Ricardo Mello grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and moved to New York City at the age of 25 to explore entrepreneurial opportunities. He is the co-founder and managing partner of Manhattan Miami Real Estate. Specializing in working with foreign buyers, he works with clients all over the world looking to buy, sell or lease luxury residential properties in New York City and Miami.
What is Manhattan Miami Real Estate all about?
Originally our brokerage was formed to help international buyers purchasing properties in New York City. Then our clientele expanded into Miami too, and we took the leap and began operating out of both major cities. It’s always an exciting experience to travel around the globe to find prospective clients. Now we’ve evolved into more of a full-service brokerage that still caters to foreign buyers with a focus on the local and national clientele as well.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
Part of my passion for working with international buyers stems from growing up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and then moving to New York in 1999. In college, I studied marketing and also helped out with the family business. I came to the city at 25 and started selling fashion. Everyone’s always talking about real estate in New York, so it was only natural I’d eventually be introduced to high-end real estate sales. I met co-founder Anthony Guerriero in 2001 and from there we found our niche in working with international buyers. It’s how we made our name in such a competitive market.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
The top three skills that every successful entrepreneur needs are drive, vision, and patience. Drive will push you through every no that will eventually lead you to a yes. Vision will keep you focused on hustling and seeing the big picture. Patience will help you carefully make strategic decisions and deal with the task at hand.
How have the pandemic and lockdown affected you or your new business?
Our approach to handling the downtime was to seize the opportunity and focus on how to continue growing our business. While people were scaling back, we decided to invest in a new SEO strategy and competitive analysis tool. Now we’re working on new strategies to organically increase our rankings on Google and other search engines. The goal is to get as close to Page 1 as possible by focusing on certain keywords for our website. The pandemic opened up everyone’s eyes to why having a virtual presence is more important than ever before. So we wanted to take that insight to the next level.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
My first mistake was not realizing the amount of prep that goes into getting your broker’s license. First, you have to get your salesperson’s license. Then you have to earn a certain number of “points” before you can move onto working toward your broker’s license. Points are earned based on the types of transactions you do. Then some states don’t recognize your license, so you need to start over in that state if you want to practice there too. This is what we had to do with our Florida location. It taught me to really do my homework when I have a venture I want to pursue.
The second mistake I would recommend entrepreneurs avoid, especially in real estate, is a sense of false overconfidence. Most people in real estate start off not making a commission for months. I was lucky in closing transactions right off the bat, and it slightly skewed my perception at first. There are always going to be ups and downs in business. When you work on commission you need to especially focus on the pipeline — what’s coming next. This taught me that confidence is best saved in your listing appointments and when you market yourself.
The last mistake I made was not taking advantage of online tools like customer relationship management (CRM) platforms sooner. They offer great ways to automate client communication. You can set up marketing campaigns, birthday texts and so much more, which is great for staying in touch in a competitive industry.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
Right now it’s all about SEO. We recently invested in a new SEO competitive analysis tool that allows us to identify relevant keywords to optimize on our website. We’re generating new and engaging content that helps prospective buyers, sellers, landlords, and renters. We’re also identifying link-building opportunities to help build up our domain authority. Lots of new terms we’re learning over here! This goes back to my point on taking advantage of free online education.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
It’s easy to focus on chasing the listings and clients when you first start in real estate. Before you dive into lead-generation and standard real estate tasks like prospecting, you want to really develop your brand and set up tools like CRMs from the beginning. I wish I learned more about all the tools my CRM platform offered from the get-go. Then I could’ve incorporated them earlier and taken advantage of the benefits. Cool tools exist out there like automated emails based on certain actions an individual makes on your website, tagging contacts appropriately so you can add them to different marketing campaigns and the ability to text with a dedicated work number. These types of advances are so helpful for an industry like real estate, where the competition is insane. You have to stay on top of all of the people in your database.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
The Pomodoro Technique is an excellent way to stay productive without burning out. Prioritize your most effective tasks for the day. Then set a timer for 25 minutes and dive in. It was developed in the late 1980s by Francesco Cirillo. When the timer goes off, take a short break and then start again. When you work a manageable amount of time followed by regular short breaks, you’re helping your mind focus, reset and avoid procrastination. There are a few apps and extensions out there that help you easily implement this technique.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
If I only had $1,000 to start a new business, I would reserve $300 to $500 for education and earning any necessary licenses. In real estate, for example, professionals must earn and maintain an active real estate license. I would also pull from that for registering your business online. Another $300 would be reserved toward marketing and project management. For example, getting our domain, email, and website set up. Then I would keep the $200 in reserve for emergencies, and invest in free online tools like HubSpot, Zapier, and Trello. Learn everything you can about marketing your business via free online tutorials on SEO, digital marketing, social media, and more.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
Eating well and exercising regularly is so important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you’re not taking care of yourself, you can’t take care of your business. That’s why I prioritize maintaining a healthy work-life balance. When I’m off work mode, I enjoy clearing my mind by being outdoors.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
My advice to new entrepreneurs is to just do it. Don’t worry about impressing anyone. Focus on each step of the journey. Sometimes it helps if you find an accountability partner for yourself. That way you can both work together to keep each other motivated. Practice meditation. Keep your body healthy and your mind clear. I’ve also found it so helpful to surround yourself with great minds that are similar to you. The easiest way to do that is to join the industry and entrepreneurial groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.
What is your definition of success?
My definition of success is never having to wonder: “What if?” If you try chasing your dreams, the only time you’ll fail is if you allow yourself to fail. Success is in the journey.
How can readers get in touch with you?
The best way to get in touch with me is to email me at ricardo@manhattanmiami.com. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.
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