Laura Lulgjuraj, successful Albanian-American woman in Real Estate Industry

April 7, 2022

She was only 2 years old when her parents immigrated from Montenegro to the United States of America, for a better life.

Now, Albanian-American Laura Lulgjuraj, a business management graduate, works as a Real Estate Sales Agent in Westchester, New York.

She says the work she does is not always easy and that sometimes there is a lot of pressure.

“I always loved everything about Real Estate. Not just the buying and selling, but I also loved and appreciated the way homes were built, the way buildings were developed… it is all so exciting to me.
There are many challenges in Real Estate. It is nothing like it looks on TV. There is so much that goes into it; time management, marketing, organization, processes, managing emotions and timelines, and staying consistently focused – with another fifteen things added to that, and it’s all happening at once, and sometimes under a lot of pressure!” says Lulgjuraj i for Atlantiku.

According to her, success in this work comes from experience, dedication, and at the same time it is very important to maintain calm and focus.

But, what are some additional skills that a Real Estate Agent should have?

“You have to love working with people and have to love the service industry. You also have to learn to stay calm. There are days where things will be suspiciously quiet.Then there are the days where you literally cannot get a second to eat, or breath for that matter. Your phone will not stop ringing, because you have clients calling you about setting up appointments, other clients calling you because they want to discuss the market and a house they may want to place an offer on, another client is texting you in a panic because there is now an issue with a deal that has been in contract that you thought was going smoothly. Those are the most difficult days because it is so easy to get overwhelmed. And honestly, it takes a lot of practice, mistakes and lessons, to learn to manage that pressure calmly. Once you master the lesson of staying calm, I truly believe whether you are in the real estate industry, or any other industry, you can be successful”, she says.

For all the successes she achieved, Albanian-American Laura Lulgjuraj, is grateful to her parents who sacrificed a lot so that the children do not miss anything.

(Laura’s parents)

Even though she was very young in age, she has fresh memories from the period when the only opportunity to spend time with her parents was to visit them while they were at work.

Most of the time, she spent with her grandfather.

(Little Laura with her grandfather Mark)

“My parents like most immigrants, moved to the United States for a better life and to give me greater opportunities and higher levels of education; and for that I will always be grateful. My parents like many immigrants both worked long hours, had multiple jobs and did everything they could to survive and give me a comfortable life growing up. I spent a great part of my life growing up with my mom’s parents and brothers. My mom would drop me off at my uncles house, where my grandparents and uncles lived, early in the morning and pick me up late at night, long after I had fallen asleep. My dad would often take me to job sites with him on the weekends where he painted different new construction homes, so we could spend time together. This is where I fell in love with watching homes go up and come together. The smell of new construction brings back some really wonderful memories. My parents gave up many opportunities just so they could provide for me and give me a comfortable life. My drive is rooted in my dream to one day take care of my parents and give them a comfortable retirement. I want to show them that everything they did was for a reason. I owe them so much”, she adds.

As a successful woman in her career, Laura Lulgjuraj has a message for all those who want to choose this path, especially for women.

“Based on my experiences, as an women we are trained from early age to just accept things and stay quiet because that’s what classy woman do. Because if you are too loud, you become too disruptive, and that makes you “too much”, “too aggressive” and sometimes it escalates to being called names. A big piece of who I have always been is someone who always questions things and pushes the envelope. Why does it have to be that way? I don’t believe in sitting quietly at any table, whether a table full of men, or women. If I have an opinion, or an idea, or if I disagree with something, I will express it. It may not be the best idea, or the greatest opinion, but I will never allow myself to fall into that black hole of being too afraid to express my thoughts because that person across from me, whether a man or woman, is intimidating or simply doesn’t want to hear another thought, or opinion. There have been times where I pushed myself to speak up because there is always a time in someone’s life and career where speaking up is scary. We have to stop trying so hard to be perfect”, says Lulgjuraj.

She also has a piece of advice for Albanian youth who want to move to the United States.

“I think if you have a desire to move to the United States you should definitely come and try it! The Unites States is truly the land of opportunity and as I said above, I am grateful to my parents for bringing me here; but I will say this, even with all the opportunity present, you still have to work very hard. Especially, if you are coming here with no friends, family or connections. But as my grandpa used to say, “good things never come easy” and he was absolutely right. I do hope to see many more of our Albanian-American community members reach new heights and take on leadership roles around the world. It is such a beautiful thing to see!”

Appreciated for her success in selling houses as well as leadership and service to the community, Laura Lulgjuraj was awarded several prizes.