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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's VanCoovers Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:26] SPEAKER_02: Hello, this is Robert Smigel coming to today with VanCoovers Podcast, a member of the Canada's Podcast Network,
[00:33] SPEAKER_02: where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen here in Vancouver, British Columbia.
[00:39] SPEAKER_02: ViWin is a realtor and investor who has a love and extensive knowledge of real estate, born in Vietnam and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and yet she speaks fluent Vietnamese, however, she does have a Canadian accent.
[00:54] SPEAKER_02: By 27 years old, she received her Bachelor of Science degree and dental hygiene diploma from the University of Manitoba.
[01:03] SPEAKER_02: After university, she packed her bags and flew straight to BC and has never looked back.
[01:09] SPEAKER_02: Today, she lives in East Vancouver where she has taken up urban farming and is looking forward to taking care of her chickens.
[01:18] SPEAKER_02: Well, Vi, welcome to the show. Thanks for taking the time today to be here for all our listeners.
[01:23] SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here.
[01:26] SPEAKER_02: Okay, I want you to tell us a little bit more about yourself, where you're from, and give us the details on your current business.
[01:33] SPEAKER_00: Well, I was born in Vietnam and I was actually a boat person and then we ended up going to living in refugee camp for two and a half years.
[01:43] SPEAKER_00: So that's a story and not itself, but we won't get into that today.
[01:49] SPEAKER_00: And then I grew up basically at three years old, I grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, so you can only imagine, you know, my mom and dad who's used to plus 30 weather, getting used to minus 50 weather.
[02:02] SPEAKER_00: And of course, the year that we went to Manitoba was the most horrible blizzard.
[02:06] SPEAKER_00: But there's a bit of adjustment and I think that has a lot to do with the way of my business practice today.
[02:14] SPEAKER_00: And now I'm an entrepreneur and also a realtor.
[02:18] SPEAKER_00: And I am with EXP of realty and I help mostly first time home buyers and some referral clients look for homes.
[02:30] SPEAKER_00: And also I'm well versed in real estate investing as well.
[02:37] SPEAKER_00: And yeah.
[02:38] SPEAKER_02: You're definitely in the right market being in Vancouver, I guess, with the real estate market the way it is now.
[02:45] SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is.
[02:46] SPEAKER_02: Good. Okay. Now, did you need financing to start your company and how do you currently make money in your business now?
[02:53] SPEAKER_00: Well, I had to be a realtor. It wasn't as bad.
[03:00] SPEAKER_00: You know, to start off, you had to go to classes, online classes.
[03:06] SPEAKER_00: And then with the fees afterwards, you end up going like a little over $3,000.
[03:13] SPEAKER_00: So that was pretty easy to get because I had a lot of savings as a downhide genus.
[03:19] SPEAKER_00: And I basically had a career as a general hygienist for 10 years.
[03:23] SPEAKER_00: So I saved quite a bit of money so I was able to launch myself into the career.
[03:27] SPEAKER_00: And then I was also part of a team, even though and he took a bit of quite a bit of the commission.
[03:33] SPEAKER_00: So I didn't actually make a lot in my first year, but it was a good transition.
[03:38] SPEAKER_00: So I didn't have to pay upfront out of pocket because he paid for all the marketing material.
[03:43] SPEAKER_00: And I got to learn how to be a real estate agent as well.
[03:47] SPEAKER_00: So I considered that kind of a university fee of sorts.
[03:51] SPEAKER_00: And then now I'm on my own.
[03:54] SPEAKER_00: And yeah, so it's actually not that bad being a realtor.
[03:59] SPEAKER_00: It's not like your usual product type, product type of entrepreneurship.
[04:06] SPEAKER_02: Okay. What is the long term vision and what will your company look like in the future?
[04:10] SPEAKER_02: Do you see the company expanding into other areas and where beyond Vancouver, BC or even Canada?
[04:17] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely. With EXP Realty, there's actually an opportunity to recruit agents underneath me.
[04:26] SPEAKER_00: And I could recruit agents from here, here on Terrio, Alberta, anywhere that EXP is in and also like all of the US.
[04:36] SPEAKER_00: And they're opening up in Mexico and Australia.
