Meet Rey Ortega

 

We recently connected with Rey Ortega and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rey, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes from my father and mother. In the early 1970s, my parents escaped Cuba to find a better life in the United States. They didn’t know the language (English) or have any connections in the town of West New York, NJ, where they migrated.

Both my parents found work at a factory. My mom stayed in a small run-down apartment, and my dad slept in the basement of his sister’s house. My father quickly saw that in America, to build wealth, you needed to own a business,

He saved up his money for a couple of years. He saw a bodega for sale and made an offer on it. He was rejected. Then, an owner of a luncheonette told him he was about to retire, so my dad offered to buy it, placing all he had as a down payment with a promise to pay the owner in full within a couple of years. The business was profitable within the year, so he completely owned it. He had acquired a gas station, a textile factory, and two apartment complexes by my birth.

As a child, I’d watch him wake up at 5 a.m. every morning to open the businesses, and I wouldn’t see him come home until 2 a.m. every night. When he did, he sat at his desk in the master bedroom and counted the money, did his accounting, or wrote down ideas and strategies he wanted to implement to grow the business. He was relentless, and I admired that about him, which is why he’s my hero. He knew what was required to support our family and his brothers and sisters, who all needed his help when he started to make money.

He used his success to help bring family members from Cuba to the U.S. and supported them financially in the process. He carried that responsibility, and it was the motivation that drove him to work so hard.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Early in my childhood, I had an affinity for building things, specifically Legos. As personal computers became more affordable to families, my father bought our very first computer, the IBM 386. At the time, we had just moved to Florida, and I was getting into trouble at school defending myself from the constant bullying because my brother and I were just different.

I found solace in that little box with a screen because whatever I commanded it to do, it did it. No talkback, no harassment, just total freedom from people. As the years passed, it became the one thing I could control in my life.

In my more formidable years, the internet came out, and it extended the capabilities of the computer and allowed me to communicate with others who found comfort in a more isolated and controlled environment like me. I took to it as technology and websites expanded the ability to stretch the imagination. I began learning to build websites, code, sell things to make money online, and share stories with people in chat rooms. I learned that I could build digital products, which were mainly software at the time.

This newfound exploration intrigued me with how technology worked and informed my passion for building software, apps, and computers and crafting new business ideas.

That is why, after 25 years of developing websites and building complex business applications, I operate as a Fractional CTO and Solutions Architect for dozens of small businesses under my company, Grata Software. We work with small business owners who struggle to find the time to implement technology strategies without having to sacrifice running their businesses. We help them get back to doing what they are good at, which is their business.

We’ve helped dozens of businesses streamline operations, build new digital products, and advise through multiple acquisitions. In the 10 years we’ve been in business, we’ve created over one hundred software and web applications, and I’ve personally worked on over 120 applications in my 25-year career.

I have two passions: business and technology. With Grata Software, I get to do both. I help small business owners realize their dream of entrepreneurship and guide them to growth and scalable success so they can provide for their families and build long-term wealth. We do this through our online community at https://skool.com/build-with-tech/about, our coaching and consulting programs, and our completely hands-on custom services.

You can join our free community to access free technology resources and network with tech-enabled business owners who collaborate on ideas and learn from the community.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The most impactful skills and areas of knowledge are as follows:

1. The ability to analyze and problem solve
2. The ability to communicate effectively and build relationships
3. The ability to architect solutions both conceptually and hands-on

My most essential quality is that I’m an absolute loyalist. I operate in a high-trust type of relationship. I stay loyal to those who have shown me that I can trust them.

My advice to folks who are early in their journey is to focus on the humanity side of business. See people for what they could be and not where they are. The relationships you can mend when you think like that can bring together some of the most loyal followers, who turn into customers. You can use, build, and buy any technology in the world, but without a soul behind it, it’s a waste.

Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?

Our ideal clients are small business owners, entrepreneurs, and tech founders who spend countless hours trying to implement the right technology for their businesses, which takes them away from running their businesses. They are overwhelmed with the new tech and want a simple and effective way to systematize their business and streamline their processes to create a larger pipeline and attract more clients.

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