Today we’d like to introduce you to Amir Syed.
Amir, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
All throughout my childhood, I was never good at school, matter of fact, I hated school. I did, however, love to work. My father was self-employed and had a small business near Wrigley Field. He would wake me up on Saturday mornings and we’d be off for a full day’s work and the summer breaks were filled with 5-6 days of working alongside him. My father is my best friend and the work was so much fun. I learned so much about interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, negotiation, management, money, stress and so on. Until this day, my father is regarded as one of the most loved and giving businessman. Everywhere we go, people recognize him and tell me how great of a man he is, it is so inspiring.
Fast forward to my final year at DePaul, which I couldn’t believe I had made it to. Given barely graduating from high school with a 1.9 GPA. Yes, you read that right! It was all good, I knew my SGPA (Street Grade Point Average) was a 4.0. I befriended another student whose upbringing was very similar to mine (immigrant and son of self-employed parents). He started coming to class in a suit and tells me that he has landed a part time job in the mortgage industry helping people make home financing decisions and says he “can put me on”, which means to get me a job. I was torn with excitement and anxiety as I didn’t want to “betray” my Father and not take over the business.
One morning, nervously, I ask my Father his thoughts about me branching off and to my surprise he says: “Son, your mother and I came to this country with very little. You live at home, with no bills and your mom does your laundry. It’s time for you to work for someone else to learn what that is like and to also learn how to make it on your own.” Boom, that’s all I needed to hear.
At my 1st interview, I wanted the job so bad, that I’ll never forget: I took Persian food to the interview. Yes, Persian food. My future boss couldn’t believe it, he was blown away! He hired me right there and then. He said, “here is a phone book and phone. Go make 300 cold calls a day and don’t stop.” Wow, I am a telemarketer, and never looked back. I dropped out of college and the rest is history.
What telemarketing taught me was the greatest gift any young businessman could ever dream of (in hindsight): learning how to sell in a matter of seconds, with only audible (no body language, no face-to-face, etc.). I became immune to the word “no” and deepened my grit, perseverance and tenacity. Today, if you gave me the cell numbers of 50 extremely famous and powerful people to call and set an appointment, I wouldn’t hesitate,
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has NOT been a smooth road. I’ve had to change my tires, shocks and entire seat so many times from the road bumps, you’d think I was driving a Ferrari on boulders.
I have made so many mistakes, it’s laughable. My intensity and ego at a younger age drove a few key people in my business away, but my selflessness has also kept many key people with me for over 10 years.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Perl Mortgage – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Perl Mortgage is a nationally recognized top 50 privately held mortgage company that is celebrating its 23rd anniversary this year.
I am the Managing Director of the Fulton Market group with close to 50 team members. We are the top producing group for all of Perl Mortgage in purchase volume. In other words, our focus is on purchase financing as opposed to refinance transactions. We are very niche focused on first time home buyers and executing our “wow experience” philosophy at every point for the new home buyer(s).
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our goal as a team is to fund $1B per year in mortgages with only 15 Loan Officers, something that is VERY rare in our industry. I love quality, not quantity. Similar to the movie “300”, a movie about 300 Greek Spartans that take down millions of Persians. It hurts, because I am Persian, but the quality and chemistry of those Spartans was incredible.
Furthermore, personal development is an integral part of our culture. The workplace is a tremendous place where leaders can help their employees grow personally. For example, my goal is to have monthly financial workshops where each teammate has their budget reviewed to ensure prudent money management is being performed. I have been doing this with my assistant. She has saved so much money, it’s been better than a financial raise in her salary.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amir-syed.com
- Phone: 312-376-2201
- Email: amir@perlmortgage.com
- Instagram: amirsyed
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/amirsyed.chicago
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/amirhsyed
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