[04:38] SPEAKER_00: That's why I've been hearing. Those are still rumors. I don't know if that's happening anytime soon, but that's what they're looking at.
[04:47] SPEAKER_00: So there's opportunity to expand my team well across the world. It sounds like.
[04:55] SPEAKER_02: Great. So you could be hiring people in Canada as well as internationally.
[04:59] SPEAKER_00: Exactly. So it's going to be quite fun when we get together.
[05:04] SPEAKER_02: Good. Okay. Now I want you to talk a little bit about doing business in Vancouver now.
[05:09] SPEAKER_02: What are the biggest benefits for you in being an entrepreneur here in Vancouver, BC?
[05:13] SPEAKER_02: I want you to give us some of the good points about starting a company here.
[05:16] SPEAKER_02: But I also want you to give us some of the tough things or challenges for listeners so they can keep an eye out for them.
[05:22] SPEAKER_00: Boy, there's so much benefit when I look when I decide to take a plunge and become an entrepreneur full-time realtor.
[05:30] SPEAKER_00: The reason I have a nice paid job as a dental hygienist was that the potential to make money here is so vast in any career.
[05:38] SPEAKER_00: There's so many people, so many tourists. It's so diverse out here. The potential is there.
[05:45] SPEAKER_00: And you can see there's people living in penthouses, people by 5, 10, $60 million houses.
[05:52] SPEAKER_00: So there's just the potential limitless here I find. And in any respect, not just real estate.
[06:01] SPEAKER_00: However, saying that, it's also the challenge. Realtors are saturated here.
[06:08] SPEAKER_00: You need something to really stand out. You have to have be, you have to have, you have to be friendly.
[06:13] SPEAKER_00: You have to have to be able to make friends in the industry connections. That's really big.
[06:22] SPEAKER_00: That's one of the things you just have to do here to stand out or be the best service person you can be.
[06:31] SPEAKER_00: Really. So that's the challenge. It's just that there's so many of us out there. So many entrepreneurs.
[06:37] SPEAKER_02: Right. Now we do some of our best work outside the office. Is there a place in the lower main land close to where you live or work,
[06:43] SPEAKER_02: where you like to go recharge or get inspired or think about ideas and your business?
[06:48] SPEAKER_02: And does it change with the season considering all the rain we get here?
[06:53] SPEAKER_00: That is true. Well, in the summers, definitely I like to, I like to hike.
[07:00] SPEAKER_00: So sometimes I do the girls grind just to let off some steam and, you know, clear my mind a little because all you can think about is how awful those steps are.
[07:11] SPEAKER_00: So there's not much going in your head. I call that little mini meditation.
[07:15] SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I just like to take a, if I want something simpler, just take a simple walk around Bernabé late.
[07:22] SPEAKER_00: In the winters, I tend to not do that so much.
[07:25] SPEAKER_00: I do take little walks around or I meditate in my office for, you know, good 40 minutes every so often just to help me recharge.
[07:37] SPEAKER_00: Lately, I'm thinking of joining actually the women's university group out in the high-croft manner.
[07:44] SPEAKER_00: So that might be my new place to just recharge because the heritage heritage mansion is just such a beautiful place to sit and relax and think.
[07:56] SPEAKER_02: Okay. Now we have a lot of international listeners. So this next question I want you to speak to them.
[08:02] SPEAKER_02: If you were to start all over again and you just moved here to Vancouver, BC, but this time you don't know anyone knowing what you know now, what would you do and how would you go about starting all over again as an entrepreneur?
[08:18] SPEAKER_00: That is a great question and I feel like that was even though I came from Winnipeg and I was an international, but I came to Vancouver without knowing anyone.
[08:26] SPEAKER_00: Even though I was a hygienist, my office was very limited to five staff members and I really didn't know a lot of people.
[08:34] SPEAKER_00: So when I became a realtor, it was really hard for me to make that decision to go full time.
[08:40] SPEAKER_00: But basically I would say for a realtor, it's a little different being a realtor versus other service products, service entrepreneurs.
[08:51] SPEAKER_00: Being part of the team really helped me because basically all we did was internet leads and I became really good at I call them warm calling people so people come on to the website and they enter their phone number.
