Forget Sales, Build a Legacy: How Community Creates Real Success with 'The Real Estate Gal' Susan Bermudez

An industry veteran’s take on navigating a lasting career, overdelivering, and balancing motherhood with ambition.

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By JENNY SMITH MATTFELDT Published March 18, 2025

True, modern success isn’t just about hustle and sales—it’s built on relationships. Susan Bermudez rose to the top 2% of the Phoenix real estate industry not by chasing transactions but by investing in her community, delivering unmatched value, and lifting others as she climbed, always with a ‘drop the ladder and help them up’ mentality.

“It’s only lonely at the top if you’re screwing people over on the way up,” she told me over iced teas on University Drive. “If you’re higher than someone else in your community and you have the ability or the knowledge to help them, drop your ladder and pick them up. If you don’t build respect on the way up, you’ll be falling back down so fast.” It’s easy to see why she’s been able to stand out in the industry for over a decade. That mentality extends to her clients as well—listening to her talk about her work feels less like a job and more like a proud mom gushing about her favorite kids.

“I think there are three major moments in someone’s life: your wedding day, having your first kid, and buying your first home, and I’m just honored to be a part of that decision. I see it as a reward to see that much joy for people and see them make moves and change their lives in ways they might not have thought possible.”

Look for the Relationship Not the Paycheck

It seems like her background in finance has actually taken the focus off of money and onto ensuring the deal gets done right. “There’s a lot of negativity in, and about, the industry, and that’s an opportunity. Take your time, acknowledge the learning moments, and allow it to happen organically. The focus has to be on the people and the relationships, not the business transactions. When you do that, the business follows organically.”

She speaks with such conviction on how the financial component ties into the human element that I couldn’t help but ask why. Her response was simple but it stuck with me: “I just want to make sure everybody has the opportunity to know how to get into a home and create financial freedom for themselves.”And that’s what it all kept coming back to—education, knowledge, empowerment. What can you offer? How can you lead with value? When you focus on equipping others and overdelivering on value, you create an energy that naturally attracts. But when the focus is on a paycheck or personal gain, it creates a sense of desperation that repels and can have long term consequences—or as she puts it, “a shitty paycheck can cost you your career.”

Your Power Lies in Your Authenticity

Hearing about her accomplishments, you might be inclined to picture a more masculine persona—but I can guarantee that if you’re working with Susan, she’ll be showing up with her hair and makeup on point, wearing heels that will have you wondering how she’s possibly running all over Phoenix. She hasn’t sacrificed an ounce of her femininity. Early in her career, she had a few tough mentors who instilled in her the value of dressing the part and how it can completely transform the way you show up. “Dressing up—the heels, the makeup—it’s authentic for me,” she explained. “It makes me feel powerful, makes me feel like the best version of myself. Don’t copy my style, though. What empowers you? What feels authentic?”

That kind of authenticity isn’t tied to a specific aesthetic either. She laughed when acknowledging someone stepping on stage in “Nikes and sweats could bring the same energy” as she does in heels—it’s all about what makes you feel like the most confident, most potent version of yourself. Authenticity at every step, whether it’s your outfit, the way you communicate, or how you present the facts to a client, is how you build trust and respect.

Ambition Will Not Make You a Bad Mom

I’ve heard her proudly refer to her kids so many times I couldn’t help but ask how she navigated raising kids without sacrificing any of her ambition. “It was hard.” Full stop. “But ambition does not make you a bad mom. Having needs outside the house doesn’t make you a bad mom. Sometimes the best mom you can be isn’t the one who’s at home all the time. Most women feel like the family has to come first, always, but it’s okay if your self-confidence comes from your job and not the kids, as long as you’re still showing up for them with that confidence. You have to take into account what feeds you, what makes you better.” It looks different for everyone but at the end of the day the most fulfilled version of you is always going to be the better mom.

The Good Days Come with Wins, The Bad Days Come with Lessons

It’s easy to wonder if a woman who this confidently commands the room ever falters—does she ever deal with self-doubt? “Oh, yes,” she told me immediately. “There are good days and bad days, and the bad days come with the lessons you need to learn. Embrace looking at how you got there, because if you could do all of that, there’s probably a chance you don’t have to believe the asshole that made you doubt yourself today.”

When she needs a reminder of her power, she turns to her closest friends—the kind who lift her up and remind her exactly who she is. That naturally led us to talking about our best friends and how much a woman’s well-being depends on the strength of her female friendships. The whole conversation made me smile, girlhood really is forever.

Her last reminder: “Lean on God. Ask, ‘why this situation? What am I supposed to be learning here?’ Almost every time you start to question yourself, something really good is just around the corner that’s going to remind you why you’re here.”

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