An Entrepreneur Since 7, This Houston Commercial Real Estate Mogul Gives All The Credit To His Colombian Mother's Willpower

Commercial real estate investor Boris Sanchez’s first business opportunity came while, as a 7-year-old, he started Bogota, Columbia’s first GrubHub operation at his primary school. Well, not technically. 

The truth is, Sanchez and his classmates were tired of hiking up a steep hill next to the classroom just to get lunch. So he decided to turn that dilemma into an opportunity and charged his classmates 10 cents each to climb the hill and get lunch for them. At the height of his business, he had as many as six kids working under him, doing all the heavy climbing. But after a couple of weeks, this bit of entrepreneurial spirit led to other classmates trying to undercut his price model, going as low as 7 cents per trip. But it wasn’t long before the school administration caught on. All the students involved were immediately punished for making money off their classmates and were shut down. Raised by his mother, a prominent Colombian attorney, Sanchez said he wasn’t afraid to face the music at home for his innovative misdeeds.

“My Mom thought it was amazing,” Sanchez told Benzinga. Now a self-made, Houston-based real estate mogul with his Sanmore Investments, Sanchez has over $70 million in assets. He credits his mother with teaching him many things, including being responsible with assets. 

“I got my first real job in Colombia at the age of 11. My first paycheck was around $90, and I was too young to have a bank account or cash a check, so I handed it to my mother. She looked at it, put it in her pocket and told me she was going to pay the water bill with it. I learned a lot from that experience.”

Sanchez, now 38, owns over 800 multifamily units and is looking to add another $15 million in self-storage facilities this year. His business inspiration after moving to the U.S. at a young age is the result of his mother’s willpower. “My mother was a prominent Colombian attorney who was winning cases against Pablo Escobar’s drug cartel,” he said. “She was constantly under bomb threats. That was our reality. We came here without her knowing one word of English, and she swept floors before eventually starting a real estate company. That’s where my determination came from.”

The model set by his mother encouraged Sanchez to go to business school in London and eventually get his bachelor’s degree in Houston. But like many young investors, he learned some early lessons, like his first purchase of an eight-unit apartment complex in East Houston. 

“I thought that cash flow would set you free but have later found that was far from the truth. I spent $40,000 on the property and made very little every month. But when I sold it, I made $150,000. That changed my life,” he said. “What I preach now is that there are two types of investors — appreciation and cash flow. Cash flow doesn’t make anyone rich. It only maintains your current level. Appreciation is what can make you rich.”

For other young investment entrepreneurs, Sanchez’s advice is less about the property and more about the company you keep or rely on. 

“Make sure you’re paving your own way and that you’re always paying attention to those people who support you and your work. And don’t forget to add value to their lives too. It will come back tenfold.” 

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That sounds like something his mother would say. 

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