Every issue, GRAZIA USA highlights Game Changers, who inspire, educate, and celebrate individuality, beauty, and style. Meet Emma Hernan — from starring on Selling Sunset, to starting her own vegan empanada business, the multihyphenate has big plans for her future.
I’ve always been an extremely hard worker, and I always knew I wanted to create something for myself. My father was a firefighter while my mom was a stay-at-home mom, and I always knew I wanted to work really hard, not only to create a life for myself, but to honor them for being the most amazing parents.
In my early teens I started babysitting, and also worked at an ice cream shop. Whatever I earned I saved, and when I turned 15, I started taking all of the money I’d saved in my little sock drawer, and started investing it. My family knew nothing about investments or the stock market and that’s why it became important to me to give people the knowledge that we don’t always learn in math class. I want to teach the next generation about saving for their future.
Later on, I moved to Los Angeles, and while I continued investing in the stock market and doing extremely well, I also started investing in startups, and after that, real estate. When I met Jason and Brett Oppenheim, I knew it was the right time to get my real estate license, since I wanted to be more educated about the field.
I was also interested in learning about the food industry. I like to have multiple streams of income, as it keeps your brain stimulated at all times. I thrive in environments where I’m a busy bee, so I am always working on one project or another. I was told so many times you can’t do everything, but that’s not the case. You can do different things, which will teach you new skills. I have met a lot of CEOs of huge food companies who are looking to purchase homes, so I’ve found there’s a lot of synergy between these two different fields.
I strongly believe everything happens for a reason. I remember when I was building my vegan empanada business — Emma-Leigh & Company — I was going to use a different supplier than Beyond Meat, and I remember being disappointed when that arrangement didn’t work out. But six months later, we reached a deal with Beyond Meat, and they’ve become an amazing partner.
I’m the type of person who puts my full heart and soul into everything I do, so I never want to experience the disappointment of failure. But sometimes failure can lead you down a different path; the one you were supposed to be on. I am not only proving to myself I can run Emma-Leigh & Company, but I’m proving to everyone else that you can do anything you put your mind to.
I map everything out in my head— my business and my life. My five-year plan is to create an empire — an Emma Empire! —which I hope will make a huge difference in the world. I want to create products with top-notch ingredients. I want to sell vegan empanadas all over the world, which is something I am working on right now. I want to go to the supermarket and see that every single aisle has something with my brand.
When I was asked to be on Selling Sunset, it was very difficult to say yes, because I’m somewhat of a private person. It was something I had to think about for a while; but looking back, I don’t regret my decision. I’ve created a platform which I never imagined would be this big, but I also have established long-lasting friendships — it’s not often that your friends become family.
So many people reach out or message me for help or advice and I’m the type of person who will sit down with almost anyone. This is why I do what I do. This is why I joined the show. It’s not easy to have your personal life out in the open, but I am grateful for the people who listen to my story and learn something from it. I’m going to continue to teach and give back.
Looking forward, I have meetings to expand my vegan empanada business into the United Kingdom. I want to work on developing more products and finding the healthiest food to put into your body that really tastes good. When it comes to real estate, I am going to continue to help others find homes. I love real estate so much. I want to create an empire while simultaneously helping others.
— As told to Jaclyn Roth
Read GRAZIA USA’s Winter issue featuring cover star Lizzy Caplan:
