Special Feature

Rising star Veroy Chua finds strength in adversity

April 28, 2023 2:15 PM SGT

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From humble beginnings to breakthrough success, Veroy Chua draws strength from seeing his family fight and emerge from the darkest times of their lives stronger and more united

A rising star in PropNex, Veroy Chua joined the firm in April 2022 and achieved the Super-Platinum Award (>$250,000 commission) in his first month. Eight months later, he achieved the prestigious PropNex Millionaire Award.

Through achieving record-breaking prices for his clients, the Associate Group Division Director has produced chart-topping results, accumulating nine Platinum Awards, two Super Platinum Awards, a Top Manager Award, Top Recruiter, Top Rental Transactor and Top Producer Award to date. At PropNex’s annual gala held earlier this month, Chua clinched the Millionaire Award, Top Producer Award and Top Manager Award for the year 2022.

Just how did this newcomer manage to clinch so many awards and achieve outstanding sales targets in such a short span of time? The 36-year-old father of two attributes his achievements to his supportive team of agents, his loving wife and his two daughters, Scarlet and Nini; the latter has been his main source of inspiration since she was born two years ago prematurely.

Shelyn Chua Yun Ni, affectionately named Nini, was born at 25 weeks weighing 750 grams. She was termed a “micro preemie” and given little to no chance of survival. She spent a total of 417 days in the ICU, but was successfully discharged with medical equipment support.

Chua was thrown into the darkest abyss of his life as he struggled to keep spirits up while juggling work with daily hospital visits. “For the first two months, my wife and I didn’t have the heart to work. Whatever little time we had with Nini, we just wanted to stay by her side, and make each day count,” says Chua.

He elaborates: “Our hearts were filled with so much grief and fear, every time we saw the passing of other babies in the same ward. At the same time, we witnessed how other babies were delivered safely into their incubators. We battled the loss of faith and harboured hope every single day in the ICU. While a large part of us felt diminished seeing how our kid suffered, we also felt an abundance of God’s grace and humanity around us as strangers and medical staff showered our family with encouragement and empathy.”

Seeing his little daughter fight for her life and make miraculous milestones motivated Chua to do the same in his work. “Life was very hard but God made it easier for us. Seeing Nini fight with so much grit and resilience for her life gave me the strength and fuel to fight even harder in my career,” he says.

Now two years old, Nini has hit many success milestones. She was the first baby to overcome a tracheostomy surgery on 100% oxygen dependency. She managed to wean off her nasogastric tube and consumed liquid food orally at one year-plus. Though she is 24/7 dependent on a tracheostomy ventilator, she is now able to crawl, sit and walk with assistance, after lying on the hospital bed for a large part of her early childhood. And she is no longer the preemie baby next to the window staring longingly into the sky. She is finally home with her family. Frequented by a rotating calendar of physio, speech and occupational therapists, Nini remains a source of motivation for Chua to continue preservering to give her the best that she deserves.

Moved by the incredible sacrifice and selflessness shown by Nini’s medical team, he was inspired to form a team of realtors. However, this time, he was determined to be the one who would selflessly coach and mentor others, just as he had been inspired by the medical team.

Today, Chua oversees more than 60 agents, with many of them earning 10 times their previous annual income. They look upon him as a great leader and role model, but above all, someone who serves with passion and dedication. “By the grace of God, we have crossed paths and they have entrusted their livelihood into my hands. Now we are on this journey of learning and growing together,” he says.

Humble beginnings

As a teenager, Chua lacked the motivation to study and was on the fast track to failing his ‘O’ Levels, but a friend reached out and offered to tutor him till he made it to the polytechnic of his choice, where he studied graphic design.

This selfless act of kindness changed his life and inspired Chua to pay it forward. After completing his national service, he worked for a non-profit organisation within his church, which did a lot of outreach work travelling to the slums of Indonesia and the Philippines to help impoverished families. “Giving back to society really anchored me and I knew I wanted to give the best years of my youth to serve others,” he shares.

And he continued with his studies and pursued Bachelor’s degrees in Communication and Design.

At 27, Chua decided to carve out a career in real estate and joined a small boutique agency in 2013. With zero network or connections, he relied on cold calling to get leads. “My pockets were empty, my heart was full, and I was super hungry,” he says figuratively.

By his sixth month, he had become the highest-performing agent in the company. He found a niche doing rentals in Districts 9, 10 and 11. Over time, he expanded his reach into sales, and saw how a strategic investment in the right product can change lives.

Adding value through innovative content

Subsequently, he joined a larger agency with better infrastructure, resources and economies of scale. He went on to make double what he previously earned, taking in $250,000 a year and becoming a formidable broker in the residential market.

Chua used his design expertise to create Property Supermart, an online channel dedicated to creating home tours. On top of creating a YouTube channel, he leveraged Instagram and Facebook as marketing tools to promote his client’s properties and share market updates.

Digital marketing paid off in spades. People loved Chua’s charismatic energy; his online home tours were both engaging and educational. Ultimately, it helped his clients achieve successful outcomes in sales, especially during the pandemic when deals were conducted virtually.

Property Supermart underwent a rebranding in 2020 and became The Real Collective to reach a wider audience. “This is a collective of like-minded individuals who work together with one vision and in one accord,” he says.

Chua came up with the tagline “Real People, Real Estate, Real Results”, because he believes that leaders must always put their people before themselves. “If you do that, your business will take care of itself.”

Passionate and purpose-driven

Chua is grateful for his humble beginnings that keep him down-to-earth and authentic. His colourful journey of becoming a realtorpreuner, and overcoming all the challenges he faced, has culminated in him being the strong, grounded person that he is today. His passion and continued drive have also helped him develop a doctor-patient kind of relationship with his clients who value and trust his judgement, while he holds their hands every step of the way.

He counts his blessings every day for this job that provides the best care for his family. “When Nini was in hospital, we lived in constant fear of the unknown, but that has also taught us to do our best every day. Our lives have become more meaningful and purpose-driven,” says Chua.

To him, real estate is not about slick salesmanship. It is about how people can have humble beginnings and still achieve breakthrough success, with family as the main source of motivation.