[09:02] SPEAKER_00: It's a name. Most of the time it's fake, but that's fine once while you get a gem, but I became really disciplined and good at doing internet leads.
[09:11] SPEAKER_00: So it's a bit of a, if you're on your own and you decide to become a realtor, it costs quite a bit to get the internet leads, but I think they're worthwhile if you don't know anybody.
[09:26] SPEAKER_02: Right. So basically if you don't know anyone, it gives you an inspired way to kind of charge your head and try and meet more people.
[09:34] SPEAKER_00: Exactly. And these people are looking for real estate already. So that's why it's a little different. Internet marketing doesn't always work for every, every company.
[09:44] SPEAKER_02: Yes. Okay. What does the first hour look like for you when you get up in the morning? Do you have a specific routine or a ritual that helps you get motivated to start your day?
[09:54] SPEAKER_00: Yes. My cats motivate me. I just say I love my cats to pieces. I actually ended up adopting a cat from one of my clients who had a litter of kittens.
[10:05] SPEAKER_00: So in the morning, I basically it's all about my cats. Then I think about myself. So I keep them. I pet them. They need attention. And I tell them how amazing they are because cats really need a lot of attention and a lot of love.
[10:20] SPEAKER_00: How many do you have? Well, I have three now. Okay. And then of course I go out to the garden. And then I do my urban farming. And right now we don't have quite have the chickens yet.
[10:31] SPEAKER_00: Do you have worse building the coop that you can coop right now? But I do. We do have a lot of fruits and vegetables that take that 10 to and it's also a nice nice time for me to just decompress and get ready for my day.
[10:45] SPEAKER_02: Do you think entrepreneurs have to be weird or unique in a positive way or are wired differently?
[10:52] SPEAKER_00: Yes. There are many times where I wonder what the heck am I doing? And I can understand why a lot of people don't want to take this lifestyle.
[11:07] SPEAKER_00: Yes, we do have to be wired differently because in I guess everyone around us is the norm is to just have a job and do the usual thing.
[11:21] SPEAKER_00: And it is quite safe to have a job and have a constant check rather than work on a commission based job where you're one month you might make $50,000.
[11:32] SPEAKER_00: And next month you make next couple of months you make nothing. But you're still working really hard and or take other challenges like my events I have next week.
[11:42] SPEAKER_00: I have never done an event before and this was very much a new learning curve for me.
[11:48] SPEAKER_02: Okay, what books are you reading now and why are even audio books and can you recommend any books for our listeners who are also aspiring entrepreneurs?
[11:56] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely. Well, let's start with the aspiring entrepreneurs. How I started was really a rich, supportive and that was that changed my life basically.
[12:06] SPEAKER_00: That's what got me to go forward and become an entrepreneur and become a realtor.
[12:12] SPEAKER_00: So that's definitely a great way to kind of an easy way to say where you're my change your mind frame to get to get into the entrepreneur mindset.
[12:22] SPEAKER_00: What I'm reading right now is actually a results faster by Tony Jerry and the reason why I read it because I get to meet him next week because I'm posting him in Vancouver.
[12:34] SPEAKER_00: So I'm reading that as well and I'm also kind of reading his his books book on specifically for realtors. It's called Life is a series of presentations for realtors.
[12:45] SPEAKER_00: So I'm slowly working through that. And and my fun book that I like to probably listen to is the Dr. William Dyer's essays on the doubt that she.
[12:58] SPEAKER_02: Okay. Now what online or offline tools do you use daily basis?
[13:04] SPEAKER_00: Well, my iPhone I like to say is my life. Everything I need is on my iPhone. If ever lost it, life would be over for me.
[13:14] SPEAKER_00: What I really love is let's see, well, I calendars everything I have is in I call calendars and reminders. So I put everything I need to do there.
[13:24] SPEAKER_00: And also I like the stocks app because I like to look at how my stocks are doing as well.
[13:32] SPEAKER_00: And yeah, those are basically I only use those things. And also like as a realtor, I also have a KD core platform, which is a great kind of CRM system.
[13:44] SPEAKER_00: And and really it's just a great real estate tool.
