7 Real Estate Industry Leaders To Follow Going Into 2021 It can be risky to try your luck in the industry. It's not a cheap venture by any means, and lots of people even face bankruptcy, but with the proper precautions and skills, anyone can thrive

The world of real estate includes many aspects, like development, investment, selling, marketing and more. It's a cutthroat industry that's always on the move and doesn't take breaks for anyone, which can make it challenging to get settled and scale a venture. With the proper commitment and hard work, though, any goal can be achieved.

A handful of individuals who get involved with real estate usually start on one path, then end up on another. An example would be when a real estate agent starts branching out into investing and flipping houses for themselves. There are so many different ways to generate income from real estate, it's an endless supply of opportunities.

It can be risky to try your luck in the industry. It's not a cheap venture by any means, and lots of people even face bankruptcy, but with the proper precautions and skills, anyone can thrive. There's not even an age limit for real estate; you can get your license for it as early as 18 in most places. After that, it's up to you to seize the moment and make big deals.

For today's list, we have gathered the seven real estate industry leaders who you'll want to keep an eye on in 2021. Their dedication and hard work speaks for itself, so let's get into it.

Ricky Carruth

Ricky started selling real estate when he was twenty years old. It was 2002. He made a million dollars before the age of twenty-three and lost it all in the 2008 market crash. He then had to go back to roofing houses, went bankrupt and worked on an oil rig. During that time, Ricky read one hundred books, and realized this business is about people (not money). Ricky created the phrase "Relationships over Transactions". He has showcased that every relationship you create with someone in your market, regardless if they buy or sell today or not, is worth 10-20 deals to you over the life of your career. Eventually, he got back in real estate in 2008. By 2014, he was selling 100 deals a year as a single agent and became the #1 REMAX agent in Alabama.

In 2017, he wrote two books and started coaching agents for free. Now he is one of the top coaches and speakers in the industry trying to help reduce the failure rate while still closing over 100 deals a year. Despite the pandemic, 2020 looks to be Ricky's best year in real estate so far.

To connect with Ricky you can check out his Instagram @rickycarruth and he is known to answer every one of his Instagram DM's.

Annetta Powell

Annetta Powell is a serial entrepreneur, a published author and the queen of building wealth and having multiple streams of income. Annetta Powell became a big name in the world of real estate when she realized at the age of 25 that she wasn't going to reach millionaire status by living paycheck to paycheck. She made an executive decision to ditch her blue-collar position as a materials coordinator with Johnson Controls, and take the reins to secure a promising financial future.

She purchased her first real estate property for $18,000 and turned a profit of $24,000. Since 2002, she has purchased, renovated, and sold more than 600 properties, totaling $50 million in sales. Just as things were really looking up, Annetta found herself under investigation for real estate fraud in September 2008. She was later indicted in November 2011 for Mortgage Fraud for assisting buyers with down payment money to purchase investment properties. In December 2014, she was sentenced to 24 months in prison and served her time at Alderson Federal Prison, which is known as "Camp Cupcake" where Martha Stewart served her prison sentence.

She now owns five tax franchises, known as the Tax Experts, a luxury party bus company and she continues to still build wealth in real estate.

Annetta is living proof that no obstacle is too big to overcome ... that setbacks are merely setups for a comeback. She inspires others to persevere and has the real-world knowledge to help others minimize risk and achieve their entrepreneurial goals. To connect with Annetta you can check out her Instagram: @annettapowell.

Kent Clothier

Kent Clothier, is the founder of Real Estate Worldwide, where Kent focuses most of his time showing tens of thousands of other entrepreneurs how to break out in the real estate industry by building an active income stream, which they will then quickly diversify into passive investments. Kent's family also owns one of the largest "turn-key" real estate investment companies in the US, REINation.

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Kent followed in the footsteps of his entrepreneur father. And at the age of twenty-three, he was running an multi-million-dollar business where he would purchase truckloads of groceries and flip them for higher prices across the country. By thirty, Kent led a team that had brought the company to $1.8 billion a year in the same industry. But all of that went away when he left the business in 2000, and for the next couple years, Kent struggled with losing everything and even having to go bankrupt.

