We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elena Wilhoit. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elena below.

Elena, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

I remember how I felt when I arrived in the United States and decided to stay. Full of insecurity about the language, fear of not knowing what to work on, since I am not into manual jobs but more intellectual ones. Like every immigrant I started with construction and house cleaning jobs, then food delivery; but something inside me told me that I could find a job in which I could work on my own, that I liked and where I could serve people, it seemed like a lot to ask, but by the grace of God I managed to take a job trainer course forms of Immigration, and that was my first venture. Then, in that constant search for what else to do professionally, I attended a Real Estate event and became interested in the topic, I continued the search for knowledge and now I am fipping old houses. This story is just a small summary of my journey here in this country, with this I want to tell you that it does not matter how old you are, where you come from and that even though you think you have nothing, there is always something you can do and in what you can grow in this country, is only to identify what you are good at and educate yourself, don´t stop studying, getting advice and getting together with people who have the same vision as you (very important). Persevere, be constant and have a lot of Faith in God that you will achieve it.

Elena, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Currently my main job is Immigration and Health Insurance Service. For some reason, God only knows, I’ve always worked with customer service, and to be honest I like to help people solve their problems or situations. Since I am an immigrant and I was also a newcomer; I know that one of the main problems we go through is the lack of information about immigration processes and how the economic system of this country works, each mistake costs you a lot of money; It is very difficult to find a sincere and approachable person who will guide and/or advise you in terms of immigration processes in order to obtain legal status in the country; That is what my job is all about, offering an orientation of the alternatives to achieve legal status and satisfactorily process your documentation before the legal immigration agencies. In addition, I offer them a series of financial options to start organizing their finances, such as starting to build credit and if they want to be entrepreneurs I will register their company. I think that what differentiates me from other people who offer these same services is my real willingness to help and how accessible, I am always available to my clients for any procedure or doubt they have. My company is called Smart Financial Solution, because I believe that to be successful you must look for smart solutions, learn from the people who are where you want to be. My second company, is Smart Property Investment, is currently dedicated to the Fix and Flip business, and for the future we will apply other Real Estate market strategies, although here I am not directly with customer service it is very satisfying to see the change from an old and deteriorated house, to a habitable house that you dedicate time to make as beautiful and cozy as possible for a new family. In addition, in the medium term, my purpose with this venture is to educate other people so that they can also do it and teach them the step by step to achieve it and build the long-awaited financial freedom. In another edition I will be more experienced and I will be able to give you more details of this exciting business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like I was born again at 42 years old, when I arrived in this country, I literally had to start from 0, again without my own house, without a car, without a job, without friends, with no knowledge of the system, the language, etc. I’ve had to learn a lot of things between that a relationship with God and I think that’s been my greatest strength, and God has shown me in different ways that He is present in every situation that happens to me. I tell you, one of my anecdotes, in my search for professional fulfillment I had taken several courses to be self-employed, which was my goal, however I was afraid to start, due to lack of experience, I said that due to lack of money, I wanted a partner to have someone to support me with in case of some failure, those situations were in my head and did not let me take the next step which was to undertake. At that time, my job was to make food delivery, I had already been doing it for 2 years, and I was tired of doing that job because I knew that I was not going to grow there either professionally or economically; I always asked God to guide me in what to do, to give me the opportunity to be able to get out of that job. At the beginning of 2023 my car was crashed and I was left without a car because after 3 months that they were supposedly repairing it, they gave it a total loss, for me it was a catastrophe, because that was my work instrument, and I did not have money to buy another one. I felt so bad because I no longer had a way to get around to go to work, those were days of great depression. However, one day listening to a Christian preaching, where the Pastor narrated the story of a woman who became unemployed and then emerged with the little she had at home; That story made me reflect, it made me first look inside myself and think that I was good, that things I did well and I certainly like working with documentation and serving people, helping them solve their situations; Then I looked at home that I had left, that I could use for work and had a laptop; with a bit of trepidation, I began to process Immigration documentation for people I knew (I had already been certified a year ago, but I was not waiting for the right moment); And after several clients was when I started my service company, and I have been increasing the number of clients, which allowed me to leave the delivery job. Learning from history has to do with the fact that there is no bad luck and good luck, sometimes we go through situations that at the time we thought our lives were ruined, and it turns out that it was what you needed to take that step we need to move forward, to know how strong you are and see the great things you can do if you act, Even if it is with fear, the important thing is to take the first step; Being left without that work tool (the car) was the determining factor for me to advance in a new profession that was going to take me to the next level; And now this job has allowed me, because it gives me freedom of movement, because I work from my computer; Venture into a new profession which is real estate investing. So, some of my tips for you are: First, create a relationship with God, he will always put angels in your path to help you achieve your goals, as long as they are aligned with his purpose for you, try to identify your life purpose.
Don’t stop studying, acquiring knowledge, and in due time the opportunity you want will come, but you must be prepared to take it.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, don’t wait until you have everything to start because that moment is not going to come, you have to build it, start with what you have because the rest will come in addition.
Surround yourself with people who have the same vision as you, or who are where you want to go. Don’t get distracted.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think that one of the most challenging situations where you show resilience is when you have to leave your comfort zone, and in my case leave my country to a totally different country in culture and language. Resilience is essential to not die trying, since being away from your family and friends is a situation that causes you a lot of sadness; And then finding a place to live and where to work to sustain your life is stressful. That’s when having a relationship with God makes you stronger because you start to see life with a different perspective and move forward even if sometimes you don’t understand why things happen. In my case, it has helped me a lot to gain knowledge through reading books, listening to podcasts, attending events, identifying my life purpose and focusing on it. Being alone has given me the opportunity to work on myself, I think it’s the most valuable thing you can do, because you heal wounds, you start to think differently, act differently and therefore be a better person. And today I can say that, although I came to this country with many mixed feelings, lost and thinking that it was a terrible thing to start at the age of 42; I think the best thing that has happened to me in my life is to be born again in the United States, I think that loneliness and losing all the material things that I strived for for years, has made me enjoy life in a different way.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: smarfsolution / elenaw.investor