For Gustavo Soares, the road to opening a business in Beaumont Village (BV) has been arduous. But education, ambition, and a proven commitment to taking great care of customers helped him secure elite status at State Farm.
Unlike many insurance companies, State Farm does not sell franchises. Instead, candidates are handpicked, heavily screened, then trained and tested in the business before they are allowed to open a State Farm office. In 2014, Gustavo was offered the opportunity to take over the business of retired State Farm agent and longtime BV neighbor, George Flesuras. Gustavo spent three years in the Lloyd District before relocating his office to Fremont at the end of 2017. Eight months later, a fire at the barbershop next door rendered his office unusable for several months, but it didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for BV. He moved back to fixed-up digs in early December.
“When I was asked to take over George’s office here, I didn’t know what to expect, because I didn’t know the neighborhood,” Gustavo said. “Now we really like that we know people in the community—something that didn’t happen at all in 13 years in Florida.”
Gustavo hails from Belo Horizonte, Brazil—known by soccer fans for the infamous semi-final at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where Germany defeated Brazil by an historic margin (7-1). He first visited the United States in 2000 and met Daniela, now his wife. The couple have been married for 16 years and have a 10-year-old son.
While working full-time, Gustavo earned a double-major in Business Management and Marketing from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and two years later added an MBA in Finance to his resume. Between Brazil and Florida, prior to work in the insurance world, Gustavo built a career in the luxury hospitality industry, but the work proved to be an inadequate match for his level of skill and experience. Then on a chance visit to Portland in 2013, the couple fell in love with the area, and, after returning to Florida, Gustavo responded to a State Farm recruiting ad. “I had nothing to lose, and felt I would learn something by exploring the opportunity,” he explained. Six months after his initial meeting with State Farm, buoyed by what he had learned, Gustavo quit his former career path and signed on.
Moving to Gresham in 2014, he worked diligently to get established. “I had no margin for error and failure was not an option,” he said. “There was no one to help me out, and we didn’t know anyone—we had no circles of influence.” Gustavo’s years of yield revenue and management experience proved valuable in his new career, and today his business is thriving. Gustavo’s office is ranked in the top three State Farm agencies in the Portland metro area and is also one of the fastest growing in the city. He attributes his success to a genuine concern for his customers. “Being highly responsive and helping people meet their needs—not selling to them. We have a needs-based approach.” Gustavo also emphasizes that he works to protect the livelihood of his clients against the unexpected. “So their lives can go right.”
Gustavo serves on the board for the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Although Portuguese is his native language, he has a strong command of Spanish as well.
Gustavo Soares State Farm Insurance, a valued advertiser and supporter of this newsletter, is located at 4515 NE Fremont. For more information, call 503-287-0027 or e-mail Gustavo@PDXInsurance.net.