How a Widow Turned Tragedy Into Purpose

I'm not the smartest person in the room.

“And I'm not maybe meant to be the richest person in the world.”

And that's okay.

I always thought that my no was just one step closer to my yes.

Colleen Marquez is a real estate leader, entrepreneur, and the founder of Home on the Rock Real Estate team, drawing from her background in business strategy, marketing, and client advocacy. She helps individuals and families navigate real estate with confidence

while creating opportunities for long-term growth and financial security. I used to be in technology consulting, and I use all of those technology skills to navigate this digital world,

to bring you the best options, and to bring you the best data. So that way you're making informed decisions when you're making offers or you're pricing your home, and you know that you're doing the right thing

because numbers don't lie. I approach to real estate is find a way or make one. If the perfect test isn't exist for you, we'll build it. We'll find the land, but moreover.

[music playing] It spans the globe. Like a super high school, internet helpers. [music playing] Today, Apple is going to reinvent from home.

It's not over. I'm telling how we're-- But living your legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy. [music playing]

Oh, that is sensational. [music playing] [music playing] Welcome back to another episode of the Living Your Legacy podcast, for Inside Success.

I am Ray Gutierrez. At least I think I am. This is Colleen Markaz. She's joining us fresh offer episode. She is the founder of Home On Real Estate

Excuse me, home on the rock real estate.

You're the founder of the CEO, the all powerful,

or how does this work?

“Well, honestly, in real estate, when you're a team,”

you're all individual contributors, your contractors. Or but I am the, I guess, visionary and the glue. Yes, that brings all of those pieces together. And yeah, I just one day decided that I was going to do my own thing, and I haven't looked back.

So I briefly looked at your show notes, because we're prepared here. It says that, originally from Miami, you talk about your background. Yeah, yeah.

So I am originally from Miami. I was born at Baptist Hospital. Okay, you know. I was born in Jackson Memorial. Okay, I already had a pool, yeah.

I heard. So my family is still here, where US1 and 136 were by the falls. Right. I've got family all up and down Florida. And, you know, now I'm in Tennessee, and I've been there almost a decade.

Wow. Yeah. So, Nashville's definitely a different vibe. Thank you, come on. I love Nashville. There's such a great place.

It reminds me a lot of Austin. I know the, what's his face? You know, that one country singer? The one that threw the chair. No, the other one.

No, no, the nicer one, Garth Brooks. Yes. Yeah, I was in his office, cutting a project. So I was like, every time I hear Nashville, I'm like, oh, I was in his office. And I get to meet him.

No. Did I meet his manager? Yes. Nice guy. Great.

Well, they go. I mean, that counts for something. That counts. Absolutely. Thank you for that.

I appreciate you patronizing me. I love it. Deserved. It was totally like cheers to you. Oh, you know.

But that's solely a slide, Miami move. Talk about what it's like being born in Miami, but thriving somewhere else. Oh, man. It's definitely different. You know, I lived a lot of places.

And one of the things I love about Miami is that there's a melting pot. It was just different culture. And one of the things I really miss is food. Learn on. Yeah.

So like, I used to get my favorite Jamaican patty ever from this gas station. Wow.

“Everywhere I go, they say, do you want a midnight sandwich?”

I'm like, what is this? Magnet electric. Yeah. It's like that's wrong, and that's Italian bread. Nice, right?

Yeah, that's like you were ready to French baguette, bro. Get out of here with that shit. Yeah. So, you know, it's definitely different. But I appreciate all cultures, all different kinds of people.

So it's interesting to go to new places and, you know, just discover what they have to offer. Cool. So let's talk about real estate and how you give it your own twist, especially with being born in Miami, but operating somewhere else.

Talk about how that cocktail of awesome actually leads to amazing sales.

Honestly, I think I do, I speak a little Spanish, it's not good. But it's enough to get me by, typically I'm like, I know what you're saying, but do you

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, right on.

So, you know, that helps me, especially in Tennessee, because it's not common like it is here. To be able to connect with people in that way, I think it definitely helps me to be branded and the fact that I'm covered in tattoos. Yep.

