Juliana Gomes: Gold Coast real estate agent’s rise to $90 million in property sales
Juliana Gomes could barely speak English, lived out of a backpack, rode around on a bike and washed dishes until she decided to turn that all around.
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When Juliana Gomes first arrived in Australia she lived off supermarket home brand products.
Leaving Brazil for the Gold Coast in 2008 as a 20-year-old with nothing but a backpack, life was initially a struggle.
Now Ms Gomes has gone from riding a $50 bike to cruising around in Audi, selling $90 million in real estate and owning two properties of her own.
“When I arrived I had no English language ability whatever, I couldn’t even order bread,” she said.
“My biggest discovery was the home brand in the supermarkets because I literally had no money and I found out that was the cheapest brand you could get so it was lifesaving.”
The language school she started studying at helped her set up a mobile phone and open a bank account.
She lived in a room above a garage with her partner at the time but desperately needed a job.
“Everything was a bit of a struggle but at the end of the day I knew what I wanted and I didn’t have a plan B so I had to keep going,” she said.
“I kept saying ‘hello’ in my pigeon English to try and get attention. I bought a $50 bike and would ride to all the restaurants and cafes asking for a job and everyone would say no because I couldn’t speak English.”
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Ms Gomes decided she really wanted to work at Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Surf Club so would annoy the manager every Friday.
“I literally had words in English written on a piece of paper that I would read line by line and it got to the point where he was sick and tired of me so he finally said ‘OK, you can have a job’,” she said.
She spent the next two years clearing tables, washing dishes, mopping floors and, as her English improved, taking orders.
After listening to locals talk a lot about real estate she realised it was hot topic on the Gold Coast and thought she would give that industry a go.
“Once again I had to doorknock so many agencies and once again everyone said no because my English was so bad, but I knew what I wanted and refused to give up,” she said.
“The attitude and dream was there.”
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Ms Gomes would say hello every time she walked past Kingfisher Realty and ask about the property market, adding a little bit more to her speech.
When the company’s founder Conal Martin finally asked her if she had a driver’s licence she immediately said yes - even thought she didn’t - and he asked her to come back the next morning.
“I just wanted to get through the door but I quickly obtained one,” she said.
“My first job at Kingfisher Realty was helping put up signs at open homes. That was how basic it was.
“Then Conal asked me to greet people at the door and take down their names but while I had a big smile, I could barely write.”
She said being asked to prospect for potential listings was also funny.
“Everyone would call back because they couldn’t understand me but at least I got their attention,” she said.
She went on to get her real estate licence, completed a business diploma and was soon selling properties on her own.
Ms Gomes earned enough to buy a second-hand car, which she upgraded to a Mini in 2014 and an Audi two years later.
She then bought an investment property and later a home of her own, which she today shares with her Aussie partner and their two-year-old son.
“It’s hard to believe how my life has unfolded since arriving on the Gold Coast,” she said. “From not being able to communicate or knowing a soul, I have established a great career and a wonderful life for myself and I put it all down to passion, perseverance and positivity.”
Originally published as Juliana Gomes: Gold Coast real estate agent’s rise to $90 million in property sales