Today we’d like to introduce you to Tania Gonzalez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tania. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, and was raised in El Centro, a small farming town in the Imperial Valley, about 90 miles east of San Diego. I was raised in a lower-middle-class single parent home along with my older brother by a very strong woman, who would mold me into the person I am today.
For most of her teenage years, my mother joined the hundreds of migrant workers who cross the border daily to harvest crops. She usually worked 12-hour shifts in either bitter cold or sweltering heat. She was one of five children who selflessly injected her earnings into the family budget, in order to help her widowed mother stay afloat and provide for her siblings. She worked her way through school and became a teacher at the young age of 19. At the age of 25, she fulfilled her life-long dream of becoming a business owner and opened a high-end clothing boutique, and by age 30, three more. She married at age 27, gave birth to my brother, and at age 30, to myself.
We lived in Calexico, a small town bordering Mexico, for about six years, and crossed the border on a daily basis, often spending most of our free time at the boutiques or at grandmother’s house. This was life for us, often traveling, enjoying family, and spending A LOT of time away from home. After a huge economic crisis rocked Mexico in the mid-’90s, many businesses were forced to close, including my mother’s shops. Shortly after, my parents separated, eventually getting a divorce, our home was foreclosed, and my mom was out of a job. I was only five.
As you might have guessed, my mother was not fluent in English, as a matter of fact, she was pretty terrible at it. She was born, raised, and educated in Mexico, so her strengths were definitely NOT in our language. We could’ve moved to Mexicali, but she knew there were better opportunities for us here in the US, so she decided to enroll in college and continue her education, on this side of the border. Since she had already taught in the past, she decided to give teaching another go, so she started learning the language, and continued her education until earning two master’s degrees and her teaching credentials. Growing up, my brother and I would see my mom work during the day, go to school at night and would do side projects like flower arrangements to sell for extra money. Although there were definitely hard times throughout my childhood, I can’t say my brother and I ever needed anything. I can see now that it was thanks to my mother’s dedication and hard work. She earned two Master’s degrees and became a special education teacher, a career that she loves very much so up until today.
In high school, I was always a good student, I figured my mother had enough on her plate and I didn’t want to burden her with any more worries. I knew that I wanted to go to a 4-year university after high school, but I wasn’t sure how I would pay for it exactly. I worked a few waitressing gigs throughout high school, applied for different scholarships, and was accepted to various universities. I remember being so excited after being accepted to USC, my dream school, but an even bigger surprise was finding out I had received the Bill Gates Millenium Hispanic scholarship, which was a full-ride! Once the excitement died down, I was forced to weigh my options and ended up choosing SDSU San Diego because it was closer to home. I had never been away from my family, so I figured I could have the best of both worlds, my independence, and my family and friends close by.
I moved to San Diego after graduation and though I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do career-wise, I knew it would have something to do with business, just like mom. I knew I loved math, so I decided on a degree in finance. I took a few real estate courses as electives and they definitely grabbed my attention, but I didn’t spend too much time dwelling on them or the idea of going into real estate. Throughout college, I mainly worked, at the book store, restaurants, bars, etc. I never joined a sorority, I didn’t party too hard, and I mainly focused on school and getting through it. One night while on Craigslist, I found an add for a new restaurant bar that was hiring servers and bartenders, I applied and got the job, but little did I know that it would be a life changer by creating relationships and opportunities that would come into play in the future.
Once I graduated from college, I knew it was time to get a “real-job” a.k.a. sitting in an office cubicle for eight hours a day. I began working for a law firm where I quickly worked my way up, lasted five years, and decided to go back to school to further my education; or die of boredom from redundant office work.
Emails, desk, emails, phone, desk. That was my life for five years. I hated it so much that I KNEW there was more to being a grown up. I KNEW that this was not my calling, and I KNEW I could do so much more.
I decided to pursue and earn a Master’s degree in healthcare administration. I liked the idea of being able to help others and still take care of the business side of my career. My goal at the time was to become the CFO of a children’s hospital, but little that I know that it entailed starting from scratch and sitting at a desk for over 12 hours a day. Definitely NOT my cup of tea.
Working in the serving industry, I came across a lot of interesting people throughout the years. Co-workers, customers, old bosses, etc. I made a lot of friends and kept in touch with many of them, but it was that fateful night at PF Chang’s with my friend Courtney (who was in real estate) that would change my life forever. After having dinner and going through a bottle of wine (or 3), I began to vent my frustrations about being overqualified yet under-experienced in the medical field, as well as how much I hated my current job. Her eyes lit up as she listened, and although I thought it was the wine, it was the idea that had just appeared in her head. “Why don’t you come and work for us?” I agreed, and a few short weeks later my life completely changed for the better. I knew absolutely NOTHING about real estate or escrow, but I decided to take a risk anyway.
I began my career with New Venture Escrow in 2013, five years later, I am still with the same company and am VERY proud of what I have been able to accomplish. I was thrown into a territory where I knew not one single realtor nor anything related to the field. My goal was to get realtors to use us for escrow by selling our service or products with the personal idea that escrow is not just a deal, but part of helping people achieve their dream of homeownership. This career consists of tons of rejection, long hours, weekends, late nights, and tiresome days, but I am glad I chose this line of work, I wouldn’t trade it for the world! Huge shoutout to my boyfriend who accepts my line of work encourages me daily and supports me every step of the way!
