As a single mom with a successful real estate career, Valerie Fitzgerald ascribes to the belief that you can achieve anything in life that you set your mind to – as long as you believe in your own personal power.
For more than 20 years, Valerie has risen to the top of the real estate world by single-handedly building a multi-million dollar real estate business from the ground up, establishing her own charity foundation, and speaking to thousands of people around the country at numerous business conventions. Her talent for the real estate business along with her drive for success have repeatedly put her on Coldwell Banker’s Top 10 Agents Nationwide list, and earned her the prestigious honor of being recognized as the real estate agent with the highest residential real estate sales volume in Los Angeles County for a given year. Most recently, Valerie is honored by the Wall Street Journal as being among the top 200 real estate agents nationwide, and most recently The Valerie Fitzgerald Group was honored for being #34 nationally for 2011 by The Wall Street Journal.
Valerie has appeared on numerous television shows, including multiple segments of “Entertainment Tonight,” MTV’s “Cribs,” The BBC and Byron Allen’s show “Every Woman.” As CEO of C.F. Entertainment, Byron Allen asked Valerie on his show to share with women across the country her story of arriving in Los Angeles with nothing but her broken-down VW bug and her beautiful baby daughter. Her interview had such an impact on Byron Allen’s audience that an editor at Simon and Schuster later contacted her to discuss turning her story of determination into a book. Heart & Sold: How to Survive and Thrive in Real Estate was released May 19, 2009.
Heart and Sold recounts Valerie’s journey as she goes from being an unemployed single mom to a successful working woman with a thriving real estate career. Valerie connects with working women and single moms alike as she tells her story of regaining her own personal power by putting herself through real estate classes by night and learning how to become a realtor. The book offers tangible tools and strategies for any entrepreneur or business owner can implement to help achieve success.
Many ask how she’s able to do it all without succumbing to “real estate agent burnout,” but those who know Valerie know that she has her finger on the pulse of what it truly means to live your life to the fullest. Valerie learned how to love life and appreciate every day by overcoming emotional, physical, and psychological barriers and setbacks early on. Valerie’s ability to recognize and seize a career change opportunity serves as an inspiration to all working women.
Valerie’s journey from successful Ford Agency model to billion-dollar real estate agent is a case study in the power of the heart and soul. Valerie’s approach to the euphoric ups and devastating downs in her life is the true testament to this extraordinary woman.
Today, Valerie remains at the top of the ever-changing real estate market by working with Mastermind Groups across the country. Meeting with these groups gives Valerie a better understanding of what’s happening in the real estate market on a national level, and it provides her with an opportunity to learn about new technologies, trends and techniques in the real estate industry. Most recently, Valerie spoke at Coldwell Banker’s International Business Conference to a packed room about “Communication in Today’s Market.”
Although Fitzgerald is constantly on-the-go, she knows that making time to take care of herself both mentally and physically is what keeps her on top of her game. Valerie is an expert in knowing how to dress for success; she regularly consults with her personal business coach, works out with her personal trainer a few times a week and always makes time to spend with her own inspiration: her daughter, Vanessa.
Valerie assumed it would be easy transitioning from her successful modeling days as the “girl next door” in ads and commercial campaigns. It wasn’t. Valerie’s new position at a cosmetics company didn’t materialize, and she found herself with few resources … no income, little savings and with a new baby…. perhaps her life’s lowest moment. It was at this point the single mother was encouraged by a friend to try real estate.
A long way from the days of struggling to fill an empty rolodex with names while her daughter napped under her desk, Valerie parlayed her success into co-founding “Children Uniting Nations,” a mentoring program for foster care children that Celebration generated upwards of $400K for the charity.
Passionate and determined, Valerie Fitzgerald exemplifies for all working women and single moms what it means to get knocked down but to never give up. “It means everything to me, to have accomplished so much in spite of so many obstacles and setbacks,” Valerie says of her experiences. “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’re still among the stars.”
Valerie currently stars on HGTV’s Selling LA with her team and season 3 Selling LA will soon debut.
