Today we’d like to introduce you to Pranesh (PJ) Jayaprakash.
Pranesh (PJ), please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Real estate has always been a passion ever since reading a booked called “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, but I never imagined selling houses for a living. I graduated from Baylor University in 2016 with a Biology degree and business minor, with the hopes of becoming a pediatrician. Family problems put those dreams on hold, and in 2017, I was unsure of the direction I was heading towards. My good friend Adrian had reached out to me about starting a marketing company and wanted my help in getting clients. I agreed to help out and ended up signing our first client within one month. That client also needed someone to tutor their kids, and I agreed to help there as well.
A year later, I ended up tutoring about five more kids, but I still was not satisfied with what I was doing, so I began interviewing with real estate teams. That’s where I interviewed with the Audra O’Neal Team at Keller Williams and ended up becoming a real estate agent on the team, while still continuing to tutor. Today, the small side hustle of tutoring turned out to become huge, as I have a clientele of about 17 kids, while I still get to help people buy and sell houses every day. Both these businesses feed into each other as the people I sell houses to and for, end up wanting me to tutor their kids, while the kids that I tutor tell their parents that I am a real estate agent. I would not have imagined doing what I am doing now, but kids have always been my passion, which is why I continue to tutor.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As soon as I graduated from Baylor at the end of 2016, life became extremely tough. My mom had to take a break from work because there was a possibility that her tumor could grow back (she had one removed from her brain in 2012). 2017 was the hardest year I could imagined, but having my back against the wall and watching my mom struggle was the best thing that could have ever happened to light a fire under me. I looked at my bank account one day to see a whopping $2.36 and I was just devastated. Thats when I decided to help my friend with his marketing company, and I began tutoring. A year later, I started a full-time job working from 8-5, while tutoring from 5:30-9:30, and still managing and helping my friend run his marketing company. I began working about 14-16 hours a day and loving every second of it. Of course, I lost complete track of my work and life balance and lost some relationships and friends along the way.
Keller Williams Southwest – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My full-time job is that I am a real estate agent with the Audra O’Neal Team at Keller Williams. I focus on helping people find a home in Houston and also sell their home too. More than anything, I focus on the relationship I create with my clients above anything else which allows me to direct my energy into exactly what they are looking for. I go beyond just asking them the simple real estate questions of “How many bedrooms? Bathrooms? What school zoning?” and etc., I focus on their emotional stance of every home, and even after the closing table, I continue to check in with my clients and ensure they are satisfied with my performance as their Realtor and are currently happy with their home.
Real estate agents seem to have a bad reputation here and there, mainly because the clients always felt like they were treated as a check, and not as a client looking to buy or sell. I always deal with people who leave their previous agent because they were no help, and I try my hardest to give every client the best real estate transaction they have ever had.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success, for me, is not defined by the amount of money you make. I define success by the value I bring people, the amount of people I help every year, and making sure every kid I tutor also is performing at their highest left. I remember growing up, I wanted to make a lot of money. After selling real estate and tutoring, my definition of success has completely changed. No one is going to remember how many kids I tutored, the number of houses I sold, or the amount of money I make after I pass away, but they are going to remember the legacy I left behind, and how many people I impacted when I was alive.
For me, personally, I define my own success by how many people I can bring with me to the “top.” Success is how many kids I can help get off the streets and into schools and make them successful as possible. Success is going back to India and building a hospital in the small town where my grandpa died because there was no immediate access to healthcare, even to this day. Do I want to make a lot of money? Absolutely, but it is so I can create more opportunities for everyone who have not been as lucky as me, and that is my definition of success.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1650 Highway 6 S. Ste. 350
Sugar Land, Texas 77477 - Website: https://www.onealteamhomes1.com
- Phone: 832-247-0418
- Email: PJ@onealteamhomes.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pjayaprakash12
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PJtheRealtorHTX
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_G_My7UAbY&t=31s
Image Credit:
Rommel Camello (@Romeezus), Thank you to Jack Ladenheim of Highland Homes in Veranda
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