And so in Miami, that's not maybe as big a deal, but I've definitely been some places where they're like, oh, well, that's a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's crazy. So if nothing else, I have no deriving. Right on.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's funny because I kind of figured out early on, like my second tattoo was my try for.

So, like, put right on the hand, I'm never going to have a corporate job and my first

corporate job was PlayStation.

“So, it was, that's what I did with Miami thing again.”

That was me doing the humble brag. Anyways, there was a point to that. I understood that worrying literally your emotions on your sleeve get you through a lot of doors. Yeah.

And you get it. Like, we understand the gun, especially as Miamians, but once you start seeing all this ink and understanding that when you sit there for a six hour session, as an entrepreneur, there's a lot going on here, there's a lot going on there, and you're sort of talk about what it's like to literally wear your story on your body.

Well, if nothing else, it holds you accountable to being your authentic self. Yeah. So, there's no hiding from it. And I think honestly, it requires a lot of commitment and forethought, not just sitting through eight hours in pain, but also saying, I want this, and I'm willing to, this is what

I'm willing to do to get it. And what do I want? What am I going to put on myself forever, that I'm not going to look back and be like, oh, why did I do that? So people will ask me, you know, oh, I really want to get a tattoo, but I'm just not

sure. And I'm like, see if you want it, wait six months. So if you still want it, wait another six months, and then pull the trigger. Oh, for sure. But at this point, I mean, after my first, I don't know, 24 hours of tattoos, I'm pretty

confident. And my choices. Yeah, to do that waiting process, just starting out, you know, make sure that that's the one, for sure, for sure. And also, do you research?

Yeah. I, I troll tattoo profile, and like, I waited over a year on a wait list before to get tattooed by somebody because I'm like, this is forever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And there is such a thing, it's like, not an awesome tattoo.

Yeah. And execution, you know? Oh, for sure.

Well, I always tell my husband, I have expensive skin.

Yes, I love this.

“So let's use this like, 14 is this motto, and how do you apply that to real estate?”

Like, a lot of folks have, don't have forever homes, unless you're a cat. But you know, a lot of folks invest their time and energy, and there's life savings into a property at asset. Yeah. How do you crawl in Darren, work your magic?

Well, I think one of the things that I'm really good at is using the tools. That are given to me. So I am, I used to be in technology consulting, and I use all of those technology skills to navigate this digital world, to bring you the best options, and to bring you the best data.

So that way you're making informed decisions when you're making offers or you're pricing your home, and you know that, you know, you're doing the right thing because numbers don't lie. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Well, I think there's a number of folks that are taxed as a provider's strategist or even musicians or pianists or folks like you and I, they see the numbers in music, the numbers in patterns and numbers in sales, their numbers in the guff. How do you communicate that folks that, yo, that there's patterns everywhere, there's numbers,

“how do you kind of direct folks away from the tattoos on to their own lives?”

Well, it really just starts with knowing what you're talking about. And I think that's just a very underestimated skill is if you're going to open your mouth, know what you're going to say and know that it's correct, right? And so that really separates yourself from other people, especially when you bring in confidence. You know, I'm, I'm confident in what I'm saying because I do know what I'm talking

about. And so I think that translates across as any barrier or language when they're like, well, she knows what she's saying, yeah, yeah. But it also is catering to the audience, different people understand things differently, and so, you know, really affirming the way that they learn and presenting the information in a way that they can ingest and understand

and allowing them to feel comfortable enough to ask questions, you know, real estate is not everybody's cup of tea, they don't know all the things and sometimes people are afraid to just ask the stupid question, but because I am authentically myself, it allows people

a great question.

Yeah, yeah, this is probably one of the biggest purchases of your life.

Let's ask all of those and make sure that we're on the same page. Yeah, yeah, let's, let's dive into your method here. You, you call it trolling, I call it market research, but tell folks why this is important to understand, you know, your friends, but keep your friends close to your enemies even closer. I don't mean enemies, I mean

“front of me is like your competitors keep you on your toes. How do you stand your toes?”