In 2003 Kent turned to real estate, bought and flipped his first property, and quickly found an interest in the industry. A few years later, in 2006, he formed REWW to show other entrepreneurs how they could also benefit from real estate investing. He and his family used their knowledge and skills from previous ventures to scale the software and education businesses, as well as the investing business that is now flipping over 800 homes a year.

To connect with Kent, you can check out his Instagram: @KentClothier.

Robby Clark

Actor turned real estate investor Robby Clark has worked hard in the last seven years to create a scalable business model. Within that time, the entrepreneur has created three different companies, including a meal service company, and a landscaping business, all of which are based in Ontario, Canada. However, his focus is now strictly on his real estate venture.

Having gained success as a child actor, Robby lived comfortably until he eventually went bankrupt at twenty-two due to a lack of financial education. He decided to work on himself, and after extensive research on business & real estate, he took a swing at it himself.

Robby's portfolio has grown to over 100 properties, with more being added at a regular rate. He has taken an interest in depressed and inadequate housing, where he employs members of the community to help revive the small cities and create a better living situation. Robby oversees and runs several management companies that are focused on their mission of providing adequate housing across Ontario.

To connect with Robby you can check out his Instagram: @robbywclark.

Dylan Suitor

Dylan Suitor is a top real estate agent within his city in Ontario, Canada. Having started his first business venture at eighteen, he quickly realized his love for sales, which is what pushed him in the direction of real estate investing. Dylan acquired his real estate license, and after his first transaction, he knew he found the career he wanted to spend the rest of his life working on and scaling. Four years later and he's grown a team that consists of sixteen agents and support staff.

On top of rising to the top in his city, Dylan has also the top units sold at Keller Williams Signature. Through his speaking engagements that bring in attendance of 600+ people, Dylan offers his advice on becoming an entrepreneur and how to generate passive income for yourself with real estate investing.

To connect with Dylan you can check out his website here.

Steve Bailey

For the last sixteen years, Steve Bailey has been a successful real estate Broker, with over $1 Billion in total sales. Most of his career was with RE/MAX, where he founded, grew and mentored a group of over twenty Agents and achieved being the #9 team in North America and #24 across the entire network. Steve now works for the Kitchener location of Beverly-Hills based luxury real estate company, The Agency.

Steve was born in British Columbia, Canada after his parents emigrated from the United Kingdom due to his father's work in an executive position within Scotiabank. Eventually the family moved back to England, before returning to Canada and then relocating to Puerto Rico. Ultimately Steve and his sister moved back to Canada to continue their education at Appleby College in Oakville after which Steve pursued an Honours Business Degree at Wilfrid Laurier. From there, a full-time award winning career in retail sales was the catalyst for change.

Once his family started growing, Steve began looking for a new home, and after an unsatisfying encounter with a local agent, he decided to pursue a career in real estate. After completing all the required courses, Steve obtained his real estate license in 2004. Over the years, he has earned the trust and recommendation of several celebrities including Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran, John Tesh, Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, and HGTV's Scott McGillivray.

To connect with Steve you can check out his Instagram @soldbybailey.

Nick Blatin

Twenty-five year old Nick Blatin is a partner of Private Money Solutions, a direct hard money lending company that gives short term loans to wealthy individuals and uses their real estate as collateral. He began his journey into the real estate industry once he realized his passion for sales, and by the age of twenty-three, he was named the Number One Agent Under 25, with over $47 million in sales at the time.

Nick was born and raised in Los Angeles after his parents fled Russia to escape war and anti-semitism. Growing up, Nick was heavily involved in sports, eventually settling on mixed martial arts, which he thrived in. At seventeen, he was expelled from high school, which is when he decided to leave the MMA scene and focus on starting a business. Nick created a mobile car wash company, an energy drink company, a jewelry company, and a direct sales makeup and beauty company, all of which failed. However, the direct sales company left an impression on Nick, and he knew that's what he wanted to focus on.

Nick's aunt and uncle sat him down one day to talk to him about his dreams, where they suggested he focus on selling something worth a lot of money, like real estate. That's all it took, and now has led Nick to his latest venture, Private Money Solutions. Now his company is loaning out $12 Million a month, with goals of reaching $15 Million by the end of 2020. Another interesting success within Nick's life is that he appeared on the 12th season finale of Million Dollar Listing LA.

To connect with Nick you can check out his Instagram: @nickblatin.