Recently, we got to chat with Funnel Hacker Valentina Brega and discover her tips and advice that took her from a modest beginning in Eastern Europe to running a very successful virtual assistant hiring company in the US.
Val and her husband always dreamed of a better life outside of their native Moldova (known for being one of the least visited countries in Europe).
Their drive was so strong they entered the Green Card Lottery every year for 13 years without success.
After so many years of not getting in, they were ready to give up. They committed to try one final time.
On the 14th attempt, they were offered a green card, and with $400 and a 2-month-old daughter, they set off for the US to make a better life for themselves.
Here's what helped Val achieve her goals…
1. Embrace your starting point and Keep moving forward no matter what obstacles are put in your way
Initially, Val faced the daunting challenge of finding employment in a new country. With no car or experience working in the US, finding someone willing to give her a chance was very difficult.
She simply kept applying for job after job until, after weeks of trying, a chance came her way.
Val said, "I had this opportunity of working from home for a real estate company, and I said, well, this is perfect!
"We didn't have anything when we moved here, no furniture or anything. I worked in the closet.
"I was sitting on one chair, and I had another chair in front of me that I put a box on for my laptop. I had to work in the closet with the door shut because my daughter would scream or she would be sleeping, and I had to take all of the calls.
"I had to work 50 hours a week to make ends meet, just cover the food and diapers. But, I was so hungry, I was like, I'm going to be the best employee this company has ever had."
2. Develop expert knowledge in your field, and the opportunities will come
"I read everything I could about real estate, marketing, and sales, and in three months, I was promoted from the person answering the phone to lead manager.
"I was managing the lead as they came in, the follow-ups and everything. On top of that I had to hire people in my department.
"My daughter would go to sleep, and I would just look through hundreds and hundreds of resumés.
"In the beginning, I didn't always get it right. I hired some of the wrong people, but I quickly learned what I did wrong and what I did right.
"Eventually, I ended up building a very very good team, and we were getting excellent results.
"Suddenly, a lot of Real Estate Investors came to me and said hey can you do the same thing for my company? Can you consult us, can you help us get the same results?
"I said well, I can find the right person for you and teach them everything I know, so that's what I did. That's how I started building my own company.
3. Find people with the same values and vision as you, and they will help you achieve your goals
"Little did I know how much that job opportunity would change my life. I found people who are my kind of people, my tribe. We just clicked on the core values, they talked about the vision and the books they read. I was like, these are the type of people I want to work with.
"Including my former boss, who has been my mentor. He's amazing, just such an inspiration, and was the person who introduced me to ClickFunnels."
"After I received the offers to help build teams for other businesses, I had his full support.
"I had his full support to start venturing on my own, and I didn't want to burn this bridge. I'm telling you, I really really met the most wonderful people and the most supporting people.
"I had a lot of people who I found along the way that helped me, said, 'What do you need? How can I help you get there?"
4. Focus on your customer avatar
"In the beginning, the biggest challenge that I had in finding new virtual assistants and talent was, and this is where Russell's knowledge comes into play, I was just talking to everyone, and I wasn't talking to anyone at the same time.
"My mentor recommended I read Russell's Expert Secrets, and as soon as I did, I was like, wait a second, we're not going this right. Let's find out who our avatar is, let's find a framework.
"That's why I love this funnel hacker community, I love Funnel Hacking Live because I feel like Russell is speaking to me directly, and I realized that's not what I was doing in my marketing.
"So once I discovered who my avatar was, it completely changed my business. This is our secret to how we find people that our customers are happy with. We found our avatar, and we direct all our marketing to them and put them in a funnel that gives us the perfect candidates."
5. Keep improving your product or service until it gets your customers the results they want
"With our talent sorting funnel, we've helped hundreds of companies find talent, whether it's here from the United States or all over the world.
"When virtual assistants and other talent apply to work with us, we reject 98% of candidates because they go through a skill analysis and different role plays to see their level of English, how they present themselves, and their confidence in certain situations.
"We developed the system that I used when I was with a real estate company and then tweaked and changed it until we finally got a system that works really well.
"So now, when a company comes to us looking to hire talent, the first thing that we do is get on a call on a discovery call. I really want to understand where they are in their entrepreneurial journey.
"Have they hired someone before? Are they just starting out? What issues have they had in the past working with virtual employees? What is holding them back from delegating their tasks?
"A lot of people don't like to let go of control. They think no one else can be better than them, you know? They don't trust anybody else with the work, it's too good, it's too important.
"But you would be surprised how many talented people we have placed that are just a complete game changer for businesses.
6. Offer A Premium Package
"We also offer to train the virtual assistant in a specialized role. For example, if it's in a real estate company, I can train them on everything.
"A real estate company in San Diego just made $250,000 on one deal that virtual assistants found for them. So now they're hiring more highly trained VAs to scale their operation.
"We have placed virtual assistants who are the head of the fulfillment department. We have some who are in sales. They become experts in their field because one of our core values as a company is extreme ownership.
"We take ownership of what we deliver, and I do the same with my team. If I trust them with a responsibility, they take it beyond what I would have done."
7. Have a strong why
"I have two daughters, and I want them to be proud of me and my husband because we work together in this business.
"I want them to see the value of hard work and the value of resistance and of persistence and not giving up and going through hardship because things are going to happen and you have to pivot and do things differently.
"I realize that we're not going to be around forever, so I want to make sure that my kids are independent, know how to have a good life and know what it really takes to see success.
"I also love seeing how much it changes the lives of the VAs we place. I remember my virtual assistant said, "I can't believe I bought an air conditioning unit for my apartment and now I'm gonna work very comfortably. I couldn't afford it before, and thanks to this job I can."
"I'm so grateful that she has found stability and can provide a better life for her family for herself. That has a big impact on me and is very rewarding.
"Also, what my husband said, whenever clients say that they get to unlock more free time to cast bigger visions, to grow, and spend more time with their family.
"They are delegating tasks and taking time off to go to their children's practice or other games.
Val's Bonus Tips:
Stay focused: "Did you see the movie, The Matrix? Do you remember the lady in the red dress?
"There are going to be a lot of distractions. Don't focus on the lady in the red dress. I had a person that I worked with who said all the time, "Focus, keep your focus straight and know what you want."
"Instead of saying, 'some people are having success with e-commerce, let's try e-commerce. And then, oh no, but somebody else had success with YouTube, let's try YouTube.'
"I wasted a lot of energy, and I wish I had put this energy into focusing on one path and getting good at it."
Keep going: "If anyone reading this is looking for a sign to keep going to, you know, persist, the persistence pays off.
"Have you seen that meme with one person digging for diamonds and the other giving up right before they find them?
"It's so so true, and I think a lot of people have those moments when they're on the verge of quitting. Think to yourself, 'I'll try one more time.' That one time is when something happens, or you meet someone or that next step finally reveals itself and changes everything for you."
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