Well, I'm constantly consuming content, and I think that's one of the things that in this day and age really set to a part, and being able to identify content that is performing well, but also is true to your brand. You know, there's a lot of things that other agents do and how they present themselves and what they repost and I'm like, that's great, that's not something that I would do. So, you know, taking the time to say, I want my persona

to educate people. I want it to be like hard. I want it to be professional. I want there to be, you know, information in there that they're not going to get just watching a TikTok reel of, you know, something funny about getting into a door. You know, I want it to bring value. So, it's talk about value, but also value is, is it quite a, based on your experiences? What are we going to learn about you on your episode? And how do you think you ended up

sitting here? Because you and I were sitting on podcasts, trolling on it, but you're, you're podcasting really well, because you're sitting there. You know what you're talking about. You just haven't had a microphone cameras on you. Yeah. Actually, I feel more comfortable doing this than I did my episode, which is strange considering I don't consume a lot of

“podcasts. Yeah. But I think what people will learn is that I'm able to translate all of”

my business skills, my background in consulting, analytics, marketing, and combine all of those skills to really put you in the best position possible to find the real estate, to purchase the real estate, to sell the real estate. And it's, it's all been just a twisted route to where I am now, but this is where I'm supposed to be. And, you know, that I'm excited to, to just help people. Awesome. So, I guess, trust the process. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, you know, I think I believe that there's nothing that's meant for me that won't be if it's supposed to be mine. You know, I believe that, you know, only person that closes doors is God. And if he's losing a door for me, that it is with purpose. And it is to bless me and to, you know, further who I am on this journey of being more like Christ. So, you know, I don't look at them as negatives. Even when I was doing, you know, heavy heavy

sales, I always thought that my, no was just one step closer to my yes, right? And so,

it's just a frame of mind of, I'm just going to keep trying and I'm going to keep going

“and when things mess up, okay, whatever, like, you should roll with the fun to. Yeah, for sure,”

because everything is a lesson, everything is not a challenge. Life is happening for you not to you. And, and it's a lot of folks, you know, you'll start hearing that a lot, uh, shout out to, uh, to what's his face from doing, because he was, he was, yeah, anyways, I don't want to go off on a tangent because here I'll do that. Uh, what's doing? It's amazing. Uh, talk about the divide, the walking of the path. A lot of folks, the super churches, the non churches, the private

ministries, the entrepreneurs that believe in nothing, but the entrepreneurs that believe in something. Talk about the difference and what it's really like walking into rooms, knowing that you're walking a separate path because you have the, the, the guidance of a thousand angels at your behalf because you walk a certain path. Yeah, um, it's definitely peaceful. Yeah. It takes away a lot of the pressure. Yeah. And, you know, I have a propensity to be anxious or fearful sometimes and

having the tools at my, like, hands to, to pray and to ground myself and to remind myself that I am a child of God and everything I have isn't mine at belongs to him. So, you know, what am I going to do with my father's gifts and how am I going to use them to bless his children? Yeah. And, you know, I'm a tither. I think people, you know, think that that's wild, but 10% of everything

that I make goes back to the community. And, um, you know, I'm a firm believer in that. I'll never

stop doing that and it hasn't impeded my success at all. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of folks when you start paying for the master classes and you start sending on these chats with the Gary Vs of the world or wherever you want a, a, a, a pledge allegiance to, you start to realize that energy that

start figuring out that matrix code, it's really up to you not to, to, to, to, to, to get it, but it's really to share it as best you can. Sure, eat and enjoy life, but at the same time, send the elevator back down. Absolutely. Do, do, do what you got to do because we, we are very much saved, but we have our palaces in the sky and, and our, and our, and our streets and our sidewalks made of gold, but for a special reason, because we are truly living in a special

unique kingdom under one true Lord of Lords and, and, and, and, and, and kids, and absolutely,

“and I think, honestly, it's a great tool for me to, my own personal growth and the better person”

I am in a spiritual and emotional sense, the better I am able to serve my clients. And so just taking that time to understand that, um, I, humility is important and that it allows me to

love people better when I understand that I'm not the most important person in the room.

