Real estate agent’s rise to $90 million in property sales

PHOTO: Juliana Gomes – Facebook

Juliana Gomes could barely speak English, lived out of a backpack, rode around on a bike and washed dishes until she decided to turn that all around.

When Juliana Gomes first arrived in Australia she lived off supermarket home brand products.

Leaving Brazil for the Gold Coast in 2008 as a 20-year-old with nothing but a backpack, life was initially a struggle.

Now Ms Gomes has gone from riding a $50 bike to cruising around in Audi, selling $90 million in real estate and owning two properties of her own.

“When I arrived I had no English language ability whatever, I couldn’t even order bread,” she said.

“My biggest discovery was the home brand in the supermarkets because I literally had no money and I found out that was the cheapest brand you could get so it was lifesaving.”

The language school she started studying at helped her set up a mobile phone and open a bank account.

She lived in a room above a garage with her partner at the time but desperately needed a job.

“Everything was a bit of a struggle but at the end of the day I knew what I wanted and I didn’t have a plan B so I had to keep going,” she said.

“I kept saying ‘hello’ in my pigeon English to try and get attention. I bought a $50 bike and would ride to all the restaurants and cafes asking for a job and everyone would say no because I couldn’t speak English.”