Rodolfo Duque
Rodolfo Duque
Real Estate Broker
Fort Mill, SC
BY CHARLOTTE TOP PRODUCERS |Written by Allison Parker
Rodolfo’s grandfather instilled in him a commitment to his responsibilities & tasks – when you start something, you finish it. He remembers building a house for his aunt from the basics – moving cement, talking to engineers, & the like. His first job was at a baby-goods store selling bottles & cribs. At 15 years old, he was traveling 40 minutes on a very populated bus to work. Sales from a young age was in Rodolfo’s blood. At 18, he was on the move to NYC with his grandfather’s challenge clear in his mind. Working various jobs from assistant to superintendent to McDonald’s, Rodolfo perfected his mastery of the English language & set his mind to college. Soon after working two jobs, he found himself a position at Donna Karan NYC in sales & hit it as a million-dollar producer. His dreams of having a nice house, a beautiful wife, & beautiful kids were always on the forefront.
At 25, Rodolfo was able to be independent & finally return to his home country of Colombia to tell his grandfather that he “had made it.” Sadly, his grandfather was not there anymore. Rodolfo recalls a poignant moment when he realized he couldn’t tell him all he’d done, all the work, all the hours, & all the success that has happened just under 25 years old. He had even started college (Queens College). Destiny brought him to meet his future wife, Simona, in NYC. Rodolfo notes, “We learned from each other, and she encouraged me when I was about to give up from college education.”He recalls, “[Walt] Disney once said something like ‘a kick in the teeth might be the best thing that could happen to you in life!’ Boom! Got rejected by a corporate job that I really wanted – I believe that was a breaking point where I could have gone in another direction… Instead of crying a river, Simona & I went on to open our own venture, a spa in the middle of Manhattan, Fifth Avenue. Because if you dream, hey, you better dream big. Still under 30, we funded it, & we were open through sweat & tears.”
The couple went on to open a mobile food-cart business & a
coffee shop during their time in Manhattan. (Wife Simona is now a skincare therapist/owner at ReVive Spa in Ballantyne: @ReVivesthetics.) Rodolfo’s entrepreneurial spirit & the quest for more quality family time led him to a career change. He initially started the real estate license process in NYC. When the couple had their first child, Chloe, they moved to the Carolinas to make family life a priority over the hustle & bustle of NYC.
The family is loving life in the Carolinas. Rodolfo & Simona & their two beautiful children, Chloe, 6, & Jack, 1, love going to explore parks & having family reunions on the weekends.
Answering the “why real estate” question, Rodolfo shares, “Having great people skills, & having so much experience working with so many diverse people with so many different professions, I knew my call was to work with people. Why not help them with one of the most important investments in their lifetime? I helped people with baby bottles, with high-end clothes, & burgers, why not their HOME? Who can be better to give them individualized care, a next-level service, truly trying to understand their needs, & being alongside them at any obstacles that might appear during the process?”
“As a REALTOR®, I am thankful with every single interaction,
& I make sure I let them know that I appreciate their time, trust, & commitment. Many times, clients I help send their family, friends, & ex-wives to me and that feels remarkable. It energizes me & makes me work harder because I know people remember me. I made an impact in their life, & they trust me.”
Coming literally from the ground up, Rodolfo adds in
conclusion, “Success comes from what some people call luck, ‘preparation meets opportunity’ – a difficult transaction, a dream made true, a completed goal. Anything is possible with hard work & a little bit of ‘luck.'”
Spoken languages: English, Spanish
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