Queer Trailblazer Ivan Estrada Talks New Book ‘Brand With Purpose’

Ivan Estrada’s life journey has taught him a lot, and he is now ready to share his knowledge with the world in hopes of being the inspiration he never had growing up.

The real estate entrepreneur, who is CEO of Ivan Estrada Properties, has released a brand-new book titled Brand With Purpose, which discusses branding insights, the importance of intersectionality in the workplace, career strategies, exclusive interviews or “wisdom quotes” from several notable figures including actor Wilson Cruz and singer Belinda Carlisle. The book also highlights pivotal moments in Estrada’s life that pushed him to become the success he is today.

What can you tell us about your debut book, Brand With Purpose?
I have been very blessed to have incredible mentors, coaches, and support groups throughout my life, and I felt like I wanted to put all this wisdom, everything I have learned in the last 37 years, into a book so anyone can have access to it. For me, it was a labor of love that includes my wins, but also the challenges and obstacles I had to face and the hard questions I had to ask myself. I went through my memories, and writing this book, which was a three-year process, it felt like 10 years of therapy because I went back and relived a lot of moments in my life.

Now looking in hindsight, I thought, wow, I am so glad this happened. I am so glad I made this decision. I wanted to put all this wisdom, not just mine, but the wisdom of all the interviewees, including Belinda Carlisle and the Princess of Sierra Leone, who just gave us incredible pearls of wisdom on their secret sauce of success, but also, how they overcame obstacles and challenges and how they continued to do that moving forward. I want this book to help as many people as possible.

What are you looking forward to the most about its release?
The biggest excitement is the reaction I hope it receives and the amount of people I hope it helps. My background, as a kid, I was a performer. In my teenage years, I was signed to a record company, and I remember what it felt to be on a stage and to connect with people through music. Music was the way I was able to connect with people. Now, I get to put my words on a piece of paper, and I am hoping that this will trigger either a young kid somewhere in Louisiana to take a pivot and to feel strong and comfortable with who they are and who they’re becoming in their skin, or that single mom in San Francisco who is working a nine-to-five looking to make a pivot in her career.

I am just super excited about all the lives I hope we are going to touch and change, and to me, that is the biggest part. I love helping people, and I think part of that comes from just having great parents who gave me a very strong foundation, ethics, and value system. My mom would always say, “Look, life is like a mountain. You are going to get to the top, and you’ve got to throw the rope down because that mountain, once you look up at the next one, there’s another peak, and someone else is going to throw the rope down to you. You have to continue helping others, so that the universe will continue to help you.”

Helping one another, is that ultimately the message you hope readers take away from the book?
Absolutely, and to become bold and courageous. My life would not be where it’s at today if it weren’t for the mentors, coaches, my family, and my friends. They were all like mirrors to me. I was able to see myself from a different perspective and make changes when changes needed to be made or feel proud when I needed to feel proud. With the exercises that we have, the case studies, and the very deep questions I had to ask myself as a teenager, young adult, and grown adult, I truly hope this book gives people a push off the ledge. It gives them a gentle push to make that shift in their life that is going to take them where they want to go and to live a more purposeful life.

Many people already know you as a real estate mogul and the CEO of Ivan Estrada Properties. Have you always had an interest in real estate and has this been a fulfilling career path for you?
Real estate was not my first career choice. It was being an entertainer, and then my dad wanted me to be an accountant because a CPA job is super fun, right? That was not my path. In school, I went to the University of Southern California, and real estate was always something I think I held deep at my heart. When I came out to my mom and dad, we kind of went our separate way. So, I was homeless for a period of time, and I think for me, working in real estate was kind of fulfilling that need of helping other people find homes because, at one point, I didn’t have one. I realized how much that meant to me when I did have one.

Obviously, fast forward in time, my mom and dad love me, and my sister is also gay. She has a wife and a kid. My parents are huge supporters of our community, but that was a huge shift for them, and I think instinctually, that is why I gravitated towards real estate. I realized that anytime I am selling a home there is a life change involved. More kids are being added to the repertoire, somebody passed away, or a family is just relocating or looking for a new start. My job is to help them with that shift, and that is very gratifying to me.

You are also the creator of the Brand With Ecosystem. Can you tell us more about this business and what sets it apart from others?
Brand With Ecosystem comprises three products, which is Brand With Purpose, the book, Brand With Video, the course, and then Brand With Podcast, the podcast. For me, video was what helped me set myself apart in real estate. I used to prop up my camera at The Grove on Rodeo Drive and just talk about design, culture, transportation, and real estate trends, and because of my upbringing in the entertainment industry, I was very comfortable on camera. In this day and age, if you have a service or product, being able to sell it on social media, on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, you name it, it is very important to be able to brand yourself authentically with how you come off on camera.

It took me about a year and a half to write this course, and it has been a year of development because this isn’t just your regular course where you press play, and you are taking notes. This is the first of its kind; we are founders in the technology, and it is interactive. It’s like you are working with me one-on-one, and as we are going through the modules, I am telling you to do things, you are doing it in real time, and you are getting feedback on all the videos that you are submitting throughout the process. You are getting feedback on your eye contact, your smile, your gestures, your content—you will know if you are getting better, unlike any other course where you just press play, take notes, and it’s a very passive approach. This is a more active approach, and the first of our many courses that I feel I want to include in this Brand With Ecosystem. I am starting to write the next one.

In your opinion, what is the first step to building a successful brand and becoming a self-made entrepreneur?
The first step is knowing exactly who you are, and I think that comes with being authentic. For a lot of us, it’s like, what does that mean? For the longest time, I felt like I was being authentic, and I didn’t even know what that meant until a coach of mine said, “Authenticity is being vulnerable; being vulnerable is what gives you courage, and courage is what gives you power.” So, having authenticity is what gives you the power. Growing up in a Latino household, being vulnerable is not something you wanted. You throw your feelings underneath the rug and don’t really talk about it, so I really put my pen to paper and wrote down the things that I was afraid of, the things that I was ashamed of, and the things that kept me up at night. Then I found help.

When you are building a business, I think how you do something is how you do everything. It’s like a relationship where you carry the baggage. If you want to start a business and be successful, you need to clear up as much baggage as possible, and that comes with our personal baggage and trauma. Those challenges we didn’t overcome or didn’t face because of fear. So, I think you must start with that authenticity and find the help to be able to deal with those challenges head on. Growing up, I was ashamed of being gay; I was ashamed of being Mexican, and then I was ashamed of my substance abuse. I found help and support, then I was able to find my power in those challenges that I overcame. That’s what gives you the confidence and the courage to just keep going and punch down those walls.

Growing up Latino, queer, and working class contributed to your success today.
Absolutely. One hundred percent. Where I grew up, kids on the playground used to bully me and say, don’t tell people you’re Mexican because they won’t take you seriously. Don’t tell people you’re gay because they are going to treat mistreat you. Even in the music industry, in certain circles, when I was a teenager, I was told to not say anything or else I wasn’t going to make it in this business. Those were the things that I felt that were my biggest obstacles and the things that were going to keep me away from my dreams, but it wasn’t until I was able to feel proud of being Mexican and gay, which I am 100 percent. I now have this courage and fearlessness that I have never really had before.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Estrada by following him on Instagram or visit his official website. Brand With Purpose is now available at all major book retailers.

Photos Courtesy of Ivan Estrada