The success of Portuguese-American businesswoman Michelle Pais has earned her a television program in the United States of America (USA), a platform she wants to use to show the world the best that Portugal has to offer
At 43 years old, Michelle is already a well-known name in New Jersey, the state where she consolidated her career as a real estate agent in the luxury segment and where she founded the company "Signature Realty NJ", which employs about 500 real estate agents in eight offices.
Her success in the real estate business, combined with a great deal of ambition, resulted in the television show '24 Hour Flip', which premiered on the North American channel A&E last weekend and where, alongside her husband, Jonathan Steingraber, the businesswoman shows total home renovations - done in just 24 hours - and with mostly Portuguese teams.
In statements to Lusa, Michelle Pais admitted that she thought it would be impossible to do a remodeling in this record time.
"The idea of selling houses and renovating them in 24 hours was my husband's idea, who, besides being my partner in real estate, is also an investor. He had been buying, fixing and selling houses since he was 20 years old. Then, about six years ago, he got very frustrated with the fact that the process took too long," Michelle explained.
"He then came up with the idea of doing it all in 24 hours. When he told me, I thought he was crazy, that there was no way to make it possible. Maybe no one in the country has ever had that idea to look for a house, buy a house and completely renovate it in just 24 hours... but he's done it to 50 houses and here we are," she recounted.
Michelle Pais, who describes herself as a "very hardworking, determined, ambitious and passionate about what she does," ensures that the innovation of the program - which employs about 50 people - was the key to success and already dreams of taking the format to Portugal.
"God willing that one day we can also go to Portugal and start renovating houses in 24 hours," said the entrepreneur, who in her personal portfolio has more than four thousand properties sold, predominantly between the range of one million and 10 million dollars (940 thousand and 9.4 million euros), but has already reached 17 million dollars (16 million euros).
However, real estate was not always on the horizon for the Portuguese-American, who studied to become a lawyer.
To pay for her university studies, Michelle Pais got a job as a secretary at a real estate agency and it didn't take long before she made her first sale, which, by coincidence, was to a Portuguese man.
From then on, she knew that her professional life would pass through the sector, and she has now had a career in it for almost 22 years.
With roots in Carregal do Sal, where her parents are from, Michelle divided her childhood and adolescence between the USA and Portugal. The fact that she never lost touch with her roots led her to want to keep herself surrounded by "Lusitanian" workers in all the projects she embraces.
And with an eye on the future, the entrepreneur is already working on her next project, which will unite her passion for decoration and design with her pride in being Portuguese.
"Right now, I'm working on launching [a project in] another sector and it has to do with products for the home, 'design' and 'lifestyle'. This is another passion I have. I love 'design', I love everything that involves houses, so it is a project I am working on and I think the launch will happen before the end of the year," he indicated to Lusa.
"It's called 'Pais Life' and, incidentally, most of the fabrics for the beds and pillows will come from Portugal. I'm very proud to be Portuguese and to be able to bring a little bit of Portugal to the United States. Everything is of the best quality. There is nothing like Portugal in textiles and ceramics. I am very proud and very pleased to be able to represent Portugal in the US," she emphasized.
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