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Something people may not know about real estate broker-turned mentor, Valerie Fitzgerald:"she manages to come home at 6:30 p.m. almost every night to have dinner with her 17-year-old daughter, Vanessa," says Betty Graham, President and Chief Operating Officer of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Greater Los Angeles. If that fact alone doesn't impress potential clients and the scores
of local real estate agents who (by reputation) work 24-7, then
try these facts on for size: over the last fifteen years, Fitzgerald
has single-handedly managed to build a multi-million dollar real
estate business, establish her own charity foundation, speak around
the country at numerous business conventions, appear on television
shows like "Entertainment Tonight" and MTV's "Cribs,"
rank among Coldwell Banker's Top 10 agents nationwide, and earn
the attention of the Los Angeles Business Journal for the highest
sales volume in L.A. County for residential real estate in 2000
(she was also recently nominated for the publication's 13th annual
"Women Making a Difference"). Despite these near-superhuman
achievements, the affable and approachable Fitzgerald is surprisingly,
well, human. |
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"People sometimes assume that if you run a successful business, you become unapproachable," says the accomplished millionaire real estate agent, who works in 13 Westside markets from Beverly Hills to Malibu. "I return all of my own calls, which are never less than 100 a day and many times, are close to 200 a day. My clients can always get me on the phone." For Fitzgerald, who branded herself with the memorable "Want Your Home Sold? Got Valerie?" slogan, there is a human side to real estate. Aside from numbers and figures (hers include a sales volume of $135 million last year), the former real estate correspondent for "Entertainment Tonight" believes the business is not necessarily about being available to clients around the clock. That's not the only thing the Los Angeles-raised Fitzgerald has learned since entering the real estate world in 1987.After a glamorous modeling career in New York City, the blonde beauty's introduction into the business was far less fashionable. |
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She naturally transitioned from strolling the runways in Paris and Milan to running a cosmetics company in Los Angeles, but the position eventually collapsed under her feet. Left with no income, little savings, and a new baby, the single mother was encouraged by a friend to try real estate. "He said, 'You'll go into real estate and you'll be great at it; " she recalls. "I didn't know anything about the business and I hadn't finished college. It was a complete leap of faith:' Armed with only ambition and determination, she quickly earned her real estate license and started working at a small boutique office in Beverly Hills. Three-month-old Vanessa slept under her desk while Fitzgerald worked long days and weeks, building a real estate business from an empty rolodex. "I still keep that rolodex as a reminder of where I've come from," says Fitzgerald, who moved to another boutique office in 1989 and Coldwell Banker in 1991."1 know what it's like to start off in this business and to be scared about trying to make a living at it. The mentoring came as a result of people hearing my story. It's been very rewarding for me to share my experience. My story is a way to restore hope."
Fitzgerald's encouraging words and inspiring tales are exactly why so many young real estate professionals, as well as veteran agents respect her - and why she has been a frequent guest speaker at Coldwell Banker International Conferences and Mastermind Groups across the country. According to Betty Graham, her former manager, "all of the agents in the Beverly Hills office admire her and look up to her:' She adds, "We wear her like a jewel in our crown." At Coldwell Banker, the forward-thinking Fitzgerald was given "the space to fly." She says the company has always remained receptive to her ideas, even when she faced criticism. The question for her is not ever "why?", but "why not?" She recalls how many eyebrows were raised when she hired an assistant with her first paycheck. "It was unheard of in those days," she says. "When I saved enough money, I hired a second assistant. Nobody had two assistants back then, but I was determined to build my business at Coldwell Banker. I love real estate, and that translates into the risks I've taken and the challenges I've met:' Lola Levoy can testify to Fitzgerald's innovation and detennination.As owner and president of Beverly Hills Escrow, Levoy has worked with Fitzgerald off and on throughout the years. When the real estate broker is not working with West Coast Escrow, she collaborates with Levoy on transactions. "Valerie is an asset to her profession," raves Levoy. "It is a pleasure to work with her. She's efficient, and does a complete service to her clients. There are always a myriad of issues that come up during the course of an escrow, and she is always there, right on top of everything." The secrets of Fitzgerald's success include her accessibility, trust, and ability