I’ve been backed by an amazing company, an amazing team, and a phenomenal leader and I’ve had the opportunity to do it all with one of my best friends by my side. Every day is different and every day I continue to learn and grow in an ever-changing industry. I am surrounded by incredible people who push me to be the best version of myself. I can provide value and resources to my real estate partners that help me stand out. My company is focused on being different and changing the escrow experience by incorporating technology which completely resonates with me. Simply put, we are a young, hungry, and growing company who strive to push each other and serve our friends, because I believe anyone you make a deal with should be treated as such.
Has it been a smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. As I mentioned before, growing up wasn’t necessarily easy but my mom never allowed us to see or feel that. Moving to San Diego by myself, as a young 18-year-old girl from a small town, is definitely not easy. I look back and there were times where I was living paycheck to paycheck, had to work multiple jobs and still struggled. San Diego is not a cheap place to live. During a short time between jobs, I can recall doing peoples homework for money, a gig I found on craigslist (something I’m not necessarily proud of) but it truly was about surviving for me in this beautiful city. I was determined to make it work here and I was not going to move back home. I also remember my car breaking down and just bursting into tears. Not necessarily because of the money (which was also an issue), but I was here alone. I didn’t have a father figure out here or my brother to help me. I had to figure it all out on my own. And I did, and now I can proudly say that. This all goes back to how I was raised and the tenacity I saw in my mom’s eyes growing up. I always knew I had that in me. There has always been a fire in me that tells me “You’re not allowed to fail”. I honestly believe my whole life I’ve pushed myself harder than anyone has. I’d tell young women today to find that fire and never give up. We are living in a different world now where it’s ok for women to thrive and be more successful than men.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a Senior Account Executive at New Venture Escrow. We are a local independent escrow company with four offices throughout the county. I work alongside real estate agents and strive to provide the best escrow service and bring value to the teams I partner with. I truly believe escrow is a crucial part of the real estate team and it shows in my work. I am always looking for ways to bring ideas to the table, hold my colleagues accountable to hit their goals and provide resources and tools to make their business more efficient. I work on myself constantly by reading self-improvement books, sales books, listen to podcasts and I’m also always learning from those I surround myself with.
People are constantly surprised that I’ve been with New Venture Escrow for this long and haven’t bounced around (this industry is known for that). That’s because I truly believe in the company, the people and what we’re building. It starts with a solid foundation and that’s our leader, Casey LeBlanc. All our employees are like family and Casey makes sure to encourage a healthy and happy work/life balance. This, in turn, creates a better work environment with happy employees who truly genuinely care. We are always being pushed to be the best versions of ourselves and being led outside of our comfort zones to continue to grow which is huge for me.
New Venture Escrow has brought technology and change to an industry that has been stagnant for many years to ensure we pioneer the development of the settlement and escrow industry. We’re always looking to change and improve the way escrow is done not just from the Realtor’s perspective but from the consumers as well. We want to make the home buying and home selling process more transparent, seamless and as stress-free as we possibly can. Nowadays, the internet is the consumer’s bible, so why not allow them to follow along with the entire escrow process and always be in the know all while saving their real estate agents time and energy. We know how big and important these transactions are to people so it’s our priority to give them the very best experience. It makes me so extremely proud to work alongside a team of innovators and professionals and to continue to build with them.
Since the beginning of my time at New Venture Escrow, I have grown in ways that I never thought possible. I have dedicated my life to service real estate agents, buyers, and sellers and have since become one of the most successful and esteemed account executives at the company. I know that New Venture Escrow is where I belong and I am so fortunate to be a part of an innovative, cutting-edge and client-focused movement.
If there is one thing I have learned in business today, it is that my network is my net worth. It is now and will continue to be my number one goal to add as much value as I can to the lives and businesses of my clients.
Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
My grandma is a very strong woman who has always been the backbone of the family and continues to inspire me daily. She lost her mother and had to care for her siblings at a very young age. She moved from Sinaloa to Mexicali on her own with the opportunity to earn a very small teaching wage and then little by little brought her family with her. She was an educator her entire life and always made sure that her kids and grandkids knew the importance of education. I remember she’d assign us homework herself aside from the work we had to do from school. To this day, you can always find her with a book in hand and is constantly correcting my improper Spanish!
My mother has and always will continue to be my biggest motivation. Seeing her hard work and perseverance through everything she went through showed me that everything in life is possible as long as you work hard for it. She lost everything, had to learn a new language, and had to start completely from zero with two kids. I can’t recall ever hearing her complain, not even once. Working days and going to school at nights, taking us to sporting events, helping us with homework, making sure there was dinner on the table, it couldn’t have been easy. She did everything with a smile on her face and would do it all over again.
I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am if it weren’t for these two women. They have shaped the woman I am today. I will continue to work day in and day out to make them both extremely proud and I am super grateful to have these two strong, powerful, ambitious women on my corner.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3131 Camino Del Rio N
Suite 410
San Diego, CA 92108 - Website: www.newventureescrow.com
- Phone: 619-807-0711
- Email: Tania@NewVentureEscrow.com
- Instagram: @TaniaNVE
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tania.c.gonzalez.13
Image Credit:
Ink Designs; Wild Glass Photo; ZinVU
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