Angelica Szot

I would say definitely my parents and seeing how my family overall sacrificed a lot to be where they are, metaphorically and physically. They immigrated from Poland to the U.S. 20 years ago, and my grandparents also came over, so just seeing how much they sacrificed for their kids to have a better life and better opportunities has always been my drive. I always wanted to make them proud and show them that what they've done for us was worth it. That definitely motivates me. Just seeing how hardworking they've been in a country where they didn't know the language, didn't have any family, didn't have a start, and then I see them do well, even better than a lot of the people who have generational wealth and have things handed to them on a silver spoon. That's what I would attribute my success to.

The best career advice I've ever received is about being confident and almost faking it till you make it - making yourself believe things. If you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will. I got this advice early on, and it was really about not being so hard on yourself and being more grounded in your choice of how you respond to things. It's about not doubting yourself, not saying things like 'I don't know' or 'whatever works' or 'whatever you think.' That confidence and self-belief has been crucial throughout my career.

I would say number one is confidence. Just don't doubt yourself and move forward from any setbacks that you might have. Don't beat yourself up and be hard on yourself. Always look for ways to improve. Making mistakes is part of the process, and as long as you're learning from them and not repeating them constantly, it's definitely part of the process. You have to keep that confidence and keep pushing forward.

One of the biggest challenges is navigating the highs and lows, especially with external factors like the economy right now. A lot of things are happening that are making businesses not do so well. We had a long period of closing a lot of deals and things were going great, but now it's slowing down because people just don't have money to spend - gas prices are up, taxes, everything like that. So I would say keeping your head up, perseverance, and not becoming negative. Always just push forward. Sometimes it might take more to get the same results than it did during a high period, but you have to make sure you're adjusting to that constantly and being proactive. As for opportunities, the sky's the limit. This is very much not a dead-end industry. If you push yourself and put in extra hours, you will see the results. It is a numbers game, so the more you put in, the more you put out. You also have the opportunity to speak to so many different people and learn from their businesses. I have the chance to hear about business models I've never heard about just through my customers, and that's really exciting. Being in this space as a woman is a big opportunity too. I'm literally one of like 3 women on a floor with 100 men. A lot of women have very high emotional intelligence, and we can tell when a deal is going to close very early on, as opposed to a lot of men who can't really tell. They think they did great but don't read the room as much. So it's definitely an opportunity to leverage those advantages. At the end of the day, a lot of business owners are men, so sometimes it helps having that female perspective.

I would say transparency is really important, along with effective communication. Of course, my role is all around communication, so being able to adjust to what someone's preferred communication methods are and make sure you're on the same page is crucial. Ambition is definitely important - always being very disciplined, whether that's at work or with your personal goals. For me, it's fitness. Persistence and perseverance are also key values. Being persistent has definitely helped me win a lot of business and also reach a lot of personal goals as well. Persevering through the hardships is essential. All of those things coincide with each other.