to not take things personally, according to Levoy. "She develops a very close friendship with her clients, but does not get emotional. She's able to step back and be that voice of reason. She's interested in developing and continuing relationships with her clients for the long term:' It should be no surprise then, that 50% of her business comes from past clients and referrals, which is a direct result of the kind of care she puts into her clients. She strives to create and establish relationships that are based on integrity and reliability in each word and action she takes. It's practically one of her mission statements "I am the one who is ultimately responsible for my clients' future," she says. "It's my mission to treat them as I'd want to be treated. I want to retain them as clients for life because I do a good job for them. It's such a great feeling to help them find the exact home they are looking for." To accomplish this task, Fitzgerald has mastered "the art of delegation," claims Graham. She knows exactly what kinds of tasks to delegate and to whom. She has created a solid support team of seven staff members, which includes a personal assistant, billing administrator, marketing coordinator and graphic designer, office manager, escrow coordinator, and a part-time showing assistant. They not only make it possible for Fitzgerald to go home at 6:30 p.m. everyday, but they also provide her clients with first rate service. Seven young, up-and-coming buyer's agents also work under her wing. "I've put this team together in the last three years," reveals the real estate broker. "My strengths are finding properties for my clients, showing the property and efficiently negotiating the transaction for them. Because I've mastered these skills, I can delegate other duties and tasks to people who are great at their jobs. We are a team with a business approach to real estate." Fitzgerald has created a casual work atmosphere to reflect her ever-casual. approachable, and breezy personality. She enjoys taking the "self-contained" team on field trips to the beach and other fun destinations to promote camaraderie and team spirit while discussing important procedures. During busy periods, staff members will pitch in for each other, and Fitzgerald has been known to even answer the phones! This positive business environment translates to not only happy employees, but happy clients too. "My support team always looks out for the best interest of the client," says Fitzgerald, who counts several Hollywood elite and celebrities among her clientele. "My team and 1 operate from a position of always being able to provide necessary information, but also to use discretion and protect our clients' interests." Another gift she offers clients is her "vast mental inventory" of homes on the market and her seemingly unlimited knowledge about the highest echelons of the Greater Los Angeles real estate market. She spends a great deal of time reviewing the market, driving through neighborhoods, and teaching herself the most up-to-date market activity. "If someone said they wanted to buy a home for a million dollars, 1 could easily rattle off several markets, location, lot size, and price," she says. "I am in this market, and not just in one place, but in every area. 1 love each and every neighborhood in Los Angeles. They are all so different." For Fitzgerald, she keeps up with the ever-changing real estate market in a variety of ways, including consulting a business coach and meeting with Mastermind Groups across the country. Several times a year, she meets with the group to gain a broader understanding of the real estate market on a nationallevel.They discuss issues like new technology, changes in the industry, business issues, techniques to increase profitability, and ways to avoid "real estate agent burnout." Constantly on-the-go, Fitzgerald takes special precautions to avoid becoming "consumed" and "addicted" to the business she loves. While she manages to be in every Westside neighborhood at once, she calls her business coach in Canada every Thursday morning, works out with a personal trainer a few times a week, and always finds time for her "inspiration,"Vanessa. A long way from the days of napping under desks and struggling to fill empty rolodex with names, the mother-daughter pair still does everything together - annual ski trips to Aspen, getaways to exotic locales like Bali and Hong Kong, entertaining friends at their Brentwood home and walking their three dogs, Freckles, Charlie, and Tiger lily - and they're just getting started. Five years ago, they co-founded "Children Uniting Nations," a mentoring program for foster care children that has attracted such celebrity do-gooders as Jane Seymour and Pierce Brosnan. The two can always be found planning charity events or attending meetings. For a little R&R this summer, they can escape to the beaches of Malibu, since Fitzgerald rented a home for the weekends. "It means everything to me," she says of her life. "You need to have the dream of how you want your life to be, and then you need the heart to go and get it. Don't ever give up - if you shoot for the moon and miss, you are still among the stars." |
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