When you think about successful entrepreneurs nowadays, you often think that they have had a good upbringing. If they managed to get themselves this far and create their own company, they were obviously financially helped by their parents.
This was not the case of Danyelo Oteiza Aguirre. His success was the result of hard work and his determination to help those around him. He started with nothing and ended up with everything – and along the way, this “child wonder” proved that as long as you work hard enough, there is nothing that you cannot do.
A Modest Start
One thing that Danyelo Oteiza commonly claims is that he will “never judge anyone by their titles, their last names or their origin” – all because that matters very little in your success. Regardless of who you were and how you grew up, your origins should be something that you must be proud of – and that’s because they’re the reason you got this far.
When Danyelo was only a 14-year old teenager, his father was going through a great economic crisis – the worst in his entire childhood. The fact that he was living in the poorest neighborhood in Chile (la Pintana) did not help either. His family was so affected by it that, in order to contribute to the household’s economy, he started selling candy at his school. He also played music in church and worked selling whiskey, just so that he could bring some extra money into the home.
Thinking about this episode, Danyelo is often nostalgic; he knows he didn’t offer much financial help, but he was happy to at least bring some sort of contribution. For him, family comes first – and this is something that drove him to become successful.
His efforts were also made all the more difficult because Chile is a classist country – and without a big name to back you up, the path to being successful is rather rocky. Plus, he was very young when he started with his real estate business – something that didn’t help him much.
Learning Determination
Looking at Danyelo Oteiza’s story, you could easily make a perfect Hollywood movie storyline from it, packed with intrigue and success. However, most of his determination and interest in business came from his father – who told him that he didn’t need to work for anyone. His motto was “you do what you have to do” – a phrase that marked Danyelo quite a lot.
The determination to go forward was also learned from his father. When Danyelo was young, he worked for his father’s construction business, as a contractor. Things seemed to go quite well – until eventually, they didn’t. The company went bankrupt, and his father had to get up and clean up the toilets from a textile company.
However, he was not discouraged because he moved up to salesman, then the general manager of his own company. Later on, he also became a partner. He gave Danyelo a lesson in perseverance, showing that as long as you are determined enough, nothing should be able to get in your path. You just have to keep pushing.
Organizing Success
In order for his real estate business to be successful, he needed the right plan and routine. From the very beginning of his childhood, Danyelo would wake up very early and would help his father get through the day’s tasks.
Those habits followed him to his own business. At 7 am he serves breakfast with his life partner and starting from 8 am he is already at the office (despite the fact that his team comes in at 9). During that time, he likes to organize and take care of administrative tasks. Occasionally, he also visits the sites for his company’s projects and meets up with his sales team. What matters to him is that by the end of the day, he is home and able to spend some quality time with his girlfriend.
A man that once barely had anything now has everything he might need. He has 35 permanent people working for his real estate company – and here, we do not include subcontractors and collaborating companies. Resources are plenty, which is why business is flowing – raising the fortune of the 25-year-old with each passing day. His work keeps him busy, and he is always doing his best to ensure his determination pays off.
Still, at the end of the day, what matters the most is his family. He always makes sure that he has free time to visit his parents, his relatives, or spend time with his girlfriend. He believes that without the support and the teachings of his family, he could never have gotten this far. That’s why he works so hard: both for himself and for them. His roots allowed him to learn a lot, giving him the determination to do more.