My Story - Valerie Fitzgerald Group

People often see the success before they hear the story. They see the luxury homes, the television appearances, the bestselling book, the stages, the podcast, and the business I've spent decades building

What they don't see is the woman who once wasn't sure how she was going to make it. Long before I was negotiating some of Los Angeles' most significant real estate transactions, I was simply trying to build a life. I became a single mother at a young age. Like so many women, I suddenly found myself carrying responsibilities I never expected while trying to create stability for my daughter and for myself. There were moments filled with uncertainty, fear, and more questions than answers. No one handed me a blueprint. I had to create one.

Along the way, my mother gave me a poem called After a While. I have carried those words with me ever since. They reminded me that strength isn't something we're born with. It's something we build—one difficult decision, one setback, and one brave step at a time.

That lesson changed my life. I eventually found my way into real estate, not because I had a grand plan, but because I believed it might offer an opportunity to create a better future.

Your circumstances do not determine your future.
Your decisions do.

I worked harder than I ever imagined possible. Little by little, opportunity became experience. Experience became confidence. Confidence became a career. Eventually that career became The Valerie Fitzgerald Group.

Over the years I've had the privilege of representing extraordinary clients, marketing some of the most remarkable homes in Los Angeles, consulting on iconic luxury developments, writing Heart and Sold, appearing on HGTV's Selling LA, and sharing my story from the TEDx stage.

I'm incredibly grateful for every one of those accomplishments. But none of them define me. What defines me is the journey it took to get there. Because success isn't a straight line. It's filled with setbacks. Disappointments. Moments when you wonder if you should quit. Times when you have to begin again. I've learned that confidence doesn't come before action. It comes because of action. That lesson has shaped every part of my life—from business and leadership to motherhood, relationships, and the way I serve my clients.

Today, whether I'm helping someone buy or sell a home, speaking to an audience, writing, or sitting behind a microphone recording Queen B: Grit. Grace. Reinvention., my purpose is the same: to help people believe that their next chapter can become their best one.

Because I know what it's like to start over. I know what it feels like to wonder if you're enough. And I know what can happen when you choose to keep going anyway. If there's one thing I hope people take away from my story, it's this: your circumstances do not determine your future. Your decisions do.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to learn mine. I hope our paths cross someday.

— Valerie Fitzgerald