I'm not the smartest person in the room and, you know, I'm not maybe meant to be the richest person in the world and that's okay. Yep. I meant to be as rich as God would have me. Yep. And, you know, I, I don't have to worry about those things. I really don't. You've been blessed with the, the ability to, to, to be a mother. Let's talk about that, like I see, what you're doing as that powerful, powerful blessing. Man, it is a blessing, but it's definitely difficult. Yeah, for sure.

I love my children, and I have two children from my, um, late husband, so my first husband passed and, um, I was their stepmom for many years, so they're still in my life and love them to pieces. I've got two of my own kids, one of which is special needs. So, um, he, he's a handful, but he says the funniest things, and he's just such a light, and you talk about being authentic. Like, that's

the most authentic kid I've ever met. Amazing. Amazing. And then I have two stepkids from my

current husband, so, you know, we're like a Brady Bunch family, and, um, it's really cool as they grow to get to see who they are. Yeah. And, you know, I'm the same mother, but I'm a different mother to all of them because they need different things. Right. And so, you know, it's my job to help them be their best versions of themselves, and not necessarily to make them into what I want them to be. Right on. I, I would hate to do this quick pivot, but I want to talk about

“home on the Rock Real Estate, the commercial part of the podcast. What's this about?”

How are you different? Are you taking special stories, special clients? What is your approach to real estate? Uh, too. My approach to real estate is find a way or make one. Um, you know, if the perfect house doesn't exist for you, we'll build it. Well, we'll find the land. But more over, really using my skills in digital marketing and analysis to set me apart from my competitor. Right on. Um, because the more eyes that see your property, the higher your chances are that

it's going to sell itself for a good profit. You wanted to create demand. Um, and I'm a really good visual storyteller. So that is really a strength of mine, and just the education process, and also in the negotiation process. I really leverage my emotional intelligence to appeal to a wide audience and to help achieve the goals of my clients. Very cool. What are we going to learn about during your episode? Give us a quick preview. How was your experience filming your

episode? You're going to learn that the road is not always easy. And that's okay because without

those pieces, I wouldn't be who I am today. And um, man, it was a good experience, but it was also a sort of a vulnerability. Absolutely. You know, to just kind of invite people into certain

“parts of yourself that maybe they don't normally see, but um, I think in the world today,”

people are who they portray themselves all online. Yeah. And for you to be able to say, well, it's not all perfect. Um, there are other pieces that, you know, are not pretty and are not curated. You know, um, and that's okay. And you can still be successful. You know, you don't have to take things that were difficult and let them keep you down. Right. Um, and you can actually use your story of overcoming to bless others. Right on. Uh, this is going to sound like a bizarre

question. We'll wrap it up here. But for folks that are lying in Miami, and they're like, "Well, I don't speak Spanish. I don't know." Like, you don't need to do that. Miami's progress a lot. Uh, we were looking for new entrepreneurs, looking for new energies. Who, how do you speak to someone that is eyeing Miami or eyeing Nashville or, or, or eyeing these East Coast cities and going,

Yeah. I think every, the world is just communities within communities, right? And so

when you go to a new place or you're thinking about a new place, understand that there is a

“period of discovery where you have to discover where your people are, where your community is,”

and it's okay if it looks different than what the last community looked like, because you want

to grow and you want to stretch and you want to expand and your experiences and your knowledge.

So just because it's different, doesn't mean it's wrong. And maybe step out of your comfort zone

and see what the, you know, new community has to offer. Rock and roll. Uh, Colleen, would you listen

“to your own podcast? Would you listen to this episode? Yeah. Yeah. I think you're going to get”

job. I'm looking forward to your partner and your kids and everyone who listen to this podcast, you think you did a really good job. Uh, congratulate you. Uh, congratulations on trolling this episode

“as much as you can. Uh, how can folks learn more about you? What's a website? What's a great”

plug for you? Yeah. Um, at home on the rock TN on Instagram or it's home on the rock TN.com. Rock and roll. There you go. All right. And this is Colleen Marquez home on the rock real estate and, uh, this is Insight Success.