The two top producers at First Financial Security sat down with the hosts of Lead. Empower. Grow. this week to talk about their long run of success and what it took to become the inaugural Chairman’s Club members. Victoria Le and Corey Vuu have built an incredible team over the years, and they gave us insight into what they look for in recruiting, the resilience their team has shown since the pandemic began and how to overcome fear to find success.
For this blog post, we have highlighted some excerpts of their interview for all to read.
See below for an excerpt of our conversation — you can listen to the full episode here.
How did you come to start working with FFS?
Corey Vuu: Back in 2009, we were doing catering. Shortly thereafter, I was recruited to teach. Then, there was a catalyst moment: we went to Virginia to meet up with Shirley Luu, and we got to see the Business Opportunity Presentation. It was in that presentation that she talked about the unlimited aspects of this business — income as well as territory. Then, she also mentioned the part about having the opportunity to control your fate and your destiny. It was at that moment, in 2009, that we had our lives changed.
When did you decide to go all-in with FFS?
Victoria Le: I was unsure in the beginning because I didn’t know anything about the industry. The insurance side and the investment side were so new to me. When I finally understood the value that I’m able to pass along to my community — the knowledge that I’ve learned and what I’m able to do one-on-one to help each individual — I found what I do is not simply selling to people out there. That completely changed my outlook. Slowly, I redirected more time into my FFS business, and let go of what I was doing before.
Did you have any challenges during your transition to FFS? How did you overcome them?
Victoria Le: With any new career or new business, there are so many challenges, so many unknown factors that lie ahead. To deal with those challenges, I had to put a lot of time and effort into learning the ins and outs of the industry, to understand the structure — a lot of reading and a lot of learning.
Corey Vuu: When you’re starting something new like this, you have to accept the fact that there’s the big F-word everywhere — it’s not the one that you’re thinking. It’s “fear.” There’s a lot of fear: fear of the unknown, fear of uncertainty, fear in the form of “Can I do this or not? Am I good enough?” Please, if you’re brand new in this business, accept that you will be swimming in a sea of the word “fear.” We’ve been through it. When you embrace that, you expect the fear, then it is not as overwhelming.
There’s going to be a lot of pitfalls, a lot of setbacks, a lot of challenges. It’s very tough. We used to sit in front of a client and just sweat. So do not expect this to be easy. Success is challenging, but not impossible. Sometimes FFS does not stand for First Financial Security — it stands for “Fear, Fear, and then, Success.”
Speaking only to the new people right now: you are my biggest heroes. You guys are amazing. Whatever it is you’re going through, Victoria and I have been through it: the challenge of having to manage family time and the commitment to growing your business. It’s not easy, but if you want to have financial independence, you’ve got to go to war and fight for it.
Victoria Le: What you do is not easy, but it was never supposed to be easy. If you want to achieve greatness, you’ll have to go through a number of bruises and scars until you get to success. You’ll have to face a lot of rejections and be okay with that. When people say no to you, be okay with it. Maybe they’re saying no now, but, another year down the road, they may say yes. You continue and work on understanding that this is very valuable, and what you bring to the fight is valuable. We’re just not selling something, we’re educating people and helping to guide them.
We named the podcast Share Your Umbrella because umbrellas are an insurance symbol — they cover, shelter and help people. For us, the umbrella represents not only the products that shelter our clients from risk but also the opportunity to build a business in the financial services industry.
With that in mind, do you have any stories of sharing that umbrella with others? What does that concept mean for you?
Corey Vuu: When I look at the cross-section of our team members, the composition of our team, they’re over 90% women. On average, their profile looks like this: they’re about 40-years-old, they’ve got two to six kids, and they’ve sacrificed seven or eight years of their professional career years to raise their children — one of the most noble things to do — but with seven or eight years away from the workforce, you do lose your luster in an employer’s eyes.
What’s beautiful about the FFS opportunity, though, is that we don’t care about that. The most successful people on our team are these women — their earnings are just through the stratosphere right now. That’s something I’m profoundly and deeply appreciative of — that you can join this business and, if you’re coachable, you can earn from $10,000 to $50,000 a month, instead of having to work for so many years to get to that point or trying to claw your way back into the workforce with a skill set that employers think is no longer relevant.
Victoria Le: On the client’s side, I have to say — for the last 12, almost 13 years that we’ve been in this business, our team has put together over $2 billion in protection for the community. Because of that protection, I was able to put together a half-million-dollar protection policy for a single mom with a 16-year-old daughter. Two years down the road, I got a phone call from the daughter. Her mom had passed away. I can still remember that phone call. I went silent. Then, I was able to say, “Don’t worry. Your mom put together something to take care of you.”
I can still get emotional, remembering this 19-year-old who had lost her mom, and, without this policy, she could have been out on the street. Her aunt and uncle would not allow her to stay in their home at 19. At the time, I had to give her advice to protect her from scams. I said, “Look, do not let anybody know that you have this policy. Do not tell your friends that you have this money coming. Do not take phone calls from people claiming to be financial advisors who guarantee you will double your money immediately.” These are things that happen day-in and day-out. When I’m able to help people like her, it makes me even more convinced that I’m in this business for a reason.
Listen to our full conversation with Victoria Le & Corey Vuu for more valuable insight into running your own business.
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