able to close a deal for half a million dollars in my first month and throughout my career, I’ve completed over $10 million in real estate transactions including leases, property sales, as well as personal investments. More recently I have begun expanding my reach by creating the Manuel Media Group. This company has a foundation in real estate photography, videography, and coverage, but will also cover personal events, vlogs, and much more. Finally, after I made a couple of viral tweets about traveling and real estate, I decided to also begin a podcast (The Real Talk Podcast) and vlogging my international travels as well as my day to day business as a real estate agent. Most people around will either know me as that young real estate agent or the dude that’s in a different country every month.
The thing I’m most proud of as a company has to be the origins of where I started. I am in no way some big conglomerate, but projections are all pointing towards steady growth and that is very satisfying for me. It’s nice to walk into a big house that’s already built like Apple and get a room for lease, but it brings me overwhelming joy to build my own home brick by brick over time and watching it come together.
I believe what sets me apart from most is I live by the “Gary Vee Method”. While I could go into a long dissertation about what the method is, it’s pretty much summed up by these few quotes:
– “I put zero weight into anyone’s opinion about me because I know exactly who I am.”
– “Even if your ambitions are huge, start slow, start small, build gradually, build smart.”
– “It took thirty-eight years before 50 million people gained access to radios. It took television thirteen years to earn an audience that size. It took Instagram a year and a half.” (everything happens in its own time)
Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
As I steadily gain more real estate clientele, I project by the year 2025 to do a minimum of $20 million in sales and bring on at least five full-time team members. I will be working not only in Texas but also in California and Internationally as I have already gained access to practice real estate in countries across the globe.
As for my other businesses, my main focus is on the short term, and while I do have some projections as to income and business models, it is still too early to give any definitive answers as to where they will be in 10 years. I just turned 22, and my life, as well as my businesses, are in a constant cycle of trial and error and over the next five years, I will be conducting market data research, test runs, and product/business development to slowly but surely build something sustainable.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5050 Westheimer Rd Ste 200, Houston, TX 77056
- Website: https://linktr.ee/thomaslmanuel
- Phone: 832-725-1437
- Email: tlmanuel@kw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomaslmanuel/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.manuel.526875
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThomasLManuel
Image Credit:
Sebastian Rodriguez (Nemas Photography)
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