Meet Ray Hage | Investor, Realtor and Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ray Hage and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ray, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is something you can never really avoid. When you do something, there is a risk involved. When you do nothing, there is still a risk to it. What’s my point? You better start using your brain and figure out which risks you want to take and where you want to be in life.

Here’s an example: You decide to stick with a “safe” 9-5 job that pays you every 2 weeks because you feel it is not so risky. You say things to yourself like “Well, this company has been around forever. My benefits are good and I know what and when I am going to get paid so I am not taking any risks.” How many people said something similar to themselves and found out very quickly that they were out of a job when the economy went down a bit? These people threw away a lot of years for a job they didn’t necessarily care much for. Maybe they also lived in a place they didn’t really like because they had a “good job”. To me, it’s just sad as they could have done much better for themselves.

Personally, I have taken a few risks and sometimes they didn’t work and other times they did. I used to work for a couple of large corporations where I could have just given my life away to them and earned a good steady paycheck with benefits and a couple weeks off a year but I decided that would not make me happy and to give away a lot of years of my life didn’t make sense to me. I started in real estate investing and consulting. I didn’t love it at first but I did like it. Over time, I grew to love it and met many great people along the way. I am also in full control of my schedule and who I deal with. I was able to help and mentor folks as well. These are parts of life that would have never been possible in a ‘safe’ career.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Well, to start, being in business for yourself is not usually the easy road. It can be easy at times of course. When you are in business for yourself, you are on call 24/7. That doesn’t mean working all the time. Honestly, I work relatively normal hours and mostly when I want to. There are times when I get stressed, frustrated, upset, exhausted, etc just like anyone else. What one has to do is set aside their feelings and focus on the goal (whatever that goal is such drawing a painting, building a car engine, finishing a business presentation, etc). Once you get what you need done, then you can worry about your feelings and process them. The biggest lesson everyone needs to understand is that Life is going to be very difficult sometimes and you need to be able to deal with it when it does. Everyone is going to face horrible facts of life like deaths in the family, accidents, sickness, economic downturns, betrayals, losing a job, losing a client, missing a deadline, etc. No one is powerful or intelligent enough to prevent all these things. Those that can work through these pains understand what really sets the winners apart from the losers.

Regarding my brand, I am here to help others get to a place of financial freedom through investments. I don’t need to do this type of work but I love it and will continue in moving others along in their financial goals.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well I do love many parts of Miami and they all have a lot to offer… Wynwood: I would happily drive my friend around Wynwood to view all the excellent murals. Morgans is also a great breakfast spot.

Brickell: I like the rooftop at Sugar and having an occasional smoke at Prime cigar. Of course, also have to do the beautiful walk around Brickell Key. Thyme Machine food truck is also worth a stop for a snack. Blackbird is perhaps my favorite bar in Brickell with great music as well so I am sure my friend would love it too.

Little Havana: Lunch at Versailles (I know it is a little bit west) is a mandatory stop for some Cuban food. Also, obligatory stops in my opinion are Domino Park, Ball and Chain, El Rey de Las Fritas, La Colada and Guantanemera.

Key Biscayne: While the beaches in Key Biscayne are ok, I think the view towards Miami is stunning so this is a must.

Miracle Mile: This area is a must to walk down and enjoy. I don’t have a particular favorite place to eat and drink there but I haven’t been disappointed either.

With some more time, I would take my friend to Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale Beach and downtown West Palm Beach as well.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are a lot of people I want to give a shout out too. First and foremost, my parents as they got me started on a good path in life and made me feel like I can do anything. I feel that the family, friends and business associates that you surround yourself with are the most important factor in personal happiness and success. Without them, I would not be as successful and I am well aware that I can only succeed to a great level with support from what I would call “my life team”.

I’d like to give another shout to Robert Kiyosaki for writing “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. That book was one of the first things that opened up my mind to understanding that I am really in control of my destiny. I know it sounds a bit goofy because it is a business book. Hell, one could even argue it is a bit over-rated, contains tall tales and doesn’t teach specifics of finances, budgeting, real estate, starting a business, etc. That is not the point of the book. The point is that should be like a flashlight to help you explore the possibilities of controlling your own life. One thing, you’ll need to control your own life is money. There are other great books to just give a mention to like “Think and Grow Rich” and “Richest Man in Babylon.”

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