The 5 Questions Podcast
Join us as we unlock real estate and business insights, one question at a time.
The 5 Questions Podcast
Breaking Barriers: Women Leading in Real Estate
In this week’s The 5 Questions Podcast, we chat with Victoria Cluney, founder of WeBuild and president of CREWA. She shares her journey from glamping retreats to boutique motels, showing how creativity and skill stacking fuel her real estate success.
💡 Key Takeaways:
- Leveraging social media for business growth.
- Mindset shifts for women in real estate.
- Building lasting legacies through family involvement.
✨ Get inspired to align your investments with your passions!
Website - https://www.cluneyco.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/victoriacluney/
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/victoriacluney/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/victoriacluney/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-cluney-2a6b01110/
SPONSORED BY: https://ekconsulting.ca/
#RealEstateInvesting #WomenInRealEstate #FinancialFreedom #The5QuestionsPodcast
Walking through that door is sometimes the hardest part, and then after that you just kind of go with the motion and the flow.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast, where we unlock real estate and business insights, one question at a time, if you're looking to grow your business, create cash flow or invest smarter. Elizabeth Kelly is a boutique coach specializing in business planning, cash flow creation and real estate investments. Through personalized one-on-one online coaching, elizabeth meets you where you are and guides you to your next step. With nearly 20 years of experience, she provides the systems, resources and accountability you need to build revenue, boost efficiency and achieve financial freedom. Connect with her on Instagram at Elizabeth Kelly Consulting or email her at elizabeth at ekconsultingca to learn more. Welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast. I am your host, mario Lamar, our guest on today's show, has over 20 years of experience in real estate and real estate investing. She is the founder of WeBuild, the woman empowering in business, investing and leadership development. She is the president of the CREWA, the Canadian Real Estate Investing Women's Association. Welcome, victoria Clooney. Victoria, I'm so excited to have you on our show today.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me, mario. It's really nice to meet you. I've heard a lot of good things and I think we have a ton of overlap for connection, so I'm looking forward to this chat.
Speaker 2:The concept Victoria of the podcast is very simple. I asked five questions, either about real estate or business, and we get straight to the point. You ready, I'm ready, all right. The first question I'd like to ask is your portfolio and your investing is a little different than a lot of investors. Some people focus on one area or one category of investing in real estate, but what sparked your interest in different niches like glamping retreats, tiny home communities or even boutique motels?
Speaker 1:So it's a reflection of me and my personality, which I love variety, and my whole life I've been called extreme, I've loved going into different areas, and so focusing on just one type of portfolio would not fit, for what would excite me and what would give me the passion to lean in and if everybody knows about active investing, it takes a lot of work, and so you want to love what you're doing, and that's one of the big things that I talk to people about is really identifying a type of asset and strategy that fits your personality, your lifestyle, your financial goals, and for me, I focus more on stacking skills.
Speaker 1:And so skill stacking and each property, each strategy, each asset I'm drawing from what I've done in the past and I'm only enhancing it into the new ones. And so the glamping retreat these were cottages that I purchased and then I turned into a beautiful getaway for people to come to and I elevated it to a motel, and so it used the same systems, the same processes, just at that next level, and so that's what I continue to do. I learned different strategies with the motel and the glamping. I learned connecting networking. I know that's something that we were just chit-chatting about and that you're really big into. I would not have learned about that from my buy and holds, because they were never anything that I cared much about showcasing, and so when I bought these really unique bunkies and I started to show them online, it opened doors and it opened my eyes to just the power of social media for business. And so then I did this with the motel and now I do it with all my other types of assets, and so you just continue to stack your skills.
Speaker 2:I agree with you a hundred percent. When you do something, whatever it is in life, you need to love what you do, because if not, it's going to feel like a job. And who loves a job? A few people do, but most of us don't.
Speaker 1:Most of us in this game are not in it for like another job, just doing it, build wealth. But we want to do it in a way that's aligned and feels good.
Speaker 2:That brings us to our second question, and I know you work with a lot of women in the industry. And I know you work with a lot of women in the industry. What kind of mindset shifts do you believe are crucial for women looking to thrive in real estate and business.
Speaker 1:It's so cool when I see a woman walking into the room for the first time. You can tell right away it's this like doe-eyed little bit of inhibition, timidness, right, and then by the end of the night, when they're leaving, they're full of excitement, of hope. And so that's the first thing is the openness to it, because walking through that door is sometimes the hardest part. And then after that you just kind of go with the motion and the flow, but taking that first step. There's so many women I talk to on the side that tell me that they watch my content, they hear about these networking opportunities and they just don't think it's the right fit for them, or they don't know if it's the right fit. And I tell them every time just come, it's open to anybody.