[13:49] SPEAKER_02: Okay. Well, Vancouver is a beautiful place to live. We all know that it's a very lifestyle city.
[13:55] SPEAKER_02: How do you balance work and how do you relax and not think about work and what are your favorite activities to do here in BC? Do you ski? Do you bike kayak golf hike or simply go for a drive?
[14:06] SPEAKER_00: Well, I've been here for about 10 years. So I remember the first couple of years I just went crazy and did everything.
[14:13] SPEAKER_00: I served in Tofino. I did wine tasting in Okinaw again. And I went skiing every weekend. Now that I'm being now that I'm an entrepreneur, I find myself with less time.
[14:27] SPEAKER_00: So right now it really is just trying to fit in hiking because I think it's on the prenatal joke, you know, which 80 hours do you want to work this week?
[14:38] SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I just find myself I think right now hiking and hanging out with my cats and my my urban fun is basically the only things I have that I do for for myself.
[14:49] SPEAKER_02: If you weren't doing what you do now, what would you like to do for a profession?
[14:55] SPEAKER_00: I love to travel. So it will probably be something within the travel industry. Like I always thought, how do you get those job as those tour guides? They must have the best time in the world.
[15:07] SPEAKER_00: So probably be a tour guide or a blogger or a travel photographer, something along those lines. But I'm definitely unimpossible because I'm not the best. I tend to do things my own way.
[15:21] SPEAKER_02: What kind of job would you not like to do? Couldn't do it.
[15:26] SPEAKER_00: Gosh, I've done so much. What shot could I do? You know, I probably couldn't. I'm not the best academic, even though I went to university, but I'm not an academic person.
[15:39] SPEAKER_00: So I could not see myself becoming a professional and getting a master's in THD. I would I would have the attention back for that at all. So who knows them, but that would not be me in business. What is your favorite word or quote or sentence that you like to use?
[15:57] SPEAKER_00: It's actually on my business cards, and I think it's kind of incompetent being an entrepreneur. So it's the meaning of life is to find your gift. And the purpose of life is to give it away. And I believe Pablo Picasso said that, or a little bit. If you Google it, there's controversy as who said it. But I like to think Pablo would say something like that.
[16:18] SPEAKER_00: And basically, I think that that is being an entrepreneur, you find your path, find what you're gifted in. And then you give it away. And hopefully you get financial rewards for it.
[16:31] SPEAKER_02: What is your least favorite word or sentence you do not like to hear?
[16:36] SPEAKER_00: I can't do it. I just cannot. I can't stand that because I think anything is possible.
[16:45] SPEAKER_02: If you had to pick one or two words to describe yourself, what would it be and why?
[16:53] SPEAKER_00: Dynamic, too honest, friendly, and easily approachable. And why? That's just my basic personality. I don't know. I always been that way as a child and maybe a little bit of fearless, I just love you talk to my parents.
[17:12] SPEAKER_02: Okay, what keeps you up at night if anything?
[17:17] SPEAKER_00: Deals closing. I meditate to try and alleviate that. But basically, in real estate closing a deal, there's so much that can, there's so many factors that can go wrong, especially financing. And it's always done to the wire before subject removal, of course. But, you know, that's the nature of the game.
[17:41] SPEAKER_02: Okay, I want you to give us the top three things on your inspired lifeless. This could be a bucket list of any sort, whether you want to travel more, whether you want to write a book, Kedex talk, speaking engagements philanthropy, anything like that?
[17:54] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely. I have so much. So basically philanthropy is a huge reason why I'm also an entrepreneur as well. So I would love for humans.
[18:07] SPEAKER_00: I like the idea of building, building school and helping, helping, third world countries, children in third world countries become, you know, become better or do you do better in life? Maybe even sponsor them over go to school and so forth.
[18:25] SPEAKER_00: Because I think there's so much talent out there. And for animals, I would love to have a little farm out in the countryside and also taking, taking animals, rescue animals as well.
[18:40] SPEAKER_00: And I like plant that's philanthropy part. And of course, I would love to travel with my travel with my family, be with my family more, take some really awesome trips together, create memories.
