Today we’d like to introduce you to Valli Williams.
Valli, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Beginning the industry young, I lacked confidence and competed with my older siblings for business. When I was able to branch out and find my inner self, I flourished. Being self-aware and having an understanding of who I truly was, led me to believe in myself and abilities to become a confident, trailblazing loan officer and realtor.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
After years of profitability in 2008, the economy collapsed and I was pregnant with my first child at 23. Literally, it felt like a financial Armageddon and I lost everything. My car was repossessed, I lost my house in foreclosure, I couldn’t afford gas to get to work, we had to go on food stamps; it was the worst time in my life. Work was so scarce, I was desperate but didn’t have skills in any other field and no one was hiring anyway. We managed to get by barely as I got a job paying 3k a month as an admin assistant to a loan officer in 2009. I decided the way I was viewing myself as a failure was not who I truly was. I was better skill wise than the work I was doing, I was worth more, I knew I had the ability to sell better than some people I was working under. So, I trusted my gut and went out on my own, again. The economy was still trying to recover but I ended up investing in a marketing strategy for $237 a month and it paid me $5,000 on the first transaction in return. I kept it up for a year and made $87,000 and finally started picking up the pieces. From then on, I kept the momentum and have doubled my volume every year since then. I have to say it all changed when the image of myself changed. When I started believing in my talents, believing in my knowledge and strengths and really deciding I had standards and just scraping by, wasn’t it? Sometimes, our biggest setbacks are our best motivators. They can catapult us to have to do the things to get us where we wanted to be. I had two options, stay broke or take a risk and take that risk on myself. When you are young, you have a beautiful opportunity to take more risk than when you are older with kids, etc. You will never be in the same position you were five years ago, so take the risk and make something of it.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a loan officer and realtor in San Diego, specializing in East County, San Diego. As a loan officer, I do loans throughout the entire state of California and have a passion for those hard to do a type of loans. I pride myself in being competitive in interest rates but also to have superior knowledge of how to structure a loan best for my clients. I am proud to be in the top 1% of my company that is nationwide and also happens to be the #1 Loan Broker in the Nation. I work with everyone from engineers and doctors to new hires who just got out of school. I love helping people who have credit struggles and have a strong background in credit repair.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
Being genuine first is the most important thing. Then, announcing to your circle of peers what you do. Constantly providing value to people and then finding someone who you admire, work for them, with them, copy them, give them credit, let them know you admire them and somewhere along the lines, you will get in return the information you need to reach your goals.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1651 E Main St #207
El Cajon, CA 92021 - Website: www.ValliWilliams.com
- Phone: 619-916-9595
- Email: valli@vallilopez.com
- Instagram: @VALLIHOMELOANS
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValliLoansandRealEstate
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmpTa9UwxO8E0KSY0fq6W_A?view_as=subscriber
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