Founder Spotlight: Arlene Geron of Homified

Founder Spotlight: Arlene Geron of Homified

Reliable Home Provider for everyone

Anyone living in the Philippines for the past 5-10 years would have witnessed the booming real estate industry especially nearby or inside central business districts of Metro Manila. Both residential and commercial condominiums have been rising rapidly each year and continue to expand even to less developed cities. Unsurprisingly, the construction and real estate industry, that makes up about 20% of the Philippine economy, will remain attractive for investments and is still expected to grow due to the rapid emergence of middle class that demands housing in the cities.

 

 

 

One woman felt like she needed a new challenge when she reached her 6th year in a company that she worked at, where she realized that the real estate industry is her interest. Admittedly, Arlene Geron had difficulties and hesitations when she started her business but it was a challenge that she was driven to conquer. So she built Homified Inc., the product of her courage to embark on a new challenge, collaboration with colleagues, and her expertise with 10 unprecedented years of experience.

 

Initially, Arlene hesitated starting her own work because she had always been employed and she had a family so there is pressure to keep up with the way of living in the city. She worked as former sales director of a top real estate provider and became one of the pioneers who propelled the company to the top. As a pioneer employee, she tried to embrace the changes but since she was getting older, she felt that she needed to step down or else she would never have her own company. Nevertheless, her family motivated her to become an entrepreneur as well as her former officemates that she still maintains good relationships with.

 

 

Being a company that had just been established quite recently compared to her competitors, she recalled around the 7th month she thought, “Wow, I survived seven months” and later on it would be her first anniversary and gave her hope of success in spite of the hardships. Initially, she wanted to start alone but her former colleagues with proven track record in technology development and management collaborated with her so she was able to form a proficient team. They all saw the need for a comprehensive and credible search platform for individuals looking for properties.

 

There are many competitors in her line of business but many of them have almost the same platform, and since she rode with happler before, she knows the weakness of the platform. So she makes sure that Homified’s service does not end there but includes a package of initial input (documentation processing), transportation, moving services, cleaning assistance, virtual orientation, etc… into their service. The main problem that they faced before was how accurate listings would be. For example, a client would see a home that they are interested in and they call—only to find out that the listing is unavailable. She resolved it by ensuring her team will keep an eye on places and updates everyone immediately—one of her edge Homified has over its competitors.

 

In their team, Arlene does the sales so she’s out for most of the day meeting clients with different cultures and nationalities. “You’re not only how to expand your relationships but also as an individual, and that is exactly what I am teaching my children.” She continues, “People tell children to study hard so they can get a good job and that’s also how I thought back then. But what I’m instilling in their minds is to study hard for yourself so you can have your own business rather than becoming an employee.”

 

Arlene enjoys her business in spite of all the obstacles she encounters on a daily basis. She makes sure to commit to the quality of their service being accurate and reliable—even goes further as providing school assistance for parents with children and helping expatriates get acquainted with the Filipino culture.