[18:53] SPEAKER_00: And I believe, oh yeah, and also speaking engagements, I do have a passion to help to inspire other entrepreneurs and spread the word that anything's possible. Like if I can do it then, I think anybody can really.
[19:09] SPEAKER_00: So spreading financial IQ and just just letting everybody know that just follow your dreams, you can do it.
[19:16] SPEAKER_02: Do you have any advice that you may have received that you can pass on to entrepreneurs throughout BC?
[19:24] SPEAKER_00: Just take the plunge and do it. You don't know until you try. That was the best advice I got from one of my friends.
[19:33] SPEAKER_02: Okay, okay, bye. You ready to have some fun? Yes.
[19:37] SPEAKER_02: Great, okay, great. Okay, as you know, entrepreneurs are very, very busy people. As you mentioned earlier in the interview, you are pretty well tied to your iPhone and is the lifeblood of your company.
[19:48] SPEAKER_02: And that's why you keep all your contacts and your schedules and everything. But we're going to take you away from all that. There's a small tropical island just off of Fiji that only has one phone booth there. There is no internet. This place does exist.
[19:59] SPEAKER_02: We're going to drop you off there. You won't have a computer, a smartphone or tablet. You can use the phone booth located there. Any time to call the boat will come pick you up.
[20:08] SPEAKER_02: How long would you last before you made that call? And what would you do while you were there?
[20:14] SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's a really good question. That sounds like paradise personally. If I didn't have a care in the world, basically I can stay there for months on end if not live there for life.
[20:27] SPEAKER_00: So basically the first thing I would probably do is, you know, go through, go look, find shelter, make shelter. If I have to build it myself, create fine food, even if I have to farm or see what the locals are eating and what animals I can raise, probably get a cat or two.
[20:47] SPEAKER_00: And then meditate. I don't know of swim every day. I don't know if there's waves to go surfing. That would be so ideal if I can surf every day. Life would be so good.
[20:59] SPEAKER_02: But I could live there for a long time. So farming and surfing, probably the two biggest things that you'd be doing. I imagine.
[21:06] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, pretty much. So I take it. We're going to be out there waiting for you for quite a while.
[21:13] SPEAKER_00: Yes, probably it. Yeah, you probably have to come get me. But this is a lot to find me then.
[21:20] SPEAKER_02: Okay, after about three months, we're coming in to get you. We can't wait anymore.
[21:26] SPEAKER_00: You'll have to come. You'll have to get me like kicking the screaming a little bit.
[21:30] SPEAKER_02: Okay, get on the boat. I get on the boat.
[21:34] SPEAKER_02: Okay, how can our listeners get whole of you? And is there anything you'd like to add before you leave us today?
[21:40] SPEAKER_00: Sure. Well, how do listeners and get it hold to me? I'm on Facebook linked in Instagram and Twitter.
[21:47] SPEAKER_00: I have a website of the my first name and last name dot CA. So the win dot CA. But that's not quite up and running yet. We're still working on a few things.
[21:56] SPEAKER_00: I have a website also the win dot exp realty dot com. And yeah, I'm easily accessible.
[22:06] SPEAKER_00: And what I would like to say is just thank you for having me here. It's been a blast and I look forward to just getting to know your your other other interview. Yeah, podcast.
[22:20] SPEAKER_02: You become a fan of the podcast I hear.
[22:23] SPEAKER_00: I have. Yes, I can't wait to hear more of it. These are neat questions that you ask. And I'd like to see where you get you get really into people's minds. And I like that as well.
[22:33] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's what we try and do is also to really kind of make you think and get some questions you may not be expecting. So I think that kind of gets you into the mindset.
[22:44] SPEAKER_02: Okay, bye. Thanks for coming on the show. I've learned a lot about you. And I'm sure our listeners have as well.
[22:49] SPEAKER_00: Yes. Thank you so much. Okay. We'll see you next time. Bye now.
[22:55] SPEAKER_01: Hey there. Thanks for taking the time today to listen to the podcast on the Canada podcast network.
[23:01] SPEAKER_01: We hope you enjoyed the show today. Make sure you sign up for our newsletters and write a review for us on iTunes.
[23:07] SPEAKER_01: Then connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn at the podcast. You can also check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country. See you next time.
