For Vee Escarment it has always been about making a difference and impacting communities and people’s lives. As an entrepreneur and community coach, Vee helps low to moderate income families become first-time home buyers. This way she helps create generational wealth for them and does her part for their economic empowerment.
Being a transformational leader, Vee claims to be ‘a doer, not a dreamer’. Her goal is to empower people, one which has kept her going strong all these years. Moreover, she is proud of being a life-changer and a legacy builder.
Housing for All
Vee Escarment began her career as a housing counselor in a non-profit organization. She learned the ropes of the real estate business, right from the mortgage pre-approval process, construction of new homes, to home inspection, home insurance, appraisal process, closing process, and finally homestead exemption.
In her role as a housing counselor, she noticed that there was a serious lack of housing available for low- to moderate-income families in Florida. She noticed that even though many of these families were approved for home ownership, they were struggling to find homes in realistic price ranges. Vee realized that there simply weren’t enough homes to meet everyone’s needs.
Setting up her own Business
This realization was what inspired her to launch her own non-profit outfit in 2019 – Generational Wealth through Homeownership Inc. This was followed a year later, with a real estate development company, Generational Wealth through Real Estate LLC. The latter was launched with the mission to acquire underperforming properties in Florida, and revamp them into affordable, primary residences for its citizens.
The journey wasn’t easy at the beginning. For funding her non-profit organization, she had to approach several corporate companies to get sponsorship. She applied for grants and was often unsuccessful in securing sufficient grants. However, her optimism and strong faith in God kept her going. “I continued to move forward and had faith that it would work out,” she says.
When asked what she could have done differently in the initial years, she says that she would have chosen a mentor in the same field who would guide and help her avoid making some mistakes. She concedes that the mistakes were her greatest teacher, however, and she gained valuable insights from her experience.
Creating Value for the Community
Her mode of operation is pretty simple. For advertising and marketing their services, Vee relies on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Herein, prospective homeowners are encouraged to register on the company website.
After the registration process is complete, her office sends an email to the applicant with a link to take a Pre-test and Intake Form. Once her client completes this step, he or she receives information of the forthcoming workshop, with the login information. This is followed by a link to the Post Test and Workshop Evaluation. Finally, a pre-purchase counseling session is arranged through Calendly on the company website.
Being a hands-on leader, Vee Escarment oversees strategic planning and the day-to-day administration of her organizations. She also ensures smooth management of the budget and finances, and optimum resource utilization in her companies. Her other roles include fundraising, marketing, community outreach, and increasing the overall visibility of her organizations.
Her non-profit organization- Generational Wealth through Homeownership, organizes workshops and programs on debt management and financial literacy for needy people. Counseling is also provided on housing, credit, and post-purchase formalities.
The COVID-19 Impact on her Business
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the whole world topsy-turvy since last year. There is hardly any business on this planet that has remained unaffected by the rampage of the pandemic. Ms. Escarment’s organizations were no exception to the same.
When the pandemic shut down everything, their in-person workshops and counseling sessions had to be shut down for weeks. Vee admits, “We had to adapt, pivot, and make changes to provide our services virtually. Now all of our workshops are offered virtually on Zoom and the counseling sessions are offered over the phone, Skype, Zoom, or Go to Meetings.” She ensured that her clients didn’t face any problems switching over to the online mode and is happy that they don’t have to risk their safety or compromise on social distancing norms.
Describing her entrepreneurship experience, she says, “The most valuable lessons I have learned on this journey is growth, wisdom, and patience. These lessons have tremendously added to my character. I had to learn to have patience and know that everything will happen at the right time. I had to learn that as long as you don’t give up and continue working hard, you will accomplish your goal.”
The Way Ahead
For Vee Escarment, her future plans include expanding her businesses, and continuing organizing financial literacy workshops for the community. She has plans for creating a foundation, setting up a mentorship program, and publishing e-books to help her clients and the community as a whole. Besides that, she also wants to set up a food bank for the needy. These activities apart, she will take up speaking engagements, develop a television series, and create more business partnerships.
Advice to other Entrepreneurs
When asked about her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, Vee stresses on the importance of being undaunted by failures and setbacks. “Don’t allow your past or present condition to control you. It’s just a process that you’re going through to get you to the next level. Transformation is a process and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It’s a journey of discovery, there are moments on mountaintops and moments on deep valleys of despair. Excellence requires discomfort.”
Leadership, according to Vee Escarment, signifies integrity and transparency. “The most important trait for a leader is integrity. Great leaders exhibit integrity at all times. They do what’s right, even if that isn’t the best thing for the current project or even the bottom line. Whether it’s giving proper credit for accomplishments, acknowledging mistakes, or putting safety and quality first, great leaders always maintain a level of transparency, regardless of how difficult it may seem.” She herself has been embodying these leadership traits in her journey as an entrepreneur and social service person.
Vee Escarment believes transformational leaders encourage creativity and independent thinking. Thinking out of the box and being creative is the essence of transformational leadership that challenges the status quo.
As a transformational leader, she prides herself on having a clear vision that she can articulate to her employees, and on being able to serve as a role model for them. Because, as she insists, “Transformational leadership inspires people to achieve unexpected or remarkable results.”
And going by her record, once Vee Escarment is on a roll, it becomes impossible to stop her!
