Well-known real estate investor Sofia Estrada Castro has managed to build an empire for herself within the real estate industry. While initially a high school dropout struggling to find a job she truly loved, Sofia turned her life around by starting a leasing brokerage with her now-husband, Bobby. The couple would eventually sell the business for a staggering $1 billion valuation! Now focused on her $600 million multifamily portfolio, she looks forward to offering advice to others who’d like to build an empire from the ground up.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

Making comparisons is easier than ever because social media provides people with easy access to their competition. However, according to Sofia Estrada Castro, comparing yourself to others is the last thing to do when trying to build an empire. Instead, she says, “Work on setting realistic goals for yourself. Stop thinking about what others are doing and focus solely on what you’d like to do. 

Even if others appear to be further on their entrepreneurial journeys, it doesn’t matter. We’re all moving at a pace that works best for us. I couldn’t sit there and hold myself back with doubts about success just because I didn’t have a college degree like some people my age. When you compare yourself much less and focus more on what you need to get done to climb that ladder, you can see better results.” 

Take Risks to Get Rewards

While it’s important to avoid comparing yourself to others while you’re on the journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur, it’s also important to take risks. Sofia says taking risks comes with the territory. “When I decided to invest in a manual on building a leasing brokerage with my husband, I had to take a significant risk. We borrowed money from our parents to pay for this manual, and we didn’t want to disappoint our loved ones. Although we didn’t know what the outcome would be, we hoped for the best and gave consistent effort, which paid off for us in the end,” says Estrada Castro. So, even if you’re skeptical about making that first move, it’s worth it if it can bring you one step closer to your end goal.

Give It Your All and Then Some

Building an empire also means putting your all into the workload, even if it means more work than play in the beginning. For Sofia, long hours spent working the business became the norm. “I was still working a traditional job while helping with the business at night. There were nights when I hardly got any sleep at all, but I kept telling myself that it would eventually pay off for us, and it did. We managed to scale the business within a year, so I quit my day job to focus on the business, which we managed to grow for years before exiting and selling at a $1 billion valuation.”

Sofia’s words of wisdom can inspire those ready to move past the traditional 9-5 job while building wealth through an empire of their own. No matter what you want to do in life, if you’re ready to go for it, take risks, and put in the effort, you can make it happen.