Speaker 1:So that's the first step, just take that step through the front door. And then the second thing is letting go of the inhibition, letting go of the fear of judgment, the fear of what are people going to say, what are people going to think? Maybe my hair doesn't look very good today, but they hold themselves back. And that's the second thing and what I tell people, and sometimes it feels a bit harsh when I say it. But it's an ego thing. We're so consumed by our ego of like inner. How do we look and what are people thinking? When your message is more important than your ego, when your impact and the intent that you're bringing is more important, then you put that to the side and you show up authentically.
Speaker 2:I think that one of the most important thing, too, is is we need to believe in ourselves, or each woman needs to believe in themselves, and then whatever's missing I was speaking to another guest. It's okay to borrow the courage of someone else and to put it in our actions. For example, you, with your social media, you display lots of courage in what you do, for example, so people can borrow that courage from you and say, hey, if she can do it, I can do it too.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. It is mine to give. I am happy Anybody can borrow it. I would just want to be a champion for women. I want them to understand that they can do it, that they are enough, that they have the ability and the skills, because it's a highlight reel. People understand. People conceptually understand that social media is a highlight reel and that there's a lot behind the scenes that happens. I try my best to show it, but they don't see everything. They don't see the downs, and as much as I want to show that. So when we can explain to women that it's okay to have bad days and you have value to give and you have skills and you have knowledge, that others don't look to talk to the victorias, the whoever that you're looking up to look to talk to the people that are just one or two steps below you, because imagine how much they need to hear your message yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Um, that brings us to our third question. And uh, so we in the intro I mentioned that you were the founder of WeBuild. Now, can you walk us through the journey of founding WeBuild? When you wanted to start that movement, what kind of gaps were you aiming to fill?
Speaker 1:That's a great question and I will try to give this within three minutes. But here's the thing when I moved to Ottawa from Nova Scotia, I didn't have a network and I didn't understand networking. I was only just getting into the game because I started to post about my bunkies. And then it opened my eyes to social media. When I moved to Ottawa, I found a networking group it was called InvestHer at the time and I attended and I was very nervous to attend because, again, I'm an introvert, extrovert, and I have a hard time going to these types of groups if I'm a not the leader or if I don't know anybody. So I do understand when people have that inhibition.
Speaker 1:I attended and I looked around the room and I saw women that were doing incredible things. They were doing things that were much bigger than me and all I remember thinking to myself is that if she can do it, I can do it. My eyes started to open and I was so impacted by that night. And the next month an email came out and they were asking for a new leader to step up because the current one was stepping down. And I remember just almost feeling devastated that here I've just finally found this community and I wasn't. I didn't feel ready to take over the leadership because I just got, I just learned about networking. I didn know Ottawa, I was not in that scene. It took three emails to go by and they basically said the chapter would get disbanded.
Speaker 2:If you didn't step up.
Speaker 1:I stepped up and I grew that chapter over two years to over 600 members consistently and it was incredible and I actually ended up going to the US. I started to run the behind the scenes night and the women followed and they came over and so now it's under the WeBuild umbrella and I'm very excited. I'll announce it here. Mario, you're getting an exclusive.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:But we are opening up a new chapter in Toronto and so I actually have two women that are in Toronto that have stepped up and really want to, you know, be a part of the movement, and so, yeah, we'll be opening that up for January.
Speaker 2:For January. All right, that's very exciting news.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have not shared that yet.
Speaker 2:Well, we're happy to be the first one to be released the information.
Speaker 1:So the gap in the market is the fact that it's not meant to be. I was having this conversation tonight. Actually, these women's groups aren't here to just like be another place for women to have wine and hang out, aren't here to just like be another place for women to have wine and hang out. It's so that women's voices get heard, that women are feeling empowered, that they're being supported in these rooms. We actually are able to come to these events like we do. We have actually more husbands that are coming to these events, which is fantastic, but I've seen a real gap in the market of, like, women's voices, where we're normally a minority in the room, and so this is a great opportunity to just have that collective and know that you're being supported a hundred percent.
Speaker 2:That's amazing and it kind of ties down to our fourth question Different organization, but you're the president of the CREWA, the Canadian Real Estate Investing Women's Association. As president, and maybe it ties down to the last question, but what vision do you have for supporting women in real estate investing?
