Vanessa Pfaff

I came to the United States from Brazil and built three different businesses in a country where I didn't even know the language. When I first arrived, I didn't speak English, just 'hi and bye.' I started with a manufacturing business making jeans pants for kids that I ran for 8 years, and I did my first million before the 2008 bankruptcy changed my life. Within less than a year of being here, I built a cleaning service company and helped more than 162 families over 10 years. After that, I opened a construction business as a tile installer and subcontractor, doing commercial work. My biggest project was Tropico of Mount Laurel, where the whole entire building, the floors, bathrooms, and backsplashes at the bar, everything, that was my hands. Now I sell cars, and I've been in sales for a year and a half. I work at a dealership where we help subprime customers who have problems with their credit score and can't go anywhere else to get a car. They need to get back on their feet to go to work, and that's the type of people we help most. I'm passionate about it because I was a single mom at some point in my life and didn't have a credit score when I needed to buy a car. I started as a part-time clerk after closing my construction business, and when I saw how the business worked and how we were helping subprime customers, I fell in love with it. I'm currently taking classes at Brookdale College, one per semester when I'm able, working toward my degree in aerospace engineering through a program with Rutgers. I'm very active and enjoy surfing, hiking, and staying fit. In just about a year of building my social media presence, some of my videos have reached 2,000 people.