Today we’d like to introduce you to Rudy Lira Kusuma.
Hi Rudy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I was in elementary school, I was fascinated about money. And I was like, make money because I heard the grown-ups talking about making money. And then I was like woah, ok. So, I just melt the coins and just start making money. My parents told me, well that’s illegal. So that’s when I stopped doing it. I was born in the land of Java, in Indonesia, in 1980. My dad was a high paid employee. He worked for an electronic company; a Japanese company. My mum was an office assistant. When I was in high school, my dad lost his job but my mum always saved money. So, since growing up, she always told me the same things. Education is the most important thing. So, she saved enough money to send me and my siblings, basically the four of us, to go for a better education. We were born in Indonesia and then we went to high school in Singapore and then later on, my parents sent us to college here in Los Angeles.
I wanted to be an astronaut. The reason I was attracted with astronomy, I went to college, my major was physics, mathematics and astronomy, is because I felt like there is got to be a bigger purpose other than doing something that you don’t like every single day for the rest of your life. I went to Santa Monica College. I went to the University of Wisconsin. And, I fell in love with my girlfriend back then; she was in Los Angeles and I was in Wisconsin. So that’s when I changed my major because I wanted to graduate. What’s the fastest way to graduate from university so I can get out of Wisconsin and back to Los Angeles with my girlfriend, back then. So, I got accepted to a graduate school, at the California State University in Los Angeles.
Someone gave me a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad. When I finished reading that book, it completely changed my pattern dime. The way I look at money, the way I look at business, the way I look at surfing other people. First thing I did, I called the graduate school and basically, I withdrew. I was on a full scholarship. I started selling door-to-door and I started selling stuff on Swap Meet. I start selling candles, I start selling photo albums. Everybody thought I just went crazy. My girlfriend back then looking at me, puzzled, then she left me. I went back to Indonesia. I got some candles and my mum was looking at me, and she started crying. Then I will cry. No, because she starts crying because it was like hey what’s going on? Because it was like oh wow, I’m saving all the money for you to go to school, right? And then why do you drop out of school? And then I told her that no, it’s not about the money. I want to learn how to influence and persuade people. I want to learn the number one skill in life, which is sales. So, I told her I want to be in business. I just don’t know how. I grew up in a family that the topic of business and money was taboo. It’s like the greedy, rich people.
When I came to realise it, I married my high school sweetheart. I had my first son and I remember when my second son was born, I worked 7 days a week, 15-20 hours a day and at the end of the day, we had no resources. We have no money that I have to actually send my son, go back to Indonesia and have my mum take care of the baby. I love my wife; I love my boys so much that I have to figure out how can I develop a system that I have the time and the money to bring my kids back home here. So, together our family can grow, and together we can serve more people.
I got my real estate license in 2007; the whole real estate industry collapsed in 2008. Everybody was quitting the business. I accidentally stumbled upon the idea of “reverse prospecting”, where essentially I compel prospective buyers and sellers to call me daily. I hosted an investors club, based on the teaching of Robert Kiyosaki the book “RichDad, PoorDad”. That’s how I attracted at least 20 investors a week coming to my investors / cashflow club back in 2008. Then, I had more business that I could personally handle; that’s when I approached a real estate agent, who had no business and then I asked them, hey what if we partner up?
I saw there is a need and I accidentally I stumble upon this thing that came to attract the buyers to come in and then the steeps start to grow from that. I’m looking at my company as a university to teach practical lessons for young people to serve other people and money is just a certificate of appreciation, for a job well done.
I partner up with an organisation called WorldHarvest. If you want to change a person, if you want to change a family, if you want to change the community, the only way, the best way to do it, is through education. Back home in Indonesia we managed to build medical camps, we can help many people. Teaching others though, it means a lot for me because they accept anybody with or without insurance. And today, I’m so proud to share that every single team member, actually in our company now, they take a portion of that income to serve our community here.
My name is Rudy Lira Kusuma, the CEO of Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty.
If you understand that your business is not about you, you are here to serve the people around you then together, believe it or not, together we can actually make a positive impact in the world, we can actually change the world.
His name is Rudy Kusuma. And this journey began when he became a real estate agent in 2007.
Working under a traditional real estate brokerage model, he realised that prospecting with door-to-door knocking and cold calling, was leading him on an endless cycle of disappointment, negativity and constant rejection.
It simply wasn’t working.
But not only was he spending more time bothering his consumers like a telemarketer, but was spending less time serving his clients.
The dream of becoming a successful real estate agent, with more time and more money, in hand had become a nightmare.
He was making no money and had no time to spend with his friends and family.
Working 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, he realised that being an agent was a lot of hard work with little to no results.
But then he thought, how can we work smarter? How can we stay true to the promise of becoming the ideal success story with more time and more money on our hands? How can we focus on serving the clients as we’re trained to do and earn the results we worked hard to achieve, instead of prospecting 80% of the time?
He realised that juggling all these elements of being an agent, meant dropping the bomb on customer service and it became a fact where the National Association of Realtors said that 79% of home owners will not go back to the same real estate agent.
It wasn’t that agents were bad people that give bad advice, but that they were simply trained only to prospect more than they serve in order to survive.
That’s when his search began. He ventured relentlessly, to examine other successful business models.
To improve the traditional real estate model and he learned so much, from so many businesses discovering that the real estate industry was simply behind on creating efficient work flows and models of operations, basically as agents were forced to wear many hats with no system to allow them to grow effectively.
For example, as an agent, you have to do your own marketing, advertising, branding, prospecting to get leases, then follow ups, working on the business at the same time as working in the business with negotiating contracts, showcasing and closing deals.
To simply put, it was a recipe for disaster.
The answer lied in structure. Other successful businesses had structure that allowed people and agents to specialise, focusing on doing what they’re great at and not being overwhelmed with wearing too many hats. We’ve now created a formula, structure, a team system that finally allowed agents to do what they do best, and as promised, fund, earn more money, and have more time on their hands.
The results were overwhelmingly positive. Not only did the agents have more freedom, but gave incredible service to their clients.
The affirmation came in the form of hundreds and hundreds of amazing reviews online, dragged from sunny side and happy customers and was a huge win for the consumers.
It was a huge win for the agent. And it could be a huge win for you, and together, we can change the real estate industry by putting clients first.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I grew up in a family that does not talk about money, sales, and business. The subject of money and sales was taboo, so I invested my first ten years after graduating from college in door to door sales to learn the art of selling.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
“I want to publicly thank my friend, mentor and coach Todd Walters and Craig Proctor. He, to this day, inspires me to give more of myself and help others achieve their heart’s desire. Your Home Sold Guaranteed, or We’ll Buy it* was introduced, taught and licensed to me by Craig Proctor almost a decade ago and WOW what a game changer SYSTEM for anyone wanting to sell a house. Being able to promise a homeowner and deliver on the very thing they most want is overly satisfying. I dedicate this historical real estate company to him and his system. The agents that make Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty the best place to work, buy and sell real estate are proud members of the Craig Proctor System; the world’s best SYSTEM for helping buyers and sellers buy or sell the place they call home!”
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.YourHomeSoldGuaranteed.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YourHomeSoldGuaranteedRealtyCalifornia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5vFqLJ-8qnP8LKktIuC2KQ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/your-home-sold-guaranteed-rosemead