Speaker 1:supporting women in real estate, investing. It's opening doors. It's always been about that for me, and it's not to create a space that is unaccessible to people, and so you know, our membership fee is $150 for the entire year. Like the goal is literally to just open doors for women, because that's all they need is just to have some seeds planted. They just need to be in a room and look around and see that there are women that are just like them that are doing it, which is exactly what happened to me.
Speaker 1:I went 16, 17 years investing and had never experienced that, and it took that to catapult my career in real estate, and so that is the number one goal is to plant seeds, open doors, and CRUA is a great opportunity because I'm from Ottawa and so now I get to really impact another market, which is Toronto and now having WeBuild and then being able to overlap, because the intention of CRUA is to highlight women's groups and women's opportunities, and I know that CRUA is really starting to bring in a lot of family-oriented type talks and people, and so we're really trying to just like continue to serve a need to serve a need.
Speaker 2:Well, this is amazing because also having women empowered or reopening doors for them to invest in real estate, investing, first of all, we all invest in real estate to leave a legacy to our next generation, right, and who better to do it than the woman in the family? Like, if you know the, the old mentality was oh, the men are, take care of business and they invest. But it's not that anymore. So now, if they, if, if you open doors, you, you facilitate, um, that process, uh, so so many more families can be impacted by, uh, more wealth.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and it's breaking down these limiting beliefs that a lot of women will have and they'll say, like I'm too busy because of my kids, I'm too busy because of this, but it's like, no, do it for your kids and involve them, like I'm a mother myself and my son, since being a baby, has been with me throughout this journey of investing.
Speaker 1:He's come to our renovations and it's really cool to watch how you know before it used to be about what can we entertain him with so we can just get these things done this weekend that we need to invest in our renovation, and now he's involved. He's 12 years old and now he goes on payroll. Now he's like putting furniture together. He's 12 years old and now he goes on payroll. Now he's like putting furniture together. He's, you know, understanding the business and my husband those who know him he's a bodyguard. He's, like you know, a real manly man, but he understands, from an investing perspective, that like that's my jam, this is where my this is where I shine, and so he's been such an incredible support system and for us. So we're really trying to just like break down those limiting beliefs and show women what's possible and how you can actually do this with your family and it creates amazing memories.
Speaker 2:That's, that's great. Brings us to our last question. Already Our fifth question no-transcript.
Speaker 1:Ooh, do you know what kind of excites me? It's? It is the volatility of the market, it is understanding the market and you see so many people come in hot and they come out just as fast. And so what excites me is knowing how consistent I will be and I will just like chug away, I will, one step after next, and that, that long-term thinking, and so when I can connect with people and I can just like help them stay consistent, help them follow through and stop being fair weather investors and come in only when the market is hot and, you know, favorable for investors. But it's actually these times right now, because that conviction of knowing that if you stay the course, that the market will reward you in the long run, and so I kind of get excited about these times.
Speaker 2:It's very, like you said, challenging for a lot of investors and it's exciting at the same time. If you want to do this long term, you can't just buy every five years. I mean you can, but it's the constant portfolio managing that is exciting. You know, that's what a real investor is Consistently have to manage the ups and the downs of the game. So, yeah, that's really.
Speaker 1:There's a saying that we have in the military it's adapt and overcome. And the market is just like that. It's about just like adapting and overcoming every step of the way and pivoting. And so that excitement is I'm not afraid of failure, I'm not afraid of making mistakes. I trusted myself to pivot and to be able to, you know, find a way. I'm resourceful, and so it does add an element of excitement, but also just I trust that I will continue to get through.
Speaker 2:Victoria, it was such a pleasure to talk with you today. Lots of insights, lots of, I think. I don't know if encouragement is the right word, but people, women especially, can look up to you and they can also put the links how people can reach you in the description of the video. How people can reach you in the description of the video, but they can reach out to you and maybe ask for your help or your experience if they want to further talk, because you brought lots of knowledge today.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Thank you so much, and you know I always try to give a bit of a gift and if there's any of your followers or listeners, if they ever want to learn. My background is in psychology and so, personality wise, I think that that's a really big component for investors to understand themselves and how they tick. So I always have like a little thing. If they want to just like message me marketing, they will actually get a copy of a personality quiz totally free and they can learn about themselves and like what type of investor and entrepreneur that they are.
Speaker 2:That's very cool. Well, victoria, that's it for today, but we will talk to you, hopefully very soon.
Speaker 1:Thank you, mario, it was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Thanks for tuning into the five questions podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, like and hit the notification bell on our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. Stay tuned for more insights and tips to transform your real estate and business game. See you next time.